An analysis of the content of the treatise "Al-Rad Ala al-Rafidhah"; an ancient rejection with a theological-mystical approach

Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ali, nicknamed "Hakim", is a scholar from the third century who came from the land of Tirmidh. In addition to numerous works in the field of asceticism and mysticism, he has left a treatise called "Al-Rad Ala al-Rafidhah" which as its title suggests, is a theological work of the type of "Rejection". Although this treatise is very old, it has been neglected, abandoned in scholarly circles, and nothing is documented about it; there is no mention of it even in the introduction of rejections against Shi’a. In the remaining pages of the manuscript of this treatise, the issue of the succession of the Prophet (PBUH) is discussed and Hakim Tirmidhi has resorted to these reasons to strengthen the viewpoint of the Sunnis: Consensus of the Companions about the order of the Righteous Caliphs, negation of any explicit Hadith for succession by justifying the verse of Wilayah and Hadith of Ghadir, the impossibility of the Companions’ fault in obeying the Prophet (PBUH) and the Imam's silence and even satisfaction with the rule of the caliphs. In the present article, in a descriptive-analytical way, while introducing this treatise, it is tried to point out and criticize the claims and theological presumptions of Hakim Tirmidhi and answer his critiques of Shi’a beliefs.