A list of Shia books written on the Fadak issue in chronological order

What the senior Shia – who lived close to the era of the noble Imams – have written in this regard has not passed our gaze. However, probably it would not be very detailed. As far as we know, the first book that documented this discussion in detail is al Shafi which al Sayed al Murtada – titled as ‘Alam al Huda[1] – wrote in refutation of Qadi ‘Abdul Jabbar’s book Mughni. This book was written towards the end of the fourth century or in the beginning of the fifth since the author was born in 355 and died in 433, or 436 A.H. This book was published in Iran in 1301 and the following was written about it:

و هو كتاب لم يأت بمثله أحد من الأنام في سالف الشهور و الأعوام و لا يأتون أبدا و لو كان بعضهم لبعض ظهيرا لأن أجداده الطاهرين كانوا له في نصرته لهم هاديا و مؤيدا و نصيرا

No one from the creation has authored a book similar to it in the past nor will they be ever able to in the future, although they help one another. This is due to the fact that his pure forefathers were guiding him, assisting him, and supporting him.

Sheikh al Ta’ifah Abu Jafar al Tusi gave a new layout to the discussions of the book al Shafi and named it Talkhis al Shafi. This book was written in 432 A.H. as stated by the author himself. The following has been written in praise of it:

و هو كأصله لم يأت مصنف و لا مؤلف بمثله على رد العلماء العامة العياء

It is just like its original. No author or writer has written something like it in refutation of the incapable Sunni ‘Ulama’.

Thereafter the book Kashf al Haqq wa Nahj al Sidq was written by ‘Allamah Jalal al Din Abu al Mansur Hassan ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Ali Mutahhar al Hilli regarding whom al Shustari writes in his book Ihqaq al Haqq:

The author of this book debated with the ‘Ulama’ of the Ahlus Sunnah who gathered from various cities in the presence of Sultan Ghiyath al Din Awljatiyu Khudabandah. He established the falsehood of their religion and the truth of the Imamiyyah with rational proofs and textual verifications so marvellously that the ‘Ulama’ of the Ahlus Sunnah began to hope that they be turned into rocks or trees. The same author then authored the book Kashf al Haqq wa Nahj al Sidq bi al Sawab. The Sultan together with his governors and a large group of ‘Ulama’ and seniors became Shia. Although distinguished personalities of the ‘Ulama’ of the Ahlus Sunnah were present in that era, the likes of Qutb al Din Shirazi, ‘Umar Katib Qazwini, and Mawla Nizam al Din, yet none had the courage to write a refutation of this book.

This book was written most probably towards the end of the seventh century since the author was born in 648 and died in 724 A.H.

Another book was authored in the seventh century, al Tara’if fi Ma’rifat Mazahib al Tawa’if. The author of this book is ‘Ali ibn Ta’us al Hilli. He was born in 580 A.H. and died in 660 A.H. The author, observing Taqiyyah, deceitfully wrote the book in the name of a dhimmi devising his name as ‘Abdul Mahmud. He wrote an introduction at the beginning of his book attributed to the dhimmi.

When I became of age, I heard about the diversity of religions so I decided to study the reality of the belief systems of different religions. I began with researching the Din of Islam. I found majority of them as Maliki, Hanafi, Shafi’i, and Hambali and was totally amazed since these men did not live in the lifetime of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam or his Companions and did not have the same belief system as they did, so how can they regard their belief system as the best. I then studied the Shia religion which is attributed to the Imams and the progeny of the Prophets. I thereafter investigated the belief systems from the ‘Ulama’ of the four schools and debated them, and concluded that they were not on the truth. I proved their religion’s falsehood from their books.

In this manner, the author manifested the truthfulness of his belief system. He has discussed the Fadak issue in this book in great detail, and in a very eloquent and persuasive manner. Its worth and value can be realised by the fact that Dildar ‘Ali quoted a great portion from the above book in the Fadak discussion is his famous book ‘Imad al Islam.

Thereafter, Qadi Nur Allah al Shustari wrote many renowned books in this field. One of his works is Ihqaq al Haqq, which is a detailed and famous book, written in refutation of Ibtal al Batil which ‘Allamah Rawzbahan wrote in answer to Kashf al Haqq.

In the eleventh century, Mulla Baqir al Majlisi wrote many books. He is addressed as:

محي طبقة سيد البشر في رأس مائة الحادي عشر

Reviver of the station of the leader of mankind in the eleventh century.

One of his celebrated books is Bihar al Anwar which is an ocean of narrations and incidents. In the eighth volume in Kitab al Fitan, he dedicated a section to the discussion of Fadak titled:

باب نزول الآيات في أمر فدك و قصة جوامع الإحتجاج فيه

Chapter regarding the revelation of verses concerning Fadak and the incident wherein proofs are collected.

He then wrote two abridged versions of the book in the Persian language, viz. Haqq al Yaqin and Hayat al Qulub.

A new era began in the thirteenth century. A huge craze of dialogues and debates between Shia and Sunni arose. After the publication and distribution of Tuhfah Ithna ‘Ashariyyah, the Shia scholars showed the worth of their knowledge and capability and the great Shia mujtahidin and scholars of Delhi and Lucknow wrote voluminous books.

