Aqidat al-Hafiz Taqi al-Din Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi
- Author died
- 600 AH
- Editions
- Maṭābi‘ al-Firdaws
Aqidat al-Hafiz Taqi al-Din Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi (The Creed of al-Hafiz Taqi al-Din Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi) is a concise theological treatise by the Palestinian Hanbali traditionist Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (541–600 AH / 1146–1203 CE) setting forth traditionalist Sunni creed .
Title and Identification
Surviving manuscript copies open with scribal titles such as Hadhihi Aqidat al-Shaykh al-Hafiz Taqi al-Din Abi Muhammad Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Ali ibn Surur al-Maqdisi, Aqidat al-Hafiz Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, or Aqidat Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi .
Scholars disagree over whether this work is identical to another creedal treatise attributed to the author under the title al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad (The Middle Path in Creed) . The editor Ahmad ibn Atiyyah al-Ghamidi maintained that the authentic title of the work is al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad, citing bio-bibliographical listings by Ibn Rajab, Abd al-Rahman al-Ulaymi, Ibn Tulun, and Ismail Pasha, who noted that Abd al-Ghani wrote a creedal treatise without transmission chains (ghayr musnad) . Conversely, Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr observed that biographical entries describe al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad as a large treatise (juz' kabir), whereas the surviving manuscript copies represent a short tract (juz' saghir), all of which explicitly bear the title Aqidat Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi rather than al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad .
Method and Scope
The treatise summarizes core doctrine in accordance with the methodology of early traditionalist scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah and the Salaf) . It articulates theological tenets succinctly without quoting chains of narration (isnad), focusing on divine attributes (Sifat Allah) and the affirmation of theological doctrines such as the beatific vision of God in the afterlife (Ru'yat Allah) upon which early authorities held consensus .
Publication History and Commentaries
The treatise was published in several formats:
- It was printed in 1391 AH (1971 CE) within a compendium of creedal treatises under the supervision of Sheikh Abdullah ibn Humayd .
- It was critically edited based on three manuscripts by Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Busayri and published in 1411 AH (1990–1991 CE) under the title Aqidat al-Hafiz Taqi al-Din Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi by the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta in Riyadh .
- It was edited by Ahmad ibn Atiyyah al-Ghamidi under the title al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad .
The text has been commented upon by contemporary scholars, including Abd al-Razzaq ibn Abd al-Muhsin al-Badr in Tadhkirat al-Mu'tasi Sharh Aqidat al-Hafiz Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, which was compiled from lectures delivered in Medina, and Abd al-Aziz al-Rajhi in Sharh al-Iqtisad fi al-I'tiqad .
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