Imam al-Rida’s Theological Confrontation with Anthropomorphism and Corporealism: A Study of His Response to the Mushabbiha and Mujassima

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor in Department of History. Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

2 Associate Professor in Department of Quranic Sciences and Hadith. Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

10.30513/rhj.2026.7576.1015

Abstract

The knowledge of God and His attributes has always occupied the minds of humans. Throughout history, many individuals have resorted to anthropomorphism and corporealization to understand God and His attributes. They often imagined God in their minds as a physical being, either resembling their forefathers or a human-like figure with commendable or extraordinary characteristics. With the advent of Islam and its relentless struggle against polytheism, many polytheistic ideas were pushed to the margins; however, significant discussions emerged concerning the attributes of God and their interpretation, marking the onset of the first religious disputes among Muslims. A group of Muslims, later known as Mushabbiha (anthropomorphists) and Mujassima (corporealists), argued for the attribution of human and corporeal traits to God, based on the apparent meanings of certain Qurʾanic verses and Hadiths, particularly those classified as Israelite traditions (Isrāʾīliyyāt). This research, structured descriptively and analytically, explores the background of this theological movement and the role of Imam al-Rida in combating it. The findings of this study indicate that this movement has deep historical roots, reaching its peak during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Following the conduct of the Ahl al-Bayt, Imam al-Rida not only repelled the accusations of corporealization and anthropomorphism directed at the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt by their opponents, but also engaged in a thorough battle against this deviant ideology by explaining the correct meaning of the reported attributes (al-ṣifāt al-khabariyya), providing a systematic interpretation of the verses concerning divine attributes, clarifying the Hadiths that could be construed as supporting anthropomorphism, and taking a firm stance against the proponents of these ideas.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  • The Holy Qurʾan.
  • The Old Testament.
  • ʿAbd al-Razzaq, Abu Bakr bin Hammam. 1984. Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzaq. Edited by Habib al-Rahman al-Aʿzami. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya. [In Arabic]
  • Bayhaqi, Ahmad bin al-Husayn. 1993. Al-Sunan al-Kubra. Edited by Muhammad ʿAbd al-Qadir ʿAta. Mecca: Maktaba Dar al-Baz. [In Arabic]
  • Bukhari, Muhammad bin Ismaʿil. 1987. Sahih al-Bukhari. Edited by Mustafa Deeb Al Bagha. Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir. [In Arabic]
  • Darimi, Abi Saʿid Uthman bin Saʿid. 2010. Al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyya. Edited by Abu ʿAsim al-Shawami Athari. Cairo: al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya. [In Arabic]
  • Dhahabi, Abu ʿAbd Allah Muhammad bin Ahmad. 1985. Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubalaʾ. Edited by Shuʿayb al-Arnawut. Beirut: Muʾassasa al-Risalah. [In Arabic]
  • Jamali, Rida, and Hamid Moazzeni Bistgani. 2023. “Analyzing the Hadith of Khājeh Abāṣalt from Imam Riḍā (as) about the Incorporeality of Allah's Throne.” Journal of Razavi Culture 11(42): 55-81. [In Persian]
