al-Mahabba Lillah li Abi Ishaq al-Khatli
- Author died
- 270 AH
- Editions
- دار الحضارة للنشر والتوزيع
al-Mahabba Lillah (Love for Allah, Arabic: المحبة لله سبحانه) is a classical Arabic treatise on divine love and spiritual devotion by the ninth-century hadith scholar and ascetic author Ibrahim ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Junayd al-Khatli (d. c. 270 AH / 883 CE).
Author and Context
The author, Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Junayd al-Khatli, was a Baghdadi scholar who took up residence and taught in Samarra (Surra Man Ra'a). Recognized for his compilations in asceticism and heart-softening traditions (kutub al-zuhd wa-l-raqa'iq), he was deemed reliable (thiqah) by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi and authored question-and-answer collections (su'alat) with the critical traditionist Yahya ibn Ma'in.
Content and Method
al-Mahabba Lillah is structured as a transmission of narrated reports with complete isnads, gathering prophetic hadiths, narrations of early sages, and sayings of early ascetics centered on divine love. The compilation discusses:
- The obligation and virtues of loving Allah and prioritizing His love over all worldly attachments.
- The signs of sincere love for God, such as continuous remembrance (dhikr) with both tongue and heart, obedience, and welcoming exertion in worship.
- Longing (shawq) for meeting Allah, detachment from worldly distractions, and the states of early devotees, including Malik ibn Dinar, Fath al-Mawsili, and Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari.
The author occasionally interjects concise commentary and deductions concerning spiritual states and the requirements of genuine love.
Transmission and Publication
The work was transmitted from Ibn al-Junayd by the jurist Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Harun al-'Askari. Its manuscript transmission passed through the traditionist Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, who taught it at al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca in Dhu al-Qi'dah 353 AH, down to Abu al-Qasim Ibn Bushran, Abu Ghalib al-Baqillani, and the celebrated female traditionist Shuhdah bint Ahmad al-Ibri.
A printed edition of the text, edited by 'Adil ibn 'Abd al-Shakur al-Zuraqi, was published by Dar al-Hadara in Riyadh in 1424 AH / 2003 CE.
Answer updated