Narrated 'Aisha (radhiAllaahu anha):
The Prophet ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) sent (an army unit) under the command of a man who used to lead his companions in the prayers and would finish his recitation with (Surah Al-Ikhlaas,112): 'Say (O Muhammad): "He is Allah, the One." ' (112:1) When they returned (from the battle), they mentioned that to the Prophet. He said (to them), "Ask him why he does so." They asked him and he said, "I do so because it mentions the qualities of the Beneficent and I love to recite it (in my prayer)." The Prophet said (to them), "Tell him that Allah loves him."
--Sahih Bukhari
The following are some of the statements of the four imaams (Imaam Abu Haneefah, Imaam Malik, Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee, and Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal) about what they believed on issues pertaining to the foundations of Islam. These have been retracted from the book, The Creed of the Four Imaams (edited and revised by Br. Moosaa Richardson).
Imaam Abu Haneefah has said:
"Allaah is not to be described with the attributes of the creation. His Anger and His Pleasure are two Attributes from His Attributes, without inquiry into their specific details, and this is the statement of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah. He becomes angry, and He becomes pleased; and it is not to be said: His Anger is His Punishment, and His Pleasure is His Reward. We describe Him as He has described Himself, One, Eternal, He does not beget, nor is He begotten, and there is none equal to Him, the Ever-Living, All-Capable, All-Hearing, Ever-Watchful, All-Knowing,. The Hand of Allaah is above their hands. It is not like the hands of His creation, and His Face is not like the face of His creation." (p. 23)
"And He has a Hand, a Face, and an Essence (thaat), as Allaah the Exalted mentions in the Qur'aan. So whatever Allaah the Exalted mentioned in the Qur'aan in regards to the Face, Hand, and Essence, then these are His Attributes without inquiry (about their specific details)." (p. 24)
A man asked Imaam Abu Haneefah, "What do you say about the statement of Allaah the Exalted,
"And He is with you."
(Surah Al-Hadeed 57:4)
He said, "It is like when you write to someone, 'Verily I am with you,' whilst you are absent from him." (p. 26)
Imaam Maalik Ibn Anas has said:
"It is inconceivable to suggest that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) taught his Ummah about the manners of cleansing themselves after using the bathroom , yet he did not teach them tawheed. Tawheed is what the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ) spoke of:
'I have been commanded to fight the people until they say: There is no diety worthy of worship besides Allaah...'
-Related by Al-Bukhari (3/262), Muslim (1/51)
(pg. 37)
Imaam Ash-Shaafi'ee has said:
"... there is no diety worthy of worship besides Allaah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah; and that Allaah the Exalted is above His Throne, above His sky, He draws close to His creation however He wishes, and that Allaah the Exalted descends to the lowest heavens however He wishes." (p. 54)
Ath-Thahabee mentions that ash-Shaafi'ee said, "We affirm these attributes that
Qur'aan came with, and those that are mentionedin the Sunnah; and we negate the idea of something resembling Him (tashbeeh), since He negated this from Himself, saying,
"There is nothing like unto Him" (Surah Ash-Shu'ara 42:11)
(p. 56)
Imaam Ahmad has said:"Allaah speaks continuously, and the Qur'aan is the Speech of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, it is not created. And in no way is Allaah to be described with anything more than what He - the Mighty and Majestic - has described Himself with." (p. 82)
And Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimullaah) mentioned that Imaam Ahmad said, " We believe that Allaah is above His Throne however He wishes and in whatever way He wishes, without any specific way or a description that a person can understand or describe. Knowledge of the Attributes of Allaah has come from Him, and they are established for Him (as His true Attributes).." (p. 84)
Looking at the aforementioned statements, one can see that the four Imaams openly agreed on matters concerning Tawheed.
