al-Tuhfa al-Sunniya Sharh Manzumat Ibn Abi Dawud al-Haiya
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al-Tuhfa al-Sunniya Sharh Manzumat Ibn Abi Dawud al-Haiya (The Sublime Gift: Commentary on the Ha'iyya Poem of Ibn Abi Dawud) is a theological commentary by the contemporary scholar Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr, expounding the classical didactic poem on creed composed by Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud (230–316 AH / 844–928 CE) .
Origin and Composition
The work originated as a series of instructional lectures delivered by al-Badr at the mosque of the Islamic University of Madinah in 1417 AH (1996/1997 CE) . A student at the university, Yahya ibn Ali Yahya, transcribed the recorded sessions, after which al-Badr reviewed, supplemented, and refined the transcription prior to publication .
Contents and Structure
The commentary provides a concise, verse-by-verse explanation of Ibn Abi Dawud's 33-line poem (al-Manzuma al-Haiya), a widely transmitted early Sunni formulation of creed . Al-Badr's exposition follows the thematic progression of the poem:
- Adherence to Revelation: The opening sections emphasize clinging to the Quran and the Sunnah, establishing them as the sole primary source of religious doctrine while cautioning against theological innovation (bid'a) .
- The Quran and Divine Speech: The commentary addresses the orthodox Sunni stance that the Quran is the uncreated speech of God, refuting both the Jahmite doctrine of its creation and the stance of suspension (waqf) .
- Divine Attributes and Beatific Vision: Al-Badr explains the affirmation of God's visual manifestation to the believers in the Hereafter without ambiguity, as well as divine attributes such as the Two Hands and the nightly descent (al-nuzul) without anthropomorphic modality (bila kayf), responding to Jahmite denials .
- The Companions: The text covers the merit and sequence of excellence among the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs—Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib—as well as the remainder of the Ten Promised Paradise and the general prohibition against disparaging any Companion .
- Eschatology and the Unseen: The commentary affirms belief in divine predetermination (qadar), the questioning by Munkar and Nakir, the punishment in the grave, the prophetic Basin (al-hawd), the Scale (al-mizan), intercession (shafa'a), and the deliverance of monotheists from Hellfire .
- Faith and Refutation of Sects: Al-Badr details the definition of faith (iman) as consisting of belief, statement, and action—increasing with obedience and decreasing with disobedience—while outlining the rejection of both Kharijite excommunication of sinners and Murji'ite doctrines .
Reception
The commentary is noted among contemporary pedagogical expositions on early theological texts. Abd al-Karim al-Khudayr commended it as a concise, useful, and clearly styled commentary accessible to students of Islamic knowledge .
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