Nadrat al-Naim fi Makarim Akhlaq al-Rasul al-Karim
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- Dar Al-Waseela for Publishing and Distribution
Nadrat al-Naim fi Makarim Akhlaq al-Rasul al-Karim (The Radiance of Delight in the Noble Manners of the Generous Messenger) is a multi-volume contemporary encyclopedia devoted to Islamic ethics and the character of the Prophet Muhammad, prepared by a team of scholars and researchers under the general supervision of Salih ibn Abd Allah ibn Humaid and Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Malluh .
Composition and Authorship
The encyclopedia was developed over nine continuous years by specialized committees drawing from more than 1,100 classical and modern Islamic sources . The production process was structured into three distinct stages:
- Preparation Committee: Supervised by Salih ibn Abd Allah ibn Humaid, with the participation of researchers including Muhammad Ahmad Sayyid Ahmad, Muhammad Ismail al-Sayyid Ahmad, Salah Muhammad Arafat, and Nasir Muhallal Muhammad Hamid .
- Review and Verification Committee: Supervised by Ali Khalil Mustafa Abu al-Aynayn, alongside scholars including Abd al-Fattah Abd al-Alim al-Barkawi, Abd al-Mawjud Mutawalli Bahansi, Izzat Abd al-Hamid Ibrahim, Ahmad Ali Mahmud Rabi, Ibrahim Salah al-Sayyid al-Hudhud, and Yasin Ibrahim Afifi .
- Language, Proofreading, and Indexing Committee: Supervised by Abd al-Fattah Abd al-Alim al-Barkawi .
The work was published in Jeddah by Dar al-Wasilah .
Structure and Scope
The encyclopedia comprises twelve volumes: eleven volumes containing the textual body and a dedicated twelfth volume for detailed technical indexes . It addresses a total of 361 ethical traits, divided into 200 praiseworthy characteristics (al-sifat al-mahmudah) and 161 blameworthy characteristics (al-sifat al-madhmumah), both arranged in alphabetical order .
The introductory volume opens with conceptual discussions on Islamic ethics, their significance, types, and foundations, as well as an overview of the human relationship with God, oneself, and society . It also includes an abridged outline of the prophetic biography (al-sirah al-nabawiyyah) and a dedicated section on the virtue of sending blessings upon the Prophet .
The twelfth volume incorporates fifteen specialized analytical indexes covering Quranic citations, Hadiths, scholarly reports (athar), biographical entries, technical terminology, fine linguistic distinctions, legal rulings, poems, proverbs, geographical locations, and bibliography .
Methodology
Each ethical trait in the encyclopedia is presented according to a systematic sequence:
- Linguistic Definition: Root derivation, core usages, and synonyms drawn from classical lexicons such as al-Sihah by al-Jawhari, Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur, and Taj al-Arus by al-Zabidi .
- Technical Definition: Conceptual definitions cited from works such as al-Ta'rifat by al-Jurjani and al-Tawqif ala Muhimmat al-Ta'arif by al-Munawi, supplemented by legal commentaries and behavioral treatises .
- Quranic Evidences: Verses mentioning the trait explicitly or implicitly, arranged thematically based on books of Quranic homonyms (al-wujuh wa-l-naza'ir) and exegesis, following the standard Quranic order .
- Prophetic Hadiths: Traditions containing explicit textual mentions of the trait, followed by those conveying its conceptual meaning, attributed to primary canonical Hadith compilations and verified according to authoritative Hadith critics .
- Practical Examples: Instances illustrating the practical implementation of praiseworthy traits in the Prophet's life .
- Scholarly Traditions and Impacts: Narrations from the Prophet's Companions and early scholars, accompanied by a concluding synthesis outlining the worldly and otherworldly benefits of praiseworthy traits or the individual and societal harms of blameworthy ones .
Reception
The encyclopedia received evaluations from educational and religious bodies, including the General Secretariat of the Council of Higher Education in Saudi Arabia and the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, which described it as an indispensable ethical reference for researchers . The Saudi historian Hamad al-Jasir published articles in al-Riyadh newspaper praising its clarity and accessibility in consolidating primary textual evidence and scholarly sayings .
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