Kitab al-Tawhid
Kitab al-Tawhid (), is a Sunni theological book, and the primary source of the Maturidi school of thought; written by the Hanafi scholar Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (d. 333/944). Kitab al-Tawhid is monumental work which expounded the tenets and beliefs of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a and countered the stands of opponents such as the Karramites, Mu'tazilites, Qadariyya, Majus, Sophists, Dualists, and Christians. This work provides a detailed and holistic approach to Islamic theology, while also serving as its earliest extant comprehensive source. Al-Maturidi presents the epistemological foundations of his teaching and provides detailed arguments in defence of Monotheism, including his cosmological doctrines such as proofs for the creation and ontology of the Universe. He also focuses on God, his existence and attributes, analyzing issues related to anthropomorphism and rationalism among others. Editions The book was edited by Bekir Topaloğlu and Muhammed Aruçi and published twice by İSAM Publications (2000 and 2003). The third impression was made in Beirut in 2007. Awards The book received the 16th World Prize for "the Book of the Year" in the field of Islamic studies from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008. The editors of the book, Bekir Topaloğlu and Muhammed Aruçi, were invited by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to Iran on this occasion. On February 7, 2009, the "Book of the year" prize in Muslim theology was granted to the winners by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Authenticity Joseph Schacht, in his article announcing the discovery of the Kitab al-Tawhid, described the Cambridge manuscript as an authentic work by al-Maturidi. Since the one surviving manuscript was published by Fathallah Khalif in 1970, research based on it has been conducted by students of Islamic theology and several reviews and studies of it have been published. Table of Contents Arabic Transliteration Key, Introduction, A Short Biography of Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Chain of Teachers from Imam Abu Hanifa to Imam al-Maturidi, Kitab at-Tawhid, Notes on Translation, 1. Religion must not be Based on Belief in Authority (taqlid) but must be Based on Evidence, 2. Knowledge of the Religion is Acquired Through Transmission (sam') & the Intellect ('aql), 3. Humans have Essentially Three Means of Acquiring Knowledge ; a). The Senses, b). Transmission, c). Intellect, 4. Proof for the Created Nature of the Universe ; The Ontological Structure of the Universe, 5. Proof that the Universe has a Creator, 6. The Issue of the Creator of the Universe Being One, 7. The Issue of the Creator of the Universe Being One Based on Reason, 8. Refutation of Those who Dispute our Teachings on Epistemology, 9. Deducing that Which is Present from that Which is Absent, 10. The Refutation of those Who Profess the Eternity of the Universe, 11. God's Names and Attributes: God may not be Described as Body (jism), 12. God may be Described as a 'Thing' (shay'), 13. Shaykh Abu Mansur was asked About the Meaning of 'The One,' 14. God's Essential Attributes : Free