Light in the Heavens: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Library of Arabic Literature, 8)

God's messenger and prophet of Islamincluding law, theology, metaphysics, poetry, grammar, history, and medicine—Assembling Muhammad’s words has been a major preoccupation for scholars throughout the fourteen centuries since his death, resulting in an abundance of compilations. Among the legally-grounded collections, which aimed to guide the community in its practice of religious law and ritual worship, one which stands out in particular is Light in the Heavens (Kitab al-Shihab) by al-Qadi al-Quda'i (d. 454 H/1062 AD), a Shafi'i judge in the Fatimid court in Egypt. The collection’s overall conceptualization is distinctively ethical and pragmatic, and offers humanitarian lessons and practical insights with universal appeal.