Introduction

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān at-Tamīmī (1115-1206 AH / 1703-1792 CE) was born in ʿUyaynah in the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula. He received his early education from his father, a scholar of the Ḥanbalī legal school, before travelling to Madinah, Basra, and other centers of Islamic learning to study under leading scholars of his era. His scholarly lineage traces to the Ḥanbalī tradition and, in matters of theology, to the Atharī approach articulated by Ibn Taymiyyah (661-728 AH) and his student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb's career was defined by a sustained effort to return Muslim communities to the beliefs and practices of the Salaf, the righteous early generations of Islām, and his writings are accordingly marked by direct engagement with Quranic and hadith evidence rather than extended philosophical argumentation. Thalāthat al-Uṣūl (The Three Fundamental Principles) was composed as a concise catechetical text intended to teach ordinary Muslims the essential knowledge required of every believer.

The text is organized around three questions that, according to authentic hadith narrations, every soul will be asked in the grave: Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your Prophet? For each question, the author provides a clear, evidence-based answer drawn from the Qurʾān and Sunnah. The section on the first question expounds the meaning of rubūbiyyah (Lordship), ulūhiyyah (the right to be worshipped), and asmāʾ wa-ṣifāt (the divine names and attributes), establishing tawḥīd in all its dimensions. The section on religion treats the three levels of the faith: Islām, Īmān, and Iḥsān, as defined by the famous hadith of Jibrīl. The section on the Prophet presents the biography of Muḥammad, upon him be peace, and the evidence for his prophethood. The present edition includes explanatory commentary by later scholars that expands on the original text while preserving its essential structure.

Few short texts in the Islamic tradition have achieved the pedagogical influence of Thalāthat al-Uṣūl. It became a foundational text in the curriculum of Sunni educational institutions, particularly those in the Arabian Peninsula and in regions where the reformist scholarly tradition associated with Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb gained influence, including parts of West Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and, in the contemporary period, English-speaking Muslim communities. Numerous commentaries have been written on it by scholars of standing, among them Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn, whose detailed sharḥ (explanation) is among the most widely studied. The text's durability reflects the recognition among scholars that the three questions it addresses represent the indispensable minimum of creedal knowledge that every Muslim must possess.

A student approaching this text should understand that it is designed to be memorized as well as understood. The original Arabic is brief and precisely worded, and the explanatory commentary in this edition is intended to illuminate the underlying arguments and evidences rather than to replace the original. Readers are encouraged to read each section slowly, verify the Quranic verses and hadith cited in their full contexts, and reflect on the practical implications of the doctrines presented. The three questions addressed are not abstract theological puzzles: they concern what a believer knows of Allāh, of the way of life Allāh has legislated, and of the Messenger through whom that way of life was transmitted. Gaining clarity on these foundations is, as the classical scholars affirmed, among the most important acts of worship a Muslim can undertake.