"Shaykh Hamza Yusuf’s is, in my opinion, by far the best rendition to date of this famous and very important treatise. We can expect no less of a scholar of the caliber of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf due to his command over his native tongue, English, as well as his acquired and well-learned Arabic."
- Dr. Nizam Yaquby, Mufti of Bahrain

"Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has rendered a service not only to Muslims, but also to a wider audience by his new translation of the Creed of Imam al Tahawi accompanied by an illuminating historical introduction and by helpful biographies and extensive notes. His translation is formal without being archaic and is written in a style that Christians can recognize from their own credal formulations. The work is of value to others than Muslims, for two reasons: first, it provides in 130 short paragraphs a clear presentation of core Muslim belief in a way that is not easily available by other means, thereby providing a very positive instrument for the essential work of dialogue. Secondly, it provides Christians, who have also developed and continue to use credal formulations, with the opportunity to see just where the Islamic understanding of God comes close to the Christian understanding of God. This does much to reduce the credibility of approaches which insist on a thoroughgoing bipolar understanding of Christianity and Islam. Muslims and Christians should welcome this publication."
- Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, UK

"By providing such an accurate, lucid, and theologically sensitive
translation of Imam Tahawi's creed, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has rendered a
valuable service to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. This work will take
its rightful place among the great works in the English-language Islamic
library."
- Imam Zaid Shakir, Resident Scholar, Zaytuna Institute

"Hamza Yusuf’s Creed of Imam al-Tahawi is an important contribution to scholarship and to Muslim self-understanding. This fluid and accurate translation provides access and insight into a major scholastic work that sets out core Islamic beliefs/doctrines. It will be welcomed by Muslim and non-Muslim readers alike."
- Dr. John L. Esposito, Director, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

"Students of Islam often have little exposure to the basic theological creeds around which communal and sectarian boundaries were formed for many centuries. Ordinary Muslims did not study advanced theological treatises, but memorized and defined themselves by the pithy dogmas advanced in texts like al-Tahawi’s creed. These creeds address universal questions, as well as issues particularly relevant to the political and social context of their formulation. Imam al-Tahawi’s creed is therefore useful both as a record of core and enduring principles of Sunni theology, as well as a glimpse into some of the dynamics of the early formative period of Islamic thought. Hamza Yusuf’s eloquent and accurate translation is especially helpful as it is accompanied by the well-edited original Arabic text."
- Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America and Professor of Islamic Studies, Hartford Seminary, Connecticut

"The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi is a concise and immensely articulate work. Straight as an arrow, it treats deep concepts in a condensed, readable way. This book is a quick guide to the basic doctrine of Islam in its Sunni understanding, worthy of many re-readings. It glows with the aura of the genuine article."
- Mohamed Zakariya, Calligrapher and Artist, Zakariya Calligraphy

*  *  *

About the Book:
The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi is the first book published by Zaytuna Institute for its Curriculum Series. Translated, annotated, and introduced by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, it is a simple yet profound expression of the essential points of Muslim belief. Imam al-Tahawi’s creed has achieved an unusual degree of acceptance in the Muslim world, as it avoids involuted theological issues and systematically presents the most fundamental aspects of dogmatic theology. Studied throughout the Muslim world and increasingly in the West, The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi serves as a sound basis for Islamic faith and is the most reliable of the early articulations of Muslim belief. ( Read sample pages from 'The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi' )

About Imam al-Tahawi:
Born in Taha in Upper Egypt in 239 AH/853 CE, Imam Abu Ja’far al-Tahawi lived until 321/933. A first-rate jurist, a brilliant grammarian and philologist, and an erudite man of letters, Imam al-Tahawi is best known for his eponymous creed. Known as “al-Azdi,” in reference to the Yemeni clan known as “Azd al-Hajar,” Imam al-Tahawi was a descendent of a people about whom the Prophet Muhammad said, “Faith is Yemeni.” It is altogether fitting that the man who penned such a unifying creed descended from the land of which faith itself is a descendant. Providing seekers of knowledge with a luminous set of simple and sound statements, his creed is a beacon of certainty in the darkness of doubt and ambiguity.

About the Translator:
Hamza Yusuf is an American convert to Islam who studied for several years under leading scholars in the Muslim world. He is the co-founder of the Zaytuna Institute in California and has translated into modern English several classical Arabic texts and poems, including the latest rendering of the thirteenth-century devotional poem, The Burda: The Poem of the Cloak. His most recent works include Purification of the Heart, a translation with commentary of a nineteenth-century text that examines the spiritual conditions and treatments of the heart; and The Content of Character, a collection of sayings from the Prophet Muhammad regarding the essence of character and behavior. The Creed of Imam al-Tahawi is the first text in the Zaytuna Curriculum Series.

[Return to Catalogue] [Return to Islamic Studies] [Order books]

[Fons Vitae Printable Catalog] [Zaytuna Institute]