Abstract:
Given that many Wahhabi ideas are rooted in the thoughts of Ibn Taymiyyah (728 AH), it seems that a scholarly and impartial critique of Ibn Taymiyyah's views could open a window toward religious understanding within the Islamic Ummah and move past weak-founded illusions. The book Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah fi al-Radd 'ala al-Shi'ah wa al-Qadariyyah, written by Ibn Taymiyyah, can be considered a full-length mirror of polemics against the Shia. In this writing, a selected report from a collection of nearly two hundred existing historical reports in the aforementioned book has been reviewed using conventional methods of historical criticism from both internal and external perspectives. The main axes of the critique are: the structure of the historical discussions in Minhaj al-Sunnah, the evaluation of documents and references of the selected reports, the evaluation of the narrators cited in the selected reports, and the evaluation of Ibn Taymiyyah's method of criticism in the selected reports. Based on the findings of this article, Ibn Taymiyyah's historical perspective can be considered invalid.
Machine summary:
1 For example, in the fourth report (the transgression of the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, peace be upon him), it must be said: famous Sunni authors such as al-Dinawari, al-Tabari, Ibn al-Athir, as well as ancient historical sources, consider Muawiyah to be the initiator of the war.
2 In the fifth report (making the allegiance obligatory) it must also be said: the first part of Ibn Taymiyyah's statement, namely the phrase "Ali and Banu Hashim did not pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr for six months, and he did not force any of them to pledge allegiance," exists in Sunni historical books.
Evaluation of Narrators in Selected Reports In the first reports (consensus on precedence), second (commanding wars), third (comparison of Shiites), and seventh (denial of legitimacy), where Ibn Taymiyyah, unlike other cases, mentions some Sunni hadith scholars and historians while stating his claim and expresses his words by quoting them, an opportunity can be found to evaluate Ibn Taymiyyah's trusted authors and, through that, open another window toward the historical evaluation of Minhaj al-Sunnah: First: In this report, Ibn Taymiyyah presents the claim of consensus on the precedence of Uthman over the Commander of the Faithful, Ali, peace be upon him, quoting Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, and Daruqutni.
Ibn Qutaybah, Abu Muhammad Abd Allah bin Muslim Dinawari, al-Imamah wa al-Siyasah, known as Tarikh al-Khulafa, edited by Ali Shiri, Beirut, Dar al-Adwa', 1410.
(
, 
, 
)
