Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
al-Tawhid li-Ibn Abd al-Wahhab
- Author died
- 1206 AH
- Editions
- Imam Muhammad ibn Saud University
Kitab al-Tawhid (full title: Kitab al-Tawhid alladhi huwa haqq Allah 'ala al-'abid, "The Book of Monotheism Which Is God's Right over the Servants") is a theological treatise by the Najdi scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE) focusing on Islamic monotheism (tawhid) and the refutation of polytheistic practices (shirk) .
Composition and Context
The book is one of the author's earliest writings, composed in response to what he identified as widespread practices of polytheism, superstition, and devotion to tombs, trees, and stones in his time . Historical accounts differ regarding the location of its authorship: the chronicler Ibn Ghannam stated that he authored it in Huraymila before relocating to al-Uyaynah, whereas the author's grandson Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan maintained that he compiled it in Basra prior to his arrival in Huraymila . Later scholars reconciled these two accounts by suggesting that he gathered the book's core materials in Basra and finalized its text in Huraymila .
Subject and Method
The primary focus of the work is tawhid al-uluhiyyah (the monotheism of worship)—the principle of singling out God in all acts of worship—and defining what invalidates it of major polytheism (al-shirk al-akbar) or diminishes its required completeness of minor polytheism (al-shirk al-asghar) . It also includes specific chapters addressing tawhid al-rububiyyah (the monotheism of divine Lordship) and tawhid al-asma wa-l-sifat (the monotheism of divine names and attributes) .
The book is arranged into sixty-six chapters . In its structural method, commentators have likened it to Sahih al-Bukhari, where chapter headings define a specific doctrinal point or ruling, followed by relevant Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, and statements from the Companions and early generations (Salaf) . Each chapter concludes with a dedicated section summarizing key theological points and derived deductions (masa'il), numbering between two and thirty points per chapter . Modern editors and annotators have pointed out that the work contains several weak hadiths alongside authentic ones .
Commentaries and Editions
Kitab al-Tawhid became a foundational text in the Najdi tradition and the broader Salafi movement, serving as a standard curricular text and the subject of over twenty commentaries, glosses, and abridgments . Prominent commentaries include:
- Taysir al-Aziz al-Hamid fi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid by the author's grandson Sulayman ibn Abd Allah (d. 1233 AH / 1818 CE), which was the earliest commentary on the work but remained incomplete .
- Fath al-Majid Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid by Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan (d. 1285 AH / 1868 CE), who abridged, refined, and completed Sulayman's commentary . He also authored a separate gloss titled Qurrat Uyun al-Muwahhidin .
- Tahqiq al-Tajrid fi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid by Abd al-Hadi ibn Muhammad al-Ujayli (d. 1262 AH / 1846 CE) .
- Fath al-Hamid by Uthman ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Mansur (d. 1282 AH / 1865 CE) .
- Ibtal al-Tandid bi-Ikhtisar Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid by Hamad ibn Ali ibn Atiq (d. 1301 AH / 1884 CE) .
- Fath Allah al-Hamid al-Majid by Hamid ibn Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Muhsin of Sharjah, printed in Amritsar, India in 1317 AH (1899 CE), which was the first complete commentary on the text to appear in print .
The text has been printed in numerous editions, notably by Muhammad Munir al-Dimashqi at al-Matba'ah al-Muniriyyah in Egypt (1346 AH), an edition checked by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir for Dar al-Ma'arif, an edition by Abd al-Hamid Ahmad Hifni (1377 AH), an edition edited by Muhammad Afifi for Dar Ukaz (1411 AH), and an edition edited by Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut for Dar al-Salam (1413 AH) .
Answer updated