al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda

Kitab al-Tawhid (fully titled Kitab al-Tawhid wa-Ma'rifat Asma' Allah 'Azza wa-Jall wa-Sifatih 'ala al-Ittifaq wa-l-Tafarrud; "The Book of Monotheism and the Knowledge of the Names of God and His Attributes") is a foundational hadith-based treatise on Islamic theology and divine attributes compiled by the hadith master Ibn Manda (d. 395 AH / 1005 CE) Madkhal li-Dirasat al-Aqi…+1.

Scope and Structure

The book is arranged across seven parts (ajza'), comprising 246 chapters and containing 916 narrated hadiths and ancestral reports (athar) Tariq al-Hidaya Mabadi wa…+1. The text systematically treats four main doctrinal subjects Madkhal li-Dirasat al-Aqi…+1:

• Divine Lordship (Tawhid al-Rububiyyah): Ibn Manda opens the work by addressing God's oneness in His creation, decree, control of hearts and souls in life, sleep, and death, and His role as the provider, healer, and sustainer of all beings, establishing these proofs as a foundation for worship al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda+1.
• Divine Worship (Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah): The realization of the testimony that there is no god but God (La ilaha illa Allah), derived from and woven into the discussion of Lordship and the divine names Madkhal li-Dirasat al-Aqi…+1.
• The Divine Names (Asma' Allah al-Husna): Beginning with the hadith on the ninety-nine names, Ibn Manda discusses the Greatest Name of God (al-Ism al-A'zam), arguing through textual evidence that it is "Allah", before examining each divine name alongside its scriptural evidence al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda.
• The Divine Attributes (Tawhid al-Sifat): Covering almost all affirmed divine attributes with their textual evidences, including hearing, sight, two hands, speech, highness ('uluww), being above creation (fawqiyyah), love, hatred, laughter, jealousy, patience, wonder, and plotting (makr) against opponents al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda.

Method and Scholarly Reception

The work follows the traditional methodology of early hadith scholars in recording creed, serving primarily as a hadith compilation rather than a speculative theological text al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda. For each chapter, Ibn Manda provides a descriptive heading summarizing the doctrinal point, adduces supporting Quranic verses when available, and then records hadiths and reports complete with their full transmission chains (asanid) al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda+1. Explicit creedal commentary is rare, though the author occasionally provides concise explanations of specific terms or attributes al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda+1. While the majority of its reports are found in earlier hadith collections, the work contains unique transmission routes for several well-known traditions al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda.

Later scholars quoted directly from Kitab al-Tawhid and relied on Ibn Manda's hadith judgments, including Ibn Rajab (in Jami' al-'Ulum wa-l-Hikam and Lata'if al-Ma'arif), al-Dhahabi (in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' and al-'Uluww), Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and al-Suyuti al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda.

Editions

Kitab al-Tawhid has been published in multiple academic editions:

• Edited by Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Faqihi and published in three volumes in Medina (first printed at Maktabat al-Ghuraba' al-Athariyyah in 1414 AH, and later by Maktabat al-'Ulum wa-l-Hikam in 1423 AH) Tariq al-Hidaya Mabadi wa…+1.
• Edited by Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Wuhaibi and Musa ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Ghusn, originally completed as two master's theses at the College of Usul al-Din at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, and published by Dar al-Fadilah al-Tawhid li-Ibn Manda+1.