Itiqad Aimmat al-Salaf Ahl al-Hadith
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- Editions
- Dar Ilaf al-Dawliyyah
Itiqad Aimmat al-Salaf Ahl al-Hadith (The Creed of the Imams of the Salaf, the People of Hadith) is a theological compendium compiled and authored by the contemporary Saudi scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Khamis, documenting the doctrinal statements and treatises of early Sunni traditionalist scholars on the fundamentals of Islamic theology (usul al-din).
Background and Purpose
Al-Khamis compiled the work to articulate, defend, and clarify the creed of the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih) and the scholars of Hadith (Ahl al-Hadith), responding to criticisms and accusations leveled against them, such as claims of anthropomorphism (tajsim) or literalism (hashwiyya), as well as attempts to cast doubt on the transmission of classical traditionalist texts. He had previously written independent treatises and commentaries explaining the creedal formulations transmitted by specific early authorities, before deciding to assemble these studies into a single unified volume to provide an accessible reference rooted in the Quran and the Sunnah without the scholastic dialectic of speculative theology (kalam).
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into four major parts:
Part One: The Creed of the Salaf in General
This section gathers the theological statements and documented beliefs of twenty-eight prominent scholars and imams of the early generations, arranged chronologically, with a brief biographical introduction for each scholar outlining their standing among traditionists:
- Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH / reportedly 155 AH)
- Al-Awza'i (d. 157 AH)
- Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 AH)
- Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH)
- Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH)
- Sufyan ibn Uyaynah (d. 198 AH)
- Al-Shafi'i (d. 204 AH)
- Al-Humaydi (d. 219 AH)
- Bishr ibn al-Harith (d. 227 AH)
- Ali ibn al-Madini (d. 234 AH)
- Abu Thawr (d. 240 AH)
- Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH)
- Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH)
- Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Dhuhli (d. 258 AH)
- Abu Zur'ah al-Razi (d. 264 AH)
- Abu Hatim al-Razi (d. 277 AH)
- Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327 AH)
- Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d. 310 AH)
- Ibn Abi Dawud (d. 316 AH)
- Nasr al-Maqdisi (d. 490 AH)
- Al-Qadir bi-llah (d. 422 AH)
- Abu al-Fadl al-Hashimi (d. 428 AH)
- Abu Uthman al-Sabuni (d. 449 AH)
- Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 AH)
- Sa'd ibn Ali al-Zanjani (d. 471 AH)
- Mahfuz al-Kalwadhani (d. 510 AH)
- Abu al-Hasan al-Karaji (d. 532 AH)
- Abu Tahir al-Silafi (d. 576 AH)
The author systematically details their positions across key theological subjects, such as divine oneness (tawhid), divine names and attributes, legitimate and innovated forms of supplication (tawassul), faith (iman), and predestination (qadar).
Parts Two to Four: Specialized Treatises
- Part Two: An analytical commentary on the creed presented in the introduction of Shi‘ar Ashab al-Hadith by Abu Ahmad al-Hakim al-Kabir (d. 378 AH / 988 CE).
- Part Three: An exposition and commentary on the creed of the traditionalists recorded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (d. 324 AH / 936 CE, or 330 AH) in his Maqalat al-Islamiyyin.
- Part Four: An edited presentation and commentary on I‘tiqad A’immat al-Hadith (also referred to by al-Dhahabi as I‘tiqad al-Sunnah) by Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili (277–371 AH / 891–981 CE), the author of al-Mustakhraj ‘ala Sahih al-Bukhari.
Publication
The book was published in a single volume by Dar Ilaf al-Dawliyya in Kuwait, with its first edition appearing in 1420 AH / 1999 CE.
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