Al-Sarakhsi [السرخسي], whose name derives from the town of Sarakhs [سرخس], is associated with a historic location in Khorasan [خراسان], as mentioned by al-Sam‘ani [السمعاني]. The name "Sarakhs" originates from a man who settled in and built up the area, completing its development during the time of Dhu al-Qarnayn [ذو القرنين].

In his commentary on Al-Siyar al-Kabir [شرح السير الكبير], al-Sarakhsi begins with the praise of Allah, saying:
"Alhamdulillah Rabb al-‘Alamin [الحمد لله رب العالمين]."
This work is rich with jurisprudential issues and numerous hadith-related benefits. He mentions in it that he studied Al-Siyar al-Kabir under Shams al-A’imma Abu Muhammad Abd al-Aziz ibn Ahmad al-Halwani [شمس الأئمة أبي محمد عبد العزيز بن أحمد الحلواني], who narrated it through an authoritative chain:

Qadi Imam Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Nasafi [القاضي الإمام أبو علي الحسين بن محمد النسفي],

Shaykh Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Fadl [الشيخ أبو بكر محمد بن الفضل],

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Hamdan al-Khatib al-Muhalabi [أبو إسحاق إبراهيم ابن محمد بن حمدان الخطيب المهلبى],

Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub al-Harthi [عبد الله بن محمد بن يعقوب الحارثي],

Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahim ibn Dawud [أبو محمد عبد الرحيم بن داود],

Abu Ibrahim Ismail ibn Tawbah [أبو إبراهيم إسماعيل بن توبة],

Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani [محمد بن الحسن الشيباني], the famous student of Abu Hanifa [أبو حنيفة].

In the book Madinat al-‘Ulum [مدينة العلوم], it is mentioned that al-Sarakhsi studied under Shams al-A’imma Abd al-Aziz al-Halwani and passed away around 500 AH. He was renowned as a master of Usul al-Fiqh [أصول الفقه].

Al-Sarakhsi's famous works include Al-Mabsut [المبسوط], which he dictated entirely from memory while imprisoned in a well in Uzjand [أوزجند], as well as a commentary on Al-Siyar al-Kabir. His imprisonment was the result of his honest counsel to the rulers. Despite his confinement, his students gathered at the top of the well to transcribe his teachings.

When he reached the chapter on conditions (Bab al-Shurut [باب الشروط]), he was released and traveled to Farghana [فرغانة], where Amir Hassan [الأمير حسن] welcomed and honored him. There, his students joined him, and he completed the dictation.

Other works include a commentary on Mukhtasar al-Tahawi [مختصر الطحاوي] and additional writings attributed to Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani [محمد بن الحسن]. It is said that Imam al-Shafi‘i [الإمام الشافعي] memorized 300 notebooks of similar size, equivalent to 12,000 pages.

In Tabaqat al-Qari [طبقات القاري], it is recorded that al-Sarakhsi dictated Al-Mabsut in approximately 15 volumes during his imprisonment in Uzjand. He is described as one of the leading scholars of Transoxiana [ما وراء النهر], a master of both foundational principles and branches of Islamic knowledge. It is also noted there that he passed away in the year 438 AH.

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Sahl al-Sarakhsi [محمد بن أحمد بن أبي سهل أبو بكر شمس الأئمة السرخسي] was a prominent scholar, proof of Islamic jurisprudence, theologian, debater, and expert in Usul al-Fiqh. He was considered by Ibn Kamal Pasha [ابن كمال باشا] as one of the Mujtahid [مجتهد] scholars in matters of Islamic law. He studied under Shams al-A’imma Abd al-Aziz al-Halwani [شمس الأئمة عبد العزيز الحلوانى] and completed his education with him, becoming one of the most distinguished scholars of his time.

It is reported that he passed away around the year 490 AH or possibly 500 AH. Among his notable students were Burhan al-A’imma Abd al-Aziz ibn Umar ibn Mazah [برهان الأئمة عبد العزيز بن عمر بن مازه], Mahmud ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Uzjandi [محمود بن عبد العزير الأوزجندي], Rukn al-Din Mas'ud ibn al-Hasan [ركن الدين مسعود بن الحسن], and Uthman ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Baykandi [عثمان بن علي بن محمد البيكندي], the latter being the last surviving student who studied under him.

