Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Masail al-Najdiyya

Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Masail al-Najdiyya (A Collection of Najdi Treatises and Legal Responsa) is a multi-volume compendium of theological treatises, legal rulings (fatwas), and letters authored by prominent scholars of Najd, compiled and printed under the supervision of Muhammad Rashid Rida (1282–1354 AH / 1865–1935 CE) Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…+1.

Background and Publication

The compilation was published at Matba'at al-Manar in Cairo, Egypt, upon the order and patronage of Abdulaziz Al Saud, then King of the Hijaz and Najd and its dependencies Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…. The publication was issued as a religious endowment (waqf) dedicated to scholars and students of Islamic learning and prohibited from commercial sale Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…+1.

The printing of its different volumes occurred in installments during the 1340s AH; the first volume appeared in 1346 AH / 1928 CE, the third volume in 1345 AH, and the fourth in 1349 AH Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…+2. The texts were based on manuscript originals sent from Najd, including transcriptions produced by Najdi scribes such as Sulayman ibn Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn Majid in 1329 AH, with Rashid Rida supervising the proofreading, correction, and annotation of the material Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas….

Contents and Structure

The work is organized into distinct volumes and sections representing several generations of Najdi scholarship:

• Volume 1: Divided into three main sections:

  1. Treatises and fatwas by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his sons, such as Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…+1.
  2. Treatises and fatwas by the grandsons of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, notably Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Al al-Shaykh (d. 1285 AH) Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…+1.
  3. Treatises and fatwas by other leading Najdi scholars outside the immediate family, including Hamad ibn Nasir ibn Mu'ammar Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas….

• Volume 2: Arranged into three parts comprising Kitab al-Iman and writings by Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Al al-Shaykh, treatises and fatwas by Hamad ibn Nasir ibn Uthman ibn Mu'ammar, and legal responsa by Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman Aba Butayn (d. 1282 AH) Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas….

• Volume 3: Focuses on the works, treatises, and replies of Abd al-Latif ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Al al-Shaykh (1225–1292 AH), assembled by Sulayman ibn Sahman Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…. In editorial remarks, Rashid Rida noted that Ibn Sahman, who was blind, dictated the compilation and its prefaces without arranging the letters chronologically or systematically categorizing them into theological, jurisprudential, and historical subsections Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas….

• Later Volumes: Incorporate individual works and polemical writings, such as Al-Jawahir al-Madiyya by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab on creed and tawhid, Jawab Ahl al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya by Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in refutation of Zaydi interlocutors, and Bayan al-Mahajja fi al-Radd 'ala al-Lujja by Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas…+2. The collection also includes rulings by unnamed Najdi jurists on specific matters of Islamic jurisprudence, including divorce, oaths, sales, and prayer conditions Majmuat al-Rasail wal-Mas….