DescriptionThis manuscript presents the science of Uṣūl al-Dīn (fundamental theology), encompassing ʿIlm al-Kalām (dialectical theology) and ʿAqāʾid (creeds), as the foremost of all sciences. It grounds this discipline in rational judgment, which is limited to three exclusive categories: necessity (wujūb), impossibility (istiḥāla), and possibility (jawāz). Necessity applies to what must exist by logical necessity, impossibility to what cannot exist, and possibility to what may or may not exist.This tripartite framework provides the logical foundation for Islamic theological discourse, distinguishing necessary truths about the Divine from impossible claims and contingent worldly matters. The manuscript’s claim to preeminence reflects the classical view that understanding these rational categories is a prerequisite for all other religious sciences.
Extentff. 18r-22v
PlaceIslahul Uloom Arabic College, Kerala, India
Yearcopying completed on 4 Jumad al-Ula, 1274/21 December 1857. (1426-1490)
CitationUmm al-barāhīn, al-Imām Muḥammad bin Yūsuf al-Sanūsī, MAC64/CM6, ii, https://ari.nus.edu.sg/arabia-asia-archives/mac64-cm6-ii/
