Madh al-Tawadu li-Ibn Asakir
- Author died
- 571 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Sanabil
Madh al-Tawadu li-Ibn Asakir (Arabic: مدح التواضع وذم الكبر, lit. 'The Praise of Humility and the Condemnation of Arrogance') is a hadith treatise by the Shafi'i traditionist and historian Abu al-Qasim Ibn Asakir (499–571 AH / 1105–1176 CE) dedicated to prophetic traditions that extol humility and censure arrogance .
Contents and Methodology
The work compiles hadiths and narrations warning against pride (kibr) and self-aggrandizement while encouraging humility (tawadu) for the sake of God . Ibn Asakir arranges the text by narrating traditions with complete chains of transmission (asānīd) extending back through his own shaykhs across scholarly centers such as Nishapur, Isfahan, and Baghdad .
Among the prominent reports cited in the text are the prophetic declarations:
- لا يدخل الجنة من كان في قلبه مثقال ذرة من كبر ("No one who has an atom's weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise") .
- الكبرياء ردائي والعظمة إزاري فمن نازعني واحدًا منهما ألقيته في النار ("Pride is My cloak and majesty is My lower garment; whoever contends with Me for either of them, I shall cast him into the Fire") .
- The sermon of Umar ibn al-Khattab from the pulpit relating the Prophet's saying: من تواضع لله رفعه الله ("Whoever humbles himself for God, God elevates him") .
In addition to documenting his chains of transmission, Ibn Asakir provides critical hadith commentary. He identifies parallel transmissions in canonical compilations such as Sahih Muslim, evaluates the authenticity of narrations by classifying certain reports as sahih (authentic) or hasan gharib (fair and solitary), notes unique transmissions by specific transmitters, and clarifies the vocalization and spelling of obscure narrator names .
Transmission and Publication
The opening of the manuscript indicates that the text was delivered and read back to Ibn Asakir in his presence during the month of Rabi al-Akhir in 550 AH . The treatise was edited by Muhammad Abd al-Rahman al-Nabulsi and published in Damascus by Dar al-Sanabil in 1413 AH / 1993 CE .
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