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al-Ihlilaja
File:Kitab al-Ihlilaja.jpg
AuthorImam al-Sadiq (a)
Original titleTawḥīd al-Ihlīlaja
Working titleal-Ihlilaj • al-Hulaylaja
LanguageArabic
SubjectTawhid
Published2006
PublisherDalil-i Ma (Hazrat Ma'sumeh Publications)
English translation


al-Ihlīlaja is a book attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a) that addresses the subject of proving the existence of God and His oneness. This work was written as a letter to Mufaddal b. 'Umar in response to doubts raised regarding Tawhid. The content of the book is a report of a debate between Imam al-Sadiq (a) and an Indian physician concerning the proof of the existence of God, His unity, and some of the divine attributes.

Manuscripts of this work are kept in the Vatican Library and Princeton University, and some Shi'a scholars have recommended its study.

Description and Status

al-Ihlilaja is a book in Arabic attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a).[1] This book was written in response to a letter from Mufaddal b. 'Umar al-Ju'fi.[2] In his letter, Mufaddal requested the Imam (a) to respond to blasphemous doubts raised in society.[3] In this work, Imam al-Sadiq (a) provided a report of his debate with an Indian physician[4] regarding the proofs of the existence of the One Creator.[5]

According to al-Sayyid b. Tawus, this book includes ways to prove the existence of God and to know Him.[6] He recommended the study of this book and the use of its content to his son[7] and emphasized carrying it during travel.[8]

Attribution to Imam al-Sadiq (a)

There are different views regarding the attribution of the book to Imam al-Sadiq (a). Its thematic similarity with Tawhid al-Mufaddal, which is also attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (a), has led some researchers to consider the two works as one.[9] In contrast, some consider this book to be the result of the Imam's (a) oral dictation to Mufaddal and have counted it among the works of Mufaddal.[10] al-Majlisi in Bihar al-anwar narrated that some Sunni scholars have also attributed this book to Imam al-Sadiq (a).[11] He cited the similarity in the writing style of Tawhid al-Mufaddal and al-Ihlilaja as a reason for this attribution.[12]

The repetition of the name of the myrobalan plant (ihlilaja or halila) in the text of the book caused it to be so named.[13] Ibn al-Nadim referred to this work by the title al-Hulaylaja and did not accept its attribution to Imam al-Sadiq (a).[14] This report is considered among the oldest mentions of this work.[15]

Some have attributed the book to individuals such as Isma'il b. Mihran, one of the companions of Imam al-Rida (a), Hamdan b. al-Mu'afi, one of the companions of Imam al-Kazim (a) and Imam al-Rida (a),[16] and Dawud b. Kathir al-Raqqi, one of the companions of Imam al-Kazim (a), Imam al-Rida (a), and Imam al-Sadiq (a).[17] Some researchers have suggested that these individuals were among the narrators of al-Ihlilaja and that attributing the book to them was a matter of leniency in attribution.[18]

Content

The topics raised in this book are divided into three sections:

  • Proof of the existence of God: In this section, medical sciences and astronomy are discussed, and the role of reason in understanding realities is emphasized. It also addresses the issue of the invalidity of infinite regress and the impossibility of self-creation of things, attributing the origin of some sciences, including medicine and astronomy, to the prophets (a).
  • Proof of the oneness of the Creator of the universe.
  • Description of the attributes of God.[19]

Some researchers have considered the details discussed in this book to be contrary to reason and traditions, suggesting that content might have been added to the text and citing the existence of different manuscripts of this book as support for this possibility.[20] This view has been criticized and rejected by other researchers.[21]

Manuscripts, Publication, and Translation

An image of the text of al-Ihlilaja, referred to as Hadith al-Ihlilaj, written within another book as a manuscript.

In the introduction to this book, Qays 'Attar considered the oldest known manuscript of it to be a copy in the Ayatollah Golpayegani Library, written in Naskh script. This manuscript is considered a copy of a text transcribed in 712/1312-13.[22] 'Allama al-Majlisi quoted part of the text of this book in the section on Tawhid in Bihar al-anwar and commented on it.[23] According to reports, two manuscripts of this book are kept in the Vatican Library and one in the Princeton University Library.[24]

Among the publications of this book, the edition by Dalil-i Ma was published with the research of Qays 'Attar and along with the commentary of 'Allama al-Majlisi.[25] This work was translated into Persian by Sayyid Muhammad Musawi and published by Hazrat Ma'sumeh Publications in Qom under the title Kitab Ihlilaja.[26] Other translations and works have also been reported for this book, including:

