My acquaintance with the writings of this eminent scholar began during my student days. I first read al-ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah, then al-Ḥamawiyyah, and afterward al-Tadmuriyyah. I was struck by the way he debated his opponents, by his ability to derive rational proofs that perfectly accord with textual evidence, and by the remarkable patience and objectivity with which this Imām engaged them. That left me eager for unfettered access to the rest of his works.

While pursuing my master’s degree, I registered a thesis entitled “Faith: Its Reality and Effects.” At that stage, one is compelled to read widely and to verify sources meticulously, so my primary reference for the research was Ibn Taymiyyah’s book al-Īmān (Faith). My exposure to that work deepened my connection with the Imām’s writings, and I managed to read a fair number of them—may Allah have mercy on him. Among the volumes that came into my hands was his Ninety-Point Treatise (al-Tisʿīniyyah). No sooner had I completed my previous thesis than I hastened, without hesitation, to register this very treatise for my doctoral dissertation, intending to edit and study it for the following reasons:

1. I had already expressed a firm desire to examine the Imām’s works with deliberate care, and Allah, exalted is He, granted me that opportunity. Researching this treatise led me to consult several of the Shaykh’s other books, such as Darʾ Taʿāruḍ al-ʿAql wa’l-Naql (Averting the Conflict between Reason and Revelation), Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (The Path of the Prophetic Sunnah), Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyyah (Exposing the Deceptions of the Jahmiyyah), and many others, including Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (Collected Fatwas) and some of his epistles. Allah willing, I shall draw on these works when commenting on various issues raised in the treatise.

2. This book is one of the works he composed in the field of doctrinal foundations to refute the proponents of mental speech—namely, the Ashʿarīs, the Kullābiyyah, and all who followed their path. The Shaykh explored the subject at length, offering analyses, proofs, premises, and insights that were entirely unprecedented, showing no favoritism and making no compromises. It is, in truth, among the most important sources on creed, and therefore in need of scholarly service that will help readers study it and grasp its issues and subtleties.

Despite its significance, no one has yet produced a critical edition of the book; hence I judged that my own editorial work