al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah – Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Recap: aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (raḥimahullāh): "He created the creation with His knowledge, decreed for them their decrees and set for them their terms"

• "Nothing was hidden from Him before He created them, and He knew what they would do before He created them"

• "Whatever mercy Allāh opens to the people, none can withhold it…" (Fāṭir 35:2)

• How aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī moves from belief in Allāh to belief in the Messenger ﷺ

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Recap of "He created the creation with His knowledge" as a refutation of the Muʿtazilah, who deny attributes established with Allāh's essence

• Ahl as-Sunnah say "Allāh, with His knowledge", while the Muʿtazilah separate Allāh from His knowledge and power

• Allāh's knowledge has no beginning and precedes everything

• The types of taqdīr: the general decree, that written in the womb, the yearly decree on Laylat al-Qadr, and the daily decree

• What is written in the scrolls of the angels can change, explaining "no one is given long life or has it shortened except that it is in a Book"

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Beginning aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī's section on al-qadar: "He created the creation with His knowledge, decreed for them their decrees, and appointed for them their lifespans"

• With the commentaries of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān (hafidhahullāh) and Shaykh Ṣāliḥ Āl ash-Shaykh (hafidhahullāh), refuting the Qadariyyah and Muʿtazilah

• "Does He not know, the One who created?" (al-Mulk 67:14): the act of creating is proof of Allāh's prior knowledge and power

• Qadar has a linguistic meaning and a Sharīʿah meaning, just as ṣalāh linguistically means supplication

• Qadar described as the secret of Allāh, which He has revealed to no angel or prophet

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Recap of aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī's passage of about ten statements on Allāh being eternally described with His names and attributes

• Ahl as-Sunnah affirm that the effects of the attributes were always present: Allāh never ceased creating, speaking or forgiving as He wills

• The people of kalām denied this because they rejected an endless chain of events in the past, tied to their argument against atheists

• Introducing the coming statements on al-qadar, the servant's actions and Allāh's will

• Questions at the end, including Sūrat Ṭā Hā, "I am with you both, I hear and I see", as proof that Allāh hears and sees now, not merely by eternal knowledge

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Recap: aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (raḥimahullāh) on the eternity of Allāh's attributes; He was the Creator before He created and the Provider before He provided

• He did not acquire these names after creating the creation

• The positions of the sects on this issue

• How opening the door of ʿilm al-kalām against the Book and the Sunnah gave others a way to attack the religion further

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Recap: Allāh is eternal without beginning and everlasting without end, and His attributes follow His essence in this

• aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (raḥimahullāh): "He has always existed with His attributes before His creation", with the explanation of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān (hafidhahullāh)

• Mention of the Preserved Tablet, the Pen and the Throne

• The Qurʾān as the uncreated speech of Allāh

• Questions and answers

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (raḥimahullāh): "He does not resemble the creation", then six qualities showing the difference between the Creator and the created

• "Living, He does not die; Self-Sustaining, He does not sleep; Creator without need; Provider without burden; He causes death without fear and resurrects without difficulty"

• The blowing of the Trumpet and the resurrection

• Next: the series of statements on the eternity of Allāh's attributes

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Six statements of aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī explaining "He does not resemble the creation": Ever-Living who does not die, Self-Sustaining who does not sleep, Creator without need, Provider without burden, Giver of death without fear, Resurrector without difficulty

• Focus on the first two: Allāh's life is complete and perfect, with no prior non-existence and no end, from the commentary of Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān (hafidhahullāh)

• Al-Qayyūm: He sustains Himself and all else, and neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him

• Man also lives, creates, provides and takes life, but always with deficiency, need or fear, while Allāh's attributes are perfect

• The structure of aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī's opening statements: tawḥīd first, then its explanation

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• Recap: aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (raḥimahullāh): "He does not perish nor come to an end"

• "Nothing happens except what He wills"

• "Imaginations do not reach Him, understanding does not grasp Him, and He does not resemble the creation"

• Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful, and His punishment is also severe

al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyyah, taught by Shaykh Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq (hafidhahullāh)

• aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī (raḥimahullāh): "Eternal without beginning, everlasting without end"

• Using "al-Qadīm" as a description is fine, but taking it as a name of Allāh, as done by the theologians, is a mistake

• The names al-Awwal and al-Ākhir from the Qurʾān and Sunnah instead