The Encompassing Epistle: Al-Risalah al-Jami‘ah wa al-Tadhkirah al-Nafi‘ah
Ahmed bin Zayn al-Habashi. Transl Musa Furber. This slim volume presents a practical introduction to the essential beliefs, practices, and moral rectifications mentioned in the Sacred Law. The primary text is Ahmed ibn Zayn al-Habashi's Al-Risalah al-Jami`ah which has been a popular introductory text during the last four centuries. The text is read by students in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and, recently, North America and Europe. This edition includes the Arabic text, its translation, and notes drawn from the translator’s other works. Readers of this text will learn the essential creed, acts of worship, and moral behavior that are considered personal obligations for all Muslims. They will also learn why these particular things are important. The notes are designed to equip students for personal practice and to prepare them for more advanced studies.
Al-MaqasidAl-Maqasid: Nawawi's Manual of Islam
Imam Nawawi. Transl Nuh Ha Mim Keller. Compact enough to be memorized by students becoming scholars, al-Maqasid contains hundreds of rulings of personal Islamic law distilled from the most commonly asked and answered questions in schools and mosques from the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) down to Imam Nawawi. Widely considered the best medium-size handbook available in English for teaching the basics of Islam from a traditional perspective, this new edition has been revised and updated with a full complement of notes on a number of contemporary Muslim issues, and three major essays have been appended on why Muslims follow madhhabs, hadiths the mujtahid Imams lacked, and the place of Sufism in Islam.
The Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and The Path of Salvation According to the Hanafis
Faraz Rabbani. A Basic Hanafi Primer on Faith, Prayer, & the Path of Salvation God has commanded us to worship and obey Him, with sincerity, out of reverence, love, and thankfulness. He says in the Quran, "And they are ordered only to serve God, keeping religion pure for Him, to remain upright, and to establish worship and to pay the poor-due. That is true religion" (Quran, 98.5). This worship is not possible without knowledge. This short work outlines the absolute essentials of this knowledge: in faith, prayer, and key points related to ones life and dealings. It is based on the methodology of traditional Sunni Islam, according to the Hanafi school, the largest school of Islamic law, and its purpose is to make ones worship valid, sound, and proper in a short amount of time.
Ascent to Felicity Maraqi 'l-Sa'adat: A Manual on Islamic Creed and Hanafi Jurisprudence
Abu 'l-Ikhlas al-Shurunbulali. Manual on Islamic Creed and Hanafi Jurisprudence Written by the eminent 11th century Hanafi scholar, Abu 'l-Ikhlas al-Shurunbulali, Ascent to Felicity is a concise yet comprehensive primer in creed and jurisprudence. It spans all five pillars of Islam, as well as the topics of slaughtering, ritual sacrifice, and hunting. To supplement the text, the translator has added key explanatory notes taken from several reliable works on theology and jurisprudence. He has also added appendices that comprise numerous supplications related to the five pillars, presented in Arabic script along with English transliteration, as well as the etiquette of visiting the Messenger of All?h (Allah bless him peace) in Madina. "An admirable rendering into lucid, fluid English of Imam Hasan al-Shurunbulali's primer of Hanafi law, Ascent to Felicity. This concise but thorough work focuses on the five acts of worship. The book has the added feature of a fairly detailed presentation of the basics of the Muslim Creed. In translating this introductory section of Imam Shurunbulali's treatise, Khan's skill as a translator is on full display, as he has made sometimes involved theological concepts easily accessible to the average English reader. Khan has provided an additional service to both Shurunbulali's work and to contemporary Muslims by augmenting the translation with insightful and extremely useful explanatory notes.
