Bushra al-Kaib bi-Liqa al-Habib
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- دار يعرب للدراسات والنشر والتوزيع
Bushra al-Ka'ib bi-Liqa al-Habib (Glad Tidings for the Grieved on Meeting the Beloved) is an eschatological treatise by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar al-Jalal al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 CE) dedicated to the comforting aspects of death and the intermediate realm (al-Barzakh) for believers .
Origin and Purpose
Al-Suyuti compiled the treatise as an abridgment of his comprehensive work on the states of the intermediate realm . In the introduction, he states that he narrowed its focus specifically to glad tidings, gathering the traditions that highlight the honor, reception, and welcoming (al-takrim wa-al-tarhib) that the believer experiences at the moment of death and inside the grave .
Contents and Themes
The work arranges prophetic hadiths and early scholarly statements thematic to the believer's transition from the earthly life to the afterlife:
- The Virtues of Death: Traditions depicting death as a gift, fragrance, or relief from the constraints of worldly hardship .
- Transition Between Abodes: Narrations explaining that death is not total annihilation but the departure of the soul and a move from a narrow abode into a vastly expansive realm .
- The Extraction of the Soul: Descriptions of radiant angels descending with heavenly shrouds and scents to receive the believer's soul with gentleness .
- Conditions in the Grave: Sections addressing the expansion of the grave, the questioning of the soul, and the alleviation of the grave's embrace (takhfif dammat al-qabr) for righteous believers .
Related Works
The text circulated in multiple manuscript copies and spawned secondary treatments, including an anonymous summary titled Mukhtasar Bushra al-Ka'ib . It was also rendered into verse and commented upon in a work titled Tanis al-Gharib fi Sharh Bushra al-Ka'ib bi-Liqa al-Habib .
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