al-Tawdih an Tawhid al-Khallaq fi Jawab Ahl al-Iraq
- Author died
- 1209 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ṭaybah
Al-Tawdih an Tawhid al-Khallaq fi Jawab Ahl al-Iraq (Clarification Concerning the Monotheism of the Creator in Answering the People of Iraq) is a Sunni theological treatise authored in the late 12th century AH by the Najdi scholar Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Gharib (d. 1209 AH / 1794–1795 CE) as a defense of the Wahhabi reform movement and its conception of monotheism (tawhid) .
Background and Purpose
The treatise was composed following the dissemination of the epistles of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab to Iraq, where they reached the Ottoman governor of Baghdad, Sulayman Pasha the Great (Sulayman Pasha al-Kabir), in the late 12th century AH . In response, an Iraqi scholar named Abd Allah al-Rawi (also referred to as Abd Allah Afandi al-Baghdadi) composed a polemical work challenging the doctrines of the Najdi scholars and sent his theological objections to al-Dir'iyyah . Al-Tawdih an Tawhid al-Khallaq—often referenced with its complementary title Tadhkirat Uli al-Albab fi Tariqat al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (Reminder to the Possessors of Intellect Regarding the Way of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab)—was written to rebut al-Rawi's objections and clarify the movement's theological positions .
Authorship and Attribution
The book is traditionally attributed to Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Gharib (d. 1209 AH; another report gives 1208 AH) . However, several biographical and bibliographical dictionaries, including Hadiyyat al-Arifin and Idah al-Maknun by Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi, erroneously attributed the work to Sulayman ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1233 AH / 1818 CE), an attribution that also appeared on the title pages of early printed editions .
Later scholars and historians, such as Abd Allah ibn Bassam, rejected the attribution to Sulayman ibn Abd Allah and confirmed Ibn Gharib's authorship . Additionally, a documentary note documented by Sulayman al-Sani' from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Latif and Ibn Mani' indicates that the treatise was a collaborative work co-authored by three scholars: Ibn Gharib, Hamad ibn Mu'ammar (d. 1225 AH), and Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1242 AH) .
Publication History
The work was first printed in Cairo in 1319 AH (1901–1902 CE) by al-Matba'ah al-Sharqiyyah . It was later re-typeset and published in Riyadh in 1404 AH (1983–1984 CE) by Dar Taybah, whose editors divided the text into distinct sections and added topical subheadings .
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