al-Adab wal-Muruwa
- Author died
- 150 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Sahaba li-l-Turath
al-Adab wal-Muruwa (Etiquette and Chivalric Virtue) is an ethical and literary treatise by the early poet and sage Salih bin Janah al-Lakhmi (d. c. 150 AH / 767 CE), dedicated to the cultivation of refined manners (adab), chivalric virtue (muru'a), and moral intellect ('aql).
Author and Attribution
The treatise is authored by Salih bin Janah al-Lakhmi, a Damascene poet and sage of the generation of the Successors' followers (tabi' al-tabi'in) from whom al-Jahiz transmitted material and praised for his wisdom. Biographical accounts, including that given by Ibn Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq, record selections of his aphorisms and poetry. A conjecture among certain scholars proposed that the treatise was by the poet Salih bin Abd al-Quddus writing under a pseudonym out of fear of persecution; however, Muhammad Kurd Ali dismissed this claim, confirming the authorship of Salih bin Janah.
Contents and Themes
The work defines muru'a as a person's avoidance of what brings dishonor and the attainment of what adorns character, establishing an inseparable link among chivalric virtue, adab, and the intellect. The treatise combines concise prose maxims with the author's own poetic verses summarizing each topic.
The text addresses several moral and social themes:
- Intellect and Conduct: Likens intellect and etiquette to a blade and its polisher, asserting that the mind cannot function properly without refinement.
- Social Vices: Identifies behaviors that undermine virtue, including deceitfulness (dhu al-wajhayn), estrangement (al-sudud), folly (al-humq), talebearing (al-namima), excessive speech, falsehood, and envy (al-hasad).
- Companionship and Wealth: Discusses testing friends through financial dealings, the relationship between household size and wealth, and contentment of the soul.
- Religious Demeanor: Warns against disputation with sectarian innovators (ahl al-ahwa'), framing it as contrary to proper etiquette and virtue.
Transmission and Publication History
The treatise survived in manuscript collections, such as a ten-folio codex held at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya. It was edited and published by Tahir al-Jaza'iri in the journal Majallat al-Muqtabas from an exemplar copied in 1086 AH. Muhammad Kurd Ali later included it in the second edition of his anthology Rasa'il al-Bulagha' in 1331 AH (1913 CE). A standalone edition was also published by Dar al-Sahaba li-l-Turath in Tanta in 1412 AH (1992 CE).
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