This monograph is a revised version of a PhD thesis submitted at SOAS University of London. I owe a huge debt to my mentor, Prof. Muhammad Abdel Haleem, who has taken me under his wing from my first day at SOAS until now. Prof. Rowan Williams, my PhD external examiner, is a godly man whose favours upon me are too many to count. Dr. Erica C. D. Hunter, although officially my second supervisor, made me feel I was blessed with two first supervisors. My deep appreciation goes also to Dr. Mustafa Shah for his enlightening feedbacks. Prof. Hassan al-Å ÄfiÊ¿Ä«, my key teacher of KalÄm and Ṣūfism in Egypt, who introduced me to Haleem. These five are an astonishing cohort of scholars and incredible humans, to say the least.
There are numerous other people who contributed to the intellectual maturation of this work. To name a few, Prof. Gavin DâCosta, Prof. Mona Siddiqui, Prof. David Ford, Dr. Joshua Ralston, Dr. Martin Wittingham, Dr. Ida Glaser, Prof. Umar Ryad, Dr. Esra Dag, Dr. Dženita KariÄ, Dr. Ramon Harvey, and Dr. Paul Hedges. Margaret E. L. Whibley has carefully copy edited a version of this monograph. Brillâs Currents of Encounter Series has been an efficient host for this monograph, especially my cooperative and helpful editors, Prof. Marianne Moyaert and Ms. Ingrid Heijckers-Velt.
I am indebted to my alma mater, Al-Azhar, which provided me with the tools to navigate through the rich Islamic tradition. Here I single out Prof. Aḥmad al-Ṭayyeb, the Grand ImÄm of Al-Azhar, for funding my PhD in collaboration with the British Council in Cairo, and Dr. Assem Allam in the U.K., with the tireless efforts of Prof. Ê¿Abdel DÄyem Noṣṣair and HE John Casson. Over a span of ten years between Al-Azhar and the British Council, I was handed from great individuals to other great individuals, so that I might reach this moment. This project is an embodiment of their efforts. My thanks to Durham Universityâs Theology Department, where I had access to the bountiful Catholic tradition, and to the Gingko Library, headed by Dr. Barbara Schwepcke, who has created a platform for Christian-Muslim researchers to share interreligious thought.
I am grateful to my close friends, Belal Alabbas, Muhammad Almarakeby, and Mohammad al-á¹¢ayyad for the rigorous discussions that we had over our years of friendship. To the Bath community with which I spent the last three years of my life, particularly my friends Yazan al-Osaili, Daniel Bonnici, Rasheed Abdul Hady, Zaid Nasereddin, Mr. Suliemanâs and Mr. Shahidâs families, and Mohammad Khalil.
Finally, I express my gratitude to my ever-loving parents, my two uncles, and my grandmother with whom I lived for almost 20 years. She was an uneducated