Muntaha al-Suul ala Wasail al-Wusul ila Shamail al-Rasul
- Author died
- 1410 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Minhāj
Muntaha al-Suul ala Wasail al-Wusul ila Shamail al-Rasul (The Ultimate Quest on the Means of Reaching the Prophetic Attributes) is an extensive four-volume commentary on the devotional and biographical compendium Wasail al-Wusul ila Shamail al-Rasul by Yusuf ibn Ismail al-Nabhani (d. 1350 AH / 1932 CE), authored by the Shafi'i jurist and scholar Abd Allah ibn Said al-Lahji (1343–1410 AH / 1924–1990 CE).
Composition and Sources
Al-Lahji explained in his introduction that his devotion to the Prophet prompted him to compile marginal glosses and explanatory notes on al-Nabhani's work to serve as a personal reference when studying and teaching the text. The composition of the work extended over approximately twenty-five years, during which al-Lahji expanded upon the base text, clarified obscure terms, provided detailed hadith documentation (takhrij), and gathered additional scholarly benefits.
In preparing his commentary, al-Lahji drew primarily upon classical reference works, notably Ibrahim al-Bajuri's commentary on the Shamail of al-Tirmidhi, the commentaries on al-Qastallani's al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah, commentaries on Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's Ihya Ulum al-Din, commentaries on al-Suyuti's al-Jami al-Saghir, as well as lexicographical works such as the commentaries on al-Qamus al-Muhit and Ibn al-Athir's al-Nihayah fi Gharib al-Hadith.
The author drafted and finalized the work in stages in Mecca, where he served as a teacher at al-Madrasah al-Sawlatiyyah and the Grand Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram):
- The fair copy of the first volume was completed in the forenoon of Thursday, 11 Muharram 1395 AH.
- The second volume was finalized on the afternoon of Tuesday, 14 Muharram 1397 AH.
- The final fair copy of the entire work was completed between the Maghrib and Isha prayers on the night of Tuesday, 15 Muharram 1400 AH, at his residence in Jabal al-Hafa'ir overlooking al-Shubayka in Mecca.
Structure and Contents
The commentary follows the thematic arrangement of al-Nabhani's original work across eight main chapters (abwab) and an epilogue (khatimah):
- Chapter One: The Prophet's lineage and noble names, divided into two sections.
- Chapter Two: The physical appearance and sensory traits of the Prophet in ten sections, covering his beauty, eyesight and use of kohl, hair and grooming, sweat and natural scent, perfume, voice, anger and joy, laughter and weeping, speech and silence, and physical strength.
- Chapter Three: His garments, bedding, and weapons in six sections, discussing his shirts, cloaks, turbans, bedding, signet ring, and footwear.
- Chapter Four: His food, drink, and sleep in six sections, addressing his sustenance and bread, dining etiquette, supplications related to eating, fruits, drinks and drinking vessels, and sleep.
- Chapter Five: His moral character and conduct in six sections, including his forbearance, relations with his wives, trustworthiness, truthfulness, modesty, humor, humility, sitting posture, generosity, and courage.
- Chapter Six: His worship across three sections, covering his general devotional acts, fasting, and Quranic recitation.
- Chapter Seven: Miscellaneous accounts and aphorisms across three sections, including various reports about his daily circumstances, recorded supplications and invocations, and 313 of his concise, comprehensive sayings (jawami al-kalim) arranged alphabetically.
- Chapter Eight: His medicine, age, death, and seeing him in dreams, across three sections.
- Epilogue: A collection of seventy prophetic supplications.
Publication
The work has been published by Dar al-Minhaj in Jeddah in four volumes.
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