Bisharat al-Mahbub bi-Takfir al-Dhunub
- Author died
- 869 AH
- Editions
- مكتبة القرآن
Bisharat al-Mahbub bi-Takfir al-Dhunub (Glad Tidings for the Beloved Concerning the Expiation of Sins) is a devotional work on repentance and the causes of divine forgiveness by the Shafi'i scholar and hadith specialist Zayn al-Din al-Qabuni (784 or 787–869 AH / 1382 or 1385–1465 CE) . The book is also recorded under the variant title Bisharat al-Mahbub bi-Ghufran al-Dhunub .
Purpose and Content
The author compiled the treatise out of hope in God's mercy and promise of pardon, gathering prophetic traditions that promise divine forgiveness, emancipation from the Fire, or admission to Paradise for specific devotional acts and invocations .
The work is organized into three chapters (abwab) :
- The first chapter gathers traditions promising salvation and deliverance from Hellfire for those who utter specific words or perform specific deeds .
- Subsequent sections examine particular deeds and sayings that secure forgiveness, including performing thorough ablution (isbagh al-wudu'), the virtues of religious knowledge and scholars, and the merits of the caller to prayer (mu'adhdhin) .
Method and Sources
The author collected authentic (sahih), fair (hasan), and weak (da'if) reports, maintaining that acting upon weak hadiths is permissible in matters of pious encouragement and virtuous deeds (al-targhib wa-l-tarhib and fada'il al-a'mal) . For hadith authentication and grading, al-Qabuni explicitly relied on earlier hadith scholars, primarily Zayn al-Din al-Mundhiri, Nur al-Din al-Haythami, and Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi . Where no explicit grading was available, he attributed the narration directly to its primary compiler, such as al-Tabarani .
Transmission and Reception
The book was transmitted and studied in Damascus during the author's lifetime; in 867 AH, Hasan ibn 'Ali al-Haskafi (known as Ibn al-Suyufi) attended an audition of the work with al-Qabuni . It was transmitted through later chains of authorization, including an isnad documented by al-Rudani tracing back through Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti via Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Himsi to the author .
The work has also been commented on by modern scholars; Abu al-Fadl 'Abd Allah al-Siddiq al-Ghumari composed annotations on the text, in which he evaluated certain weak and baseless reports cited therein .
Manuscripts
Manuscripts of Bisharat al-Mahbub are preserved in various collections, including:
- The Royal Library in Rabat (MS 38 K, comprising 39 pages) .
- The Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS 1405 / Tasawwuf 87, copied in 847 AH) .
- The Damad Ibrahim Pasha collection (Damad Zadeh) in Istanbul .
- The Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo .
Answer updated