A Manual for Living Together
The “Adab Rule” of Maulana Ashraf ‘Alī Thānawī
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52541/isiri.v65i2.7547Keywords:
etiquette of sociability, interpersonal sphere of sociability, dimensions of Islamic religion, textual theology and ethics, ādāb-rules, the golden rule, wisdom for living life.Abstract
This paper is a systematic discussion of Ādāb al-Mu'āsharat (Ethics of Socialization) written in 1912 by one of the foremost Sufi scholars of twentieth-century South Asian Islam, Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawī. In this text, Thanawī prescribes an etiquette for socialization. This prescription is argued as a dimension of Islamic faith, one that was unfortunately forgotten alike by preachers, jurists and Sufis. The discussion in this essay will provide an overview of the text, the case made by the author for etiquette for socialization, and a selection from the 120 ādāb-rules the author offers for concrete, practical human interpersonal interaction. Highlighting hermeneutical challenges to Thānawī's approach, the final section will situate this text within the study of Islamic and Religious ethics and discuss its relevance and significance.
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