Al-Malaybari's Branches of Faith

Zayn Al-Din Al-Malaybari
Musa Furber (translation)
Paperback, 482 pages
9781944904258

Shu'ab al-iman

This is an English translation of Shu'ab al-iman (Branches of Faith) by Shaykh Zayn al-Din ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad al-Malaybari (872-928 AH/1467-1522 CE), itself an Arabic translation and condensation of the Persian Shu'ab al-iman by Nur al-Din Muhammad al-Iji. The translation before the reader is thus a translation of a translation - or more precisely, an English rendering of a condensed Arabic rendering of a Persian original.

The work identifies seventy-seven branches of faith derived from the Prophetic hadith, progressing from the foundations of creed and the pillars of worship through moral conduct and social obligation, to the inward virtues of patience, sincerity, and generosity. Al-Malaybari's treatment is at once practical and devotional, concerned with both outward observance and inward refinement. It follows the tradition of organising the branches around the tripartite framework of islam, iman, and ihsan (outward practices, beliefs, and spiritual excellence) drawn from the hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him). The bilingual Arabic-English text is accompanied by biographical notes, sourced references for the roughly 350 hadiths cited, and indices of Qur'anic verses, Prophetic traditions, persons, and technical terms.