Manar al-huda (book)

Manar al-huda (book)

Author	Ali b. 'Abd Allah al-Bahrani
Original title	مَنارُ الهُدی فی النَّص عَلی امامَة ِالْائمّة الْاثْنی عَشَر
Language	Arabic
Series	1 vol.
Subject	Theology
Publisher	Dar al-Muntazar

Manār al-hudā fi l-naṣṣ ʿalā imāma al-aʾimma al-ithnā ʿashar (Arabic: مَنارُ الهُدی فی النَّص عَلی امامَة ِالْائمّة الْاثْنی عَشَر, literally: the light stand of guidance about the Imamate of the Twelve Imams) is a theological book in Arabic written by Ali b. 'Abd Allah al-Bahrani, a Shiite scholar in the fourteenth/twentieth century. He discusses Imamate from the standpoint of Twelver Shi'as, criticizing the views of the Mu'tazila and Ash'ari by rejecting the views of Ibn Abi l-Hadid in Sharh nahj al-balagha and those of al-Fadil al-Qushji in his al-Jadid fi sharh al-tajrid.

Author

Main article: 'Ali b. 'Abd Allah b. al-Bahrani

'Ali b. 'Abd Allah b. 'Ali al-Bahrani al-Sitri was scholar from Bahrain. When he obtained the degree of ijtihad, he became the marja' and the head of Shi'as in Bahrain. He allegedly wrote a number of jurisprudential and theological works.

Writing and Publication

The book was written in 1295/1878, and was published in 1320/1902-3 in Mumbai.

Contents

The book has an introduction and two chapters. The introduction involves two subject-matters.

1. A consideration of the meaning of Imamate from a Shiite standpoint
2. A consideration of the necessity of appointing an Imam in the views of Ash'aris, the Mu'tazila, and the Imamiyya.

Chapters

• First chapter: Conditions of the Imam (5 problems)

• Second chapter: Citation of explicit texts concerning Imamate and the Infallibility of Imam Ali (a) and the Twelve Imams (a).

Manuscripts and Publication

There is no information about handwritten manuscripts of Manar al-huda. The book was published as edited by 'Abd al-Zahra' al-Husayni al-Khatib by Dar al-Muntazar Publications in Beirut.