The Summarised Creed of Muslim Orthodoxy

This text, by the righteous scholar and Shaikh, Abu Bakr ibn Qasim ibn Abi Bakr Ar-Rahbi (d.748), may Allah have mercy upon him, continues our series on reference texts that cover the creed. This text, The Summarised Creed of Muslim Orthodoxy, is a call for the scholars and students of knowledge from the Latter-Day Generations (Ar.khalaf) to return to the theology of the First Three Generations (Ar.salaf) in its detailed theology and avoid the dissension and fighting that characterised the people after them.
   
So, for Muslims looking to have a more whole view of the creed of the First Three Generations and their successors among Muslim Orthodoxy (Ar.Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah), this text is a perfect fit. 

Included within its pages are topics covering the Names and Attributes of Allah, the doctrine of tafwid, the inherent dangers of ta’wil, the definition of Iman, the Qur’an as the Speech of Allah, the eternality of the Paradise and the Fire, the Intercession of the Prophets, the rank of the Companions and their Successors and the doctrine that the rightly guided Muslims are a visible body of people that can be seen globally and not merely some mystical or unknown group that we must search for in order to be in agreement with.

Shaikh Ar-Rahbi, in his text, assesses the maladies of the Latter-Day Generations and concludes that every good in theology – detailed and general – is in following those that preceded us, namely the First Three Generations, and seeks to present a case for that in restating this ancient theology and its primacy over all others. The Muslim reading this, no matter his academic pursuit, will find the presentation of the theology both profound and concise at the same time.