Adab al-Nisa li Abd al-Malik ibn Habib
- Author died
- 238 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
Adab al-Nisa (The Etiquette of Women), also titled Kitab al-Inayah wa-l-Nihayah or Kitab al-Ghayah wa-l-Nihayah, is a 3rd-century treatise by the Andalusian Maliki jurist Abd al-Malik ibn Habib (d. 238 AH / 853 CE) addressing the legal rulings, ethics, and social conduct concerning women and marital relations .
Scope and Contents
Considered among the earliest surviving specialized works dedicated to women in Islamic literature, the text blends legal (fiqh), ethical, and pedagogical material . Its subject matter covers:
- The merits of the righteous woman and desirable qualities sought in marriage .
- Etiquette of the wedding night and marital relations .
- Rulings regarding menstruation and coitus interruptus (al-azl) .
- Proper conduct, dress, and adornment for women, including rules regarding public appearance and the prohibition of imitating men's dress and appearance .
- Marital dynamics, including kindness toward wives, a wife's service to her husband, marital rights, and jealousy .
- The work concludes with two comprehensive chapters summarizing related moral and practical teachings .
Methodology and Transmission
Ibn Habib structured the book in the classical thematic format, establishing concise topical headings and listing relevant hadiths and ancestral reports (athar) beneath them, offering only occasional personal commentary . The text employs an approach that combines moral encouragement and cautionary admonition (al-targhib wa-l-tarhib) .
The book contains a total of 264 hadiths and reports . While many of the underlying traditions are transmitted elsewhere in canonical hadith collections through unbroken chains of narration (asanid muttasilah), the majority of the transmissions recorded by Ibn Habib in this work are characterized by broken (munqati'), truncated (mursal), uncredited (balaghat), or heavily omitted (mu'dal) isnads .
Manuscripts and Publication
A manuscript of the work has been preserved in Rabat under the title al-Ghayah wa-l-Nihayah in 24 folios, opening with the chapter on the merit of the righteous woman (Bab ma ja'a fi fadl al-mar'ah al-salihah) . The text was edited by Abdelmajid Turki and published by Dar al-Gharb al-Islami in Beirut (1412 AH / 1992 CE) under the title Adab al-Nisa al-Mawsum bi-Kitab al-Inayah wa-l-Nihayah .
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