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Husniyya
Strong debate in proving the succession of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)
A Persian work regarding Husniyya's debate with Sunni scholars proving the succession of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)
A Persian work regarding Husniyya's debate with Sunni scholars proving the succession of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)
Well-known AsHusniyya
Religious AffiliationShi'a
Places of ResidenceBaghdad and Medina
EraAbbasid


Husniyya (Arabic: حُسنيّة) is identified as a learned Shi'a woman, renowned for her debates with Sunni scholars in the court of Harun al-Rashid. [cite_start]In these theological exchanges, she is credited with establishing key doctrines such as the virtues of Imam 'Ali (a), the Infallibility of the Imams, the succession of Imam 'Ali (a), and Lady Fatima's (a) rightful ownership of Fadak[cite: 1, 3, 4].

It is reported that Husniyya began her life as a slave girl owned by a merchant in Baghdad. She reportedly served Imam al-Sadiq (a) for ten years, commencing at the age of five. [cite_start]Following twenty years of study in Shi'a sciences, she traveled to Medina to spend the remainder of her life in the service of Imam al-Rida (a)[cite: 1].

Abu l-Futuh al-Razi is considered the first scholar to narrate the account of Husniyya's debate with Sunni scholars; however, some bibliographers have cast doubt on this attribution. [cite_start]Noting the absence of this narrative in 6th/12th-century sources and its subsequent appearance in texts from the 10th/16th century onwards, some researchers argue that the story is likely a fabrication[cite: 1]. This probability is further supported by discrepancies regarding the translators of the Arabic version of the debate. [cite_start]Some scholars suggest the narrative was composed during the Safavid era, modeled after the story of the "Tawdudi slave girl." [cite: 1]

Over 110 manuscript and printed copies of Husniyya's dialogues are preserved in libraries. The work has been translated into Persian, Urdu, and Turkish. [cite_start]Notably, portions of the text were translated into English by Sir John Malcolm in the 18th century[cite: 1]. [cite_start]In Iran, Husniyya's debate has also inspired film productions and novels[cite: 1].

Introduction of Husniyya and Her Debate with Sunni Scholars

Husniyya is characterized as a scholarly Shi'a woman, although her exact identity remains a subject of disagreement. [cite_start]Sources describe her as the slave girl of a Baghdad merchant who was a devotee of Imam al-Sadiq (a)[cite: 1].[1] It is said that she entered the service of Imam al-Sadiq (a) at the age of five, acquiring knowledge of Shi'a sciences and teachings during her tenure[cite: 1].[2]

[cite_start]Researchers state that Husniyya served Imam al-Sadiq (a) for ten years, followed by twenty years[3] devoted to the study of hadith and commentary, during which she posed complex questions to the Imam[cite: 1].[4] Driven by poverty and at Husniyya's own suggestion, her owner brought her to the court of Harun al-Rashid to be sold. [cite_start]Due to her mastery of debate, her price was set at one hundred thousand gold coins [cite: 1][cite_start].[5] Following her successful debate, she and her owner traveled from Baghdad to Medina, where she spent the rest of her life serving Imam al-Rida (a)[cite: 1].[6]

[cite_start]Reports indicate that Husniyya triumphed over Sunni scholars in a debate session convened by Harun al-Rashid,[7] discussing over eighty distinct issues[cite: 1].[8] Her arguments were reportedly so compelling that some attendees converted to her school of thought[cite: 1].[9]

According to the book of Husniyya, the debate topics addressed before Harun al-Rashid included eliciting admissions regarding the virtues of Imam 'Ali (a),[10] the legitimacy of Imam 'Ali (a),[11] the Prophet's (s) designation of a successor,[12] the Infallibility of the prophets,[13] the Infallibility of the Imams,[14] the Event of Saqifa Bani Sa'ida,[15] the lack of consensus in the election of the first caliph,[16] the forced allegiance of Imam 'Ali (a),[17] the Account of Fadak,[18] the Martyrdom of Lady Fatima (a), the Burial Place of Lady Fatima (a),[19] and the Event of Karbala[cite: 1].[20]

Doubt Regarding the Authenticity of Husniyya's Story

Abu l-Futuh al-Razi is credited with being the first to narrate the account of Husniyya's debate with Sunni scholars;[21] however, prominent Shi'a bibliographers and catalogers, including 'Abd Allah al-Afandi,[22] Aqa Buzurg Tihrānī,[23] and Khan Baba Mushar,[24] have questioned this attribution[cite: 1].