Hanbali Acts of Worship: From Ibn Balban's The Supreme Synopsis
Musa Furber. This slim volume presents a practical introduction to acts of worship according to the Hanbali school of Islamic law. The text comes from Shaykh Ibn Balban's Supreme Synopsis (Akhsar al-Mukhtasarat), a favorite introduction covering the full range of topics.The chapters of this volume cover purification, prayer, zakat, fasting, pilgrimage, and jihad. The text includes numerous explanatory notes to equip students for personal practice, and to prepare them for more advanced studies. This edition includes the Arabic text, its translation, and notes drawn from its commentaries—especially Shaykh Abd al-Rahman al-Ba'li's Kashf al-Mukhaddarat.This volume covers the first third of Shaykh Ibn Balban's Supreme Synopsis. Future volumes will cover the rest of the text.
Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law
Nuh Ha Mim Keller. This is a classic manual of fiqh rulings based on Shafi"i School of jurisprudence and includes original Arabic texts and translations from classic works of prominent Muslim scholars such as al Ghazali, al Nawawi, al Qurtubi, al Dhahabi and others. It is an indispensable reference for every Muslim or student of Islam who needs to research on Islamic rulings on daily Muslim life.
A Gift for Women: Laws Pertaining to Haydh and Nifaas
Saeed Bin Matus Bin Mkwapatira. Menses and related matters. Certain Islamic laws are directed exclusively at women. But these same laws are what women are not aware of, not because of ignorance but because of modesty and shyness, which prevent them from asking others about these laws. Unfortunately, men also pay very little attention to such laws, because they are not affected by them directly. Thus, these laws have been compiled in the form of a booklet under separate headings. Such a booklet is greatly needed.
The Mukhtasar Al-Quduri: A Manual of Islamic Law According to the Hanafi School
Abu'l Husayn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Ja'far Ibn Hamdan al Baghdadi. The Mukhtaṣar al-Qudûrî is one of the most celebrated and influential treatises in any Muslim school of methodology and thought and is the foundation for the Ḥanafî school. It is both the first source for scholars and a manual for the general reader. This is its first ever complete translation in English.
Al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya : Arabic Text with English Translation and Commentary
Imam Tahawi. Transl Faheem Hoosen. This short treatise on 'Aqida (Islamic theology) written by Imam al-Tahawi though small in size, is a basic text for all times, listing what a Muslim must know and believe. The importance of this text lies in the fact that it corroborates the views of Imam Abu Hanifa the founder of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, which has come down to us from different sources. Imam al-Tahawi summarizes the views of the great Imam and shows that they were in conformity with the traditional views of the orthodox school. The doctrines enumerated in this work are entirely derived from the undisputed primary sources of religion, the Qur'an and the confirmed Hadith. This text, representative of the viewpoint of Ahl al-Sunna wa'l Jama'a, has long been the most widely acclaimed, and indeed indispensable, reference work on Muslim beliefs. This edition includes a brief and simple commentary by Mawlana Fahim Hoosen. The focus in his commentary is explaining the correct belief of a Muslim while avoiding technical discussions and intricacies of debate around theological issues.
A Refined Explanation of The Sanusi Creed : The Foundational Proofs
Sa`id Foudah. The Foundational Proofs of Imam al-Sanusi is one of the foundational works in Islamic theology and is considered historically as an elemental text in traditional Islamic education. Studied for centuries and memorized by children throughout the Islamic world, The Foundational Proofs offers readers a methodical outline of Islamic doctrine that satisfies the mind and the heart alike. In this age of mass confusion and intellectual malaise, where fundamental Islamic beliefs are misunderstood and credulity is championed as faith, The Foundational Proofs explains the tenets of faith and supports them both rationally and textually. Further enhancing the value of this work is the engaging and relevant additions of Shaykh Said Foudah, one of the worlds leading Islamic theologians today, who presents Imam al-Sanusis work with the interlineal commentary of Imam Ahmad b. Isa al-Ansari and engaging and detailed footnotes collated from a variety of famous commentaries, such as those by Imam al-Bajuri, Imam al-Battawi, Imam al-Sawi, Imam al-Marghani, and others, as well as his own insightful comments. One of the most important tasks for a person to engage in is earnest research into the doctrines of the Islamic faith. That is because the religion of Islam is based upon proofs and sound evidence; it does not contradict science or violate the fundamentals of rationality. Fundamentally, the religion of Islam is based upon rationality, and while it is true that it does not ignore the emotional aspect of religion, faith that is not grounded in the intellect is not considered perfect faith, nor is it capable of withstanding or confronting false beliefs, specious arguments, or the doubts that are spread in each age. Here Shaykh Sa`id Foudah has taken it upon himself to explicate the foundational beliefs of Islam and tenets of faith as based on the intellect, and to demonstrate their congruity with and non-contradiction to the sciences of logic and science.
