al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar Aqidat al-Imam al-Tahawi

al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar Aqidat al-Imam al-Tahawi (The Enclosing Oyster Shell for the Pearls of Imam al-Tahawi's Creed) is a didactic poetic versification composed by Hamza bin Uthman al-Ansari in 1425 AH (2004 CE), rendering the classic Sunni creedal treatise of Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi into verse al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar…+1.

Composition and Author's Stated Purpose

In the introduction to the poem, the author emphasizes the primacy of the knowledge of divine oneness (tawhid) and notes the divergence between those adhering to the understanding of early forebears (salaf) and those adopting the speculative views of later generations (khalaf) al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar…. Finding that al-Tahawi's prose encapsulated the methodology of the early scholars, he composed the text into verse to facilitate its transcription and memorization, committing strictly to versifying al-Tahawi’s formulations without introducing external additions al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar…+1.

According to the epilogue, the composition was completed in late Muharram 1425 AH (c. March 2004 CE) al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar…. The author identifies himself in the concluding lines as Hamza, son of Uthman, tracing his lineage to the tribe of Banu al-Khazraj, and mentions al-Suq as the ancestral seat of his family al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar….

Contents and Doctrinal Scope

The poem faithfully mirrors the thematic structure of al-Tahawi's theological text across several standard creedal domains:

• God's Oneness and Attributes: The verses affirm divine uniqueness, pre-eternity, and transcendence above anthropomorphism (tashbih) and theological negation (ta'til), maintaining that God’s attributes are eternal and uncreated, not acquired through the emergence of creation al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar…+1. It clarifies that divine transcendence does not negate God's aboveness (fawqiyya) or real attributes, but rather negates creation encompassing Him al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar….
• Predetermination and Divine Will: It outlines the Sunni stance on qadar, affirming God’s foreknowledge, the execution of His absolute will, and His guidance or abandonment of servants in accordance with His justice and grace al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar….
• Prophethood: It affirms the messengership and seal of prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ, upholding that he was sent to all humankind and jinn, and declares any subsequent claim to prophethood to be false al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar….
• The Quran: It states that the Quran is the uncreated, literal speech of God revealed to His prophet, condemning anyone who claims it to be the speech of man al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar….
• Eschatology and the Unseen: The work versifies articles on the beatific vision (ru'yat Allah) of the believers in Paradise without modal qualification (bila takyif), the bodily Night Journey and Heavenly Ascension (al-Isra' wa-l-Mi'raj), the Prophet's Basin (al-Hawd), intercession (shafa'a), the primordial covenant (al-mithaq), and the eternal predetermination of the dwellers of Paradise and Hellfire al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar…+1.
• Renunciation of Heterodox Factions: The work closes with a declaration of disavowal from divergent theological sects, specifically repudiating anthropomorphism, the Jahmiyya, determinism (al-Jabr), the Mu'tazila, and the Qadariyya al-Sadaf al-Hawi li-Durar….