Aqaid of Ahlus sunnah from the pen of al Bayhaqi
1. Who is Gawth al adham.
al Bayhaqi said:
قال الحليمي : الغياث هو المغيث وأكثر ما يقال غياث المستغيثين ، ومعناه المدرك عباده في الشدائد إذا دعوه ، ومريحهم ومخلصهم
(Imam Abu Abdullah) Al-Halimi (d 403 AH) said:
Al-Ghayath is the One who provides aid and support, and is often referred to as “Ghayath Al-Mustagithin.” Its meaning is that He responds to His servants in times of distress when they call upon Him, and He relieves them and delivers them
Asma wal Sifaat by al Bayhaqi 1/142
2. All the creation of Allah which includes all the Anbiya, Auliyah, and every creation, can not bestow healing.
al Bayhaqi said that al Khattabi (d 388 h).
‘‘ وَلَا يَمْلِكُوْنَ أنْ يَهَبُوا شِفَاءً لِسَقِيْم، وَلَا وَلَدَاً لِعَقِيْم، وَلَا هُدَى لِضَلَالٍ، وَلَا عَافِيَة لِذِي بَلَاءٍ، وَالله الوَهابُ -سُبْحَانَهُ- يملِكُ جَميْعَ ذَلِكَ ‘‘
And they do not have the power to bestow healing for the afflicted, nor a child to infertile, nor guidance to astray , neither aafiyah to the afflicted. Allah the al Wahhaab subhanahu tala is the only one who has power over all these things.
al Khattabi in his book Shan ad-Dua page 53, and al Bayhaqi mentioned in asma wal Siffaat 1/38
3. Imam al Bayhaqi on the life of Prophets.
He Said
الأنبياء عليهم السلام أرواحهم فهم أحياء عند ربهم كالشهداء
Souls of Prophets are alive with their lord like Martyrs. (Hiyat ul anbiya lil Bayhaqi page 21)
4. Tawassul through the dua of Righteous.
Imam al Bayhaqi mentioned the athar of Umar ra where he asked Al Abbas ra to ask Allah for rain under the chapter
باب الاستسقاء بمن ترجى بركة دعائه
Chapter of asking someone to invoke Allah for rain whose dua has a hope of Barakah. (end quote)
He mentioned the athar of Man in need under the chapter of supplications of Prophet peace be upon him
(( جماع أبواب دعوات نبينا صلى الله عليه وسلم المستجابة في الأطعمة والأشربة ، وبركاته التي ظهرت فيما دعا فيه ، وغير ذلك من دعواته على طريق الاختصار فلا سبيل إلى نقل جميعها لما فيه من الإكثار ))
“A Collection of Our Prophet’s (peace be upon him) Answered Prayers Regarding Food, Drinks, and Blessings That Manifested in His Supplications, and Other Prayers, Presented Concisely, as It is Impossible to Include All of Them Due to Their Abundance.”
5. Seeking refuge from creation.
Al Bayhaqi said:
وَقُلْ رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيـطِينِ – وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن يَحْضُرُونِ) وقال عزوجل فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَـنِ الرَّجِيمِ) ولا يصح أن يستعيذبمخلوق من مخلوق ، فدل أنه استعاذ بصفة من صفات ذاته ، وأمر أن يستعاذ بصفة من صفات ذاته ، وهي غير مخلوقة كما أمره الله تعالى أن يستعيذ بذاته ، وذاته غير مخلوق
“And say: ‘My Lord, I seek refuge with You from the whispers of the devils, and I seek refuge with You, my Lord, lest they attend me”. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: ‘Seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected’.
It is not valid to seek refuge with a created being from a created being. This indicates that one seeks refuge with an attribute of Allah’s essence, and He commanded to seek refuge with an attribute of His essence, which is uncreated, just as Allah commanded him to seek refuge with His essence, which is also uncreated.”
