Maqamat Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan
- Author died
- 1285 AH
- Editions
- مكتبة دار الهداية
Maqamat Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan (al-Maqamat) is a 19th-century theological and historical treatise written by the Najdi Hanbali scholar Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan Al al-Shaykh (1193–1285 AH / 1779–1868 CE) to refute the polemics of Uthman ibn Mansur (d. 1282 AH) against the Najdi reform movement.
Background and Purpose
The treatise was composed in response to assertions advanced by Uthman ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Mansur al-Nasiri al-Tamimi, who challenged the legitimacy of the call of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Ibn Mansur claimed that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab had not formally trained under recognized scholars of religious knowledge, adopting arguments transmitted from scholars opposed to the movement, namely Ibn Sanad, Ibn Jadid, and Muhammad ibn Sallum. Furthermore, Ibn Mansur argued that the Ottoman Empire's conquest of Najd and the destruction of Diriyah—the capital of the First Saudi State—by the campaigns of Ibrahim Pasha served as proof of the doctrinal error and misguidance of the Najdi scholars. Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan wrote the work as a defense of the movement's creed and a historical vindication of its leadership.
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into nine discourses (maqamat) combining polemical rebuttal and historiography. Within the text, the author addresses several main points:
- Scholarly Lineage of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab: The author documents the early education and travels of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, outlining his studies in Najd, his journey to Basra—where he drafted Kitab al-Tawhid ("The Book of Monotheism") using hadith collections from its academies—and his studies in al-Ahsa under scholars such as Abd Allah ibn Fayruz and the judge Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Latif. He also details his subsequent pilgrimage, his stay in Medina where he studied hadith under Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi, and his alliance with Imam Muhammad ibn Saud in Diriyah.
- Rebuttal of Ibn Mansur: The author criticizes Ibn Mansur's reliance on figures hostile to the movement and highlights that Ibn Mansur had previously requested and received a formal certificate of transmission (ijaza) in hadith from Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan himself, before his opposition became apparent.
- Historical Defense: The work addresses the wars between the Najdi state and the Ottoman-Egyptian forces, rejecting the notion that military defeat implies religious invalidity and contextualizing the trials faced by the reformers in light of prophetic history.
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