Desire of the Aspirant: On the Etiquette of the Teacher and the Student

The classical Islamic scholarly tradition is characterised by an emphasis on the teacher-student relationship. Learning is not simply seen as a material acquisition of knowledge, but rather as a means of induction into a living tradition. This classical work expounds upon the ideals for teachers and students. It is a translation of Munyat al-Murid fi Adab al-Mufid wa al-Mustafid by the renowned scholar al-Shahid al-Thani. The original Arabic work, written in 954 AH/1547 CE, quickly established itself as a core text in the Islamic seminaries, and it has long been an important source of reference for anyone interested in Islamic education and spiritual development.

Now available in English for the first time, this work is a valuable addition to the core reading lists of courses on Islamic ethics and spirituality. This edition also contains an insightful introduction consisting of a biography of the author, an overview of the body of his work, a survey of his predecessors’ views on education, a study of his ideas on education, and an examination of his methodology of education.

Zayn al-Din al-‘Amili al-Juba‘i, known as al-Shahid a-Thani, was a prominent sixteenth-century Shi‘a scholar. He is credited with more than seventy works on a broad range of subjects. He travelled widely in his pursuit of knowledge and later taught both Shi‘i and Sunni jurisprudence.