Researchers argue that the story is likely apocryphal due to its absence in 6th/12th-century sources such as al-Naqd by 'Abd al-Jalil al-Qazwini al-Razi[25] and al-Fihrist by Muntajab al-Din al-Razi. The narrative first appears in sources from the 10th/16th century onwards, such as Rawdat al-jannat[26] by Muhammad Baqir al-Khwansari.[27] Given the significant chronological gap between Abu l-Futuh al-Razi and the purported debate, along with the lack of cited narrators, the attribution to him is considered improbable[cite: 1].[28]

Furthermore, the observation that many Shi'a theological arguments found in later texts mirror those in Husniyya's debate reinforces the likelihood of fabrication.[29] Some researchers propose that because the Arabic text has never been located—only Persian translations exist in Iranian and international libraries—the original story may have been composed in Persian and falsely attributed to an Arabic source to enhance its prestige[cite: 1].[30]

Historical accounts regarding the text's provenance are also inconsistent. Some claim Wali-Allah Astrabadi brought the Arabic version from Damascus to Iran in 958/1551 and translated it into Persian, while other accounts identify Amir Diya' al-Din as the translator.[31] These discrepancies further undermine the story's authenticity.[32] Muhammad Taqi Danishpazhuh, a noted Shi'a bibliographer, argues on historical grounds that the Husniyya narrative was created during the Safavid era,[33] modeled upon the story of the "Tawdudi slave girl" and Harun al-Rashid[cite: 1].[34][35]

An old book about Husniyya's debate with Sunni scholars

More than 110 manuscript and printed copies of Husniyya's dialogues are held in libraries within Iran and abroad.[36] Researchers estimate that the book Mukalimat-i Husniyya has been printed approximately 30 times, either as an independent volume or included within other works. Mulla Ibrahim b. [cite_start]Wali-Allah Astrabadi completed a Persian translation of the text in 958/1551[cite: 1].[37]

Additionally, Sayyid Inayat Husayn Pihrsari and Sayyid Zeeshan Haider Jawadi translated the treatise of Husniyya into Urdu,[38] and a Turkish translation was produced in 1298/1880-81.[39] According to Bujnurdi in the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, excerpts of Mukalimat-i Husniyya were translated by the British historian Sir John Malcolm in the 18th century, with numerous reprints issued in Tehran between 1242/1826-27 and 1359/1940-41[cite: 1].[40]

Film and Novel

[cite_start]Husniyya's debate with Sunni scholars has inspired various cultural and artistic adaptations in Iran, including a draft for a feature film[41] and the publication of a novel[cite: 1].[42]

