Mawizat al-Habib wa Tuhfat al-Khatib
- Author died
- 1014 AH
- Editions
- Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities
Maw‘izat al-Habib wa Tuhfat al-Khatib (The Admonition of the Beloved and the Gift of the Preacher) is a collection compiled by the Hanafi scholar al-Mulla Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH / 1606 CE) containing the transmitted sermons of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the four Rightly Guided Caliphs .
Background and Composition
Al-Mulla Ali al-Qari was prompted to assemble the work when a visiting foreign imam and preacher (khatib) informed him that the endower (waqif) of his mosque had stipulated in the endowment deed that Friday sermons must be drawn exclusively from the speeches of early generations (al-salaf) rather than later authors (al-khalaf) . To assist the preacher in fulfilling this condition and benefiting the congregation, al-Qari compiled an authentic selection of transmitted sermons attributed to the Prophet ﷺ and the four Rightly Guided Caliphs—Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib—whom he identified as uncontested authorities among the early predecessors .
According to the colophon recorded in the Süleymaniye manuscript, al-Qari completed the drafting of the treatise on Thursday, 20 Shawwal 1011 AH (1603 CE) in Mecca, approximately three years prior to his death .
Title and Reception
Although al-Qari did not mention a formal title in his opening introduction, manuscripts and biographical reference works record slight variations in the title:
- The Süleymaniye and Baghdad manuscripts bear the primary title Maw‘izat al-Habib wa Tuhfat al-Khatib .
- The Medina manuscript and the biographical work ‘Uqud al-Jawhar invert the order to Tuhfat al-Khatib wa Maw‘izat al-Habib .
- In Isma'il Pasha al-Baghdadi's Hadiyyat al-‘Arifin, the title is given as Tuhfat al-Habib fi Maw‘izat al-Khatib .
The text begins with praise to God for revealing the Qur'an and outmatching eloquent Arab orators, followed by introductory hadiths concerning Friday prayer practices before setting forth the sermons . A critical edition of the text, prepared and annotated by Abd al-Hakim al-Anis, was published by the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai in 1430 AH / 2009 CE .
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