An Answer to the Book "Al-Radd ʿAlā al-Rāfiḍah" by Maqdisī on the Drawbacks Mentioned about the A’lamīyat of Imam Ali (AS)

Abstract

Muhammad ibn Khalīl Maqdisī , one of the Shāfi’ī scholars of the ninth century AH, in the book “Ar-Radd ʿAlā al-Rāfiḍah”, introduces some problems to the A’lamīyatof Imam Ali (AS) over the companions of the Prophet (PBUH). In this article, after introducing Maqdisī and his book, the problems that he has raised about the A’lamīyat of the Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (AS) are stated and then they are answered. In presenting the answers, an attempt is made to answer based on Sunni sources. Maqdisī tries to deny the supremacy of Imam Ali and prove it for Abu Bakr and Umar; among the problems he mentioned, there are the multiplicity of narratives of Abu Bakr and Umar on Imam Ali (AS) and the employment of Abu Bakr by the Prophet (PBUH) in prayer and Hajj and so on. By analyzing these narratives and evidences by Maqdisī, as well as stating the positive evidences that prove contrary to the claim of Maqdisī, it can be known that the narratives that he refers to have uncertainties and problems that are not acceptable. His main goal is to give virtue to Abu Bakr over Imam Ali (AS), which is rejected with sufficient arguments.