THE POSITION OF ISLAMIC SCHOLARSHIP on the building of churches and synagogues, or rather its prohibition, and the destruction of those that have already been built, may be illustrated by this following sample list.
Egyptian:
«النفائس في هدم الكنائس» – Al-Nafā’is fī Hadm al-Kanā’is (‘Precious Gems Concerning the Destruction of Churches’) and «رسالة الكنائس والبيع»- Risālat al-Kanā’is wal-Biyaʽ (‘The Epistle on Churches and Synagogues’) both of them authored by Imām Abū al-‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ʽAlī (ob. 710 AH – 1310 AD) known as Ibn Rafʽa al-Ansārī, standard-bearer of Shāfiʽism in his day;
Syrian:
« مسألة في الكنائس» Mas’ala fi al-Kanā’is (‘The Question of Churches’) by the Shaykh al-Islam Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-ʽAbbās Ahmad ibn ʽAbd al-Halīm known as Ibn Taymiyya (ob. 728 AH – 1328 AD);
«كشف الدسائس في ترميم الكنائس» Kashf al-Dasā’is fi Tarmīm al-Kanā’is (‘The Discovery of Infiltration on the Repairing of Churches’) by Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn ʽAlī ibn ‘Abd al-Kāfī al-Subkī (ob. 756 AH – 1355 AD);
Egyptian:
«القول المتّبع في أحكام الكنائس والبيع» Al-Qawl al-Muttaba’ fī Ahkām al-Kanā’is wal-Bayʽ (‘The Words to be Followed on Rulings on Churches and Synagogues’) by al-ʽAllāma Zayn al-Dīn Qāsim ibn Qutlūbghā al-Hanafī (ob. 879 AH – 1492 AD);
Syrian:
«نفيس النفائس في تحري مسائل الكنائس وكشف ما للمشركين في ذلك من الدسائس» Nafīs al-Nafā’is fī Taharrī Masā’il al-Kanā’is wa-Kashf mā lil-Mushrikīn fī dhālika min al-Dasā’is (‘The Most Precious Gem on Investigating the Question of Churches and the Exposure of the Infiltration of Polytheists’) by Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sālihī al-Shāfiʽī known as Ibn Shukm al-Dimashqī (ob. 893 AH – 1488 AD);
Syrian:
«وفاء العهود في وجوب هدم كنيسة اليهود» Wafā’ al-ʽUhūd fī Wujūb Hadm Kanīsat al-Yahūd (‘Keeping the Agreements on the Obligation to Destroy the Church of the Jews’) also by Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Sālihī al-Shāfiʽī (ob. 893 AH – 1488 AD);
Egyptian:
«رسالة في الكنائس المصرية» Risāla fī al-Kanā’is al-Masriyya (‘Epistle on the Egyptian Churches’) by Zayn al-Dīn ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad known as Ibn Najīm (ob. 970 AH – 1563 AD);
Syrian:
«رسالة النفائس في أحكام الكنائس» Risālat al-Nafā’is fī Ahkām al-Kanā’is (‘The Epistle of Gems on Rulings on Churches’) by Shams al-Dīn Muhammad ibn ʽAbd Allāh al-Temirtāshī al-Ghuzzī al-Hanafī (ob. 1004 AH – 1596 AD);
Egyptian:
«درر النفائس في شأن الكنائس» Durar al-Nafā’is fī Sha’n al-Kanā’is (‘Precious Pearls on the Matter of the Churches’) by Imām al-Qurāfī Muhammad ibn Yahyā al-Qādī Badr al-Dīn al-Masrī al-Mālikī (ob. 1008 AH – 1600 AD);
«رسالة في الكنائس بعد الإسلام» Risāla fī al-Kanā’is baʽd al-Islām (‘Epistle on Churches Following the Rise of Islam’) by Muhammad ibn ʽIbādah ibn Barrī al-ʽAdawī;
Syrian:
«رسالة في حكم إحداث الكنائس» Risāla fi Hukm Ihdāth al-Kanā’is (‘Epistle on the Ruling Concerning the Renovation of Churches’) by Abū Bakr al-Tūqātī;
Egyptian:
«رسالة في منع اليهود والنصارى من إحداث معابد» Risāla fī Manʽ al-Yahūd wal-Nasārā min Ihdāth Maʽābid (‘Epistle on the Prevention of Jews and Christians from Renovating Places of Worship’) by Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Haqq.
