A Commentary on the Creed of al-Imam al-Tahawi by Salih al-Fawzan

Creed is the basis of religion. It is the substance of the first pillar of Islam, the testimony that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah.Therefore, much focus has to be given to it. It has to be learned, and so does that which infringes it, so that man becomes discerning and upon the correct belief. If someone's faith is based on a correct foundation, it is valued and accepted by Allah, but if it is based on shaky and precarious beliefs or on incorrect beliefs, then it is not correct and has no foundation.This is why the scholars gave such precedence to the creed and why they never slackened in teaching it during their lessons and on special occasions. And the later generations related it to the earlier ones.As time passed, the sects and disagreements appeared, and Islam was accepted by those in whose hearts the creed was not firmly grounded, or by those who entered into the religion whilst having deviant ideas, and some ne