Abu al-Qasim al-Lalka’i said: « (chain of narration) Muhammad Ibn Muzaffar al-Muqri (1) informed us and said: Al-Ĥusayn ibn Muhammad Ibn Ĥabash al-Muqri (2) narrated to us:
Abu Muhammad Abdur Rahman Ibn Abi Ĥatim (3) said: "I asked my father (4) and Abu Zur`ah concerning the Madhhabs of the Ahlus Sunnah in regards to the Principles of the Religion, and what they found the scholars upon (in belief) in all the lands, and what they believe from that?

So they said:
“We have reached the Scholars in all the lands – The Hijaz, Iraq, Sham and Yemen –, and from their Madhhab was:

Iman is speech and action, it increases and decreases.
The Qur’an is the Kalam (speech) of Allah, it is uncreated from all sides.
And Predestination, its good and bad is from Allah Azza Wa Jal..

And the best of this Ummah (nation) after its Prophet -Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam- is Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, then Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, then Uthman Ibn Affan, then Ali Ibn Abi Talib, -may peace be upon them-. And they are the rightly guided Khulafa (caliphs).
And the ten whom Rasoolullah -Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam- has named and bore witness of their entry into Jannah, will definitely enter Jannah as Rasoolullah -Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam- has said, and his (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) word is the truth. And to ask for Allah’s Mercy upon them (to say “rahimahum Allah”), and to refrain from speaking about the arguments between them.

And that Allah Azza Wa Jal is upon His ‘Arsh (throne) separate (4) from His creation, as he has described Himself in His Book and upon the tongue of The Messenger of Allah -Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam- without asking how (Bila kayf), He encompasses everything in His knowledge, {There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.} (42: 11)

And that Allah -Tabaraka Wa Ta’ala- will be seen in the hereafter, the people of Jannah will see Him with their sight, and will hear His speech how and like He desires.
And Jannah is true (established), and Jahannam (hellfire) is true, and they are two creations which will not come to an end, and Jannah is the reward for His Awliya (the pious), and hell fire is a punishment for those who disobey Him, except those whom Allah -Azza Wa Jal- has mercy upon.
And the Sirat (the bridge over hell fire) is true.
And the Mizan (Scales) is true. It having two pans in which the good and bad deeds of people will be weighed, is true.
And the Hawdh (pool) which our Prophet -Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam- has been honoured with is true.
And Ash-shafa`a (The Intercession of the Prophet –Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam- on the day of judgment) is true.
And Resurrection after death is true.

And major sinners are at the will of Allah Azza Wa Jal (Meaning: If He Wills He will punish them, and if He Wills He will forgive them).
And we do not declare the Ahlul Qiblah (.i.e. Muslims) as disbelievers because of their sins, and we leave their secrets to Allah Azza Wa Jal.

And we believe that Jihad and Hajj is compulsory with the leaders of the Muslims in every time and era.
And we do not believe in rebelling against the Imams (Muslim leaders), nor fighting in Fitnah, and we listen and obey whoever Allah -Azza Wa Jal- appoints to our affairs… and we follow the Sunnah and Jama’ah, and we distance ourselves from deviation and discord and breaking up into sects.
Verily Jihad has been carried out from when Allah -Azza Wa Jal- sent His Prophet -Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam- and will continue until the day of resurrection along with the leader from the leaders of the Muslims, and nothing will abolish it.
And Hajj is the same, as well as giving the Sadaqah of the grazing livestock to the leader of the Muslims.

And people (Muslims) are (treated as) believers (Mu’mineen) in regards to their rulings and their inheritance, but we do not know how they are regarded by Allah Azza Wa Jal.
So whoever says that he is a true believer then he is an innovator, and whoever says that he is a believer in the sight of Allah, then he is from the liars. And whoever says that he believes in Allah truely, then he is correct.

And the Murji’ah and the innovators are astray.
And the Qadariyyah innovators are astray.
And whoever amongst them rejects that Allah knows things before it comes into existence then he is a kafir.
And the Jahmiyyah are Kuffar.
And the Rafidhah (extreme Shias, such as 12ers Imamiyyah) have rejected Islam.
And the khawarij are apostates.

And whoever claims that the Qur’an is created then he is a disbeliever in Allah the Great, a disbelief which expels him from the religion; and whoever doubts his (that person’s) disbelief , if he is from the ones who understand, then he is a disbeliever as well.
And whoever doubts concerning the Speech of Allah (the Qur’an).... and he says: I don’t know whether it is created or not created, then he is a Jahmi (from the jahmiyyah)..

And whoever makes waqf of the Qur’an (does not say it is created or uncreated) because of ignorance, then he is to be taught and is to be declared an innovator but not a disbeliever.
And whoever says: ‘the words that I utter of the Quran are created’, then he is a Jahmi, or if he says: ‘The Qur’an with my pronunciation is created’ then he is a Jahmi..»

