Rudud Ahl al-Ilm ala al-Tainin fi Hadith al-Sihr
- Author died
- 1422 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Āthār lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Rudud Ahl al-Ilm ala al-Tainin fi Hadith al-Sihr (The Refutations of the People of Knowledge Against Those Who Attack the Hadith of Magic) is a polemical treatise on Hadith and creed by the Yemeni Salafi scholar Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadii (d. 1422 AH / 2001 CE) . The work defends the authenticity of the prophetic tradition concerning the bewitchment of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and refutes classical and modern rationalist objections to it .
Context and Purpose
The treatise is formally titled Rudud Ahl al-Ilm ala al-Tainin fi Hadith al-Sihr wa-Bayan Bu'd Muhammad Rashid Rida 'an al-Salafiyya (The Refutations of the People of Knowledge Against Those Who Attack the Hadith of Magic, and Clarifying the Distance of Muhammad Rashid Rida from Salafism) . Al-Wadii composed it to defend the hadith narrated by Aisha in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, which states that a Jewish man named Labid ibn al-A'sam from Banu Zurayq cast a spell on the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Al-Wadii wrote the book to counter both historical Mu'tazilite-leaning criticisms and modern rationalist thinkers who rejected or weakened the report on the grounds that it compromises prophetic infallibility (ismah) . He directs his critique specifically against modern figures such as Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, and Muhammad Rashid Rida, arguing that despite Rashid Rida's reputation among some circles as a defender of Sunnah, his rejection of such canonical narrations reflects Mu'tazilite rationalism rather than the creed of the Salaf .
Content and Method
The work compiles narrations, chains of transmission, and classical scholarly treatises to establish the sound basis of the hadith and answer ideological challenges :
- Textual Transmission: Al-Wadii presents the hadith along with its supporting chains through companions such as Aisha, Ibn Abbas, and Zayd ibn Arqam, citing its documentation in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and other canonical compilations .
- Classical Refutations: The author excerpts defenses from classical scholars, including Ibn Qutaybah in Ta'wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith and Qadi Iyad, demonstrating that the magic affected only the Prophet's ﷺ physical body as a transient earthly affliction—comparable to illness, fever, or poison—without impairing his intellect, creed, or reception and delivery of divine revelation .
- Critique of Opponents: He reviews the arguments of early deniers, particularly the Hanafi jurist Abu Bakr al-Jassas in Ahkam al-Quran, alongside modern treatments by Muhammad Abduh in Tafsir Juz Amma and Rashid Rida in Majallat al-Manar . Al-Wadii draws on contemporary research, including Fahd al-Rumi's Manhaj al-Madrasa al-Aqliyya al-Haditha fi al-Tafsir, to illustrate how modern rationalist exegetes reinterpreted or cast doubt on established miracles and hadiths .
Publication
The first edition of the work was published by Dar al-Sahaba in Tanta (1409 AH) . Following the exhaustion of the first print, al-Wadii issued a second edition containing additional notes and expansions, published by Dar al-Athar in Sanaa (1420 AH / 2000 CE) . It was also published by Dar al-Haramayn in Cairo .
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