Aqidah

Aqidah comes from the Semitic root ʿ-q-d, which means "to tie; knot".^[6] ("Aqidah" used not only as an expression of a school of Islamic theology or belief system, but as another word for "theology" in Islam, as in: "Theology (Aqidah) covers all beliefs and belief systems of Muslims, including sectarian differences and points of contention".)^[7]

According to Muslim scholar Cyril Glasse, "systematic statements of belief became necessary, from early [on in the history of] Islam, initially to refute heresies, and later to distinguish points of view and to present them, as the divergences of schools of theology or opinion increased."^[8]

The "first" creed written as "a short answer to the pressing heresies of the time" is known as Fiqh Akbar and ascribed to Abu Hanifa.^[8][9] Two well known creeds were the Fiqh Akbar II^[10] "representative" of the Ash'ari, and Fiqh Akbar III, "representative" of the Shafi'i.^[8] Al-Ghazali also had an aqidah.^[8] These creeds were more detailed than those described below.

According to Malcolm Clark, while Islam "is not a creedal religion", it has produced some detailed creeds, "some containing 100 or more belief statements" that summarized "the theological position of a particular scholar or school."^[11]

Six articles of belief

The six articles of faith or belief (Arkan al-Iman) derived from the Quran and Sunnah,^[12] are accepted by all Muslims. While there are differences between Shia and Sunni Islam and other different schools or sects concerning issues such as the attributes of God or about the purpose of angels, the six articles are not disputed.

The six Sunni articles of belief are:

1. Belief in God and tawhid (monotheism)
2. Belief in the angels
3. Belief in the Islamic holy books^[13]
4. Belief in the prophets and messengers
5. Belief in the Last Judgment and Resurrection
6. Belief in predestination

The first five are based on several Qurʾanic beliefs:

...righteous is he who believeth in God and the Last Day and the angels and the scripture and the prophets (2:177)

...believer believe in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers (2:285)

Whoever disbelieveth in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily wandered far stray (4:136)

Who is an enemy of God, His Angels, His Messengers, Gabriel and Michael! Then, lo! God is an enemy to the disbelievers (2:98)

The sixth point made it into the creed because of the first theological controversy in Islam. Although not connected with the Sunni-Shiʿi controversy about the succession, the majority of Twelver Shiʿites do not stress God's limitless power (qadar), but rather His boundless justice (ʿadl) as the sixth point of belief – this does not mean that Sunnis deny His justice, or Shiʿites negate His power, just that the emphasis is different.

In Sunni and Shia view, having Iman literally means having belief in the six articles.

Tawhid

Tawhid ("doctrine of Oneness") is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds that God (Allah) is one (aḥad) and unique (wāḥid), and the only worthy of worship comparable to Jewish and Christian view on God, while worshipping something else is considered idolatry.

According to Islamic belief, Allah is the proper name of God, and humble submission to his will, divine ordinances and commandments is the pivot of the Muslim faith. "He is the only God, creator of the universe, and the judge of humankind." "He is unique (wāḥid) and inherently one (aḥad), all-merciful and omnipotent." The Qur'an declares the reality of Allah, His inaccessible mystery, His 99 descriptive names expressing a quality characteristic, and His actions on behalf of His creatures.

Iman

Iman, in Islamic theology denotes a believer's faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam.^[14][15] Its most simple definition is the belief in the six articles of faith, known as arkān al-īmān.

Discover more about Introduction related topics

Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa

Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān, commonly known by his kunya Abū Ḥanīfa, or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Muslims, was a Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist who became the eponymous founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the most widely practised law school in the Sunni tradition, predominating in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Balkans, Russia, Circassia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in India, Turkey, and some parts of the Arab world. He is also called al-Imām al-Aʿẓam and Sirāj al-Aʾimma by some of his Sunni followers.

Al-Ghazali

Al-Ghazali

Al-Ghazali, full name Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad aṭ-Ṭūsiyy al-Ġazzālīy, and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Sunni Muslim Persian polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theorists, muftis, philosophers, theologians, logicians and mystics of the Islamic Golden Age.

Quran

Quran

The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters, which consist of verses. In addition to its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language.

God in Islam

God in Islam

God in Islam is seen as the eternal creator and sustainer of the universe, who will eventually resurrect all humans. In Islam, God is conceived as a perfect, singular, immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient god, completely infinite in all of his attributes. Islam further emphasizes that God is most-merciful.

Monotheism

Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God.

