al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid
- Author died
- 1421 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn al-Jawzī
al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid (The Beneficial Statement on the Book of Monotheism) is a commentary by the Saudi Hanbali scholar Ibn Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE) on Kitab al-Tawhid by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE), expounding upon Islamic creed and the varieties of monotheism.
Origin and Composition
The book originated from a series of audio-recorded lessons delivered by Ibn Uthaymin to his students during study circles at the Grand Mosque in Unayzah. Two of his students, Sulayman ibn Abd Allah Aba al-Khayl and Khalid ibn Ali al-Mushayqih, transcribed the audio recordings into written form, edited the text, and titled it al-Qawl al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid.
Because transcribed oral lectures inevitably differ from written prose in sequence, repetition, or phrasing, Ibn Uthaymin undertook successive revisions of the transcribed text. After its initial printing revealed textual irregularities, the work was revised and edited; following a second printing that required further correction for minor typographical errors, Ibn Uthaymin conducted a final review in Shawwal 1417 AH, removing all editorial footnotes except direct source attributions for Quranic verses and hadiths, and designating this revised version as the authorized standard text.
Method and Scope
The work is an extensive, analytical commentary structured around the chapters and textual proofs compiled in Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab al-Tawhid. Ibn Uthaymin opens by addressing the absence of an authorial preface in the base text, explaining the linguistic and legal definitions of tawhid (monotheism), and dividing it into three traditional categories: lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah), worship and divinity (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), and divine names and attributes (tawhid al-asma wa-l-sifat).
Throughout the text, Ibn Uthaymin analyzes the scriptural passages (the Quran and hadith) cited under each chapter heading, extracting points of theological doctrine (istinbat) and clarifying their linguistic nuances. He pays particular attention to tawhid al-uluhiyyah, emphasizing that while earlier theological writers frequently focused their debates on proving God's existence and lordship (rububiyyah), prophetic missions centered primarily on directing all acts of worship exclusively to God and combating idolatry and polytheism (shirk).
Publication and Reception
The first edition of the work, prepared by Sulayman Aba al-Khayl and Khalid al-Mushayqih, was published in Riyadh by Dar al-Asimah in 1415 AH. The author's authorized, revised edition was subsequently issued in two volumes by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in Saudi Arabia (third edition, 1419 AH).
Scholars classify al-Qawl al-Mufid among the comprehensive and detailed contemporary commentaries on Kitab al-Tawhid, praising its precise linguistic phrasing and theological deductions.
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