The Spiritual Insights of Divine Wisdom in Adversity: A Translation with Introduction and Commentary of al-ʿIzz al-Dīn ibn ʿAbd al-Salām’s Commentary of al-ʿIzz al-Dīn ibn ʿAbd al-Salām’s al-Fitan wa al-Balāyā wa al-Miḥan wa al-Razāyā

Abstract

This article examines Kitāb al-Fitan wa al-Balāyā wa al-Miḥan wa al-Razāyā by the eminent Shāfiʿī jurist and theologian al-ʿIzz al-Dīn ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al- Sulamī al-Dimashqī (577–660 AH / 1181–1262 CE), widely known as Ṣulṭān al-ʿUlamāʾ (the King of Scholars). While best known for his legal maxims and principled leadership during the Crusader and Mongol periods, this lesser-studied treatise articulates a systematic and spiritually rich framework for understanding tribulation. Drawing on Qurʾānic verses and Prophetic traditions, Ibn ʿAbd al-Salām presents seventeen spiritual insights (fawāʾid) that reframe suffering not as punishment, but as divine refinement—cultivating sincerity (ikhlāṣ), servitude (ʿubūdiyyah), patience (ṣabr), gratitude (shukr), and contentment (riḍā). The article combines close textual analysis with semantic investigation of five central Arabic terms—fitan, balāyā, miḥan, razāyā, and muṣībah—using classical lexicons by al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī and Ibn Manẓūr, supported by comparative references to his other works and select Ṣūfī commentaries. The findings reveal a coherent theological vision wherein adversity becomes a vehicle for moral elevation and existential clarity. In contemporary contexts marked by war, displacement, and psychological distress, Ibn ʿAbd al-Salām’s insights offer enduring relevance and spiritual guidance for navigating hardship with purpose and trust in divine wisdom.