The important text of Kitāb al-sawād al-a‘ẓam by al-Ḥakīm Muḥammad b. Ismā‘īl al-Samarqandī (d. 342/953) is an early Ḥanafī creed from Transoxania that found consensus among Ḥanafī scholars within the region, and was translated into Persian sometime between 366/976 and 387/997. Al-Samarqandī attained fame not only as a scholar of religious sciences and law, but, more­over, as an ascetic and a sage (ḥakīm), 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.