Usul al-Din al-Islami ma Qawaidihi al-Arbaa

Usul al-Din al-Islami ma Qawaidihi al-Arbaa (The Fundamentals of the Islamic Religion with Its Four Principles) is an Islamic theological work attributed to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE) that combines an exposition of foundational Islamic tenets with four guiding rules on the nature of monotheism and polytheism Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1.

Structure and Content

The work consists of two main parts: an instructional catechism on the fundamentals of the faith (Usul al-Din al-Islami) and a treatise outlining four foundational principles regarding worship (al-Qawa'id al-Arba') Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1.

First Part: Fundamentals of the Islamic Religion

The first section is presented in a didactic question-and-answer format designed to impart essential creedal knowledge Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1. It opens by outlining four mandatory obligations for every individual: knowledge (comprising knowledge of God, His Prophet, and the religion of Islam with textual evidence), action upon that knowledge, calling others to it, and exercising patience in the face of harm encountered in that pursuit, citing Surat al-Asr and the statements of al-Shafi'i and al-Bukhari Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …. It follows with three fundamental principles:

• God created humankind and provided sustenance, sending a messenger whose obedience leads to Paradise and disobedience to Hellfire Usul al-Din al-Islami ma ….
• God does not accept that any partner be associated with Him in worship, neither an angel brought near nor a sent messenger Usul al-Din al-Islami ma ….
• Anyone who obeys the Messenger and practices monotheism cannot ally with those who oppose God and His Messenger Usul al-Din al-Islami ma ….

The treatise then details the "Three Fundamentals" (al-Usul al-Thalatha):

1. Knowledge of the Lord: Defined as the Master, Creator, and sole entity deserving of worship, evidenced through cosmic signs such as the heavens, the earth, the sun, and the moon Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1. It establishes that all categories of worship—including supplication (du'a), fear, hope, reliance (tawakkul), longing, dread, humility, repentance, seeking aid (isti'ana), seeking refuge (isti'adha), seeking deliverance (istighatha), ritual slaughter, and vows—must be devoted exclusively to God, and directing any of them to others constitutes polytheism and disbelief Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+2.
2. Knowledge of the Religion of Islam: Defined as submission to God through monotheism, compliance through obedience, and disavowal of polytheism and its adherents Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …. It explains the three ascending ranks of the religion—Islam (with its five pillars), Iman (with over seventy branches and six pillars), and Ihsan (to worship God as though seeing Him)—referencing Quranic verses and the famous Hadith of Gabriel Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+4.
3. Knowledge of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: Covering his lineage, lifespan of sixty-three years (forty prior to prophethood and twenty-three as a prophet and messenger), his commissioning through Surat al-Muddaththir, his ten-year call to monotheism in Mecca, the nocturnal ascension and prescription of the five daily prayers, his migration to Medina, the universality of his message to both humans and jinn, and the finality of revelation Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+3.

The section concludes with discussions on death, the bodily resurrection, the final judgment, the mission of previous messengers starting with Noah, and the definition of the tyrant idol (taghut), identifying its five primary forms: Iblis, one who is worshipped while being pleased with it, one who summons people to worship himself, one who claims knowledge of the unseen, and one who rules by other than what God revealed Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+2.

Second Part: The Four Rules

The second part presents four fundamental principles (al-Qawa'id al-Arba') aimed at clarifying the boundary between true worship and polytheism Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1:

• First Rule: Affirming that God is the sole Creator, Sustainer, and Administrator of the universe (tawhid al-rububiyyah) does not alone enter a person into Islam, as the pre-Islamic polytheists affirmed this lordship yet were fought by the Prophet ﷺ until they directed all worship to God alone Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1.
• Second Rule: The polytheists justified invoking intermediaries by claiming they sought only proximity to God (qurbah) and their intercession (shafa'ah); the text distinguishes between the rejected intercession (sought from other than God in matters only God can grant) and the affirmed intercession (sought from God with His permission for people of monotheism) Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1.
• Third Rule: The Prophet ﷺ confronted polytheists who directed worship toward diverse entities—including angels, prophets, righteous persons, celestial bodies, stones, and trees (such as Dhat Anwat)—and treated them alike without distinguishing among their objects of veneration Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+2.
• Fourth Rule: Later polytheism is characterized as more severe than that of early times because ancient polytheists associated partners with God during times of ease but turned sincerely to Him during hardship, whereas subsequent polytheists maintain their devotion to intermediaries in both ease and hardship Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+1.

Arrangement and Publication

The collection has been arranged and edited in pedagogical formats by scholars including Muhammad al-Tayyib ibn Ishaq al-Ansari and Ismail al-Ansari, and has been published by institutions such as Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyyah in Mecca and the Islamic University of Madinah Ihya al-Athar Dirasa Aqdi…+2. Printed editions include analytical marginalia and commentary by scholars such as Muhammad Munir al-Dimashqi Usul al-Din al-Islami ma …+2.