Imam Nur al-Din al-Sabuni

Faraz A. Khan (translation)

Hardback

9780985565992

 

Al-Bidayah fi usul al-Din

 

This text is part of the Zaytuna Curriculum Series.

 

Al-Bidayah fi usul al-din (An Introduction to Islamic theology) is a classical text on Maturidi theology authored by Imam Nur al-Din al-Sabuni (d.580/1184), a prominent Muslim theologian from Bukhara. It is a concise yet thorough manual of key doctrinal issues that were historically debated in early Islamic history.

 

The text explains the central tenets of the Islamic creed and refutes erroneous positions of alternative theologies. The discussions are uncomplicated and unencumbered by technical terminology, and the positions of orthodoxy are presented with rational and scriptural evidence.

 

This text includes the original Arabic script, concise translation, and comprehensive notes by translator Faraz A. Khan, providing a rare rendering into the English language of the extraordinary richness and enduring relevance of the kalam commentary tradition. Finally, an insightful foreword by Dr. Hamza Yusuf and a valuable appendix on the kalam cosmological argument provide an enhanced support of this remarkable text.

 

Contents

 

The Existence and Attributes of God

- On Epistemology

- On the Temporality of the Cosmos and Necessary Existence of the Creator

- On Divine Oneness

- On Divine Transcendence above Temporal Qualities

- On the Attributes of God, the Exalted

- On the Name and the Named

- On Divine Uniqueness and Dissimilarity from Creation

- On the Eternality of Divine Speech

- On the Act of Creating and the Created

- On the Possibility of Seeing God, the Exalted

- On Vision During Sleep

- On Divine Will

 

Prophets, Miracles, and Early Islam

- On Affirming Messengers

- On Evidence of the Prophethood of Muhammad (pubs)

- On Traits Specific to Prophets

- On Saintly Miracles

- On Political Leadership and Related Matters

- On the Imamate of the Rightly Guided Caliphs a.s.

 

Divine Omnipotence, Human Agency, and Ontology of the World

- On Ascription of Justice or Injustice

- On Potency and Human Agency

- On Ontology of Human Action

- On Occasionalism and the Negation of Secondary Causation

 

Predestination and The Existence of Evil

- On Placing a Burden Beyond One’s Capacity

- On the Generality of Things Willed

- On the Nonexistent

- On Denial of Incumbency upon God to Do What Is Best [for People]

- On Provisions

- On Lifespans

- On Predestination and the Divine Decree

- On Guiding and Misguiding

 

Human Sin and Divine Forgiveness

- On Those Who Commit Enormities

- On Intercession

- On Whether or Not God’s Pardoning Disbelief Is Logically Possible

- On Whether or Not Divine Omnipotence Includes Oppression, Foolishness, or Lying

- On Enormities and Minor Sins

 

Faith, Belief, and the Intellect

- On Faith and Submission

- On the Reality of Faith

- On the Faith of One Who Merely Emulates

- On Whether or Not Faith Increases

- On Necessary Tenets of Faith Deduced from Revelation

 

Appendix A: The Kalam Cosmological Argument

Appendix B: Descriptions of the Prophet