With the collaboration of Mohammad Taqdiri,

 3^rd ed., 2003, 456 pages, Arabic

Dar al-Hadith, Qom, Iran

Mahabbah (i.e. love, kindness, friendship) is the desire toward that which brings satisfaction to man. In Islam, mahabbah plays a crucial role in the organization of the ideal soci­ety and is the most effective elem­ent in the cultivation of exemplary individuals. It is in fact the most effective instrument in the promo­tion of cultural, social, economic and political objectives. In order to make the best of the benefits and blessings of mahabbah and to guard against the plague of enmity, Islam does not suffice to preach and give ethical guidelines, but has rules and programs to create affinity and prevent animosity. In fact, the best teacher of kindness is the Most Me­rciful  God, who underlines His mer­cy in numerous parts of His Book.  

The present work, comprising pa­rt of the Encyclopedia of Mizan al-Hikmah, is devoted to the examin­ation of this important Islamic tea­ching and looks at its various aspects from the viewpoints of the Holy Quran and Hadith. In addition to Quranic verses, the author presents 1510 hadiths of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his household (PBUT) in a thematic manner. Omitting repetitious hadiths, he discusses them in a chronological order, starting from the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and moving on to those of the Infallible Imams up to Imam Mahdi. He makes an attempt at collecting hadiths from ancient sources approved by both Shi`ites and Sunnis.                                            

The contents of the book are div­ided into the three parts: the love of people, the love of God, and the love for God. Each part is further divided into several chapters.

Part one discusses such topics as the value of friendship and the wre­tchedness of enmity; the divine, per­sonal, ethical and behavioral factors contributing to friendship with peo­ple. It also points to the obstacles in the way of establishing sincere rel­ations among people and the meth­ods of selection of friends and its importance and the ways of selecting the best friend. The ought to's and ought not to's of companionship; the individuals wh­ose friendship is encouraged and th­ose whose companionship is to be avoided; the rights of friend; the ben­efits of friendship; and the pra­ised and the discouraged love are some other issues addressed in this part.

Part two is devoted to the love of God. It first discusses hadiths that encourage such love. Then such top­ics as the rules of friendship of peo­ple with God and that of God wi­th people, the obstacles in the way of friendship between God and people, the signs and char­acteristics of the friends of God, and the fruits of divine love are elaborated.

Part three underlines the fact that all friendship and brother­hood must be for the sake of God. It includes hadiths relating to the importance of friendship for the sake of God and its con­sequences.        

The Persian translation of the work, along with its Arabic text, is published with the following biblio­graphical data: Friend­ship in the Holy Quran and Hadith, trans. Say­yed Hasan Eslami, Qom: Dar al-Ha­dith, 1^st ed., 2000, 655 pages.

Two selections of this collection are published with the following bibliographical data:

1) The Guide to Kindness, trans. Sayyed Hasan Eslami, summariz­ation by Abdolhadi Mas­`udi, Qom: Dar al-Hadith, 1^st ed., 2003, 152 pages. This collection com­prises pa­rts one and three of Friendship in the Holy Quran and Hadith.

2) The Elixir of Love, trans. Say­yed Hasan Eslami, summariz­ation by Abdolhadi Mas`udi, Qom: Dar al-Hadith, 1^st ed., 2003, 148 pages. This collection is the sele­ction of part two of Friendship in the Holy Quran and Hadith. 

The above selections are published, without the Persian texts, with the following bibliographical data:

1) Dalil al-Mahabbah, summar­ization by Abdolhadi Mas`udi, Qo­m: Dar al-Hadith, 1^st ed., 2003, 154 pages.

2) Iksir al-Mahabbah, summariz­ation by Abdolhadi Mas`udi, Qom: Dar al-Hadith, 1^st ed., 2003, 134 pages.

The Urdu translation of al-Mah­abbah fi al-Kitab wa al-Sunnah, along with the Arabic text, is publi­shed with the following bibliogra­phical data: Mahabbat Quran ur Hadith ki Roshani Min, trans. the scientific committee of the Institute of Imam-e Montazer (PBUH), 1^st ed., 546 pages.