Sadd al-Dhara'i fi Masa'il al-Aqida
- Author died
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- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
Sadd al-Dhara'i fi Masa'il al-Aqida (Blocking the Means in Matters of Creed), in full titled Sadd al-Dhara'i fi Masa'il al-Aqida 'ala Daw' al-Kitab wa-l-Sunna al-Sahiha, is a contemporary theological treatise authored by Abd Allah al-Junaydi (Abd Allah Shakir Muhammad al-Junaydi), head of Islamic studies at the Teachers College in al-Qunfudhah, examining the application of the legal principle of blocking the means (sadd al-dhara'i) across major topics of Islamic creed .
Purpose and Scope
The work investigates how the Islamic principle of prohibiting permissible or intermediate acts to prevent illicit ends operates within the domain of theology and belief (aqida) . The author focuses on textual evidence from the Quran and authentic Prophetic traditions showing how Islamic legislation preemptively closes avenues that could compromise monotheism (tawhid), lead to idolatry (shirk), undermine respect for prophecy, or disrupt sociopolitical unity . The study was also published across issues of the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah (Majallat al-Jami'ah al-Islamiyyah) .
Structure and Contents
The book is arranged into an introduction, a preliminary study (tamhid), five main chapters (fusul), and a brief conclusion (khatimah) :
- Preliminary Section (Tamhid): Defines the linguistic origin of dhari'ah—originally used for a camel behind which a hunter conceals himself—alongside its legal meaning, and presents textual proofs for the obligation of blocking means from the Quran, the Sunna, and scholarly consensus .
- Chapter One: Blocking means leading to major polytheism (al-shirk al-akbar), divided into three subsections detailing the definition and danger of major shirk, relevant Quranic verses, and illustrative hadiths .
- Chapter Two: Blocking means leading to minor polytheism (al-shirk al-asghar), organized into two subsections covering verbal expressions (al-alfaz) and physical actions (al-a'mal) .
- Chapter Three: Blocking means in the monotheism of knowledge and affirmation (tawhid al-ma'rifah wa-l-ithbat), comprising two subsections on avoiding the emulation of God's divine acts (mudahah) and blocking means related to divine names and attributes (tawhid al-asma' wa-l-sifat) .
- Chapter Four: Blocking means regarding prophethood and messengership (al-nubuwwah wa-l-risalah), containing four subsections on supporting prophets with exclusive miracles, the prohibition against declaring superiority among prophets, sending messengers in the native tongues of their peoples, and forbidding believers from addressing the Prophet ﷺ using ambiguous phrasing such as Ra'ina .
- Chapter Five: Blocking means regarding the imamate and rebellion (al-imamah wa-l-khuruj 'ala al-hakim), consisting of two subsections on the obligation of appointing and uniting around a single leader, and the prohibition of rebelling against the ruler while maintaining obedience in matters that do not involve sin .
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