Question
Is there a verified treatise on the creed of Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī (رحمه الله)?
Answer
Yes. The creed of Imām Sufyān ibn Saʿīd al-Thawrī (رحمه الله) was upon the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah, and a treatise on his ʿaqīdah is authentically established.
Report of Shuʿayb ibn Ḥarb (رحمه الله, d. 197H)
He said:
قلت لأبي عبد الله سفيان بن سعيد... أكتب بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم القرآن كلام الله غير مخلوق، منه بدأ وإليه يعود... والإيمان قول وعمل ونية، يزيد بالطاعة، وينقص بالمعصية... ولا يجوز القول والعمل والنية إلا بموافقة السنة...
“I said to Abū ʿAbd Allāh Sufyān ibn Saʿīd al-Thawrī: Narrate to me something about the Sunnah which will benefit me before Allah. He replied: Write, ‘In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. The Qur’an is the speech of Allah, not created. From Him it began and to Him it shall return. Whoever says otherwise is a disbeliever. Īmān is speech, action, and intention; it increases with obedience and decreases with sin. Speech without action is invalid, and neither speech nor action are valid without intention. Speech, action, and intention are only valid if they conform to the Sunnah…’”
(al-Mukhlisiyyāt of Imām al-Mukhlis no. 3036 – chain ṣaḥīḥ)
The narration continues, affirming:
- Preference of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما), followed by ʿUthmān and ʿAlī (رضي الله عنهما).
- Affirmation of qadar (divine decree), both good and evil.
- Belief that ḥajj and jihād continue until the Day of Judgment.
- Patience under the rule of leaders, whether just or unjust.
- The validity of Jumuʿah and ʿEid prayers behind any imām, while in other prayers one may choose to follow only trustworthy Ahl al-Sunnah imāms.
Scholarly Authentication
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī (رحمه الله, d. 748H) said:
هذا ثابت عن سفيان
“This creed is authentically established from Sufyān.”
(Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ 1/153)
Conclusion:The creed of Imām Sufyān al-Thawrī (رحمه الله) is firmly upon the path of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah—affirming that the Qur’an is uncreated, īmān increases and decreases, qadar is from Allah, and following the Companions and the Sunnah is obligatory. This ʿaqīdah treatise is authentically reported from him.
