The meaning of the title of the book
- The word Aqeedah is made out of the hurf Alif, Qaf, Dal.
- The word revolves around being tied to something
- covenant/promise (something you hold on to),
- being consistent in something,
- emphasizing,
- to tighten something,
- to have certainty of something,
- to hold something firmly.
- The general meaning of the word aqeedah means a core/fundamental beliefs of a group of people. This belief distinguishes a group from another. In Islam, aqeedah is a major way to differentiate people, to know & differentiate right from wrong.
- Aqeedah as science normally is referred to as the 6 pillars of Imaan. Those 6 pillars are a Muslim’s fundamental beliefs, and what distinguishes a Muslim from those in other religious groups. However, it is not the only thing aqeedah deals with. In the beginning, aqeedah is based on the understanding of the prophet salallahualaihiwassalam, the sahabas, the tabiin, and the tabiut tabiin. There are issues in the book of aqeedah because people went astray along the way.
- The word Wasit came from the name of a town established by Al Hajaj ibn Yousif Al Thaqafi. It was located between Baghdad (capital city of Iraq) & Basrah (southern Iraq). A judge who came from there, named Radee Al-Deen. Ibn Taymiyyah said about him that he is a man of goodness. He complained to Ibn Taymiyyah that ignorance & widespread oppression leads to the loss of knowledge, so he asked Ibn Taymiyyah to write him a book that can be used as a reference for him to teach his family. Initially, Ibn Taymiyyah sat this out because there was already a lot of books on Aqeedah. However, the man continued to beg. Seeing a huge need, Ibn Taymiyyah eventually wrote the book from Asr to xx. An amazing benefit from this story is that the man knew that the only thing that will fix the oppressions on those horrible times was aqeedah. When you correct the aqeedah, other things will follow suit.
- The difference between Tawheed & aqeedah. The two is related but different. Tawheed is a part of aqeedah related to worshipping Allah alone, whereas Aqeedah consists of all other parts of aqeedah.
- The benefit of a good question, Al-Radee asked and millions of people benefitted. The benefit of time, the shaykh was able to write such a book only after Asr.
About the Author : Ibn Taymiyyah
His fullname is Ahmad ibn Abuld Halim Ibn Abdul Salam Ibn Taymiyyah. There are 2 scholars that goes by the name Ibn Taymiyyah: Ibn Taymiyyah al Hafidh (grandson) Ibn Taymiyyah al Majd (grandfather) 661 - 728 H Hanbali Madhab Most important figure after Imam Ahmad in the Hanbali Madhab. His knowledge encompasses every science in Islam. Titled Shaykhul Islam. One of his is student is Ibn Qayyim.