Theology in Thirty-Six Dialogues (and Sixty Lessons)
A Cultural Translation of Abu Yusr Al-Pazdawi's Kitab Usul Al-Din
Series: Dimensions: Islam, Muslims, and Critical Thought;
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Product details:
- Publisher University of Toronto Press
- Date of Publication 24 March 2026
- ISBN 9781487575618
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages378 pages
- Size 229x152x25 mm
- Weight 1 g
- Language English 700
Categories
Short description:
Rumee Ahmed’s Theology in Thirty-Six Dialogues (and Sixty Lessons) presents the first accessible English translation of a classic Islamic theological text written by Abu Yusr al-Pazdawi, one of the most prominent scholars in Muslim history.
MoreLong description:
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 contextualizing notes that familiarize 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.
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
