al-Jadid fi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Sawādī
al-Jadid fi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid (The New in the Explanation of the Book of Monotheism) is a contemporary commentary by the Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Qarawi on Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab al-Tawhid . It was designed as an accessible instructional work adapted to modern educational curricula and contemporary students .
Purpose and Method
Al-Qarawi noted in his introduction that he composed the commentary to suit the circumstances of contemporary students who primarily study Islamic sciences within formal school systems . He organized his explanation of each passage according to a systematic step-by-step format:
- Text presentation (Irad al-nass): quoting the Quranic verse or hadith cited in the base text, completing verses that were left truncated, and occasionally citing preceding or subsequent verses if the context requires it .
- Vocabulary explanation (Sharh al-kalimat): defining unfamiliar words and technical expressions .
- Overall meaning (al-Sharh al-ijmali): summarizing the general import of the evidence .
- Derived benefits (Istikhraj al-fawa'id): listing legal, doctrinal, and practical lessons deduced from the text .
- Relevance (al-Munasaba): establishing how the cited text relates to the specific chapter heading, which is included for every section, as well as its relevance to the broader topic of monotheism (tawhid) when appropriate .
- Supplementary notes (Mulahaza): adding explanatory remarks after the relevance section when necessary .
- Discussion questions (al-Munaqasha ala al-nass): pedagogical review questions at the end of each passage .
Any remaining portions of the base text that could not be treated under this specific scheme were appended as a concluding supplement (tatimma) at the end of the chapter .
Reception
The book received endorsements from contemporary scholars. Muhammad al-Salih al-Uthaymin commended it as a strong curriculum that conveys the intended meanings clearly to students through its modern style and structural breakdown . Abd Allah al-Hamad al-Jalali, a teacher at the Scientific Institute in Unayzah, wrote a foreword praising its framing in addressing modern issues . Muhammad ibn Ahmad Sayyid Ahmad, an instructor at Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyyah in Mecca, noted using the commentary in his teaching and subsequently edited and verified its hadith citations .
Publication History
The first edition of the book was printed in 1393 AH (1973 CE) by Matabi' Najd al-Tijariyyah in Riyadh, published by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Muhawwas of Maktabat al-Tawfiq in three parts bound in a single volume . A third edition appeared in 1404 AH, jointly issued by Maktabat al-Tawfiq in Riyadh and Dar Lubnan in Beirut . A later edition, edited with hadith documentation by Muhammad ibn Ahmad Sayyid Ahmad, was published in Jeddah by Maktabat al-Sawadi, reaching its fifth printing in 1424 AH (2003 CE) .
Answer updated