An Introduction to Ilm al-Kalam

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This long article is a part of Martyr Murtadha Mutahhari's book Ashna'i ba 'ulum al-Islami (An Introduction to the Islamic Sciences). The book consists of seven parts:

(1) logic

(2) philosophy

(3) al-kalam (Muslim scholastic philosophy)

(4) 'irfan (Islamic mysticism)

(5) usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence)

(6) fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence)

(7) hikmat al-'amali' (practical philosophy or practical morality).

All the seven parts together serve both as a comprehensive survey of the fundamentals of different branches of Islamic sciences and a general and comprehensive perspective for the proper understanding of the basic teachings of Islam along with the main points of difference among various sects of Muslims.

This work of Martyr Mutahhari is the best introduction to Islamic philosophy and jurisprudence. From this view, Ashna'i ba 'ulum al-Islami deserves to be prescribed as the basic text for all the students of Islamic studies. It is also very useful for non-specialists who wish to acquaint themselves with Islam.

All the introductory books written so far are either by the Orientalists and are naturally biased and fail to give true picture of the development of different Islamic sciences or are written by Muslim scholars who consciously or unknowingly incorporate in the body of books certain misleading notions propagated by the

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