Islamic holy books

Islamic holy books

The Islamic holy books are certain religious scriptures that are viewed by Muslims as having valid divine significance, in that they were authored by God (Allah) through a variety of prophets and messengers, including those who predate the Quran.

Prophets and messengers in Islam

Prophets and messengers in Islam

Prophets in Islam are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers, those who transmit divine revelation, most of them through the interaction of an angel. Muslims believe that many prophets existed, including many not mentioned in the Quran. The Quran states: "And for every community there is a messenger." Belief in the Islamic prophets is one of the six articles of the Islamic faith.

Last Judgment

Last Judgment

The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord is part of the Abrahamic religions and the Frashokereti of Zoroastrianism.

Resurrection

Resurrection

Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which involves the same person or deity coming back to a body, rather than the same one. Disappearance of a body is another similar, but distinct, belief in some religions.

Predestination in Islam

Predestination in Islam

Qadar is the concept of Divine Destiny in Islam. As God is all-knowing and all-powerful, everything that has happened and will happen in the universe—including sinful human behavior. At the same time, human beings are responsible for their actions, and will be rewarded or punished accordingly on Judgement Day.

Adl

Adl

Adl is an Arabic word meaning 'justice', and is also one of the names of God in Islam. It is equal to the concept of Insaf انصاف in the Baháʼí Faith.

Rabb

Rabb

Rabb, is often used to refer to God in Arabic (Allah) as the "Lord" or "master". It is used by adherents of various religions, including Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs across the Middle East and Indian subcontinent in reference to the Supreme Being. The literal meaning of the word is "sustainer, cherisher, master, nourisher", which in that sense a man is the rabb of his house. The Arabic root has several meanings depending again on the context, but in this case refers to the verb yurabbu, which mean "become bigger, augment, increase, multiply, develop, prosper, raise". Some have explained it to mean a fostering things in such a manner as to make them attain one condition after another until they reach their goal of completion. Thus, it conveys not only the idea of fostering, bringing up or nourishing, but also that of regulating, completing, accomplishing, cherishing, sustaining and bringing to maturity by evolution from the earliest state to that of the highest perfection.

The Hadith of Gabriel includes the Five Pillars of Islam (Tawhid, Salat, Sawm, Zakat, Hajj) in answer to the question, "O messenger of God, what is Islam?" This hadith is sometimes called the "truly first and most fundamental creed."^[8]

An Imam leading prayers in Cairo, Egypt, in 1865.

The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb performing Salat.

Salat

Salat is an act of worship. Salat means to call to the Lord Who created and gives life to the worshipper in Islam. This call realizes one to surrender caller's will, obeying his God. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Islam gives concession conditionally if it is difficult to pray Salat in formal ways. People who find it physically difficult can perform Salat in a way suitable to them. To perform valid Salat, Muslims must be in a state of ritual purity, which is mainly achieved by ritual wash ups, (wuḍūʾ), as per prescribed procedures. Salat consists of "standing" (Qiyam) intending to call God, bow at knees (Ruku) meaning to ready to obey, prostrate (Sajda) willing to surrender worshipper's will to God's, then to sit (Tashhud) asserting evidence of the oneness of God and the finality of God's apostle (Nabi).

Sawm

Ending the fast at a mosque.

In the terminology of Islamic law, sawm means to abstain from eating, drinking (including water) and sexual intercourse from dawn until dusk. The observance of sawm during the holy month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, but is not confined to that month.

Zakat

Zakat is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. It is considered to be a personal responsibility for Muslims to ease economic hardship for others and eliminate inequality.

Hajj

A 16th century illustration of Islam's holiest shrine, the Ka'aba.

The Hajj is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and the largest gathering of Muslims in the world every year. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, and a religious duty which must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime.

Discover more about Hadith of Gabriel related topics

Hadith of Gabriel

Hadith of Gabriel

In Sunni Islam, the Hadith of Gabriel is a hadith of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which expresses the religion of Islam in a concise manner. and it contains a summary of the core of the religion of Islam, which are:Islām (إسلام), which is described with the "Five Pillars of Islam," Īmān (إيمان), which is described with the "Six Articles of Faith," Iḥsān (إحسان), or "doing what is beautiful," and al-Sā’ah (الساعة), or The Hour, which is not described, but its signs are given.

Five Pillars of Islam

Five Pillars of Islam

The Five Pillars of Islam are fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims. They are summarized in the hadith of Gabriel. The Sunni and Shia agree on the basic details of the performance and practice of these acts, but the Shia do not refer to them by the same name. They are: Muslim creed, prayer, charity to the poor, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca for those who are able.