Notes

  1. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. [cite_start]5.
  2. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 85.
  3. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, pp. 5-7.
  4. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 87.
  5. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, pp. 5-7.
  6. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 121.
  7. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, pp. 8-20.
  8. ↑ Ḥassūn, Aʿlām al-nisāʾ al-muʾmināt, 1421 AH, p. 341; Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 22; Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. [cite_start]45.
  9. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 121.
  10. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 17.
  11. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 19.
  12. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 22.
  13. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 23.
  14. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 33.
  15. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 72.
  16. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 70.
  17. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 81.
  18. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 98.
  19. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. [cite_start]109.
  20. ↑ Rāzī, Ḥusniyya, 1386 SH, p. 116.
  21. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 37.
  22. ↑ Afandī, Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ, 1401 AH, vol. 2, p. 159.
  23. ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 7, p. 20.
  24. ↑ Mushār, Fihrist-i kitābhā-yi chāpī-yi fārsī, Tehran, 1350 SH, vol. 1, p. [cite_start]1290.
  25. ↑ Dhakāwatī, "Dāstān-i Ḥusniyya", p. 8.
  26. ↑ Khwānsārī, Rawḍāt al-jannāt fī aḥwāl al-ʿulamāʾ wa-l-sādāt, 1349 SH, vol. 2, p. 317.
  27. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. [cite_start]37.
  28. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 37.
  29. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. [cite_start]45.
  30. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 43.
  31. ↑ "Fihrist-i nuskha-hā-yi khaṭṭī-yi Dānishkada-yi Adabiyyāt-i Tihrān", pp. 209-210.
  32. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 46.
  33. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 37; "Fihrist-i nuskha-hā-yi khaṭṭī-yi Dānishkada-yi Adabiyyāt-i Tihrān", p. [cite_start]210.
  34. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 37; Dhakāwatī, "Dāstān-i Ḥusniyya", pp. 8-9.
  35. ↑ Bujnūrdī, Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i buzurg-i islāmī, 1373 SH, vol. 6, p. 114.
  36. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 44.
  37. ↑ Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, al-Dharīʿa, 1403 AH, vol. 4, p. 97; Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 40.
  38. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. 43.
  39. ↑ Nūrī, Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, 1384 SH, p. [cite_start]43.
  40. ↑ Bujnūrdī, Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i buzurg-i islāmī, 1373 SH, vol. 6, p. 114.
  41. ↑ "Riwayat-i zindagī-yi Ḥusniyya dar Sīmā Fīlm", IRNA website.
  42. ↑ "Zindagī-yi shāgird-i Imām Ṣādiq (a) mawḍūʿ-i yak rumān shud", Tasnim website.

References

  • ["Riwayat-i zindagī-yi Ḥusniyya dar Sīmā Fīlm"]. IRNA website. December 6, 2008.
  • ["Zindagī-yi shāgird-i Imām Ṣādiq (a) mawḍūʿ-i yak rumān shud"]. Tasnim website. April 15, 2017.
  • Āqā Buzurg Tihrānī, Muḥammad Muḥsin. al-Dharīʿa ilā taṣānīf al-shīʿa. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥusaynī Ashkivarī. Beirut: 1403/1983.
  • Afandī, ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿĪsā. Riyāḍ al-ʿulamāʾ wa ḥiyāḍ al-fuḍalāʾ. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥusaynī Ashkivarī and Maḥmūd Marʿashī. Qom: Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi, 1401/1981.
  • Ḥassūn, Muḥammad and Umm ʿAlī Mashkūr. Aʿlām al-nisāʾ al-muʾmināt. Tehran: Uswa, 1421/2000-01.
  • Khwānsārī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Rawḍāt al-jannāt fī aḥwāl al-ʿulamāʾ wa-l-sādāt. Edited by Asad-Allāh Ismāʿīliyān. Qom: Ismāʿīliyān, 1349 SH.
  • Dānishpazhūh, Muḥammad Taqī. "Fihrist-i nuskha-hā-yi khaṭṭī-yi Dānishkada-yi Adabiyyāt-i Tihrān". In Journal of the Faculty of Letters and Humanities, University of Tehran, no. 1, October 1960.
  • Dhakāwatī Qarāguzlū, ʿAlī Riḍā. "Dāstān-i Ḥusniyya". In Nashr-i Dānish, no. 26, February and March 1985.
  • Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī. Ḥusniyya: sharḥ-i munāẓarāt-i bānū-ī az shāgirdān-i Imām Ṣādiq (a). Edited by Muḥammad Farbūdī. Qom: Baqiyat Allah, 1386 SH.
  • Fattāl al-Nayshābūrī, Muḥammad b. Aḥmad. Rawḍat al-wāʿiẓīn wa baṣīrat al-mutaʿaẓẓīn. Qom: Raḍī, first edition, 1375/1996.
  • Mushār, Khān Bābā. Fihrist-i kitābhā-yi chāpī-yi fārsī. Tehran: n.p., 1350 SH.
  • al-Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. al-Fuṣūl al-mukhtāra. Edited by ʿAlī Mīr-Sharīfī. Qom: Sheikh Mufid Congress, first edition, 1413/1993.
  • Mūsawī Bujnūrdī, Kāẓim. "Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī". In Dāʾirat al-maʿārif-i buzurg-i islāmī. Tehran: Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, first edition, 1373 SH.
  • Nūrī, Muḥammad. Maʾkhadh-shināsī-yi Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī. Qom: Dar al-Hadith, first edition, 1384 SH.


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