IT’s writings

In the Name of Allah

It is said that a man’s worth is known by his word. And where do you look for a man’s words except in what he left us in writing? Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah’s fame as a scholar is best attested by what he wrote, more so than his acts and dealings with others.And he wrote much, but just a part as been recovered. And even though a lot is lost, what is printed today in thousands of pages from his hand covers much of his valuable thoughts on Islam and other subjects. To lift up the curtain of these hidden treasures, for most of the public who may visit this blog, we shall discuss anything related to this. We shall start with the most important writings of the Shaykh al-Islam one by one with a short description, Insha’Allah. It will cover the following subjects: Doctrines and beliefs, Qur’an and its subjects, Hadith and its subjects, applied  jurisprudence, principles of jurisprudence, ethics and manners,  politics and history, religious movements and sects, economics and finance, language and poetry, and  the rest.

Doctrines and beliefs

al-Risalah al-Wasitiyyah

al-Risalah al-Tadmuriyyah

Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah al-Kubra

Also known as the Creed of Hama, this Fatwâ was issued out by the author in order to reveal in general the authentic creed of the Salaf concerning the Names and Attributes of Allâh, ta’ala, and in particular their belief of Allâh’s Highness (al-’ulûww). The Fatwâ is a book-size work in which the author quoted in frequency the sayings of previous scholars in affirmation of the Attribute of al-’Uluww, such as al-Muhâsibî, al-Ash’arî, Ibn Abi Zamânîn, al-Bâqillâni, Abu Ya’la, al-Jilânî and many others. This is one of the most important works of the author concerning creed, discussing in great detail the misinterpretations of the Mu’attilah (rejectors) and the beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunnah.

Su’âl wa-Jawâb [ayn Allah?]

This important Fatwâ, on the question ‘Where is Allah?’, deals on the Attribute of ‘Ulûww (highness). The Salaf use to believe that Allâh, ta’ala, is transcend from His creation, being above, upon the Throne, distinct from the created worlds, as the Qur’ân and the Sunnah indicate, and as the Prophet explicitly stated in an authentic Hadîth. The opponents of this Sunnah rejected questioning Allâh’s whereabouts, since this necessiates – according to their incorrect reasoning – assigning Him a place and confinement, and this would be Tashbîh (comparing Allâh with His Creation). In reality, as the author indicates, they are comparing Allâh with the Creation since Allâh’s where-ness (ayniyyah) is not like our where-ness. Beside, the explicit question of the Messenger of Allâh, who was far more knowledgeable and carefull in describing his Lord, to one of the people, “Where is Allâh?”, and her response, “Above Heaven”, condones such questioning. If asking one “Where is Allah?” was prohibited, then the Prophet would not have said so [in front of others, the Muslim or non-Muslim]. The author emphasizes this, and how the Salaf understood this by mentioning similar statements by others. This Fatwâ is on one of the important dogma’s of Islam: thinking well of Allâh, ‘azza wa-jall.

Sharh Hadith anni harramtu al-dhulm ‘ala Nafsi (Sharh Hadith Abu Dharr)

Qa’idah fi Ma’na kawn al-Rabb ‘adilan wa fi tanazzuhihi ‘an al-Dhulm wa fi Ithbat ‘adlihi wa-ihsanihi 

Kitab al-Iman al-Kabir

The Great Book on Belief which is one of the author’s major works. It gives a full account on what îmân is, of what it consist, its nature, its features etc. It is the best work on the difference of opinions of the scholars concerning the subject. The contents deal specifically on what îmân is linguistically and technically (i.e. shar’i definition), its increase and decrease, what’s its pillars are and its fruit, the relation between belief and unbelief (kufr), the views of the Murji’ah, Karrâmiyyah and Ash’ariyyah on îmân, the view of the Salaf al-Sâlih and their rejection of other views. One of the author’s important works on belief; he also authored a K. al-Iman al-Awsat and K. al-Iman al-Saghir.

