The Purification of Tawhid by Imam al-Amir Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Sana`ani (d. 1182H)

In recent times, a deviation has appeared amongst some Muslim communities whereby they show veneration, to an extreme, of Muslims saints and righteous personages: they erect mausoleums on their graves, they go to them in times of need and adversity, they supplicate to them and they hold beliefs concerning them that border on the superstitious.

Distressed at this gross deviation, al-Sana`ani penned this treatise expounding on the belief of Ahlu’l-Sunnah in its pristine purity. The issues he tackled were the concept of worship and graveworship, supplication to Allah, relying on Allah and resorting to Him at times of need.

The translator has added explanatory notes from the commentaries of three major scholars, Isma`il al-Ansari, `Abdu’l-Muhsin al-`Abbad and `Abdu’l-`Aziz al-Rajihi which further clarify, and in some places, correct, what the author writes.

The author, Imam Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Sana`ani (d. 1182H) was a scholar of extensive learning having studied with scholars in Sana`a’, Mecca and Madinah. He was a skilled jurist and a proficient teacher, deeply religious and firm in his adherence to Islam and the Sunnah, repudiating anything that opposed them. He was a prolific writer and wrote a commentary to Bulugh al-Maram, Umdatu’l-Ahkam and Nukhbatu’l-Fikr amongst other works.