Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad lil-Sanani - al-Rajihi

Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad lil-Sanani is a contemporary Arabic commentary on Islamic creed authored by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah al-Rajihi, expounding the doctrinal treatise Tathir al-Itiqad 'an Adran al-Ilhad ("Purification of Creed from the Impurities of Deviance") by the Yemeni traditionist and jurist Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani (1099–1182 AH / 1688–1768 CE) Tathir al-Itiqad an Adran…+1.

Background and Purpose

The base text, Tathir al-Itiqad, was composed by al-San'ani to articulate the creed of the early generations of Muslims (al-salaf), with particular emphasis on isolating the worship of God from all forms of associationism (shirk) and condemning the veneration of graves, shrines, and living claimants to esoteric knowledge al-Tanwir Sharh al-Jami a…+1. Al-Rajihi's commentary provides an elucidation of al-San'ani's prose, clarifying its theological arguments with Quranic proofs, prophetic traditions, and definitions drawn from classical authorities Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1.

Contents and Core Themes

The commentary revolves around the fundamental principles (al-usul) established in al-San'ani's epistle:

• Divisions of Monotheism (Tawhid): Al-Rajihi explains the classification of monotheism into two overarching categories—Tawhid al-Rububiyyah (the Oneness of Lordship, also called al-Tawhid al-ilmi al-khabari), which encompasses belief in God's existence, His exclusive acts such as creation, sustenance, reviving, causing death, and sending rain, as well as His Names and Attributes; and Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah or Tawhid al-Ibadah (the Oneness of Worship), which denotes dedicating all acts of the servant exclusively to God Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1. He notes that while earlier scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya treated the Names and Attributes under the broader category of Lordship, later theologians distinguished Tawhid al-Asma wa-l-Sifat as a third independent category due to theological disputes and misconceptions that arose around divine attributes Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1.
• The Nature of Ancient Polytheism: The commentary demonstrates that ancient polytheists acknowledged God's Lordship and sovereignty as an innate disposition (fitrah), as evidenced by numerous Quranic passages, but remained outside Islam because they directed acts of devotion—such as supplication, sacrificial slaughter, and vows—to intermediaries Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1. Only anomalous groups, such as the materialists (al-dahriyyah), naturalists (al-taba'iyyun), and communists, denied divine lordship Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li….
• The Mission of the Prophets: Al-Rajihi details al-San'ani's point that messengers were sent primarily to summon mankind to the monotheism of worship (Tawhid al-Ibadah) and the renunciation of false deities (al-taghut), while establishing proofs through the polytheists' own acknowledgment of God's Lordship Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1.
• Definition and Conditions of Worship: The commentary discusses the technical definition of worship, citing Ibn Taymiyyah's definition as "a comprehensive term for everything God loves and is pleased with, of words and deeds, both inward and outward," and emphasizes its two essential prerequisites: absolute sincerity (ikhlas) and conformity with the Sharia (mutaba'ah) Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1.

Method

Al-Rajihi's exposition proceeds phrase-by-phrase through the source text, citing relevant Quranic verses and elaborating upon legal and linguistic implications of al-San'ani's assertions Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1. The language is geared toward pedagogical clarity, illustrating creedal principles with concrete examples of both valid devotional acts and prohibited superstitious practices Sharh Tathir al-Itiqad li…+1.