Ithbat al-wasiyya li-l-Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib (by al-Hilli)
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| Author | Attributed to al-'Allama al-Hilli |
|---|---|
| Language | Arabic |
| Series | 1 vol. |
| Subject | Arguments for Imam Ali's (a) immediate succession of the Prophet (s) |
| Published | 1406/1985-6 |
| Publisher | Dar al-Adwa' |
Ithbāt al-waṣīyya li-l-Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: اِثباتُ الوَصیةِ لِلامامِ علیِّ بنِ اَبیطالب) or al-Ḥujaj al-qawiyya fi ithbāt al-waṣīyyat li-ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (Arabic: اَلحُجَجُ القَویةُ فی اثباتِ الوَصیة لِعَلیّ بن ابیطالب) is an Arabic book attributed to al-'Allama al-Hilli (b. 648/1250 - d. 726/1325). The book contains five arguments for Imam Ali's (a) immediate succession of the Prophet Muhammad (s).
Author
The book, Ithbat al-wasiyya li-l-Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib, has been published many times and was attributed to al-Hasan b. Yusuf b. Mutahhar al-Hilli (d. 726/1325), known as al-'Allama al-Hilli. However, Agha Buzurg Tihrani rejected the attribution of the book to al-'Allama al-Hilli. He argues from citations of Nabati Bayadi (d. 877/1472-3) in the book. He said: the book was attributed to al-'Allama al-Hilli by someone who never read it. Al-Sayyid Mahdi al-Kharsan also rejects the attribution of the book to al-'Allama al-Hilli. In addition to the above argument, he presents other arguments as well, including a response in the book to Muhammad b. 'Ali al-'Awdi, a student of al-Shahid al-Thani. Agha Buzurg Tihrani saw a manuscript of the book in Shaykh 'Ali Kashif al-Ghita''s library with Shaykh 'Ali's handwriting transcribed from a manuscript that was written in 1121/1709-10.
Contents
The book is written in Arabic regarding the immediate succession of 'Ali b. Abi Talib (a) for the Holy Prophet (s). The author presents five arguments for Imam 'Ali (a)'s immediate succession: many works in this regard, mutawatir hadiths, testimony of 70,000 (or 30,000) people for the Prophet's (s) will on the Day of Ghadir, prohibition of ignoring the Prophet's (s) will, and poems composed for Imam 'Ali (a)'s succession and the Event of Ghadir.
One-third of the book is devoted to an objection and a response to it. He presented 14 arguments for the falsity of the claim that the Prophet (s) had left his succession (or khilafa) to the people. The book ends with a response to this objection.
Style
The author mentioned about 20 books regarding the proof of Imam 'Ali's (a) immediate succession of the Prophet (s) and cites texts from some of these works. The book is very brief. It was published by Far al-Adwa' in 38 pages.
In his second argument, the author mentioned some of his sources, including: Nukhab al-manaqib wa ibtal al-ikhtiyar by Shaykh Husayn b. Jubayr, Basa'ir al-uns by Qutb al-Kaydari, and Ma ittafaq-a min al-akhbar fi fadl al-a'immat al-athar by Muhammad b. Ja'far al-Mashhadi. Agha Buzurg Tihrani also mentioned al-Sirat al-mustaqim by Bayadi as one of his sources, taking this to be another reason to reject the claim that the book was authored by al-'Allama al-Hilli. However, in Dar al-Adwas version of the book, al-Sirat al-mustaqim is not mentioned as a source of the book.
Title
The book is published under Ithbat al-wasiyya li l-Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib, but in the preface of the book, the author mentioned the book as “al-Hujaj al-qawiyya fi bayan al-wasiyya”. Agha Buzurg Tihrani mentioned them under both titles.
Publications
- It was published in Najaf around 1386/1966-7 and was attributed to al-'Allama al-Hilli.
- It was edited by Muhammad Hadi Amini and published with his commentaries in Beirut in 1406/1985-6 in 38 pages by Dar al-Adwa' Publications.
- It was published with Muhammad Hadi Amini's commentaries and under Muhammad Husayn Rahimiyan's supervision by al-Maktabat al-Mutakhassisa bi Amir al-Mu'minin (a) in Mashhad in 1423/2002-3 in 104 pages.
References
- The material for this article has been mainly taken from اثبات الوصیه للامام علی بن ابیطالب (حلی) in Farsi WikiShia.