Sharh Lumat al-Itiqad - Nasir al-Aql
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- Sharh Lumat al-Itiqad - Nasir al-Aql
Sharh Lumat al-Itiqad (Commentary on the Luminescence of Creed) is a contemporary audio lecture series and transcribed commentary by the Saudi theologian Nasir al-Aql, explaining the classical Hanbali creedal treatise Lumat al-Itiqad by Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH / 1223 CE) .
Background and Origin
The commentary originated as an intensive educational course (dawrah) delivered by Nasir al-Aql in a mosque for students of Islamic knowledge . It circulated widely as a recorded audio lecture series spanning eight cassette tapes before being transcribed into written form .
Method and Content
Al-Aql prefaces the commentary with guidance on the proper methodology of seeking religious knowledge (talab al-ilm), stressing gradual learning starting with the memorization and comprehension of foundational primers (mutun), followed by intermediate and then detailed commentaries . He classifies Lumat al-Itiqad as a comprehensive foundational text (matn shamil) covering the overarching tenets of the early Muslim community (al-salaf al-salih), placing it alongside works such as al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah and the didactic poetry of Hafiz al-Hakami .
Before analyzing the core text, al-Aql provides a biographical overview of the author, Ibn Qudamah, highlighting his scholarly standing in Damascus and his authorial contributions in jurisprudence and legal theory . The commentary then systematically examines Ibn Qudamah's text, articulating the governing principles regarding the divine names and attributes (al-asma' wa-al-sifat), the dual foundations of affirmation (ithbat) and negation (nafy) derived from the Quranic verse: لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ ("There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing") [Quran 42:11], and the rejection of both anthropomorphic resemblance (tamthil / tashbih) and theological negation (ta'til) .
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