While imprisoned in a well in Uzjand [أوزجند], al-Sarakhsi dictated his famous work, "Al-Mabsut" [المبسوط], which spans approximately fifteen volumes. He was imprisoned due to a piece of advice he gave to the ruler, which was not well received. Despite his challenging circumstances, he dictated the entire work from memory without access to books, while his students sat at the top of the well to write down his teachings.

At the conclusion of his commentary on acts of worship, he stated:
"This is the conclusion of the explanation of acts of worship, with the clearest meanings and the most concise expressions, dictated by the prisoner, isolated from gatherings and congregations."

At the end of his commentary on confessions, he remarked:
"The explanation of confessions, containing meanings of what lies in the secrets, dictated by the prisoner in the company of evildoers."

He also authored a book on Usul al-Fiqh [أصول الفقه] and dictated the commentary on "Al-Siyar al-Kabir" [شرح السير الكبير] while still imprisoned. When he reached the chapter on conditions, he was released from imprisonment. Towards the end of his life, he traveled to Farghana [فرغانة], where Prince Hassan hosted him in his residence. There, students gathered around him, and he completed his dictation.

Imām as-Sanūsī [الإمام السنوسي] comments after his statement:
"As for disbelief, this is, for example, what the dualists (Dahriyyah [دهرية]) who believe in the divinity of light and darkness did when they interpreted the statement of the Most High: 'Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth' [Qurʾān 24:35] to mean that light is one of the two gods and that its name is Allah. All of this, while failing to consider the rational impossibility that light could be a god, as it is subject to change and was created. It comes into being and perishes, whereas it is impossible for a god to be subject to change, as eternity (Azaliyyah [أزلية]) and permanence (Baqaʾ [بقاء]) are necessary attributes for Him."

The above example demonstrates how literal readings of the texts can lead people to disbelief.

Sanūsī [السنوسي] mentions many other examples, but this suffices.

والله وحده الممكن

translated from German into English from أستاذنا Junaid حفظه الله @bayhaqiyyah

Do the literal texts of the Qur'an lead to disbelief (Kufr)?

This is a common misconception often spread by amateurs to criticize the scholars of the Ashʿarīya. However, their claim merely reflects their own lack of profound engagement with the texts, ultimately resulting in a flawed understanding and methodological approach to their beliefs and principles of faith.

Ashʿarī scholars such as Imām Abū ʿAbdillāh as-Sanūsī [أبو عبد الله السنوسي] and Imām as-Sāwī [الإمام الصاوي] have stated:
"Adhering solely to the literal expressions of the Book and the Sunnah is the root of disbelief."
(See al-Muqaddimāt [المقدمات] by Imām as-Sanūsī [الإمام السنوسي].)

Ironically, many Salafi [سلفي] brothers often abbreviate the statements of our scholars or present them in a way that does not do justice to their actual wording. As a result, valuable meanings and the author’s intent in their works are lost.

What did the scholars actually say? Did they truly claim that "adhering to the outward expressions of divine revelation is disbelief," or did they explain their statements in more detail? And did they only say this, or did they add important words that suggest implications different from those claimed by the critics?

Imām as-Sanūsī [الإمام السنوسي] writes in his Sharḥ [شرح] on the Muqaddimāt [المقدمات], where he expands upon the previously mentioned quote with further words, making his intention absolutely clear. He explains:

"The sixth point is that the mere application of the literal expressions of the Book and Sunnah in matters of faith, without detailed [examination] of what is impossible in the literal meaning of the expressions and what is not, is undoubtedly the cause of disbelief and innovation (Bidʿah [بدعة])."

This makes it as clear as daylight that as-Sanūsī [السنوسي] did not claim that the Qurʾān [القرآن] itself leads to disbelief. Rather, it is the act of a person who clings only to the literal without considering what leads to absurd impossibilities — something deemed impossible by both the Ashʿarīs [أشاعرة] and the Salafīs [سلفية]. This is a root (Asl [أصل]) cause of disbelief or innovation. How could the literal texts represent both innovation and disbelief when not every innovation necessarily constitutes disbelief? The texts themselves are not designed to produce rational absurdities that lead to disbelief and innovation. Instead, it is the person analyzing and understanding the texts who leads themselves into disbelief by employing a half-baked principle that leads to numerous contradictions on both rational and religious grounds.

