al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa al-Hadith

al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa al-Hadith (Polytheism in Ancient and Modern Times) is a theological treatise on Islamic creed by Abu Bakr Muhammad Zakariya, examining the historical origins, theoretical concepts, and various manifestations of polytheism (shirk) across ancient nations and the modern world al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.

Background and Purpose

The work was originally an academic master's thesis presented at the Department of Creed in the Islamic University of Madinah al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…. The research was supervised by Ahmad ibn 'Atiyyah al-Ghamidi and successfully defended on 11 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1418 AH, receiving an "Excellent" grade from an examining committee that included 'Abdullah ibn Sulayman al-Gufayli and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rahman Abu Sayf al-Shudhayfi al-Juhani al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1. The topic and outline were originally suggested to the author by Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Ghunayman al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.

The author stated several key objectives for undertaking the study:

• Clarifying the reality of polytheism among past nations through the Quran, the Sunnah, and prophetic histories al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Documenting the forms of polytheism practiced by the pre-Islamic Arabs and detailing the Prophet's resistance to them al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Drawing comparisons between earlier forms of polytheism and practices occurring within the Muslim community, specifically addressing grave veneration (al-quburiyyun) al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Exposing contemporary forms of polytheism that often go unrecognized due to ignorance or misconceptions al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Responding to scholastic theologians (al-mutakallimun), philosophers, and Ash'ari and Maturidi scholars whom the author critiqued for restricting their focus primarily to affirming God's lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah), arguing instead that prophetic missions were primarily sent to establish God's exclusive right to worship (tawhid al-uluhiyyah) al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….

Structure and Contents

The book is arranged into an introduction, a preliminary section (tamhid), six main parts (abwab), and a conclusion al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1:

• Preliminary Section: Discusses the definition and divisions of monotheism (tawhid), the definition and categories of polytheism (shirk), and whether humanity's original disposition was monotheism or polytheism al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Part One (Shirk in Earlier Nations): Examines the first historical deviation into polytheism among humankind, followed by case studies of past peoples, including the nations of Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Lot, Joseph, Shu'ayb, pre-Mosaic destroyed peoples, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, concluding with an analysis of their deviations in lordship and worship al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.
• Part Two (Shirk Among the Pre-Islamic Arabs): Covers the original adherence of the Arabs to the Abrahamic tradition, the emergence and instigators of idolatry among them, their beliefs regarding lordship and divinity, their devotional rituals, and the causes of ancient idolatry al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Part Three (Shirk in the Muslim Ummah): Details the Prophet's warnings against polytheistic lapses, his measures to block all avenues leading toward it (sadd al-dhara'i'), and the factors that caused these practices to become obscured among later generations al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Part Four (Manifestations of Shirk in the Modern Era): Analyzes modern compromises of divine lordship through theological negation (ta'til) or setting up equals (andād), deviations in worship (through internal states, bodily actions, and verbal declarations), refutations of grave-venerators' doubts, and the obligation of sincere worship al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.
• Part Five (Comparison Between Ancient and Modern Shirk): Compares past and present manifestations according to their categories and their underlying shared causes al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.
• Part Six (Demonstrating the Invalidation of Shirk): Presents the refutation of polytheism based on textual proofs from the Quran and the Sunnah, as well as arguments derived from human nature (al-fitrah) and rational intellect (al-'aql) al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Conclusion and Indices: Outlines the study's primary findings and concludes with specialized indexes for Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, historical reports (athar), biographical entries, sects, technical terms, poetry, and cited references al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.

Methodology

In compiling the work, the author adhered to specific scholarly guidelines al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1:

• Documenting all Quranic citations with their respective surah titles and verse numbers al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Referencing hadiths and reports to primary collections, prioritizing Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and citing evaluations from authoritative hadith specialists or independently analyzing chains of transmission (isnad) where no prior ruling was found al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Relying on original sources for cited positions and distinguishing between verbatim quotes and paraphrased summaries al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….
• Defining obscure terms and providing concise biographical notices for figures mentioned throughout the text, excluding the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and Western Orientalists al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a….

Publication

The work was published in Riyadh by Maktabat al-Rushd in an edition printed in multiple volumes al-Shirk fi al-Qadim wa a…+1.