Aqidat al-Salaf - Muqaddimat Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani li Kitabihi al-Risala
- Author died
- 386 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-‘Āṣimah
Aqidat al-Salaf - Muqaddimat Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani li Kitabihi al-Risala (The Creed of the Early Generations: The Introduction of Abu Zayd al-Qayrawani to his Book al-Risala) is the theological opening of the classical legal manual al-Risala composed by the North African Maliki jurist Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (310–386 AH / 922–996 CE) . It serves as a concise treatise outlining orthodox Sunni creed according to the methodology of the early generations of Islam (salaf) .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Abi Zayd composed the work in response to a request to write a succinct summary of obligatory religious beliefs and practices, along with their connected confirmed sunnahs, supererogatory acts, and manners according to the legal school of Imam Malik ibn Anas . The requester wished to use it to instruct young children in the fundamentals of religion alongside their memorization of the Quran . Commentators report that this inquiry came from Mahraz ibn Khalaf al-Bakri, or according to another report, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Siba'i .
According to Abu Zayd Ibn al-Dabbagh, the author composed the work in his youth in 327 AH at the age of seventeen, though other biographical dating suggests differing ages depending on reports of his birth year . The inclusion of foundational theology (al-fiqh al-akbar) together with practical jurisprudence (furu') within a single beginner's manual was noted by commentators as an uncommon practice among classical juristic authors .
Structure and Content
The creed is positioned at the beginning of al-Risala under the title "Chapter on What Tongues Utter and Hearts Believe Regarding Obligatory Matters of Religion" (Bab ma tantiqu bihi al-alsina wa-ta'taqiduhu al-af'ida min wajib umur al-diyanat) .
The text addresses central tenets of Islamic belief without employing dialectical theology (kalam), adhering closely to textual formulation . The main subjects treated include:
- Tawhid and Divine Transcendence: Affirming God's absolute oneness while negating polytheism, likeness, equal counterparts, progeny, parents, female companions, and partners .
- Divine Attributes: Establishing God's eternal existence and His attributes such as knowledge, power, hearing, and sight, emphasizing that people contemplate His signs rather than the modality of His essence, and stating that He is above His Glorious Throne in Person while His knowledge is in every place .
- The Definition of Faith: Asserting that faith comprises conviction in the heart, verbal pronunciation by the tongue, and physical action by the bodily limbs .
- Eschatology and Destiny: Affirming the divine decree (qadar), both good and bad, prophetic guidance, and afterlife matters .
Reception and Commentaries
The introduction, alongside the wider text of al-Risala, achieved widespread circulation across both the Islamic West and East . The complete work accrued over one hundred commentaries, beginning with early Maliki jurists such as Abu Bakr al-Abhari and al-Qadi Abd al-Wahhab, and continuing through later scholars like Ahmad Zarruq and Ahmad ibn Ghunaym al-Nafrawi .
The creedal introduction has also been isolated for independent study and exposition:
- Poetic Rendering: The Maliki scholar Ahmad ibn Musharraf al-Ahsa'i (d. 1285 AH) rendered the introduction into didactic verse .
- Modern Commentaries: It has been explained in dedicated treatises, including Qatf al-Jani al-Dani by Abd al-Muhsin al-Abbad, al-Tawdih lil-Masa'il al-I'tiqadiyya by Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak, and al-Maghribiyya fi Sharh al-'Aqida al-Qayrawaniyya by 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Tarifi .
- Editions: A notable modern critical edition of the theological introduction was edited and established by Bakr ibn 'Abd Allah Abu Zayd within his collection al-Rudud .
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