Ghayth al-Mawahib al-'Aliyya (Ibn 'Abbad's commentary on the Hikam)

غيث المواهب العلية بشرح الحكم العطائية

Ibn 'Abbad al-Nafzi al-Rundi's (d. 792 AH) commentary on the Hikam of Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Iskandari; Muhammad 'Abd al-Maqsud Haykal says he was the first to comment on them and most later commentators relied on him, among them al-Sharqawi, whose al-Minah al-Qudsiyya is almost a summary of it, and that through it and his other works the views of the Shadhiliyya spread in the Maghrib and al-Andalus ¹ ² ³.

Summary

Ghayth al-Mawahib al-'Aliyya bi-Sharh al-Hikam al-'Ata'iyya ("The Rain of Lofty Gifts, Commenting on the Hikam") is Ibn 'Abbad al-Nafzi al-Rundi's commentary on the Hikam of Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Iskandari, first in the list of his works given by Muhammad 'Abd al-Maqsud Haykal. ² Haykal says al-Rundi was the first to comment on the Hikam and most later commentators relied on him, among them 'Abd Allah Hijazi al-Sharqawi, whose al-Minah al-Qudsiyya is almost a summary of al-Rundi's commentary. ³

Why it was written and its standing

Haykal thinks al-Rundi wrote it when some companions asked him to explain the Hikam to them, and that his attachment to the Shadhiliyya came by that route. ⁴ He holds that with this commentary al-Rundi made the Shadhili views known "in a way no one had before", spreading them in the Maghrib and al-Andalus, and that it and his other works are basic references for any Shadhili wishing to learn the manners of the path. ¹ ² He characterises al-Rundi's works generally by eloquent style, precise wording and frequent citation of Qur'an and hadith. ²

On the links between the maxims

Haykal reports that scholars differed over whether the maxims are logically connected: Ibn 'Ajiba and Zarruq link each maxim to what precedes and follows it, while Ibn 'Abbad and al-Sharqawi point to such links only occasionally and do not hold to them. ⁵

In the Ahram edition

In the Taqrib al-Turath edition Haykal chose selections from the Hikam, giving for each maxim the text of Ibn 'Abbad's commentary and then a remark of his own in plain language. ⁶ ⁷ An example is his closing remark on the maxim about blessing in a lifetime: what counts is not the length of a life but the blessing in it. ⁸

Sources

Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Iskandari, al-Hikam al-'Ata'iyya, with the commentary of Ibn 'Abbad al-Nafzi al-Rundi, selected and studied by Muhammad 'Abd al-Maqsud Haykal (Ahram Centre for Translation and Publishing, Taqrib al-Turath 2, Cairo, 1408 AH / 1988) , p. 31

Hikam al-'Ata'iyya

A collection of Sufi maxims by Ibn 'Ata' Allah al-Iskandari (d. 709 AH), two hundred and sixty-four in number besides his letters and intimate prayers; Muhammad 'Abd al-Maqsud Haykal thinks it was his first work, written before the death of his shaykh al-Mursi in 686 AH; its first commentator was Ibn 'Abbad al-Rundi.

Ghayth al-Mawahib al-'Aliyya (Ibn 'Abbad's commentary on the Hikam)

At a glance

Summary

Why it was written and its standing

On the links between the maxims

In the Ahram edition

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Words

Hikam al-'Ata'iyya