COURSE AT KHAIRABADI INSTITUTE

Al-Musāyarah fī al-ʿAqā’id

al-Munjiyah fī al-Ākhirah

A Key Curricular Text in Islamic Rational Theology

First Integral on the Essence of Allah – A Complete Online Study of the Ten Principles

Course Overview

This thought-provoking and insightful course in ʿIlm al-Kalām is for anyone seeking to gain an appreciation of how Kalām works. Imām Ibn Humām, author of al-Musāyarah, was an Imām (i.e., someone who is taken as an exemplar) of the Islamic sciences in the fullest sense of the word: he authored major works in Ḥanafī jurisprudence and Islamic theology.

Al-Musāyarah is a beginner/intermediate level work that was once a part of the classical Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum. The main benefit of this course is to illustrate how works in kalām should be approached and the method of its study. The course sets a foundation and framework for further studies in kalām (Islamic rational theology). An outcome of this course is to allow students to understand the depth and robust nature of Islamic rational theology. By taking this course, students will unlock a number of books in kalām, and will allow them to eventually progress onto the next stage of curricular books in post-classical syllabi. This course will enable students to apply rational arguments in defence of Islam and Sunni creed, particularly against modern-day detractors.

Style of Study

Al-Musāyarah will be taught according to the Khairabādī method of learning. Students will be required to prepare the upcoming passages, using all their skills and knowledge while accessing the commentaries. The instructor will then deliver a Khairabādī lecture on the passages and fill in the gaps for the students in what was left out in their prior preparation. Students will then need to revise that lecture and be confident in applying it back into the text.

Al-Musāyarah was a curricular text; it is a skill-building book that, if studied in the correct manner, will help students build crucial skills needed to access other books of kalām in the same genre. Through the course, the instructor will present other works in kalām to students and practically show them how they have become accessible due to following this time-old method of learning.

Course Outline

  • This unit consists of 25 modules, SAT-style questions, two assessments & two playback seminar-style tutorial discussions.

    Modules:
    i. Beginning with the Name of Allah: Intentions and Biography

    ii. Pedagogical Principles of Dars-i Nizāmī in kalām and Khairabādī Learning Methods for Studying Al-Musayārah

    1. The Difference Between Scholastic Theology & Creed

    2. Introduction to Al-Musayārah Based On The Preface

    3. The Layout of Al-Musayārah & The First Integral With It's Ten Principles

    4. The First Principle on the Existence of Allah: God’s Essence is beyond Human Intellect 

    5. Proving God's Existence: Evidential and Causal Reasoning in Logic 

    6. Establishing God's Existence: Using Evidential Reasoning in Islamic Theology 

    7. Inferring God's Existence from Creation

    8. Understanding Benefits and Harms in Creation & Scientific Investigation

    9. The Rational Necessity of God's Existence 

    10(a-b). Understanding Disbelief: The Reasons Behind Kufr (Disbelief)

    11. Fitra & The Universal Acknowledgment of God's Existence 

    12. The Call to Tawḥīd: Affirming the Oneness of God in Prophetic Teachings 

    13. The Rational Evidence of God's Existence: Exploring the Foundations of Logical Argumentation

    14. Establishing Evidence Through Syllogism for God’s Existence 

    15. The Necessity of a Cause: Understanding the Relationship Between Ḥādith (created) and Muḥdith (Creator)

    16. Clarifying the Need for a Mukhaṣṣiṣ (Specifier) in Establishing a Ḥādīth: The Role of Tanbīhāt (Clarifications) in Understanding Ḍarūriyyāt (Self-Evidential Knowledge) 

    17. Establishing the Need for Evidence in the First Premises: The Relationship Between Jawhar (Substance) and ʿAraḍ (Accident) in the Realm of Kalām

    18. Establishing Temporality (Ḥudūth): From Substance (Jawhar) to Accident (ʿAraḍ) – A Dual Approach

    19. Three Propositions for Establishing the Ḥudūth (Temporality) of Jawāhir (Substances)

    20. First Dāʿwah: The Self-Evident Nature of a Jism's Association with Ḥarakah (Movement) and Sūkūn (Stillness)

    21. Second Dāʿwah: Establishing Ḥarakah (Movement) and Sūkūn (Stillness) as Ḥādīth Through Precedence of Non-Existence

    22. Objection on the First Evidence and Response: The Case of Motion and Stillness in Mountains

    23. Concluding Section to Evidence One: Allowing Ḥarakah (Movement) and Qalb al-Maḥīyah (Changing of The Essence) in Ajsām  Means Establishing Its Temporal Nature as the Locus of Ḥawādith (Temporal Occurrences)

