This note is from the translation of Aqidah Tahawiyyah of Imam at-Tahawi by Shaykh Faisal Hamid Abdur-Razak. In other translations of this text points are at times concatenated into one or broken up into more points. This translation takes the text in 105 points.
#1
We say about the Oneness of Allāh (Tawḥīd), believing in success granted by Allāh: Allāh is One, He has no partner.
#2
There is nothing like Him.
#3
There is nothing He cannot do.
#4
There is no god other than Him.
#5
He is Eternal with no beginning, Everlasting without an end.
#6
He does not perish nor come to an end.
#7
Nothing happens except what He wills.
#8
No imagination (wahm) can conceive of Him, and no understanding (fahm) can comprehend Him.
#9
He does not resemble humankind.
#10
He is the Living One who dies not; the Eternal, Self-Subsisting One, who never sleeps.
#11
He creates without being in need to do so, and provides for His creation without any effort.
#12
He causes death without fear, and restores to life without difficulty.
#13
He has always existed, together with His attributes, since before creation. Bringing creation into existence added nothing to His attributes that was not already there. Just as He was, together with His attributes, in pre-eternity, so He will continue to exist with them eternally.
#14
He did not acquire the Name the Creator (Al-Khāliq) after the act of creation, nor did He acquire the Name the Originator (Al-Bārī) after originating the created beings. Rather, these were His attributes since eternity.
#15
He has the attribute of Lordship (Rubūbiyyah) even without bondsman, and the meaning of Creator (Khāliq) even without any creation.
#16
In the same way that He is the Bringer to life of the dead, after He has brought them to life in the first place, He deserves this name even before bringing them to life; so too, He deserves the name of Creator before He has created them.
#17
This is due to the fact that He is able to do all things; everything is in need of Him; every affair is easy for Him. He needs nothing. There is nothing like unto Him. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. (Sūratush Shūrā, 42:11)
#18
He created the creation with His knowledge.
#19
He appointed measures (destinies) for them.
#20
He set down life spans for them.
#21
Nothing about them was hidden from Him before He created them; and He knew what they would do even before He created them.
#22
He commanded them to obey Him, and He forbade them from disobeying Him.
#23
Everything runs according to His Decree and His Will; it is His Will which is implemented. There is no will for His servants except what He Wills for them; thus, whatever He Wills for them comes into being, and whatever He does not will, cannot come into being.
#24
He guides whomever He wills, safeguards [him from sin] and grants [him] well-being, out of [His] Grace. And He sends astray whomever He wills, forsakes [him] and puts [him] to trial, out of [His] Justice.
#25
All of them are subject to His Will, moving between His Grace or His Justice.
#26
He is exalted above having opposites or equals.
#27
There is no repeller of His decree, nor any amender of His judgement, nor any predominator of His command.
#28
We believe in all of this, and we are certain that everything is from Him.
#29
And [we believe and are certain] that Muḥammad ﷺ is His chosen Slave, His selected Prophet, and His approved Messenger.
#30
And that he is the Seal of the Prophets, the Imām of the God-fearing, the Master of the Messengers, and the Beloved of the Lord of the Worlds.
#31
Every claim to prophethood after him is deception and evil inclination.
#32
He is the one sent to all the jinn, and to all mortal beings with truth and guidance, and with light and illumination.
#33
[We believe] that the Qurʾān is the Word of Allāh. It came from Him as Speech without modality or manner of being. He sent it down on His Messenger as divine revelation. The believers truly corroborate him in that, and are certain that it is literally the Word of Allāh, the Exalted. It is not created as is the speech of creation. Therefore, whoever hears it and claims that it is the speech of mankind has become an unbeliever. Allāh warns him, censures him, and threatens him with Hellfire (Saqar) when He says, Exalted is He: “I will burn him in the Fire.” (Sūratul Muddathir 74:26) When Allāh threatens with Hellfire those who say: “This is just human speech.” (Sūratul Muddathir 74:25)
#34
Whoever describes Allāh with the attributes of humans has disbelieved. Hence, whoever looks into this takes warning, refrains from saying things such as the disbelievers say, and knows that Allāh, along with His attributes, does not resemble mankind.
#35
The Seeing of Allāh by the dwellers of Paradise is true, without their vision encompassing [Him], and without the manner of their vision being known. As the Book of our Lord has expressed it: “Some faces on that Day shall be radiant, looking towards their Lord.” (Sūratul Qiyamah, 75:22-23) The explanation of this should follow what Allāh willed and taught. Everything that has come down to us about this in the authentic traditions from the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, is as he said and the meaning of it is as he intended. We do not delve into that, trying to interpret it according to our own opinions or letting our imaginations have free rein.