Kitab al-Iman al-Awsat

Al-‘Ubudiyyah

Qa’idah fi Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah

Al-Wasiyyah al-Kubra

Al-Wasiyyah al-Sughra

Al-Nubuwwât

The Book of Prophethoods, a work in refutation of the Ash’arites, in particular their Imam Ibn al-Baqillani, concerning the subject of miracles (mu’jizât) of the prophets, and the difference between them and ‘karâmât’, i.e. extraordinary happenings by the hand of Awliya’, ‘khawatir al-shaytaniyyat’ etc. In it the author exposes much of the false claims of the pseudo-Sufiyyah and their ilk. The book has been edited for a long time, though not the full text seem to have been recovered.

Al-Hasanat wa’l-Sayy’iat

Dar’ al-Ta’arrud al-‘Aql wa’l-Naql

The Repulsion of the Contradiction between Reason and Tradition is a major theological and philosophical book on one of the most important subjects known to man: the relationship between reason and tradition (or reason and religion). The book is also known under the title Muwâfaqat Sahîh al-Manqûl li-Sarîh al-Ma’qûl (The Agreement of the Authentic Tradition with Clear Reason). The author argues convincevily that the ‘Aql (reason) never contradicts the Naql (tradition, i.e. the religious texts), and that any apparent contradiction is in reality not a contradiction at all. He also argues that the Naql is more reliable than the ‘Aql, since the former is the source of the latter. He rejects the notion that when the two conflict the ‘Aql should be preferred, for according to him the clear ‘Aql never opposes the sound Naql; the conflict between the two may only appear so to readers. Besides, rational arguments are sometimes self-contradictory, containing doubts and are not always really rational. In this monumental work – unfortunately not wellknown in many academic circles – the author testifies to his great expertise of reasoning, the use of language and the islamic sources. It is a milestone in the debate surrounding reason versus tradition, one in which the author demolishes one of the major pitfalls of the ‘islamic rationalists’ and others too. The author wrote the book as a refutation of the false premises and notions articulated by one of those ‘rationalist’ thinkers, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and as such it has shaken the fundaments of thinking of both philosophers (falâsifah, mutafalsifah) as well as scholastici (ahl al-kalâm, mutakallimûn).

Mas’alat Ittibâ al-Rasûl bi-Sarih al-Ma’qul

Al-Iklil fi’l-Mutashabih wa’l-Ta’wil

Qâ’idah fi al-Asmâ’ wa’l-Sifât

Aqwam ma qila fi al-Qada’ wa’l-Qadar wa’l-Hikma wa’l-Ta’lil (al-Irada wa’l-Amr)

Marâtib  al-Irâda

Mas’alat al-Qadar

Risalah fi Ihtijaj bi’l-Qadar

Al-Ta’iyyah

Qa’idah fi’l-Qur’an wa-Kalâm Allah

Al-Kaylaniyyah

Al-Risalah al-‘Arshiyyah

Qa’idah al-Marrakushiyyah

Sharh Hadith al-Nuzûl

Sharh Hadith kâna Allah wa-lam yakun shay’ qabluh

Risalah fi Kalam ‘ala al-Fitra

Qur’an and its subjects

Muqaddimah fi Usul al-Tafsir

Daqa’if al-Tafsir

Aqsâm al-Qur’an

Al-Tibyan fi Nuzûl al-Qur’an

Tafsir Surat al-Nûr

Tafsir Surat al-Ahzâb

Tasfir Surat al-KawtharTafsir Surat al-Ikhlas

Jawâb Ahl al-‘Ilm wa’l-Iman an {Qul huwa Allahu Ahad} tu’dil thulth al-Qur’an

Hadith and its subjects

Al-Arba’ûn

Sharh Hadith innama al-a’mâl bi’l-niyyât

Sharh Hadith inni harramtu al-dhulm

Jurisprudence

Sharh al-‘Umda

Al-Amr bi’l-Ma’ruf wa-Nahy ‘an al-Munkar

Al-Qâ’idah al-Jalilah fi al-Tawassul wa’l-Wasilah

Iqtida’ Sirat al-Mustaqim mukhalafat Ashab al-Jahim

Al-Radd ‘ala’l-Bakri (Talkhis Kitab al-Istighatah)

