Mablagh al-Arab fi Fakhr al-Arab
- Author died
- 974 AH
- Editions
- Mablagh al-Arab fi Fakhr al-Arab
Mablagh al-Arab fi Fakhr al-Arab (Attaining the Goal Regarding the Pride of the Arabs) is a treatise on the virtues, merits, and status of the Arabs in Islamic tradition, authored by the Shafi'i jurist and scholar Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (909–974 AH / 1504–1567 CE; another report gives 973 AH) . In biographical and bibliographical dictionaries, the work is also referred to under variants such as Mablagh al-Arab fi Fada'il al-Arab and Mablagh al-Arab fi Fadl al-Arab .
Background and Purpose
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami composed the treatise in response to widespread prejudice and hostility against the Arabs among various non-Arab groups and contentious factions . He observed that many had fallen into defamation and infringement upon the rights of the Arabs out of ignorance concerning their divinely granted merits and elevated status . To establish a deterrent against slandering them, he compiled a concise book demonstrating their virtues through prophetic traditions and authoritative reports .
Structure and Method
The work is an abridgment of a comprehensive compilation on the same subject by the Hadith master Abu al-Husayn 'Abd al-Rahman al-'Iraqi (also known as Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi) . Finding al-'Iraqi's original work lengthy due to its extensive transmission chains (asānīd) and numerous variant lines of narration, al-Haytami summarized it into fewer than ten chapters while preserving its essential points and scholarly benefits . He organized the treatise into an introduction (muqaddimah), distinct thematic sections and chapters, and an epilogue (khātimah) .
Content and Themes
The treatise gathers hadiths and reports documenting the divine selection and virtues of the Arabs:
- Divine Selection and Lineage: The introduction outlines reports on God choosing the Arabs from among humankind, followed by the selection of Quraysh, Banu Hashim, and the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as the choice of creation .
- Virtues of Loving the Arabs: Chapters discuss narrations encouraging love for the Arabs—associating it with faith and devotion to the Prophet ﷺ—and warning against hating or defrauding them, presenting hatred of them as a sign of hypocrisy or estrangement from religion .
- Prophetic Supplications: The book details general supplications made by the Prophet ﷺ for the Arabs, as well as specific prayers and praises for various tribes, including al-Ansar, Quraysh, Ghifar, Aslam, Bakr ibn Wa'il, Nakha', 'Abd al-Qays, Ahmas, 'Anazah, Daws, and Thaqif .
- Eschatological Context: It includes traditions discussing the status and scarcity of the Arabs during the trials of the end times, particularly around the emergence of the Dajjal .
Throughout the text, al-Haytami offers critical commentary on the Hadith chains, evaluating reports graded as sound (sahīh), fair (hasan), singular (gharīb), or weak (da'īf), and addressing contested attributions .
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