EARLY MUSLIM POLEMIC
WRITERS
Abd Allah b. Ismail al-Hashimi(d. 205/850)
He lives in the palace during the reign of Caliph Ma'mun, and who is also a nephew of the caliph.
His book Risâla ila Abdil Masih b. Ishâq al-Kindî is known as a first independent polemic book and it takes a few issue.
It summarizes the principles and obligations of Islam although it is not a direct rejection of Christianity, it is important that it is the
first available source of Islamic-Christian dialogue.
In his work, he warns to al - Kindi for leaving to worship the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. He said that these does not have any
benefits. Because Kindi is close friend him and he is a Christian scholar in caliphate.
He wants to show him to right way. He pointed out that the understanding of the God of Christians was wrong.
Christians and Jews are not on the same level of closeness to Islam and Christians are closer to Muslims than Jews.
He said that Prophet called all people to Islam from east to west with soft words so he has tried to express the
universality of Islam.
We understand that Hashimi who reflects this
understanding in his treatise, uses a friendly language.
It is understood that Hashimi who does not deal with the Christian concept in all details, expresses issues in a very soft style. Also it has invitation feature rather than feature of polemic.
Ali b. Rabban at-Tabari (d. 240/855)
He is a member of the Nestorianism and grew up in cultured Christian family.
He is the son of Sahl who can translate philosophical texts from one language to another and knows the astronomy and mathematics and Jewish sharia well.
As one of the oldest polemic writers in Islamic thought, Tabari has also been a guide to Islamic thinkers in this regard. He declares that every religionist would defend his own religion.
He then said that he chooses Islam at the seventy ages to leave the
world and take the descendants and warn Christians about their religion.
Tabari's book of Kitab ar-Radd ala'n Nasâra is carrying the first denial feature against Christianity in true sense.
In the beginning of his work, he explains why he was a Muslim. He
intends to warn those who support Christ and the Bibles by writing his work and distort his words. He gives some contradictions from Bible and tries to prove their falsehood.
He says that because of his writing, Muslims would love him and the Christians would either abandon their religion or be in doubt.
In each of the five episodes, each of the chapters is based on the biblical questions, after the questions they ask about the subject and that Christian understanding of belief is invalid.
He tries to emphasize that Jesus is a created human prophet. One of the things that draws our attention in the work of Tabari is the effort to reveal that there are differences between God and man. For this purpose, he puts forward the phrases concerning the adjectives in the Old and
New Testament which should be found in God.
When we look the goal of Tabari in his book is to distort the Bible and to eradicate the
humanity of Jesus. He focuses Jesus and tries to prove his humanity and the invalidity of the Christian religion.
Abu Isa Muhammad b. Harun al- Warraq (d. 248/862)
He has significant contributions to Islamic-Christian polemics. We do not give information about him in a details because in the sources life about him is not in a detail.
In the early ninth century, Abu Isa Muhammad b. Harun al-Warraq wrote an Arabic treatise, The Refutation of the creed of the three Christian sects Radd ala al-Thalath Firaq min al-Nasara, which is a
rational and philosophic attempt to refute the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
Professor David Thomas has translated al-Warraq’s Arabic work into two volumes.
His first volume introduces al-Warraq in his historical context and then presents a scholarly translation of al-Warraq’s refutation of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.
Second volume provides considerable additional background material,
followed by an English translation of al-Warraq’s critique of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
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