Wa Muhammadah In Shani'aka Huwa al-Abtar
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Wa Muhammadah In Shani'aka Huwa al-Abtar (وامحمداه إن شانئك هو الأبتر, "O Muhammad! Indeed, Your Enemy Is the One Cut Off") is an Arabic work authored by the contemporary Egyptian scholar Sayyid Husayn al-Affani, dedicated to defending the Prophet Muhammad and refuting his detractors throughout history.
Context and Purpose
The author completed the book on Monday, 27 Safar 1427 AH (27 March 2006 CE). Its composition was directly prompted by the publication of Danish editorial cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, an event al-Affani denounced as a malicious assault on the Prophet's honor. The title draws upon Surah al-Kawthar: إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ ("Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off"), reflecting the book's core premise that all opponents and revilers of the Prophet are ultimately severed from good and brought low. Al-Affani framed the work as an act of religious obligation to defend the Prophet and his Sunnah against disparagement.
Structure and Scope
The book serves as the first volume in al-Affani's broader encyclopedic series titled Sharāb al-Tasnīm ma‘a al-Nabī al-Karīm. In it, the author traces adversaries, slanders, and theological attacks directed against the Prophet Muhammad across historical eras:
- Early adversaries: The author details early opponents of the prophetic mission, starting with Abu Jahl (described as the "Pharaoh of this Ummah"), the Qurayshite leaders killed at the Battle of Badr, Jewish opponents such as Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, and rulers who showed disrespect to prophetic correspondence, such as Khosrow of Persia.
- False claimants to prophethood: It addresses historical figures who falsely claimed prophethood during and after the Prophet's lifetime, including Musaylimah and al-Aswad al-Ansi, as well as later sects that deviated from the finality of prophethood.
- Modern heterodox movements: The work reviews modern groups that challenge traditional Islamic doctrine regarding prophethood, specifically Babism, Baha'ism, and Qadianism.
- Western and Orientalist critiques: Al-Affani examines historical and modern statements made by Christian polemicists and Orientalists. Alongside these critiques, he notes the assessments of certain Western thinkers who acknowledged the Prophet's genius, heroism, and transformative impact on his people, even if they stopped short of affirming his divine revelation.
- Doctrinal matters: The book expounds upon the theological nullifiers of faith (nawāqiḍ al-īmān) associated with insulting or rejecting the Messenger of Allah.
Place within the Series
Wa Muhammadah In Shani'aka Huwa al-Abtar constitutes the opening title of al-Affani's seven-part thematic collection, followed by treatises focusing on the Prophet's unique virtues (al-Kawkab al-Durrī), noble character (Sharāb al-Tasnīm), physical and moral descriptions (Uns al-Muqarrabīn), proofs of prophethood and miracles (La’āli’ al-Biḥār), rights and responses to theological exaggeration (al-Aqwāl al-‘Āṭirāt), and poetic praises (al-Madā’iḥ al-Nadiyyah), alongside a separate three-volume biographical work (al-Ṭayyib al-Nadī).
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