Resources for Muqaddimat
Hand-picked, link-checked material for English-speaking students: translations, free courses, academic background, and the Arabic texts for those who want them.
beginner
Start here. No Arabic or prior background needed.
Free complete English rendering of the matn, from the definition of hukm and its three types through the eight preludes to prophetic truthfulness. Readable in one sitting.
Free side-by-side Arabic and English of all eight preliminaries, with toggleable notes keyed to al-Sanusi's own commentary. The best free tool for following the Arabic while reading English.
Companion bilingual edition of the creed al-Muqaddimat was written to prepare for.
13-page free PDF with the full vocalized Arabic of Umm al-Barahin alongside a clear English translation, opening with the three rational judgments. Shows the Muqaddimat terminology in action.
The only English audio series found that walks through al-Muqaddimat specifically: revealed judgments, rational judgments, kasb, types of shirk, and existents. Eight short episodes.
Free Level One course teaching al-Sanusi's two shortest primers, Sughra al-Sughra and al-Muqaddimat. Search the page for 'Sanusi'.
Free course covering the definitions of rationally necessary, possible and impossible, the classification of divine attributes and their proofs. Natural next step after al-Muqaddimat.
Modern-English presentation of the classical Sunni kalam proofs (origination, contingency, specification, prophethood) in the Sanusi tradition, built to answer contemporary objections. Motivates why the Muqaddimat definitions matter.
Compact Arabic-English glossary of core kalam vocabulary: jirm, jawhar, 'arad, huduth, mukhassis, the four categories of attributes, presented in the order the proof of the Maker uses them.
Concise overview of the Ash'ari school: the break with the Mu'tazila, core doctrines, and the later incorporation of logic. Good first orientation.
Long, referenced article on the text, its structure (20 necessary and 20 impossible attributes), its commentaries and global reception.
intermediate
After you have the basics; goes deeper or assumes some vocabulary.
14 recorded classes reading al-Sanusi's own Sharh al-Muqaddimat. The only English course found that goes through the commentary rather than just the matn. Registration required.
Lesson-by-lesson teaching of Umm al-Barahin, beginning with the rational judgments and the obligation of knowing God by proof. Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3tqmnNcECM
Traditional West African reading of al-Sanusi's creed with simultaneous English translation, showing how the text is taught in the Maghribi tradition al-Sanusi belonged to.
The only academic article in English devoted to the tripartite hukm typology of al-Muqaddimat, explaining each judgment type with examples and applying it to how Ash'aris view natural regularities. Maps directly onto the first prelude.
Covers Ash'ari occasionalism before turning to Malebranche. Explains why the Ash'aris class natural regularities as customary, not rationally necessary.
Section 7 gives the clearest short English account of Ash'arite cosmology (atoms, accidents, God as specifier), the conceptual world al-Muqaddimat presupposes.
Shorter, more introductory treatment tracing the doctrine from Ash'arite theology to Descartes and Malebranche.
Brief biography and classified list of al-Sanusi's works, including al-Muqaddima and its commentary.
Clean, copy-pasteable HTML of the full Arabic matn with sections laid out as lists. Unvocalized.
Printable PDF of the bare matn, with EPUB and OCR text.
Clear Arabic audio commentary including recitation of the matn. Useful for pronunciation of the technical terms.
Full published English translation of the course text's commentary (ISBN 9781944904272). For purchase. The direct English counterpart to the Dar al-Taqwa edition in the course folder.
advanced
Academic or Arabic-language material for when you want the full picture.
Word-by-word exposition of the standard Azhari intermediate commentary on Umm al-Barahin: the proof from origination, the 20 attributes and their rational grounding.
Essay on how the theologians understood necessity, impossibility and the laws of logic, and on the methodological shift al-Sanusi's simplified kalam reacts to. Background for daruri vs nazari.
Survey with a dedicated section on Ash'arite kalam: divine power, kasb, occasionalism, and al-Ghazali's critique of necessary causal connection. Background for customary ('adi) judgments.
The articles 'al-Sanusi', 'Ash'ariyya', 'Ilm al-Kalam' and 'Hukm' are the standard academic reference entries for this course.
The modern critical edition of al-Sanusi's own commentary, with Sa'id Fawda's introduction situating the text in the Ash'ari curriculum.
One-stop download of Sharh al-Muqaddimat, Sharh Sughra al-Sughra, Sharh Umm al-Barahin, Sharh al-Wusta and Sharh al-Kubra.
A classical secondary commentary on al-Muqaddimat by al-Sanusi's student. Useful second voice when al-Sanusi's own Sharh is terse.
Full Azhari classroom reading of al-Sanusi's Sharh al-Muqaddimat.