''A Guide to Conclusive Proofs for the Principles of Belief'' ( ar, الإرشاد إلى قواطع الأدلة في أصول الاعتقاد, translit=Al-Irshad ila Qawati' al-Adilla fi Usul al-I'tiqad), commonly known simply as ''Al-Irshad'' ("The Guide"), is a major classic 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, Batin ...
. Its author,
Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni, was the leading theologian of his time. His writings in the field of theology, especially ''Al-Irshad'', represent a high point of the development of theology in the then contemporary Islamic world.
Content
It is intended to outline exactly ''what has'' been proven, ''what can'' be proven and ''how'' those things can be proven.
[Hallaq, Wael B.. "Caliphs, Jurists and the Saljuqs in the Political Thought of Juwayni." The Muslim World 74, no. 1 (1984): 26-41.] He focuses much of his attention on God and the fundamental Islamic principle that God is the only and all-powerful creator. He explains that we are often caught up in a temporally contingent existence, lost in continuity but that we should realize God's ability to interrupt this continuity at any time.
[Fadiman & Frager,James & Robert. Essential Sufism. 1 ed. James Fadiman & Robert Frager. San Francisco : Harper Collins, 1997.] Al-Juwayni focuses a similar amount of attention on legal methodology and is particularly concerned with the methods for discerning difficult debates. He explains
naskh "abrogation", for example, in great detail.
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See also
* The Moderation in Belief
Al-Iqtisād fī al-iʿtiqad (), or The Moderation in Belief is a major theological work by Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazali. George Hourani indicated that the ''Iqtisad'' and ''Mizan al-amal'' were completed before or during
Gha ...
* List of Sunni books
This is a list of significant books in the doctrines of Sunni Islam. A classical example of an index of Islamic books can be found in Kitāb al-Fihrist of Ibn Al-Nadim.
The Qur'an and its translations (in English)
:# ''The Meaning of the Glorio ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guide to Conclusive Proofs for the Principles of Belief, A
Kalam
Ash'ari literature
Sunni literature
Islamic theology books
2000 non-fiction books