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Al Mahdi Institute
Clearing the Soul for Paradise book cover - Taslik al-Nafs Islamic spirituality
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Clearing the Soul for Paradise – Taslīk al-nafs ilā ḥaẓīrat al-quds

al-Allāma al-Ḥillī

£49.95

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Clearing the Soul for Paradise (Taslīk al-nafs ilā ḥaẓīrat al-quds) is a concise but comprehensive summa of theology, which al-ʿAllāma al-Ḥillī composed for his son at the midpoint of his career. It addresses all fields of knowledge one needs for informed and grounded belief, from the instrument of logic, through general metaphysics and natural philosophy, to theology, religious ethics, and eschatology. Ḥillī approaches each topic as a focus of debate, marching forth the diverging positions of the full range of earlier theologians (mutakallimūn) and the Peripatetic philosophers. The book is thus designed to engage the inquisitive reader and provides an excellent tool for teaching the foundations of theology.

Foreword to the Series

Introduction

I. On General Things

  1. On Premises
  2. On the Investigation of Existence and Non-Existence
  3. On the Investigation of Necessity and Its Counterparts

II. On the Classification of Existents

  1. On the Classification According to the Theologians’ View
  2. On the Classification According to the Ancients’ View

III. On Investigating the Classes of Existents

  1. On the Quiddity of Body
  2. On Refuting the Arguments of the Wise Concerning Matter
  3. On Accidents

IV. On the Characteristics of Existing Things

  1. On Common Characteristics
  2. On Specific Characteristics

V. On Establishing the Most High Necessary Existent and His Attributes

  1. On Establishing the Most High Necessary Existent
  2. On His Attributes, High is He

VI. On Justice

  1. On Intellectual Good and Bad
  2. That He Most High Does Not Perform What is Bad or Violate What is Obligatory
  3. On the Creation of Acts
  4. That He Most High Wills Obedience and Detests Disobedience
  5. On the Charge
  6. On Grace
  7. On Pains and Compensations
  8. On Appointed Times, Provisions, and Prices

VII. On Prophecy

  1. Who is the Prophet?
  2. On the Possibility of the Mission
  3. On the Necessity of the Mission
  4. On the Necessity of Being Safeguarded
  5. On the Prophecy of Muḥammad (peace be upon him and his family)
  6. On the Aspect of the Inimitability of the Qurʾān
  7. On the Verification of Being Safeguarded
  8. On the Time of Being Safeguarded
  9. On Marvels
  10. That Prophets Are More Excellent Than Angels

VIII. On the Imamate

  1. On Its Necessity
  2. On the Necessity of the Imam’s Being Safeguarded
  3. That He Must Be Most Excellent and Appointed
  4. That the Imam After the Prophet Was ʿAlī
  5. On the Imamate of the Others among the Twelve Imams
  6. The Seal

IX. On the Return

  1. On the Possibility of the Creation of Another World
  2. On the Possibility of the World’s Non-Existence
  3. On the Possibility of the Return of the Non-Existent
  4. On Establishing the Return
  5. On the Promise and the Threat
  6. On Cancellation and Declaring Unbelief
  7. On Repentance
  8. On the Possibility of Forgiving
  9. That the Pain of the Violator Is Brought to an End
  10. On Names and Judgments

Bibliography

General Index

Al-Hilli also known as the sage of Hilla, was born in the still existent town of Al Hillah, Iraq. commonly viewed as the centre of Shia Islam when Sunni leaders were in control over Baghdad during his life. He entered into a prominent family of Shia jurists and theologians. His father, Sadid ul-Din al-Hilli, was a respected mujtahid and a leading figure in the Shia community. His maternal uncle Muhaqqiq al-Hilli was also a renowned scholar.

He studied theology and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) in Hilla under the auspices of his father and his uncle, as well as other notable scholars, including: Ali bin Tawus and Ahmad bin Tawus. He also spent some time at the newly established Maragheh observatory, where he studied Avicennan philosophy and mathematics under Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and was also introduced to the works of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. Later, he travelled to Baghdad and became acquainted with the doctrines of Ibn Arabi.

Among his other teachers were Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī and Maitham Al Bahrani. He also sat with the Sunni scholars to study Sunni Fiqh. Like Al Bahrani and Nasir, ‘Allamah-i Hilli was contemporary with the Mongol upheaval, and played a role similar to that of his teacher.

Allamah-i Hilli was a prolific writer whose bibliography comprises about one hundred and twenty titles. Some of his works have been published, while the manuscripts of others have still to be found.

About the Translator:

Jari Kaukua is Professor of philosophy at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. He specialises in Avicenna’s philosophy and its reception in the Islamic world. He is the author of the award-winning book Self-Awareness in Islamic Philosophy (CUP 2015) as well as a number of articles in leading journals of the field.

DOI https://doi.org/10.70441/9781838499693
Publisher AMI Press (18 Jun. 2021)
Language English
Hardback 402 pages
ISBN-10 1838499695
ISBN-13 978-1838499693
Dimensions 15.6 x 2.24 x 23.39 cm

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