Sabb al-Khumul ala man wasala adhaahu ila al-salihin min awliya Allah
- Author died
- 909 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Nawādir
Sabb al-Khumul ala man wasala adhaahu ila al-salihin min awliya Allah (Pouring Obscurity upon Whoever Inflicts Harm on the Righteous Friends of God) is a treatise on the virtues of God's saints and the severe consequences of persecuting them, authored by the Hanbali jurist and traditionist Ibn al-Mubarrad (841–909 AH / 1437–1503 CE) .
Subject and Scope
The work brings together a substantial collection of Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, and transmitted reports (athar) extolling the virtues, attributes, and ranks of the righteous and the friends of God (awliya Allah) . Ibn al-Mubarrad warns strictly against assailing them in word or action, incorporating anecdotes and historical reports about the saints meant to comfort and encourage upright believers . He also compiles narratives detailing the fate of persecutors and transgressors who caused harm to the pious, highlighting how God ultimately brought ruin to their reputations, condemned their legacy to obscurity (akhmala dhikrahum), and severed their lineages .
Date of Composition
Ibn al-Mubarrad finished writing the treatise in 903 AH (1497–1498 CE) . This explicit dating in the text has served later biographers as key evidence to refute the incorrect claim by Haji Khalifa and Isma'il al-Baghdadi that the author passed away earlier in 880 AH .
Manuscripts and Publication
The work is preserved in a unique autograph manuscript kept at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (under shelf mark 1141 / Hadith 350, running to 81 or 83 folios) . The manuscript exhibits the author's idiosyncratic handwriting, which is marked by unusual letter forms, sparse diacritical pointing, and difficult legibility . A photographic copy is also held in the manuscript department of the Islamic University of Madinah (no. 350) .
The text was edited from the Damascus autograph by a committee of scholars supervised by Nur al-Din Talib and published by Dar al-Nawadir in 1432 AH (2011 CE) within a collected series of Ibn al-Mubarrad's works .
Answer updated