The Muslim Creed: Its Genesis and Historical Development

A.J. Wensinck’s The Muslim Creed is a study of the origin and growth of Muslim articles of faith. As the Koran contains only the germs of a creed, tradition is the sole guide for such studies. The first five chapters discuss in detail how this tradition was forged by the interaction of divergent forces, themselves being the products of compelling and changing circumstances. The subsequent chapters are devoted to the translation, discussion and elucidation of Abn Hanifa’s the Fikh Akbar I, the Wasiyat with the commentary of Molla Husain Ibn Iskandar al-Hanafi, the Fikh Akbar II with the commentary of Abu’l-Muntaha and the Ibana ‘am Usul al-Diyana of al-Ashari with three appendices by late authors. Scholars of Muslim theology shall find this book an answer to their long-felt need.