Muhammad - His Pre-eminence and Special Characteristics

The most well known and exhaustive study of the Prophet’s khaṣā’iṣ (may Allah bless him and give him peace), or his special and unique characteristics and legal rulings exclusive to him, is undoubtedly the multivolume Kifāyah al-ṭālib al-labīb fī khaṣā’iṣ al-ḥabīb (The Sufficiency for the Intelligent Seeker on the Special Characteristics of the Beloved), or more widely known as al-Khaṣā’iṣ al-kubrā (The Greater [Compendium on the] Special Characteristics), penned by the author of the present work, Imam Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī. The author later summarised his aforementioned book and entitled it Unmūdhaj al-labīb fī khaṣā’iṣ al-ḥabīb (A Sample of the Special Characteristics of the Beloved for the Intelligent), also known as al-Khaṣā’iṣ al-ṣughrā (The Lesser [Compendium on the] Special Characteristics), of which this is the English translation. This translation has been augmented to include explanatory notes taken from the scholarly commentaries of Imams ʿAbd al-Ra’ūf al-Munāwī (d. 1031/1622) and Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Bārī al-Ahdal (d. 1298/1880) on the text, adding clarity and expounding on and resolving some of the more seemingly controvertible points.

Imam Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) was one of the most prolific and significant scholars in Islamic history, having produced around 600 works, many of which have retained a lofty position in the traditional syllabi of Islamic centres of learning worldwide.