Textual Authentication of Hadiths Concerning the “Doctrine of Ahl al-Jabr” in the Manuscript Minhāj Ūlī al-Albāb bi-Nahj al-Sadād wa-Ṭuruq al-Rashād: A Perspective Based on Evidences and Corroborations from Both Sects

Emadi Astarabadi, Reyhaneh Sadat; Hashemi, Seyedeh Fatemeh Hashemi; Azimi, Habibollah

doi:10.22034/jatj.2026.565498.1072

Textual Authentication of Hadiths Concerning the “Doctrine of Ahl al-Jabr” in the Manuscript Minhāj Ūlī al-Albāb bi-Nahj al-Sadād wa-Ṭuruq al-Rashād: A Perspective Based on Evidences and Corroborations from Both Sects

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Reyhaneh Sadat Emadi Astarabadi ¹

Seyedeh Fatemeh Hashemi Hashemi ²

Habibollah Azimi ³

¹ PhD Student, Department of Qur’anic Sciences and Hadith, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

² Assistant Professor, Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, National Library and Archives of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jatj.2026.565498.1072

Abstract

Determinism (jabr) and free will (ikhtiyār) represent some of the most significant and sensitive issues in Islamic philosophy and theology among both sects (farīqayn). These debates gave rise to three major perspectives within the Muslim community: two prevalent among Sunnis—namely, the proponents of determinism and the proponents of absolute free will—and the Shiʿi perspective, articulated as the doctrine of amr bayn al-amrayn (a position between the two extremes). The manuscript Minhāj Ūlī al-Albāb bi-Nahj al-Sadād wa-Ṭuruq al-Rashād, authored by Aḥmad ibn Sharīf in the eighth century AH, argues for the validity of the Shiʿi view by appealing to narrations and traditions acknowledged in Sunni ḥadīth collections. In this article, through textual authentication and by considering corroborative evidences from both sects, the narrations of this section are analyzed using a descriptive–analytical method. The findings indicate that, although establishing complete tawātur (mass-transmission) in terms of chains of transmission and wording is not possible, the narrations nonetheless achieve semantic tawātur, reliability of issuance, and conformity with the Qur’an and sound reason.

Keywords

Manuscript Minhāj Ūlī al-Albāb bi-Nahj al-Sadād wa-Ṭuruq al-Rashād

Doctrine of Ahl al-Jabr

Textual Analysis

Evidences and Corroborations from Both Sects

Subjects