Al-Qushayrī's Forty Hadith

Al-Qushayrī's Forty Hadith

On the Rectification of Conduct
Imam Abū ʾl-Qāsim ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin al-Qushayrī Tr. Fahim Choudhury 2026 Shore Road Press

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.

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41 Chapters
1 مُقَدِّمَةُ ٱلْمُؤَلِّفِ Author’s Introduction 11 units 2 بَابُ طَلَبِ ٱلْعِلْمِ 1. Seeking Knowledge 3 units 3 بَابُ ٱلتَّوْبَةِ 2. Repentance 4 units 4 بَابُ ٱلْحَيَاءِ 3. Shame 2 units 5 بَابُ إِرْضَاءِ الْخَصْمِ 4. Appeasing the Adversary 2 units 6 بَابُ حِفْظِ ٱللِّسَانِ عَمَّا لَا يَجُوزُ 5. Protecting the Tongue from What is Not Allowed 1 unit 7 بَابُ هِجْرَانِ أَخْدَانِ ٱلسُّوءِ 6. Forsaking Evil Companions 2 units 8 بَابُ تَرْكِ ٱلرَّجُلِ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ 7. A Man Leaving Aside What Does Not Concern Him 3 units 9 بَابُ تَرْكِ مَا يَشْغَلُ عَنِ ٱللَّهِ تَعَالَى 8. Forsaking What Distracts One from Allah Most High 3 units 10 بَابُ ٱلْكَسْبِ مِنَ ٱلْحَلَالِ 9. Earning from Lawful Sources 2 units 11 بَابُ ٱلْوُقُوفِ مَعَ ٱلْكِفَايَةِ 10. Contentment with Sufficiency 2 units 12 بَابُ بِرِّ ٱلْوَالِدَيْنِ 11. Being Dutiful to Parents 3 units 13 بَابُ ٱلِٱسْتِقَامَةِ 12. Uprightness 3 units 14 بَابٌ فِي تَرْكِ ٱلنَّمِيمَةِ 13. Abandoning Talebearing 3 units 15 بَابُ ٱلْإِصْلَاحِ بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ 14. Reconciliation between People 1 unit 16 بَابُ ذَمِّ مَنْ لَا يَصْدُقُ فِي إِخَائِهِ 15. Censure of Those Who Are Not Sincere in Brotherhood 3 units 17 بَابُ ٱلتَّوَكُّلِ 16. Reliance 2 units 18 بَابُ ٱلْقَنَاعَةِ 17. Contentment 2 units 19 بَابٌ فِي ٱلرِّضَا 18. Satisfaction 3 units 20 بَابُ ٱلذِّكْرِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى 19. Remembrance of Allah Most High 3 units 21 بَابُ ٱجْتِنَابِ ٱلرِّيَاءِ 20. Avoiding Ostentation 3 units 22 بَابُ إِسْبَالِ ٱلسَّتْرِ عَلَى ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ 21. Concealing the Faults of Muslims 2 units 23 بَابٌ فِي حُسْنِ ٱلظَّنِّ بِٱللَّهِ ﷿ 22. Thinking Well of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime 2 units 24 بَابٌ فِي إِعَانَةِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ 23. Aiding Muslims 1 unit 25 بَابٌ فِي حُسْنِ ٱلْمُعَامَلَةِ مَعَ ٱلْخَلْقِ 24. Good Conduct with Creation 3 units 26 بَابُ صِلَةِ ٱلرَّحِمِ 25. Upholding Family Ties 3 units 27 بَابُ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ عَلَى خَلْقِ ٱللَّهِ ﷿ 26. Mercy towards the Creation of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime 2 units 28 بَابٌ فِي ٱلْمُؤْمِنِ يَجِبُ أَنْ يُحِبَّ لِأَخِيهِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِ مَا يُحِبُّهُ لِنَفْسِهِ 27. The Obligation of the Believer Loving for His Muslim Brother What He Loves for Himself 3 units 29 بَابُ حُسْنِ ٱلْخُلُقِ 28. Good Character 3 units 30 بَابُ حُسْنِ ٱلْخُلُقِ مَعَ ٱلْأَوْلَادِ وَٱلرِّفْقِ بِهِمْ 29. Good Character towards Children and Being Gentle with Them 1 unit 31 بَابٌ فِي حُسْنِ ٱلْخُلُقِ مَعَ ٱلْخَدَمِ 30. Good Character with Servants 1 unit 32 بَابٌ فِي ٱلْحُبِّ فِي ٱللَّهِ تَعَالَى 31. Love for the Sake of Allah Most High 3 units 33 بَابٌ فِي أَنَّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ كَنَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ 32. The Believers as One Soul 2 units 34 بَابٌ فِي ٱلْجُودِ وَٱلسَّخَاءِ 33. Munificence and Generosity 2 units 35 بَابٌ فِي إِعَانَةِ ٱلضَّعِيفِ 34. Aiding the Weak 1 unit 36 بَابُ ٱلتَّوَاضُعِ 35. Humility 2 units 37 بَابٌ فِي ٱلنَّصِيحَةِ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ 36. Sincere Counsel to Muslims 1 unit 38 بَابٌ فِي فَضِيلَةِ صُحْبَةِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَمُخَالَطَتِهِمْ 37. The Virtue of Befriending Muslims and Mingling with Them 1 unit 39 بَابٌ فِي حِفْظِ ٱلْبَصَرِ 38. Guarding the Gaze 1 unit 40 بَابُ ٱلْحِلْمِ 39. Forbearance 1 unit 41 بَابُ مَنْ لَهُ كِفَايَةٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَالِ مِنَ ٱلْحَلَالِ 40. Sufficiency in Lawful Wealth 3 units