The Creed Of Imam Bayhaqi

Allah (swt) says in the Qurʾān ﴾Say: We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us﴿ (2:136). Therefore it is understood by the scholars of Islam that the ‘first obligation’ for a responsible adult is to know Allah. Abū Dāwūd narrates, in his Sunan, that the Messenger of Allah (swt) said, ‘The Jews split into 71 or 72 sects; the Christians split into 71 or 72 sects; and my community will split into 73 sects.’ Consequently, the Muslim community has diligently strived to preserve the correct theology of Islam, and this translated work is one exposition of the Sunni creed. The author describes this treatise as ‘a work on the subject of what the morally responsible needs to know concerning the foundations of knowledge and its derivatives… along with pointing out some of its evidences in a concise manner’. So the work covers essential tenets of faith concerning Allah (swt), His Messenger (saw), the beatific vision of Allah in the Hereafter, predetermination, the natural predisposition to Islam, His angels and Books, the punishment in the grave, the Resurrection, Paradise and Hell, the law of obeying rulers, miracles of the saints, the Companions, the Prophet’s family and the caliphates of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān and ʿAlī (rad) Imam Bayhaqī (384-458 AH) was a great Hadith master and Shāfiʿī jurist, who was praised by Dhahabī as ‘Shaykh of Islam’ and ‘unequalled in his age’ (wāḥid zamānih). He authored monumental works on Hadith and Islamic law, as well as important books of theology (in which he represented an early Ashʿarī persuasion).

This is the first English translations of one of the most popular manuals of Islam ever written. It is divided into seventy-seven chapters, each dealing with a major aspect of Islam, giving the relevant Quranic verses and authentic Hadiths for each. The book is an essential tool for all English-speaking Muslims.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, in his Book of Counsels, compiles powerful spiritual lessons and reminders, weaving hadith into direct speech and presenting it to the reader. This is a book that is intended to stir the heart to submission and mindfulness of Allah. This translation has sought to retain the literary aspects of this collection while also applying an attentive engagement with the hadith employed within.

Translated, annotated, and introduced by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, this title is a simple yet profound expression of the essential points of Muslim belief.

As a response to a request, Imam al-Bajuri, in this short treatise outlines, the core beliefs of the traditional, orthodox Sunni doctrine ('Aqida) that every Muslim should be aware of. Designed to be studied preferably with a teacher or read on one's own, this text will equip the student with sufficient knowledge of the bare essentials of his religion to be able to distinguish truth from falsehood, orthodox from unorthodox, Ahl al-Sunna wa al- Jama'a from others.

A survey of the most important Maturidi authorities and their doctrinal textbooks, with a condensed overview of the bio-bibliography of Maturidi scholarship.