Ara Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-Itiqadiyya (Ard wa Taqwim fi Daw Aqidat al-Salaf)
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- Maktabat Dār al-Minhāj lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Ara Ibn Hajar al-Haytami al-I'tiqadiyya (Ard wa Taqwim fi Daw' 'Aqidat al-Salaf) (The Theological Views of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami: Presentation and Evaluation in Light of the Creed of the Salaf) is an academic study in Islamic theology authored by Muhammad bin Abd al-Aziz al-Shaya .
Background and Purpose
The book originated as a master's thesis submitted to the Department of Creed and Contemporary Ideologies at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, where it received an "Excellent" grade along with a recommendation for publication and academic exchange . It was published in Riyadh by Maktabat Dar al-Minhaj in a single volume of 824 pages (first edition, 1427 AH / 2006 CE) as the 27th release in its publication series .
The author undertook the study to examine the theological views of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974 AH), a prominent late Shafi'i jurist whose extensive writings remain authoritative within the Shafi'i school . Al-Shaya notes that al-Haytami combined late Ash'arism with Sufism, advocated certain contentious devotional practices—such as specific forms of intercession (tawassul), traveling to visit graves, and celebrating the Prophet's birthday—and adopted an adversarial stance toward figures like Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya . The author observed that previous literature had either focused narrowly on al-Haytami's disputes with Ibn Taymiyyah (such as Jala' al-'Aynayn fi Muhakamat al-Ahmadayn by Nu'man Khayr al-Din al-Alusi) or addressed his creed only briefly in book introductions without comprehensive textual induction .
Method and Structure
The author employed an inductive and analytical method, surveying al-Haytami's published and manuscript works to compile his theological statements, categorizing them according to traditional theological headings, summarizing al-Haytami's stance with full textual quotations, and evaluating each issue against the creed of early Islamic scholars (al-Salaf) .
The work is organized into an introduction, a preliminary chapter, three main parts (abwab), and a conclusion:
- Preliminary Chapter (al-Tamhid): Provides a biographical sketch of Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, the political, religious, social, and scholarly context of the tenth century AH, his methodology and sources in theological matters, and his position regarding Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim .
- Part One (al-Bab al-Awwal): Covers faith in God (al-Iman billah), divided into three chapters:
- Tawhid al-Rububiyyah (Lordship): Divine knowledge, innate disposition (fitrah), and the ruling on the imitator's faith (iman al-muqallid) .
- Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah (Divinity/Worship): The meaning and virtues of the testification of faith, the definitions and types of worship, and stances on practices compromising worship .
- Tawhid al-Asma' wa al-Sifat (Names and Attributes): Divine names and divine attributes .
- Part Two (al-Bab al-Thani): Addresses the remaining articles of faith across five chapters:
- Faith in the Angels: Definition, scope, rankings among angels and compared to righteous humans, and impeccability .
- Faith in Revealed Scriptures: Scope, the nature of Quranic revelation, and Quranic inimitability (i'jaz) .
- Faith in the Messengers: Prophethood in general, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and saintly miracles (karamat al-awliya') .
- Faith in the Last Day: The intermediate realm (al-Barzakh), signs of the Hour, and the afterlife .
- Divine Decree and Predestination (al-Qada' wa al-Qadr): The scope of destiny, human actions, divine justice, rational discernment of good and evil (al-tahsin wa al-taqbih), divine wisdom and teleology, and assigning unbearable obligations (taklif ma la yutaq) .
- Part Three (al-Bab al-Thalith): Divided into two chapters dealing with the Companions and the Caliphate/Imamate, followed by theological nomenclature and legal rulings (al-Asma' wa al-Ahkam), encompassing issues of faith (iman), disbelief and excommunication (takfir), and religious innovations (bid'ah) .
- Conclusion and Indexes: Summarizes the findings of the study, followed by eight analytical indexes for Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, persons, sects and religions, terminology, rare vocabulary, bibliographical references, and subjects .
Key Findings
The study concludes that al-Haytami's theological development was shaped by the tenth-century AH context; that he relied frequently on secondary transmissions without independent critical verification in some doctrinal areas; displayed contradictions and fluctuations across several topics; permitted adopting either the Ash'ari or Maturidi theological schools; and showed considerable affinity with moderate Sufism while attempting to excuse and validate figures among its extreme proponents .
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