Kitab al-Tawhid


Kitab al-Tawhid, is the main Sunni theological book, and the primary source of the Maturidi school of thought; written by the Hanafi scholar Abu Mansur al-Maturidi.
Kitab al-Tawhid is monumental work which very nicely expounded the tenets and beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a and refuted the stands of the opponents, such as Karramites, Mu'tazilites, Qadariyya, Majus, Sophists, Dualisms, and Christians.
This work is providing a detailed and holistic approach to Islamic theology, whilst also being its earliest extant comprehensive source. Al-Maturidi presents the epistemological foundations of his teaching and provides detailed arguments in defence of Monotheism, including his cosmological doctrines - such as proofs for the creation and ontology of the Universe. He also focuses on God, His existence and attributes, analyzing issues related to anthropomorphism and rationalism amongst many others.

Editions

The book was edited by Bekir Topaloğlu and Muhammed Aruçi and published twice by İSAM Publications. The third impression was made in Beirut in 2007.

Awards

The book is awarded with the 16th World Prize for "the Book of the Year" in the field of Islamic studies by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008. The editors of the book, Bekir Topaloğlu and Muhammed Aruçi, are invited by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to Iran on this occasion. In the convention organized on February 7, 2009, the prize of "the Book of the year" in Muslim theology was granted to the winners by the President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Authenticity

, in his article that announces the discovery of Kitab al-Tawhid, described the Cambridge manuscript as an authentic book by al-Maturidi. Meanwhile, the one surviving manuscript of Kitab al-Tawhid was published by Fathallah Khalif in 1970, and research by students of Islamic theology began based on it. Several reviews and studies of it were done, too.

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