Kitab al-Tawhid (), is a Sunni theological book, and the primary source of the Maturidi school of thought; written by the Hanafi scholar Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333/944).
Kitab al-Tawhid is monumental work which expounded the tenets and beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a and countered the stands of opponents such as the Karramites, Mu'tazilites, Qadariyya, Majus, Sophists, Dualists, and Christians.
This work provides a detailed and holistic approach to Islamic theology, while also serving as its earliest extant comprehensive source. Al-Maturidi presents the epistemological foundations of his teaching and provides detailed arguments in defence of Monotheism, including his cosmological doctrines such as proofs for the creation and ontology of the Universe. He also focuses on God, his existence and attributes, analyzing issues related to anthropomorphism and rationalism among others.
Editions
The book was edited by Bekir Topaloğlu and Muhammed Aruçi and published twice by İSAM Publications (2000 and 2003). The third impression was made in Beirut in 2007.
Awards
The book received the 16th World Prize for "the Book of the Year" in the field of Islamic studies from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008. The editors of the book, Bekir Topaloğlu and Muhammed Aruçi, were invited by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to Iran on this occasion. On February 7, 2009, the "Book of the year" prize in Muslim theology was granted to the winners by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
Authenticity
Joseph Schacht, in his article announcing the discovery of the Kitab al-Tawhid, described the Cambridge manuscript as an authentic work by al-Maturidi. Since the one surviving manuscript was published by Fathallah Khalif in 1970, research based on it has been conducted by students of Islamic theology and several reviews and studies of it have been published.