The Detail on the Issue of Faith from the Book Sharh al-Tahawiyyah on the Text al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah

The Shaykh :
This is a chapter from the book Sharh al-Tahawiyyah, and in the text which is famous as al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, named after Abu
Jafar al-Tahawi, this text is among the most important works written on the oneness of Allah (tawhid) according to the methodology of the righteous predecessors (Salaf), and on
a concise, brief, and comprehensive method. I said that it was written according to the method of the righteous predecessors, but an exception must be made in
this generalization. He did not deviate from the method of the righteous predecessors in anything he mentioned in this creed, except in the issue of
faith and what branches from it. The righteous predecessors are all in agreement that faith increases and decreases, and this is
explicit in the Book and the Sunnah. How many verses in the Qur'an are there in which our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, explicitly states that faith
increases This is an explicit text
that the faith of the Muslim increases, based on this verse and its like, and based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): "Faith has sixty-some branches, the highest of which is the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and the lowest is removing a harmful object from the path." For this hadith
there are two narrations. For this hadith and its like, and the aforementioned verse and similar ones, the predecessors agreed in saying and believing that
faith increases and decreases. As for our author, Abu Jafar al-Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him), he differed in this issue. In reality,
he merely followed the methodology of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him), in that he was the one among the four Imams who uniquely held the view that
faith does not increase and does not decrease. I said that he differed in this issue and what branched from it. What branched from the view
that faith increases and decreases, or does not increase and does not decrease, is the following disagreement: Is it permissible for a Muslim to say, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," or is it not permissible? For those who follow the methodology of the righteous predecessors that faith increases and decreases,
it is permissible to say, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," because in this state he is not certain that his faith is the faith
that is pleasing to the Lord of the worlds, or he says, "if Allah wills," hoping from Allah that his faith is complete faith. As for
those who hold that faith does not accept increase, and he does not permit this saying, it is not permissible for him to say, "I am a believer, if Allah wills." Rather, he says, "I am truly a believer." This is what branched from the disagreement in that great principle,
which is that faith increases and decreases. So whoever says it does not increase and does not decrease, consequently says it is not permissible to say, "I am a believer, if
Allah wills." Branching from this disagreement is another issue, more dangerous than all that has preceded, which is that whoever says faith does
not increase and does not decrease, it is not permissible for him to say, "I am a believer, if Allah wills." He said, "So whoever says, 'I am a believer, if Allah wills,' has
doubted in his faith, and whoever doubts in his faith has disbelieved." So those who say, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," are doubters in
their faith, and whoever doubts in his faith has disbelieved. This is the declaration of disbelief (takfir) of the majority of the righteous predecessors. But this takfir is a necessary consequence
of the school of thought, and a necessary consequence of a school of thought is not itself a school of thought. But unfortunately, some of the fanatical Hanafis adhered to this and derived
from it a jurisprudential ruling: whoever says, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," has disbelieved. They derived from this that it is not permissible for a Hanafi
to marry a Shafi'i woman. Why? Because she doubts in her faith; she says, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," and whoever doubts in
his faith has disbelieved. Therefore, the reality of this research is one of the researches by which we argue in refuting those
who make general statements without deep consideration and careful thought, and say that the disagreement among Muslims is only in
the branches and not in the principles. And this is the foundation of the principles: faith. They disagreed on it to the extent that the Hanafis
said that whoever says, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," has disbelieved, and they mentioned this in the research on apostasy (riddah) and derived from it that it is not
permissible for a Hanafi to marry a Shafi'i woman because she doubts in her faith. However, some of the later scholars permitted
the Hanafi to marry a Shafi'i woman, but at the time of his explicit permission, he widened the tear for the mender, because
he explicitly declared them disbelievers, saying, "It is permissible for a Hanafi to marry a Shafi'i woman, treating her as the People of the Book." In the first
place, they said that whoever says, "I am a believer, if Allah wills," has disbelieved. This is a necessary consequence and a general text. But here he says, "treating her as
the People of the Book." And the meaning of this is that it is permissible for a Hanafi to marry a Shafi'i woman, but it is not permissible for a Shafi'i to marry
a Hanafi woman, treating her as the People of the Book. So we take from the People of the Book, but we do not give to them. Similarly, this
speaker says, "We take the daughters of the Shafi'is, but we do not give our daughters to them." This resulted from this disagreement that occurred between
the predecessors and the three Imams, and Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him). Abu Jafar adopted this school of thought, unfortunately,
and were it not for this point, the book would have been Salafi one hundred percent. Therefore, I wanted to mention the importance of this al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah
from one side, and I except from it his statement following his Imam that faith does not increase and does not decrease. This faith is based on
the oneness of Allah (tawhid). The foundation of this faith is faith in Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, as He has described Himself. And this faith in Allah, Mighty and Majestic,
as He has described Himself, has been neglected by many Muslims, their scholars, let alone their common people. And therefore, the commentator of al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah
addressed this oneness of Allah (tawhid) with a strong and very great treatment. And the faith and tawhid of the Muslim is not completed
except by understanding this tawhid in its three known types: the oneness of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah), the oneness of worship (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), and the oneness of the names and attributes (tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat). And that is the saying of the Lawgiver (may Allah have mercy on him).
The ones to whom the people said, "The people have gathered against you, so fear them," but it increased them in faith.
The commentator on the *'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah* addressed this tawhid (the oneness of Allah) with a sound and very great treatment, and the faith of the Muslim and his tawhid are not complete
unless he understands this tawhid in its three known types: tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), tawhid
al-'ibadah (oneness of worship), and tawhid al-sifat (oneness of the attributes). This is the statement of the Lawgiver (may Allah have mercy on him).