Explanation of al-'Aqeedatu at-Tahaawiyyah Shaykh 'Ali al-Halabi

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Baarak Allaahu feek akhi

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Explanation of al-‘Aqeedatu at-Tahawiyyah – 3. The Categories of Tawheed

Shaykh ‘Abul-Azeez bin Baaz said, may Allaah have mercy upon him, ‘Know that the Tawheed that Allaah sent the messengers with and revealed the Books for is categorised into 3, as shown by careful study[1] of the texts from the Book and Sunnah and by the state of the mukalafeen:
The first category – Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah [The Oneness of Allaah’s Lordship]
And this is singling Allaah out in His actions – faith that he is the Creator, Provider, Organiser of the affairs of His creation, the One who Manages their matters in the dunya and Aakhira, and He has no partner in this – as He said, {Allaah is the Creator of everything} [Az-Zumar: 62]; {Surely, your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and then Istawa (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty), disposing the affair of all things…} the aayah [Yunus: 3]
And this category was attested to by the polytheists, even though most of them denied the resurrection and gathering. This however, did not mean they entered into Islaam, due to their polytheism with Allaah in worship, and their worship of idols alongside Him, and their lack of faith in the prophet Muhammad, sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
The second category – Tawheed al-Ebaadah, also known as Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah [The Oneness of Allaah in Worship]
And this category is the one that the mushrikeen denied, in that which Allaah tells of them in His saying: {And they (Arab pagans) wonder that a warner (Prophet Muhammad ) has come to them from among themselves! And the disbelievers say: "This (Prophet Muhammad ) is a sorcerer, a liar. "Has he made the aliha (gods) (all) into One Ilah (God - Allah). Verily, this is a curious thing!"} [Saad: 4-5] and the likes of this ayah are many.
It encompasses sincerity of worship to Allaah, alone; the belief that He is worthy of it and that worshipping other than He is falsehood. And this is the meaning of laa ilaaha ill Allaah – its meaning is that there is nothing worthy of worship in truth[2] except Allaah, as Allaah said, { That is because Allah He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists, Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it is Batil (falsehood) And verily, Allah He is the Most High, the Most Great} [al-Hajj: 62].
The third category – The Oneness of Allaah’s names and attributes
And that is to have faith in all that has been narrated in the Book of Allaah and the authentic sunnah on the authority of the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam from the names and attributes of Allaah.
[It includes to] affirm them in a manner that befits Him without distorting [Tahreef[3]], negating [ta’teel], questioning how they are [takyeef], or likening them [to the creation - tashbeeh] – as Allaah said,
{Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, (the) One. "Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks). "He begets not, nor was He begotten; "And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him."} [al-Ikhlaas]
{There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer} [ash-Shoora: 11];
{And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah , so call on Him by them} [al-A’raf: 180];
{ and for Allah is the highest description. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise} an-Nahl: 60].
And the ayaat with this meaning are many.
And ‘the highest description’ is the greatest attribute that has no deficiency in it.
And this is the position of Ahlus Sunnah wa’l Jama’ah from the companions of the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and their followers in goodness – they left the ayaat of the attributes and the ahadeeth related as they have come, affirming their meanings for Allaah in a manner that is free from making similitudes, exalting Allaah over likening Him to His creation in a manner that is free from denying them.[4]
And their proofs from the Book and Sunnah corroborate what they say and establish the proof against those who differ from them. And they are mentioned in His saying, {And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajirun (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansar (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhajirun) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success} [At-Taaubah: 100].
May Allaah, by His virtue and generosity, make us from them, and Allaah is the One who aids.


[1] And this is not a terminological categorisation, as some claim, or conjecture!
See my book ‘At-Tahtheer…’ (p. 14 of the 3rd print) and ‘Sayhatun Natheer’ (p. 80 onwards) for something about this categorisation.

[2] And this is a very important restrictive part of the definition – as the false deities are many but Allaah alone is the rightful deity, in truth.