    24(a-g). The Third Dawah: That Which is Not Free from Ḥawādith (Temporal Occurrences) is Itself Ḥādīth (Temporal)  

    25. Final Synthesis: Proving the Temporality of the Universe and the Necessity of a Creator

  • This unit consists of seven modules, SAT-style questions, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. The Second Principle: Qadīm Without Beginning

    2. Establishing evidence: a Ḥādith needs a Muḥdith

    3. Establishing evidence: refuting infinite regress

    4. Causal sequencing (tartīb ʿillī): differentiating between the ‘lā awwala lahā’ sequence and the cause-effect (ʿillah-maʿlūl) sequence

    5. The Difference Between the Mutakalimīn and Falāsifah on ʿIllah: the Concept of Causing to Occur by Choice

    6. The Refutation of Infinite Regress Continued: The Impossibility of Extramental Existence in the Context of Tasalsul (Infinite Regress)

    7. Closing up the argument: The Necessity of the Eternal Being Who Has No Beginning

  • This unit consists of eight modules, SAT-style questions, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. The Attribute of ‘Qidam’- The Negation of Subsequent Non-Existence

    2. Establishing Evidence - If ʿAdam Lāḥiq is Presumed - The Two Scenarios of Non-Existence

    3. The First is Void: Refuting the Claim of Non-Existence Necessitated by The Divine Essence

    4. The Impossibility of Non-Existence Being Necessitated by the Divine Essence: Understanding The Concept of ‘Takhalluf’

    5. The Second is also Void: The Impossible Scenario of an External Annihilator that is Opposite to the Essence

    6. The Impossibility of an External Annihilator's Eternal Nature: Refuting the First Hypothesis

    7. The Impossibility of an External Annihilator's Temporal Nature: Refuting the Second Hypothesis

    8. Concluding the Evidences: It is Rationally Impossible for Non-Existence to Follow Allah's Existence

  • This unit consists of four modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. Defining Ḥayyiz and Makān - Mutakallimīn and Falāsifah

    2. Understanding the Daʿwah of ʿAllāmah Ibn Humām

    3. Evidence for the Impossibility of Allah being a substance in a place

    4. Using the Word ‘Jawhar’ for Allah while denying Ḥayyiz

  • This unit consists of nine modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. Allah Almighty is not a Body: Understanding the Categories of Divine Attributes

    2. What Is a Body: The Kalām and Falsafah Debate on Corporeality

    3. Independent Evidence: The Theological Invalidation of Corporeality Through the Refutation of Substance

    4. Refuting Lawāzim Musāwiyyah Through the Invalidation of Jismiyyah

    5. The Prohibition of Naming Allah a 'Jism' and the Ijmāʿah of Scholars

    6. The Masʾalah of 'Jism' in Light of Tawqīf and Ishtiqāq

    7. The Term 'Jism' and Its Necessary Implication of Ḥudūth

    8. Ibn Humām and the 'Aẓhar' Fatwā- Naming Allah 'Jism' as an Act of Kufr, Not Merely Sin

    9. The Collapse of Jism’s Lawāzim & Summary of the Principle of Mutasāwiyyah

  • This unit consists of four modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. Daʿwah - He is not an Accident

    2. First Proof: The Impossibility of ʿAraḍiyyah for the Divine Essence Due to an ʿAraḍ's Ontological Dependence and Sequential Posteriority

    3. Second Proof: The Mawṣūf of Ṣifāt Thubūtiyyah is a Self-Subsisting Essence

    4. Concluding Synthesis: Affirming the Absolute Dissimilarity of the Divine Essence and Attributes to Creation

  • This unit consists of six modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. Understanding the Daʿwah

    2. First Proof - The Subordination of Direction (Jihāt) to Created Bodies and Its Impossibility for the Divine Essence

    3. Second Proof - Jihāt are Conceptual Entities

    4. The Rational Implications of the Jihāt being Conceptual Entities

    5. The Third Proof - The Linkage of Specification, Particularization, and Makan

    6. For Those who Assert Other Meanings for Jihah

  • This unit consists of ten modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. The Differences Between Ahlus Sunnah and its Opponents in Interpretational Methodology

