‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ (the full Arabic title of the book: منهاج السنة النبوية في نقض كلام الشيعة والقدرية), or ‘The Methodology of the Prophetic Sunnah in Refuting the Statements of the Shia and the Qadariyyah’, stands as one of the many masterpieces by Shaykh al-Islam Taqi al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abd al-Halim ibn Abd al-Salam al-Numayri al-Harrani, commonly known as Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy upon him).
Ibn Taymiyyah was of Arab and Iranic-Kurdish descent
‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ was written in response to the Twelver Shia and the Qadariyyah sect. Around 700 years ago, with no technology and only manual labour and basic tools at his disposal, Ibn Taymiyyah single-handedly obliterated the very foundations of the Rafidah. To this day, the Rafidah have not recovered from the damage that ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ has done to their religion, and naturally, Ibn Taymiyyah is the number one boogeyman in the minds of every Rafidi.
Why Ibn Taymiyyah crafted ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’
Amongst the most prevalent deviant ideologies during Ibn Shaykh al-Islam Abu al-Abbas ibn Taymiyyah’s (d. 728 AH) time was the creed of Rejectionism (Rafidism). Sometime between 704 AH and 709 AH, Ibn Taymiyyah learned that a Twelver Rafidi jurist named Ibn Muttahhar al-Hilli had authored a treatise defending the Rafidi concept of Imamate and Twelver Shiism. The book was written for the Mongolian ruler of Persia at the time, Oljaitu, also known as ‘Khodah Bandeh’ by Shias and ‘Shaytan Bandeh’ by Persian Sunnis. It was widely distributed to sub-rulers and laypeople with little grounding in their religion.
Oljaitu, initially a Christian who later embraced Islam, developed an affinity for Shiism influenced by Al-Hilli, with whom he had a close relationship. Al-Hilli’s work, entitled ‘Minhaj Al-Karamah fi Ma’rifatil Imamah’ (The Blessed Pathways in the Recognition of Imamate), aimed to sway the ruler’s belief towards Twelver Shia Rafidism. Oljaitu eventually adopted Shiism around 709-710 AH and declared it the official state religion, requiring the mention of the Twelve ‘infallible’ Imams in Friday sermons.
The book, ‘Minhaj Al-Karamah,’ was brought to Ibn Taymiyyah’s attention by sincere members of Ahl al-Sunnah. Urged to refute the misconceptions within it, Ibn Taymiyyah, bound by the heavenly covenant of knowledge, fulfilled the promise to stand up for justice. He wrote, “O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah”, addressing the slanderous ideologies and defending the believers.
‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ showcases Ibn Taymiyyah’s profound knowledge of history, fiqh, hadith, Quran exegesis, language, philosophy, psychology, logic, and understanding of various sects and religions. Unlike many of his other works that focus on specific areas, Minhaj al-Sunnah draws upon every science to address numerous issues in defense of the pure creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.
The original Arabic version of ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ spans several volumes. Abridged versions have been composed by Imam Dhahabi, a student of Ibn Taymiyyah, as well as the Saudi scholar Abdullah al-Ghunayman.
‘A Comprehensive Study of the Shia creed‘ by Sh. Dr. Nasir al-Qaffari, a kind of ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ on steroids, was inspired by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah’s ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’.
My hardcopy of Minhaj al-Sunnah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah is in Persian. This version I’m holding up is the Persian translation of the mukhtasar (abridged) version by Shaykh Abdallah al-Ghunayman, which was translated by a beacon of knowledge from southern (Sunni) Iran, Shaykh Abdullah Dobayri Evazi (al-‘Awadhi), a native Persian Sunni-Shafi’i-Athari scholar who migrated to Saudi Arabia and passed away there.
The English translation of Minhaj al-Sunnah
The abridged version of ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ has been translated by our Nigerian brother, Nasirua Garba. He is the first person in the history of Islam to have translated the abridged version of ‘Minhaj al-Sunnah’ by Shaykh Abdullah al-Ghunayman into the English language.
Support the brother and do yourself a favor by purchasing his book here. For those who genuinely cannot afford it, here is a free PDF version for download.
May Allah have mercy upon Ibn Taymiyyah and guide the Shia.
EBNHUSSEIN.COM 