and an answer to the question of whether the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, before the coming of revelation was bound to the law of the prophets who preceded (1) him (2). He likewise produced a reply concerning Pharaoh’s disbelief, refuting those who do not declare him a disbeliever (3); a response about Dhū’l-Fiqār—was it truly a sword that belonged to ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him? (4); a set of principles and answers on faith—does it increase and decrease?—and related issues, amounting to roughly one volume (5); an answer regarding the Ashʿarite creed and the creed of al-Māturīdī and other Ḥanafis, known as “the Māturīdiyya” (6); a creed entitled (7) “al-Ḥawfiyya” (8); and several responses on the Throne and the universe: is it spherical in shape or not? (9).
(1) Found only in the primary manuscript.
(2) Cited by Ibn Rashiq, p. 300.
(3) Cited by Ibn Rashiq, p. 300; the text is also published in Jami al-Rasaʾil, 1:201–216 (ed. Rashad Salim).
(4) Cited by Ibn Rashiq, p. 300.
(5) Cited by Ibn Rashiq, p. 301.
(6) Ibn Rashiq (p. 301) states that it runs to roughly fifty folios.
(7) The words “the Maturidiyya; he also has a creed entitled” are absent from MS F.
(8) Ibn Rashiq (p. 301) estimates the length at about twenty folios. “Al-Hawfiya” (with an open ḥa and silent waw) is derived from al-Hawf; in Egypt there are two regions called al-Hawf, eastern and western, encompassing numerous towns and villages; see Muʿjam al-Buldan, 2:322.
(9) Cited by Ibn Rashiq, p. 301; he mentions it again on p. 311 under the title Risalat al-ʿArsh. The work is printed in Majmuʿ al-Fatawa, 6:545–583, under the title al-Risala al-ʿArshiyya.