al-Faraj bad al-Shidda li-Ibn Abi al-Dunya
- Author died
- 281 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Rayyān li-l-Turāth
al-Faraj ba'd al-Shidda (Relief After Distress) is a 3rd-century AH treatise on tribulation, endurance, and divine deliverance by the Baghdadi traditionist and educator Ibn Abi al-Dunya (208–281 AH / 823–894 CE) .
Subject and Content
The work compiles prophetic traditions, narrations of the early Muslims (athar), supplications, and historical accounts centered on maintaining patience during adversity and anticipating God's relief . A significant portion of the book focuses on accounts of imprisonment, hardship, and the circumstances of those delivered from confinement and grief .
The text opens with a narration transmitted through Ali ibn al-Husayn from his father from Ali ibn Abi Talib, in which the Prophet ﷺ stated: انتظار الفرج من الله عز وجل عبادة، ومن رضي بالقليل من الرزق رضي الله عز وجل منه بالقليل من العمل ("Awaiting relief from God, Mighty and Majestic, is an act of worship, and whoever is content with little provision, God is content with him for little action") . Among other traditions recorded in the compilation is the hadith of Ibn Masud stating: سلوا الله من فضله فإن الله يحب أن يسأل، وأفضل العبادة انتظار الفرج ("Ask God of His bounty, for God loves to be asked, and the best worship is awaiting relief") . It also includes the counsel: واعلم أن النصر مع الصبر، وأن الفرج مع الكرب، وأن مع العسر يسرا ("Know that victory comes with patience, relief comes with distress, and ease comes with hardship") , as well as specific invocations for sorrow such as the supplication of Dhu al-Nun and the prayer: يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث ("O Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek aid") .
Transmission
The primary line of transmission for the text runs from Ibn Abi al-Dunya through his direct student Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Safwan al-Bardha'i (d. 339 AH) . From al-Bardha'i, it was transmitted by Abu al-Husayn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Bishran al-Mu'addal (d. 411 AH), and subsequently through Trad ibn Muhammad al-Zaynabi to notable scholars such as Shuhda al-Katiba and the Andalusian jurist Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi .
Influence and Legacy
The treatise is among the earliest extant works in the Arabic literary and devotional genre of al-faraj ba'd al-shidda, having been preceded in theme by a work of Ali ibn Muhammad al-Madaini (d. 225 AH) . Later authors drew directly upon Ibn Abi al-Dunya's material, including al-Qadi al-Tanukhi in his expanded compilation of the same title, and the Andalusian traditionist Ibn Bashkuwal (d. 578 AH) in al-Mustaghithin bi-Allah . Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti later abridged Ibn Abi al-Dunya's text with supplementary material under the title al-Araj fi al-Faraj .
The book has been printed in several modern scholarly editions, including an edition prepared by Yasin Muhammad al-Sawwas with hadith documentation by 'Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut (1412 AH / 1992 CE), and an earlier edition edited by Abu Hudhayfa 'Ubayd Allah ibn 'Aliya (1407 AH / 1987 CE) .
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