Preface

The Author and His Works

1. The Metaphorical Interpretation of the Baring of the Shank (Kashfu 'S-Saq)

2. The Metaphorical Interpretation of "The Hand (Al-Yad)"

3. The Breathing of the Spirit (into man) (Nafkhu 'l-Arwah)

4. Metonym and Metaphor (in the Qur’an)

5. The Attribution of Scheming: beguiling and Mockery to Allah

6. The Attribution of Forgetfulness to Allah

7. The Attributes of Allah (Sifat Allah)

8. The Belief concerning the Origination of Human Actions

9. Concerning Human Actions (faslun fi af‘Ali 'L-khalq)

10. Predestination and Free Will (Al-Jabr wa 't-tafwid)

11. The Belief concerning Allah's Intention and Will (Al-Mashiah Wa 'l-Iradah)

12. The belief concerning destiny and decree (Al-Qada’ wa 'L-Qadar)

13. The interpretation of the reports concerning Al-Qada’ and Al-Qadar

14. The Natural Religion (Al-Fitrah)

15. Concerning Human Capacity (Al -Istita‘Ah)

16. Concerning Al-bada’

17. Concerning Religious Disputation (Al-Jidal)

18. The belief concerning the tablet and the pen (Al-Lawh Wa 'L-Qalam)

19. The Metaphysical Meaning of the Throne (Al-‘Arsh)

20. Concerning Souls and Spirits (Al-Arwah wa 'n-Nufus)

21. What Ash-Shaykh Abu Ja‘far has described about Death

22. The Belief concerning the questioning in the Grave

23. What Ash-Shaykh Abu Ja‘far has mentioned about Divine Justice

24. Chapter on Al-A‘raf

25. The Belief concerning the Bridge (As-Sirat)

26. Chapter concerning Al-‘Aqabat

27. The belief concerning reckoning and balance (Al-Hisab wa 'l-Mizan)

28. Concerning Paradise and Hell (Al -Jannah wa 'N-nar)

29. The Point of Unbelief

30. Concerning the descent of revelation (Nuzulu 'l-Wahy)

31. On the Revelation of the Qur’an (Nuzulu 'l-Qur’an)

32. The Belief on Impeccability (Al-‘Ismah)

33. Chapter on Excess and Delegation (Al-Ghuluww wa’t-Tafwid)

34. On Dissimulation (At-Taqiyyah)

35. That the ancestors of the prophet were monotheists (Muwahhidun)

36. Concerning the interpretation of the verse 42:43

37. On Prohibition and Permission (Al-Hazr wa 'l-Ibahah)

38. On Medicine (At-Tibb)

39. On the Divergent Traditions (Al -Ahadithu 'l-Mukhtalifah)

Bibliography

This text is a translation of Tashihu 'l-I‘tiqad of Abu ‘Abdillah,
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Nu‘man, Known as ash-Shaykh al-Mufid (336/948
or 338/950 – 413/1022)


The Emendation of A Shi‘ite Creed

29. The Point of Unbelief
=========================

**The Point of Unbelief (*****Haddu’t -Takfir*****)** [^1]

Thus, it is not possible to maintain that he who is an unbe- liever can
know Allah, or that he who believes in Him can be ignorant of Him.
According to our principles, he who is an infidel is also ignorant of
Allah. Consequently, he who, though he be among the community of Islam,
deviates from the principles of the faith, is, in our opinion, ignorant
of Allah, the Exalted, even if he professes the Unity of Allah.

As is also the case with those who do not believe in the Messenger of
Allah, even though there are amongst them some who profess the Unity of
Allah and behave in a fashion which might delude the weak into
(believing) that they know Allah. Allah, the Almighty, says:

***And whosoever believes in his Lord, he shall fear neither loss nor
wrong [72:13];***

thereby He excludes the believers from the decrees binding on the
infidels. Also, Allah, the Almighty, says:

***But no, by thy Lord! They will not believe till they make thee the
judge regarding the disagreement between them [4:65].***

Thus, He denied faith to those who believe not in the Messenger of Allah
and because of their reservation in this matter, their knowledge of
Allah cannot be accepted. He, the Almighty, the Exalted, says:

***Fight those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day . . . and they
are in a state of subjection [9:29],***

Whereby He denied faith to the Jews and the Christians, and relegated
them to unbelief and error.

[^1]: Hadd: Literally means to restrain from, al-man‘. In jurisprudence
it means the restrictive ordinances of the religious law of Islam. See
al-Jurjani, at-Ta‘rifat, p.57; Ibn Manzur, op. cit., vol.3, p.142.


