Lubb al-Lubab "Mukhtasar Sharh Fusul al-Adab
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- Jāmiʿ Ibn al-Qayyim
Lubb al-Lubab: Mukhtasar Sharh Fusul al-Adab (The Essence of Essences: An Abridgment of the Explanation of Chapters on Etiquette) is a commentary by Abu Muhammad Abd Allah bin Mani al-Ruqi on Fusul al-Adab, the treatise on Islamic manners and conduct authored by the Hanbali scholar Abu al-Wafa Ibn Aqil (d. 513 AH / 1119 CE) .
Background and Composition
The base text, Fusul al-Adab, is a concise work compiling various rulings on Islamic etiquettes paired with legal proofs . Observing that the treatise had not received sufficient scholarly attention commensurate with its significance, al-Ruqi delivered an extensive spoken commentary across multiple study gatherings, elucidating its obscure expressions and exploring fine legal details . The recorded audio tapes of these lessons were subsequently transcribed, their cited prophetic traditions were referenced, and the compiled draft was presented to al-Ruqi, who revised the text, rectified errors, and added supplementary explanations .
Contents and Method
The work follows the structural sequence of Ibn Aqil's original treatise, providing analysis of individual legal rulings, hadith proofs, and differing scholarly positions on practical ethics and everyday behavior .
Among the primary subjects treated in the commentary are:
- Etiquettes of Greeting (Salam): Explaining the legal rulings regarding initiating and returning greetings, the precise verbal formulas to be used, the order of precedence between walking and seated individuals, and the propriety of greeting children and women under different circumstances .
- Social Functions and Gatherings: Detailing the norms of accepting invitations to wedding banquets (walimah), the status of non-prescribed celebrations, and guidelines on proper decorum in social interactions .
- Interpersonal Duties and Compassion: Outlining the prescribed conduct for visiting the sick, including non-Muslim subjects (dhimmis), following funeral processions, and offering condolences to the bereaved .
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