Al-Ghazali on the Ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God
Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali. In this work, here presented in a complete English edition for the first time, the problem of knowing God is confronted in an original and stimulating way. Taking up the Prophet's teaching that 'Ninety-nine Beautiful Names' are truly predicated of God, the author explores the meaning and resonance of each of these divine names, and reveals the functions they perform both in the cosmos and in the soul of the spiritual adept. Although some of the book is rigorously analytical, the author never fails to attract the reader with his profound mystical and ethical insights, which, conveyed in his sincere and straightforward idiom, have made of this book one of the perennial classics of Muslim thought, popular among Muslims to this day.
Kalam Cosmological Arguments
Mohammed Hijab. This book assesses some of the main forms of the Kalam cosmological argument. The author grapples with both medieval and contemporary interrogations of the argument with reference to Greek, Enlightenment and Medieval philosophers. It gives the reader an insight into some of the main areas of controversy (for example discussions of infinity and contingency) and attempts to make critical assessments throughout. The book concludes with the author’s understanding of the ‘strongest forms’ which attempt to postulate the most undercutting arguments for the existence of God.
With The Heart In Mind
Mikaeel Ahmed Smith. With the Heart in Mind is an inquiry into the nature of the intellect and how classical Islamic theologians understood the nature and function of the intellect. With the Heart in Mind asks readers to consider an alternative understanding of intelligence in which the primary function of the intellect is to know God and lead others to Him as well. The author suggests that by studying the Emotional Intelligence of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), we improve the quality of our relationships with the people around us and we, like the Prophet (s.a.w.), can become catalysts for change around us. Emotional Intelligence within the author's model of intelligence is a tool by which the message of God is transferred to humanity. With the Heart in Mind reminds us that "To be loved by people is half of intelligence."
Angels Unveiled, A Sufi Perspective
Muhammad Hisham Kabbani. Angels take any form they wish in the physical world. As crystal water takes the form of the cup in which it is poured, angels can take the form of any creation which they visit. They do not retain their full original form of light when they are sent to human beings: "Say: If there were in the earth angels walking secure, We had sent down for them from heaven an angel [without change] as messenger" (17:95). Angels can come as birds, as human beings, or as a form of light like a rainbow adorning the sky. They have a mind and a heart, but no will and no desire other than to serve and obey God. They are never too proud to obey Him. Angels worship day and night without fatigue. They do not need to sleep, as their eyes never tire. They know no heedlessness. Their attention never wavers. Their food is glorification of God, their drink is to sanctify and to magnify Him. Their intimacy is in calling their Lord through hymning and singing His praise. Their enjoyment is to serve Him. They are devoid of any and all physiological restraints. They suffer no mood-changes. Angels inhabit Paradise and the seven heavens. They worship more than human beings because they came before them and they have greater and more powerful faculties than they.
Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation A Study of Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa-I-naql
Carl Sharif El-Tobgui. In Ibn Taymiyya on Reason and Revelation, Carl Sharif El-Tobgui offers a comprehensive analysis of Ibn Taymiyya’s ten-volume magnum opus, Darʾ taʿāruḍ al-ʿaql wa-l-naql (Refutation of the conflict of reason and revelation), elucidating its author’s foundational reconstitution of rationality through the multifaceted ontological, epistemological, and linguistic reforms he carries out.
The Cambridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology
Tim Winter. This series of critical reflections on the evolution and major themes of pre-modern Muslim theology begins with the revelation of the Koran, and extends to the beginnings of modernity in the eighteenth century. The significance of Islamic theology reflects the immense importance of Islam in the history of monotheism, to which it has brought a unique approach and style, and a range of solutions which are of abiding interest. Devoting especial attention to questions of rationality, scriptural fidelity, and the construction of 'orthodoxy', this volume introduces key Muslim theories of revelation, creation, ethics, scriptural interpretation, law, mysticism, and eschatology. Throughout the treatment is firmly set in the historical, social and political context in which Islam's distinctive understanding of God evolved. Despite its importance, Islamic theology has been neglected in recent scholarship, and this book provides a unique, scholarly but accessible introduction.
Transcendent God, Rational World: A Maturidi Theology
Ramon Harvey. Revisiting the Muslim theologian Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944) from Samarqand and puts his system, and that of the Māturīdī school, into lively dialogue with modern thought. Combining rigorous study of Arabic Māturīdī texts with insights from Husserl’s phenomenology and analytic theology, Harvey explores themes from epistemology and metaphysics to the nature of God and specific divine attributes (omniscience and wisdom, creative action, divine speech and the Qur’an). His systematic treatment of these topics shows that a contemporary Muslim philosophical theology, or kalām jadīd, can be true to the past, yet dynamic in the present, and can provide original and constructive answers to perennial theological questions.
Islamic Theology and the Problem of Evil
Safaruk Chowdhury. A rigorous study of the problem of evil in Islamic theology Like their Jewish and Christian co-religionists, Muslims have grappled with how God, who is perfectly good, compassionate, merciful, powerful, and wise permits intense and profuse evil and suffering in the world. At its core, Islamic Theology and the Problem of Evil explores four different problems of evil: human disability, animal suffering, evolutionary natural selection, and Hell. Each study argues in favor of a particular kind of explanation or justification (theodicy) for the respective evil. Safaruk Chowdhury unpacks the notion of evil and its conceptualization within the mainstream Sunni theological tradition, and the various ways in which theologians and philosophers within that tradition have advanced different types of theodicies. He not only builds on previous works on the topic, but also looks at kinds of theodicies previously unexplored within Islamic theology, such as an evolutionary theodicy.
Studies in Ibadhism
Amr k. Al-Nami. There remains a great deal to be done to form a clearer picture of the Ibadhi communities and their development in different fields of activity. Very little is known about the present situation in the various Ibadhi countries and these Ibadhi communities need close study. There is still also a large body of original Ibadhi works on Hadith, law, theology, history and to their files of knowledge which deserves attention, and an extensive amount of new material awaits patient examination and thorough inspection in order to have a more complete view of the Ibadhi school.
Al-La Madhhabiyya (Why Abandoning The School Of Law Is The Most Dangrous Innovation Threatening The Sacred Law)
Muhammad Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti. In the last century, a movement has appeared calling for the abandonment of the traditional schools of law [madhahib]. This misleading call, which scholars have termed Al-La Madhhabiyya, was presented as following the Quran and the Sunna and caused much confusion amongst ordinary muslims. One of the sources for the spread of this innovation was a book written by Muhammad Sultan al-Ma'sumi al-Khajnadi al-Makki, which was translated and distributed to English and published as as Should a Muslim Follow a Particular Madhhab? and The Blind Following of Madhhabs . It was in response to this book, taught and revered by prominent opponents of the schools of law, that Shaykh al-Buti first wrote his ground breaking work. Later editions of this work, the translation of which we have before us, included the aftermath of various debates Shaykh al-Buti was subsequently challenged to by his opponents and also incorporated counter-replies to the likes of Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Muhammad Id `Abbasi, Mahmud Mahdi al-Istanbuli and Khayr al-Din Wanli. This book is a decisive refutation of those who call to the misguidance of abandoning the schools of law, for it is the most dangerous innovation threatening the Sacred Law.