[3] And he didn’t say ‘ta’weel’ as it has a praiseworthy meaning. See for guidance and an explanation of this the words of Ibn Taymiyyah in ‘al-Munaatharah fil ‘Aqeedatil Waasatiyyah’ (3/165 Majmoo’ al-Fataawa)

[4] As the Imaam Nu’aym bin Hammaad, the Shaykh of Imaam al-Bukhari, said, “Whosoever likens Allaah to His creation has committed disbelief and whosoever denies that which He described Himself has committed disbelief – and there isn’t in that which Allaah and His messenger attribute tashbeeh.” Related by Imaam ath Thahabi in ‘Siyar a’laam an Nubalaa (10/610-611) and then said, commenting, ‘I say: this speech is true – we seek refuge with Allaah from tashbeeh and from rejecting the ahaadeeth of the attributes and none of the people of understanding reject those [attributes] that have been established. And, besides having faith in them, there are 2 blameworthy positions:
- Changing their apparent meanings and manipulating the context. The salaf never changed the apparent meanings, nor did they change the wording for the context – rather they believed in them and left them as they came.
- The second position is exaggerating with regards to affirming them by making them the same as the attributes of people and forming them within minds. And this is ignorance and misguidance.
The attribute follows the thing described. So, if we have not seen the thing described, may He be exalted, nor has anyone who has witnessed it told us about them, along with His saying to us in His revelation {There is nothing like unto Him } [ash-Shoora: 11], how can there remain in our minds an opportunity to affirm a how to al-Baari? May Allaah be exalted over that.
Similar to this is His Holy attributes – we affair them and believe they are true but we do not make similtudes for them, nor do we envisage them.”

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Imaam al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,
‘Negating shirk upon Allaah is not complete unless 3 types of shirk are negated:
The first: Shirk in lordship [ar-roobubiyyah] – which is to believe there is a creator alongside Allaah, as the Magians believe, that evil has a creator that is not Allaah. And this form of shirk is scarcely found in this ummah, and all praise is to Allaah, even if the Mu’tazilah’s belief that evil is the creation of the individual comes close to it. And his saying, sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gives an indication of this: “The Qadariyyah are the Magians of this nation…” the hadeeth, which is sourced in a number of my reference works, as I noted in Saheeh al-Jaami’ as-Sagheer wa Ziyaada’ no. 4442.
The second: Shirk in worship, which is to worship something else alongside Allaah, such as the prophets or righteous by seeking their aid and calling upon them when affictions befall and other than this. And with sorrow, this is plentiful in this ummah. And the greatest sin of it falls upon those masha’ikh who support this kind of shirk by calling it tawassul – labelling it by other than its true name![1]
The third: Shirk in [Allaah’s] attributes, which is to describe some of His creation with the attributes that are specifically His, like knowing the unseen, for example. And this is widespread among many of the Soofiyyah and those influenced by them, like those who say in praising the prophet sall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

Indeed from your quality is the dunya and its adornment
And your knowledge is knowledge of the preserved tablet and the pen

And from here the misguidance of some of the dajjals comes – those who claim that they have seen the messenger sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam during the day awake[2] and ask him that which is hidden from them, from the inner workings of those around them, seeking to take control of some of their affairs. However, the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam did not know such things during his life, { If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me} [al-A’raaf: 188] so how would he know that after his passing and going to ar-rafeeq al-a’la?
Whosoever negates these 3 kinds of shirk from Allaah in his tawheed of Him has actually made tawheed of Him in His Self, worship and attributes and is the monotheist that achieves the virtues that is specific to the monotheists.
And whosoever breaches anything from these [categories of shirk] is someone to whom the likes of the following ayah should be read, { If you join others in worship with Allah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers} [az-Zumar: 65].
So memorise this, as it is the most important thing in aqeedah[3] – there is no question [as to why] the author began with it. And whosoever would like details, they should refer to the explanation of this book[4] and the books of the Shuyookh of Islaam like Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al_qayyim, Ibn Abdil Wahhaab and other than them from those who walked in their footsteps and traversed their path. {Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith} [al-Hashr: 10].


[1] This wording here is taken from an authentic prophetic hadeeth reported by Ahmad (4/237); an-Nasaa'ee (8/112) and at-Tayaalisee (596) on the authority of a man fom the companions of the prophet sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam that the messenger of Allaah sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam said, “Indeed, people from my nation will drink alcohol, labelling it by other than its name.” [Shaykh Ali Hassan al-Halabi]

[2] And how much sorrow we have that some of the people of knowledge fell into this, like al-Haafith as-Suyootee, may Allaah forgive him, who has a dedicated treatise supporting this view. And there is no power or might except with Allaah…[Shaykh Ali Hassan al-Halabi]

[3] And some of the common people still accuse our Shaykh, may Allaah have mercy upon him, of irjaa’ – may Allaah guide them to the truth. [Shaykh Ali Hassan al-Halabi]