No one is safe in his religion unless he surrenders himself completely to Allāh, the Exalted, the Glorified, and to His Messenger, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, and leaves the knowledge of things that are ambiguous for him to the One who knows them.
#36
[A man’s] Islām will not be firmly established unless it is based on unreserved submission and complete surrender. Anyone who hankers after that whose knowledge has been put beyond him, and did not let his intellect submit, his longing veils him from pure monotheism (tawhīd), clear cognizance, and correct faith. Consequently, he vacillates between disbelief and belief, affirmation and denial, and assertion and disavowal. [He is] suggestible, perplexed, and doubting, being neither an affirming believer nor a denying rejecter.
#37
The belief in the Beatific Vision [of Allāh] for the people of the Abode of Peace is not correct if one considers it according to his imagination, or interprets it according to his own understanding. For the interpretation of the Vision—in fact, interpretation of every aspect pertaining to Lordship—is by abandoning interpretation and adhering to unreserved submission. The religion of the Muslims is in accordance with this. One who does not guard oneself against negation [of Allāh’s attributes] and Anthropomorphism (Tashbīh) has made a mistake, and has not attained [the correct notion] of Transcendence (Tanzīh). For our Lord, the Mighty, the Majestic, is identified by attributes of Oneness and described by characteristics of Uniqueness. No created being shares with Him these attributes.
#38
Allāh is supremely exalted above having limits, extremities, limbs, supports, and instruments. He is not confined by the six directions as all originated things are.
#39
The Ascension through the Heavens (Al-Miʿrāj) is true. The Prophet, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, was taken by night, and ascended in his bodily form, in the state of wakefulness, to the heavens, and thence to wherever Allāh willed of highness. Allāh honoured him with what He willed, and revealed to him what He revealed: “The heart lied not in what it saw.” (Sūratun Najm, 53:11) So, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace in the Hereafter and in this world.
#40
The Pond (Al-Hawd) with which Allāh has honoured the Prophet—as a relief to quench the thirst of his Community [on the Day of Judgement]—is a reality.
#41
The Intercession (Al-Shafāʿah) which he has kept for them, is true, as has been related in the reports [of hadith narrations].
#42
The Covenant (Al-Mīthāq) which Allāh took from Adam and his offspring is true.
#43
Allāh the Almighty, knew since pre-eternity, the exact number of those who would enter Paradise, and the exact number of those who would enter Hellfire. That number will neither be increased nor decreased.
#44
Similarly, this applies to all actions done by people. They are done exactly as Allāh knew they would be done. Everyone is eased towards what he has been created for. And it is the action with which a man’s life is sealed which dictates his fate. The fortunate one is the one who is fortunate by the decree of Allāh, and the wretched one is the one who is wretched by the decree of Allāh.
#45
The essence and true nature of the Divine Decree is Almighty Allāh’s secret [knowledge] about His creation. No close angel, nor any prophet sent [with a message], has been given knowledge of it. Delving into this and reflecting too much upon it is a means to forsakenness, a ladder to deprivation, and a staircase to transgression. So, take precaution—all precaution from that, [be it by way of] opinion, thought, or doubtful whisperings. For Allāh, the Exalted, has concealed the knowledge of the Decree from His creation, and has forbidden them from seeking it, as He, the Exalted, has said in His Book, “He may not be questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned.” (Sūratul Anbiyāʾ, 21:23) Therefore, whoever asks, ‘why did He do that?’ has rejected the judgement of the Book, and whoever rejects the judgement of the Book becomes an unbeliever.
#46
This in brief is what the Friends (Awliyāʾ) of Allāh, whose hearts are enlightened, need to know, and this is the rank of those firmly grounded in knowledge. For there are two kinds of knowledge: knowledge that is accessible to created beings, and knowledge which is not accessible to created beings. Denying the knowledge that is accessible is disbelief, and claiming the knowledge which is inaccessible is disbelief. Faith cannot be firm [or established] except by acceptance of the existent knowledge and non-pursuance of the non-existent knowledge.
#47
We believe in the Tablet (Al-Lawh) and the Pen (Al-Qalam), and in everything written in it [the Tablet]. Thus, if the whole of creation were to gather together to make something fail to exist, whose existence Allāh had written on the Tablet, they would not be able to do so. And [similarly], if all created beings were to gather together to make something exist which Allāh had not written therein, they would not be able to do so. The Pen has dried having written down all that will be in existence until the Day of Judgement. And that which passed a servant by could not have befallen him, and that which befell him could not have missed him.
