al-Bayhaqi wa Mawqifuhu min al-Ilahiyyat
- Author died
- 1432 AH
- Editions
- Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University
al-Bayhaqi wa Mawqifuhu min al-Ilahiyyat (al-Bayhaqi and His Stance on Divine Attributes and Theology) is an academic study of creed by Ahmad ibn Atiyah al-Ghamidi (d. 1432 AH), originally submitted as a doctoral dissertation to the College of Sharia and Islamic Studies at King Abdulaziz University. The work examines the theological positions and doctrinal methodology of the hadith scholar and jurist Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi regarding the divine essence, names, and attributes.
Scope and Structure
The book is structured into two main parts (bab), spanning fourteen chapters:
- Part One: The Life of al-Bayhaqi comprises six chapters covering his historical era, biography, scholarly upbringing, teachers and students, culture and writings, and his methodology of textual and rational deduction (istidlal).
- Part Two: al-Bayhaqi's Stance on Theology (al-Ilahiyyat) consists of eight chapters:
- His method in establishing the existence of God.
- The divine names.
- Classifications of the divine attributes.
- Rational attributes (al-sifat al-aqliyyah), divided into rational attributes of essence and rational attributes of action.
- The attribute of divine speech (kalam), treated separately due to its complexity and theological debate.
- Scriptural/transmitted attributes (al-sifat al-khabariyyah), divided into transmitted attributes of essence and transmitted attributes of action.
- The beatific vision of God (ru'yat Allah).
- His position on the creation of human actions (khalq af'al al-ibad).
In his conclusions, the author notes that while al-Bayhaqi adhered to the methodology of the early righteous predecessors (the Salaf) in establishing doctrinal proofs, he diverged from their stances on several specific issues when applying those principles.
Reception and Editions
The book has been cited in contemporary academic research on creed and biographical analyses of early scholars. In hadith-related studies, Nayif al-Mansuri noted a dating error in the book regarding the year al-Bayhaqi began composing his al-Sunan al-Kubra, a slip pointed out earlier by Najm Abd al-Rahman Khalaf.
The work has been published in multiple editions, including by the Scientific Council / Deanship of Scientific Research at the Islamic University of Madinah (issued in 1402 AH / 1982 CE, 1403 AH, and a second edition in 1423 AH / 2002 CE), as well as a third edition by Maktabat al-Ulum wa al-Hikam in Madinah in 1412 AH.
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