[4] It is the explanation of the Imaam Ibn Abil-‘Izz al-Hanafee, is the greatest explanation of this book and the most beneficial. And I have, by the success of Allaah, knowledge-grounded footnotes on it that I have named ‘An-Nukat as-Salafiyyah...’, as I have previously said. [Shaykh Ali Hassan al-Halabi]

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Imaam Abu Ja’far at-Tahaawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, states in his ‘aqeedah:
3 – And nothing renders Him incapable.
4 – There is no deity [worthy of worship in truth] except He.
5 – [He is] Old without beginning, eternal without an end.
The Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdil Azeez bin Maani comments,
He, may He be glorified, can be described with oldness, meaning that He can be described in such a way, as Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned in al-Badaa’i [(1/179 – Maktabatul Mu’ayyid)].
And the branch of describing[1] is more comprehensive than the text-reliant branch of the attributes of Allaah[2].
And the people of knowledge mention al-Qadeem from the Beautiful Names, but they are simply describing Allaah with it. In al-nooniyyah [(no. 3068)],

He is al-Qadeem, as He does not cease to be with His attributes

Specific, rather [He has] eternal beneficence.

The Shaykh Abdullah bin Humayd comments,
Had the author phrased this with al-Awwal, as the Quraanic text has in the saying of Allaah, {He is the First [al-Awwal] and Last} [al-Hadeed: 3] and the prophet sall Allaahu ‘alahi wa sallam has stated with his saying, ‘O Allaah, you are the First [al-awwal], as nothing has preceded You…’[3] it would have been more fitting.
The Shaykh ‘Abdul Azeez bin Baaz comments,
This phrase has not been reported in the beautiful names of Allaah, as the explainer and others have noted[4]. Many of the scholars of rhetoric[5] [Ulamaa al-Kalaam] have mentioned it to affirm His existence before all else.
And the names of Allaah are based solely on the texts – it is not permissible to affirm any of them except with a text from the Great Book or authentic Sunnah. It is not permissible to affirm any of them with intellect, as the a’imma of the Salaf us Salih have stated.
And the word al-Qadeem does not mean what the people of kalaam intend by it, as the intent behind it, in the Arabic language is something that precedes other than it, even it is nothingness, as in the saying of Allaah, { till it returns like the old dried curved date stalk} [Ya-sin: 39].
Rather it points to the true meaning when coupled with the addition the author mentioned, his saying ‘Old, without beginning’ however, it should not be counted from the beautiful names, as it has not been textually established.
His name, may He be exalted, al-Awwal, suffices Him this name [al-Qadeem], as He said, {He is the First [al-Awwal] and Last} [al-Hadeed: 3].
And Allaah is the guardian of success.
The Shaykh al-Albaani comments:
Know, that al-qadeem [the old] is not a name from the names of Allaah, but is only used by the mutakalimeen. The old in the Arabic language, in which the Qur’aan was revealed, is that which is advanced over other than it. It is said, ‘This is old’ for the ancient and ‘This is new’ for the innovation. So this noun is not used except for that which predates something other than it, not for that which nothing has preceded, as Allaah said, { till it returns like the old dried curved date stalk} [Ya-sin: 39] and the old dried date stalk is that which remains when the new ones have arrived – so when a new one arrives, the first is called old, even if it has been preceded by other than it – as Shaykh al-Islaam has established in Majmoo al-fataawa (1/245) and the explainer in his explanation [(p. 112)].


[1] i.e. describing Allaah [Shaykh ‘Ali al-Halabi]

[2] Shaykh al-Albaani comments, ‘And I feel this is the way in which Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah uses this description from time-to-time, as will occur when I comment on point 45.

[3] Reported by Muslim (2713) on the authority of Abu Hurairah.

[4] In his saying, ‘And the mutakilimeen have introduced within the name of Allaah al-Qadeem, which is not from the beautiful names.’

[5] Whereas some of the a’imma of hadeeth have used it to describe Him, may He be exalted.

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May Allaah put barakaah in your time and
increase you in
knowledge, resolve and strenght

Still following inshaAllaah

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6 – He will never perish or come to an end
7 – Nothing happens except what He wills
8 – No conjecture can grasp Him, nor any intellect comprehend Him.
9 – He does not resemble people*.