[Asma wal siffat page 183]6. al Bayhaqi, Al Hakim and his teachers, al Khattabi and al Shafiee on relying only on Allah.
al Bayhaqi said that al Hakim said:
أرانا أبو الوليد حسان بن محمد نقش خاتمه: الله ثقة حسان بن محمد.
وقال: أرانا عبد الملك بن محمد بن عدي نقش خاتمه: الله ثقة عبد الملك بن محمد. وقال: أرانا الربيع نقش خاتمه: الله ثقة الربيع بن سليمان. وقال كان نقش خاتم الشافعي: الله ثقة محمد بن إدريس
Abu Al-Walid Hassan bin Muhammad showed us the inscription of his ring which stated: Allah is reliance of Hassan bin Muhammad.
And he said (my teacher) Abd al-Malik bin Muhammad bin Adi showed us the inscription of his ring which stated: Allah is the reliance of Abd al-Malik bin Muhammad.
And he said (his teacher) Al-Rabee’ showed us the inscription of his ring: Allah is the reliance of Al-Rabee’ bin Suleiman.
And he said that the inscription of the seal of (his teacher Imam) Al-Shafi’i was: Allah is the reliance of Muhammad bin Idris
مناقب الإمام الشافعي للبيهقي p. 459
تاريخ الإسلام – الذهبي – ج ٢٥ – الصفحة ٤١٨
7. Some people claim that the Prophet peace be upon him was present and watching even before Adam peace be upon him.
Al Bayhaqi said:
قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “إني عند الله في أمّ الكتاب لخاتم النبيين وان ءادم لمنجدل في طينته” يريد انه كان كذلك في قضاء الله وتقديره قبل أن يكون أبو البشر وأوّل الأنبياء صلوات الله عليهم”
And what is meant by Prophet Muhammad Peace and blessings be upon Him “I was written [in Umm Al-Kitab] in Allah’s presence as the Seal of the Prophets, while Adam was still kneaded in his clay” is that he was destined and decreed by Allah even before the father of Man and the first of Messenger’s Salawat Allah ‘alaihim.[Dalael Al-Nubuwah 1/81]
8. Imam ash-Shafiee refuted Imam Maalik When people of Al-Andalus started venerating Imam Maalik to the extreme that they started taking blessings from a cap of Imam Malik.
al Bayhaqi said:
أن الشافعي إنما وضع الكتاب على «مالك» أنه بلغه أن بأندلس كُمَّةً لمالك – يعني قلنسوة – يُستسقى بها. وكان يقال لهم: قال رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم فيقولون: قال مالك: فقال الشافعي: إن مالكا آدمي قد يخطئ ويغلط. فالذي دعاه إلى أن وضع عليه هذا الكتاب: ذلك. وكان يقول: كرهت أن أفعل ذلك، ولكني استخرت الله في ذلك سنة كذا
Imam ash-Shafiee wrote a book in refutation of Imam Maalik. The reason for that was, some people in al Andalus started taking blessings from the cap of Imam Malik. There state was that if someone would say this is what Prophet peace be upon him said, they would say but Imam Maalik said this.
Ash-Shafiee said: Maalik was a Man who can make mistakes and sometimes he is wrong too. Due to this situation ash-Shafiee was forced to write this response. ash-Shafiee would also say: I don’t like it (writing response against Imam Maalik) but i did Istikhara in such and such year.
مناقب الشافعی: 1/508-509، توالي التأسيس ص147
He wrote this refutation so that people may stop venerating the Imam to the extremes.
P.s. Sign of a Muwahhid.
al Maaziri (d 536 h) said:
من علامات الموحدين التوجه إلى السماء عند الدعاء وطلب الحوائج؛ لأنّ العرب التي تعبد الأصنام تطلب حوائجها من الأصنام، والعجم من النيران
Among the signs of Muwahhideen is that they turn towards heaven while doing dua and in asking their needs. The Arabs used to worship idols and ask their needs from them and Ajam from the fire.
المعلم بفوائد صحيح مسلم 1/412