The Proof Based on Establishment (Dalil-i-taqrir) and the Proof Based on Verses (Hujjiyyat-i-ayat): An Introduction to Baha'i-Muslim Apologetics

Abstract

Since the early days of the Bahá’í Faith in Persia, the Bahá’í-Muslim dialogue has generated tremendous interest on both sides. From the Bahá’í camp, significant attempts have been made towards demonstrating the truth of the Bahá’í Faith, based on Islamic texts and theology. Meanwhile, Bahá’í apologists had to stay consistent within the Bahá’í theological framework. To

date, there has been no serious attempt to study the development of the Bahá’í-Muslim debate. This study concerns itself with a narrow spectrum of this debate. It will focus on two of the most plausible and effective arguments developed by Bahá’í scholars, namely, the proof based on establishment (dalíl-i-taqrír) and the proof based on verses (ḥujjiyyat-i-ayát). The historical and theological aspects of these apologetic developments will be given special attention. The proof based on verses may be said to be an extension of the quranic challenge, upon which Bahá’í scholars capitalized. The proof based on establishment was then a further apologetic development of the proof based on verses. These apologetic arguments were grounded in the writings of the central figures of the Bahá’í Faith. Most of the material for this study comes from the works of Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl, who has made. the most significant contribution to this field. The Bahá’í-Muslim dialogue has continued into our time, but under the towering shadow of Abu’l-Faḍl. Islamic polemicists have also made serious attempts at countering these arguments, and some of their salient arguments will be critiqued in this article. From the setting of a Bahá’í-Muslim dialogue, this study will endeavor to introduce the proof based on establishment (dalíl-i-taqrír) into the Bahá’í-Christian dialogue, from which it has been conspicuously absent in the West.