Refutation of the Innovator of al-Najd : New,
[A5] Hardback - 115 pages,
by Habib Alawi bin Ahmad al-Haddad [d.1216h],
Transl. & Notes by Gibril Haddad,
**'Print on Demand' Title.

Description :

Refutation of the Innovator of Najd: This is the English translation of the author's introduction to his Arabic book, Misbah al-Anam wa Jala al-Zalam fi Radd Shubah al-Bi'dati al-Najdi al-Lati Adalla  biha al-'Awwam (The Lamp of Mankind and the Illumination of Darkness: Refutation of the Fallacies of the Najdi Innovator by which He Has Led Astray the Common People), one of the earliest rebuttals of the Wahhabi sect. It was written in 1216H/1801CE by the Shafi`i scholar Shaykh Habib 'Alawi b. Ahmad al-Haddad, may Allah be pleased with him, of Tarim (Yemen), a contemporary of the founder of Wahhabism, Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab of Najd (1703-1792).


Extract :

" The perverse Najdi claimed that people made these Saints partners with Allah – far exalted is He beyond such a claim! – Such a charge (shirk) is false on many counts, as demonstrated by the commentator [Ibn Dawud al-Hanbali] in many places. The most patent proof exposing this falsehood is the fact that the belief which he attributes to them is a matter of the heart which none can apprehend other than Allah. How then was he – Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab – able to look it up and base on it his own belief in a categorical manner so as to declare them apostate along with all those who hold a position other than his concerning them? For he declared them apostate and proclaimed their blood to be licit to shed and property licit to seize, even if the outward aspect of their state belies him.
 

   ... Another proof of this falsehood is that, should it be conceded that there is association with Allah in this case, nevertheless, that would be of the minor kind (al-shirk al-asghar) just as when someone says: “The milk harmed me.” Apostasy does not follow from such a statement for whoever utters it for he did not believe, concerning milk, what he believes concerning Allah with regard to divinity! Similarly, as much as those people venerate the Prophets and the Friends of Allah, they do not believe, concerning them, what they believe concerning Allah Almighty with regard to His total and universal power to create in the literal sense. All they believe is that the Prophets and Saints possess a certain rank in the Divine presence in the partial sense, and it is attributed to them only metaphorically, while they hold that the origin and the power to effect go back to Allah the Almighty."

Table of Contents :

---Preface.

---Fatwas and Books on the Wahhabiyya,
---Ibn 'Afaliq's Challenge to ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab,
---Position of Al-Mahdi, alayhi salam, on the Wahhabiyya,
---Ibn Dawud al-Hanbali's al-Sawa'iq wa al-Ru'ud,
---Some of the deviations of ibn Abd al-Wahhab,
---His charge of shirk against the Muslims.

---Sixty Hadiths predicting ibn Abd al-Wahhab,
------List of One to Sixty Hadiths.

---Outline of Misbah al-Anam,
------Chapter 1. Expostion of the Doctrine of Divine Oneness (Tawhid),
------Chapter 2. About Tawhid al-Uluhiyya,
------Chapter 3. Refutation of the Najdi's claim about visiting the Righteous is shirk,
------Chapter 4. Exposition of the high station of the Freinds of Allah,
------Chapter 5. Exposition of those that are ignorant or commit errors does not make them disbelievers (kafir's),
------Chapter 6. Exposition of the Sawad al-A'zam and the Ahl al-Sunnah w'al-Jama'ah,
------Chapter 7. Miracles, istighatha and tawwasul,
------Chapter 8. Reality of the miracles of the Prophets and Saints, alive or deceased,
------Chapter 9. Concerning the benefits of trials and tribulations,
------Chapter 10. Concerning the statements regarding ibn Taymiyya
------Chapter 11. Regarding hanging something on oneself or on cattle for the purpose of protection,
------Chapter 12. Regarding statements like 'Amanatullahi warasulih,'
------Chapter 13. Concerning the lawfulness of erecting domes over the graves of the Friends of Allah & the Ulema.
------Chapter 14. Refutation of the Najdi's condemnation of seeking means (tawassul),
------Chapter 15. Refutation against the innovator from Najd against invoking Blessings & Peace on the Master of Prophets,
------Chapter 16. The disbelief (kufr) shown by the Najdi's statement against the school of Imam Abu Hanifa,
----------Teaching Anthropomorphism,
----------Ibn 'Abd al-Salam on Pre-Wahhabis,
------Chapter 17. On the desirability of visiting the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and travelling to him.

** About this publication and print :

This is a 'print on demand' title, in this case it means that it's a cheap no thrills publication. It is perfectly bound in hardback however and printed on standard white paper. The typesetting font size/lettering is slightly larger than normal, which is good for those with weak eyesight.

There is no introduction, biography of the author nor a contents page or index.  As for the text; this is the 'translation of the Introduction only' of the arabic text Misbah al-Anam and therefore it does not contain the full text or unlimited content. It does contain the 'outline' of the 17 chapters, which can be anything from a single paragraph or upto 6/7 pages per chapter. What it does have in abundance is references and footnotes on each page, which for bibliophiles is extremely useful when wanting to know sources, thanks to the meticulous research of the translator; shaykh Gibril Fouad al-Haddad.

More Islamic Belief : Aqa'id.

Also see Refutation,
Also see Sects.

More Islamic Theology | Kalam.
More books on Creed.

Dimensions : 22.2 x 14.5cm.