  • Jami' al-ma'arif, Tabriz edition, 1922 (Lithograph)
  • al-Dala'il al-jalila, Persian translation and commentary by Miraqa b. Kazim Aqazahidi
  • Hadith-i Ihlilaja, written by Zayn al-'Abidin b. Husayn Kazimi Khalkhali (1911-1986)
  • Gul-i Ja'fari; written by Muhammad Tusi Mashhadi (1878)
  • Translation by Muhammad Rida Kalbasi Isfahani[27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Āqā Buzurg al-Ṭihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 484.
  2. ↑ Aḥmadī Miyānjī, Makātīb al-Aʾimma, 1426 AH, vol. 4, pp. 27-28.
  3. ↑ Āqā Buzurg al-Ṭihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 484.
  4. ↑ Āqā Buzurg al-Ṭihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 484.
  5. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 3, p. 55.
  6. ↑ Ibn Tāwūs, Amān al-akhṭār, 1409 AH, p. 91.
  7. ↑ Ibn Tāwūs, Kashf al-maḥajja li-thamrat al-muhja, 1375 Sh, p. 51.
  8. ↑ Ibn Tāwūs, Amān al-akhṭār, 1409 AH, p. 91.
  9. ↑ Ḥājj Manūchihrī, “Arziyābī az āthār-i muntisab bi Imām Ṣādiq (1),” Ofogh Andisheh.
  10. ↑ Muẓaffar, “Muqaddima,” in Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal, p. 5.
  11. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 1, p. 32.
  12. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 1, p. 32.
  13. ↑ Ḥājj Manūchihrī, “Arziyābī az āthār-i muntisab bi Imām Ṣādiq (1),” Ofogh Andisheh.
  14. ↑ Ibn al-Nadīm, al-Fihrist, 1417 AH, p. 386.
  15. ↑ Ḥājj Manūchihrī, “Arziyābī az āthār-i muntisab bi Imām Ṣādiq (1),” Ofogh Andisheh.
  16. ↑ ʿAṭṭār, “Muqaddima,” in Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, p. 41.
  17. ↑ ʿAṭṭār, “Muqaddima,” in Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, p. 42.
  18. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 1, p. 32; ʿAṭṭār, “Muqaddima,” in Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, p. 43.
  19. ↑ ʿAṭṭār, “Muqaddima,” in Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, 1385 Sh, p. 43.
  20. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 3, p. 56.
  21. ↑ ʿAṭṭār, “Muqaddima,” in Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, 1385 Sh, pp. 48-51.
  22. ↑ ʿAṭṭār, “Muqaddima,” in Kitāb al-Ihlīlaja, p. 55.
  23. ↑ Āqā Buzurg al-Ṭihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 2, p. 484.
  24. ↑ Markaz al-Malik Fayṣal, Khizānat al-turāth, vol. 83, p. 235.
  25. ↑ Imām al-Ṣādiq (a), al-Ihlīlaja, 1385 Sh, p. 4.
  26. ↑ “Silsila-yi mubāḥathāt-i iʿtiqādī 1- Tawḥīd-i Ihlīlaja,” Dalil-i Ma.
  27. ↑ Mardī, “al-Ihlīlaja,” Hadith.net.

References

  • Āqā Buzurg al-Ṭihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-Shīʿa. Beirut: Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Aḥmadī Miyānjī, ʿAlī. Makātīb al-Aʾimma. Edited by Mujtabā Farajī. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1426 AH.
  • ʿAṭṭār, Qays. “Muqaddima.” In al-Ihlīlaja. Qom: Dalīl-i Mā, 1385 Sh.
  • Imām al-Ṣādiq (a). al-Ihlīlaja. Edited by Qays ʿAṭṭār. Qom: Dalīl-i Mā, 1385 Sh.
  • Ibn al-Nadīm. al-Fihrist. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1417 AH.
  • Ibn Tāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. al-Amān min akhṭār al-asfār wa-l-azmān. Edited by Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt. Qom: Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt, 1409 AH.
  • Ibn Tāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Kashf al-maḥajja li-thamrat al-muhja. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥassūn. Qom: Būstān-i Kitāb, 1375 Sh.
  • Ḥājj Manūchihrī. “Arziyābī az āthār-i muntisab bi Imām Ṣādiq (1).” Ofogh Andisheh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Edited by a group of researchers. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Mardī, ʿAbbās ʿAlī. “al-Ihlīlaja.” Hadith.net.
  • Markaz al-Malik Fayṣal. Khizānat al-turāth. Riyadh: Markaz al-Malik Fayṣal li-l-Buḥūth wa-l-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya, n.d.
  • Muẓaffar, Kāẓim. “Muqaddima.” In Tawḥīd al-Mufaḍḍal. Written by Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar. Qom: Dāwarī, n.d.
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