Bahr al-Dumu
- Author died
- 597 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fajr lil-Turāth
Bahr al-Dumu (The Sea of Tears) is a classical Arabic work on homiletics, repentance, and heart-softening spiritual exhortations (wa'z and raqa'iq) written by the Baghdadi Hanbali scholar and preacher Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE) .
Overview and Themes
The book is counted among Ibn al-Jawzi's most prominent works of preaching, alongside texts such as al-Tabsira, al-Muntakhab, and al-Mudhis . Its primary objective is to soften hearts that have turned away from the remembrance of God, urging sincere repentance (tawbah), remorse, and vigilance before the arrival of death . The text emphasizes that genuine contrition and tears shed out of reverence and fear of God serve as a means to dispel distress, obtain divine mercy, and avert the punishment of the afterlife .
Content and Method
The work opens with an introductory homily praising God for creating the universe with subtle craftsmanship and depicting the states of knowers ('arifun) and penitents caught between fear, awe, longing, and hope . Ibn al-Jawzi structures the book using a distinctive homiletic style, blending:
- Quranic verses and prophetic traditions regarding the merits of gatherings of remembrance (majalis al-dhikr) and God's expansive forgiveness .
- Poetic verses on the sorrow of spiritual separation, love of the divine, and the tears of the penitent .
- Admonitory narratives, dialogues, and sayings attributed to early Muslim ascetics and scholars, including al-Hasan al-Basri, Dhu al-Nun al-Misri, Ibrahim ibn Adham, and Sufyan al-Thawri .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscript copies of Bahr al-Dumu are preserved in several international libraries, including the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh and the Princeton University Library . The book has been published in modern printings, including a single-volume edition edited by Jamal Mahmud Mustafa and published by Dar al-Fajr li-al-Turath in Cairo (1425 AH / 2004 CE), as well as an edition published by Maktabat al-Iman .
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