TAHAWI'S STATEMENT OF ISLAMIC DOCTRINE (AL-`AQIDA AL-TAHAWIYYA):
بسم
الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name
of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the
worlds.
.
The great
scholar Hujjat al-lslam Abu Ja'far al-Warraq al-Tahawi al-Misri, may Allah have
mercy on him, said: This is a presentation of the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunna wa
al-Jama`a, according to the school of the jurists of this religion, may Allah
be pleased with them all, and what they believe regarding the fundamentals of
the religion and their faith in the Lord of the worlds.
نَقُولُ
في تَوْحيدِ اللَّهِ مُعْتَقِدينَ، بـِتَوْفيقِ
We say
about Allah's unity, believing by Allah's help that:
إِنَّ
اللَّهَ تَعالى وَاحِدٌ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ،
1. Allah
is One, without any partners.
وَلا
شَيْءَ مِثْلُهُ،
2. There
is nothing like Him.
وَلا
شَيْءَ يُعْجِزُهُ،
3. There
is nothing that can overwhelm Him.
وَلا
إِلهَ غَيْرُهُ،
4. There
is no god other than Him.
قَدِيْمٌ
بـِلا ابْتِدَاءٍ، دَائِمٌ بـِلا انْتِهَاءٍ،
5. He is
the Eternal without a beginning and enduring without end.
لا
يَفْنَى وَلا يَبـِيدُ،
6. He will
never perish or come to an end.
وَلا
يَكُونُ إِلا مَا يُرِيدُ،
7. Nothing
happens except what He wills.
لا
تَبْلُغُهُ الأَوْهامُ، وَلا تُدْرِكُهُ الأَفْهامُ،
8. No
imagination can conceive of Him and no understanding can comprehend Him.
وَلا
تُشْبـِهُهُ الأَنامُ
9. He is
different from any created being.
حَيٌّ
لا يَمُوتُ، قَيُّومٌ لا يَنامُ،
10. He is
living and never dies and is eternally active and never sleeps.
خَالِقٌ
بـِلا حَاجَةٍ، رَازِقٌ لَهُمْ بـِلا مُؤْنَةٍ،
11. He
creates without His being in need to do so and provides for His creation
without any effort.
مُمِيتٌ
بـِلا مَخَافَةٍ، بَاعِثٌ بـِلا مَشَقَّةٍ.
12. He
causes death with no fear and restores to life without difficulty.
مَازالَ
بـِصِفَاتِهِ قَدِيماً قَبْلَ خَلْقِهِ. لَمْ يَزْدَدْ بـِكَوْنِهِمْ شَيْئاً لَمْ يَكُنْ قَبْلَهُمْ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ، وَكَما كَانَ
بـِصِفَاتِهِ أَزَلِيَّاً كَذلِكَ لا
يَزَالُ عَلَيْهَا أَبَدِيَّاً.
13. He has
always existed together with His attributes since before creation. Bringing
creation into existence did not add anything to His attributes that was not
already there. As He was, together with His attributes, in pre-eternity, so He
will remain throughout endless time.
لَيْسَ
مُنْذُ خَلَقَ الخَلْقَ اسْتَفَادَ اسْمَ الخَالِقِ، وَلا بـِإِحْدَاثِهِ البَرِيَّةَ اسْتَفَادَ اسْمَ البارِي
14. It was
not only after the act of creation that He could be described as "the
Creator" nor was it only by the act of origination that He could he
described as "the Originator."
لَهُ
مَعْنى الرُّبوبـِيَّةِ وَلا مَرْبوبٌ، وَمَعْنى الخَالِقِيَّةِ وَلا مَخْلوقٌ،
15. He was
always the Lord even when there was nothing to be Lord of, and always the
Creator even when there was no creation.
وَكَمَا
أَنَّهُ مُحْيِـي المَوْتَى بَعْدَما أَحْيَاهُمْ، اسْتَحَقَّ هَذا الاسْمَ قَبْلَ إِحْيائِهِمْ، كَذلِكَ اسْتَحَقَّ اسْمَ الخَالِقِ قَبْلَ
إِنْشَائِهِمْ،
16. In the
same way that He is the "Bringer to life of the dead," after He has
brought them to life a first time, and deserves this name before bringing them
to life, so too He deserves the name of "Creator" before He has
created them.
ذلِكَ
بـِأَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ، وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ إِلَيْهِ فَقِيرٌ، وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ عَلَيْهِ يَسيرٌ، لا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى شَيْءٍ
لـــَيْسَ
كَمِثـــْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ
17. This is because He has the power to
do everything, everything is dependent on Him, everything is easy for Him, and
He does not need anything. "There is nothing like Him and He is the
Hearer, the Seer." (al-Shura 42:11)
خَلَقَ
الخَلْقَ بـِعِلْمِهِ،
وَقَدَّرَ
لَهُمْ أَقْداراً،
19. He
appointed destinies for those He created.
وَضَرَبَ
لَهُمْ آجالاً،
20. He
allotted to them fixed life spans.
لَمْ
يَخْفَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ مِنْ أَفْعَالِهِمْ قَبْلَ أَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ، وَعَلِمَ مَا هُمْ عَامِلُونَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَهُمْ،
21.
Nothing about them was hidden from Him before He created them, and He knew
everything that they would do before He created them.
وَأَمَرَهُمْ
بـِطَاعَتِهِ وَنَهَاهُمْ عَنْ مَعْصِيَتِهِ،
22. He
ordered them to obey Him and forbade them to disobey Him.
وَكُلُّ
شَيْءٍ يَجْرِي بـِقُدْرَتِهِ وَمَشِيئَتِهِ. وَمَشِيئَتُهُ تَنْفُذُ، وَلا مَشِيئَةَ لِلْعِبَادِ إِلاَّ مَا شَاءَ لَهُمْ، فَمَا شَاءَ لَهُمْ
كَانَ وَمَا لَمْ يَشَأْ لَمْ يَكُنْ.
23.
Everything happens according to His degree and will, and His will is
accomplished. The only will that people have is what He wills for them. What He
wills for them occurs and what He does not will, does not occur.
يَهْدِي
مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَعْصِمُ وَيُعَافِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ فَضْلاً، وَيُضِلُّ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَخْذُلُ وَيَبْتَلِي عَدْلاً
24. He
gives guidance to whomever He wills, and protects them, and keeps them safe
from harm, out of His generosity; and He leads astray whomever He wills, and
abases them, and afflicts them, out of His justice.
وَ کُلھم
مُتَقلبونَ فِی مَشِیئتھ ، بَین فَضلھ وَعَدلھ
25. All of
them are subject to His will either through His generosity or His justice.
وَهُوَ مُتَعَالٍ عَنِ
الأَضْدَّاد وَالأَنْدَاد
26. He is
Exalted beyond having opposites or equals.
لا
رَادَّ لِقَضَائِهِ، وَلا مُعَقِّبَ لِحُكْمِهِ، وَلا غَالِبَ لأَمْرِهِ،
27. No one
can ward off His decree or delay His command or overpower His affairs.
آمَنَّا
بِذلِكَ كُلِّهِ، وَأَيْقَنَّا أَنَّ كُلاًّ مِنْ عِنْدِهِ.
28. We
believe in all of this and are certain that everything comes from Him.