#48
It is necessary for the servant to know that Allāh already knows everything that is going to happen in His creation. He decreed it in detail, decisively, and irrevocably, such as cannot be repealed, amended, cancelled, or altered by anyone, and without any decrease or increase of His creation in His Heavens and His Earth. This is among the pillars of faith, the fundamentals of knowledge, and an acknowledgement of the Oneness of Allāh, the Exalted, and His Lordship. As He, the Exalted, has said in His Book, He has created everything and decreed it in perfect proportion. (Sūratul Furqān, 25:2) And Allāh, the Exalted, also says, And the command of Allāh is a decree perfectly determined. (Sūratul Aḥzāb, 33:38) Woe, therefore, to whomever becomes a disputer with Allāh in the matter of Destiny, and who delves into it with a diseased heart. For he has sought—by his fancy for investigation into the unseen—a concealed secret, and becomes a sinful liar as a result of what he says.
#49
The Throne (Al-ʿArsh) and the Footstool (Al-Kursī) are true [realities].
#50
He is independent (not in need) of the Throne and what is beneath it.
#51
He encompasses all things and that which is above it [the Throne], and what He has created is incapable of encompassing Him.
#52
We say with belief, acceptance, and submission that Allāh took Ibrāhīm as an intimate friend, and that He spoke directly to Mūsā.
#53
We believe in the Angels, and the Prophets, and the books which were revealed to the Messengers, and we testify [and bear witness] that they were all following the manifest Truth.
#54
We name the people of our Qiblah Muslims and Believers as long as they acknowledge what the Prophet, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, brought, and accept as true everything that he said and told us about.
#55
We do not probe concerning [the Essence] of Allāh, and we do not obstinately dispute about the religion of Allāh.
#56
We do not dispute about the Qurʾān, rather, we testify that it is the Word of the Lord of all the Worlds, brought down by the Trustworthy Spirit. He taught it to the master of the Messengers, Muḥammad, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace. It is the speech of Allāh, the Exalted, and nothing of the speech of any created being is comparable to it. We do not say it was created, and we do not differ with the Congregation (Jamāʿah) of the Muslims regarding it.
#57
We do not excommunicate any of the people of our Qiblah on account of a sin he commits, as long as he does not deem it lawful.
#58
And we do not say that the wrong action of a man who has belief does not have a harmful effect on him.
#59
We hope that Allāh will pardon the people of right action among the believers and grant them entrance into Heaven through His mercy, but we cannot be certain of this, and we cannot testify about their being in Heaven. We seek forgiveness for the people of wrong action among the believers and fear for them, but we do not make them despair.
#60
Security and despair are ways leading [a person] out of the folds of the religion of Islām. The path of truth for the People of the Qiblah lies between the two.
#61
The servant [of Allāh] does not come out of the folds of faith except by rejecting that which brought him into it.
#62
Belief consists of affirmation by the tongue and acceptance by the heart.
#63
And all that has been authentically related from the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, by way of legislation and clarification—all of it is true.
#64
Faith is a single entity, and its adherents are equal upon its basis. The superiority between them is [established] on the basis of fear, piety, contradiction of caprice, and pursuit of the more appropriate.
#65
All the believers are Friends (Awliyāʾ) of Allāh, the Most Gracious. The noblest of them in the sight of Allāh are the most obedient and the most meticulous followers of the Qurʾān.
#66
Belief (Īmān) consists of belief in Allāh, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and belief that the Divine Decree—both the good of it and the evil of it, the sweet of it and the bitter of it—is all from Allāh.
#67
We believe in all of this. We do not make any distinction amongst any of His Messengers, and we attest as true what each of them brought.
#68
Those of the Ummah of Muḥammad, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, who have committed grave sins will be in the Fire, but not forever, provided they die and meet Allāh as believers affirming His Oneness, even if they have not repented. They are subject to His Will and Judgement.
If He wills, He will forgive them and pardon them out of His Grace, as He, the Mighty, the Majestic, has mentioned in His Book: “And He forgives anything less than that [shirk] to whomever He wills. (Sūratun Nisāʾ, 4: 116)
Or if He wills, He will punish them in the Fire out of His Justice, and then bring them out of it through His Mercy, and for the intercession of the intercessors from among those who were obedient to Him, and then He will raise them into Heaven.
