al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma yudaduha

al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma yudaduha (The Correct Creed and What Opposes It) is a concise theological treatise by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE) that outlines the foundational tenets of Islamic faith according to the early generations (Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah) alongside the doctrines and practices that contradict them Ihtisab al-Shaykh Muhamma…+1.

Origin and Publication

The work originated as a public lecture delivered by Ibn Baz while serving as the president of the Islamic University of Medina Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1. It was published in the university's scholarly journal (Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah bi-l-Madinah al-Munawwarah) in Muharram 1395 AH Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1, and later printed in the journal of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta (Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyyah) in 1403 AH (1983 CE) Ihtisab al-Shaykh Muhamma…+1. It subsequently appeared in several standalone print editions by publishers such as Dar al-Watan and Dar Taybah in Riyadh al-Shafaa fi al-Hadith al…+1, and was translated into other languages, including Bengali and Swahili Majallat al-Bayan.

Content and Structure

The treatise begins by emphasizing that correct belief is the foundation of Islam and the condition for the validity and acceptance of all deeds and statements al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …. The author divides the subject into two main discussions: the six pillars of faith and the opposing deviant doctrines al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1.

The Six Foundations of Sound Creed

Ibn Baz presents the core pillars of Islamic creed:

• Faith in Allah: This entails directing all acts of worship exclusively to Him (Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah), affirming His Lordship (Rububiyyah) as the sole creator and sustainer of existence, and affirming the Divine Names and Attributes without allegorical interpretation (tahrif), negation (ta'til), describing their modality (takyif), or likening Him to creation (tamthil) al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1. To support this method, he quotes early authorities such as al-Awza'i, Rabi'a ibn Abi Abd al-Rahman, Malik ibn Anas, Umm Salama, and Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, directing readers to reference classical works by Ibn Khuzayma, Ibn Abi Asim, al-Lalaka'i, and Ibn Taymiyyah al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1.
• Faith in the Angels: General belief in their existence and specific belief in those named in the texts, such as Jibril, Mika'il, Israfil, and Malik, as well as their designated duties al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1.
• Faith in the Revealed Scriptures and Messengers: Affirming that Allah sent prophets with revealed books to guide humanity and establish justice al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma ….
• Faith in the Last Day: Belief in events following death, including the trial and punishment or bliss of the grave, the Resurrection, the Reckoning, the Balance, the distribution of records, the Prophet's Basin (al-Hawd), Paradise and Hellfire, and the believers seeing their Lord al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma ….
• Faith in Divine Decree (al-Qadr): Encompassing all four tiers: Allah's eternal knowledge, His recording of all things, His operative will, and His creation of all beings and events al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1.

The text also clarifies complementary doctrinal principles: that faith consists of both speech and action, increasing with obedience and decreasing with sin; that major sinners are not declared disbelievers for sins short of polytheism unless they deem them permissible; and that Muslims must revere the Prophet's Companions, love his family (Ahl al-Bayt) and wives, withhold judgment regarding disputes among the Companions, and reject the extremes of both the Rawafid and the Nawasib al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1.

Opposing Doctrines and Nullifiers

The second part addresses deviations from the sound creed:

• Polytheism (Shirk): Both traditional idol worship and contemporary forms of grave veneration, where people direct prayers, sacrifices, and pleas for intercession to deceased figures, citing practices observed at shrines such as those attributed to al-Husayn and Ahmad al-Badawi in Egypt, al-Aydarus in Aden, al-Hadi in Yemen, Ibn Arabi in Damascus, and Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani in Iraq al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma …+1.
• Extreme Mystical Doctrines: The belief attributed to certain Batini and Sufi groups that holy figures (awliya'), designated as spiritual poles (aqtab), pegs (awtad), or succors (aghwath), share in cosmic governance with Allah al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma ….
• Materialist and Atheist Ideologies: Modern doctrines, such as Marxism, Communism, and Ba'athism, which deny God, the afterlife, and revealed religions al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma ….
• Theological Negation of Attributes: The stances of groups such as the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah who negate the Divine Attributes, as well as the Ash'arite approach of affirming only select attributes while interpreting others figuratively al-Aqida al-Sahiha wa ma ….