Islamic Store

By Shaykh ul-Islam ibn Taymiyyah (661-728 AH)

The Textbook on Orthodox Sunni Creed
A translation of al Aqidah al Wasitiyyah (includes the Arabic Text)
Translated from the Original Arabic By Abu Rumaysah
With annotations from other works of Ibn Taymiyyah

Written in response to a request from a Shafi’i Judge from Wasit, Iraq, ibn Taymiyyah penned this creed encapsulating the belief taught by the Prophet Muhammad. In his own words, ‘This is (an exposition of) the belief of the saved group, those who are aided until the establishment of the Hour: Ahlul-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah.’

The tract is relatively brief but comprehensive, marked by its terse and precise statements. As one would expect of the author, the work draws heavily on the Quran and authentic hadiths of the Messenger. It commences by listing articles of belief concerning Allah, in particular His names and Attributes and the principles which must be applied to understand them. It then moves on to discuss topics such as the Quran, seeing Allah, the punishment of the grave, some of the descriptions of the last Day and the events that will occur therein, the divine decree, faith and the Companions.

It deals with the perfect and undefiled Islamic Faith and Creed of the As-Salaf-As-Salih (Pious Predecessors) particularly in regards to Allah’s names and attributes, with solid arguments in brief words and terminologies. The book is highly appreciated by the scholars for its brevity as well as comprehensiveness; and for its contents produced in line with the Qur’an and Sunnah in an appealing and manifest

About Sheikh ul Islam Ibn Taymiyah

Shaykh al-Islam Taqi ud-Din Abu’l-Abbas Ahmad Ibn al-Halim ibn Abd al-Salam Ibn Taymiyah al-Hanbali was born in , 661 AH (1263 AC) in Haran, which is now in Eastern Turkey, near the border of northern Iraq..
His family had long been renowned for its learning , among his teachers, was Shams ud-Din Al-Maqdisi, first Hanbali Chief Justice of Syria following the reform of the judiciary by Baibars.

The number of Ibn Taimiyah’s teachers exceeds two hundred. Ibn Taimiyah was barely seventeen, when Qadi Al-Maqdisi authorized him to issue Fatwa (legal verdict). Qadi remembered with pride that it was he who had first permitted an intelligent and learned man like Ibn Taimiyah to give Fatwa. At the same age, he started delivering lectures. When he was thirty, he was offered the office of Chief Justice, but refused, as he could not persuade himself to follow the limitations imposed by the authorities.

Imam Ibn Taimiyah’s education was essentially that of a Hanbali theologian and jurisconsult. But to his knowledge of early and classical Hanbalism, he added not only that of the other schools of jurisprudence but also that of other literature.

He had an extensive knowledge of Quran, Sunnah, Greek philosophy, Islamic history, and religious books of others, as is evident from the variety of the books he wrote.

About the Translator

Abu Rumaysah Refi Shafi is a proficient translator of Classical Arabic works and a strong student of knowledge and an active caller to Islamic dawah. Abu Rumaysah is part of The Wycombe Islamic Society (WISE) a registered charity which was established in 1991 to provide beneficial Islamic knowledge and services to the local community based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire England (http://www.wise-web.org/).