al-Adab al-Shariyya wa al-Minah al-Mariyya
- Author died
- 763 AH
- Editions
- ʿĀlam al-Kutub
al-Adab al-Shar'iyya wa al-Minah al-Mar'iyya (The Legal Etiquettes and Regarded Grants), also titled in some sources as al-Adab al-Shar'iyya wa al-Masalih al-Mar'iyya, is an encyclopedic work on Islamic conduct, ethics, and related legal rulings by the Hanbali scholar Shams al-Din Ibn Muflih (d. 763 AH / 1362 CE) .
Scope and Contents
The work serves as a comprehensive compendium of religious etiquette (adab), morals, and practical Islamic duties required of scholars, worshippers, and Muslims generally . In addition to ethical guidelines, Ibn Muflih frequently digressed into substantive jurisprudence (fiqh), compiling and examining numerous legal branches and rare rulings alongside moral precepts, making the work a secondary reference for Hanbali jurisprudence as well .
Method and Sources
In compiling the book, Ibn Muflih sought to gather transmissions regarding legal manners in a manner comparable to how he assembled legal branches in his major work Kitab al-Furu' . He drew extensively upon both comprehensive manuals of etiquette and single-subject treatises by preceding scholars :
- General compendia of etiquette: Works by Abu Dawud, Abu Bakr al-Khallal, Ghulam al-Khallal (Abd al-Aziz), Abu Hafs al-Barmaki, Abu Ali ibn Abi Musa, al-Qadi Abu Ya'la, and Ibn Aqil .
- Monographs on specific topics: Treatises dedicated to enjoining good and forbidding wrong (al-amr bi-l-ma'ruf wa-l-nahy 'an al-munkar), supplication (du'a), medicine (tibb), and clothing (libas), including works by al-Tabarani, al-Ajurri, Abu Muhammad al-Khallal, al-Qadi Abu Ya'la and his son, and Ibn al-Jawzi .
- Reference works: Heavy citations from Kitab al-Funun by Ibn Aqil, al-Ri'aya al-Kubra by Ibn Hamdan, and al-Mustaw'ib by Ibn Sunayna al-Samirri .
Associated Versions and Reception
Ibn Muflih produced three tiers of works on etiquette:
- Al-Adab al-Kubra (the major version, spanning two volumes in manuscript tradition), which is this comprehensive book .
- Al-Adab al-Wusta (the intermediate version, in one volume) .
- Al-Adab al-Sughra (the minor version, in a single compact volume) .
The bibliographer Ibn Abd al-Hadi praised al-Adab al-Shar'iyya, characterizing it as a magnificent and beneficial work . Later Hanbali authorities relied on it as an authoritative reference; Ala' al-Din al-Mardawi incorporated it among the principal source texts for his major jurisprudence reference al-Insaf .
Notable Printings
The work has been published in multiple editions:
- An edition published by Maktabat al-Riyadh al-Haditha in Riyadh (1391 AH / 1971 CE) .
- A critical edition based on four manuscripts, edited by Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut and Umar al-Qayyam, published by Mu'assasat al-Risala in Beirut in three volumes (1416 AH / 1996 CE; second edition 1417 AH) .
- An edition edited by Ayman ibn Arif al-Dimashqi, published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya in Beirut (1417 AH) .
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