Abstract:

The principle of prophethood is considered one of the fundamental tenets for those who believe in heavenly religions. Despite numerous commonalities in the discussions of general and specific prophethood, points of divergence are also significant. The Shia Imamiyya's interpretation in certain issues related to guide-recognition and the critique of other Islamic sects' views led opponents to raise doubts about the Shia perspective. In the book Tuhfa Ithna Ashariyyah (A Gift to the Twelvers) by Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlavi (1159 AH) – an Indian scholar – the Shia viewpoint is criticized. Although valuable works refuting Tuhfa Ithna Ashariyyah have been presented to the academic and cultural community, we have not encountered a work that approaches it from the perspective of identifying and critically analyzing the fallacies employed within. The present paper, using a descriptive method and logical analysis, aims to respond to the criticisms leveled against the Imamiyya view regarding prophethood by uncovering the fallacies within Dehlavi's arguments. The research findings indicate that Dehlavi attempts to prove his viewpoint by employing fallacies. The most significant fallacies identified and analyzed in this paper include: the fallacy of equivocation in the term "necessity of sending prophets" (wujūb-e biʿthat), the external fallacy in the critique of denying the superiority of the Imams (peace be upon them) before the creation of the world in comparison to the prophets (a form of refutation), the fallacy of malcomposition in the substance of the argument concerning the Prophet's knowledge, and a non-verbal propositional fallacy of misinterpretation in explaining the infallibility of the prophets.