Islamic Theology Workbook: Reading Classical Creedal Texts and Theological Arguments

Classical Islamic creedal texts — the Aqidah of al-Tahawi, the Wasitiyya of Ibn Taymiyya, the creedal summaries of the Ash'ari school — are among the most precisely argued texts in the history of religious thought. Learning to read them requires both Arabic theological vocabulary and the capacity to follow the logical structure of kalam argumentation. This workbook builds both. By the end of this course you will be able to read a classical Islamic creedal text with attention to its argumentative structure and theological claims, identify and compare how different theological schools (Ash'ari, Maturidi, Athari) handle the same creedal question, apply a structured comparison framework to theological positions on the divine attributes, construct a brief written analysis of a theological argument that accurately represents the tradition, and identify common misreadings of Islamic theological texts. What you will learn: - Close reading: a selected passage from al-Tahawi's Aqidah — identifying the creedal claims, their logical dependencies, and what is being implicitly disputed - How to map a kalam argument: identifying the thesis, the premises, the objections anticipated, and the response — applied to a passage on the divine attributes - Comparative exercise: how the Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari schools each approach the question of whether God's attributes are identical to His essence — using a structured comparison template - The problem of divine attributes (sifat): what is at stake theologically in the debate about how to interpret Quranic verses that ascribe human-like qualities to God - Reading Ibn Taymiyya: a passage from the Wasitiyya creed — analyzing its rhetorical strategy and its critique of rationalist kalam - A structured comparison of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian philosophical theology on divine simplicity — identifying parallel concerns and divergent solutions - Writing exercise: a short analytical account of a specific creedal dispute, with a model response and rubric - A synthesis worksheet: mapping the major Aqidah positions on five key creedal questions across three schools Each workbook section includes framing text, primary source excerpts with annotations, structured analytical tasks, worked examples, and self-assessment prompts. All Arabic terms are provided with transliteration and definition. This course is scholarly and educational in nature. This course is suitable for students of Islamic studies, theology, or philosophy who want analytical skills for engaging with Islamic creedal texts. No prior Arabic knowledge is required. Suitable for those new to the methodology of Islamic theological argument.