Tawhid

Tawhid

Tawhid is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single most important concept, upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God in Islam is One and Single.

Hajj

Hajj

Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and of supporting their family during their absence from home.

Imam

Imam

Imam is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam.

Cairo

Cairo

Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the city-state Cairo Governorate, and is the country's largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.9 million, is the 12th-largest in the world by population. Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, the city first developed as Fustat, a settlement founded after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 next to an existing ancient Roman fortress, Babylon. Under the Fatimid dynasty a new city, al-Qāhirah, was founded nearby in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousand minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture. Cairo's historic center was awarded World Heritage Site status in 1979. Cairo is considered a World City with a "Beta +" classification according to GaWC.

Egypt

Egypt

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip of Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The Gulf of Aqaba in the northeast separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt, while Alexandria, the second-largest city, is an important industrial and tourist hub at the Mediterranean coast. At approximately 100 million inhabitants, Egypt is the 14th-most populated country in the world.

Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

Muhi al-Din Muhammad, commonly known as Aurangzeb and by his regnal title Alamgir, was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling from July 1658 until his death in 1707. Under his emperorship, the Mughals reached their greatest extent with their territory spanning nearly the entirety of Indian subcontinent.

Mosque

Mosque

A mosque or masjid is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, including outdoor courtyards.

Sharia

Sharia

Sharia is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations. The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim fundamentalists and modernists.

Ramadan

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community. A commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation, the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.

Islam

Islam

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered around the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam, called Muslims, number approximately 1.9 billion globally and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.

In addition, some Muslims include Jihad and Dawah as part of aqidah

Jihad

Jihad (to struggle) and literally means to endeavor, strive, labor to apply oneself, to concentrate, to work hard, to accomplish. It could be used to refer to those who physically, mentally or economically serve in the way of God.^[16]

Dawah

Da‘wah ("invitation") means the proselytizing or preaching of Islam. Da‘wah literally means "issuing a summon" or "making an invitation," being an active participle of a verb meaning variously "to summon" or "to invite." A Muslim who practices da‘wah, either as a religious worker or in a volunteer community effort, is called a dā‘ī (داعي plural du‘āh, gen: du‘āt دعاة).

A dā‘ī is thus a person who invites people to understand Islam through dialogue, not unlike the Islamic equivalent of a missionary inviting people to the faith, prayer and manner of Islamic life.

Eschatology is literally understood as the last things or ultimate things and in Muslim theology, eschatology refers to the end of this world and what will happen in the next world or hereafter. Eschatology covers the death of human beings, their souls after their bodily death, the total destruction of this world, the resurrection of humans, the Last Judgment of human deeds by God after the resurrection, and the rewards and punishments for the believers and non-believers respectively. The places for the believers in the hereafter are known as Paradise and for the non-believers as Hell.

Discover more about Eschatology related topics

Islamic eschatology

Islamic eschatology

Islamic eschatology is a field of study in Islam concerning future events that would happen in the end times. It is primarily based on sources from the Quran and Sunnah. Aspects from this field of study include the signs of the final age, the destruction of the universe and Judgement Day.

Eschatology

Eschatology

Eschatology concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions, which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Various religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore.

Last Judgment

Last Judgment

The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord is part of the Abrahamic religions and the Frashokereti of Zoroastrianism.

Paradise

Paradise

In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, a land of luxury and fulfillment containing ever-lasting bliss. Paradise is often described as a "higher place", the holiest place, in contrast to this world, or underworlds such as Hell.

Hell

Hell

In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions. Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth's surface. Other afterlife destinations include heaven, paradise, purgatory, limbo, and the underworld.

Muslim theology is the theology and interpretation of creed (aqidah) that derived from the Qur'an and Hadith. The contents of Muslim theology can be divided into theology proper such as theodicy, eschatology, anthropology, apophatic theology, and comparative religion. In the history of Muslim theology, there have been theological schools among Muslims displaying both similarities and differences with each other in regard to beliefs. ^[17]

Traditional Sunni schools

Kalam

Kalām is an "Islamic scholastic theology" of seeking theological principles through dialectic. In Arabic, the word literally means "speech/words." A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim (Muslim theologian; plural mutakallimūn). There are many schools of Kalam, the main ones being the Mutazila,^[18] the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools in Sunni Islam. Traditionalist theology rejects the use of kalam, regarding humans reason as sinful in unseen matters.^[19]