To elaborate further: even the Salafīs [سلفية] must admit this, as the mere application of the literal meanings of the Book and Sunnah inevitably leads to disbelief and innovation according to their own logic.

Even Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal [الإمام أحمد بن حنبل] رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ acknowledges this. One such example can be found in the Masāʾil Imām Aḥmad [مسائل الإمام أحمد] by his son ʿAbdullāh [عبد الله]:

"I asked my father about a verse that has a general meaning (ʿāmmah [عامة]). He said: Its explanation is found in the Sunnah, in the Ḥadīths. If the verse implies its literal meaning, then look at what has been added to it in the Sunnah; it serves as evidence for the literal/external meaning of the verse. For example, the statement of the Most High: yuṣīkum Allāhu fī awlādikum [يوصيكم الله في أولادكم] (Allah instructs you concerning your children [Qurʾān 4:11]). If this verse were taken literally, then anyone who is referred to as a 'son' would inherit. But when the Sunnah clarified that a Muslim cannot inherit from a disbeliever, nor a disbeliever from a Muslim, nor a murderer, a slave, or a Mukātib [مكاتب] (a contractually bound slave who buys his freedom), the Sunnah became the proof of Allah's intent in this matter."

There are many more such examples in questions related to Fiqh [فقه]. Merely adhering to the literal leads to contradictions, and contradictions lead to doubts about the religion, which in turn is disbelief.

Sulayman ibn Abd al-Qawi at-Tufi al-Hanbali [سليمان بن عبد القوي الطوفي الحنبلي] رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ said in his book Muhtasar ar-Rawda [مختصر الروضة]:

"Know that the term 'Ahl Ar-Ray’' [أهل الرأي] is very relative. This is because anyone who issues a ruling in their Ijtihad [اجتهاد] through 'Ray’' [رأي] (opinion) is included in it. This implies all Islamic scholars (without exception). For all Mujtahid [مجتهد] (jurists who practice Ijtihad) scholars cannot perform Ijtihad without using reason and Ray’. The term 'Ahl Ar-Ray’' originated from the Ahl Al-Hadith [أهل الحديث] during the time when the question of whether the Qur'an [القرآن] was created or not was being debated. They used this term for Abu Hanifa [أبو حنيفة] رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ and those from Kufa [الكوفة] who followed him. Others exaggerated in insulting Abu Hanifa. As for me, wallahi [والله] I am far from saying what has been uttered about Abu Hanifa, and he is free from it!

In summary: Abu Hanifa did not oppose any Sunna [السنة], and if he ever did oppose a Sunna, he did so because he deemed it correct and had evidence for it. His opponents were not well-disposed toward him. If Abu Hanifa erred in his Ijtihad, he gets one reward; if he was correct, he gets two rewards. Those who denounced him either bore deep hatred or lacked knowledge in matters of Ijtihad."

"The Caliph Ma’mun [المأمون] used to especially pressure the Hadith scholars, examine them, and try to steer them toward his belief that 'the Qur'an [القرآن] is created,' which was a Mu’tazilite [معتزلة] belief. To achieve this, he tested them. This oppression continued until the reign of Caliph al-Mutawakkil [المتوكل]. Because the Hadith scholars were under such long-standing and intense tyranny and compulsion, they sometimes made statements without thinking carefully. Others were steadfast and followed the path of the Salaf [السلف] by not delving into intricate details."

"During this time of oppression, the appointment of judges also played a role. Judges tested them on the question of whether the Qur'an [القرآن] was created or not. These judges, in legal matters (Fiqh [فقه]), mostly ruled using the Hanafi [حنفي] school of jurisprudence, i.e., with the rulings of Abu Hanifa [أبو حنيفة] رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ and his companions. However, in Aqida [عقيدة], especially concerning the question of whether the Qur'an was created, they followed the Mu’tazila [معتزلة].

Therefore, we can also understand why they harbored such great resentment toward Abu Hanifa and his companions."

Everyone please give it a read ʾIn shāʾ Allāh.

Be cautious of takfīr (excommunication) and please do not takfīr for every single matter when you're unaware of the context and rulings.

Whether you are a sunnī (Ashʿarī/Māturīdī) or a Salafī, stay away from mass takfīr and individual takfīr of scholars or laymen.

I've made the shortest argument for the existence of God through the contingency argument.

Unlike kalām cosmological argument or argument of morality, this one is philosophically irrefutable.