Elementary Education and Motivation in Islam: Perspectives of Med ...

Motivational Literature (Al-targhb wa-l-tarhb)

One of the classical works on targhb and tarhb is that of Zakiyy al-Dn ‘Abd al-‘Am b. ‘Abd al-Qaw al-Mundhir (d. 656/1258) entitled Al-Targhb wa-l-Tarhb. This work and, indeed, all similar works contain Ahadith of targhb and tarhb on a variety of Islamic issues, such as sincerity, knowledge, prayer, social interactions, manners, character, and Heaven and Hell.¹ Because the work contains weak narrations, there have been several attempts to verify and comment upon the narrations in it.

The first such attempt was by the contemporary traditionist (muaddith) Muammad Nir al-Dn al-Albn, entitled au-l-Targhb wa-l-Tarhb. Al-Albn only included narrations that he deemed either a (sound) or asan (good), made additional notes on Hadith verification, and stressed the need to avoid weak narrations at length in his introduction. The second, by Ysuf al-Qaraw, is a selection of narrations from al-Mundhir's work and includes a commentary and new indexes.² Another, a joint effort by Muy l-Dn Db et al., dealt specifically with the a narrations in the compilation.³

There is also a range of other classical works in the area of targhb and tarhb. For example, there is Al-Targhb wa-l-Tarhb by Ab l-Qsim Ism‘l b. Muammad b. al-Fal al-Abahn (535/1141).⁴ Yay b. Sharaf al-Nawaw's (631/1234–676/1278) Riyu-l-lin is another well-known example of a classical work on motivation. According to his introduction, al-Nawaw wrote the work to motivate others to do good through methods such as targhb and tarhb, training and purifying the soul, perfecting manners and character, and safeguarding the limbs from wrongdoing.⁵ Riyu-l-lin is one of al-Nawaw's most famous works and is probably the most popular and widely accepted work of its kind.⁶

Al-Ghazzl's Iy’ ‘Ulmi-l-Dn is another classical source in the field that is widely used in orthodox Muslim circles. Although it is not entirely a work of targhb and tarhb—it is a comprehensive text on various aspects of the Islamic religious sciences, including theology and jurisprudence—substantial sections of it are devoted to topics not