COMMENTARY ON THE CREED OF AT-TAHAWf BY IBN

145 Pages·2014·5.54 MB·English

COMMENTARY
ON THE
CREED OF AT-TAHAWf
BY
IBN ABIAL -'IZZ
SHARHAL -'AQIDAH AT - TAHAWIYYAH
TRANSLATED BY
MUHAMMAD' ABDUL-HAQQ ANSARI
KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
Ministry of Higher Education
Al-Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic
University
Deanery of Academic Research
COMMENTARY
ON THE
CREED OF AT-TAHAWf
BY
IBN ABIAL -'IZZ
SHARHAL -'AQIDAH AT - TAHAWIYYAH
TRANSLATED BY
MUHAMMAD' ABDUL-HAQQ ANSARI
AL-IMAM MUHAMMAD IBN SA'UD ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
IMADAT AL-BAHTH AL-'ILMI
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
INSTITUTE OF ISLAMIC AND ARABIC SCIENCES IN AMERICA
1421 A.H.-2000 C.E.
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH
THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1421 A.H.-2000 A.D.
Commentary on the Creed of At-Tahawi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
XVII
Translator’s Preface xix
Commentator’s Preface xlvii
The Creed of At-Tahawi Ivii
The Creed and its Commentary 1
Tawhid'. Affirming God’s Unity 1
Two aspects of tawhid:
tawhid al-ilahlyyah, and tawhid al-rubublyyah
Tawhid is inherent in man
The Qur’an expounds on and argues for God’s unity
Tawhid in faith and in action
The prophets’ tawhid was the most perfect
Criticism of the mystical view of tawhid
God is unlike anything 23
To affirm attributes of God is not to liken Him
with His creatures (tashblh)
Words common between the Creator and the created
denote nothing real
Nothing is impossible for God 31
The Qur’an mentions God’s positive attributes in detail,
and negative attributes in brief
Mutukallimun do just the reverse
God is Eternal and Everlasting 35
The Qur’an uses the words: the First and the Last
Mutakallimun use the word Al-Qadlm,
which is not a happy choice
v
Shark Al- ‘Aqidah At-Tahawiyyah
Nothing comes into existence except what
God wills 38
Two kinds of Divine will: creative and prescriptive
Creative will does not necessarily imply that God
approves of the object He creates
Prescriptive will implies that God approves of
the object He commands men to do
Both the wills have some purpose which may concern
man, God or both
It is not necessary that God should help one to do
what He asks him to do
God is beyond understanding and imagination 41
The Jahmlyyah are wrong in saying that to affirm
attributes of God is to anthropomorphize Him
Theological discussion does not admit of syllogistic
or analogical argument; it admits only the
argument of priority
God is Living and All-Sustaining 45
He is the Creator and the Provident
He causes death and shall raise again
All the attributes of God are eternal 49
This is true of essential attributes, such as
knowledge and power,
Of active attributes such as creation, and
Of voluntary attributes such as coming, descending,
mounting, anger and pleasure
The meaning of coming, mounting, anger etc.,
is known to us; what is not known is their modality
Do things happen to God?
Essence and attributes, whether one or different?
