Qa'ida Tatadamman Dhikr Malabis al-Nabi wa-Silahihi wa-Dawabbihi
- Author died
- 728 AH
- Editions
- Aḍwāʾ al-Salaf
Qa'ida Tatadamman Dhikr Malabis al-Nabi wa-Silahihi wa-Dawabbihi (Arabic: قاعدة تتضمن ذكر ملابس النبي وسلاحه ودوابه, lit. 'A Principle Encompassing the Mention of the Prophet's Garments, Weapons, and Mounts') is a short biographical and legal treatise by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyya (661–728 AH / 1263–1328 CE) addressing the material possessions of the Prophet Muhammad and their corresponding legal rulings.
Background and Title
The treatise originated as a response to a formal question (jawab futya) concerning a disagreement between two men regarding the Prophet's personal garments, his military gear, his animals, and the attire of the Companions, as well as the legal rulings on using gold, silver, and silk.
It is known by several variant titles:
- In the manuscript, the title page styles it Jawab Futya fi Libs al-Nabi ("Answer to a Legal Query on the Prophet's Dress").
- Ibn Taymiyya's biographer Ibn Abd al-Hadi recorded it in al-Uqud al-Durriyya under the title Qa'ida tatadamman dhikr malabis al-Nabi wa-silahihi wa-dawabbihi wa-hiya al-Qarmaniyya.
- The designation al-Qarmaniyya (The Karamanian Epistle) derives from the city or principality of Karaman (Qarman), where the inquiry is believed to have originated.
Contents and Methodology
Drawing directly upon standard hadith compendia (kutub al-sihah wa-al-masanid), Ibn Taymiyya provides a concise yet structured enumeration of the Prophet's personal possessions and their legal dimensions:
- Weapons and Armor: He details the items the Prophet bore in warfare, including swords, spears, bows, leather quivers (kanain), iron helmets (al-bayda and al-mighfar), and coats of chainmail (dira' / zardiyya).
- Everyday Garments and Footwear: He lists various clothing items worn by the Prophet, such as the tunic (qamis), the cloak (jubba, including a narrow-sleeved travelling jubba), the gown (farruj and qaba'), waist-wraps (izar), upper wraps (rida'), trousers (sarawil, noting that he purchased them and approved their use by his companions), leather socks (khuffayn), and sandals (tawasim). He explicitly rejects the notion that the Prophet ever wore a belt or girdle (mintaqa) fastened around his waist.
- Riding Animals and Possessions: He outlines the Prophet's mounts, including horses, camels, donkeys, and mules, describing how he rode horses both bareback and saddled, and often carried one or two riders behind or ahead of him. He also touches upon his sheep and slaves, emphasizing that the Prophet never accumulated these possessions in large quantities, passing away with only modest belongings while his chainmail remained mortgaged to a Jewish creditor for barley.
- Legal Rulings: In addition to historical description, the work clarifies the legal rulings governing military attire, luxury materials, and prohibitions surrounding gold, silver, and silk.
Reception and Influence
Ibn Taymiyya's student Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya incorporated the greater part of this epistle into the introductory chapters of his biographical work Zad al-Ma'ad, following its organizational template and explicitly quoting Ibn Taymiyya on specific points, such as the denial of the waist belt (mintaqa). Another student, Ibn Muflih, cited excerpts from the work in al-Adab al-Shar'iyya.
Manuscripts and Publication
The work survives in a unique manuscript held at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul (Şehit Ali Paşa Collection, MS 2742, fols. 53–64). The manuscript is written in a clear Naskh hand across twelve folios (fifteen lines per page), collated against its original copy; the scribe's invocation praying for the author's continued life indicates it was either penned during Ibn Taymiyya's lifetime or transcribed directly from a lifetime exemplar.
It was edited by Ashraf ibn Abd al-Maqsud and published in Riyadh by Dar Adwa' al-Salaf in 1422 AH / 2001 CE. It has also been included in modern compilations of Ibn Taymiyya's collected treatises, such as Jami' al-Masa'il.
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