al-Arbaun fi Dalail al-Tawhid
- Author died
- 481 AH
- Editions
- al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
al-Arbaun fi Dalail al-Tawhid (The Forty [Hadiths] on the Proofs of Divine Unity) is a theological hadith collection by the Hanbali scholar and Sufi Abu Ismail al-Harawi (396–481 AH / 1006–1089 CE) . The work gathers forty thematic traditions intended to establish Sunni traditionalist tenets regarding the names and attributes of God and the adherence to the prophetic Sunnah .
Subject Matter and Method
The treatise belongs to the arba'un genre of hadith compilations, in which the author restricts his collection to a set of forty traditions dedicated to theological proofs and divine attributes . Al-Harawi presents each report with his own continuous chains of transmission (isnad) going back through his teachers, occasionally offering critical remarks on the relative soundness of specific chains .
The overarching aim of the work is the textual affirmation of theological doctrines without allegorical interpretation (ta'wil), using prophetic reports to substantiate divine attributes such as life, the face, the eyes, speech, hearing, sight, and God's aboveness over the Throne .
Structure and Contents
The book is organized into numbered thematic chapters, each introduced with a specific doctrinal heading followed by one or more supporting hadiths . The chapter headings include:
- The obligation of sincere intention in every deed (Ijab al-niyyah al-sadiqah fi kulli 'amal) .
- The obligation of giving sincere counsel to every Muslim (Ijab al-nasihah li-kulli Muslim) .
- Clarifying that God is Living (Idah al-bayan anna Allaha hayy) .
- Evidence that God does not sleep (Bayan al-dalil annahu la yanam) .
- Clarifying that God is a thing (Bayan anna Allaha shay') and an entity (Bayan anna Allaha shakhs) .
- Affirming the self for God (Ithbat al-nafs lillah) .
- Evidence that He is in the heavens (Al-Dalil 'ala annahu fi al-sama') and over the Throne (Al-Dalil 'ala annahu 'ala al-'arsh) .
- Mention of the veil of God (Dhikr hijab Allah) .
- Mention of God placing His foot upon the Kursi (Wad' Allah qadamahu 'ala al-kursi) .
- Affirmation of limit (Ithbat al-hadd lillah) and directions (Ithbat al-jihat lillah) .
- Affirmation of the face (Ithbat al-wajh lillah), the two eyes (Ithbat al-'aynayn), and the foot (Ithbat al-qadam lillah) .
Transmission and Printed Editions
The text was transmitted directly from al-Harawi by his student Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad al-Ansari, known as Siraj al-Sunnah .
The work has been published in modern critical editions, notably by Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Faqihi in 1404 AH (1984 CE) and by Abu Malik Jihad ibn al-Sayyid al-Murshidi in 1422 AH (2001 CE) .
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