* The respected Shaykh Ahmad bin S’ad al-Ghaamidee, may Allaah bring about benefit through him, said in at-Ta’leeqaat al-Jaliyyah ‘ala al-‘aqeedati at-Tahaawiyyah, pp 20-21,
‘i.e. He is unlike people. And the sentence is lacking – for Allaah does not resemble people, the jinn, the angels, trees, or stone, as He said, {There is nothing like unto Him} [ash Shura: 11].
The author’s adherence to the rhythmic pattern [of the text] is the reason behind this lacking – using anaam with afhaam.
Negating similitude in its totality has not been related in the Book, nor the Sunnah – negating totally is not correct, neither is affirming totally – there is an extent to which there is a similitude between the names of Allaah and the names of the creation and the attributes of Allaah and the attributes of the creation such that the names and attributes of Allaah can be understood. If this were not the case, mankind would not know the meanings of these [names and attributes] relating to Allaah.
However they are specifically and restrictedly differentiated – the creator and the creation. So knowledge, for example, has a complete meaning and is used linguistically for the knowledge of Allaah and for the knowledge of the creation. However, when it is attributed to Allaah, it has a specific meaning with this attribution, as Allaah says, {Indeed Allaah is All-Aware of everything} [al-Mujadalah: 7] and said, in the right of the creation {and give him glad tidings of a knowledgeable young man} [Dhariyaat: 28]. So it happens that the knowledge of Allaah is not the knowledge of the creation – the knowledge of Allaah is actual knowledge, whereas mankind’s knowledge is superficial. He said, {1. The Most Beneficent (Allah)! Has taught (you mankind) the Qur'an. He created man. He taught him eloquent speech} [Ar-Rahman 1-4].
And likewise for all other names and attributes. For this reason, the Qur’aan has negated similitudes, which are likenings in every which way.’
The Shaykh Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy upon him, commented:
In it is a refutation of the Mushabihah[1], who liken the Creator with the creation, may He be exalted. He said, {There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer} [Ash-Shura: 11].
And the intent behind it is not negating the attributes, as the people of innovation claim. And from the speech of Abu Haneefah in al-Fiqh al-Akbar[2] (p. 13 with the explanation of al-‘allaamah ‘Ali al-Qaari),

‘He does not resemble anything of His creation, nor does His creation resemble anything of He’

The he says after that [p.28],

‘And all of His attributes are distinct from the attributes of the creation – He knows but not like our knowing; He is able, but not like our ability; He sees but not like our seeing’.

[1] It would have been more precise to have said ‘al-Mumathilah’ – see al-Munaathiratu fil ‘Aqeedatil Wasatiyyah (3/166 of Majmoo al-Fataawa) by Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah.

[2] There is issue with its authenticity to Imaam Abu Haneefah. However, it is circulated among the people of his mathhab without objection or rejection.
See al-Fawaa’id al-Bahiyyah (p.68) of al-Luknowi and al-fatwa al-Hamawiyyatil Kubra (p. 321-322) and the footnote of its checker Hamd al-Tawayjiri.

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10 - [Ever] Living – He does not die; Sufficient, He does not sleep

11 – A creator; without having purpose, a provider without effort.

Shaykh Muhammd Naasir Ud-Deen al-Albaani said, ‘i.e without heaviness or burden, as in the explanation of al-‘Aqeedatu at-Tahaawiyyah’, p. 125 – 4th edition’

12 – He causes death without fear and gives life without burden.

13 – He has always been, with his attributes, before His creation – He has never increased in His attributes, gaining that which He did not have before. And just as He has always been with His attributes, He shall remain forever.

Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said in al-Tis’eeniyyah (2/456), while refuting some groups in this matter, incorporating the author’s speech, ‘As for the fuqahaa, Ahlul Haddeth, the Soofiyyah some of the people of rhetoric, from those who refute the mu’tazilah from the murji’ah, shee’ah and karraamiyyah and others, they dispel the evidences that have been mentioned and say that He is not a doer except with an action that is independent in itself; a being that is independent in itself and the creation that is independent in itself is different to the creation that is created.
And this is what the fuqahaa from the companions of Abu Haneefah, ash-Shaafi’ee, Ahmad and Maalik mention in their books – just as the fuqahaa of the Hanafiyyah have mentioned, like at-Tahaawi, Abu Mansoor al-Maatooridi and others, as al-Baghawai mentioned in Sharh us-Sunnah and as the companions of Ahmad, like Abu Ishaaq, Abu Bakr Abdul-‘Azeez al-Qaadi and others have mentioned…’