Badhl al-Majhud fi Ifham al-Yahud
- Author died
- 570 AH
- Editions
- ed. al-Sharqawi · T Tuwila
Badhl al-Majhud fi Ifham al-Yahud (Exertion of Effort in Silencing the Jews) is a polemical treatise written by the mathematician, physician, and former Jewish scholar al-Samawal ibn Yahya al-Maghribi (d. c. 570 AH / 1175 CE) to critique Judaism and argue for the truth of Islam using Jewish scriptures and rational argumentation.
Background and Purpose
The author was the son of Rabbi Judah ibn Abun—known in Arabic as Abu al-Baqa' Yahya ibn 'Abbas—a Jewish scholar of the Torah and Hebrew poet originally from Fez. After mastering mathematics, medicine, and Jewish religious literature, al-Samaw'al embraced Islam in 558 AH (1162 CE) in Baghdad before relocating to Maragha in Azerbaijan.
In the introduction to the work, al-Samaw'al explains that while earlier Muslim scholars had composed polemics against Judaism, Jewish interlocutors often failed to understand or feel bound by their premises. He therefore intended to establish proofs against them directly from the Hebrew scriptures in their possession, demonstrating where their doctrines had been altered and uncovering what he viewed as contradictions within their traditions.
Structure and Content
The work incorporates autobiographical reflections alongside theological and biblical arguments, organized through several central themes:
- Conversion Narrative: Al-Samaw'al recounts his upbringing, his early education in Jewish law and scripture, and the intellectual and spiritual trajectory that led to his conversion.
- Abrogation (Naskh): He addresses the Jewish rejection of the abrogation of the Mosaic law, arguing that abrogation is both rational and historically attested within Jewish tradition itself. He points out successive legal changes across biblical history, including additions made to dietary and Sabbath ordinances and prayers introduced after the destruction of the Temple that were not part of the original Mosaic dispensation.
- Prophetic Predictions: The treatise examines scriptural passages held to prophesy the missions of Jesus and Muhammad ﷺ. He cites biblical passages such as Deuteronomy's prophecy of a prophet "from among their brothers," identifying it as a reference to the descent of Ishmael, and identifies Paran (Faran) with the Hijaz. He also argues from Genesis that the loss of Jewish political sovereignty signaled that the expected Messiah had already arrived.
- Textual Corruption and Historical Critiques: Al-Samaw'al critiques rabbinic interpretations, highlighting textual corruptions and historical deviations. He also includes an eyewitness account of the messianic movement of David Alroy (Dawud ibn al-Ruhi), which occurred in his own era.
Throughout the text, al-Samaw'al employs a dialectical method (al-fanaqilah), anticipating potential Jewish counterarguments with phrasing such as "if they say... we reply," systematically dismantling alternative interpretations.
Reception and Editions
The treatise became a key reference for later Muslim scholars engaged in interreligious polemics. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya drew substantially upon the book for quotations and analyses of the Torah in works such as Ighathat al-Lahfan fi Masayid al-Shaytan and Hidayat al-Hayara fi Ajwibat al-Yahud wa-al-Nasara.
In modern scholarship, the book is also referenced under the shortened titles Ifham al-Yahud and Badhl al-Juhud fi Ifham al-Yahud. It has been published in critical editions edited by Muhammad 'Abd Allah al-Sharqawi (1986) and by 'Abd al-Wahhab Tawila (1989).
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