al-Zubad al-Malih min Kitab al-Jawab al-Sahih liman Baddala Din al-Masih
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- al-Zubad al-Malih min Kitab al-Jawab al-Sahih liman Baddala Din al-Masih
al-Zubad al-Malih min Kitab al-Jawab al-Sahih liman Baddala Din al-Masih (The Pleasant Essence from the Book of the Correct Response to Those Who Altered the Religion of the Messiah) is an abridgment by Abd al-Ilah bin Abdullah bin Ali Jabir (completed 1445 AH / 2023–2024 CE) of Ibn Taymiyyah's polemical work al-Jawab al-Sahih liman Baddala Din al-Masih .
Background and Purpose
The original work by Ibn Taymiyyah was composed as a comprehensive, point-by-point refutation of a Christian apologetic treatise sent from Cyprus, attributed to Paul (Bulus), the monk and bishop of Sidon and Antioch . Because Ibn Taymiyyah addressed the monk's claims sequentially, his response featured frequent thematic repetitions and expansive digressions, making the complete work lengthy and challenging for students and general readers to navigate . Jabir prepared this abridgment to provide an accessible synthesis of the core arguments against Christian theological innovations while filtering out extraneous discussions .
Methodology and Scope
Jabir's method in compiling the abridgment focuses on:
- Concentrating on the primary issues concerning Christian doctrines and their deviation from Islamic monotheism, while setting aside secondary digressions .
- Gathering Ibn Taymiyyah's scattered remarks and supplemental arguments on related topics from across the original treatise into unified sections, then condensing them .
- Exercising minimal editorial intervention necessary for brevity and coherence, while preserving Ibn Taymiyyah's original expressions and style as much as possible .
- Restructuring the contents systematically to present a clear exposition of Christian beliefs, the historical causes of their theological shifts, and the scriptural and rational counter-arguments .
The text also incorporates an introductory historical overview examining the early history of Christianity, discussing the role attributed to Paul of Tarsus in altering early teachings, the establishment of the Creed at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, and the division of Christian sects such as the Melkites, Nestorians, and Jacobites, in contrast to early monotheistic currents such as the Arians .
Answer updated