# Kitab al-Burhan

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/kitab-al-burhan — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

Kitab al-Burhan names two works in Coptic literature: a fifty-two-chapter compendium by Abu Shakir ibn al-Rahib and a defense of Christianity by Butrus Sawirus al-Jamil.[^1][^2]

## Works bearing the title

The title *Kitab al-Burhan* is associated with two distinct works: Abu Shakir ibn al-Rahib’s compendium on theology and Coptic traditions, and Butrus Sawirus al-Jamil’s defense of Christianity, whose title is translated as “Book of Proof.”[^1][^2]

## Abu Shakir ibn al-Rahib’s compendium

Abu Shakir’s work bears the fuller title *Kitab al-Burhan fi al-Qawanin*, translated as “The Book of Evidence in Laws.” It is described as a legal compendium in fifty-two chapters containing a statement of Christian doctrines and traditions.[^3] Another account emphasizes its theological subjects and Coptic traditions, likewise giving its length as fifty-two chapters.[^1]

There is a contemporary copy dated A.M. 987/A.D. 1270 in the Patriarchal Library, together with later copies in the British Museum, the Vatican, and elsewhere.[^4]

## Butrus Sawirus al-Jamil’s apology

Butrus Sawirus al-Jamil, identified as a thirteenth-century bishop of Malij, also wrote a *Kitab al-Burhan*. His work is an apology for Christianity addressing the doctrine of Christ, particularly the argument that Christ’s divinity cannot participate in the sufferings of his human nature.[^2]

It also discusses the replacement of Mosaic law by what the work presents as the more perfect law of the Gospels. Its treatment includes extensive interpretation of Scripture and draws, sometimes verbatim, on the anthologies *al-Durr al-Thamin* (“Precious Pearl”) by Sawirus and *I‘tiraf al-Aba’*.[^5]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 282)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 297)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 92)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 92)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 297)