al-Muntaqa min Kitab Makarim al-Akhlaq wa Maaliha
- Author died
- 327 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr
Al-Muntaqa min Kitab Makarim al-Akhlaq wa-Maʿaliha (Selections from the Book of Noble Character Traits and Their High Stations) is an abridgment selected by the traditionist Abu Tahir al-Silafi (d. 576 AH / 1180 CE) from the classical ethical work of Abu Bakr al-Kharaiti (d. 327 AH / 939 CE) .
Origin and Authorship
The original work, entitled Makarim al-Akhlaq wa-Maʿaliha wa-Mahmud Taraʾiqiha, was compiled by the hadith scholar Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn Sahl al-Kharaiti al-Samiri . During his scholarly career and extensive travels in pursuit of narrations, Abu Tahir Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Silafi al-Isbahani selected traditions and reports from al-Kharaiti's compilation to produce this abridged collection .
Transmission and Content
Al-Silafi transmitted the text in Damascus from the Shafiʿi jurist Abu al-Hasan ʿAli ibn al-Muslim ibn al-Fath al-Sulami, who narrated it from Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahid al-Sulami, on the authority of his grandfather Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn ʿUthman al-Sulami, from the author al-Kharaiti . Audition records establish that the text was collated at the western minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in Rabiʿ al-Akhir 511 AH, and it continued to be transmitted by later scholars, including readings before Ibn Abd al-Hadi (Jamal al-Din Yusuf) in 905 AH .
The book gathers narrations on moral values and virtuous conduct with connected chains of transmission. It opens with an introductory section on encouraging righteous character, featuring narrations such as إِنَّمَا بعثت لأتمم صَالح الْأَخْلَاق ("I was only sent to perfect righteous character") and إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ مَعَالِيَ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَيَكْرَهُ سفسافها ("Verily Allah loves lofty manners and dislikes pettiness"), followed by thematic chapters including the honoring of guests .
Publication
The selection was edited by Muhammad Mutiʿ al-Hafiz and Ghazwah Budayr and published in Damascus by Dar al-Fikr in 1406 AH (1986 CE) .
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