Fasl al-Khitab fi Sharh Masail al-Jahiliyyah
- Author died
- 1342 AH
- Editions
- t Yusuf al-Saeed · tahqiq Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib · +1
Fasl al-Khitab fi Sharh Masail al-Jahiliyyah (Decisive Speech in Explaining the Matters of Pre-Islamic Ignorance) is an Islamic theological commentary by the Iraqi scholar Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi (1273–1342 AH / 1857–1924 CE) on the treatise Masail al-Jahiliyyah by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1115–1206 AH / 1703–1792 CE) .
Purpose and Composition
In the introduction to his commentary, al-Alusi states that he came across a concise treatise of immense utility containing around one hundred matters in which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ opposed the beliefs and customs of the people of the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), including both the unlettered polytheists and the People of the Book . Al-Alusi observed that the original treatise authored by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was exceptionally condensed, almost resembling riddles or a mere table of contents presented without chapter headings or fully expounded textual evidence . Recognizing the importance of these topics for preserving sound Islamic creed, al-Alusi set out to write a commentary that elucidates the text's summaries and unpacks its difficult points without harmful brevity or wearisome verbosity .
Content and Method
The work systematically analyzes the theological, legal, and social points of divergence between Islamic teachings and pre-Islamic practices . The text opens with what the author identifies as the foremost issue of contention: the pre-Islamic practice of associating righteous figures with God in supplication and worship under the pretext of seeking their intercession and nearness to God, which Islam opposed through the mandate of uncompromised monotheism (Ikhlas) .
Al-Alusi's method consists of citing each individual matter from the original text, explaining its textual proofs from the Quran and the Sunnah, clarifying its linguistic and conceptual nuances, and highlighting its relevance to contemporary practices and theological deviations observed in his own time .
Publication History
The commentary remained in manuscript form during al-Alusi's lifetime . In Safar 1347 AH, al-Alusi's student Muhammad Bahjat al-Athari brought the manuscript from Baghdad to Cairo and presented it as a gift to the publisher Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib . Al-Khatib printed and published the first edition through al-Matbaah al-Salafiyyah in Cairo in Rabi al-Awwal 1347 AH (1928 CE), dedicating the publication to Prince Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz .
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