al-Tabr al-Masbuk fi Nasihat al-Muluk
- Author died
- 505 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
al-Tabr al-Masbuk fi Nasihat al-Muluk (Ingots of Cast Gold on Advice to Kings) is a treatise on governance and political ethics composed by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505 AH / 1111 CE) for the Seljuk sultan Muhammad ibn Malikshah.
Composition and Translations
The treatise was originally composed in Persian under the title Nasihat al-Muluk (Advice to Kings). It was translated into Arabic by Safi al-Din Abu al-Hasan 'Ali ibn al-Mubarak al-Irbili (d. after 595 AH / 1198 CE), the uncle of Ibn al-Mustawfi, who preserved the arrangement and order of the original text. Irbili completed his translation in 595 AH for the Atabeg of Mosul, Alb-Qutlugh. The Arabic rendition also circulated under variant titles, including Natijat al-Suluk, al-Durr al-Masbuk fi Naql Nasihat al-Muluk, and 'Umdat al-Muhaqqiqin wa-Burhan al-Yaqin.
The work was also translated into Turkish by several scholars, including Muhammad ibn 'Ali, known as 'Ashaq Chalabi; 'Ala'i ibn Muhibb al-Sharif al-Shirazi, who titled his translation Natijat al-Suluk and presented it to Sinan Bek, an attendant of Prince Bayezid son of Sultan Suleiman Khan; and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, known as Wujudi (d. 1020 AH).
Structure and Contents
The book is structured into two main parts:
- Part One: Sets forth ten principles and ten branches concerning faith and justice, along with guidance on nourishing the tree of faith.
- Part Two: Comprises seven chapters treating the practical and ethical dimensions of governance, including the politics of sultanic rule and the conduct of the ruler, the administration of the vizierate and the conduct of viziers, scribal etiquette, the lofty ambitions of monarchs, and the wisdom of sages.
Publication History
The Arabic text was printed in Egypt at the Castilian Press in 1277 AH under the supervision of Hasan al-'Adawi al-Hamzawi. It was later reissued at the al-Adab and al-Mu'ayyad Press in Cairo in 1317 AH, published on the margins of Abu Bakr al-Turtushi's Siraj al-Muluk (Cairo, 1306 AH), and printed in Lucknow in 1896 CE.
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