Idah al-Dalil fi Qat Hujaj Ahl al-Tatil
- Author died
- 733 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Salām lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nashr
Idah al-Dalil fi Qat Hujaj Ahl al-Tatil (Clarification of the Proof in Severing the Arguments of the People of Negation) is a theological treatise on Islamic creed (ilm al-tawhid) by the Shafi'i jurist and chief judge Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'ah (639–733 AH / 1241–1333 CE) .
Background and Purpose
In the introduction to the work, Ibn Jama'ah states that defending the faith and refuting heretical innovations is an obligatory duty . He observes that while the Mu'tazilite doctrine leading to divine divestment (ta'til) had largely vanished from his lands—leaving behind only its historical memory—anthropomorphism (tashbih), which leads to corporealism (tajsim) and indwelling (hulul), had spread among elements of the general public . He explains that this spread occurred because uncritical groups placed undue trust in individuals who claimed affiliation with prominent scholars, and because literalist anthropomorphism was easier for the lay imagination to grasp . The book was therefore composed to dismantle these anthropomorphic interpretations and clarify mainstream theological proofs .
Content and Theological Method
The treatise adopts an Ash'ari theological framework to address contested textual attributes (al-sifat al-khabariyya and al-fi'liyya) found in the Quran and hadith . Ibn Jama'ah gathers the scriptural prooftexts invoked by anthropomorphists and systematically subjects them to figurative interpretation (ta'wil) to negate corporealist implications . Among the specific matters and attributes he analyzes are:
- Spatial direction (jiha), divine highness ('uluww), and establishing over the Throne (istiwa') .
- Textual attributes such as divine coming (maji'), face (wajh), hands (yadayn), eye ('ayn), shin (saq), and foot (qadam) .
- Action-related descriptions such as divine descent (nuzul), laughter (dahik), joy (farah), and wonder ('ajab) .
Methodologically, Ibn Jama'ah notes that orthodox scholars fall into two approaches regarding ambiguous scriptural descriptions: proponents of figurative interpretation (ahl al-ta'wil) and proponents of consigning the ultimate meaning to God (ahl al-tafwid) . He favors and argues for ta'wil on several grounds, reasoning that if strict consignment were insisted upon, the communicative intent of the texts would be suspended and revelation would be reduced to unused, inert speech .
Publication
The work remained in manuscript form until it was edited by Wahbi Sulayman Ghawiji al-Albani and published in Cairo by Dar al-Salam in 1410 AH / 1990 CE .
Answer updated