Risalat al-Tawhid al-Musamma bi Taqwiyat al-Iman
- Author died
- 1246 AH
- Editions
- دار وحي القلم
Risalat al-Tawhid al-Musamma bi Taqwiyat al-Iman (The Treatise on Monotheism Named "Strengthening of Faith"), widely known as Taqwiyat al-Iman, is a theological treatise on Islamic monotheism (tawhid) and the refutation of polytheistic practices (shirk) by the Indian scholar Ismail ibn Abd al-Ghani al-Dihlawi (d. 1246 AH / 1831 CE; also cited as d. 1243 AH) .
Purpose and Methodology
Al-Dihlawi composed the work originally in Urdu to reform religious practice among the Muslim masses of the Indian subcontinent, addressing the widespread drift toward customary innovations and polytheistic tendencies . The text focuses on calling Muslims to sincere devotion to God, warning against invoking intermediaries, and dismantling customs such as seeking aid from the deceased at shrines (istighatha), making vows to saintly figures, and assigning divine attributes to created beings . In doing so, al-Dihlawi drew direct parallels between contemporary saint veneration and the polytheism of pre-Islamic Arabia .
The book was written in an accessible, simple style tailored to general audiences rather than scholars . Its pedagogical method relies on presenting translations and straightforward explanations of Quranic verses and prophetic traditions—notably selections from the hadith compilation Mishkat al-Masabih—while intentionally avoiding intricate scholastic debates, technical legal deductions, and lengthy citations of commentaries .
Reception and Controversy
Taqwiyat al-Iman had an extensive impact across South Asia, becoming one of the most widely circulated and referenced reformist texts in the region .
However, the treatise generated fierce theological opposition from rival scholars:
- Critics, such as Fazl-i Rasul al-Bada'yuni in his polemical work Sayf al-Jabbar, alleged that al-Dihlawi obtained a copy of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab al-Tawhid in Muradabad and wrote Taqwiyat al-Iman merely as an Urdu adaptation or commentary on it—an allegation later rejected by defenders who emphasized the substantial divergence in method and presentation between the two works .
- Opponents derogatory altered the title to Tafwiyat al-Iman ("The Deprivation of Faith"), accusing the author of heresy and disrespecting the status of the Prophet Muhammad .
- Prominent detractors, including Ahmad Raza Khan, Jamal al-Din al-Ansari al-Laknawi, Abd al-Rahman al-Silhati, and Mahbub Ali al-Sunbhali, issued severe denunciations of the book; some of them declared al-Dihlawi and anyone who approved of Taqwiyat al-Iman to be outside the fold of Islam .
Arabic Translations
The text has been translated into Arabic under various initiatives, notably:
- An Arabic translation by the Indian scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi, published under the title Risalat al-Tawhid .
- A translation and rendering undertaken by Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi in Medina in Dhu al-Hijjah 1393 AH .
Answer updated