The Creed of the Four Imaams : Abu Haneefah - Imam Malik - Imam ash-Shaafi'ee - Imam Ahmad

The creed of ash-Shaafi’ee - may Allaah be pleased with him - and the creed of the Salaf of the Ummah, like Maalik, ath-Thawree, al-Awzaa’ee, Ibnul-Mubaarak (d.181H), Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and Is-haaq Ibn Raahawayh (d.238H) is the creed of the scholars whom they followed like Fudhayl Ibn ’Iyaadh (d.187H), Aboo Sulaymaan ad-Daaraanee, Sahl Ibn Sa’d at-Tustaree (d.283H), and others. There was no disagreement between these imaams and their likes over the principles of the Religion… - Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah REVISED 2nd EDITION Enlightening clarification from the four imaams themselves - from their own words - about the correct position on vital issues of creed, such as tawheed, eemaan, and qadar, as well as the position of Ahlus-Sunnah on theological rhetoric and the honor and respect due to the Companions of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)… It is sincerely hoped that all Muslims who claim adherence to the teachings of these great imaams - may Allaah have Mercy on them - will truly embrace the most important aspect of their teachings: the correct beliefs they understood from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah based on the understanding of the Companions and their followers. EDITOR'S FOREWORD TRANSLATOR’S FOREWORD PREREQUISITES TO UNDERSTANDING THE CORRECT CREED A Censure of the Intellect The Position of the Salaf on Rhetoric and Argumentation The Way of the Salaf is the Best Methodology Opposing the Way of the Salaf is Misguidance: The Prohibition of Using Terms that are Not Found in the Qur‘aan or the Sunnah in Matters of Creed: AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION SECTION ONE: THE CREED OF THE FOUR IMAAMS IS A SINGLE CREED SECTION TWO: THE CREED OF IMAAM ABOO HANEEFAH Statements of Imaam Aboo Haneefah Concerning Tawheed Statements of Imaam Aboo Haneefah Concerning Qadar Statements of Imaam Aboo Haneefah Concerning Eemaan Statements of Imaam Aboo Haneefah Concerning the Companions Imaam Aboo Haneefah's Forbiddance of Rhetoric and Argumentation SECTION THREE: THE CREED OF IMAAM MAALIK IBN ANAS His Statements Concerning Tawheed Imaam Maalik's Position on Qadar Imaam Maalik's Position on Eemaan Imaam Maalik's Position on the Companions Imaam Maalik's Forbiddance of Rhetoric and Argumentation SECTION FOUR: THE CREED OF IMAAM ASH-SHAAFI’EE His Statements Concerning Tawheed Imaam Ash-Shaafi'ee's Statements Concerning Qadar Imaam Ash-Shaafi'ee's Position on Eemaan Imaam Ash-Shaafi'ee's Position on the Companions Imaam Ash-Shaafi'ee's Forbiddance of Rhetoric and Argumentation SECTION FIVE: THE CREED OF IMAAM AHMAD IBN HANBAL His Statements Concerning Tawheed Imaam Ahmad's Position on Qadar Imaam Ahmad's Position on Eemaan Imaam Ahmad's Position on the Companions Imaam Ahmad's Forbiddance of Rhetoric and Argumentation CONCLUSION APPENDIX ONE: BIOGRAPHIES OF THE FOUR IMAAMS Imaam Aboo Haneefah Imaam Maalik Ibn Anas Imaam ash-Shaafi’ee Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal APPENDIX TWO: THE PATH IS ONE APPENDIX THREE: THE LATTER PART OF THIS UMMAH WILL NOT BY RECTIFIED EXCEPT BY WHAT RECTIFIED ITS FIRST PART APPENDIX FOUR: THE CREED OF MUHAMMAD ZAAHID ALKAWTHAREE The Position of al-Kawtharee on the ’Aqeedah of the Salaf His Position on the Books that Affirm the ’Aqeedah of the Salaf His Position on the Scholars of the Sunnah His Vilification of the Scholars His Statements Concerning Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah His Statements Concerning Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim His Position on Ja’d Ibn Dirham and Jahm Ibn Safwaan Examples of al-Kawtharee Distorting Statements of the Scholars A Comparison Between the ’Aqeedah of Imaam Aboo Haneefah and al-Kawtharee Concerning Tawheed and Eemaan GLOSSARY OF TRANSLITERATED ARABIC TERMS "The creed of ash-Shaafi'ee - may Allaah be pleased with him - and the creed of the Salaf of the Ummah, like Maalik, ath-Thawree, al-Awzaa'ee, Ibnul-Mubaarak (d.181H), Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and Is-haaq Ibn Raahawayh (d.238H) is the creed of the scholars whom they followed like Fudhayl Ibn 'Iyaadh (d.187H), Aboo Sulaymaan ad-Daaraanee, Sahl Ibn Sa'd at-Tustaree (d.283H), and others. There was no disagreement between these imaams and their likes over the principles of the Religion..." - Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah REVISED 2nd EDITION Enlightening clarification from the four imaams themselves - from their own words - about the correct position on vital issues of creed, such as tawheed, eemaan, and qadar, as well as the position of Ahlus-Sunnah on theological rhetoric and the honor and respect due to the Companions of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)... It is sincerely hoped that all Muslims who claim adherence to the teachings of these great imaams - may Allaah have Mercy on them - will truly embrace the most important aspect of their teachings: the correct beliefs they understood from the texts of the Book and the Sunnah based on the understanding of the Companions and their followers. This ground-breaking first publication spans 154 pages and is based upon the original work of Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan al-Khumayyis. The book proves the important, yet often overlooked point, that despite whatever differences the Imaams had in their fiqh, their creed was one and the same in almost all issues. Many narrations are brought from