Abu Muhammad (Ibn Abi Hatim) said:
«And I heard my father (5) saying:
‘And the sign of the innovators is (their) slandering of Ahlel Athar (i.e. Atharis, Ahlus Sunnah)
And the sign of the Heretics (Zanadiqah) is: Their calling the Ahlus Sunnah “Ĥashwiyyah” (6), seeking to invalidate the narrations thereby.
And the sign of the Jahmiyyah is: Their calling the Ahlus Sunnah “Mushabbihah” (7)
And the sign of the Qadariyyah is: Their calling the Ahlul Athar "Mujabirah” (8)
And the sign of the Murji’ah is: Their calling the Ahlus Sunnah “Mukhalifah” and “Nuqsaniyyah”
And the sign of the Rafidhah is: Their calling the Ahlus Sunnah “Nasibah” (Enemies of Ahl-AlBayt.)

There is only one name for Ahlus Sunnah, and it is impossible for them to be associated with all these names.’


Abu Muhammad said:
And I heard my father and Abu Zur`ah: Commanding people to abandon the deviants and the innovators, and they were very severe in that, and they forbade making (authoring) books with opinions not based on narrations.
And they forbade people from attending the gatherings of the people of Kalam, and looking in the books of the people of Kalam, and they would say: A person of kalam will never be successful.”


Abu Muhammad (9) said: And it is what I say (Meaning, what was said above is his belief too.)
And Abu `Ali bin Habash al-Muqri (10) said: And it is what I say.
And our Shaykh Ibn al-Muzaffar (11) said: And it is what I say.
And our Shaykh – meaning the author – (12) said: And it is what I say.
And At-Turaythithi (13) said: And it is what I say.
And our Shaykh As-Sulafi (14) said: And it is what we say.»



Ibn Al-Muqre’, Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ibrahim (d. 381 H.) said: “My madhhab in the fundamentals (of belief) is the madhhab of Ahmad bin Hanbal and Abu Zur`ah Ar-Razi.” (15)

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(1) He is Abu Bakr Muĥammad Ibn al-Muzaffar Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Ĥarb Ad-Dainoori, one of the students of al-Ĥusayn Ibn Muĥammad Ibn Ĥabash, he passed away in 415 H. Al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi said: he was a righteous pious trustworthy shaykh. (Tareekh Madeenah al-Islam «Baghdad» by Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdadi 4/430)
(2) Al-Ĥusayn Ibn Muĥammad Ibn Ĥabash al-Muqri, Abu ‘Ali. Abu `Amr ad-Dani said about him: “He was advanced in the knowledge of Qira’ah, he is well known for his excellence, he is reliable and trustworthy.” (Tarikh Al-Islam by Adh-Dhahabi 26/539)
(3) Reported in Sharh I`tiqaad Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah of Abu al-Qasim Hibatullah al-Lalaka’i (1/176-180) with a saheeh chain. And Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi narrated a portion of it with two different chains in his book “Ithbaat Sifatul ‘Uluww” (p182-184). And Adh-Dhahabi has narrated a portion of it with his chain in “Siyar A’lam an-Nubala” (13/84). And Ibn Abi Ĥatim mentioned it in his book “Asl as-Sunnah Wa I’tiqad ad-Deen” and it includes questions that he asked his father and Abu Zur`ah, and their answer;
It is a manuscript in al-Maktabah Adh-Dhahiriyah in Damascus in collection number 11 (Alif 166-169).
(4) Meaning that nothing of Allah's Essence is inside creation, and nothing of creation is in Allah's Essence.
(5) Abu Ĥatim Muĥammad Ibn Idrees Ar-Razi.
(6) They call Ahlus Sunnah :Hashawiyah (People with no worth), because they think that any one who's not upon their logic and theology are unintelligent rabble.
(7) Mushabbihah: Likening Allah to creation, claiming that affirming the Attributes according to its apparent meaning is Tashbeeh
(8) They call them that because they (the Qadariyyah) claim that Ahlus Sunnah’s affirmation of Allah's Decree implies denying free-will for mankind and saying they are compelled to do their actions.
(9) `Abdur-Raĥman Ibn Abi Ĥatim Ar-Razi, the narrator of this Athar (The one who asked the creedal question).
(10) One of the narrators in the chain of this Athar, the same with the one after him, and we have mentioned their status in footnotes number 1 and 2.
(11) The one saying “our shaykh” is Abu al-Qaasim al-Lalaka’i.
(12) The author is Abu al-Qasim al-Lalaka’i. (d. 418 H.)
(13) At-Turaythithi: He is the Shaykh of the Sufiyah, Abu Bakr Aĥmad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn al-Ĥusayn at-Turaythithi then al-Baghdadi. He heard from Abu al-Qasim al-Lalaka’i, and he passed away in 497 Hijri. (Siyar A`lam an-Nubala by Adh-Dhahabi 19/162). And he was one of those who narrated the book “Sharh Usool al-I’tiqaad Ahlus Sunnah” from its author (Abu Qasim Al-Lalaka`I) as it is mentioned in the Muhaqqiq’s introduction of the book (1/131).
(14) He is the Muhaddith, the Mufti, Shaykhul Islam Abu Tahir Aĥmad Ibn Muĥammad as-Sulafee, born in the year 475 Hijri., he narrated from Abu Bakr Aĥmad at-Turaythithi, and he passed away in 576 H. (Siyar A`lam an-Nubala vol.21 p.5, 11 & 39), and he is the narrator of the book from at-Turaythithi.
(15) Siyar A`lam An-Nubala by Adh-Dhahabi (16/401)