Ascent to Felicity: A Manual on Islamic Creed and Hanafi Jurisprudence

by Hasan Shurunbulali, Faraz A. Khan (Translator)

Manual on Islamic Creed and Hanafi Jurisprudence Written by the eminent 11th century Hanafi scholar, Abu 'l-Ikhlas al-Shurunbulali, Ascent to Felicity is a concise yet comprehensive primer in creed and jurisprudence. It spans all five pillars of Islam, as well as the topics of slaughtering, ritual sacrifice, and hunting. To supplement the text, the translator has added key explanatory notes taken from several reliable works on theology and jurisprudence. He has also added appendices that comprise numerous supplications related to the five pillars, presented in Arabic script along with English transliteration, as well as the etiquette of visiting the Messenger of All?h (Allah bless him peace) in Madina. "An admirable rendering into lucid, fluid English of Imam Hasan al-Shurunbulali's primer of Hanafi law, Ascent to Felicity. This concise but thorough work focuses on the five acts of worship. The book has the added feature of a fairly detailed presentation of the basics of the Muslim Creed. In translating this introductory section of Imam Shurunbulali's treatise, Khan's skill as a translator is on full display, as he has made sometimes involved theological concepts easily accessible to the average English reader. Khan has provided an additional service to both Shurunbulali's work and to contemporary Muslims by augmenting the translation with insightful and extremely useful explanatory notes. The value of this work, skillfully produced by White Thread Press, goes far beyond its benefit to adherents of the Hanafi legal school. Rather, it will prove of benefit to Muslims in general as well as researchers interested in latter-day presentations of the creed and practice of Sunni Muslims." - Imam Zaid Shakir Co-Founder and Resident Scholar, Zaytuna College "This book is an important contribution to the growing, but still small, corpus of traditional Islamic texts available in English translation." - Dr Ingrid Mattson President of the ISNA

Genres: Islam, Nonfiction, Religion

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Hanzalah · Rating 5 out of 5]

there are parts which are difficult to understand without further explanation from a teacher. A teacher also helps because fiqh is a legal subject and can get dry. I felt a person explaining it and adding there own experiences or contemporary context adds more life to the subject.

[Arzu A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve followed this book together with the Seekersguidance course Fiqh102! Really do recommend it for people who want to deepen more into deen, Fiqh.
Good structured book, but I recommend it to follow it together with the course on SG!

[Abdullah Mushtaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent primer in Hanafi Fiqh. The translator's footnotes are quite helpful in understanding the text. There are some parts that are hard to understand without the help of a teacher so I would recommend watching Ustadh Tabraze Azam's explanation of it. Here's the link:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT...

[Said Bak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book for those followers of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence who studied/read the Absolute Essentials of Islam (by Faraz Rabbani) or another very basic primer. This book is a classical primer by the great scholar al-Shurunbulali. Another must-have.

[Razi Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent primer on Islamic creed and Hanafi Fiqh. SeekersHub has a two-part course titled 'Essentials of Worship (Hanafi)' taught by Shaykh Tabraze Alam. Suggest that one combines the two for maximum benefit.

[Anisah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great starting point. The notes are really helpful. The book primarily focuses on the 5 pillars of Islam.
Brilliant for those who are new to learning about Hanafi Jurisprudence.

[Numaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is an excellent book, i will recommend this to my friends

[miss s jabin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, with excellent explanatory notes in the footer aiding comprehension

[Ruqayyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[sarah dough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would not call it the perfect introduction nor recommend it for a newvert. Still, one who has moderate educational experience AND has access to a tutor/teacher could derive benefit.

[Jonathan Widell · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Less is more". Written by the 11th-century Hanafi scholar Shurunbulali, "Ascent to Felicity in the Sciences of Theology and Jurisprudence of Worship" (the complete title of the book), is a marvel of lapidary scholarship, such as they used to have it in the Golden Age of Islam. Without the copious footnotes, the foreword and the appendices, it would be no longer than about 90 pages. The downside is that if you know nothing about Muslim prayers beforehand, you will get nothing out of it. If you do, it is just long enough to settle many questions.

Not all questions though. That is what one might have misgivings about. I mean the footnotes that admittedly provide a lot of additional information without which the meaning remains obscure but also add some precepts that are not necessarily supposed to be there. For instance, Shurunbulali says that if you missed some obligatory prayers after you became a Muslim and you did not move to Muslim lands, you do not have to make up for the missed prayers. The translator Faraz A. Khan adds in a footnote that actually you DO (these days, that is) because Islamic knowledge is now available pretty much in every country across the globe(p. 102).

All of the five pillars are covered as well as the basic tenets of Islamic creed. The last three chapters cover ritual sacrifice, ritual slaughter, and hunting. What I find more useful are the supplications in Arabic (both in Arabic script and transliteration) and their English translations in Appendix 1.

Despite succinctness, remarkably quick read. Depending on how much one knows in advance, illuminating!

[Moinuddin.95 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by the 11th century notable scholar, Hasan al-Shurunbulali, this book serves as a well structured elementary guide to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. It covers the core pillars of Islam as well as the topics of slaughtering, ritual sacrifice, and hunting. The translator Faraz Khan has done a commendable job by complementing the original text in rendering a useful and insightful footnotes which is easily assimilated by the average English reader. This book serves as an important addition to the English translated classical Islamic texts. Hasan al-Shurunbulali works form an integral part of the Hanafi doctrine.