1 - Endless Bliss - Hüseyin Hilmi Işık

classification of hadîths. The different kinds of hadîths are
explained in Endless Bliss (second fascicle, sixth chapter.)
iii) ’ilm al-hadîth. This branch studies minutely the
utterances (hadîth), behaviour (sunna) and manners (hâls) of
our Prophet (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam).
iv) ’ilm al-usûl al-kalâm. This branch studies the methods
by which ’ilm al-kalâm is derived from al-Qur’ân al-karîm and al-
Hadîth ash-sharîf.
v) ’ilm al-kalâm. This branch covers the study of the kalimat
at-tawhîd and the kalimat ash-shahâda and the six
fundamentals of îmân which depend on them. These are the
teachings to be believed by the heart. The scholars of kalâm
usually wrote ’ilm al-usûl al-kalâm and ’ilm al-kalâm together.
Therefore, the layman takes these two branches of knowledge
as one single branch.
vi) ’ilm al-usûl al-fiqh. This branch studies the derivation of
the methods of fiqh from the Qur’ân al-karîm and the Hadîth
ash-sharîf.
vii) ’ilm al-fiqh. This branch studies af’al al-mukallafîn, that
is, it tells how those who are sane and pubescent should act on
matters concerning the body. This is the knowledge necessary
for the body. Af’al al-mukallafîn has eight categories: fard,
wâjib, sunna, mustahâb, mubâh, harâm, makrûh and mufsid.
However, they can be briefly classified into three groups:
actions commanded, actions prohibited and actions permitted
(mubâh).
viii) ’ilm at-tasawwuf. This branch is also called ’ilm alakhlâq
(ethics). It describes not only the things we should do
and should not do with the heart but also helps the belief to be
heartfelt, makes it easy for Muslims to carry out their duties as
taught in ’ilm al-fiqh and helps one attain ma’rifa.
It is fard ’ain for every Muslim, man or woman, to learn
kalâm, fiqh and tasawwuf as much as is necessary out of these
eight branches, and it is a crime, a sin, not to learn them [1] .
2) Al-’ulûm al-’aqliyya (also called ‘experimental sciences’):
These sciences are divided into two groups: technical sciences
and literary sciences. It is fard kifâya for Muslims to learn these
sciences. As for Islâmic sciences, it is fard ’ain to learn them as
[1] Al-hadîqa, p. 323, and in preface to Radd al-mukhtâr.
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