Aqidat Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah lil-Uthaymin
- Author died
- 1421 AH
- Editions
- al-Jāmiʿah al-Islāmiyyah al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah
Aqidat Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah (The Creed of the People of the Sunnah and the Community) is a theological treatise composed by Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE) that summarizes the foundational doctrines of the Sunni tradition according to the method of the early generations (al-Salaf).
Purpose and Reception
Al-Uthaymin stated in the introduction that he wrote this concise work to clearly set forth the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah in response to differing inclinations and schisms. The treatise was published under the auspices of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in 1404 AH. It received an endorsement from Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baz, who noted that he had listened to the entire text and praised its comprehensive treatment of the pillars of faith and its inclusion of key doctrinal points rarely gathered in similar introductory manuals.
Structure and Contents
The treatise is structured around the six pillars of Islamic faith (arkān al-īmān), followed by a chapter on their spiritual and practical fruits:
- Faith in Allah (al-Īmān billāh): Covers the affirmation of Allah’s Lordship (rubūbiyyah), Divinity (ulūhiyyah), and Names and Attributes (al-asmāʾ wa-l-ṣifāt), affirming His singularity without partners. The text affirms divine attributes mentioned in scripture—including Allah’s speech, the Quran being His literal uncreated word, His loftiness (ʿuluww), His ascending above the Throne (istiwāʾ), His descent (nuzūl) to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night, His two hands, two eyes, face, love, pleasure, and anger—while rejecting indwelling pantheism (ḥulūl), distorted interpretation (taḥrīf), negation (taʿṭīl), anthropomorphism (tamthīl), and inquiring into how (takyīf). It distinguishes between Allah's universal decree (al-irādah al-kawniyyah) and legislative will (al-irādah al-sharʿiyyah), and affirms the beatific vision (ruʾyah) of Allah by believers in the Hereafter.
- Faith in the Angels (al-Īmān bi-l-Malāʾikah): Describes angels as honored beings created to obey Allah, detailing specific individuals and duties mentioned in the texts, such as Jibril (revelation), Mika'il (rain and vegetation), Israfil (blowing the Trumpet), the Angel of Death, the guardian and recording angels, the questioning angels in the grave, and Malik the keeper of Hell.
- Faith in the Divine Books (al-Īmān bi-l-Kutub): Details the scriptures revealed by Allah, specifically naming the Torah to Musa, the Gospel to Isa, the Psalms (Zabur) to Dawud, the scrolls of Ibrahim and Musa, and the Quran revealed to Muhammad ﷺ, which abrogated previous scriptures and remains divinely preserved from corruption.
- Faith in the Messengers (al-Īmān bi-l-Rusul): Affirms that all prophets are human servants without divine attributes, beginning with Nuh and ending with Muhammad ﷺ as the seal of the prophets sent to all humanity. This section also addresses the leadership of the Rightly Guided Caliphs in order of merit and succession (Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib), the preeminence of the Companions, and the obligation to abstain from discussing the conflicts that arose among them except with positive regard and excuses of ijtihad.
- Faith in the Last Day (al-Īmān bi-l-Yawm al-Ākhir): Outlines the resurrection, the presentation of records, the scales (mawāzīn), the great intercession (al-shafāʿah al-ʿuẓmā), the Prophet's basin (ḥawḍ), the bridge over Hellfire (al-ṣirāṭ), Paradise and Hell as existing, everlasting abodes, and the trial and punishment or bliss in the grave.
- Faith in Divine Decree (al-Īmān bi-l-Qadar): Covers the four levels of divine decree: Knowledge (ʿilm), Writing (kitābah), Will (mashīʾah), and Creation (khalq). It affirms that human beings act with real choice and capability, refuting the fatalistic justification of sins through divine decree and explaining that evil is not attributed to Allah's decree itself, but resides in created consequences.
- Fruits of the Creed (Thimarāt Hādhihi al-ʿAqīdah): Concludes by enumerating the benefits derived from each pillar, such as spiritual tranquility, reliance on Allah, humility, gratitude, and moral steadfastness.
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