Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim al-Kafiya al-Shafiya
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- T Maktabat Ibn Taymiyya · Ta Atayat al-Ilm
Al-Kafiya al-Shafiya fi al-Intisar lil-Firqa al-Najiyya (commonly known as Nuniyyat Ibn al-Qayyim) is an extensive didactic poem on Islamic creed composed by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE), dedicated to defending traditional Sunni theology and refuting opposing theological schools .
Title and Transmission
The work is most commonly titled al-Kafiya al-Shafiya fi al-Intisar lil-Firqa al-Najiyya ("The Sufficient and Healing [Poem] in Aiding the Saved Sect"), as recorded by al-Safadi, Ibn Taghribirdi, and al-Suyuti . Variant phrasings appear in other historical sources: the Zahiriyya manuscript records the title as al-Shafiya al-Kafiya, a wording also transmitted by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, al-Dawudi, and Nu'man al-Alusi, while Ibn al-Qayyim referred to it as al-Shafiya wa-l-Kafiya in his Ijtima' al-Juyush al-Islamiyya .
The poem was transmitted directly from the author in Damascus; Ibn Rajab recorded that he heard the work when his father read it aloud to Ibn al-Qayyim six months prior to the latter's death .
Structure and Content
The work is a long poem rhymed in the letter nun (hence known as a nuniyya) comprising approximately six thousand verses . Ibn al-Qayyim structured the poem around the affirmation of Sunni creed based on scriptural revelation and rational arguments, while systematically critiquing non-traditional theological currents .
The poem covers several major theological and polemical areas:
- Divine Names and Attributes: Establishing the affirmation of God's attributes (sifat)—including divine transcendence (uluww), ascension over the Throne (istiwa'), and speech (kalam)—as realities understood literally and linguistically, while rejecting figurative interpretation (ta'wil) and negation (ta'til) .
- Refutation of Opposing Sects: Critiquing the doctrines of the Jahmiyya, Mu'tazila, Ash'ariyya, Kullabiyya, Murji'a, Mujbira, Rafida, Haruriyya, and monistic existentialists (al-Wujudiyya) .
- Defense of Ibn Taymiyya: Praising his teacher Ibn Taymiyya and recommending his writings, including Dar' Ta'arud al-Aql wa-l-Naql and Minhaj al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya, as decisive refutations of philosophical theology and Shi'ism .
- Eschatological Description of Paradise: Dedicating extensive verses to the description of Paradise (wasf al-janna), its gates, tiers, rivers, and the maidens (hur al-iyn) prepared for the believers .
Reception and Polemics
The poem generated significant acclaim among followers of the Salafi and Hanbali traditions as an encapsulation of creed, while also drawing sharp theological opposition . Notable refutations and attacks on the work and its author were penned by the Shafi'i jurist Taqi al-Din al-Subki (d. 756 AH) and later by the Hanafi scholar Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari (d. 1371 AH) .
Several commentaries have been composed on the text, including:
- Tawdih al-Maqasid wa-Tashih al-Qawa'id by the Najdi scholar Ahmad ibn Ibrahim ibn Isa (d. 1329 AH), published in two volumes .
- Sharh al-Qasida al-Nuniyya by Muhammad Khalil Harras, published in two volumes by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya .
A critical academic edition of the poem was prepared from four master's theses at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Arifi, Nasir al-Hunaini, Abd Allah al-Huthayl, and Fahd al-Musa'id, coordinated by Muhammad Ajmal al-Islahi under the general supervision of Bakr Abu Zayd, utilizing seven manuscripts .
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