al-'Aqida allati Hakaha Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi 'an al-Imam Ahmad
- Author died
- 410 AH
- Editions
- ت السيروان
al-ʿAqida allati hakaha Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi ʿan al-Imam Ahmad (The Creed Narrated by Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi from Imam Ahmad) is a theological treatise compiled by the Baghdadi Hanbali jurist Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi (d. 410 AH / 1019 CE) summarizing the doctrinal positions of Ahmad ibn Hanbal .
Transmission and Method
The work is also entitled Iʿtiqad al-Imam al-munbal Abi ʿAbd Allah Ahmad ibn Hanbal . It was dictated by Abu al-Fadl ʿAbd al-Wahid ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Tamimi and transmitted by his nephew, Jamal al-Islam Abu Muhammad Rizq Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Tamimi . The transmission chain continues through Abu al-Fadl Muhammad ibn al-Nasir al-Baghdadi, Abu Muhammad al-Mubarak ibn ʿAli ibn al-Tabbakh, and Abu Muhammad ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbd al-Wahid ibn ʿAllaq al-Ansari by way of formal authorization (ijaza) .
Rather than quoting Ahmad ibn Hanbal's statements verbatim, Abu al-Fadl formulated the creed in his own phrasing—frequently employing the formula "Abu ʿAbd Allah used to say"—to summarize what he understood to be Ahmad's theological positions . It outlines tenets on divine unity, the divine attributes, and foundational theological principles .
Scholarly Reception and Critique
Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi relied heavily on Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi's compilation when recounting Ahmad ibn Hanbal's creed in his biographical work on the virtues of Ahmad (Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad) .
Later scholars, including Ibn Taymiyya, critiqued the treatise's methodology, noting that Abu al-Fadl presented his personal understanding of Ahmad's doctrine rather than Ahmad's explicit textual statements . Critics pointed out that members of the Tamimi family maintained close friendships with Ashʿari scholars such as Abu Bakr al-Baqillani and were influenced by speculative theology (kalam) . Consequently, Abu al-Fadl attributed to Ahmad expressions negating physical body (jism), limbs (jawarih), and composition (tarkib)—philosophical terminology that Ahmad and early traditionalists avoided employing in either negation or affirmation .
Preservation and Editions
The text was preserved in manuscripts such as one transcribed in 1327 AH from piece number 46 of Ibn ʿUrwa's al-Kawakib al-darari in the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus . It has been printed as an appendix to Ibn Abi Yaʿla's Tabaqat al-Hanabila and published as a standalone volume edited by Ashraf Salah ʿAli .
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