‘Aqidah of Ibn Abi ‘Asim (D. 287)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي عَاصِمٍ رحمه الله: سَأَلْت عَنِ السُّنَّةِ مَا هِيَ؟
وَالسُّنَّةُ اسْمٌ جَامِعٌ لِمَعَانٍ كَثِيرَةٍ فِي الْأَحْكَامِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ. وَمِمَّا اتَّفَقَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ عَلَى أَنْ نَسَبُوهُ إِلَى السُّنَّةِ الْقَوْلُ بِإِثْبَاتِ الْقَدَرِ، وَأَنَّ الِاسْتِطَاعَةَ مَعَ الْفِعْلِ لِلْفِعْلِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ، وَحُلْوِهِ وَمُرِّهِ. وَكُلُّ طَاعَةٍ من مُطِيعٍ فَبِتَوْفِيقِ اللَّهِ لَهُ، وَكُلُّ مَعْصِيَةٍ مِنْ عَاصٍ فَبِخِذْلَانِ اللَّهِ السَّابِقِ مِنْهُ وَلَهُ، وَالسَّعِيدُ مَنْ سَبَقَتْ لَهُ السَّعَادَةُ، وَالشَّقِيُّ مَنْ سَبَقَتْ لَهُ الشَّقَاوَةُ، وَالْأَشْيَاءُ غَيْرُ خَارِجَةٍ مِنْ مَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ وَإِرَادَتِهِ، وَأَفْعَالُ الْعِبَادِ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ فِعْلٌ لَهُمْ خَلْقٌ لِخَالِقِهِمْ. وَالْقُرْآنُ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ تبارك وتعالى تَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ بِهِ لَيْسَ بِمَخْلُوقٍ، وَمَنْ قَالَ: مَخْلُوقٌ، مِمَّنْ قَامَتْ عَلَيْهِ الْحُجَّةُ فَكَافِرٌ بِاللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ، وَمَنْ قَالَ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَقُومَ عَلَيْهِ الْحُجَّةُ فَلَا شَيْءَ عَلَيْهِ. فالْإِيمَانُ قَوْلٌ وَعَمَلٌ يَزِيدُ وَيَنْقُصُ، وَإِثْبَاتُ رُؤْيَةِ اللَّهِ عز وجل يَرَاهُ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ نَظَرَ عَيَانٍ كَمَا جَاءَتِ الْأَخْبَارُ. وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ أَفْضَلُ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بَعْدَهُ، وَهُوَ الْخَلِيفَةُ لخِلَافَةَ النُّبُوَّةِ، بُويِعَ يَوْمَ بُويِعَ وَهُوَ أَفْضَلُهُمْ وَهُوَ أَحَقُّهُمْ بِهَا، ثُمَّ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ بَعْدَهُ عَلَى مِثْلِ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّانَ بَعْدَهُ عَلَى مِثْلِ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ عَلِيٌّ بَعْدَهُ عَلَى مِثْلِ ذَلِكَ، رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمْ جَمِيعًا. وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ أَعْلَمُهُمْ عِنْدِي بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، وَأَفْضَلُهُمْ وَأَزْهَدُهُمْ وَأَشْجَعُهُمْ وَأَسْخَاهُمْ. وَمِنَ الدَّلِيلِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي أَهْلِ الرِّدَّةِ، وَقَدْ نَازَلَهُ أَصْحَابُ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى أَنْ يَقْبَلَ مِنْهُمْ بَعْضًا فَأَبَى إِلَّا كُلَّ مَا أَوْجَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُقَاتِلُهُمْ، وَرَأَى أَنَّ الْكُفْرَ بِبَعْضِ التَّنْزِيلِ يُحِلُّ دِمَاءَهُمْ فَعَزَمَ عَلَى قِتَالِهِمْ فَعُلِمَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ. وَمِنْ شَجَاعَتِهِ كَوْنُهُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ عليه السلام فِي الْغَارِ وَهِجْرَتُهُ مَعَهُ مُعَرِّضًا نَفْسَهُ لِقُرَيْشٍ وَسَائِرِ الْعَرَبِ مَعَ قَصْدِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَطَلَبِهِمْ لَهُ، وَمَا بَذَلُوا فِيهِ مِنَ الرَّغَائِبِ، ثُمَّ مَا ظَهَرَ فِي رَأْيهِ وَنُبْلِهِ وَسَخَائِهِ ان كَانَ مَالُهُ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ أَرْبَعِينَ أَلْفَ أُوقِيَّةٍ فَفُرِّقَ كُلُّهُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ. وَمِنْ زُهْدِهِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَدَبَ إِلَى الصَّدَقَةِ، فَجَاءَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ بِجَمِيعِ مَالِهِ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ” مَا أَبْقَيْتَ لِأَهْلِكَ؟ قَالَ: اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ. وَلَمْ يَفْعَلْ هَذَا أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ. وَقَالَ فِي قِصَّةِ الْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَرَادَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ يَكْتُبَ لَهُمْ: يَأْبَى اللَّهُ وَيُدْفَعُ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ. وَسَمَّاهُ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ الصِّدِّيقَ، وَبُويِعَ وَاتَّفَقَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَلَى بَيْعَتِهِ، وَعَلِمُوا أَنَّ الصَّلَاحَ فِيهَا فَسَمَّوْهُ خَلِيفَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَخَاطَبُوهُ بِهَا. ثُمَّ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ عَلَى مِثْلِ سَبِيلِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ، وَمَا وَصَفْنَا بِهِ مَعَ شِدَّتِهِ وَاسْتِقَامَتِهِ وَسِيَاسَتِهِ. وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ لِعُيَيْنَةَ وَالْأَقْرَعِ: إِنَّمَا كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَتَأَلَّفُكُمَا وَالْإِسْلَامُ قَلِيلٌ، وَقَدْ أَغْنَى اللَّهُ عَنْكُمَا. وَذِكْرُ سِيَرِ عُمَرَ وَسِيَاسَتِهِ كثر ذكرها. ثُمَّ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عَفَّانَ مِنْ أَعْلَمِهِمْ وَأَشْجَعِهِمْ وَأَسْخَاهُمْ وَأَجْوَدِهِمْ جُودًا. وَمِنْ عِلْمِهِ أَنَّ عَلِيًّا وَعَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ، رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمَا، أَشَارَا فِي إِقَامَةِ الْحَدِّ عَلَى أَمَةِ حَاطِبٍ، فَرَأَى عُمَرُ ذَلِكَ مَعَهُمْ. قَالَ: يَا أَبَا عَمْرٍو، مَا تَقُولُ؟ قَالَ: لَا أَرَى عَلَيْهَا حَدًّا؛ لِأَنَّهَا تَسْتَهِلُّ بِهِ، وَإِنَّمَا الْحَدُّ عَلَى مَنْ عَلِمَهُ. فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بَعْدَ أَنْ فَهِمَ ذَلِكَ عَنْهُ: صَدَقْتَ وَاللَّهِ، إِنَّمَا الْحَدُّ عَلَى مَنْ عَلِمَهُ. وَتَزَوَّجَ ابْنَتَيِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، وَلَمْ يَجْتَمِعْ ذَلِكَ لِأَحَدٍ قَطُّ. ثُمَّ أَذْهَنُهُمْ ذِهْنًا، وَأَظْهَرُهُمْ عِبَادَةً، حَفِظَ الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى كِبَرِ سِنِّهِ فِي قِلَّةِ مُدَّةٍ، فَكَانَ يَقُومُ بِهِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. وَمِنْ سَخَاءِهِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَدَبَ إِلَى جَيْشِ الْعُسْرَةِ فَجَاءَ بِأَلْفِ دِينَارٍ، ثُمَّ أَلْفٍ، ثُمَّ أَلْفٍ، ثُمَّ جَهَّزَ جَيْشَ الْعُسْرَةِ بِأَجْمَعِ جِهَازِهِمْ. ثُمَّ عَلِيٌّ، رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ، مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ فِي كَمَالِهِ وَزُهْدِهِ وَعِلْمِهِ وَسَخَائِهِ. وَمِنْ زُهْدِهِ أَنَّهُ اشْتَغَلَ فِي سَنَةٍ أَرْبَعِينَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ فَفَرَّقَهَا، وَقَمِيصُهُ كَرَابِيسُ سُنْبُلَانِيٌّ. قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ الْقُرَظِيُّ: سَمِعْتُ عَلِيًّا يَقُولُ: بَلَغَتْ صَدَقَةُ مَالِي أَرْبَعِينَ أَلْفَ دِينَارٍ. وَمِنْ فَضَائِلِهِ الَّتِي أَبَانَهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا تَزْوِيجُهُ بِفَاطِمَةَ، وَوَلَدُهُ الْحَسَنُ وَالْحُسَيْنُ رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمَا، وَحَمْلُهُ بَابَ خَيْبَرٍ، وَقَتْلُهُ مَرْحَبًا، وَأَشْيَاءُ يَكْثُرُ ذِكْرُهَا. ثُمَّ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشُّورَى فَضَائِلُ يَكْثُرُ ذِكْرُهَا. وَمِمَّا قَدْ يُنْسَبُ إِلَى السَّنَةِ، وَذَلِكَ عِنْدِي إِيمَانٌ، نَحْوَ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ. وَمُنْكَرٍ وَنَكِيرٌ، وَالشَّفَاعَةُ، وَالْحَوْضُ، وَالْمِيزَانُ، وَحُبُّ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، وَمَعْرِفَةُ فَضَائِلِهِمْ وَتَرْكُ سَبِّهِمْ وَالطَّعْنِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَوِلَايَتِهِمْ، وَالصَّلَاةُ عَلَى مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْ أَهْلِ التَّوْحِيدِ، وَالتَّرَحُّمُ عَلَى مَنْ أَصَابَ ذَنْبًا وَالرَّجَاءُ لِلْمُذْنِبِينَ، وَتَرْكُ الْوَعِيدِ ، وَرَدُّ الْعِبَادِ إِلَى مَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ، وَالْخُرُوجُ مِنَ النَّارِ يُخْرِجُ اللَّهُ مَنْ يشَاءُ مِنْهَا بِرَحْمَتِهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ خَلْفَ كُلِّ أَمِيرٍ جَائِرٍ، وَالصَّلَاةُ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ، وَالْغَزْوُ مَعَ كُلِّ أَمِيرٍ، وَالْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ، وَالنَّهْيِ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ، وَالتَّعَاون [آخر كتاب السنة]

The Sunnah is a comprehensive term for many meanings in rulings and otherwise. And from what the people of knowledge have unanimously agreed to attribute to the Sunnah is:

Affirming the Divine Decree (al-Qadar)
That ability accompanies the action for the purpose of the action
Belief in the Divine Decree, its good and its evil, its sweet and its bitter
Every good deed from an obedient person is by the success (tawfīq) granted to him by Allāh, and every act of disobedience from a disobedient person is by the preceding abandonment of Allāh from Him and for him
The blessed is he for whom blessedness has been predestined, and the wretched one is he for whom wretchedness has been predestined
And all things do not exit the will and intent of Allāh
The actions of the people, from good and evil, are their own actions but are the creation of their Creator
The Qurʾān is the Speech of Allāh, the Blessed and Exalted; Allāh spoke it, it is not created. And whoever says it is created, from those against whom the proof has been established, is a disbeliever in Allāh the Great. And for whoever says it before the proof has been established against him, there is no blame upon him.
Īmān is speech and action; it increases and decreases.
Affirming the seeing (ruʾyah) of Allāh, ‘Azza wa Jall; His allies (awliyāʾ) will see Him in the Hereafter with their own eyes, as the narrations have come.
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq is the best of the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ after him, and he is the Caliph of the Prophetic succession (khilāfah al-nubuwwah). He was given allegiance on the day he was given allegiance, and he was the best of them and the most entitled to it. Then ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb after him similarly. Then ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān after him similarly. Then ʿAlī after him similarly, may Allāh’s mercy be upon them all.
And Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq is, in my view, the most knowledgeable of them after Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ, and the best of them, the most ascetic (Zuhd), the most courageous, and the most generous. And from the evidence for this is his stance regarding the people of apostasy (Riddah), when the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ argued with him to accept some (of the obligations) from them, but he refused everything except what Allāh had obligated upon them, or else he would fight them. He saw that disbelief in a part of the revelation made their blood lawful, so he resolved to fight them, and thus it was known that he was upon the truth. And from his courage was him being with the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the cave and his emigration with him, exposing himself to Quraysh and the rest of the Arabs, despite the pagans’ pursuit and search for him and the great rewards they offered for him. Then (from) what became apparent in his sound judgment, his nobility, and his generosity is that his wealth during the Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic era) was forty thousand ūqiyyahs (ounces of silver), all of which was distributed in Islām. And from his asceticism is that when the Prophet ﷺ called for charity, Abū Bakr came with all of his wealth to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said: “What have you left for your family?” He said, “(I have left them) Allāh and His Messenger.” And no one else among them did this. And he said regarding the incident of the letter that the Prophet ﷺ wanted to write for them: “Allāh refuses, and the believers reject (anyone but Abū Bakr).” And Allāh named him al-Ṣiddīq (the Truthful) from the heavens, and he was given allegiance, and the Muslims unanimously agreed on his allegiance, knowing that goodness was in it, so they called him the Caliph of the Messenger of Allāh and addressed him as such.
Then ʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allāh have mercy on him, was on a similar path as Abū Bakr in what we have described, along with his firmness, his steadfastness, and his politics. And from that is his statement to ʿUyaynah and al-Aqraʿ: “The Prophet ﷺ used to try to win your hearts over when Islām was weak, but Allāh has now made us independent of you.” The events of ʿUmar’s life and his politics are numerous to mention.
Then ʿUthmān bin ʿAffān was among the most knowledgeable of them, the most courageous, the most generous, and the most kind in his giving. And from his knowledge is that when ʿAlī and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, may Allāh have mercy on them, gave their opinion on carrying out the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) on the slave girl of Ḥāṭib, ʿUmar saw that along with them. He (ʿUthmān) said: “O Abū ʿAmr, what do you say?” He said: “I do not see a punishment upon her, because she was compelled to it, and the punishment is only upon one who knows (the prohibition).” ʿUmar, after understanding this from him, said: “You have spoken the truth, by Allāh, the punishment is only upon one who knows.” And he married the two daughters of the Prophet ﷺ, and this was never combined for anyone else. Then he was the sharpest of them in mind, and the most apparent in his worship. He memorized the Qurʾān at an old age in a short period and would stand (in prayer) with it in a single night. And from his generosity is that when the Prophet ﷺ called for (donations for) the Army of Hardship (Jaysh al-ʿUsrah), he came with a thousand dinars, then another thousand, then another thousand, then he equipped the entire Army of Hardship with all their gear.
Then ʿAlī, may Allāh have mercy on him, was similar in his completeness, his asceticism, his knowledge, and his generosity. And from his asceticism is that he earned forty thousand dinars in a year and distributed it all, while his shirt was of Sunbulānī cotton. Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī said: I heard ʿAlī say: “The charity from my wealth reached forty thousand dinars.” And from the virtues by which Allāh distinguished him was his marriage to Fāṭimah, and his sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, may Allāh have mercy on them, his carrying of the gate of Khaybar, his killing of Marḥab, and other things that are too numerous to mention. Then each one of the members of the Shūrā (consultative council) has virtues that are too numerous to mention.
From what is attributed to the Sunnah as well, which is in my view (a synonym of) Īmān, are:
The punishment of the grave
Munkar and Nakīr
The Intercession
The Pond (al-ḥawḍ)
the Scale (al-mīzān)
Loving the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, knowing their virtues, refraining from cursing them and attacking them, and having allegiance to them.
Praying over those who die from the people of Tawḥīd
Showing mercy to those who have committed a sin and having hope for the sinners
Leaving the waʿīd (applying texts of punishments to individuals) and leaving the people to the will of Allāh.
(People) exiting from the Fire; Allāh will bring out whomever He wills from it by His mercy.
Praying behind every unjust ruler
Praying in congregation
Engaging in military campaigns with every commander
Commanding the good, forbidding the evil, and cooperation (in good). [End of Kitāb al-Sunnah]