Taqrib al-Wusul ila Thalathat al-Usul
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- Dār al-‘Aqīdah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Taqrib al-Wusul ila Thalathat al-Usul (Approximating the Attainment to the Three Fundamentals) is an intermediate-level commentary on Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's foundational creedal treatise Thalathat al-Usul, written by Dr. Mansur ibn Muhammad al-Saqoub .
Purpose and Method
The work was composed as a medium-length commentary (sharh mutawassit) designed to avoid both confusing brevity and tedious length . Its stated objective is to untangle the phrases of the base text and clarify their meanings, deliberately restricting the discussion to direct elucidations of the original wording without expanding into extraneous topics found elsewhere . The author intended it as an accessible text for beginning students of creed, allowing them to comprehend Thalathat al-Usul before progressing to advanced works such as Kitab al-Tawhid (The Book of Monotheism) and al-Aqida al-Wasitiyya (The Wasiti Creed) .
Structure and Content
Prior to commenting on the main text, the author introduces three preliminary overviews :
- Author's Biography: A concise biography of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, covering his lineage, upbringing, early education, and family background in Najd .
- Overview of the Treatise: A review of Thalathat al-Usul and its pedagogical history, noting how scholars used it to instruct the general public and students, alongside modern commentaries, versifications, and abridgments .
- Scope and Subject Matter: An outline of the main treatise's themes, which revolve around actualizing the oneness of worship (tawhid al-ibada) and answering the three questions of the grave .
The core commentary follows the original arrangement of Thalathat al-Usul, addressing its four primary components: the preliminary four matters (knowledge, action, calling to it, and patience upon hardship); the three rules concerning monotheism and disavowal of opposition to God and His Messenger; the definition of Hanifiyya as the religion of Abraham; and the three main fundamentals, which consist of the servant's knowledge of his Lord, his religion, and his Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, accompanied by their textual proofs .
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