Muʿtazilite

Muʿtazilite is an Unorthodox Sunni School. In terms of the relationship between human beings and their creator, the Muʿtazila emphasize human free will over predestination. They also reduced the divine attributes to the divine essence. The Mu’tazilites are considered heretics by all the traditional Sunni Islamic schools of theology. ^[20]

Asharism

Asharism accepts reason in regard of exegetical matters and traditionalistic ideas.^[21] What God does or commands — as revealed in the Quran and ahadith — is by definition just. What He prohibits is by definition unjust. Right and wrong are objective realities.^[22] The Quran is the uncreated word of God in essence, however it is created then it takes on a form in letters or sound.^[23]

Maturidism

Maturidism holds, that humans are creatures endowed with reason, that differentiates them from animals. Further, The relationship between people and God differs from that of nature and God; humans are endowed with free will, but due to God's sovereignty, God creates the acts the humans choose, so humans can perform them. Ethics can be understood just by reason and do not need prophetic guidances. Maturidi also considered hadiths as unreliable, when they are in odd with reason.^[24] However, the human mind alone could not grasp the entire truth, thus it is in need of revelation in regard of mysterious affairs. Further, Maturidism opposes anthropomorphism and similtute, while simultaneously does not deny the divine attributes. They must be either interpreted in the light of Tawhid or be left out.^[25]

Athari theology

For the Athari theology, the literal meaning of the Qur'an and especially the prophetic traditions have sole authority in matters of belief, as well as law, and to engage in rational disputation, even if one arrives at the truth, is absolutely forbidden.^[26] Atharis engage in an amodal reading of the Qur'an, as opposed to one engaged in Ta'wil (metaphorical interpretation). They do not attempt to rationally conceptualize the meanings of the Qur'an and believe that the real meanings should be consigned to God alone (tafwid).^[27] This theology was taken from exegesis of the Qur'an and statements of the early Muslims and later codified by a number of scholars including Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Qudamah. There are different views whether Ath’ari creed should or should not be included as a Sunni school of aqidah.^[28][29]

Shiʿi beliefs and practices

Shiʿi Muslims hold that there are five articles of belief. Similar to the Sunnis, the Shiʿis do not believe in complete predestination, or complete free will. They believe that in human life there is both free will and predestination.

Twelver's Roots of Religion (Uṣūl ad-Dīn)

1. Tawhid: The Oneness of God.
2. Adalah: The Justice of God.
3. Nubuwwah (Prophethood): God has appointed perfect and infallible prophets and messengers to teach mankind the religion (i.e. a perfect system on how to live in "peace.")
4. Imamate: (Leadership): God has appointed specific leaders to lead and guide mankind — a prophet appoints a custodian of the religion before his demise.
5. Last Judgment: God will raise mankind for Judgment

Ismaili beliefs

The branch of Islam known as Isma'ilism is the second largest Shiʿi community. They observe the following extra pillars:

1. Belief in the Imamate
2. Belief in the prophets and messengers
3. Beliefs about the Last Judgment

Discover more about Schools of theology related topics

Schools of Islamic theology

Schools of Islamic theology

Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding ʿaqīdah (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Batiniyya, Ashʿarī, Māturīdī, and Aṯharī.

Hadith

Hadith

Ḥadīth or Athar refers to what most Muslims and the mainstream schools of Islamic thought, believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. In other words, the ḥadīth are transmitted reports attributed to what Muhammad said and did.

Theodicy

Theodicy

Theodicy means vindication of God. It is to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil. Some theodicies also address the problem of evil "to make the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good or omnibenevolent God consistent with the existence of evil or suffering in the world". Unlike a defense, which tries to demonstrate that God's existence is logically possible in the light of evil, a theodicy provides a framework wherein God's existence is also plausible. The German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Leibniz coined the term "theodicy" in 1710 in his work Théodicée, though various responses to the problem of evil had been previously proposed. The British philosopher John Hick traced the history of moral theodicy in his 1966 work, Evil and the God of Love, identifying three major traditions:the Plotinian theodicy, named after Plotinus the Augustinian theodicy, which Hick based on the writings of Augustine of Hippo the Irenaean theodicy, which Hick developed, based on the thinking of St. Irenaeus

Eschatology

Eschatology

Eschatology concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions, which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Various religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore.

Anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavior, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. A portmanteau term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans.

Apophatic theology

Apophatic theology

Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which approaches God or the Divine by affirmations or positive statements about what God is.

Comparative religion

Comparative religion

Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. It also considers and compares the origins and similarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.

