Overview

Late in the 11th century, renowned Hanafi scholar Abu Yusr al-Pazdawi wrote a theological treatise that became one of the most celebrated books in Muslim history. This book is the first English translation of that manuscript, Kitab Usul al-Din. Written in a highly accessible style, Kitab Usul al-Din introduces readers to theology through conversations on some of the most important theological issues in history: Why did God create us? Where do we go when we die? What makes someone a good person? Does God love us? Al-Pazdawi situates central issues in Islamic thought within a series of dialogues and debates, and challenges readers to draw their own conclusions. Presented here for the first time in English, Theology in Thirty-Six Dialogues (and Sixty Lessons) offers al-Pazdawi's text as a foundational introduction to Islamic theology for English speakers. Islamic studies professor Rumee Ahmed begins each dialogue with brief contextualising notes that familiarise readers with the topics under discussion. Staying true to al-Pazdawi's call-and-response style, Ahmed's translation is presented as a series of acts and Socratic dialogues that preserve the performative nature of the original and engage the reader in a dynamic way. Putting forth a reflective and unprecedented translation, this book invites readers of all backgrounds to engage with the most vital issues in Islamic thought.

Full Product Details

Author:   Abu Yusr al-Pazdawi ,  Rumee Ahmed
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.30cm , Height: 2.70cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.640kg
ISBN:  

9781487575618

ISBN 10:   1487575610
Pages:   378
Publication Date:   24 March 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
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Table of Contents

