al-Makasib wa al-Wara wa al-Shubha
- Author died
- 243 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Fikr Al-Lubnani
al-Makasib wa al-Wara wa al-Shubha (Earnings, Scrupulousness, and Ambiguous Matters) is a treatise on Islamic ethics, lawful sustenance, and ascetic piety by the Baghdadi scholar al-Harith al-Muhasibi (d. 243 AH / 857 CE) .
Subject Matter and Themes
The work addresses the religious and ethical dimensions of earning a livelihood (al-makasib), the practice of religious scrupulousness (al-wara'), and the legal and spiritual discernment required to avoid doubtful or suspicious gains (al-shubha) . Al-Muhasibi frames economic pursuits and everyday trade within the framework of moral accountability, self-examination, and compliance with Islamic rulings, classified under classifications of admonition, guidance, and early Sufi ethics .
Manuscript Tradition and Editions
The treatise has been preserved across multiple manuscript collections:
- Istanbul: The Carullah collection (MS 1101) .
- Berlin: The State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, MS sim. 66:6) .
- Cairo: The Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, MS 4064 Tasawwuf) and Cairo University (formerly King Fuad I University, MS 26048), with reproductions preserved at the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts .
In modern print, the text has been edited and published under multiple forms. It was edited by Abd al-Qadir Ahmad 'Ata, who published it in a compilation alongside three other treatises by al-Muhasibi—al-Aql, al-Masa'il fi al-Zuhd, and al-Masa'il fi A'mal al-Qulub wa al-Jawarih—before issuing it as an independent volume . It was also edited by Muhammad 'Uthman al-Khisht under the title al-Rizq al-Halal (Lawful Sustenance) .
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