al-Maqalat al-Musfira an Dalail al-Maghfira
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- A research published in Afaq al-Thaqafah wa al-Turath Magazine
al-Maqalat al-Musfira an Dalail al-Maghfira (The Elucidating Treatises on the Proofs of Forgiveness) is a theological and legal treatise on the expiation of sins and the proofs of divine pardon by the Shafi'i scholar and historian Nur al-Din al-Samhudi (844–911 AH / 1440–1506 CE) .
Structure and Contents
The author arranged the work into three chapters (fuṣūl), establishing them as fundamental rules and principles regarding divine forgiveness :
- Chapter One: Examines the meaning of the Prophetic hadith, الصلوات الخمس كفارة لما بينها ما اجتنب الكبائر ("The five daily prayers are an expiation for what is between them so long as major sins are avoided"), along with related traditions . It addresses the established premise that merely avoiding major sins is not on its own the sole cause for the expiation of minor sins, providing a rebuttal against those who held contrary opinions .
- Chapter Two: Discusses textual reports that mention unconditional forgiveness for all sins without specifying repentance upon performing certain acts of obedience, engaging with distinctions drawn by al-Qarafi between expiators of sins and causes of divine rewards, and explaining that certain righteous deeds expiate both past and future sins .
- Chapter Three: Enumerates the specific qualities and acts that expiate past and future misdeeds . In this chapter, al-Samhudi provides an abridgment of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's treatise Maʿrifat al-khisal al-mukaffira li-l-dhunub al-mutaqaddima wa-l-mutaʾakhkhira (Knowledge of the Qualities that Expiate Prior and Latter Sins), interspersing his own additional principles and demarcating them by opening and closing each addition with the phrase "and God knows best" (wa-Allāhu aʿlam) .
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