al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib - Ismail al-Asbahani

al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib (الترغيب والترهيب, Encouragement and Deterrence) is a collection of hadith compiled by the Isfahan-based hadith scholar Ismail al-Asbahani (457–535 AH / 1065–1141 CE), known as Qawam al-Sunnah al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…+1. The work gathers prophetic traditions and reports concerning encouragement toward righteous deeds, noble speech, and sincere intentions, alongside warnings against evil actions, reprehensible words, and corrupt intentions, detailing the rewards and punishments associated with them al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…+1.

Background and Purpose

Al-Asbahani stated in his introduction that students of hadith had repeatedly asked him to assemble a comprehensive book on al-targhib wa al-tarhib (exhortation and deterrence) al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…+1. They noted that existing works in this genre were either excessively long due to repetitive narrations and lengthy chains of transmission, or overly abbreviated to the point that a student could not find what was needed al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…+1. Al-Asbahani hesitated for a period while determining how to organize the chapters before proceeding with its composition al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…. In the colophon, he also credited his son, Abu Abd Allah, as a principal motivator who urged him time and again to compile the work al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -….

Arrangement and Methodology

The work was delivered through dictation (imla') and arranged in alphabetical order according to the Arabic alphabet (alif, ba, ta, tha...), aiming to make it easy for students to locate topics al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…+1. Al-Asbahani organized the chapters by the initial letter of the topic name without stripping augmentative prefixes; for instance, Bab al-Ikhlas (Sincerity) and Bab al-Ihsan (Beneficence) were placed under the letter alif rather than their root letters al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -….

Within each chapter, al-Asbahani presented the traditions of encouragement (targhib) first, followed by traditions of deterrence (tarhib) al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…. When a subject contained reports of only one type, he restricted the chapter to that category al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…. He regularly integrated lexical explanations for rare or difficult words (gharib al-hadith), often placing them immediately after the narration, citing lexicographers and works such as Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam and Ibn Faris al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -….

Transmission and Editions

The text was transmitted by al-Asbahani's grandson, Abu al-Faraj Yahya ibn Abi al-Raja Mahmud ibn Sa'd al-Thaqafi Itharat al-Fawaid al-Majm…+1. Manuscripts of the work and an abridgment (Mukhtasar al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib) have been preserved al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib -…. Modern printed editions of the book include one edited by Ayman Salih Sha'ban, published in Cairo Ujala al-Raghib al-Mutama…+1.