al-Shamail al-Sharifa - Mustall min Fayd al-Qadir lil-Manawi
- Author died
- 1031 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-‘Ilm
al-Shamail al-Sharifa - Mustall min Fayd al-Qadir lil-Manawi is a Hadith work comprising an excerpt (mustall) of the chapter on prophetic traits and characteristics from Fayd al-Qadir, the major commentary by the Shafi'i scholar Abd al-Rauf al-Munawi (952–1031 AH / 1545–1622 CE) .
Origin and Scope
The source text stems from Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's hadith compendium al-Jami al-Saghir, which al-Suyuti extracted from his larger work Jam' al-Jawami' (also known as al-Jami al-Kabir) . In organizing al-Jami al-Saghir, al-Suyuti arranged narrations alphabetically and dedicated a specialized section under the letter kaf titled Bab Kana wa-hiya al-Shamail al-Sharifa ("Chapter of 'He used to / was'—Which Are the Noble Characteristics") .
Al-Munawi composed his expansive multi-volume commentary, Fayd al-Qadir, to explain al-Jami al-Saghir . This standalone extraction isolates the Shamail chapter from Fayd al-Qadir, focusing exclusively on the narrations describing the physical appearance, personal attributes, inward character, and daily habits of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Method and Content
At the beginning of the chapter, al-Munawi defines the term shamail (plural of shimāl) as nature or intrinsic disposition (tab'), noting that it encompasses both the Prophet's outward form (suratuhu al-zahirah) and his inward virtues (suratuhu al-batinah) . Addressing why such descriptive narrations belong in a collection of prophetical reports (marfu'), he cites Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's ruling that narrations describing the Prophet's personal characteristics are unanimously classified as marfu' by consensus .
Al-Munawi also examines the linguistic implications of the past-tense verb kana at the head of these reports, drawing on al-Raghib al-Isfahani and Abu Abd Allah al-Qurtubi to show that while the verb fundamentally signifies past occurrence, its usage regarding the Prophet ﷺ customarily denotes regularity, habitual practice, and lasting attributes .
In his broader introductory remarks, al-Munawi outlines his analytical method:
- Clarifying obscure or difficult vocabulary rather than dwelling on elementary grammar .
- Elucidating the underlying wisdom, meanings, and legal guidance intended by the statements .
- Avoiding superfluous digressions and the reproduction of conflicting opinions that distract students .
- Employing standard abbreviations for primary source collections (such as kh for al-Bukhari, m for Muslim, t for al-Tirmidhi, d for Abu Dawud, n for al-Nasa'i, h for Ibn Majah, and hm for Ahmad ibn Hanbal) .
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