Concept

The Definition of Adab (Spiritual Manners) in Hujwiri's Kashf al-Mahjub

Within Hujwiri's Kashf al-Mahjub, adab (spiritual manners or courtesy) is defined as the gathering together of all good qualities (ijtima'-e khisal-e khayr). The term shares a root with ma'duba (a banquet), because at a feast everything needed is assembled in one place; likewise, the person in whom the virtues are assembled is called an adib.

Hujwiri distinguishes two senses of the term:

  1. Common (linguistic) usage: adab names mastery of language, morphology (sarf), and syntax (nahw), so a grammarian is called an adib.
  2. The Sufi sense: adab is standing firmly with the praiseworthy actions (al-wuquf ma'a al-mustahsanat) — dealing with God courteously in both the inward and the outward. Whoever attains this is a true adib, even if he is non-Arab (a'jami) in tongue; whoever lacks it is its opposite, however eloquent his speech.

This frames adab as an inward spiritual discipline rather than mere outward or linguistic refinement, and serves as the ...

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Updated 2026-07-20

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Persian Literature Prerequisite Course