Juz fihi Dhikr I'tiqad al-Salaf fi al-Huruf wa al-Aswat
- Author died
- 676 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Ansar li-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzi'
Juz fihi Dhikr I'tiqad al-Salaf fi al-Huruf wa al-Aswat (Tract Mentioning the Creed of the Early Generations Regarding Letters and Sounds) is a theological treatise on the nature of divine speech attributed to the Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH / 1277 CE) .
Background and Composition
The author compiled the work in response to a request to summarize the positions and core beliefs of the early generations (Salaf) regarding letters and sounds, following the widespread emergence of doubts, polemics, and partisan disputes on the subject . According to its manuscript colophon, the composition was completed on Thursday, 3 Rabi' al-Akhir 676 AH, roughly two months before al-Nawawi's death on 24 Rajab 676 AH .
Structure and Content
The treatise is organized into two main parts (qismayn) :
- Part One (al-Qism al-Awwal): Transmits and analyzes material drawn from the work Ghayat al-maram fi mas'alat al-kalam by the Shafi'i scholar Fakhr al-Din Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Urmawi . It reviews scholarly disagreements on whether letters are uncreated and eternal (qadimah)—either absolutely or specifically in the Quran—and cites arguments from Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, and reports transmitted from early authorities such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu al-Qasim 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mandah, Abu 'Ali al-Hashimi, Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak, and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh .
- Part Two (al-Qism al-Thani): Incorporates material extracted from al-Nawawi's own book al-Tibyan fi adab hamalat al-Quran (The Clarification on the Etiquette of the Bearers of the Quran) .
Method
In presenting the arguments, the text adopts the dialectical methods and investigative rules of later scholastic theologians (al-mutakallimun), while stating its intention to present the consensus and traditions of the Companions and early generations concisely and without sectarian bias .
Manuscript and Transmission
The treatise is recorded in the catalog of al-Nawawi's works compiled by his student Ibn al-'Attar in Tuhfat al-talibin fi tarjamat al-Imam Muhyi al-Din . The surviving manuscript copy spans 44 pages, with 19 lines per page and approximately 8 to 10 words per line, copied on 3 Rabi' al-Akhir 676 AH . Having long been counted among his lost writings, it was edited and published from this manuscript by Abu al-Fadl Ahmad ibn 'Ali al-Dumyati .
Answer updated