This is because Allāh is the Protector of those who recognize Him and will not treat them—either in this world or the Hereafter—in the same way as He treats those who denied Him, who despaired of His guidance, and did not get any share of His Protection. O Allāh, O Protector of Islām and its followers; grant us steadfastness in Islām until we meet You with it.
#69
We agree with performing Ṣalāh behind every righteous man or sinner from among the People of the Qiblah, and [in performing funeral prayer] over whoever among them dies.
#70
We do not say that any of them will categorically go to either Heaven or Hell, and we do not accuse any of them of disbelief (kufr), associating partners with Allāh (shirk), or hypocrisy (nifāq) as long as they have not openly demonstrated any of those things. We leave their secrets to Allāh, the Exalted.
#71
We do not endorse the sword against anyone of the Ummah of Muḥammad, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, except those upon whom the sword is obligatory.
#72
We do not endorse rebellion against our Imāms or those in charge of our affairs, even if they are unjust. We do not supplicate against them, nor do we withdraw from obedience to them. We hold that obedience to them is part of obedience to Allāh, the Glorified, and it is therefore obligatory as long as they do not order to commit sins. We pray for their right guidance and ask for pardon for their wrongs.
#73
We follow the Sunnah [of the Prophet] and the Congregation [of the Muslims], and we avoid deviation, differences, and divisions.
#74
We love the people of justice and trustworthiness, and hate the people of injustice and treachery.
#75
We say, ‘Allāh knows best,’ with respect to that whose knowledge is obscure to us.
#76
We endorse the wiping on the Khuffs, whether on a journey or in residence, in accordance with what is related in the traditions.
#77
Ḥajj and Jihād will remain [as obligations, to be performed] under the leadership of the Muslim rulers, the pious of them as well as the sinners, until the establishment of the Hour of Judgement. Nothing invalidates them or abolishes them.
#78
We believe in the Noble, Recording Angels, for Allāh has appointed them as guardians over us.
#79
We believe in the Angel of Death, who is entrusted with taking the souls of the worlds.
#80
And [we believe] in the punishment in the grave for those who deserve it, and in the questioning in the grave by [the Angels] Munkar and Nakīr concerning one’s Lord, one’s religion, and one’s prophet, in accordance with the narrations from the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, and [the reports] from the Companions, may Allāh be pleased with them all.
#81
The grave is either one of the gardens from the Gardens of Jannah or one of the pits of the Fire of Hell.
#82
We believe in being brought back to life after death, and in being recompensed for our actions on the Day of Judgement, and the Presentation of Deeds (Al-ʾArḍ), and the Reckoning (Al-Hisāb), and the Reading of the Record [of Deeds], and the reward and punishment, and the Bridge (As-Ṣirāṭ), and the Scale (Al-Mizān).
#83
Heaven and Hell are created things that never pass away nor perish. And Allāh, the Exalted, created Heaven and Hell before the rest of creation, and then created inhabitants for them. Whoever He wills goes to Heaven out of His Grace, and whoever He wills goes to Hell out of His Justice. Everyone works in accordance with what is destined for him and goes towards what he has been created for.
#84
Good and evil have both been decreed for people.
#85
The ability necessary for action which can also be called an impulse of Divine origin (Tawfīq)—which no creation can be qualified with [as having power over it]—accompanies the act.
As for the ability in terms of health, capacity, faculty, and soundness of [bodily] organs, these can exist before the action. It is this type of capability which is the object of the dictates of the Sharīʿah. Allāh, the Exalted, says, “On no soul does Allāh place a burden greater than it can bear. (Sūratul Baqarah, 2:286)
Tawfīq (التوفيق): the Divine Grace and Favour of Almighty Allāh.
#86
The actions of the servants are created by Allāh, but earned by people.
#87
Allāh, the Exalted, has only charged people with what they are able to do, and people are only capable of doing what Allāh has charged them with [and favoured them to do]. This is the explanation of the statement: “There is no power and no strength except by Allāh.” We add to this that there is no stratagem, or movement, or change by which anyone can avoid or escape disobedience to Allāh except with the assistance of Allāh. Conversely, no one has any power to establish obedience to Allāh and remain steadfast upon it, except with the Ability (Tawfīq) granted by Allāh.
#88
Everything happens according to the will, knowledge, predestination, and decree of Allāh, the Exalted. His will overpowers all other wills and His decree overpowers all stratagems. He does whatever He wills, and He is never unjust.
He is exalted in His purity above any evil or perdition, and He is perfect far beyond any defect or disgrace. He cannot be questioned for what He does, but they will be questioned. (Sūratul Anbiyāʾ, 21:23)
#89
In the supplications and charity of the living, there is benefit for the dead.
