Introduction

Al-Adab al-Shar'iyyah wal-Minah al-Mar'iyyah — commonly cited as Al-Adab al-Shar'iyyah — is one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias of Islamic etiquette and conduct in the Hanbali tradition, composed by Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Muflih al-Hanbali al-Maqdisi (708–763 AH / 1308–1362 CE). Ibn Muflih was a direct student of Ibn Taymiyyah and a close contemporary of Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, and he is regarded as one of the foremost transmitters and codifiers of the Hanbali school in the eighth Islamic century. Born in the Maqdisi scholarly milieu of Damascus and Jerusalem, he combined mastery of Hanbali fiqh with deep familiarity with hadith and the broader Sunni scholarly heritage.

The book was composed in the context of the mature Hanbali scholarly tradition of Mamluk-era Damascus — a tradition deeply shaped by the reformist impulses of Ibn Taymiyyah, which sought to bring legal rulings and ethical conduct into precise alignment with the Quran, the authenticated Sunnah, and the practice of the early generations (al-salaf al-salih). Al-Adab al-Shar'iyyah reflects this orientation throughout: it is not content to enumerate rules of etiquette without grounding each one in textual evidence, and it frequently engages with divergent positions across the legal schools before settling on the Hanbali position.

The importance of this work is difficult to overstate within the Hanbali tradition and beyond. It serves as an authoritative reference on an extraordinary range of topics: the etiquette of worship and daily life, the conduct of scholars and students, the ethics of eating, sleeping, dress, speech, family relations, commercial dealings, travel, and death — all treated through the lens of shar'i (legally grounded) propriety. Later Hanbali scholars cite it constantly, and it has been used as a primary reference in Islamic educational institutions across the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, and beyond for centuries.

Methodologically, Ibn Muflih proceeds by stating a question of conduct, marshaling the relevant Quranic verses and hadith, surveying the positions of the early scholars and the four legal schools where relevant, and then articulating the preponderant Hanbali ruling. This method gives the book both encyclopedic breadth and doctrinal clarity. It is a work of fiqh as much as a work of adab — a reminder that in the Islamic tradition, ethics and law are inseparable dimensions of a single revealed system.

Key themes include: the concept of adab itself as encompassing both internal states and external conduct; the relationship between sunnah (recommended), wajib (obligatory), and makruh (disliked) categories in regulating everyday behavior; the particular responsibilities of scholars and people of knowledge in exemplifying proper conduct; the importance of avoiding bid'ah (innovation) in worship and daily life; and the cultivation of the virtues of generosity, humility, patience, and truthfulness as required by the Shariah, not merely recommended by custom.

For readers approaching this work within the framework of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, Al-Adab al-Shar'iyyah offers a systematic and thoroughly documented guide to living Islam in its totality — not only in formal acts of worship but in every dimension of daily conduct. It is best approached as a reference work consulted by topic, though those who read it continuously will develop a rich, integrated sense of the Islamic ethical worldview as understood and transmitted by the classical Hanbali school.