al-Tuhfa al-Mahdiyya Sharh al-Aqida al-Tadmuriyya
- Author died
- 1392 AH
- Editions
- Maṭābiʿ al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah bi-al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
al-Tuhfa al-Mahdiyya Sharh al-Aqida al-Tadmuriyya (Arabic: التحفة المهدية شرح العقيدة التدمرية, lit. 'The Mahdian Gift: A Commentary on the Tadmuriyya Creed') is a theological commentary by the Saudi scholar Falih bin Mahdi Al Mahdi (1352–1392 AH / 1933–1972 CE) on Ibn Taymiyyah's treatise al-Risala al-Tadmuriyya.
Background and Composition
In 1381 AH, Falih bin Mahdi was transferred from teaching at the Riyadh Scientific Institute to the College of Sharia Sciences by order of the deputy mufti for colleges and institutes, Abd al-Latif bin Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh. There, he was assigned to teach first-year Islamic theology (tawhid), for which Ibn Taymiyyah's al-Risala al-Tadmuriyya was the prescribed syllabus text. Noting that students encountered difficulties with the brevity and dense terminology of the treatise, he authored this concise commentary to unpack its abridged phrasing, clarify its subtle arguments, and elaborate on its summary points. He completed the work at the start of Dhu al-Hijjah 1384 AH (April 1965 CE).
Methodology and Content
The work serves as an explanatory gloss designed for both beginner students and advanced instructors. In explaining the text, the author relied primarily on Ibn Taymiyyah's wider corpus to interpret and elucidate the source treatise. The commentary explains Ibn Taymiyyah's positions concerning the two foundational theological themes of al-Tadmuriyya: the divine names and attributes (tawhid al-asma wa-l-sifat) and the harmony between divine decree and religious obligation (al-shar' wa-l-qadar). It also identifies and details the arguments of various theological factions and early figures referenced succinctly in the original text, such as the Jahmiyya and Wasil ibn Ata.
Reception
In a foreword to the book, the scholar Zayd bin Abd al-Aziz bin Fayyad praised the commentary for clarifying the obscure references and implicit citations to classical heresiographical doctrines that Ibn Taymiyyah made in al-Tadmuriyya, noting that the work filled an important instructional void for readers of the original text.
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