Ianat al-Mustafid bi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid
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- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Risala
I'anat al-Mustafid bi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid (Assistance to the Beneficiary through the Explanation of the Book of Monotheism) is a commentary by the Saudi scholar Salih al-Fawzan on Kitab al-Tawhid, the treatise on Islamic monotheism by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab .
Overview and Purpose
In the introduction to the work, al-Fawzan writes that the doctrine of monotheism (tawhid) is the foundation of the religion, upon which all commands, prohibitions, and acts of worship are built, and without which no deed is valid or accepted . He states that monotheism was the original state of humanity, while polytheism (shirk) was an introduced aberration that first emerged among the people of Noah as a consequence of excessive veneration of the righteous .
Structure and Method
The commentary systematically adheres to the chapter arrangement of Kitab al-Tawhid . Al-Fawzan elucidates the textual proofs cited from the Quran and the Prophetic traditions, clarifying the core theological and legal points derived from each passage. The opening chapters address the definition and reality of tawhid, its religious obligations, its virtue in expiating sins, and the merit of fully actualizing it without polytheistic contamination . The subsequent sections treat practices and beliefs that nullify monotheism or impair its required perfection, detailing categories of both major and minor polytheism .
Publication
The work was published in two volumes by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in Beirut, with a third edition appearing in 1423 AH (2002 CE) . Al-Fawzan also authored other instructional commentaries on the same base text, including al-Mulakhkhas fi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid, composed in a concise textbook format, and al-Ta'liq al-Mukhtasar al-Mufid ala Kitab al-Tawhid .
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