Translator’s Foreword  Introduction  Lesson 1: On Studying, Teaching, and Writing about Theology  Dialogue I: Objects and Perceptions Are Real  Dialogue II: How Humans Know Things Lesson 2: How Things Are Inferred  Lesson 3: The Senses  Lesson 4: Verbal Reports  Lesson 5: What Is Knowledge?  Lesson 6: The Different Kinds of Knowledge  Lesson 7: Understanding the Universe  Lesson 8: On Accidental Properties  Dialogue III: The Universe Materialized at Some Point  Lesson 9: God Is Singular and Has No Partners  Dialogue IV: God Most High Is Unlike Anything and Nothing Is Like God  Dialogue V: God Most High Has No Direction  Dialogue VI: God Most High Hears and Sees Dialogue VII: On the Attributes of God Most High  Lesson 10: God Most High’s Will and Intent  Dialogue VIII: Every Object and Act Materializes by the Will of God Most High  Dialogue IX: God’s Speech Subsists Eternally with God Most High  Dialogue X: On Bringing-Into-Existence and Bringing-Into-Being  Dialogue XI: On Seeing God Most High  Dialogue XII: Names, Naming, and the Named  Dialogue XIII: On the Advent of Messengers, upon Whom Be Peace  Dialogue XIV: The Messengerhood of Adam, upon Whom Be Peace  Dialogue XV: Against Those Who Would Deny the Messengerhood of Particular Messengers  Dialogue XVI: All Human Acts Are Created by God Most High  Lesson 11: The Two Kinds of Material Acts  Dialogue: XVII: Indirect Consequences  Dialogue XVIII: Acts Are Not Preceded by the Power to Act  Dialogue XIX: The Energy Bestowed by God for One Act Can Be Diverted to a Different Act  Dialogue XX: On Being Tasked Beyond One’s Endurance  Lesson 12: Corollaries to the Position That the Power to Act Comes to Be Alongside the Act Itself  Dialogue XXI: Nothing Whatsoever is Compulsory for God  Lesson 13: Why Did God Most High Create the Universe?  Dialogue XXII: Muslims Who Commit Major Sins Will Not Enter Hell  Dialogue XXIII: Does Avoiding Major Sins Expiate Minor Sins?  Dialogue XXIV: Understanding Belief  Lesson 14: Does One Need to Know All the Details of Belief, or Just Its General Outline?  Lesson 15: Blind Followers Are Still Believers  Lesson 16: On Belief Increasing and Decreasing  Lesson 17: The Difference Between Belief and Islam  Dialogue XXV: Is Belief Created?  Lesson 18: The Resurrection Is Real  Lesson 19: The Path Is a Reality  Lesson 20: The Accounting on the Day of Judgment Is Real  Lesson 21: The Fountain of Kawthar and Intercession Are Real  Dialogue XXVI: Will People Be Punished in Their Graves?  Lesson 22: The Questioning in the Grave by Munkar and Nakir  Lesson 23: The Garden and the Fire Are Both Created  Lesson 24: Heaven and Hell Will Never Be Destroyed  Lesson 25: A Person Who Is Murdered Dies at Their Appointed Time  Dialogue XXVII: On the Infallibility of Prophets and Messengers  Dialogue XXVIII: Can a Damned Person Become Felicitous and a Felicitous Person Damned?  Dialogue XXIX: The Caliphate after the Prophet  Lesson 26: The Legitimacy of the Caliphate of ʿUmar, May God Be Pleased with Him  Lesson 27: The Legitimacy of the Calpihate of ʿUthman, May God Be Pleased with Him  Lesson 28: The Caliphate of ʿAli, May God Be Pleased with Him  Lesson 29: Must There Always Be a Leader?  Lesson 30: The Qualities of a Leader  Lesson 31: When a Lesser Candidate is Named Caliph and the Best Candidate is Passed Over  Lesson 32: When a Caliph Appoints a Successor at the End of Their Life (and When No Successor Is Named at All)  Lesson 33: When Two Leaders Demand Allegiance  Lesson 34: Should a Leader Be Deposed for Corruption or Similar Crimes?  Lesson 35: How Should a Corrupt Leader Be Dealt With?  Lesson 36: What If a Leader is Overthrown?  Lesson 37: Did the Prophet Delegate Leadership to Anyone After Him? Dialogue XXX: The Best People after the Prophet  Lesson 38: On the Dispute Between ʿAli and Muʿawiya, May God Be Pleased With Them Both  Lesson 39: On Muʿawiya’s Leadership After the Death of ʿAli, May God Be Pleased with Him, and on Yazid ibn Muʿawiya  Dialogue XXXI: Who is Better, Angels, upon Whom Be Peace, or Muslims?  Lesson 40: Ranking Human Messengers, Angelic Messengers, and Humans  Lesson 41: Reward and Punishment for Jinns  Lesson 42: The Intellect Is a Tool for Cognizing Things  Dialogue XXXII: Can the Intellect Make Things Compulsory?  Dialogue XXXIII: The Pledge Taken from the Progeny of Adam, upon Whom Be Peace  Dialogue XXXIV: On Non-Existents  Dialogue XXXV: Evil Thoughts  Lesson 43: On Language  Lesson 44: On the Miraculousness of the Qurʾan  Lesson 45: Each Part of the Qurʾan Is Equally Superlative  Lesson 46: On Islam and Belief  Lesson 47: The Difference between Prophets and Messengers  Lesson 48: God Most High’s Regalia  Lesson 49: Can Anything Be Said about the Spirit?  Lesson 50: Life and the Spirit  Lesson 51: What Is Air?  Lesson 52: Jinns, Devils, and Their Acts  Lesson 53: What Is Repentance and When Is It Accepted?  Lesson 54: On Supernatural Acts Performed by Saints  Lesson 55: Children’s Place in the Afterlife  Lesson 56: On the Co-Presence of Atoms in a Single Space  Lesson 57: Sharia and Reality  Dialogue XXXVI: Can a Thing Be Known in One Sense and Unknown in Another? Lesson 58: Defining the Ahl al-Sunna wa-l Jamaʿa  Lesson 59: The Ahl al-Qibla Broke into Sects  Lesson 60: Enumerating the Schools and Sects of the Ahl al-Qibla  Afterword

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Author Information

Rumee Ahmed is a Canada Research Chair in Theology and Ethics and professor of Islamic law at the University of British Columbia.

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