Al-Asmāʾ wa al-aḥkām (‘nouns and rulings’), a title used for one of the major questions discussed by theologians, which is included in most works on theology (kalām). The section on al-asmāʾ (nouns) discusses what is meant by such characteristics as īmān (faith), kufr (disbelief), maʿṣiya (disobedience), ṭāʿa (obedience), ẓulm (oppression), ʿadl (justice), jawr (injustice) and fisq (sinfulness), and who can be characterised by these terms (see Ibn Fūrak, 149 et passim). In other words, who is a believer (muʾmin) and who is sinful (fāsiq)? And how can īmān, kufr and other such chara…