translated by Amjad Mahmood

This concise and lucid work of creed by the polymath and one of the foremost scholars of early Islam, Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭaḥāwī (d. 321/933), is universally accepted amongst scholarly circles as a foundational text in Islamic belief. Numerous commentaries have been written on it throughout the ages, expositing its meanings and uncovering its subtleties. The present translation includes what is regarded as the most accessible and quite possibly the finest commentary penned, authored by the brilliant scholar, judge and theologian Abū Ḥafṣ Sirāj al-Dīn al-Ghaznawī (d. 773/1372).

The vast majority of the four schools [of Sunni jurisprudence] acknowledge the creed of Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭaḥāwī, which has been received by both former and subsequent scholars with acceptance.

—Imam Tāj al-Dīn al-Subkī (d. 771/1370)