Mukhtasar Shuab al-Iman
- Author died
- 699 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Kathīr
Mukhtasar Shu'ab al-Iman (The Abridgment of the Branches of Faith) is a concise theological and ethical treatise by the Shafi'i jurist Abu al-Qasim Umar ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qazwini (653–699 AH / 1255–1300 CE), abridging Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi's expansive work Shu'ab al-Iman .
Background and Composition
The book was composed in response to recurring questions posed to al-Qazwini by Muhammad ibn al-Qasim al-Mizzi regarding the precise enumeration of the branches of faith . This inquiry arose due to differing narrations of the prophetic hadith concerning their total number, with transmitted reports variously citing "sixty-odd or seventy-odd branches," "seventy-six or seventy-seven," or "sixty-four" .
Structure and Method
Al-Qazwini gathered material scattered across al-Bayhaqi's multi-volume work and organized it into seventy-seven distinct branches . He structured the text concisely in the form of chapter headers and essential points (ru'us al-masa'il), pairing each branch with evidence drawn either from a verse of the Quran or from an authentic prophetic hadith . The work opens with fundamental creedal obligations—beginning with faith in God and the testimony of Tawhid—and progresses through acts of worship, personal virtues, and social ethics, concluding with practical deeds that benefit others, such as removing harmful objects from the road .
In his introduction, al-Qazwini noted that he did not restrict himself entirely to al-Bayhaqi's selections, occasionally supplementing a branch with additional verses, hadiths, sayings, narratives, or lines of poetry not found in the original source .
Attribution and Publication
Biographical and bibliographical sources record slight variations in the author's kunya and death date, referring to him as Abu al-Qasim, Abu al-Ma'ali, or Abu Ja'far (and in some instances Abu Hafs), with death dates recorded as 699 AH or 669 AH .
A manuscript copy of the treatise is preserved in the Chester Beatty Library (MS 3682) . The text has seen several print editions:
- An edition printed in Cairo in 1310 AH and 1340 AH edited by Zakariyya Ali Yusuf, who attributed the text directly to al-Bayhaqi .
- An edition published by Muhammad Munir al-Dimashqi at Idarat al-Tiba'ah al-Muniriyyah in 1355 AH .
- A critical edition prepared by Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut, published by Dar Ibn Kathir in Damascus (second edition, 1405 AH / 1985 CE) .
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