Within the field of Islamic Studies, scientific research of Muslim theology is a comparatively young discipline. Much progress has been achieved over the past decades with respect both to discoveries of new materials and to scholarly approaches to the field. The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Theology provides a comprehensive and authoritative survey of the current state of the field. It provides a variegated picture of the state of the art and at the same time suggests new directions for future research.

Part One covers the various strands of Islamic theology during the formative and early middle periods, rational as well as scripturalist. To demonstrate the continuous interaction among the various theological strands and its repercussions (during the formative and early middle period and beyond), Part Two offers a number of case studies. These focus on specific theological issues that have developed through the dilemmatic and often polemical interactions between the different theological schools and thinkers. Part Three covers Islamic theology during the later middle and early modern periods. One of the characteristics of this period is the growing amalgamation of theology with philosophy (Peripatetic and Illuminationist) and mysticism. Part Four addresses the impact of political and social developments on theology through a number of case studies: the famous mihna instituted by al-Ma'mun (r. 189/813-218/833) as well as the mihna to which Ibn 'Aqil (d. 769/1367) was subjected; the religious policy of the Almohads; as well as the shifting interpretations throughout history (particularly during Mamluk and Ottoman times) of the relation between Ash'arism and Maturidism that were often motivated by political motives. Part Five considers Islamic theological thought from the end of the early modern and during the modern period.

在伊斯兰研究领域，对穆斯林神学的科学研究是一门相对年轻的学科。在过去的几十年里，在新材料的发现和该领域的学术方法方面都取得了很大进展。牛津大学伊斯兰神学手册》对该领域的现状进行了全面和权威的调查。它对该领域的现状进行了多角度的描述，同时也为未来的研究提出了新的方向。

第一部分涵盖了伊斯兰神学在形成期和中早期的各种分支，包括理性的和圣经主义的。为了证明各种神学流派之间的持续互动及其影响（在形成期和中早期及以后），第二部分提供了一些案例研究。这些研究集中在具体的神学问题上，这些问题是通过不同神学流派和思想家之间的两难和经常的争论性互动而发展起来的。第三部分涵盖了中后期和早期现代时期的伊斯兰神学。这一时期的特点之一是神学与哲学（Peripatetic和Illuminationist）和神秘主义的日益融合。第四部分通过一些案例研究探讨了政治和社会发展对神学的影响：马穆恩（al-Ma'mun，189/813-218/833年）制定的著名的mihna以及伊本-阿基尔（Ibn'Aqil，卒于769/1367年）受到的mihna；阿尔摩赫德的宗教政策；以及历史上（尤其在马穆鲁克和奥斯曼时代）经常出于政治动机而对阿什拉主义和马图里德主义之间关系的解释发生的变化。第五部分考虑了从近代早期结束到现代时期的伊斯兰神学思想。