al-Akhlaq wa al-Siyar fi Mudawat al-Nufus
- Author died
- 456 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Āfāq al-Jadīdah
al-Akhlaq wa al-Siyar fi Mudawat al-Nufus (Morals and Conduct in Curing Souls) is an ethical and psychological treatise by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm (384–456 AH / 994–1064 CE), dedicated to moral philosophy, character refinement, and the practical treatment of spiritual and psychological ailments .
Themes and Contents
The work appears under multiple related titles in the manuscript and print tradition, including Mudawat al-Nufus wa Tahdhib al-Akhlaq wa al-Zuhd fi al-Radha'il (Curing Souls, Refining Morals, and Renouncing Vices) and Kitab al-Siyar wa al-Akhlaq . It is composed of concise aphorisms, personal reflections, and practical maxims (khawatir and mudhakkirat) that Ibn Hazm recorded over time as the distillation of his accumulated life experience and observations of human nature . The text is noted for reflecting intellectual calmness and mature judgment, likely written largely in his advanced years, and serving as both a thematic extension and a mature reconsideration of ideas explored in his earlier treatise on love, Tawq al-Hamama (The Ring of the Dove) .
The book addresses various psychological, social, and moral subjects without a rigid systematic arrangement, focusing on counsel (nush), virtue, self-discipline, and the remedies for vices . Ibn Hazm frames social interaction and human pursuits around internal drives such as cupidity or desire (tama'), which he posits as the underlying motive for various forms of love, ambition, and material striving . The work includes discussions on the pursuit of knowledge, dealing with praise and blame, overcoming anxiety, the nature of friendship, sincere advice, and the necessity of dedicating one's soul to eternal ends rather than fleeting worldly pursuits .
Manuscripts and Publication History
The treatise is preserved in historical manuscripts, notably manuscript no. 2704 in the Sehid Ali Collection in Istanbul—dated to the 10th century AH as part of Ibn Hazm's Kitab al-Usul wa al-Furu'—as well as a copy discovered in the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus .
The work has been published several times since the early 20th century:
- An early edition funded by Shaykh Mustafa al-Qabbani in Cairo (1323 AH) .
- An edition printed at the initiative of Muhammad Hashim al-Kutubi in Cairo or Damascus (1324 AH) based on the Zahiriyya manuscript .
- An edition prepared by Shaykh 'Umar al-Mihmisani (1325 AH / 1908 CE), which contained textual additions not found in the Istanbul manuscript .
- The al-Jamaliyya edition in Cairo (1913 CE), published alongside ethical writings by Qasim Amin .
- A critical edition prepared by Ihsan Abbas as part of Rasa'il Ibn Hazm (Cairo, 1956), based primarily on the Sehid Ali manuscript collated against the al-Jamaliyya edition .
- An edition and French translation by Nada Tomiche (Beirut, 1961), utilizing the Istanbul manuscript, earlier Cairo and Alexandria prints, and Abbas's edition, accompanied by an introductory biographical study .
- Later printings in Beirut by Dar al-Afaq al-Jadida (1978) under the title al-Akhlaq wa al-Siyar, and a popular edition by Mu'assasat Nasir al-Thaqafiyya (1979) .
The text was also the subject of a critical study by Ra'if Khuri, titled Hawla Kitab al-Siyar wa al-Akhlaq li-Ibn Hazm, published in the journal al-Adib (Beirut, 1943) .
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