Description

At a time when information is abundant but clear thinking is increasingly rare, this book returns to one of the oldest intellectual disciplines of humanity: logic (manṭiq)—the science that safeguards the mind from error and trains it to think with precision, coherence, and depth.

In Learning Logic: A Short Course, Muḥsin Gharawiyān presents a systematic yet accessible introduction to the foundations of traditional Aristotelian and Islamic logic. Carefully translated by Muḥammad-‘Alī Savādī and Maryam Savādī, and edited by Mansoor Limba, this volume guides readers through the essential structures of sound reasoning—from concepts (mafhūm) and propositions (qaḍiyyah (plural: qaḍāyā)) to syllogisms (qiyās), proof (burhān), dialectics (jadal), rhetoric (khaṭābah), poetry (shi‘r), and fallacy (mughāliṭah).

Designed originally within the intellectual tradition of the Islamic seminaries (ḥawzah al-‘ilmiyyah), the book bridges classical scholarship and contemporary educational needs. Each lesson combines concise explanations, review questions, and practical exercises, making it ideal both for self-study and classroom instruction.

More than a technical manual, this work is an invitation to disciplined thinking in an age of confusion, manipulation, and superficial discourse. Whether one is a student of Islamic studies, philosophy, theology, law, social sciences, or simply a seeker of intellectual clarity, this book demonstrates that logic is not merely an academic subject—it is a way of learning how to think before learning what to think.

Clear, structured, and intellectually grounded, Learning Logic serves as both a gateway to the rich heritage of Islamic intellectual tradition and a practical companion for anyone committed to the pursuit of truth through reasoned reflection.

CONTENTS

Preface

Lesson 1 – The Necessity for Learning Logic

Lesson 2 – The Subject of Logic

Lesson 3 – The Usage and Definition of Logic as Instrumental Science

Lesson 4 – The Formulator of Logic

Lesson 5 – A Discussion on Expressions (alfāẓ) in Logic

Lesson 6 – Classifications of Words

Lesson 7 – Concept and Referent – Universal and Particular

Lesson 8 – Four Relationships

Lesson 9 – The Five Universals

Lesson 10 – Divisions of the Five Universals

Lesson 11 – Definition and Its Types

Lesson 12 – The Rules of Definition

Lesson 13 – Proposition and Its Kinds

Lesson 14 – Attributive Proposition and Its Kinds

Lesson 15 – Modals

Lesson 16 – Conditional Proposition and Its Divisions

Lesson 17 – The Four Relationships among the Propositions

Lesson 18 – Conversion (‘aks)

Lesson 19 – Argumentation and Its Kinds

Lesson 20 – Conjunctive Syllogism

Lesson 21 – Conjunctive Syllogism: The Second, Third, and Fourth Figures

Lesson 22 – Exceptive Syllogism

Lesson 23 – Induction and Analogy

Lesson 24 – The Five Skills

Lesson 25 – Premises of the Skills

Lesson 26 – Proof (burhān)

Lesson 27 – Dialectics (jadal)

Lesson 28 – Fallacy (mughāliṭah)

Lesson 29 – Semantic Fallacy

Lesson 30 – Rhetoric (khaṭābah) and Poetry (shi‘r)