One of these books is ‘Imad al Islam authored by Dildar ‘Ali in the Arabic language which is extensive and wherein the author refutes Imam Razi’s Nihayat al ‘Uqul. He has written about Fadak in great detail.

Tash’id al Mata’in by Muhammad al Qilli and Ta’n al Rimah by Mujtahid Sayed Muhammad are books written in refutation of Tuhfah Ithna ‘Ashariyyah which the Shia boast over. They have conviction that what is written in them can never be answered, as Munshi Subhan ‘Ali Khan writes in one of his articles:

از آنجاکہ مجتہد العصر و الزمان سمی رسول اللہ الی کافۃ الانس و الجان اعنی مولانا و مقتدانا السید محمد مد ظلہ الصمد در کتاب معدوم النظیر موسوم بطعن الرماح ایں معضلہ دل روز مخالفین را بچناں بیان کافی و وافی ایضاح فرمودہ اند کہ بالاترازاں بلکہ مماثل آں از حد قدرت بشری بیرون ست ایں فاقد الادراک استیعاب دلائل اثبات غصب حق بضعہ رسول اللہ برہماں کتاب مستطاب حوالہ نمودہ بر تقریری آخر کہ خالی از تجڈی نیست از ماجری فیہا ابطال خلافت اول و ثانی می سازد

From amongst them, the Mujtahid of the era i.e. Molana Sayed Muhammad – may his shadow be lengthened – has written such a refutation against the opposition, whose hearts are covered in deviation, in his unparalleled book Ta’n al Rimah in such a marvellous and remarkable manner that writing something better than it or equal to it is out of man’s capacity. He has written outstanding proofs and evidences to prove the usurpation of Rasulullah’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam beloveds that are innovative and unprecedented and totally falsify the Caliphate of one and two (Abu Bakr and ‘Umar).

Besides the above, there are some books published in Iran which give much detail on the Fadak issue. One such book is Bahr al Jawahir by Sayed Muhammad Baqir ibn Sayed Muhammad al Musawi who lived in the era of Fath ‘Ali Shah Qachar. The second book is Kifayat al Muwahhidin fi ‘Aqa’id al Din by Ismail ibn Ahmed ‘Alawi al Tabarsi, one volume of which is dedicated to the discussion on Imamah. The third book is Lam’at al Bayda’ fi Sharh Khutbat al Zahra’ comprising of 470 pages which records Sayyidah Fatimah’s radiya Llahu ‘anha lecture regarding Fadak coupled with all the narrations and discussions related to the topic. The fourth book is chapter four of Nasikh al Tawarikh by Muqarrib al Khaqan Mirza Muhammad Taqi Lisan al Mulk wherein the author has written a biography of Sayyidah Fatimah radiya Llahu ‘anha in which the Fadak issue is discussed in detail. Moreover, many Persian and Urdu articles have been written. However, they have all quoted from Ta’n al Rimah. The have simply presented they very same material just in a different way.

Book	Author	Century
Al Shafi	Al Sayed al Murtada	5^th
Talkhis al Shafi	Sheikh al Ta’ifah Abu Jafar al Tusi	5^th
Kashf al Haqq wa Nahj al Sidq	‘Allamah Jalal al Din Abu al Mansur Hassan ibn Yusuf ibn ‘Ali Mutahhar Hilli	7^th
al Tara’if fi Ma’rifat Mazahib al Tawa’if	‘Ali ibn Ta’us Hilli	7^th
Ihqaq al Haqq	Qadi Nur Allah Shustari
Bihar al Anwar	Mulla Baqir al Majlisi	11^th
‘Imad al Islam	Dildar ‘Ali	13^th
Tash’id al Mata’in	Muhammad Qilli	13^th
Ta’n al Rimah	Mujtahid Sayed Muhammad	13^th
Bahr al Jawahir	Sayed Muhammad Baqir ibn Sayed Muhammad Musawi
Kifayat al Muwahhidin fi ‘Aqa’id al Din	Ismail ibn Ahmed ‘Alawi Tabarsi
Lam’at al Bayda’ fi Sharh Khutbat al Zahra’
Nasikh al Tawarikh	Muqarrab al Khaqan Mirza Muhammad Taqi Lisan al Mulk

NEXT⇒ Discussion regarding the Gifting of Fadak

[1] His full name is ‘Ali ibn Hussain ibn Musa al Musawi. However, he is commonly known with the titles ‘Alam al Huda and al Sayed al Murtada. He was born in 355 A.H. He is the elder brother of Sharif Radi, compiler of Nahj al Balaghah. Both brothers were students of Sheikh al Mufid.

Al Khuwansari writes about him that al Sayed al Murtada was unique and exceptional in knowledge, understanding, oratory, and poetry and extremely honoured in his time. With regards to his books, they all assume the level of usul (principles) and ta’sis (foundation), which is unprecedented. For instance, the book al Shafi is such a book on Imamah which is unparalleled. I say that this book is just like its name, kafi (sufficient) and shafi (satisfactory). (Rawdat al Jannat vol. 4 pg. 1295)

He is one of the pillars of Shi’ism and one of its founders. He died in 436 A.H. (Sheikh Muhammad Firasat)

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