Manhaj al-rashad fi ma'rifat al-ma'ad (book)

Manhaj al-rashad fi ma'rifat al-ma'ad (book)

Author	Muhammad Na'im al-Taliqani
Original title	مَنْهَجُ الرَّشاد فی مَعْرفَةِ المَعاد
Language	Arabic
Subject	Resurrection
Genre	Theology
Published	1419/1998-9
Publisher	Center for Researches of Astan Quds Razavi

Manhaj al-rashād fī maʿrifat al-maʿād (Arabic: مَنْهَجُ الرَّشاد فی مَعْرفَةِ المَعاد, literally: the path of right on knowledge of resurrection) is a theological book in Arabic written by Muhammad Na'im al-Taliqani, a Shiite scholar of the twelfth/eighteenth century. He has deployed philosophical, mystical, and exegetical principles to discuss bodily and spiritual resurrection. In his discussions, he is mostly influenced by Mulla Sadra.

Author

Muhammad Na'im al-Taliqani, known as Mulla Na'ima, was a Shiite scholar of the twelfth/eighteenth century. His father, Mulla Muhammad Taqi al-Taliqani, was a student of Mirza Hasan b. Mulla 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Lahiji. Allegedly, Mulla Na'ima wrote books such as Nazir asl al-usul, Fasl al-khitab fi tahqiq al-sawab, and Tanqih al-maram.

Content

The book is written in 1151/1738-9. It consists of an introduction, five sections, and an epilogue. In the introduction, the author discusses the reality and necessity of resurrection in terms of Quranic verses and hadiths, and criticizes the account provided by theologians for resurrection. Here are the five sections of the book, each of which is elaborated in its own right:

• First Chapter: Statement on the soul and its definition,

• Second Chapter: Statement on the reality and quiddity of the soul,

• Third Chapter: Enumeration of the faculties of the soul and proof for the five exterior faculties of the soul,

• Fourth Chapter: Proof for the incipience of the soul at the time of the incipience of the body,

• Fifth Chapter: Proof for bodily resurrection, and reply to objections.

Ashtiyani's Words

The contemporary Muslim philosopher, Sayyid Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani, says about the book:

"The book is unique in its subject-matter. For while, I had been searching a book about resurrection whose author was an exegete, jurist, philosopher, and mystic, until I found a manuscript of this book in the Library of Majlis. … The author proves bodily resurrection with his mastery of the views of prominent philosophers, particularly Sadr al-Muta'allihin and his mastery of exegetical hadiths, while keeping up with rational principles and views of scholars. He then solves problems and replies to objections."

Manuscripts and Publication

Two manuscripts of the book are available:

• An original manuscript with the author's own handwriting available in the Library of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

• Another manuscript transcribed from the original, which is kept in the library of Marwi Seminary in Tehran.

The work was first published in 1419/1998-9 by the Center for Researches of Astan-i Quds-i Razavi, as prefaced by Sayyid Jalal al-Din al-Ashtiyani and Rida Ustadi.