Qa'ida 'Azima fi al-Farq bayna 'Ibadat Ahl al-Islam wal-Iman wa-'Ibadat Ahl al-Shirk wal-Nifaq
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-ʿĀṣimah
Qa'ida 'Azima fi al-Farq bayna 'Ibadat Ahl al-Islam wal-Iman wa-'Ibadat Ahl al-Shirk wal-Nifaq (A Major Principle on the Distinction Between the Worship of the People of Islam and Faith and the Worship of the People of Polytheism and Hypocrisy) is a theological treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) on the essential foundations of Islamic worship and the demarcation between monotheistic devotion and polytheistic practices .
Core Thesis and Content
The treatise belongs to Ibn Taymiyya's works devoted to establishing and defending the exclusivity of worship (tawhid al-uluhiyya) . Ibn Taymiyya anchors his discussion on the premise that the worship practiced by Muslims rests upon two primary foundations (aslan):
- Worshipping none other than God alone without partners .
- Worshipping Him exclusively in the manner He commanded and legislated through His messengers .
Contrasting this with the devotional acts of the practitioners of polytheism (shirk), hypocrisy (nifaq), ignorance, and religious innovations (bid'a), Ibn Taymiyya argues that genuine adherence to the prophets requires single-minded devotion to God and complete obedience to His revealed law . He emphasizes that while external legal codes (shara'i') varied among previous prophets—such as the changing of the prayer direction (qiblah) from Jerusalem to Mecca—the foundational religion (din) of all messengers remained identical: the worship of God alone in total submission (islam) . To demonstrate this, the text cites the Qur'anic accounts of earlier prophets—including Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, and Jesus—to show that every prophetic mission called exclusively to the same core principle of monotheism .
Manuscripts and Publication
The treatise was edited by Sulayman ibn Salih al-Ghusn, who based his edition on a unique manuscript copy held on microfilm at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (No. 9195/f), originally photographed from the Jerusalem collections . It was published by Dar al-Asimah in Riyadh, first appearing in Muharram 1411 AH (1990 CE), followed by a second edition in 1418 AH (1997 CE) . The text has also appeared in compilations under related titles, including Risalat al-Ibadat al-Shar'iyya wal-Farq baynaha wa-bayna al-Bid'a in Rashid Rida's Majmu'at al-Rasa'il wal-Masa'il .
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