Dhamm al-Kalam wa-Ahluhu
- Author died
- 481 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-ʿUlūm wa-al-Ḥikam
Dhamm al-Kalam wa-Ahluhu (The Censure of Speculative Theology and Its Proponents) is a theological treatise compiled with chains of transmission by the Hanbali traditionist and Sufi Abu Ismail al-Harawi (396–481 AH / 1006–1089 CE) . The work gathers prophetic hadiths and statements from early scholars condemning dialectical disputation, rationalist theology (kalam), and theological groups such as the Jahmiyya, Kullabiyya, and Ash'ariyya .
Purpose and Structure
In his introduction, al-Harawi explains that the Muslim community was not tested in its religion by anything as destructive as artificial pretension and disputation (al-takalluf wa-al-jadal), which he describes as the malady of earlier religious communities . He argues that the Quran strongly forbids these tendencies, that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ detested them, and that the revelation of ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ ("Today I have perfected your religion for you") established that anything innovated thereafter is superfluous and an innovation .
The book is arranged topically and is narrated entirely through connected chains of transmission (isnads) . Its chapter headings include:
- A chapter on censuring argumentation and its severity, and noting its ill omen (Bab dhamm al-jidal wa-al-taghliz fih, wa-dhikr shu'mih) .
- A chapter discussing the doctrines of the Ash'ariyya (Bab fi dhikr kalam al-Ash'ariyya) .
Method and Reception
Al-Harawi collected an extensive corpus of narrations from early authorities, including the four Sunni imams and prominent traditionists, affirming traditionalist creed and rejecting speculative theological discourse . Al-Suyuti described it as the most eminent work composed on the censure of kalam and summarized its core arguments in his work Sawn al-Mantiq wa-al-Kalam . The 9th-century scholar Ibrahim al-Biqa'i prepared an abridgment of the work, having received the text from his teacher Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in 846 AH .
While scholars praised the treatise for preserving numerous historical reports against kalam, several critics observed that al-Harawi adopted an exceptionally severe stance against theological adversaries . Ibn Taymiyya noted that al-Harawi was among those who went to extremes in censuring the Jahmiyya and the Ash'ariyya, including the transmission of excessively harsh and uncorroborated reports concerning them, such as repeating a rumor that Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari did not perform prayer or ablution .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved at the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo (MS 97) and at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS 337) . The work has been printed in several multi-volume scholarly editions, including an edition edited by Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Aziz al-Shibl published by Maktabat al-Ulum wa-al-Hikam in Medina, and another five-volume edition edited by Abu Jabir Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Ansari published by Maktabat al-Ghuraba al-Athariyya .
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