#90
Allāh, the Almighty, responds to supplications and fulfills the needs.
#91
Allāh possesses everything and nothing possesses Him. Nothing can be independent of Allāh even for the blinking of an eye. Whoever considers himself independent of Allāh even for the blinking of an eye has disbelieved in Him, and has become one of the people who go to destruction.
#92
Allāh becomes angry and He is pleased, but unlike any of the creation.
#93
We love the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh, but we do not go to extremes in our love for any one of them; nor do we disown any one of them. We hate anyone who hates them or does not speak well of them. And we only speak well of them. Loving them is a part of religion, faith, and excellent behaviour, while hatred of them is disbelief, hypocrisy, and rebellion.
#94
We affirm the Caliphate, after the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, first for Abū Bakr As-Ṣiddīq, may Allāh be pleased with him, distinguishing him, and giving him precedence over the whole Ummah; then to ʿUmar Ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allāh be pleased with him; then to ʿUthmān Ibn ʿAffān, may Allāh be pleased with him; then to ʿAlī Ibn Abī Ṭālib, may Allāh be pleased with him. These are the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the upright leaders.
#95
We testify that the Ten who were named by the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, and to whom he gave glad tidings of [their entry into] Heaven, will be in Heaven, as the Messenger of Allāh, peace be upon him, testified regarding them, for his word is true. The ten are: Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ṭalḥa, Az-Zubayr, Saʿd, Saʿīd, ʿAbdur Raḥmān Ibn ʿAwf, and Abū ‘Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarrāḥ who is the Trustworthy one of this Ummah, may Allāh be pleased with all of them.
#96
Whoever speaks well of the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh, may Allāh bless him and grant him peace, and his wives—who are pure from all pollution, and his offspring who are sanctified from all filth—is free of hypocrisy.
#97
The learned men of the Predecessors (Salaf)_, both the first community and those who came after them of the successors: the people of virtue, the narrators of Ḥadīth, the people of jurisprudence and analysis—they must only be spoken of in the best way. And anyone who says anything bad about them is not on the right path.
#98
We do not ascribe to any of the Awliyāʾ an excellence distinguishing him above any of the Prophets, upon them be peace; [rather] we say: one Prophet is superior to all the Awliyāʾ put together.
#99
We believe in what has appeared regarding the marvels (karamāt) of the Awliyāʾ, and in the authentic reports about them from trustworthy sources.
#100
We believe in the Signs of the Hour, such as the appearance of the Antichrist (Dajjāl), and the descent of Jesus son of Mary [ʿĪsā Ibn Maryam], peace be upon him, from Heaven, and we believe in the rising of the sun from where it sets, and in the emergence of the Beast from its [appointed] place in the Earth.
#101
We do not accept as true what fortune-tellers and diviners say, nor anyone who claims something which contradicts the Book [of Allāh], the Sunnah [of the Messenger], and the Consensus (Ijmāʿ).
#102
We consider that holding together and remaining with the Mainstream (Jamāʿah) is the true and right course, and that sectarianism (i.e., separation) is deviation leading to punishment.
#103
The religion of Allāh in the Heavens and the earth is one. It is the religion of Islām. Allāh, the Almighty, says: “Surely, the religion before Allāh is Islām.” (Sūrah Aali ʿImrān, 3:19) And Allāh, the Exalted, says: “If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted from him.” (Sūrah Aali ʿImrān, 3:85) And He also says: “I have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Sūratul Māʾidah, 5:3)
#104
Islām lies between excessiveness and negligence, between Anthropomorphism (Tashbīh) and denial of attributes (taʿṭīl), between free will and determinism, and between self-assurance and despair.
Tashbīh: the likening of Allāh’s attributes to creation. Taʿṭīl: divesting Allāh of His attributes.
#105
This is our religion, and it is what we believe in, both inwardly and outwardly, and we renounce any connection, before Allāh, with anyone who goes against what we have said and made clear.
We ask Allāh to make us firm in our belief and seal our lives with it and to protect us from variant ideas, scattering opinions and evil schools of view such as those of the Mushabbiha, the Muʿtazila, the Jahmīyyah, the Jabrīyyah, the Qadarīyyah, and others like them who go against the Sunnah and Jamāʿah and have allied themselves with error. We renounce any connection with them and, in our opinion, they are in error and on the path of destruction. We ask Allāh to protect us from all falsehood.
And we ask His Grace and Favour to do all good.