Points of Convergence between Shaykh Al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah and Shāfiʿī Scholars in Articulating the Significance and Status of Tawḥīd 10.35781/1637-000-162-003

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to highlight the points of convergence between the methodology of Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah and Shāfiʿī scholars in articulating the importance and status of tawḥīd within Islamic law. The research problem lies in the prevalent perception that emphasizes areas of disagreement between Ibn Taymiyyah and jurists affiliated with the Shāfiʿī school, while overlooking the fundamental aspects upon which they are in agreement regarding the core of the religion. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach by examining the texts of Ibn Taymiyyah and comparing them with the views of Shāfiʿī scholars such as al-Shāfiʿī, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Samʿānī, al-Dhahabī, Ibn Ḥajar, al-Biqāʿī, and among others, in clarifying the importance and status of tawḥīd as presented in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The study arrives at several significant findings, most notably: a clear agreement between both sides that tawḥīd is the highest purpose of creation, a fundamental condition for the validity and acceptance of deeds, and the greatest divine blessing bestowed upon humankind. And The study recommends highlighting this theological convergence in order to promote methodological unity in contemporary theological studies. Keywords: Ibn Taymiyyah, Shāfiʿī school, tawḥīd, theological convergence.