Atuwaad Sunnat al-Rasul bi-Mahwiha
- Author died
- 1407 AH
- Editions
- al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah
Atuwaʿid Sunnat al-Rasul bi-Mahwiha ("Do You Threaten to Erase the Ways of the Messenger?") is a ninety-five-verse poem composed by the Moroccan scholar Muhammad Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (1311–1407 AH / 1893–1987 CE) to defend the Sunnah and critique religious innovations and political hostility against Salafi preaching .
Occasion of Composition
Al-Hilali composed the poem during his tenure as an instructor in the Faculty of Daʿwah and Usul al-Din at the Islamic University of Medina . He wrote it in response to a prominent Moroccan official who opposed the propagation of tawhid (Islamic monotheism) and adherence to the prophetic Sunnah . According to al-Hilali's introductory note, the official became emboldened by his political rank, dispatched informants to attend al-Hilali's teaching sessions, and subsequently convened a meeting in which he attempted to reprimand and threaten him . Al-Hilali spoke harshly in return, disregarded the threats, and composed the poem after the official plotted against him and his fellow Salafi companions .
Structure and Content
The poem spans ninety-five verses rhyming in the letter ra . It opens with traditional poetic motifs of sleeplessness, passion, and personal estrangement, transitioning into descriptions of al-Hilali's extensive travels across eastern and western lands by foot, mounts, planes, and ships, while lamenting the religious alienation experienced by adherents of the Sunnah .
The poem addresses several theological and legal themes:
- Rebuke of Political Intimidation: Al-Hilali directly challenges the Moroccan official, mocking his threats and condemning his use of spies to fabricate reports against religious preachers . He likens the opposition faced by Islamic reformers to the historical enmity of figures such as Abu Jahl at the Battle of Badr .
- Polemics Against Grave Veneration: The verses reject tomb-centered practices, including the erection of domes over graves, animal sacrifices, oaths, circumambulation, and kissing soil at burial sites, affirming that religious travel is restricted solely to the three sacred mosques .
- Affirmation of Divine Attributes: The author advocates accepting scriptural verses concerning the divine attributes without figurative interpretation (taʾwil), asserting that this aligns with the method of the early generations .
- Critique of Blind Imitation (Taqlid): Al-Hilali criticizes jurists and judges who rely on taqlid rather than scriptural evidence, warning against speculative legal reasoning (raʾy) except under strict necessity, and urging immediate rectification whenever a judicial ruling is found to be mistaken .
The work concludes with supplications of praise and blessings upon the Prophet, offering the verses as an intellectual defense of the prophetic tradition .
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