Faith and Practice of Islam

by William C. Chittick

• ISBN13: 9780791413685
• ISBN10: 0791413683
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1992-10-22
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (SUNY Press)

Summary

As stated in the introduction, two of the three texts translated in this book focus on the contents of Islamic faith, while the third concentrates on the details of practice--that is, the works that Muslims should perform in order to observe the Shariah.

Table of Contents

A Note on Dates and Koranic References	ix
Introduction	xi
Islam in Three Dimensions	1	(24)
Works, Faith, and Perfections	1	(5)
Faith and Knowledge	6	(3)
Ihsan, Ikhlas, and Taqwa	9	(4)
Felicity	13	(1)
Priorities	14	(2)
The Sciences of Unveiling and Practice	16	(5)
Notes	21	(4)
Faith	25	(86)
Style and Content	25	(2)
The Three Principles	27	(1)
The Cosmology of Tawhid	28	(4)
Notes	32	(4)
The Rising Places of Faith	35	(1)
Opening	36	(3)
Faith in God	39	(8)
The Essence	39	(2)
The Attributes	41	(3)
The Acts	44	(3)
Faith in Prophecy	47	(3)
The Wonders of Prophecy	47	(2)
The Prophet Muhammad	49	(1)
Faith in the Last Day	50	(4)
Human Subsistence	50	(1)
The Barzakh and the Other Stages of the Next World	51	(3)
Conclusion	54	(5)
Clarifications for Beginners and Reminders for the Advanced	59	(1)
Introduction	59	(4)
The Creator	63	(18)
The Essence	63	(7)
The Attributes	70	(4)
The Acts	74	(7)
Friendship and Prophecy	81	(12)
Friendship	81	(4)
Supplement	85	(3)
Prophecy	88	(5)
This World and the Next World	93	(11)
Benefits and Dangers of This World	93	(4)
The Next World and Its Stages	97	(7)
Conclusion	104	(7)
Practice	111	(54)
Notes	115	(3)
The Easy Roads of Sayf Al-Din	117	(1)
Introduction: Prefecting Character	118	(1)
A Preliminary Remark	118	(1)
The Science of Faith	119	(8)
The Essence	120	(2)
The Attributes	122	(1)
The Acts	123	(2)
Prophecy	125	(1)
The Next World	126	(1)
Ablutions and Purity	127	(7)
The Excellence of Purity	127	(2)
Relieving Oneself	129	(1)
The Minor Ablution	130	(2)
An Allusion	132	(1)
The Major Ablution	133	(1)
The Tayammum	133	(1)
The Ritual Prayer	134	(8)
Its Excellence	134	(1)
The Number of Cycles	135	(1)
How to Perform the Prayer	136	(2)
A Hint	138	(1)
The Inward Dimensions	139	(3)
Fasting	142	(4)
Its Excellence	142	(1)
Its Secret and its Degrees	143	(1)
Its Obligations	144	(2)
Remembrance and Supplication	146	(15)
Imparting Remembrance	146	(2)
Transmitted Supplications	148	(9)
Supplications for Every Situation	157	(4)
Conclusion: The Journey	161	(4)
Sufism and Islam	165	(16)
Orthodox Islam	165	(3)
Mysticism and Discipline	168	(5)
Toward a Narrower Definition of Sufism	173	(5)
Notes	178	(3)
Annotations	181	(74)
The Rising Places of Faith	181	(20)
Clarifications for Beginners	201	(33)
The Easy Roads of Sayf Al-Din	234	(21)
Appendixes	255	(16)
1. The Author	255	(8)
2. Corrections to the Printed Texts	263	(8)
Bibliography	271	(10)
Index of Koranic Verses	281	(10)
Index of Hadiths and Sayings	291	(6)
Index of Names and Terms	297