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I have previously discussed what is meant by knowledge of the revealed religion and explained that it falls into two categories: what the Lawgiver has reported, or what is known through his reports, and what the Lawgiver has commanded.

What he has reported is divided into matters which he has indicated can be known through reason and matters for which this is not so.

What he has commanded may be known either through reason or through revelation. It may also be either an objective intended by the Lawgiver or something necessarily entailed by that objective.

Likewise, the terms sharī'a, shar' and shir'a encompass everything Allah has ordained, both beliefs and deeds. Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Ājurrī composed Kitāb al-Sharī'a (The Book of the Revealed Religion), and Shaykh Abū 'Abd Allāh Ibn Batta composed Kitāb al-Ibāna 'an Sharī'at al-Firqa al-Nājiya (An Elucidation of the Revealed Religion of the Saved Group). There are other such works as well.

By the term sharī'a, these leading authorities on the Sunnah mean specifically the beliefs concerning faith held by Ahl al-Sunnah: for example, their belief that faith consists of speech and deeds; that Allah possesses the attributes with which He has described Himself and with which His Messenger has described Him; that the Quran is the speech of Allah, uncreated; and that Allah is the Creator of