Publisher's Synopsis
The important text of Kitab al-sawad al-a'ẓam by al-Ḥakim Muḥammad b. Isma'il al-Samarqandi (d. 342/953) is an early Ḥanafi creed from Transoxania that found consensus among Ḥanafi scholars within the region, and was translated into Persian sometime between 366/976 and 387/997. Al-Samarqandi attained fame not only as a scholar of religious sciences and law, but, more-over, as an ascetic and a sage (ḥakim), in the sense of possessing a 'divine blessing' for calling to the way of God, knowledge of inner rightfulness, and wisdom about high spiritual truths (ḥikma). This volume offers an annotated critical edition and a detailed study of this important text.
