Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid - Abd al-Rahim al-Sulami
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- Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid - Abd al-Rahim al-Sulami
Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid is a commentary by Abd al-Rahim al-Sulami on Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kitab al-Tawhid, focusing on the theology of Islamic monotheism and the detailed elucidation of tawhid al-uluhiyya (the oneness of God in worship) .
Methodological Background
In introducing his commentary, al-Sulami identifies two classical approaches previously taken by scholars when commenting on Kitab al-Tawhid :
- The expansive method (al-tariqa al-mutawassi'a): An extensive and exhaustive line-by-line commentary that explores every implication of the quoted Quranic verses, hadiths, and deduced issues, sometimes incorporating related theological or non-theological points. al-Sulami cites Sulayman ibn Abd Allah’s Taysir al-Aziz al-Hamid—which remained incomplete following the author's death during Ibrahim Pasha's campaign in Najd—and Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan's Fath al-Majid, which completed and refined the work, as primary representatives of this method .
- The foundational and concise method (al-taq'id wa-l-ta'sil): A streamlined approach focused on elucidating core principles, underlying concepts, and concise foundational rulings .
Noting that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab compiled the original text over several years by grouping verses and hadiths topically into chapters after the fashion of classical compilers such as al-Bukhari, al-Sulami adopted a foundational approach centered on grouping the original chapters into comprehensive thematic axes (mahawir) before providing concise commentary on the text .
Structure and Content
The commentary opens with a theoretical and linguistic framework for understanding monotheism, classifying tawhid through textual induction (istiqra'):
- By the perspective of the object of worship (God): Divided into three categories: tawhid al-rububiyya (divine lordship in creation, provision, and governance), tawhid al-uluhiyya (exclusivity of worship), and tawhid al-asma wa-l-sifat (divine names and attributes) .
- By the perspective of the worshipper: Divided into tawhid al-ma'rifa wa-l-ithbat (knowledge and affirmation) and tawhid al-qasd wa-l-talab (intent and devotion) .
al-Sulami explains linguistic and rhetorical aspects of foundational scriptural proofs, illustrating how structures such as preposing prepositional phrases (as in أَلا لَهُ الْخَلْقُ وَالأَمْرُ and وَلِلَّهِ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى ) or pairing negation with exception (as in the declaration of faith la ilaha illa Allah) convey exclusivity and restriction (al-hasr wa-l-qasr) .
The commentary organizes the chapters of Kitab al-Tawhid into distinct thematic tracks:
- The First Axis: The concept of tawhid al-uluhiyya, its virtue, necessity, core definitions, and the Prophet's ﷺ measures to safeguard it, spanning approximately seven chapters .
- Subsequent Axes: The classification of polytheism (shirk), its major and minor categories, superstitious practices, and associated actions that compromise monotheism .
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