ভূমিকা
Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Hadith al-Thaqalayn ‘Abaqat al-Anwar Among Sunni authors one who has written a book on the topic of the chains of transmission ( turuq ) of this tradition is al-Hafiz Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi (448 507/1056 1113), known as Ibn al-Qaysarani as mentioned by the biographers (Isma’il Pasha in Hadiyyatal-Arifin (ii, 82), al-Ansab al-muttafiqah and al-Jam’ bayn rijal al-Sahihayn [Hyderabad]).
[^1] However, the most exhaustive study of the subject is the one undertaken by al-Imam Sayyid Hamid Husayn Lakhnowi quddisa sirruh in the twelfth part of his great work ‘Abaqat al-Anwar fi imamat al- 'A'immat al-athar. Sayyid Hamid Husayn (1246 1306/ 1830 1888) wrote this work in Persian as a refutation of the seventh chapter of Tuhfehye ithna ‘ashariyyah of Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz al-Dehlawi (1159 1239/1746 1823).
In twelve chapters of this work, which is said to be a plagiary in Persian of al-Sawa’iq al-mubiqah by an obscure writer Nasr Allah al-Kabuli, Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz severely attacked Shi’i doctrines, beliefs and practices.
Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz's book was an effort to check the expanding influence of Shi'ism, which had begun to flourish under the patronage of the Shi’i kingdom of Awadh and under the religious leadership of the great Shi’i scholar and mujtahid Sayyid Dildar ‘Ali ibn Muhammad Mu’in al-Naqawi al-Nasirabadi (116 1235/1752 1819), known as Ghufran Ma'ab. Shah ‘Abd al-Aziz's attack and accusations drew a massive response from Shi’i scholars.
‘Allamah ‘Abd al-Aziz Tabataba'i mentions the following authors who wrote refutations of Tuhfehye ithna ‘ashariyyah: [^2] Sayyid Dildar ‘Ali al-Naqawi al-Nasirabadi who wrote five books refuting various chapters of the Tuhfah: al-Sawarim al-ilahiyyat fi qat’ shubuhat ‘abid al-Uzza wa al-Lat (1215/1800), a refutation of the fifth chapter of the Tuhfah regarding theological issues; Khatimat al-Sawarim, a refutation of the seventh chapter concerning the Shi’i doctrine of Imamate; Husam al-Islam wa siham al-malam (Calcutta, 1215/1800), a refutation of the sixth chapter of the Tuhfah concerning prophet hood; Ihya' al-Sunnah wa imatat al-bid’ah bi ta’n al-asinnah (1281/1864), a refutation of the eighth chapter of the Tuhfah; alZulfiqar, a refutation of the twelfth chapter.
Shaykh Jamal al-Din Abu Ahmad Mirza Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Nabi Akbarabadi (d.