Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kitab "Mustaiddin lil-Mujawaba" li Samir Murqus

Taqrir Ilmi: Radd ala Kitab "Mustaiddin lil-Mujawaba" li Samir Murqus (A Scholarly Report: A Refutation of the Book "Ready to Give an Answer" by Samir Murqus) is an Islamic polemical and apologetic booklet by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Imara (d. 1441 AH / 2020 CE), written to refute a Christian missionary tract Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita….

Background and Publication

The booklet was issued in Dhu al-Hijjah 1430 AH (November–December 2009 CE) as a gifted supplement to Majallat al-Azhar (Al-Azhar Magazine) Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…. Imara authored the study in his capacity as a member of the Islamic Research Academy at al-Azhar Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…+1.

The target of the critique was a 52-page tract titled Mustaiddin lil-Mujawaba ("Ready to Give an Answer"), attributed to a certain Dr. Samir Murqus, which circulated without an identified publisher, place of publication, date, or legal deposit number Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…. Imara characterized the tract as a missionary pamphlet rather than a standard book, arguing that its style embodied the evangelization strategies outlined at the 1978 Colorado Conference aimed at engaging Muslims from within Islamic cultural and scriptural terminology Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…+1. He also suspected the author's name to be a pseudonym, noting that no recognized Christian theological writer in Egypt bore that name, distinguishing the author from a well-known engineer of the same name who wrote exclusively on citizenship affairs rather than theology Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita….

Content and Structure

Imara outlines the structure of Mustaiddin lil-Mujawaba, which comprised an introduction on Christian methods of evangelism and dialogue alongside five chapters:

1. The authenticity of the Torah and the Gospel and their protection from textual corruption (tahrif).
2. The Gospel of Barnabas as a forged text.
3. Christianity as a monotheistic religion.
4. The doctrine of forgiveness and the necessity of redemption (fida').
5. Minor issues Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita….

In his rebuttal, Imara focuses primarily on three central theological axes:

• Biblical Integrity and Textual Corruption: Addressing the tract's claim that the Old and New Testaments have remained unaltered, presenting Islamic arguments and textual evidence for their corruption Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…+1.
• The Nature and Divinity of Christ: Refuting the Christian doctrine of the divinity of Jesus, his divine sonship, and his identification as the Word/Logos Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita….
• Prophetic Infallibility, Sin, and Miracles: Responding to arguments concerning the sinlessness of prophets, which the missionary tract had utilized to argue for the uniqueness and divinity of Jesus by denying miracles and absolute impeccability (‘isma) to other prophets Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…+1.

Imara also critiques the tract for allegedly misrepresenting classical Muslim scholars, such as Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (544–606 AH / 1150–1210 CE) and al-Baydawi (d. 691 AH / 1290 CE), accusing its author of distorting their writings to claim that Islamic scholarship affirmed the textual preservation of the Bible or supported the crucifixion and divinity of Jesus Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita….

Conclusions and Recommendations

At the conclusion of the report, Imara recommended banning the circulation of Mustaiddin lil-Mujawaba on the grounds that it provoked sectarian strife, disrespected prophets, and misrepresented the Quran and classical Islamic authorities Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita…. He likewise called for the wide publication of his refutation through Majallat al-Azhar to counter the tract's claims and uphold religious harmony between faiths Taqrir Ilmi Radd ala Kita….