Principles of Faith (Usul al-Din)

Translator’s Preface

In His Name, the Most High

Faith is the most important element in each individual’s life. Faith is the means by which a person chooses to do or not do something. Our faith determines our future both in this world and the hereafter. For example, in this world, one would choose his career based upon his faith. In the hereafter, one’s good deeds will be accepted or rejected based upon his faith. The strength of an individual’s faith is seen in his daily life and how he achieves his goals.

There have been many attempts in writing and publishing material containing outlines of beliefs and practices. Some are from people who profess belief in one God, others are from atheists; some are condensed, others are comprehensive; some are logical, others are traditional; some are philosophical, others are theological; some are concerning ancient faiths, others are about recent ones; some are original and others are derivative. However, all are efforts to either teach one’s own belief to others to convince them, or to teach followers of the same faith their own faith.

This book contains both logical and textual proofs for the tenets of Islam. It is written by one of the leading figures of the Religious Seminary in Qum. It is the largest Shi’ite religious seminary, containing over sixty thousand students and researchers.

The highest level in the Shi’ite Traditional Usuli Seminary is the Kharij. In Qum, the most popular teacher of Kharij in terms of attendance and material, is the Grand Ayatullah Shaykh Husayn Vahid Khorasani (may Allah protect him), the author of this book.

The present book is being taught in many religious institutes around the world and is being translated into many different languages and I thought it would be a valuable asset for the English speaking community. I personally found this book to be extremely beneficial; hence, I translated it into English. May Allah accept it for me and my parents’ hereafter, amin.

Ali Raza Rizvi
London, England