  • Ibn Abi Shayba, ʿAbd Allah bin Muhammad. 1988. Al-Musannaf fi-l-Ahadith wa-l-Athar. Edited by Kamal Yusuf al-Hout. Riyadh: Maktaba al-Rushd. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad bin ʿAli. 1999. ʿUyun Akhbar al-Rida. Tehran: Ilmiyya Islamiyya. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad bin ʿAli. 2020. Al-Tawhid. Edited by Hashem Hosseini. Qom: Intisharat-i Jamiʿih-yi Mudarrisin. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Hanbal, Ahmad bin Muhammad. 2000. Musnad. Edited by Shuʿayb al-Arnawut and ʿAdil Murshid. Beirut: Muʾassasa al-Risala. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Khaldun, ʿAbd al-Rahman bin Muhammad bin Muhammad Abu Zayd. 1988. Diwan al-Mubtadaʾ wa-l-Khabar fi Tarikh al-ʿArab wa-l-Barbar wa man ʿAsarahum min Dhawi al-Shaʾn al-Akbar. Edited by Khalil Shahada. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Khuzayma, Muhammad bin Ishaq. 1994. Kitab al-Tawhid wa Ithbat Sifat al-Rabb Azza wa Jalla. Edited by ʿAbd al-ʿAziz bin Ibrahim al-Shahwan. Riyadh: Maktaba al-Rushd. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Manzur, Muhammad bin Mukarram bin ʿAli. 1993. Lisan al-ʿArab. Beirut: Dar Sader. [In Arabic]
  • Ibn Qutayba Dinawari, Abu Muhammad ʿAbd Allah bin Muslim. 1991. Al-Ikhtilaf fi al-Lafz wa al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyya wa-l-Mushabbiha. Edited by ʿUmar bin Mahmoud Abu ʾUmar. Riyadh: Dar al-Raya li al-Nashr wa al-Tawziʿ. [In Arabic]
  • Kulayni, Muhammad bin Yaʿqub. 2008. Al-Kafi. Qom: Dar al-Hadith. [In Arabic]
  • Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir bin Muhammad Taqi. 1984. Bihar al-Anwar al-Jamiʿa li al-Durar Akhbar al-Aʾimma al-Athar. Edited by Majmuʿa min al-Muhaqqiqin. Beirut: Dar Ihyaʾ al-Turath al-ʿArabi. [In Arabic]
  • Malik bin Anas, Abu ʿAbd Allah. 1944. Al-Mudawwana al-Kubra. Beirut: Dar Ihyaʾ al-Turath. [In Arabic]
  • Mohamadjafari, Rasul. 2016. “Imam Reda and His Confrontation with Ahlulhadith’s Wrong Uderstanding of Predicative Attributions.” Journal of Razavi Culture 4(14): 57-74. [In Persian]
  • Muslim Abu al-Husayn Muslim bin Hajjaj Qushayri Nisaburi. n.d. Sahih Muslim. Edited by Majmuʿa min al-Muhaqqiqin. Beirut: Dar al-Jil. [In Arabic]
  • Nasaʾi, Ahmad bin ʿAli. 1990. Al-Sunan al-Kubra. Edited by ʿAbd al-Ghafar Sulayman al-Bandari and Sayyid Hassan Kasrawi. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya. [In Arabic]
  • Pakdaman, Mohammad Hassan. 2008. “Theological Trends in the Era of Imam al-Rida.” Ittilaʿat-i Hikmat wa Maʿrifat 8 (20). [In Persian]
  • Rouhani, Tahereh, and Hamidreza Motahhari. 2017. “Behavioral Analysis of Imam al-Hadi's Interaction with Sunni Theological Movements.” Quranic Thoughts of Contemporary Thinkers 4 (123): 35-74. [In Persian]
  • Shahrastani, Muhammad bin ʿAbd al-Karim. n.d. Al-Milal wa-l-Nihal. Beirut: Maktaba al-Halabi. [In Arabic]
  • Suyuti, ʿAbd al-Rahman bin al-Kamal Jalal al-Din. 1993. Al-Durr al-Manthur. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr. [In Arabic]
  • Tghavi, Zohreh, Ali Allah Bedashti, and Aghdas Yazdi. 2022. “Enlightenment of Imam Reza in Fighting Against the Appearance-Oriented Thinking of the Ahl al-Hadith in Some Verses of News Attributes with the Focus on Reforming the Theory of Analogy and Personification.” Islamic Lifestyle with a Focus on Health 6(5): 313-328. [In Persian]
  • Tahanawi, Muhammad bin ʾAli bin al-Qadi Muhammad Hamid. 1996. Mawsuʿa Kashaf Istilahat al-Funun wa-l-ʿUlum. Edited by Ali Dahruj. Beirut: Maktaba Lubnan Nashirun. [In Arabic]
  • Zabidi, Muhammad bin Muhammad. 1966. Taj al-ʿArus min Jawahir al-Qamus. Edited by Majmuʿa min al-Muhaqqiqn. Beirut: Dar al-Hidaya. [In Arabic]
Razavi Heritage

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 January 2026

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics