Debate of Imam al-Rida (a) with Imran al-Sabi

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Imam al-Rida’s debate with ʿImran al-Sabi is a theological debate concerning God’s existence and attributes. The debate is cited in a hadith according to which Imam al-Rida (a) debated with prominent Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Sabian scholars at the request of al-Ma'mun the Abbasid caliph. In this conversation, the Sabian scholar 'Imran asks many questions about God, to which Imam al-Rida (a) replies.

According to the transmitter of this hadith, 'Imran al-Sabi finds Imam al-Rida’s replies convincing, cites the two testimonies, and converts to Islam. The hadith is cited in al-Tawhid and 'Uyun akhbar al-Rida by al-Shaykh al-Saduq (b. after 305/917-8 — d. 381/991-2).

Background of the Debate

Imam al-Rida’s debate with 'Imran al-Sabi is cited in a hadith in which his debate with scholars of other religions is reported.[1] Hasan b. Muhammad al-Nawfali, the immediate transmitter of the hadith, narrates the formation of the debate as follows: When Imam al-Rida (a) went from Medina to Merv to al-Ma'mun the Abbasid caliph, al-Ma'mun summoned scholars and theologians of different religions, including the Catholicos (the senior Christian scholar), the Exilarch or ra's al-jalut (the leader of the Jewish community), senior figures of Sabians, and Hirbidh (the great Zoroastrian priest), asking them to debate with Imam al-Rida (a).[2]

He then told Imam al-Rida (a) to attend the debate if he wished to do so. Imam al-Rida (a) accepted the request, and the next day he went to al-Ma'mun.[3] In this debate, Imam al-Rida (a) had debates with the Catholicos, the Exilarch, and Hirbidh, and after repudiating them,[4] he asked others to present their questions if they opposed Islam. At this time, 'Imran al-Sabi said that he had debated with many Muslim theologians in Kufa, Basra, Levant, and the Peninsula, but no one could convince him. He asked Imam al-Rida (a) to have a conversation with him, and the Imam (a) agreed.[5]

'Imran al-Sabi’s Questions

Main page: Text:Imam al-Rida's (a) Debate with Imran al-Sabi

In Imam al-Rida’s debate with 'Imran al-Sabi, 'Imran asked many questions concerning God, including:

  • What is the first entity in the being?[6]
  • Is that entity known by itself to itself?[7]
  • How is God's creation? What kinds of creation are there?[8]
  • Does God change when He creates?[9]
  • By what means do we know God's existence?[10]
  • What is God?[11]
  • Is God in the creatures or are creatures in God?[12]
  • Is God's unity (or oneness) known through knowledge of His essence or through knowledge of His attributes?[13]
  • In what is God located? Is He surrounded by anything? Does he change locations?[14]

The Debate’s Conclusion

According to Hasan b. Muhammad al-Nawfali, the narrator of this debate, when Imam al-Rida (a) answered all questions asked by 'Imran al-Sabi, he was convinced, saying that God is as described by Rida. He then asserted the two testimonies and converted to Islam. Moreover, Imam al-Rida (a) invited 'Imran for dinner in his house, giving him clothes, a vehicle, and ten thousand dirhams as gifts.[15]

According to this hadith, after the debate, different theologians went to 'Imran al-Sabi, debated with him, and he defeated them in all those debates. After this, al-Ma'mun gave him ten thousand dirhams, and Imam al-Rida (a) appointed him as the collector of charities in Balkh.[16]

Sources of the Hadith

The text of the debate was first cited by al-Shaykh al-Saduq (b. after 305/917-8 — d. 381/991-2) in his al-Tawhid[17] and 'Uyun akhbar al-Rida (a).[18] A summary of the debate is cited in al-Ihtijaj by Ahmad b. 'Ali al-Tabrisi (alive in the sixth/twelfth century).[19] It was also cited in al-'Allama al-Majlisi’s Bihar al-anwar as quoted from the two books by al-Shaykh al-Saduq.[20]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 417-441; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 154-175.
  2. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 417-441; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 154-155.
  3. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 420-430; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 156-168.
  4. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 417-441; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 154-175.
  5. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 430; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 168.
  6. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 169.
  7. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 169.
  8. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 170.
  9. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 171.
  10. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 171.
  11. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 171.
  12. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 173.
  13. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 172.
  14. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 176.
  15. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 441; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 178.
  16. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 441; Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 178.
  17. ↑ Ṣadūq, al-Tawḥīd, p. 417-441.
  18. ↑ Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 1, p. 154-175.
  19. ↑ Ṭabrisī, al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, p. 415-425.
  20. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 10, p. 299-318.

References

  • Khusrawīyān Qullihzū, Jaʿfar. Barrasī wa taḥlīl-i sanad-i munāẓirāt-i Imām Riḍā (a) dar Irāq wa Khurāsān. In Pazhūhish-hā-yi Qurʾān wa Ḥadīth 1 (1397 Sh).
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār al-jāmiʿa li-durar akhbār al-aʾimmat al-aṭhār. Third edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Tawḥīd. Printed by Hāshim Ḥusaynī. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1398 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā. Edited by Mahdī Lājiwardī. Tehran: Nashr-i Jahān, 1378 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Iḥtijāj ʿalā ahl al-lijāj. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Khirsān. Mashhad: Nashr-i Murtaḍā, 1403 AH.
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