Kalam

Kalam

ʿIlm al-Kalām, usually foreshortened to Kalām and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doctrine ('aqa'id). It was born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of the Islamic faith against the philosophical doubters. However, this picture has been increasingly questioned by scholarship that attempts to show that kalām was in fact a demonstrative rather than a dialectical science and was always intellectually creative.

Islamic philosophy

Islamic philosophy

Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa, which refers to philosophy as well as logic, mathematics, and physics; and Kalam, which refers to a rationalist form of Scholastic Islamic theology which includes the schools of Maturidiyah, Ashaira and Mu'tazila.

Sufi metaphysics

Sufi metaphysics

In Islamic philosophy, Sufi metaphysics is centered on the concept of وحدة, waḥdah, 'unity' or توحيد, tawhid. Two main Sufi philosophies prevail on this topic. Waḥdat al-wujūd literally means "the Unity of Existence" or "the Unity of Being." Wujūd, meaning "existence" or "presence", here refers to God. On the other hand, waḥdat ash-shuhūd, meaning "Apparentism" or "Monotheism of Witness", holds that God and his creation are entirely separate.

Dialectic

Dialectic

Dialectic, also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned argumentation. Dialectic resembles debate, but the concept excludes subjective elements such as emotional appeal and rhetoric. Dialectic may thus be contrasted with both the eristic, which refers to argument that aims to successfully dispute another's argument, and the didactic method, wherein one side of the conversation teaches the other. Dialectic is alternatively known as minor logic, as opposed to major logic or critique.

Free will

Free will

Free will is the capacity or ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.

Many Muslim scholars have written Islamic creeds, or specific aspects of a aqidah. The following list contains some of the most well-known creeds.

Sunni literature

• Mukhtasar Shu'ab al-Imān or "The 77 branches of faith" by the Imām al-Bayhaqi
• Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar by Imām Abu Hanifa
• al-ʿAqīdah aṭ-Ṭaḥāwiyya ("The Fundamentals of Islamic Creed by al-Tahawi). This has been accepted by almost all Sunnis (Atharis, Ash'aris and Maturidis). Several Islamic scholars have written about the Tahawiyya creed, including Ali al-Qari, al-Maydani, ibn Abi al-Izz and Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz.
• As- Sunnah by Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal
• Al- Iman by al-Adni
• As-Sunnah by Imām Abu Dawood
• Sarihus Sunnah by Imām Al-Tabari
• As-Sunnah by Imām Al-Tabarani
• Aqīdah Salafi Ahl al-Hadith by al-Sabuni
• I'tīqad Ahl Al-Sunnah wal Jām'ah by Imām Lalqai Hibatullah
• As- Sunnah by Nasr al- Marwazi
• Ash-Shariah by al-Ajurri
• Al-Iman by Ibn Mandah
• Ad- Durrātu fīma yazibu i'tiqaduhu by Imām Ibn Hazm
• Kitāb at- Tāwhid by Imām Ibn Rajab
• Al- 'Aqīdah al-Nasafiyya by Imām Najm al-Din 'Umar al-Nasafi
• Ar-rīsālah al-kairoāniyah by Abi Zaid al-Kairoa
• Al-I'tīqad by Al-Bayhaqi
• Al-ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah ("The Wasit Creed") by ibn Taymiyyah.
• Sharh as Sunnah or the Explanation of the Sunna by al-Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Barbahari. Lists approximately 170 points pertaining to the fundamentals of aqidah.
• Khalq Afʿāl al-ʿIbād ("The Creation of the Acts of Servants") by Muhammad al-Bukhari. It shows the opinion of early scholars (Salaf) but it does not cover all topics.
• Lum'at al-Itiqād by ibn Qudamah. Details the creed of the early Imams of the Sunni Muslims and one of the key works in the Athari creed.
• al-ʿUluww by al-Dhahabī. Details the opinions of early scholars on matters of creed.
• Ibaanah ān ūsulid diyanah by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari.
• Risālah al-Qudsiyyah ("The Jerusalem Tract") by al-Ghazali, where the rules of faith are discussed.
• Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani on the creed of Abu Hafs Umar an-Nasafi

Shia literature

• Shiʿite Islam Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i: translated by Hossein Nasr; (also reprinted under the title Shi'a.)"
• Root and Branches of Faith by Maqbul Hussein Rahim
• Shi'ism Doctrines, Thought and Spirituality by Hossein Nasr

Discover more about Literature pertaining to creed related topics

Al-Bayhaqi

Al-Bayhaqi

Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Mūsā al-Khusrawjirdī al-Bayhaqī, also known as Imām al-Bayhaqī, was a Sunni polymath widely known for being the foremost leading hadith master in his age, leading fuquha of the Shafi'i school, leading authority on the foundation of doctrine, meticulous, a devoted ascetic and known as one of the proponent defenders of the Ash'ari school. Al-Dhahabi said: "Unequalled in his age, unrivalled amongst his peers, and the Ḥāfiẓ of his time."

