al-Maghribiya fi Sharh al-Aqida al-Qayrawaniya
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- Dār al-Minhāj lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
al-Maghribiya fi Sharh al-Aqida al-Qayrawaniya (The Maghribi Exposition of the Qayrawani Creed) is a contemporary theological commentary by Abd al-Aziz al-Turaifi on the doctrinal introduction to the legal treatise al-Risala by the tenth-century Maliki jurist Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (d. 386 AH) . The book elucidates the orthodox Sunni creed transmitted by Ibn Abi Zayd from the reports of Malik ibn Anas and early authorities of fiqh and hadith .
Background and Purpose
Al-Turaifi authored the work following a visit to Kairouan in 1433 AH, during which he held teaching circles at the Mosque of Uqba ibn Nafi and other venues . In response to requests from local attendees, he undertook a commentary expounding Ibn Abi Zayd's creed to demonstrate that the early scholars of the Islamic West (the Maghrib) upheld the same doctrinal fundamentals as the Companions, the Successors, and Imam Malik . Al-Turaifi designed the commentary to provide an accessible analysis of the text without burdensome elaboration or deficient brevity .
Contents and Scope
The treatise follows the structure of the doctrinal preamble (al-Muqaddima al-ʿaqadiyya) of Ibn Abi Zayd's Risala, combining theological exposition with historical analysis of doctrinal trends in North Africa and Islamic Spain . Major topics addressed in the book include:
- Theological Foundations: Affirmation of the divine attributes without figurative reinterpretation (taʾwīl) or denial (taʿṭīl); the divine speech (kalām Allāh) and the stance against the createdness of the Quran; God's transcendence and ascension (istiwāʾ) over the Throne; the beatific vision (ruʾya) of God in the hereafter; divine predetermination (qadar) and the creation of human actions; and the definition of faith (īmān) with critiques of both the Kharijites and the Murji'ah .
- Eschatology and Communal Ethics: The reality of the punishment in the grave, the signs of the Hour, veneration of the Companions, and obedience to rulers in righteous matters .
- Intellectual History of the Maghrib: An account of the spread of Islam to the Maghrib by the Companions and Successors, the subsequent penetration of Mu'tazilism, Peripatetic philosophy, speculative theology (ʿilm al-kalām), and the rise of Ash'arism associated with Ibn Tumart .
- Ibn Abi Zayd's Polemics and Creedal Affiliation: An assessment of Ibn Abi Zayd's theological stance—including his evaluation of Ibn Kullab and Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari—alongside his refutations of Peripatetic philosophy championed by Ibn Masarra, illuminationist mysticism represented by Abu al-Qasim al-Bakri, Mu'tazilite doctrines preached by Ali ibn Ahmad al-Baghdadi and Abu Talib, and positions of the Zahirite school .
Publication
The work was published as a single volume in its first edition in 1438 AH (2017 CE) by Maktabat Dar al-Minhaj in Riyadh, appearing as publication number 170 in its catalog series .
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