Is “Al-Ibana” Reliably Attributed to Imam Abu Hasan Al-Ash‘ari?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

What do scholars say about the authenticity of al-Ibana attributed to Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Al-Ibana fi Usul al-Diyana, is one of the works authentically attributed to Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari, but the contemporaneous publications thereof contain interpolations and additions, according to many scholars.

Contemporary Publications of the Ibana

The following translated extract from Ahl al-Sunna al-Ashaʿira (2005) by Shaykh Hamad al-Sinan and Shaykh Fawzi al-Anjari, addresses the issue quite thoroughly: 

Shaykh Kawthari (Allah have mercy on him) said in the introduction to the book Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari:

“The edition of al-Ibana printed in India is a distorted and tampered copy which treacherous hands have interfered with. It must therefore be reprinted from a reliable original.” End quote.

He also said in his introduction to the book Isharat al-Maram ‘ala Ibarat al-Imam al-Bayadi:

“It is truly astonishing that, despite the abundance of his outstanding works, al-Ibana was printed from an unreliable source, and in the published treatises it was issued under his name without verification.” End quote. [See also his commentary on al Sayf al Saqil, pages 155 to 196]

This is also the view held by Dr ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Badawi, in agreement with Imam Kawthari, as stated in (Madhahib al-Islamiyyin 1:516), where he said:

“Shaykh Kawthari rightly observed that the Indian printed edition had been tampered with by treacherous hands.” End quote.

Other scholars have also noted this.

Shaykh Wahbi Ghawaji (Allah preserve him) also authored a treatise on this subject entitled: “A Scholarly Examination of Attributing the Book al-Ibana in Its Entirety to Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari”

In it, he presents objective evidence showing that a large portion of what is found in the versions of al-Ibana circulated among people today cannot be correctly attributed to Imam Ash‘ari.

The book al-Ibana has been published in an edition based on four manuscript copies, critically edited by Dr Fawqiyyah Husayn. This edition, although better in condition than those previously printed, was nevertheless not free from distortion, omission, and addition.

This perhaps confirms what al Allama Kawthari (Allah have mercy on him) meant when he said:

“It is astonishing that, despite the abundance of his outstanding works, al Ibana was printed from an unreliable source.”

Hafiz Ibn Asakir (Allah have mercy on him) transmitted in his book Tabyin Kadhib al-Muftari two chapters from al-Ibana. When the commonly circulated printed edition of al-Ibana is compared with Dr Fawqiyya Husayn’s edition and with the two chapters transmitted by Ibn Asakir, the extent of the textual distortion that occurred in this book becomes clearly apparent. End Quote [Sinan & Anjari, Ahl al-Sunna al-Asha‘ira]

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.