Munyat al-Sul fi Tafdil al-Rasul (PBUH)
- Author died
- 660 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kitāb al-Jadīd
Munyat al-Sul fi Tafdil al-Rasul (Arabic: منية السول في تفضيل الرسول, lit. 'The Wish of the Quest Concerning the Superiority of the Messenger') is a treatise on prophetic virtues and characteristics (khasa'is) by the Shafi'i jurist Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam (d. 660 AH / 1262 CE) . The work is also transmitted under the title Bidayat al-Sul fi Tafdil al-Rasul .
Purpose and Scope
The treatise was composed to establish and elucidate the preeminence and superiority of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ over all other prophets, messengers, and created beings . Ibn Abd al-Salam opens the work by citing Quranic verses establishing the principle that God has favored certain messengers above others, such as تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ ("Those messengers—some of them We caused to exceed others," al-Baqarah: 253) and وَكَانَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا ("And the favor of God upon you has ever been great," al-Nisa: 113) .
Content and Method
Ibn Abd al-Salam arranges the book by enumerating distinct facets (wujuh) that demonstrate the Prophet's ﷺ superiority using evidence from the Quran and hadith . Among the key arguments and characteristics presented in the text are:
- Eschatological Preeminence and Intercession: The Prophet's ﷺ declaration that he is the master of the children of Adam ( أنا سيد ولد آدم ولا فخر , "I am the master of the children of Adam, and no boast"), that he holds the Banner of Praise on the Day of Resurrection, and that Adam and all other prophets will be under his banner . He also highlights that God explicitly informed him of the forgiveness of his past and future sins, that he is the first intercessor whose intercession is granted, and that he reserved his accepted supplication for the intercession of his community in the hereafter rather than using it in this worldly life .
- Divinely Granted Honor: God swore by the Prophet's life in the Quran ( لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّهُمْ لَفِي سَكْرَتِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ , "By your life, they were wandering blindly in their intoxication," al-Hijr: 72), a distinction not accorded to others . Furthermore, God addressed other prophets in scripture by their personal names (such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus), whereas He addressed Muhammad ﷺ by his honorific titles and offices ( يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ , "O Prophet," and يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ , "O Messenger") .
- Miracles and Spiritual Impact: The miracles of earlier prophets ceased with their eras, whereas the primary miracle of Muhammad ﷺ—the Quran—remains preserved until the Day of Judgment . The author also compares specific physical signs, arguing that water springing from between the Prophet's ﷺ fingers represented a greater disruption of natural norms than water gushing from a stone for Moses, and that restoring sight to the dislodged eye of Qatadah ibn al-Nu'man constituted a dual miracle . He further argues that reviving souls from disbelief to faith through the Prophet's guidance exceeded the physical revivification of bodies performed by Jesus .
- Multiplication of Reward: Because the Prophet ﷺ guided his followers to every righteous deed, he receives the equivalent reward of all his community's knowledge, spiritual states, and acts of worship, in addition to his own, multiplied across generations .
Transmission and Editions
The text was transmitted through the hadith scholar Sharaf al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Maydumi . It has been published in modern editions under both historical titles:
- Edited as Munyat al-Sul fi Tafdil al-Rasul by Salah al-Din al-Munajjid, published in one volume by Dar al-Kitab al-Jadid in Beirut (1401 AH / 1981 CE) .
- Edited as Bidayat al-Sul fi Tafdil al-Rasul by Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, published by al-Maktab al-Islami in Beirut in an 80-page volume .
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