Aʿazzu Mā Yuṭlab
Book by Ibn Tumart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aʿazzu Mā Yuṭlab (Arabic: أعز ما يُطلب, lit. 'The Dearest Quest'), also known as al-ʿAqīda (العقيدة, lit. 'The Creed'),[1] is a 12th-century book containing the teachings of Ibn Tumart, self-proclaimed mahdi and founder of the Almohad Caliphate.[2] According to the text of the book itself, it was compiled by a scribe to whom Abd al-Mu'min dictated his notes from Ibn Tumart's teachings.[3][4]
| |
| Original title | أَعَزُّ مَا يُطْلَب |
|---|---|
| Language | Arabic |
| Subject | hadith, fiqh, usūl ad-din, tawhid, politics, jihad, reform |
| Genre | Manifesto, Aqidah |
| Publication place | Almohad Caliphate |
Content
Aʿazzu Mā Yuṭlab contains a variety of topics, commentaries, summaries, and essays representing the foundation Ibn Tumart's movement.[4] It deals with hadith, fiqh, usūl ad-din, tawhid, politics, jihad, calls for reform, and promoting beneficence and discouraging maleficence.[4]
At the basis of Ibn Tumart's message and teachings is the concept of "tawhid," from which the Almohads got their name: al-muwaḥḥidūn (المُوَحِّدون).[5][3]: 246
Editions
al-ʿAqīda was translated into Latin by the deacon Mark of Toledo in 606/1209–10, after Almohad military successes in al-Andalus, especially the Battle of Alarcos.[1]
The Hungarian Orientalist Ignác Goldziher studied the book and published an introduction to it in 1903 (please note, however, that this work was not a French translation of Ibn Tumart's E'az Ma Yutlab) .[7]
The original text is preserved in two manuscript copies, dated 579/1183 and 595/1199.[1]
