Nakhwa: chivalry and the knightly code

النخوة وآداب الفروسية

In al-Aqqad's reading of Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him), nakhwa is the knightly code: courage joined with generosity, restraint from wrongdoing and from treachery, and a refusal to insult. The author uses it as the key to much of Ali's conduct in war and policy, and holds that it was innate and also taught in the Hashemite household rather than affected 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Arabia
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Ethics and character

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موجز

النخوة عند العقاد هي «آداب الفروسية»: شجاعة مقرونة بالمروءة وترك البغي والكف عن الغدر، وهي عنده مفتاح شخصية علي بن أبي طالب 1.

معنى النخوة في الكتاب

يلخّص العقاد آداب الفروسية في كلمة واحدة هي النخوة، ويرى أنها طبع في علي وأدب من آداب الأسرة الهاشمية، وعادة من عادات الفروسية العملية التي يتعودها الفارس الشجاع 1. ومن ثم فهي عنده لا تحتاج إلى تكلّف، ولا تنفصل عن الشرف الذي يحمله الفارس في السر والعلن 1.

صور النخوة في أفعال علي

  • الكف عن المكشوف: يعرض العقاد أن علياً أصاب مقتل عدوه مرات فلم يهتبل الفرصة، لأنه أراد أن يغلب عدوه غلبة الشريف 1.
  • المروءة مع الخصم: لم يُجهز على جريح، ولم يكشف ستراً، ولم يمدّ يداً إلى مال، ومنع جنده من قتل المدبر وهم ناقمون 2.
  • ترك الابتداء بالقتال: كان يقول لا أقاتلهم حتى يقاتلوني، وكان يدعو إلى السلم قبل كل وقعة 3.
  • الكف عن السباب: لم يجعل السباب ديدناً له، ويعدّ العقاد ما صدر عنه منه فلتات لا صناعة 4.

التأويل وحدوده

يقرأ العقاد النخوة بوصفها تفسيراً لمواقف علي، ويرد على من عابوا عليه التصوف بأن التصوف في معدنه جهاد في الحق 5. هذه قراءة المؤلف الأدبية، وليست حكماً فقهياً ولا تاريخياً. وللمتحف أن يعرضها بوصفها قراءة، لا أن يجعلها حكم المتحف.

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Not yet set out from a classical Sunni source

This book is not a classical Sunni source in that sense, so the classical Sunni position on nakhwa is not recorded from it. To be added from a named Sunni source (needs_source).
More opinions (1)

Other viewOther opinion

Interpretive literary reading: nakhwa as the key to Ali's character

Al-Aqqad uses nakhwa to explain Ali's conduct, answers critics who faulted his mysticism or his insults, and calls the rare insults slips rather than a practice {cite:abqariyyat-ali-aqqad p.36}.

People and things also explored

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)· Ada' al-shahada (performing testimony: the duty on request, the excused witness, and the wording)· Manners of the Qur'an bearer· Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Adha (harm of a slight kind: removing harmful things and the duty not to harm)· Justice and grace (adl wal-fadl)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God

Sources

  1. The Genius of Imam Ali (Abqariyyat al-Imam Ali) , p.33
  2. The Genius of Imam Ali (Abqariyyat al-Imam Ali) , p.24
  3. The Genius of Imam Ali (Abqariyyat al-Imam Ali) , p.23
  4. The Genius of Imam Ali (Abqariyyat al-Imam Ali) , p.36
  5. The Genius of Imam Ali (Abqariyyat al-Imam Ali) , p.37
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Nakhwa: chivalry and the knightly code”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/nakhwa-chivalry/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)

Paying a debt in the form owed is obligatory by consensus. A debt due now must be paid on demand when the debtor can pay; a deferred debt is not due before its term. Payment is made in like items, with value owed where there is no like; a better payment is allowed when unconditioned. Remission, gift, assignment, set-off and settlement take the place of payment. A solvent debtor who refuses is compelled, imprisoned and his apparent property sold; the majority hold that a bankrupt is put under interdiction and his property divided among creditors, against Abu Hanifa. The insolvent is given respite, and his debt may be paid from zakat if he borrowed for himself in a lawful matter. A dead person's debt attaches to his estate and takes precedence over bequests and inheritance.