Ziyârat al-Qubûr

Al-Jawâb al-Bâhir fi Zawâr al-Maqâbir

Al-Manasik

Al-Baghdadiyyah

Principles of jurisprudence

Al-Ma’arij al-Wusul

The full title is al-Ma’arij al-Wusul fi anna al-Nabiy qad bayyana al-Usul, in which the author makes clear that all of the religion, its fundaments and the derived rules (al-usûl and al-furû’), has been made clear by the Prophet, peace be upon him, himself as Allah, ta’ala, ordered him and confirmed in His Book. The author refutes the fallacies of the Ahl al-Kalam in this book, particularly that of the Ash’arites and Jahmites .

Sihhat Madhhab Usul Ahl al-Madinah

Al-Musawwadah fi Usul al-Fiqh

Risalah fi Ma’na al-Qiyas

Ethics and manners

Kitab al-Istiqamah

Amrâd al-Qulûb wa-Shifa’uhâ

Al-Qa’idah fi’l-Mahabbah

Risalah fi Tahqiq al-Shukr

Risalah fi Tahqiq al-Tawakkul

Risalah fi al-Tawbah

Politics and history

Al-Siyasah al-Shar’iyyah fi Islah al-Ra’i wa al-Ra’iyya

Al-Hisba

Religious movements and sects

Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah

Munazarah hawl al-Wasitiyyah

Naqd Asas al-Taqdis aw Bayan Talbis al-Jahmiyyah

In Bayân Talbîs al-Jahmiyyah, also known as Naqd Asâs al-Taqdîs or al-Ta’sis fi Naqd Asas al-Taqdis, the author produced a complete refutation of a book on the Names and the Attributes written by the well-known Ash’arite theologian Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d.606) entitled as: Asâs al-Taqdîs. This work of al-Razi is one of the principle manuals on Tawhîd by an Ash’arite. The author exposed the fundamental flaws of this book and criticized its contents in a an comprehensive and excellent way. The author’s intention was to expose the Ash’arite theology through the like of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, one of their main Imams and best Mutakallimun of theirs. The book concentrates much on the Attributes of Allah, and the understanding of them. It shakes the foundations of all Kalâm schools, particularly the proofs of contingency and composition, two major arguments of the Mutakallimun. It exposes also the weakness of the many innovated interpretations (ta’wilât) taken up by the Jahmites, the Mu’tazilites, the Ash’arites and others. It is one of the most important works written by the author concerning theology, philosophy and language, nay one of his most importants work of all. Unfortunately the book has not been found in total, and the smaller part recovered has been edited and another part is still in manuscript form. There is a ten volume edition of this work, however not seen by us.

Sharh ‘Aqidah al-Isfahaniyyah

The Commentary on the Creed of al-Isfahani is a review of an ‘Aqîda authored by the great Ash’arite theologian Shams al-Din al-Isfahani, who is Muhammad b. Mahmud b. ‘Abbad (d.688), a follower of the Ash’arite Fakhr al-Din al-Râzî. It was said, “None of the Leaders of the Scholars of Kalam entered Egypt similar to him!”. The author exposed the fundaments of Kalâm in it, and made clear the false notions which it contains. He also mentioned explicitly that this author depended largely on al-Razi. The importance of this work lies also in the criticism of Ibn Hazm’s views concerning the Attributes, that of Ibn ‘Aqil, Ibn al-Jawziy and his likes. It reveals the right track of the Ahl al-Sunnah, and rejects the innovated stances of many scholars, many righteous and close to the Sunnah, concerning Tawhid, the Names, the Attributes etc.

