Mukhtasar Izhar al-Haqq
- Author died
- 1308 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mukhtasar Izhar al-Haqq (Abridgment of The Demonstration of the Truth) is a twentieth-century abridgment of the classical Islamic polemical work Izhar al-Haqq by Rahmat Allah al-Hindi (d. 1308 AH / 1891 CE), prepared by Dr. Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Abd al-Qadir Khalil Malkawi .
Background and Composition
After publishing a critical edition of the unabridged Izhar al-Haqq in four volumes in 1410 AH / 1989 CE based on the author's two manuscripts, Malkawi was urged by colleagues and Dr. Abd Allah ibn Ahmad al-Zayd—Assistant Undersecretary for Press and Publication Affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da'wah and Guidance—to produce a condensed version . The objective was to present the arguments of the original work in a accessible, single volume with clear phrasing that would facilitate translation into other languages and provide a defense against Christian missionary polemics . Malkawi completed the abridgment on 1 Muharram 1415 AH / 10 June 1994 CE in Riyadh .
Structure and Editorial Method
The original work by Rahmat Allah al-Hindi was structured around an introduction and six chapters addressing the main disputation points between Muslims and Christian missionaries . In the abridgment, Malkawi condensed and reorganized the material:
- Introduction: Outlines essential preliminary observations regarding Protestant scholarship, the variation between different editions of biblical texts, and the criteria for identifying textual alterations .
- First Chapter: Combines the original work's first three chapters into a single part addressing the names and enumeration of the books of the Old and New Testaments, the absence of continuous chains of transmission (asanid) and divine inspiration for them, the presence of textual discrepancies and alterations (tahrif), and the occurrence of abrogation (naskh) .
- Second Chapter: Focuses on refuting the doctrine of the Trinity (ibtal al-tathlith) through rational proofs, textual statements attributed to Jesus, and critiques of arguments for the divinity of Christ .
- Third Chapter: Establishes that the Quran is the miraculous word of God and defends both the Quran and prophetic traditions (hadith) against missionary objections .
In editing the text, Malkawi introduced supplementary historical data, identified referenced authors and their dates of death, clarified ancient and modern place names, added vocalization marks to prevent mispronunciation, corroborated biblical citations across multiple editions, and reorganized certain passages for enhanced clarity .
Answer updated