Adab
Adab (plural Adaab) relates, for many Muslims in South Asia, to ideal principles of savoir-vivre, or ‘how to live correctly’.
The following is a High Brow explanation given by ivory tower academicians .
But for a Hyderabadi ' Chicchaa' ( uncle)
all it means is the usual decent behavior expected from one human being when dealing with another human being .
It is an intimate guide to personal activity, the principle behind a consciously imbibed personal and social etiquette that is simultaneously in keeping with a properly ‘Islamic’ demeanour or way of being. There is a long tradition of philosophical writing on adab, relating it to literature, art, craft, and popular religion (Metcalf 1984).
This entry explores the meaning of adab in practice and how such practices are morally and ethically underpinned by conceptions of relatedness, the body, and social hierarchy
. Adab is related in this regard to the cultivation of the habits of life and the development of a personal character,
as exemplified by the Prophet Mohammed and elaborated in the Sunnah (alternative spelling: Sunnat). In this regard, adab is a form of ethical practice; it applies to thoughts, words, and actions to create an ideal code of conduct that informs all aspects of life. Generally, in the South Asian traditions, there appear to be two methods of subdividing the practices of adab: between inner and outer modes of being and between the individual and social. In everyday life, there are guidelines for how to eat, partake in meals communally, sleep, speak, greet, take leave, wash, treat subordinates and superiors, travel, and act as hosts and guests. Th ere are also guidelines on correct emotional responses to misfortune, illness, and death. Adab also inheres in dress and is the custodian of virtue. On another level, adab lays out the principles of the relationship between an individual and God, a spiritual guide (Sheikh, Saiyed), family, and elders. Elevated among these codes are those that organize and structure relationships between spiritual guides, as putative descendants 2 key concepts in modern indian studies of the Prophet Mohammed, and their disciples. Upon pledging loyalty, the disciple enters a dual process of scrutinizing his faults (and attempting to remove them) and his virtues (and attempting to improve on them). He internalizes the image of perfection represented by the pir (‘saint’); and through recitation, practice, prayer and study, the murid (‘follower’) passes through a series of reciprocal transformations between the image he has of the pir and the image of himself. Th rough the refinement of habit the self is refi ned. Th ere is a transformative relationship between inner conditions and outer actions which is often conceived of as a three stage hierarchical path: Islam (‘submission’, ‘the embodiment of practice’), iman (‘cultivating religious faith’, ‘understanding’), and ishan (‘intentionality guided by cultivated spiritual faith’).
Ideally, the profane or the everyday, and sacred relationships, are premised on the same diagram of power. As Metcalf writes: ‘Whether one is learning a craft, or poetry and language, or music, or moral and spiritual qualities, the process of outer practice, the creation of habit, and finally a realization of that process in one’s being is precisely the same’ (1984: 11). Th e idea is that one’s physical actions in the world transform the constituent parts of one’s soul as one becomes increasingly adept and disciplined by the task: adab. Adab is also about emulation of exemplary fi gures and striving to become similar to them. Th e figure of the Prophet is held in infallible esteem as a model of dignity, wisdom, temperance, and fortitude. His example forms the basis of canonical prayer, personal dignity, integrity, decorum, modesty, wisdom, and personal and social order. To follow his model is adab; hence Sunnah is popularly understood as a rough guide to adab. Th us, it is Sunnah to perform one’s ritual ablutions in a certain manner, just as one is often reminded that it is Sunnah to round off one’s meal with a morsel of something sweet. Further reading: Alam 2004; Gabrieli 2013; Metcalf 1984. —edward simpson, Professor in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London —farhana ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Adab (plural Adaab) relates, for many Muslims in South Asia, to ideal principles of savoir-vivre, or ‘how to live correctly’.
The following is a High Brow explanation given by ivory tower academicians .
But for a Hyderabadi ' Chicchaa' ( uncle)
all it means is the usual decent behavior expected from one human being when dealing with another human being .
It is an intimate guide to personal activity, the principle behind a consciously imbibed personal and social etiquette that is simultaneously in keeping with a properly ‘Islamic’ demeanour or way of being. There is a long tradition of philosophical writing on adab, relating it to literature, art, craft, and popular religion (Metcalf 1984).
This entry explores the meaning of adab in practice and how such practices are morally and ethically underpinned by conceptions of relatedness, the body, and social hierarchy
. Adab is related in this regard to the cultivation of the habits of life and the development of a personal character,
as exemplified by the Prophet Mohammed and elaborated in the Sunnah (alternative spelling: Sunnat). In this regard, adab is a form of ethical practice; it applies to thoughts, words, and actions to create an ideal code of conduct that informs all aspects of life. Generally, in the South Asian traditions, there appear to be two methods of subdividing the practices of adab: between inner and outer modes of being and between the individual and social. In everyday life, there are guidelines for how to eat, partake in meals communally, sleep, speak, greet, take leave, wash, treat subordinates and superiors, travel, and act as hosts and guests. Th ere are also guidelines on correct emotional responses to misfortune, illness, and death. Adab also inheres in dress and is the custodian of virtue. On another level, adab lays out the principles of the relationship between an individual and God, a spiritual guide (Sheikh, Saiyed), family, and elders. Elevated among these codes are those that organize and structure relationships between spiritual guides, as putative descendants 2 key concepts in modern indian studies of the Prophet Mohammed, and their disciples. Upon pledging loyalty, the disciple enters a dual process of scrutinizing his faults (and attempting to remove them) and his virtues (and attempting to improve on them). He internalizes the image of perfection represented by the pir (‘saint’); and through recitation, practice, prayer and study, the murid (‘follower’) passes through a series of reciprocal transformations between the image he has of the pir and the image of himself. Th rough the refinement of habit the self is refi ned. Th ere is a transformative relationship between inner conditions and outer actions which is often conceived of as a three stage hierarchical path: Islam (‘submission’, ‘the embodiment of practice’), iman (‘cultivating religious faith’, ‘understanding’), and ishan (‘intentionality guided by cultivated spiritual faith’).
Ideally, the profane or the everyday, and sacred relationships, are premised on the same diagram of power. As Metcalf writes: ‘Whether one is learning a craft, or poetry and language, or music, or moral and spiritual qualities, the process of outer practice, the creation of habit, and finally a realization of that process in one’s being is precisely the same’ (1984: 11). Th e idea is that one’s physical actions in the world transform the constituent parts of one’s soul as one becomes increasingly adept and disciplined by the task: adab. Adab is also about emulation of exemplary fi gures and striving to become similar to them. Th e figure of the Prophet is held in infallible esteem as a model of dignity, wisdom, temperance, and fortitude. His example forms the basis of canonical prayer, personal dignity, integrity, decorum, modesty, wisdom, and personal and social order. To follow his model is adab; hence Sunnah is popularly understood as a rough guide to adab. Th us, it is Sunnah to perform one’s ritual ablutions in a certain manner, just as one is often reminded that it is Sunnah to round off one’s meal with a morsel of something sweet. Further reading: Alam 2004; Gabrieli 2013; Metcalf 1984. —edward simpson, Professor in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London —farhana ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
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