Popular religions in the 2nd and 3rd centuries of Hijri according to the narration of Ibn Rabban al-Tabari

Subject Areas : Christianity

Mina Karimzadehbarenji ¹ , Mohammad reza Adli ² , Abdoreza Mazaheri ³

1 -
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
3 - Department of Islamic mysticism, Faculty Of Law, theology and political science, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2025-01-31 Accepted : 2025-04-05 Published : 2025-09-27

Keywords: Ibn Rabban Tabari, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrian religion, Manoism, refutation writing,

Abstract :

The book "al-Din wa al-Dawla" by Ibn Rabban Tabari falls into the category of early refutations, which aimed to prove the legitimacy of Islam and refute other religions common at that time. That provides an image of the prevailing religions in the second and third centuries AH, including Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and briefly mentions Hinduism and Buddhism. Ibn Rabban, who himself was Christian until the age of seventy before converting to Islam, speaks more about Christianity and Judaism. With a dialectical-theological approach, he examines the teachings of these religions in comparison to Islam. While identifying the similarities and differences among the Abrahamic religions, he emphasizes monotheism, the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the universality of Islamic teachings, thus asserting the superiority of Islam. His description of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism is very incomplete, and apparently, his knowledge of these religions was based on the works of other refutation writers, not their religious texts. Nevertheless, "al-Din wa al-Dawla" is considered an important work in historical studies of religions, as it sheds light on the interactions between Muslims and followers of other religions in the early centuries of the Islamic era.

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