al-Tuhaf fi Madhahib al-Salaf

al-Tuhaf fi Madhahib al-Salaf (Arabic: التحف في مذاهب السلف, lit. 'Gifts Regarding the Doctrines of the Predecessors') is a theological epistle on Islamic creed and the divine attributes by the Yemeni jurist and traditionist al-Shawkani (1173–1250 AH / 1760–1834 CE) al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa…+1.

Background and Composition

The treatise was composed in response to a query received by al-Shawkani from a scholar residing in Mecca regarding the correct theological approach to divine unity (tawhid) and the scriptural attributes of God al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa…. In manuscript copies and scholarly citations, the work appears under slight variants of its title, including al-Tuhaf fi al-Irshad ila Madhhab al-Salaf (التحف في الإرشاد إلى مذهب السلف) and al-Tuhaf fi Madhhab al-Salaf (التحف في مذهب السلف) al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa…+1. A primary manuscript in al-Shawkani's own handwriting records the date of transcription as 1228 AH al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa….

Content and Methodology

In the treatise, al-Shawkani compiles the positions of early jurists and hadith scholars concerning the Quranic verses and prophetic traditions detailing the attributes of God Tariq al-Hidaya Mabadi wa…. He argues that the consensus of the early Muslim generations (al-salaf) was to accept these textual attributes according to their apparent meaning (zahir), affirming them without distortion (tahrif), figurative interpretation (ta'wil), denial (ta'til), or anthropomorphic comparison (tamthil or tashbih), while consigning the knowledge of their modality (kayfiyya) strictly to God Tariq al-Hidaya Mabadi wa…+1.

As a primary example, al-Shawkani addresses the attribute of God's ascension over the Throne (al-istiwa'), maintaining that it must be affirmed as revealed without allegorical reinterpretation or inquiry into how it occurs al-Mana fi Sifat Allah Ta…. The treatise also addresses the divine presence (al-ma'iyya), where al-Shawkani cautions against reducing it solely to "presence through knowledge," viewing such explanations as an unnecessary branch of figurative interpretation Nataij al-Buhuth wa Khawa…. Throughout the text, al-Shawkani strongly censures speculative theology (ilm al-kalam) and the methods of scholastic theologians, recounting his own earlier study of kalam and his subsequent renunciation of it in favor of the scriptural methodology of the early generations al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Reception and Scholarly Discussion

The work is widely referenced as al-Shawkani's primary theological statement on the creed of the early generations al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa…+1. Later scholars studying his theological positions frequently contrast the decisive rejection of figurative interpretation presented in al-Tuhaf with certain passages in his Quranic commentary, Fath al-Qadir, where he occasionally recorded figurative interpretations of specific divine attributes al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi…+1.

Manuscripts and Publication

Several manuscript copies of the treatise have survived:

• A seven-folio autograph copy penned by al-Shawkani in Naskh script, dated 1228 AH al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa….
• A five-folio manuscript in Naskh script completed on 18 Rabi' al-Awwal 1275 AH al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa….

The text has been published in standalone editions, including one edited by Abd Allah Hajjaj (Cairo: Sharikat al-Salam al-Alamiyya, 1408 AH / 1988 CE), and was also edited by Mahfuzah bint Ali Sharaf al-Din as part of al-Shawkani's collected legal and theological responsa, al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fatawa al-Imam al-Shawkani al-Fath al-Rabbani min Fa…+1.