    2. Ithbāt and Tanzīh

    3. Īmān in the Āyāt and the Negation of Tashbīh

    4. Muqaddimah on the Muḥkamāt and Mutashābihāt

    5. Muqaddimah on Waqf's Role in Interpretation and Ishtirāk Lafẓī

    6. The Conditions for Ta'wīl Ṣaḥīḥ

    7. Ẓāhirī Interpretation and Jismiyyah

    8. Linguistic Proofs for Ta'wīl

    9. Ta'wīl for the Other Mutashābihāt

    10. Ta'wīl, Certainty, and the Practice of Some of the Mutaqaddimīn

  • This unit consists of 15 modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. Understanding Ru'yah of a Mumkin by another Mumkin

    2. The Meaning of Idrāk and the Lawāzim of Ru’yah of Mumkināt by Mumkināt

    3. What Constitutes Ru’yah as a Sabab of ʿIlm

    4. The Intended Meaning of Ru’yah and the Positions Regarding the Ru’yah of Allāh in this Dunyā

    5. The First Dalīl Naqlī, Maʿnā Ḥaqīqī, and Naẓar Baṣarī

    6. The Second Dalīl Naqlī, Certainty and the Ru'yah

    7. The Third Dalīl Naqlī, Responding to the Muʿtazilah and the Positions of Ahlus Sunnah Regarding the Ru'yah

    8. The Fourth Dalīl Naqlī, Imkān of the Istiqrār al-Jabal and Imkān of Ru'yah

    9. Dalīl ʿAqlī, If Muḥāl is Assumed, the Lāzim is another Muḥāl

    10. Dalīl ʿAqlī, Nawʿ al-ʿIlm can be Created in the Mudrik Without Requiring Muqābalah

    11. (Continued) Dalīl ʿAqlī, a Nawʿ al-ʿIlm can be Created in the Mudrik Without Requiring Muqābalah

    12. Ru'yah without Muqābalah and Iḥāṭah

    13. Ru'yah as a Nisbah between Rā'iy and Mar'iy

    14. Dalīl ʿAqlī, ʿIlm without Ṣūrah and Ru'yah without Ṣūrah

    15. Iḥāṭah, Masāfah, Muqābalah, and Ṣūrah in connection to a Mar'iy that is a Jism

  • This unit consists of 15 modules, one assessment & a playback seminar-style tutorial discussion.

    Modules:

    1. An Analysis of the First Integral's Structure

    2. Uṣūl 1 to 9 in relation to Aṣl 10

    3. The Meanings of the word 'Wāḥid' and Tawḥīd with regards to His Dhāt, Ṣifāt, and Afʿāl

    4. The First Textual Proof and Qiyās Istithnā'ī Ittiṣālī

    5. Analysing Imām Ibn Humām and Imām al-Ghazālī's Passages and Beginning the Rational Proof

    6. Responding to an Objection Regarding Imām al-Ghazālī's Tafsīr

    7. Luzūm al-Fasād and a Millī's Attainment of ʿIlm Qaṭʿiy Regarding It

    8. The First Proof Given to the Ghayr Millī

    9. The Second Proof Given to the Ghayr Millī

    10. Objection to the Second Proof

    11. Further Discussion on Iḥtimāl al-Naqīḍ in Relation to ʿUlūm ʿĀdiyyah

    12. Understanding the Previous Discussion when Reading the Text

    13. The Second Way of Responding to the Ghayr Millī

    14. Responding to the Takfīr of Imām Taftazānī (First Part)

    15. Responding to the Takfīr of Imām Taftazānī (Continued)

How will the course be delivered?

The course is divided into a series of units corresponding to the chapters of the book. Each unit includes multiple modules, a live tutorial class, a question submission page, supplementary readings, and an assessment. The modules are presented as short pre-recorded videos, each focusing on a key concept or idea within the book’s broader discussion. These videos combine the teacher’s lecture (takrīr) with a clear diagram that summarises the lesson.