Abu Hanifa

Abu Hanifa

Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭā ibn Marzubān, commonly known by his kunya Abū Ḥanīfa, or reverently as Imam Abū Ḥanīfa by Sunni Muslims, was a Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist who became the eponymous founder of the Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence, which has remained the most widely practised law school in the Sunni tradition, predominating in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, Balkans, Russia, Circassia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in India, Turkey, and some parts of the Arab world. He is also called al-Imām al-Aʿẓam and Sirāj al-Aʾimma by some of his Sunni followers.

Al-Tahawi

Al-Tahawi

Abu Ja'far Ahmad al-Tahawi, or simply aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī, was an Egyptian Arab Hanafi jurist and Traditionalist theologian. He studied with his uncle al-Muzani and was a Shafi'i jurist, before then changing to the Hanafi school. He is known for his work al-'Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, a summary of Sunni Islamic creed which influenced Hanafis in Egypt.

Ali al-Qari

Ali al-Qari

Nur ad-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Hirawi al-Qari, known as Mulla Ali al-Qari was an Islamic scholar.

Al-Maydani

Al-Maydani

ʿAbd al-Ghanī ibn Ṭālib bin Ḥamāda ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghunaymī al-Dimashqī al-Maydānī was a jurist (faqīh) and legal theorist (uṣūlī) adhering to the Hanafi school as well as a traditionalist (muḥaddith) and grammarian (naḥwī). Born in 1222 AH in the Maydān neighborhood in southern Damascus, he was known for his vast knowledge and his eagerness to apply it. Just as the neighborhood of his birth still bears this name to this day, he too has become known popularly as al-Maydānī.

Ibn Abi al-Izz

Ibn Abi al-Izz

Sadr ad-Dīn Abu'l Ḥasan ʿAlī Ibn Abī al-ʻIzz was a 14th-century Arab Muslim scholar and jurist who served as a qadi in Damascus and Egypt. He is best known for authoring a commentary on al-Tahawi's creedal treatise Al-Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah, which is popular with Salafis.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Ahmad ibn Hanbal al-Dhuhli, was a Muslim jurist, theologian, ascetic, hadith traditionist, and founder of the Hanbali school of Sunni jurisprudence — one of the four major orthodox legal schools of Sunni Islam. The most highly influential and active scholar during his lifetime, Ibn Hanbal went on to become "one of the most venerated" intellectual figures in Islamic history, who has had a "profound influence affecting almost every area of" the traditionalist perspective within Sunni Islam. One of the foremost classical proponents of relying on scriptural sources as the basis for Sunni Islamic law and way of life, Ibn Hanbal compiled one of the most important Sunni hadith collections, the Musnad, which has continued to exercise considerable influence in the field of hadith studies up to the present time.

Al-Tabari

Al-Tabari

Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī, more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (الطبري), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari is known for his historical works and his expertise in Qur'anic exegesis, but he has also been described as "an impressively prolific polymath". He wrote works on a diverse range of subjects, including world history, poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine.

Al-Tabarani

Al-Tabarani

Abū al-Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ibn Ayyūb ibn Muṭayyir al-Lakhmī al-Shāmī al-Ṭabarānī was a Sunni scholar and jurist known for the extensive volumes of hadith that he published.

Ibn Hazm

Ibn Hazm

Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm was an Arab Andalusian Muslim polymath, historian, muhaddith, jurist, philosopher, and theologian, born in the Caliphate of Córdoba, present-day Spain. Described as one of the strictest hadith interpreters, Ibn Hazm was a leading proponent and codifier of the Zahiri school of Islamic thought and produced a reported 400 works, of which only 40 still survive. In all, his written works amounted to some 80 000 pages. Described as one of the fathers of comparative religion, the Encyclopaedia of Islam refers to him as having been one of the leading thinkers of the Muslim world.

Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah, birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī, was a Sunni Muslim ʿālim, muhaddith, judge, Traditionalist theologian, ascetic, and iconoclastic theorist. He is known for his diplomatic involvement with the Ilkhanid ruler Ghazan Khan and for his involvement at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar which ended the Mongol invasions of the Levant. A legal authority within the Hanbali school, Ibn Taymiyyah's condemnation of numerous folk practices associated with saint veneration and perceived worship of tomb-shrines made him a contentious figure with rulers of the time, and he was imprisoned several times as a result.

Manzoor Elahi in his book "Samāja sanskārē saṭhika ākīdāra gurutba" (The Importance of Right Aqeedah in Social Reformation) says about the "necessity of reforming society and the role and importance of correct Islamic Aqeedah in that context",^[30]

Man lives in society to meet all the needs of his individual life. The main goal of any society is to ensure the overall welfare and peaceful co-existence of all the members of that society. But the illiteracy, poor education and selfishness of the individual life have a great negative impact on the social life, making the society polluted and poisoned with diseases such as corruption, discrimination, division, violence etc. It is then that there is a great need for social reform, as we experience it in our present social context. If we analyze the current situation of the society, we can see that the people of this society are plagued with problems and are caught in corrupt practices. The inevitable consequence of this is the disunity in belief and the belief of whoever wants according to the demand of instinct, whether it is correct or not based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. On the other hand, people's faith has become very weak, piety has departed from their hearts, and they have forgotten about the punishment of the Hereafter. As a result, instability, instability, the tendency to loot, various types of terrorism and spread of bad culture and many other problems have appeared in the society. In the biography of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we see that he changed the then Jahili society and turned it into the best society of that time. The movement to bring about positive changes in individual and social life that he started after attaining prophethood, was the primary process of religious reformation. About this Sayyid Qutb said in his book Maquomat التصور الإسلامي (Elements of Islamic understanding):

"The Messenger of God, may God's prayers and peace be upon him, was sent at a time when Jazirat al-Arab was divided as plundered wealth between the Romans in the north and the Persians in the south. They extended their hands to the fertile lands of Jazirat al-Arab, the seas, all the sources of wealth and trade. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sent at a time when the prevailing social and economic conditions represented the era of slavery in the grand scheme of things. The Messenger of Allah, may God's prayers and peace be upon him, was sent at a time when human nature was driven by ignorance in alcohol, fornication, gambling, games and pranks, creating evil and disaster. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not start the reform work with any of these. He was able to call the Arabs towards nationalist unity to drive out the Romans and Persians from the fertile lands of Jazirat al-Arab. He could employ all the forces of war against them and enrage the Arabs against national enemies. As a result they would obey his leadership and forget all their enmity.……But Allah knew, He informed and guided His Prophet, that this is not the right path and it is not the main action. The main task is for man to know his true Lord and to accept only His servitude, and to be freed from the servitude of His servants, and finally to accept whatever comes to them from Allah…”.

...Notably, the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam gave the greatest importance to the dissemination of knowledge about the creed during the 13th year of Makki's life after Prophethood. Prophet Not only this, but the first task of all prophets and messengers was to call people from all walks of life to the right belief. In the words of Al-Quran, they had that call: “O my people, worship Allah. You have no true god but Him.” [Al-A'raf: 58] The reason for this was only one, if the belief is not pure, the individual's life is not pure, and if the individual is not pure, the society is not pure.

...(1) The role of the right creed in establishing greater national unity: Just as it is not possible to establish greater unity without agreeing on the right creed, it is also far-fetched for the Muslim Ummah all over the world to be united. In this context (Dr.) Umar Sulaiman Al-Ashkar said: "Muslim unity cannot be realized until the same creed unites Muslims." In fact, it is religious confusion that sows the seeds of disunity in society. The society is divided into different factions. If the question arises that everyone considers their own creed and belief to be right. In that case, it will not be possible to agree on a certain belief as correct. Because every party is confident in its opinion. In response to this question (Dr.) Umar Sulaiman Al-Ashkar said: “There is a clear statement in the Quran and Sunnah regarding the pure Islamic belief. It is possible to present proofs on every fundamental and fundamental aspect of this creed. And Salaf Salehin was founded on the true Islamic faith. They have recorded this creed so well that it is completely different from the creed of heretics and misguided people. Among these great personalities is Allama Tahabi, who wrote a book of Aqeedah which is famous in his own name. The explanation of this book is written by Muhammad Ibn Abil ez al-Hanafi. The matter does not stop here, but many scholars have written before and after on Sahih Aqeedah. Among them are Imam Ahmad, Ibnu Taymiyyah, Shawkani and Safarini among others.”

