Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf fi al-Aqida wa al-Manhaj wa al-Tarbiya
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- al-Maktabah al-Islāmīyah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Mawsuat Mawaqif al-Salaf fi al-Aqida wa al-Manhaj wa al-Tarbiya (The Encyclopedia of the Stances of the Salaf in Creed, Methodology, and Nurturance) is a ten-volume reference work compiled by the Moroccan scholar Abu Sahl Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrawi. The work compiles over 9,000 statements, actions, and positions of more than 1,000 Islamic scholars spanning fifteen centuries on matters of theological creed (aqida), methodology (manhaj), and moral cultivation (tarbiya).
Background and Composition
The origin of the encyclopedia traces back to al-Maghrawi's doctoral dissertation submitted in 1403 AH (1983 CE) at the Islamic University of Madinah in the Department of Creed, titled al-Aqida al-Salafiyya fi Masiratiha al-Tarikhiyya wa Qudratiha ala Muwajahat al-Tahaddiyat (The Salafi Creed in Its Historical Trajectory and Its Capacity to Face Challenges). The author was prompted to undertake this research following public debates and criticisms surrounding Salafism around 1395 AH (1975 CE), as well as widespread inquiries regarding comprehensive references documenting the early generations.
Al-Maghrawi subsequently expanded his dissertation into an eight-part series on Salafi theology, designing this ten-volume encyclopedia as the seventh section (al-Qism al-Sabi') of that larger project.
Scope and Sources
The encyclopedia brings together narratives, rulings, and pronouncements scattered across classical Islamic biographical dictionaries and theological literature. A primary source utilized by the author was al-Dhahabi's Siyar A'lam al-Nubala', alongside dozens of early treatises on Sunni creed and biographical compendia.
The compiled material encompasses nearly 1,200 notable figures—commencing with the generation of the Prophet Muhammad's Companions (Sahaba) and the Successors (Tabi'un), and continuing across subsequent centuries through modern history. Across these biographical entries, the book records nearly 10,000 transmitted reports highlighting their adherence to the Quran and Sunna, their moral character, and their stances toward divergent groups and theological innovations.
Objectives and Content
In the preface, al-Maghrawi articulates several motives for compiling the encyclopedia:
- Demonstrating the historical continuity of early Sunni orthodoxy from the earliest generations of Islam down through later centuries, refuting assertions that Salafi theology was originated by Ibn Taymiyya or Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.
- Extracting and consolidating foundational theological stances and biographical accounts that were previously buried across disparate classical volumes, facilitating access for contemporary students and researchers.
- Documenting the consensus and methodologies of traditional scholars regarding doctrinal polemics, the refutation of theological deviation, and the rejection of modern syncretism or inter-sectarian rapprochement (al-taqrib bayn al-firaq).
Publication
The work was published in its first edition across ten volumes by al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya in Cairo, Egypt, in joint publication with al-Nubala' li-l-Kitab in Marrakech, Morocco.
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