Students should expect to spend approximately two weeks on each unit. At the end of the unit, they will complete an assessment, including SAT-style questions, to apply what they have learned. A playback tutorial will then review the assessments, provide further discussion on the topics covered, and connect the material to related works in kalām at the same level.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Answer keys for the SAT-style questions are available in the course portal. Each module also has a question submission form, and answers to submitted queries are added regularly to a shared question bank. Students will additionally be added to a Telegram group for ongoing access to the instructor and admin team. All resources remain available for lifetime access, though a dedicated study of this course is expected to take around eight months.

Read More on Khairabadi Institute's New Path to Online Islamic Education

MESSAGE FROM OUR PEERS

“A great honor to be studying Molla Ḥasan's commentary on al-Bihārī's Sullam al-ʿUlūm with my brilliant teacher Molla Mubashir Iqbal, an important reviver of the great (and almost extinct) Farangī Maḥallī and Khairabādī higher philosophical traditions.”

– Shaykh Hasan Spiker

About the Author: Ibn al-Humām

Kamāl al-Dīn Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd Ibn al-Humām (790–861/1388–1457) was born in Alexandria and was a prominent Ḥanafī jurist and theologian.

Imām al-Sakhāwī calls him “the arch-scholar of people on earth.”

He is well known for three works:

  • Sharḥ Fatḥ al-Qadīr, a major commentary on the Hidāyah in Ḥanafī fiqh

  • Al-Musāyarah, a major work in ʿilm al-kalām based on the topical headings of Imām al-Ghazālī's al-Risālah al-Qudsiyyah fī Qawāʾid al-ʿAqāʾid

  • Al-Taḥrīr fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh on legal principles.

He also excelled in Qurʾānic commentary, inheritance law, taṣawwuf, language, rhetoric, logic, debate, and other sciences.

He studied under major scholars such as al-ʿIzz Ibn ʿAbd al-Salām, Ibn Ḥajar, al-ʿIzz Ibn Jamāʿah, and other great luminaries.

After living in Aleppo and the Ḥijāz for a while, he settled back in Cairo. There, he first became a teacher at al-Ashraf Barsbay’s school (who was the Mamlūk Sultan), and then he became head shaykh of the Khānaqāh Shaykhūniyyah. He himself preferred a life of seclusion, writing, and private teaching, which explains why he left both positions.

Al-Shawkānī noted that Ibn Humām surpassed many of his teachers in insight and precision of thought, highlighting his unique position as a major scholar in the Māturīdī period of Mazj.

About the Text

Al-Musāyarah fī al-ʿAqāʾid al-Munjiyah fī al-Ākhirah by ʿAllāmah Kamāl al-Dīn Ibn Humām (d. 861 AH) is a foundational text in Islamic theology. This text emerged during the period of Mazj (700–900 AH), a significant phase marking an era of convergence between the Māturīdī and Ashʿarī Schools of Sunni doctrine. This text contains four Integrals coupled with an introduction on the definition of ʿilm al-kalām and an ending (khātimah) on Īmān and Islām. The four integrals are:

  1. Knowledge of Allah,

  2. Knowledge of His Attributes,

  3. Knowledge of the Acts of Allah, and

  4. Textually Transmitted Beliefs.

Each Integral is divided into ten principles.

  • The Musāyarah of ʿAllāmah Ibn Humām serves as a curriculum resource within the traditional Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum. It encompasses everything that foundational and intermediate texts in kalām provide, while facilitating a student to attain crucial skills that will allow him/her access to all those texts without prior study of them. Although aimed at beginners and intermediate students of kalām, it is not the most straightforward work within its genre. However, engaging with it, especially through the renowned Khairabādī teaching method, will unlock the pathways to many other kalām texts like Sharḥ al-ʿAqāʾid al-Nasafiyyah.

    The book received several commentaries, notably those of his two students, the Ḥanafī master al-Qāsim b. Qutlūbaghā (879 AH) and the Shāfiʿī luminary al-Kamāl b. Abī Sharīf (822 AH), known as al-Musāmarah.

Reflections from Our Students

“Studying al-Musayarah with Ustadh Mubashir was a truly enlightening experience. His clear and concise explanations made even the most complex concepts of ʿIlm al-kalām accessible. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in developing a basic understanding of this important subject.”

- Usman Chaudhary

Who is this course for?

This course is for students of the Islamic sciences.