The Differences Between the Asharis & Maturidis
Sa'id Foudah. "Man is not complete until he is acquainted with the sciences by which he is able to act. The best of these is the science of Divine Oneness. It is the greatest knowledge, the medicine of the hearts, the basis for righteous actions, and the foundation of spiritual wayfaring unto the Lord of the worlds." - Shaykh Saʿid Foudah In The Differences between the Ash'aris & Maturidis, Shaykh al-Islam of the Ottoman Empire, Imam Ibn Kamal Pasha identifies twelve areas where the Imams of Ahl al-Sunna—Abu al-Hasan al-Ashʿari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi—have subtly differed in theology. Topics discussed include amongst others, the attributes and actions of Allah, the question of good and evil, the role of the human intellect, man’s capabilities and his condition in the Hereafter. Invaluable in elaborating on these differences is the expert commentary of leading contemporary theologian Shaykh Saʿid Foudah in which he succinctly explains the causes of the disagreements and their levels, allowing the reader to benefit from the objective of the treatise.
The Accessible Conspectus
Musa Furber. For centuries, Abu Shuja al-Asfahani's legal primer Matn al-Ghayat wa-l-Taqrib (The Ultimate Conspectus) has been a standard text for introducing students of the Shafii school of Islamic law to the full range of basic legal issues. Students will often start their studies by reading it from a basic commentary with their instructor. Many students will read it again from more advanced commentaries as they progress in their mastery of the subject. This volume presents an amiable commentary that makes Abu Shuja's primer accessible to new students. It uses contemporary language and examples to help readers build a sound foundation in Islamic law.
Risalah: Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani
Ibn Abi Zayd Al-Qayrawani . Almost unique among the works of Muslim scholars, this book, which for Malikis is THE Risalah, was written for children when the author was 17 years old. The sheer pedagogical audacity of introducing children to what is in effect a complete overview of life and human society escapes most people and most Muslims today. The author commences with usul ad-deen – the roots of the deen – a survey of the vital Muslim worldview, proceeding then through purification and the acts of ‘ibadah, the ordinary transactions such as marriage, divorce, buying and selling and so forth, and concluding with chapters of a general and miscellaneous nature. The book is here matched by the outstanding lucidity of the translation which reveals a book written in a narrative descriptive style rather than in a didactic scholarly tone, making it breathtakingly accessible. So significant was the book’s authorship and so quickly was it recognised that its author became known as the “Young Malik” and his work became a foundational pillar of the madhhab of the School of Madinah and has endured for a millennium, in use both to teach absolute beginners as intended and as a resource for scholars. Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (310 AH/922 CE – 386 AH/996 CE) was born in Qayrawan in Tunisia, arguably one of the most important Muslim cities after Makkah and Madinah, which was always famous for learning and in particular for its staunch adherence to the school of the people of Madinah as transmitted by Imam Malik. His life was overshadowed by the Fatimid dynasty, during which he and the other teachers of Qayrawan calmly kept alive the teaching of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah. Among his other well-known works are the massive multi-volume an-Nawadir wa’z-Ziyadat and a mukhtasar-abridgement of the Mudawwanah of which only the Kitab al-Jami‘, a comprehensive work containing a wide variety of topics, is extant.
An Outpouring of Subtleties Upon the Pearl of Oneness Vol.1
Allie Khalfe. In a time of competing worldviews, where reality has been obfuscated by obtuse philosophies and obscured by the façade of worldly allures, the need to revive higher theological truths is as urgent as ever. With An Outpouring of Subtleties upon the Pearl of Oneness, Shaykh Allie Khalfe lights the lamp that uncovers these precious truths, redirecting man’s vision from life’s mundane, outward forms, to its profound, inner meanings.
An Outpouring of Subtleties Upon the Pearl of Oneness Vol.2
Allie Khalfe. In a time of competing worldviews, where reality has been obfuscated by obtuse philosophies and obscured by the façade of worldly allures, the need to revive higher theological truths is as urgent as ever. With An Outpouring of Subtleties upon the Pearl of Oneness, Shaykh Allie Khalfe lights the lamp that uncovers these precious truths, redirecting man’s vision from life’s mundane, outward forms, to its profound, inner meanings.