(2) The correct belief creates a strong foundation for the formation of a civil society free from corruption, corruption, oppression and oppression. On the basis of which, all activities and mutual transactions of the society are conducted. Therefore, if the creed is based on perversion and falsehood, then social life will become endangered, disturbed and facing destruction. This is the main reason why our society is in the position it is today. So, to save the society from distortion, disaster and destruction, it is necessary to return to the correct belief.

(3) Importance of correct belief in ensuring peaceful coexistence in society: An integral part of a Muslim person's belief is that he considers it essential to live according to the commands of Allah and His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and believes that disobedience to their commands is illegal. Allah says: "And there is no right for a believing man or woman to have any other jurisdiction over themselves than Allah and His Messenger have commanded." [Al-Ahzab: 36] In order to ensure peaceful coexistence in the society, when Allah Ta'ala calls Muslims brothers to each other, identifies the encroachment on a person's life and property as a serious crime, and orders the fulfillment of the agreement made with non-Muslims, he obeys that order without hesitation. Takes, because accepting it like this is part of his creed. Allah says: "Therefore, by your Lord, they will not be believers until you judge the dispute between them, then feel no doubt in their hearts about the decision you give and accept it with full consent." [An-Nisa: 65]

(4) Importance of Right Aqeedah in Bringing Political Stability: One of the essential fundamentals of Islamic Aqeedah is the firm belief that Allah is the Creator of this world, so He is the owner of its governance and guidance. Allah says: "Know, His is the creation and the guidance." [Al-A'raf: 54] "Say, surely all matters belong to Allah." [Ale Imran: 154] "The command is only from Allah." [Al-An'am: 57] Besides, Allah is the owner of all sovereign powers and the only lawgiver and lawgiver. This is one of the meanings of accepting Him as Lord. Political stability can return to our society only when the political leaders have strong conviction towards this creed. Peace, order and stability cannot come to any Muslim society with basically man-made laws. Perhaps reality is the biggest proof and witness of this.

(5) Importance of correct beliefs to prevent mis-culture: It would not be an exaggeration to call it as mis-culture that is currently being practiced in our Bangladeshi society in the name of culture in imitation of alien foreigners and different religions. Because as these cultures do not represent our native thoughts and traditions, they are largely in conflict with the Muslim faith. We have to remember that this country is a predominantly Muslim country. So if we arrange all our cultural and social rituals in the light of correct Islamic belief, then the country can be gifted with a beautiful, tasteful, decent and healthy culture.

(6) Importance of correct creed in freeing the society from anarchy and confusion and shirk and bid'at in thought: Knowledge of correct Islamic creed can enlighten the thinking world of the intellectual class of the society so that they can guide the nation to the right path. The anarchy and confusion that we observe in the thinking of a class of intellectuals today, perhaps the biggest reason why they continue their war of pen against Islam despite being called Muslims, is that they have known Islam in a distorted way, they have not been fortunate enough to acquire the correct Islamic belief. The same applies to all those educated and uneducated Muslims who think of worship and are immersed in shirk and bid'at. In the light of Quran and Sunnah, they did not recognize shirk and bid'at. They are completely oblivious to the basic principles of recognizing Shirk and Bed'at. Acquiring knowledge of Aqeedah along with increasing awareness towards the correct Aqeedah can guarantee the liberation of all of society from these confusions and Shirk and Bed'ah.

Therefore, acquiring the knowledge of authentic Islamic faith is the only way to develop oneself as a true believer and Muslim servant of Allah. Similarly, if we want to build a society as a complete Islamic society, there is no alternative to enriching everyone in the society with the knowledge of Sahih Aqeedah. In this regard, the social and cultural Islamic organizations have to fulfill the important responsibility. Those who are skilled in Islamic Shariah and studies can remove the inadequacy of books written in Bengali language by writing authentic books on Saheeh Aqeedah. In this regard, the help of Imam, Khatib and Madrasah teachers can also be taken. Of course, before that they should be enriched with the knowledge of Sahih Aqeedah. Through efforts to spread Sahih Aqeedah, our society can be developed as a beautiful civil society free from Shirk and Bed'at.

• 

  Bosniak "Book of the Science of Conduct" lists 54 religious duties that each Muslim must know about, believe in, and fulfill. Published in 1831, the handbook is by the Bosnian author and poet Abdulwahāb Žepčewī.

• 

  "Book of Wisdom" based on Islamic Theology by Khoja Akhmet Yassawi (died 1166)

• 

  “Safeguards of Transmission” by Ubayd Allāh ibn Masūd ibn Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Mahbūbī (died 1346).