Libyan Didactic Poems and Their Role in Facilitating the Study of Islamic Creed: The Poem “Al-Yāqūta al-Farīda fī al-Sitt wa al-Sittīn ʿAqīda” by Shaykh Muhammad al-ʿAkkārī al-Ṭarābulsi (d. 1895) as a Model

Abstract

Shaykh Muhammad al-ʿAkkārī al-Ṭarābulsi (d. 1895) is regarded as one of the prominent scholars of Tripoli who contributed to various Islamic sciences, including jurisprudence, Sufism, and ethics. One of his notable scholarly works is his didactic poem on the science of Tawḥīd entitled Al-Yāqūta al-Mufrada, composed of thirty-two verses in the rajaz metre. In this poem, the author presents sixty-six core creedal principles derived from the fundamental declaration of faith (lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūl Allāh), which constitutes the foundation of Islamic belief.

The poem encompasses the major divisions of Islamic theology recognized by Sunni scholars, namely theology (ilāhiyyāt), prophethood (nubuwwāt), and transmitted matters (samʿiyyāt), with theology occupying the largest portion, amounting to fifty creeds. The poem is characterized by clarity, brevity, and accessibility, reflecting a pedagogical style aimed at facilitating the understanding of Sunni creed. Throughout the work, the author adheres closely to the established doctrines of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamāʿa.