A collection of commentaries on the Safarini creed

Author's name: Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Safarini

Explanation by: Muhammad Mane', Abdul Rahman Qasim, Muhammad Al-Uthaymeen and Saleh Al-Fawzan

This is a blessed and beneficial explanation, God willing, of the book "Al-Durra al-Mudiya fi 'Aqd Ahl al-Firqa al-Mardiyya" by Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Salim al-Safarini al-Nabulsi al-Hanbali, may God have mercy on him. It has been explained by the esteemed scholars: Muhammad ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Mani', Abdul Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Qasim, Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, and Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan, may God preserve them and have mercy on their deceased. The poem on the Safarini creed, entitled "Al-Durra al-Mudiya fi 'Aqd Ahl al-Firqa al-Mardiyya," by Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Safarini al-Hanbali, is a magnificent poem, exceeding two hundred verses. In it, the author presents the chapters of creed with fluency of expression and precision of verse, all according to the methodology of the Salaf in belief. It is recommended to memorize this poem and study its verses. The creed is what the heart believes and is certain of. It is called creed and is also called faith, as the early Muslims called it. It is also called the Sunnah. Therefore, you will find the works of the early Muslims with different names; some are called Faith or the Foundations of Faith, and some are called the Sunnah, such as Imam Ahmad's Book of the Sunnah, al-Athram's Book of the Sunnah, and al-Lalaka'i's Explanation of the Foundations of the Belief of the People of the Sunnah. Some scholars call the creed faith, some call it creed, and some call it monotheism. They differ in terminology but agree in meaning. The creed is the foundation upon which the religion is built, so they wrote about it in prose and poetry, and they compiled the evidence from the Quran and Sunnah. Simply calling oneself a Muslim is not enough; one must establish the creed and establish faith for Islam to be valid and for the name to be true. In this regard, Imam al-Safarini, may God have mercy on him, composed a poem on the creed of the early Muslims, because poetry is easier on the ear, more firmly established in the mind, and quicker to memorize than prose. In it, he explained the foundations of the creed of the People of the Sunnah and the Community.