Dar al-Qawl al-Qabih bil-Tahsin wal-Taqbih

Author died
716 AH
Editions
Al-Dār al-‘Arabiyyah lil-Mawsū‘āt

Dar al-Qawl al-Qabih bil-Tahsin wal-Taqbih (Warding Off the Reprehensible Doctrine of Rational Goodness and Badness) is a theological treatise by the Hanbali scholar Najm al-Din al-Tufi (d. 716 AH / 1316 CE) devoted to examining divine decree (al-qadar) and refuting rational determination of moral value (al-tahsin wa-l-taqbih) .

Subject and Content

Al-Tufi composed the treatise as a dedicated monograph examining the theological problem of predestination and human acts (al-qadar), referencing it in his other works such as al-Intisarat al-Islamiyyah as an exhaustive treatment composed for understanding divine mysteries . The book addresses the controversy surrounding rational ethics (al-tahsin wa-l-taqbih), a core dispute intersecting Islamic theology (kalam) and legal theory (usul al-fiqh) primarily associated with the Mu'tazilites .

Documentation and Title Variants

The work is documented across Hanbali biographical and general bibliographical compendia:

  • Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali listed it among al-Tufi's writings under the title Dar' al-Qawl al-Qabih fi al-Tahsin wa-l-Taqbih in Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabilah .
  • Hajji Khalifa recorded it in Kashf al-Zunun under the title Radd al-Qawl al-Qabih fi al-Tahsin wa-l-Taqbih, while recording al-Tufi's death date as 710 AH .
  • It is also cited as Ibtal al-Tahsin wa-l-Taqbih in manuscript records .
  • Al-Ulaymi mentioned it in al-Uns al-Jalil .

Manuscripts and Publication

A manuscript copy of the treatise is preserved in Istanbul, Turkey, in the Şehid Ali Paşa collection (MS 2315) . The text was edited by Ayman Mahmoud Shihadeh and published by the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh (first edition, 1426 AH) .

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