Misbah al-Zalam fi al-Radd ala man Kadhaba al-Shaykh al-Imam wa Nasabahu ila Takfir Ahl al-Iman wa al-Islam
- Author died
- 1293 AH
- Editions
- Wizarat al-Shu'un al-Islamiyyah wa-al-Awqaf wa-al-Da'wah wa-al-Irshad
Misbah al-Zalam fi al-Radd ala man Kadhaba al-Shaykh al-Imam wa Nasabahu ila Takfir Ahl al-Iman wa al-Islam ("The Lamp in the Darkness in Refutation of the One Who Lied Against the Leading Shaykh and Attributed to Him the Excommunication of the People of Faith and Islam") is a single-volume theological polemic by the Hanbali scholar Abd al-Latif Al al-Shaykh (1225–1293 AH / 1810–1876 CE) . Written to defend his great-grandfather Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the work clarifies Wahhabi doctrinal positions on faith, polytheism, and the precise legal criteria for excommunication (takfir) .
Background and Purpose
The book was written in response to the Najdi scholar Uthman ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Mansur (d. 1282 AH) . Ibn Mansur had authored a treatise titled Jala' al-Ghummah an Takfir Hadhihi al-Ummah (also cited as Kashf al-Ghummah), in which he claimed that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab had declared the wider Muslim community to be apostates, rendered their blood and property permissible, and improperly branded centuries of Muslim practices as disbelief . Abd al-Latif undertook the composition of Misbah al-Zalam to dismantle these allegations point by point and demonstrate that his forebear followed classical scholarly consensus rather than extremist methodologies .
Content and Arguments
In the treatise, Abd al-Latif focuses extensively on the definition of Islam, the reality of monotheism (tawhid), and the boundaries of polytheism (shirk) . He refutes Ibn Mansur's assertion that merely professing the two testimonies of faith, praying, and fasting immunizes a person against committing major polytheism or leaving the fold of Islam .
Abd al-Latif addresses several key theological distinctions:
- The Concept of the Community (al-Ummah): He critiques Ibn Mansur for conflating the universal community addressed by the prophetic message (ummat al-da'wah) with the community that actively accepts and follows it (ummat al-ijabah), emphasizing that general Quranic references to the ummah include those who may fall into disbelief .
- Establishing Proof (Qiyam al-Hujjah): He argues that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab did not issue wholesale excommunication against individuals simply for performing acts of tomb veneration or supplication to saints without prior notification; rather, excommunication applied only after clear prophetic proof had reached the individual and been understood . He highlights that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab refrained from declaring takfir on ignorant grave-venerators when proper clarification had not been conveyed to them .
Manuscripts and Publication
A primary manuscript of the text is preserved at the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh (no. 86/508, originally held at the Saudi Library in Dar al-Ifta) . This copy was transcribed on 19 Jumada al-Ula 1289 AH by one of Abd al-Latif's students, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Salim, and contains the author's personal ownership inscription .
The work was printed in India, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia . Modern critical editions include those edited by Isma'il ibn Sa'd al-Atiq and Dr. Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah al-Zir Al Hamad .
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