Aqidat Ahl al-Iman fi Khalq Adam ala Surat al-Rahman
- Author died
- 1413 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Liwā’ lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Aqidat Ahl al-Iman fi Khalq Adam ala Surat al-Rahman (The Creed of the People of Faith Concerning the Creation of Adam upon the Image of the Most Merciful) is a theological treatise by the Saudi scholar Hammud ibn Abdullah al-Tuwayjiri (1334–1413 AH / 1915–1993 CE) . The book examines the prophetic traditions concerning the creation of Adam in God's image and defends the traditional Athari interpretation of the divine attribute of image (al-sura) .
Theological Scope and Arguments
The primary focus of the work is the prophetic narration إن الله خلق آدم على صورته ("God created Adam in His image") and its variant reported on the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar, إن الله خلق آدم على صورة الرحمن ("God created Adam upon the image of the Most Merciful") . Al-Tuwayjiri also gathers related hadiths regarding God's coming on the Day of Resurrection in His image .
The central thesis of the treatise is that the personal pronoun in the phrase "in His image" ( على صورته ) refers directly to God Almighty, rather than to Adam or another created being . Al-Tuwayjiri argues that this divine image is affirmed in a manner befitting God's majesty, without inquiring into its modality (bi-la kayf) or likening Him to creation (bi-la tamthil) . To establish this position, he adduces authentications and statements from early authorities, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, and Ibn Taymiyya . In doing so, he critiques the stance of Ibn Khuzayma, who rejected referring the pronoun back to God and disputed the authenticity of the wording mentioning "the image of the Most Merciful" .
Reception and Scholarly Debate
The treatise was reviewed and endorsed by Sheikh Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, who commended it as a valuable and highly beneficial work that clarified the truth of the issue, affirming al-Tuwayjiri's conclusion regarding the return of the pronoun to God and his critique of Ibn Khuzayma .
Conversely, the hadith scholar Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani strongly criticized the book and its conclusions . Al-Albani maintained that the wording على صورة الرحمن ("upon the image of the Most Merciful") is unauthentic and anomalous (munkar and shadhdh), as it contradicts four authentic transmission routes from Abu Hurayra recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that use the phrasing على صورته , where the pronoun refers to Adam himself . Al-Albani also criticized al-Tuwayjiri's methodology in hadith criticism, noting weaknesses in the chain such as the narrator Ibn Lahi'ah and accusing al-Tuwayjiri of selectively truncating Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's biographical remarks in Taqrib al-Tahdhib to bolster the narration's reliability .
Publication History
The work was first published in 1407 AH by Dar al-Liwa in Riyadh . A second edition was issued by the same publisher in 1409 AH / 1989 CE .
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