Qira al-Dayf li-Ibn Abi al-Dunya
- Author died
- 281 AH
- Editions
- Aḍwā’ al-Salaf
Qira al-Dayf (Entertaining the Guest) is a specialized treatise on Islamic etiquette and the virtues of hospitality compiled by the Baghdad-based traditionist and author Ibn Abi al-Dunya (d. 281 AH / 894 CE) .
Scope and Content
The work compiles prophetic traditions (hadith), narrations from early Muslims (athar), and historical reports dedicated to the ethics and obligations of hosting guests (diyafah). Among the themes addressed in the book are the origin of hospitality, including narrations stating that Abraham (Ibrahim) was the first person to provide hospitality to guests .
The work also includes narrations delineating the prescribed norms and limits of hosting, such as the prophetic report: الضيافة ثلاثة أيام، فما زاد فهو صدقة وعلى الضيف أن يتحول بعد ثلاثة أيام ("Hospitality is for three days; whatever exceeds that is charity, and the guest should move on after three days") . In addition, it features reports encouraging generous provision and the manifest sharing of divine blessings in food and drink, such as إن الله تعالى يحب أن يرى أثر نعمته على عبده في مأكله ومشربه ("God loves to see the trace of His blessing upon His servant in his food and drink") and إن الله تعالى يحب أهل البيت الخصب ("God loves a prosperous and abundant household") .
Structure and Transmission
The book is structured as a short monograph comprising a single fascicle (juz'), adhering to Ibn Abi al-Dunya's typical thematic format of isnad-backed transmissions .
The text was transmitted down through prominent chains of traditionists:
- A principal transmission line ran through Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Jawzi (also recorded as Abu al-Husayn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Jawzi or Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Jawzi) from Ibn Abi al-Dunya, then to Abu al-Husayn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Bishran, and from him to Tirad ibn Muhammad al-Zaynabi .
- From al-Zaynabi, it was transmitted to later figures including the hadith scholar Shuhdah al-Katibah and Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi .
The work and its chains of transmission were documented by bibliographers and traditionists, including Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili in his Fahrasah, Salah al-Din al-Ala'i in Itharat al-Fawa'id al-Majmu'ah, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras . A manuscript of the work is preserved at the Leiden University Library in the Landberg–Brill collection (MS 54) .
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