Prior knowledge of Arabic, logic, and philosophy is recommended to fully appreciate this book and achieve the learning outcomes, though it’s not required. The text will be translated, and key concepts explained as needed. Note: Courses covering these subjects will be offered at Khairabadi Institute later this year. Click here for more information.

This course is ideal for students seeking a deeper understanding of ʿilm al-kalām, especially through traditional Dars-i Niẓāmī curricular texts.

This course is for students wanting to learn the Khairabādī style of teaching and learning via books classically included in the Farangī Maḥall tradition.

This course can also be taken by anyone who is interested in learning more about how ʿilm al-kalām works and those wishing to pave a career in ʿilm al-kalām.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the difference between ʿilm al-ʿaqāʾid and ʿilm al-kalām, and learn the function of Islamic scholasticism.

  • Get first-hand experience of Khairabādī lectures on classical texts.

  • Through guided efforts of the instructors, be practically taken through the Khairabādī learning method of how to approach classical texts.

  • With basic Arabic and foundational skills, gain independent access to early intermediate texts in ʿilm al-kalām, especially in the discussion of ‘the Essence of Allah.’

  • This study will open the doors for the second Integral on the Attributes of Allah, which will be released later in the year.

  • Help to further develop crucial skills needed to be able to access other books in the classical libraries of Islam.

  • Learn the correct and classical method of approaching and studying traditional texts.

  • Appreciate the depth of scholarship in Islamic scholasticism and Khairabadi pedagogy.

  • Apply these learning techniques to other texts.

  • Apply the knowledge and skills acquired to engage in further reading of the subject, with guidance from teachers.

About the Instructor

Muḥammad Mubashir Iqbāl is the founder of Khairabadi Institute. He embarked on his journey of sacred knowledge at the age of eleven, spending a decade developing his understanding at Jamʻia al-Karam. During his final years at the seminary, he not only deepened his own comprehension but also imparted knowledge by teaching Arabic.

Driven by a thirst for further development, he expanded his studies at Dārul Qurrāʼ and Islamic Research Centre in England, delving into Persian texts and advanced works within the Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum.

In pursuit of broader horizons, Mubashir travelled to Istanbul, Turkey. There, he engaged in studies and lessons with scholars from diverse backgrounds, including the scholars of Shām.

Continuing his quest for knowledge, Mubashir pursued Ḥadith Studies at Dār al-ʻUlūm Muḥammadiyyah Ghawthiyyah in Bhera, Pakistan, also known as the Al-Karam International Institute. He further enriched his scholarship at Jamʻia Qādiriyyah in KPK, Pakistan, delving into the last books of the traditional Dars-i Niẓāmī curriculum, including al-Ḥidāyah, Mīr Zāhid  ʼUmūr-i ʻĀmmah, Mīr Qutbī, Shams-i Bāzigah, and various commentaries on Sullam-ul-ʻUlūm, among others.

Throughout his educational travels, Mubashir was honoured to receive special licences and ʼijāzahs from esteemed teachers. Some of these licences trace back to luminaries such as ʼImām Fazl-i Haq Khairābādī, Mullāʼ Niẓām al-Dīn Sihālwī, Qādī Aḍud al-Dīn al-ʼĪjī, ʼImām Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, and the venerable ʼImām of the ʼAhl al-Sunnah, ʼAbū al-Hasan Ashʻarī (may ʼAllāh have mercy upon them all). 

With extensive teaching experience, he excels in the classical Khairābādī/Farangī Maḥallī curriculum. He has disseminated his knowledge in various seminaries across England, including Greengate Islamic College, Cambridge Muslim College, and Manchester Muslim College, leaving an indelible mark on his students.

Shaykh Muhammad Mubashir Iqbal
Founder of Khairabadi Institute

Course Details

Instant Access to All Resources to Begin Your Study

  • 11 Units spanning over 110 modules complete with quality diagrams

  • 11 assessments and 11 playback seminar-style tutorial discussions with the instructor

  • Running question banks for each unit

  • Taught through a formal pedagogy

  • Additional Resources include extracurricular kalām discussions, readings from various related texts (each passage from Musāyarah being connected to at least two other works), a Telegram group, and more.

  • Lifetime Access to all course materials, modules & tutorial sessions

Fee: £249.99

(or eight payments of £35 across eight months)

By signing up for this course, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to our Enrolment Terms & Conditions

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