Faith (Iman)

The questions covered

This section gathers the works devoted to al-iman: its definition, what it is composed of, the relation between speech, action and inner conviction, its increase and decrease, the distinction between iman, islam and ihsan, and the seventy-odd branches mentioned in the hadith. With it come the adjacent questions: kufr and its types, nifaq, and the status of major sins.

The reference works

• Kitab al-iman by Ibn Taymiyya: the most developed treatise on the subject, discussing the definitions and the historical positions. Advanced level.
• Kitab al-iman by Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam: an early, short work reporting the texts and the positions of the first generations.
• Kitab al-iman by Ibn Abi Shayba: a collection of narrations on the subject, with the chains.
• The chapters on iman inside the general aqida treatises, often the best entry point for a reader not yet at the level of the monographs.

Why a separate section

Because these questions have a history and a vocabulary of their own, and because this is the ground where loose reading does the most damage. Serious works here are careful, set out the disagreements with their arguments and distinguish cases precisely. We state the level required on every listing, and we recommend not taking up these texts before working through a general aqida treatise.

Related sections

The general treatises, which cover iman in a chapter, are in Aqida treatises. The early sources are in Works of the salaf, and the historical context of the differing positions in Sects and schools. Overview: Aqida.

Ordering and shipping

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