Usul al-Iman li Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
- Author died
- 1206 AH
- Editions
- ta al-Jawabira
Usul al-Iman (The Fundamentals of Faith) is a theological treatise on Islamic creed by the Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AH / 1792 CE), compiled to outline the core tenets of faith according to the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah through scriptural proofs .
Method and Structure
The work is structured as a series of thematic chapters (abwāb), under which the author presents relevant evidence drawn from the Quran and Prophetic hadiths without extensive dialectical commentary, allowing the textual evidence directly to substantiate each doctrinal heading .
Among the chapters in the work are:
- Knowing Allah and Believing in Him (Bāb maʿrifat Allāh wa-l-īmān bih): The book opens with the knowledge of Allah and sincerity in faith, citing hadiths recorded by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, including the divine report: أنا أغنى الشركاء عن الشرك، من عمل عملا أشرك فيه معي غيري تركته وشركه ("I am the most independent of partners from having associates; whoever does a deed in which they associate anyone else with Me, I abandon them and their polytheism") .
- Belief in the Divine Decree (Bāb al-īmān bi-l-qadar): Focusing on divine foreknowledge and destiny, supported by Quranic verses such as وَكَانَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ قَدَرًا مَقْدُورًا ("And the command of Allah is a decree determined") .
- Belief in the Angels (Bāb al-īmān bi-l-malāʾikah): Establishing faith in angels based on verses such as لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَالْمَلائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ ("Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but righteousness is one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets") .
- Admonition to Adhere to the Book of Allah (Bāb al-waṣiyyah bi-kitāb Allāh): Emphasizing adherence to the Quran, citing اتَّبِعُوا مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ ("Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord and do not follow other than Him any allies; little do you remember") .
Textual Transmission and Editions
In the manuscript tradition, the copy associated with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Latif preserves an opening notation indicating that additions were made to the original text by some of the author's sons (wa-qad zāda fīhi baʿḍu awlādihi ziyādatan ḥasanah) .
The work has been printed in several compilations:
- It was published in Cairo within Majmūʿat al-Ḥadīth al-Najdiyyah by al-Manār Press (pp. 209–240) .
- It was edited by Isma'il al-Ansari, accompanied by an introduction by Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Latif Al al-Shaykh .
- It was included in the creed section (al-ʿAqāʾid) of the first volume of the collected works (Muʾallafāt al-Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb) published by Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University .
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