Badai al-Fawaid
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- T al-Kitab al-Arabi · T Ataat al-Ilm
Badai al-Fawaid (Badāʾiʿ al-Fawāʾid, "Marvels of Beneficial Points") is an encyclopedic multi-subject work compiled by the Damascene Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE), encompassing diverse scholarly investigations across Quranic exegesis, Arabic grammar, legal rulings, theology, and spiritual insights.
Content and Characteristics
The work is organized as a collection of standalone analytical points and essays (fawāʾid) spanning various Islamic disciplines. Biographers noted that the book contains numerous intricate grammatical and philological discussions, and Ibrahim ibn Umar al-Biqa'i described it as serving like a personal scholarly notebook or memorandum (tadhkira) for Ibn al-Qayyim.
Throughout the text, Ibn al-Qayyim quotes his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah in more than forty instances using formulas such as "the Shaykh of Islam said," "I heard the Shaykh of Islam say," and "our shaykh chose." Ibn al-Qayyim also incorporates internal cross-references to several of his other compositions, including Tahdhib Sunan Abi Dawud and Jala' al-Afham. Ibn Urwah al-Hanbali (d. 837 AH) explicitly noted the distinction between Badai al-Fawaid and Ibn al-Qayyim's other, smaller collection titled al-Fawaid.
Reception and Citations
The book was utilized and cited by later scholars across multiple fields, including Ibn Muflih in al-Furu', Ali ibn Sulayman al-Mardawi in al-Insaf, Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi in al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Quran, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran, and Muhammad al-Shawkani in Nayl al-Awtar.
Abridgments and Extracted Treatises
Badai al-Fawaid was summarized by several later scholars, including:
- Abdullah ibn Uthman ibn Jami (d. 1256 AH)
- Abdullah ibn Abd al-Rahman Aba Butayn (d. 1282 AH)
- Abdullah al-Duwaysh (d. 1408 AH)
Several portions of the text have also been published independently as standalone treatises:
- Tafsir al-Mu'awwidhatayn (Exegesis of Surat al-Falaq and Surat al-Nas), published separately by Muhammad Munir al-Dimashqi, by Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqi (alongside Surat al-Kafirun), and by Abd al-Samad Sharaf al-Din in India; it was also translated into Urdu by Rahim Bakhsh, Abd al-Jalil Hazarwi, and Abd al-Rahim Pashawari.
- Dhamm al-Hasad wa-Ahlih (Censure of Envy and Its People).
- A treatise on scholarly debate and textual causes, titled Irshad al-Qur'an wa-l-Sunnah ila Tariq al-Munazarah.
- A theological section addressing terms applied as attributes or predications of God (Ma yajri sifatan aw khabaran 'an al-Rabb).
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