Blurb:

Kitāb Kifāyat al-ᶜābidīn (The Worshippers’ Sufficiency) by Abraham Maimonides (d. 1237 CE), son of Moses Maimonides (d. 1204), was a vast legal and ethical compendium, of which only a small portion has survived. In the present excerpt, Abraham Maimonides presents a dichotomy between humility (tawāḍuᶜ) and pride or arrogance (kibr); he further divides humility into inward and outward humility on the one hand, and humility before the Divine and interpersonal humility on the other. Humility is to be acquired through habituation. For example, one must avoid wearing fine clothing, living in luxurious abodes, and pursuing positions of authority. In terms of practices intended to positively cultivate humility, one must train oneself in proper conduct, religious discipline, and scientific contemplation. In elucidating these modes of behaviour, Abraham Maimonides cites scripture extensively, in addition to mounting rational arguments. The present excerpt demonstrates Abraham Maimonides’ dependence on the great mystic and theologian al-Ghazālī, as well as Jewish works such as Kitāb al-Hidāya ilā Farāʾiḍ al-Qulūb (The Book of Guidance to the Duties of the Heart; Hebrew Ḥovot ha-Levavot) by Baḥyā Ibn Paqūdā (d. 1120) and his Moses Maimonides’ legal code (Mishneh Torah).