📘 ❞ The Devil rsquo s Deception Talbees Iblees ❝ كتاب ــ أبو الفرج عبد الرحمن بن الجوزي

عن كتاب The Devil rsquo s Deception Talbees Iblees:
Since the Iranian “Revolution” of 1978, there has been a con­
certed effort to spread the Shee‘ah doctrine by force of arms in the
Arab world and by propagation and political influence elsewhere -
especially in the West. Shi‘ite activity in the West has not been di­
rected at non-Muslims to convert them to Shi‘ism, but has been
directed specifically at Muslims ignorant of Islaam but enthralled
by the thought of Islamic revolution. Consequently, the brunt of
Shi‘ite propaganda has fallen on new-Muslim communities in the
Americas where the majority of Muslims are in the formative years
of their Islaam. These communities have been flooded with free
literature in English filled with historical distortions, lies, and inno­
vations, and many new-Muslims have been given expense paid
guided tours of Iran and exposed to the ‘fruits of the revolution’.
In the Muslim world a number of refutations of the Shi‘ite
beliefs have been made by early scholars, and Shi‘ite deviations
from the mainstream are well known. Also a number of books and
pamphlets have been written recently in rebuttal to the Shi‘ite’s
deceptive call to mend the rift between Sunni and Shee‘ah. How­
ever, due to the extreme scarcity of material in English concerning
the history of Shi ‘ites and their creed, little or no comparison can be
made by new-Muslims. They are subsequently overwhelmed by the
Iranian propaganda onslaught in which many of the more deviant
beliefs have been cleverly disguised. Hence there is a dire need for
the translation of authoritative classical works on the Shee‘ah. Al­
though classical works written in polemic style tend to alienate read­
ers who are uncommitted to either side of the controversy, such
works often contain a wealth of important information.
The work at hand represents an abridged translation of the
introduction and four chapters from Ibn al-Jawzee’s classic,
Talbees
Iblees!
which deals with the Devil’s deception of some Muslim
1 Literally ‘Talbees” means deception. Iblees, the personal name of the Devil is
derived, according to Arab philologists, from the root “balasa” because Iblees has
nothing to expect (ublisa) from the mercy of God.
8
scholars, mystics and philosophers as well as deviant psuedo-Is-
lamic sects. Three of the sections concern the birth and develop­
ment of the sects known collectively as the Khawaarij (Khaarijites),
the Shee‘ah (Shia or Shi‘ites) and the Baatineeyah. The first two
are the first deviations from mainstream Islaam, and the third is an
offshoot of the Shee‘ah.
Any comprehensive study of Shi‘ism has to include the
Khawaarij, because to a large degree the Shi‘ite deviation repre­
sents an extreme reaction to the extremes of the Khawaarij. The
Khawaarij declared ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib to be a Coffer (disbe­
liever) and the Shi‘ite elevated him and some of his descendants to
the leval of demi-gods. Meanwhile mainstream Islaam, often re­
ferred to as Sunni Islaam, considers him to be neither a coffer nor a
demi-god, but one of the greatest companions of the Prophet ( ^ ) 2,
and the fourth of the Righteous Caliphs. No serious historical study
of the Shee‘ah could be considered complete without a look at what
it gave birth to, the ultra-deviant sects of the Baatineeyah.
In the sects of the Baatineeyah, the ideas and philosophy of
Shi‘ism were projected to their inevitable conclusion, in which ‘Alee
ibn Abee Taalib and some of his descendants became manifesta­
tions of God on earth. The Christian belief that Prophet Jesus was
God incarnate, in an even more detestable form, became part of the
belief of a people who called themselves Muslims just as the Prophet
GH) had predicted, “
You will follow the ways o f the nations before
you inch by inch and foot by foot to such a degree that if they en­
tered a lizard's hole
,
you would go in after t h e m
When he was
asked if by former nations he meant the Christians and the Jews, he
replied,
‘"Who else could it be
?”3
2The Arabic phrase “£al-lallaahu‘alayhi wa Sallam” (may Allaah’s peace and bless­
ings be upon him), is a prayer which all Muslims are enjoined to say whenever the
Prophet’s name is mentioned.
3 Reported by Abu Sa‘eed and collected by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.
9
In closing, it should be noted that all of the footnotes in the
text are mine. Footnotes were added to identify the sources of the
hadeeths
mentioned by the author and to indicate their degree of
authenticity where necessary. Extensive footnotes were also added
to clarify the background of many of the historical references given
by the author.
I hope that this work will be of benefit to all who read it and
pray that Allaah accepts it as a good deed done purely for His pleas­
ure

Abridged translation of the Introduction and four chapters from Ibn alJawzee’s classical work Talbees Iblees Dr. Bilal Philips’ explosive edited translation of Ibn alJawzee’s classical work ’Talbees Iblees’, which offers the Ibn Jawzee’s views on the Shi’a sect, as well as various other groups such as the Khawaarij Khaarijites and the Baatineeyah.