Masawi al-Akhlaq lil-Kharaiti
- Author died
- 327 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Sawādī lil-Tawzīʻ
Masawi al-Akhlaq wa-Madhmuтиha (Arabic: مساوئ الأخلاق ومذمومها, lit. 'The Vices of Morals and Their Blameworthy Traits') is an early Islamic treatise on ethics and reprehensible character traits by the hadith scholar Abu Bakr al-Kharaiti (240–327 AH / 854–939 CE) .
Author and Context
The work was composed by the hadith preservationist Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn Sahl al-Samiri al-Kharaiti, a native of Samaria in Palestine who died in Jaffa (or reportedly in Ashkelon) in 327 AH (with another transmission recording 328 AH) . Al-Kharaiti authored several thematic compilations centered on ethics, spirituality, and adab, including Makarim al-Akhlaq (Noble Character Traits), to which this book serves as an ethical counterpart dedicated to warning against blameworthy dispositions .
Subject Matter and Method
The book focuses on identifying and censuring bad moral conduct (su' al-khuluq), ill-natured behavior, and vices . Al-Kharaiti structures the work into thematic chapters, beginning with the abhorrence of bad character and proceeding through specific moral vices .
His method relies on the traditional hadith-based approach of the 3rd and 4th centuries AH, recording material with full transmission chains (isnad). The contents encompass:
- Prophetic hadiths condemning reprehensible character traits .
- Reports and sayings (athar) from the Companions, the Successors, and early scholars .
- Wisdom literature, anecdotes, and moralizing poetry illustrating the harms of bad manners .
Transmission and Structure
The work was preserved and transmitted in five distinct parts (ajza'), as documented by scholars of hadith transmissions such as Salah al-Din al-Ala'i . Its prominent transmission pathway ran through Damascus, where it was read to al-Kharaiti and transmitted by scholars such as Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Uthman al-Sulami, passing down through later Syrian and Palestinian traditionists .
Notable Editions
The text has been printed in several modern scholarly editions, including:
- An edition edited by Mustafa ibn Abi al-Nasr al-Shalabi, published by Maktabat al-Sawadi in Jeddah (1412–1413 AH / 1992–1993 CE) .
- An edition edited by Majdi al-Sayyid Ibrahim, published by Maktabat al-Qur'an in Cairo .
- An edition edited by Mustafa Abd al-Qadir Ata, published by Mu'assasat al-Kutub al-Thaqafiyyah .
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