A Commentary on the Removal of Doubts

From the book:

This is the treatise Kashf al-Shubuhāt (Removal of the Doubts) by Shaykh al-Islām, the reviver, the Imām Muḥammad bin ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (may Allāh have mercy on him), born in 1115 AH and died in 1206 AH — may Allāh have abundant mercy upon him.

This treatise discusses the fundamentals of the religion, focusing on the Oneness of worship (Tawḥīd al-ʿIbādah); and the knowledge of the fundamentals of the religion is the most noble of sciences, since it is connected to Allāh — His Names, Attributes, and Actions, and what is due to Him, the Most High, what is permissible regarding Him, and what is impossible — that is, knowing the One Who is worshipped, the Glorified, by His Names, His Attributes, His Actions, and the greatness of His Right.

Indeed, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (may Allāh have mercy on him) called what he wrote concerning Allāh in the fundamentals of the religion al-Fiqh al-Akbar (the greater understanding).[1] And this is the essence of the divine message, upon which all matters of the message are built. It is the most virtuous and obligatory matter that the hearts acquire, the souls comprehend, and the intellects attain. The need for it is greater than any need. The necessity for it exceeds all necessities, to the extent that the need for knowledge of the fundamentals of the religion is greater than the need for food and drink. The necessity of it is more than the necessity for them, and the very breath that goes in and out between a man’s sides.

For if a person loses food and drink, the body dies — and death is inevitable, and he is not harmed if he dies while upright upon the obedience of Allāh. However, if a person loses the knowledge of the fundamentals of the religion, is ignorant of his Lord, His Names, His Attributes, and His Actions, and is ignorant of the greatness of His Right, then his heart dies, and his soul dies. Thus, he dies an eternal death.

[1] Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz al-Ḥanafī said: “Indeed, since the knowledge of the fundamentals of the religion is the most noble of sciences — as the nobility of knowledge is based on the nobility of that which is known — it is al-Fiqh al-Akbar (the greater understanding) in comparison to the fiqh of subsidiary matters. For this reason, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (may Allāh have mercy on him) named what he stated and compiled in pages concerning the fundamentals of the religion al-Fiqh al-Akbar.” Commentary on al-ʿAqīdah al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah (p. 65)