Maqasid al-Riaya li Huquq Allah
- Author died
- 660 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Fikr
Maqasid al-Ri‘aya li-Huquq Allah (The Objectives of Observing the Rights of God) is a treatise on Islamic ethics and spiritual purification by the Shafi‘i jurist and scholar Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam (d. 660 AH / 1262 CE) . Also known as Mukhtasar Ri‘ayat al-Muhasibi, the book is an abridgment and critical reworking of Kitab al-Ri‘aya li-Huquq Allah by the early Baghdad ascetic and theologian al-Harith al-Muhasibi .
Composition and Method
The work originated as dictated lessons by Ibn Abd al-Salam intended to unlock and summarize the core objectives (maqasid) of al-Muhasibi’s treatise . Rather than producing a purely passive condensation, Ibn Abd al-Salam restructured the source material, rephrasing key doctrines and incorporating his own assessments—concurring with or diverging from al-Muhasibi's formulations as his independent legal and theological reasoning dictated .
Contents and Structure
The book is organized into thematic sections (fusul) focusing on the psychological and spiritual dimensions of worship:
- Attentive Listening and Fulfillment of Rights: The text opens with a chapter on listening attentively to divine exhortations as a means to achieve heedfulness . It defines observing God's rights as safeguarding them from neglect and deficiency, dividing them into fulfilling obligations and avoiding prohibitions, both across the internal states of the heart (such as faith and sincerity) and the external limbs .
- The Spiritual Path and Self-Examination: Ibn Abd al-Salam delineates the initial steps of drawing near to God, which mandate learning the practical and inward obligations of the sacred law . He emphasizes the consensus of scholars on the necessity of self-accounting (muhasabat al-nafs), both retrospectively for past deeds and proactively before undertaking future actions .
- Levels of Sincerity and Intention: The text classifies motives for good deeds into varying degrees, such as seeking reward, fearing punishment, acting out of modesty (haya'), divine love, or sheer reverence and exaltation of God .
- Ostentation and Inward Afflictions: It analyzes ostentation (riya'), differentiating between deeds performed solely for human approval and those mixing divine and worldly objectives . It outlines practical methods for dispelling the inclination toward ostentation, including reflecting on the loss of divine reward and the impossibility of pleasing all people . Ibn Abd al-Salam also examines self-conceit (‘ujb), defining it as rejoicing in an action while attributing it to oneself and forgetting God's favor in granting success .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscripts of the work survive in several collections, including the Saib library in Ankara (MS 2434, dated 742 AH), the Mingana Collection (MS 772/1), the Berlin State Library (MS 2812), and the private library of Fuat Sezgin . The text was edited by Iyad Khalid al-Tabba‘ and published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus (1416 AH / 1995 CE) .
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