Juhud Ulama al-Azhar fi Bayan Haqiqat Din al-Shia = al-Shia al-Wajh al-Akhar Shiqaq la Wifaq
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Juhud Ulama al-Azhar fi Bayan Haqiqat Din al-Shia: al-Shia al-Wajh al-Akhar Shiqaq la Wifaq (The Efforts of the Scholars of al-Azhar in Clarifying the Reality of the Religion of the Shi'a: Shi'ism, the Other Face—Discord, Not Concord) is a polemical treatise compiled by Shehata Saqr . The book compiles rulings, statements, and writings from prominent scholars and institutional bodies of al-Azhar to argue that orthodox Azhari scholarship historically and doctrinally rejects Twelver Shi'i theology and legal recognition .
Background and Purpose
The treatise was reviewed and prefaced by Dr. Muhammad Bakr Isma'il Habib, Professor of Usul al-Fiqh at al-Azhar University and Umm al-Qura University, who endorsed its contents in Rabi' al-Awwal 1430 AH / March 2009 CE . Saqr states that his primary objective in assembling the work was to counter claims that al-Azhar endorses Twelver Shi'ism as a valid "fifth school of law" (madhhab khamis) alongside the four Sunni schools . The author contends that pro-rapprochement (taqrib) initiatives misled certain Sunni figures through dissimulation (taqiyya), and that an examination of Azhari fatwas and literature demonstrates an enduring opposition to foundational Shi'i tenets .
Sources and Method
Saqr's work relies predominantly on Sunni source compilations, including the official compendium of al-Azhar and Egyptian Dar al-Ifta fatwas (Majmu' Fatawa al-Azhar), Nasir al-Qaffari's Mas'alat al-Taqrib bayna Ahl al-Sunnah wa-al-Shi'ah, materials from the Islamic research website al-Rased, and various institutional declarations from al-Azhar . The compilation organizes historical incidents, scholarly quotes, and legal verdicts sequentially to refute the notion of theological conciliation between Sunnism and Shi'ism .
Contents and Scholarly Positions
The treatise highlights statements and actions by prominent twentieth-century Egyptian scholars and Azhar leaders:
- Salim al-Bishri and al-Muraja'at: Saqr addresses the correspondence compiled in the Shi'i work al-Muraja'at by Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi, characterizing the book's attributed dialogue with former Grand Imam of al-Azhar Salim al-Bishri as a fabricated attribution .
- Mahmud Shaltut's Fatwa: The author examines the 1959 CE (1368 AH) fatwa issued by former Grand Imam Mahmud Shaltut permitting devotion according to the Ja'fari school, arguing that Shaltut was misled by proponents of the rapprochement movement without having thoroughly examined classical Shi'i doctrinal sources .
- Hasannayn Makhluf: The former Grand Mufti of Egypt is cited expressing opposition to teaching Shi'i jurisprudence at al-Azhar due to legal divergences, such as temporary marriage (nikah al-mut'ah), and disavowing an article promoting rapprochement that was falsely attributed to him in Shi'i collections .
- Gad al-Haq Ali Gad al-Haq: The work references the former Grand Imam's sponsorship of the official publication Bayan li-al-Nas min al-Azhar al-Sharif, which criticized Shi'i views on the Companions of the Prophet, and his commissioning of scholarly refutations against Shi'i polemical treatises .
- Atiyyah Saqr: The book quotes fatwas by the former head of the Azhar Fatwa Committee addressing Shi'i claims regarding the alteration of the Quran, the doctrine of the Mahdi's occultation, and attributing comprehensive knowledge of the unseen (ilm al-ghayb) to the Imams .
- Other Scholars and Institutional Actions: The text cites warnings issued by Muhammad Abu Zahrah on foreign philosophical influences in Shi'ism, statements by Senior Scholars Council member Muhammad Arafah resigning from the rapprochement society, and Dr. Abd al-Mun'im al-Nimr's dialogues with Iranian figures . It also records institutional decisions by the Islamic Research Academy in December 2006 to ban several Shi'i books and publications in Egypt .
The book concludes with a discussion asserting that classical Imami theological treatises formally declare non-Imamis, including Sunni scholars of al-Azhar, to be outside the fold of true faith due to their rejection of the doctrine of the Twelve Imams .
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