A Library of Classical Islamic Texts

Imam Abū ʾl-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (d. 465/1072) was a 5th/11th-century authority in the fields of Hadith, jurisprudence, and spiritual discipline. While he is widely recognized for his Risāla, his contributions as a traditionist (muḥaddith) are equally foundational to his scholarship. This volume presents the first English translation of al-Qushayrī’s Kitāb al-Arbaʿīn fī Taṣḥīḥ al-Muʿāmala (The Book of Forty Hadith on the Rectification of Conduct). In this work, the author selected fifty-six Prophetic reports intended to serve as a curriculum for the cultivation of character. The narrations are organized into forty thematic chapters, covering foundational principles such as the pursuit of knowledge and repentance, as well as specific ethical traits like scrupulousness, humility, and reliance upon God.