Bad’ al-Amali (Islamic Creed): English Translation of a Classical Text on Sunni Creed

Every Muslim should learn the fundamentals of faith [áqidah], which is also termed as obligatory knowledge. There are many short and lengthy works on this subject and this poem on Sunni creed [qasidah] is well-known and used to be a component of elementary education in the past. This qasidah is written by Imam Áli al-Ushi, a Hanafi scholar who lived in the 6th century of the Islamic calendar. He was born or lived in Uush, by the Farghana valley (Osh in today’s Kyrgyzstan) and hence his demonym al-Ushi.The present translation of Bad’ al-Amali is intended to be a beginner’s guide and a handy reference of the Creed of Ahl al-Sunnah.