Al-Safadiyyah

Al-Murhsidah Aslihâ wa-Ta’lifihâ

Al-Radd ‘ala’l-Mantiqiyyin

Nasîhat Ahl al-Imân fi al-Radd ‘ala Mantiq al-Yunân

Al-Qâ’idah fi’l-Ism wa’l-Musamma

Risalah fi al-Radd ‘ala Ibn al-‘Arabi

Bughyat al-Murtâd fi al-Radd ‘ala’l-Mutafalsifah wa’l-Qarâmitah wa’l-Batiniyyah

Haqîqat al-Madhhab al-Ittihâdiyyah wa-Wahdat al-Wujud

Al-Radd al-Aqwam ‘ala mâ fi al-Fusus al-Hikam

Economics and finance

Language and poetry

Al-Haqîqah wa’l-Majâz

This important work has been composed by the author to highlight in particular the innovated dichotomy of Haqîqa and Majâz (literal and figurative), which the Mutakallimun invented in the subject of Arabic language. The author points correctly to the fact that dividing the language into Haqiqa and Majaz has been innovated after the praised generations of the Salaf al-Salih; it was not known to the Arabs, the Companions, the Followers and those who came after them. The dichotomy was in fact introduced by the Ahl al-Kalam in the 3rd century, by probably the Mu’tazilah and their ilk. The author adds to this that Majâz originally doesn’t have the meaning what the Ahl al-Kalam assigned to it, i.e. figurative. Today when speaking about Majâz we mean figurative. The original meaning of Majâz is actually ‘what is permitted in the language’ (mâ jajûz fi’l-lugha), and ‘figurative’ is just one out of many things that may be permitted in the language. Examples are pleonasms, hyperbole, metonomy, periphrasis, etc. Evidence for this thesis, renewed by the author, can be found in the book Majâz al-Qur’an by Abu ‘Ubaydah Ma’mar b. al-Muthanna, a language specialist. This book points out that indeed, there are Majâz in the Qur’an, meaning one of the above examples. As for the ‘Majaz’ of figurative language, then such type can not be found in the Majâz al-Qur’an of Abu ‘Ubaydah. This does not mean that it, i.e. figurative speech, does not exist at all. It does exist but not on its own, as if it is a matter of semantics. On the contrary, all speech is a matter of use. As such no ‘Majaz’ exist in the Book of Allâh as advocated by a group of scholars. This is what the author tries to prove, and this is what he advocates with reference to creed. He believes that the Attributes of Allâh have never been the subject of Majâz, i.e. figurative speech. On the contrary, they have been always regarded to be Haqîqi (real). The arguments drawn by the author, based primarily on the Arabic language itself and the history of the Arabic language, are self-evident and vindicative. The merit of this book lies not so in the arguments drawn by the author concerning the credal points, but rather in the fact itself that Majâz means not figurative originally and that the thesis ‘Haqîqa versus Majâz’ is something innovated. The very fact that today pragmatics in the debate about the origin and use of language advocate the same, against the semantics of their colleagues who disagree, is very interesting. In this sense the author is really a renewer of the religion, a Mujaddid!

Other subjects

Raf’ al-Malâm ‘an A’immat al-A’lâm

Qa’idah fi Taswîb al-Mujtahidin

Jawab al-Sahih li man baddala al-Din al-Masih

Al-Sarim al-Maslul ‘ala Shatim al-Rasul

Al-Risalah al-Qubrusiyyah

Fasl fi Dalil ‘ala Fadl al-‘Arab

Ra’s al-Husayn

Mas’alat fi’l-Faqr wa’l-Tasawwuf

Al-Furqân bayn Awliyâ’ al-Rahman wa-Awliya’ al-Shaytân

Al-Furqân bayn al-Haqq wa’l-Bâtil

Al-Samâ’ wa’l-Raqs

Qa’idah fi al-Mu’jizât wa’l-Karâmât

Updated later – Insha’Allah.