Zad al-Maad fi Hady Khayr al-Ibad
- Author died
- 751 AH
- Editions
- T Ataat al-Ilm · t al-Risala al-Thani
Zad al-Maad fi Hady Khayr al-Ibad (Provisions for the Hereafter in the Guidance of the Best of Servants) is an extensive multi-volume work on the biography, religious practices, rulings, and manners of the Prophet Muhammad, authored by the Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn al-Qayyim composed the work to delineate the Prophet's specific guidance and practice, stating in his introduction that human salvation and happiness in both worlds depend on following the Prophet's way . He emphasized that the primary purpose was not to compile mere permissible alternatives or defend any specific scholar, but rather to extract legal rulings, behavioral norms, and spiritual lessons directly from the Prophet's life, campaigns, and legal judgments . The book functions as a comprehensive reference combining Prophetic biography (sirah), military expeditions (maghazi), acts of worship (ibadat), social transactions (muamalat), physical and spiritual medicine (al-tibb al-nabawi), judicial rulings, and character traits .
Composition and Method
Ibn al-Qayyim noted that he wrote the work during his travels—a journey towards Hajj—amidst the dispersals of journeying and heart . Historically described in classical records as spanning four volumes, modern printed editions typically comprise five or six volumes .
In his methodology, Ibn al-Qayyim adhered to what he deemed authentic from the reports of the sirah, avoiding exhaustive narration of weak or unverified historical reports . He systematically followed narrative accounts with detailed extractions of juristic principles, doctrinal implications, and moral lessons . When discussing Prophetic medicine, he divided remedies into natural medicines mentioned in hadiths (spanning over thirty chapters), divine spiritual remedies, and compound treatments, arguing that Prophetic medicine stems from divine revelation rather than empirical conjecture .
Structure and Contents
The work covers numerous facets of the Prophet's life and jurisprudence, including:
- Acts of worship and lifestyle: Detailed examinations of ritual purity, prayer, funeral rites, fasting, and Hajj, alongside personal habits, dress, travel etiquette, and speech .
- Biography and military campaigns: The chronology of the Prophet's mission, letters to monarchs, the major expeditions, and the juristic consequences derived from events such as the Truce of al-Hudaybiyyah and the Conquest of Mecca .
- Prophetic medicine: Chapters treating ailments such as fevers, stomach illnesses, cupping, and spiritual afflictions .
- Judicial rulings and transactions: Rulings regarding contracts, sales, commercial transactions, marriage, divorce, and legal verdicts .
Reception, Abridgments, and Influence
The text became widely celebrated under the title Zad al-Maad as well as al-Hady al-Nabawi or simply al-Hady . It served as a primary source for later scholars of sirah and hadith commentary: Ibn Kathir drew heavily upon it in al-Fusul fi Sirat al-Rasul, Majd al-Din al-Fayruzabadi based his book Sifr al-Saada upon an abridgment of it, al-Qastallani relied extensively upon it in al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah, and Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Salihi cited it as a main source for Subul al-Huda wa-al-Rashad .
The work has been abridged, versified, and translated in multiple traditions:
- Abridgments and selections: Early epitomes include those by Shams al-Din Ibn al-Naqqash (d. 763 AH), al-Husayn ibn Ahmad Zubarah al-San'ani (d. 1141 AH), and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, as well as modern abridgments and topic-specific selections by scholars such as Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin and Salih Ahmad al-Shami .
- Versification: The sections on worship were versified by al-Hasan ibn Ishaq al-Mahdi (d. 1160 AH) in Yemen, and subsequently commented upon in Fath al-Qawiyy and by Muhammad ibn Qasim al-Wajih .
- Printed editions and translations: The work was published in India in 1298 AH and subsequently in numerous critical editions . Complete Urdu translations were prepared by Rais Ahmad al-Ja'fari and Abd al-Majid al-Islahi, while English translations have been published by Jalal Abualrub and Ismail Abdus Salaam .
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