Name and the Named
Events as a class have no beginning and God
is active from eternity
God is Creator, Originator, Lord, Reviver, etc.,
from eternity
God has power over all things; the impossible in
itself is nothing
God has created things with knowledge 66
He Ordained them in due measures, and fixed their terms
vi
Commentary on the Creed of At-Tahawi
He knew what people would do even before
He created them
Things happen as He ordains and wills
This does not mean that He approves of everything
people do
Nor does pre-ordination offer any justification
for doing evil
His guidance and protection is a favor from him
Refutation of the view that God must do
what is best for man
His decision is not reversed, resisted or frustrated
Prophecy of Muhammad (pbuh) 76
Muhammad is a servant of God, and the most perfect
man is the most perfect servant of God
Miracle is a proof among other proofs of prophecy
Other proofs are: the message, teachings, life
and conduct, works and achievements of the prophet
It is on these grounds that Negus of Abyssinia and
Heraclius of Syria testified to Muhammad’s prophecy
The difference between nabi and rasul
Muhammad is the seal of the prophets
ahadlth on the subject
He is the leader of the pious
He is the chief of the apostles
He is the best of all the prophets, but this should not
be said to degrade other prophets
He is very dear to God
Grades of love
Every claim to prophecy after him is false
He is sent to men as well as to jinns
The Qur’an 96
The Qur’an is the word of God
It has proceeded from Him in an unknown manner
as articulated speech
To say that it is spoken by God is not to
anthropomorphize him
Verses and ahadlth saying that God speaks;
the meaning of His speech
The Qur’an is an attribute of God, not something created
Vll
Sharh Al- ‘Aqldah At-Tahawiyyah
It has been brought down to Muhammad by Gabriel,
acting simply as a messenger
It is not the word of a human being, one who says
that is a kafir
Speech is an attribute of God, and He has been speaking
from eternity as and when He has willed
His speech as a class is eternal
Refuting the objection that God shall then be
the locus of contigent events
The Qur’an is the word of God whether recited,
written or remembered; and it is uncreated
However, our reciting, writing, or remembering is
our act, and is contigent, as is the voice or the ink
involved in the process
This is the view of Abu Hanlfah and the Ahl al-Sunnah
The view of later Hanafis on the subject is not correct
The view that God’s speech is a simple inaudible idea,
and what is recited is its interpretation is wrong
Beatific Vision 119
People will see God in Paradise in an unknown manner
and without encompassing Him
Verses referring to it must not be interpreted allegorically
Refutation of the arguments advanced by the Mu‘tazilah
Ahadlth on the subject are very clear
However, no one has seen or can see God in this life
Did the Prophet see God in his life?
Mu‘tazill interpretation of texts is not correct
Tawhid is to believe in what has come down from
the Prophet authentically
Islam is to believe, submit, and refrain
from misinterpreting texts 136
Three kinds of people destroy religion:
Rulers pursuing policies opposed to the Shar ‘
Sufis following kashf and experience
Mutakallimun arguing from reason alone
Al-Ghazall on the inadequacy of kalam
The reason the Salaf condemned kalam
The root cause of error is lack of reflection on
the Qur’an and the Sunnah
vm
Commentary on the Creed of At-Tahawl
Philosophers and theologians speak about the
limitation of philosophy and kalam
Meaning of ta ’wll
Ta ’wll in the Qur’an and Sunnah
Ta ’wil in early commentaries
Ta ’wll in the works of later jurists and mutakallimun
Interpreting divine names:
Avoid both negation and anthropomorphization
God’s hands, face, eyes
God and space (jihah)
Ascension of the Prophet 162
His Fountain 167
His Intercession 170
Intercession by other prophets, ‘‘ulama ’ and martyrs
Praying in the name of someone
Tawassul
God’s Covenant with Mankind 182
Tawhld is inherent in man
Shirk is alien to human nature
Fore-ordainment 191
God knows from eternity who will go to Paradise and
who will go to Hell, as well as their deeds leading
them to their destination
Everyone gets the opportunity to do what he or she
has been created for
Fore-ordainment is a secret of God;
one should not delve into it
Everything good and bad is brought out by God’s
creative will, which does not necessarily imply
His approval
However, God does not will pure evil
God may not help one do what He approves of
Fore-ordainment and repentence
Fore-ordainment and resignation (rida ’)
We are not required to resign to everything decreed
IX
Shark Al- ‘Aqidah At-Tahawiyyah
The Pen and the Tablet 210
What shall come into existence till the Last Day
has been written down
No one can change what has been written
Earning is not opposed to trust
There is no change in God’s fore-knowledge
Faith in fore-ordainment is necessary
What qadr implies
Questioning qadr is a disease
The Throne and the Footstool 223
The Throne and the Footstool are real
But God does not need the Throne
He encompasses all and is above all
Verses and ahadlth that speak of His being above
the world (fawqlyyah)
Twenty reasons for His fawqlyyah
Sayings of Abu Hanlfah on the subject
‘Ulu and fawqlyyah
The knowledge that God is above the world is inherent
in human nature
God took Abraham as friend 242
Angels, Prophets and Heavenly Books 246
Angels, their grades and functions
We must believe in all the prophets of God and in
all His books
As for Muhammad (pbuh), we must believe in him
as well as follow his teachings
One is muslim and mu’min so long as one
witnesses to what the Prophet has brought 261
The Qur’an may be read in all the seven established ways
The Faithful Spirit has brought down the Qur’an and
conveyed it to Muhammad (pbuh)
Sin, Faith and Salvation 266
No Muslim becomes kafir by committing a sin unless
he or she thinks it to be lawful
To deny what the Prophet has affirmed, affirm what
he has denied, legalize what he has prohibited, or
x