Halves of the Lemon: Regarding the Intricacies of Coquetry

In an age that often struggles to reconcile modesty with desire, Al-Suyūṭī's treatment offers a perspective that affirms the goodness of attraction within the bounds of marriage, as he celebrates the arts of charm, flirtation and coquetry as part of the human experience, created and sanctioned by Allah. This book was undertaken as a companion to two of our previous translations of Al-Suyūṭī's works: 1. Al-Yawāqīt al-Thaminah fī Ṣifat al-Samīnah (Precious Gems on the Qualities of the Fat Woman) 2. Al-Wishāḥ fī Fawāʾid al-Nikāḥ (Sash on the Benefits of Marriage) Together, these three volume offer a comprehensive vision of Al-Suyūṭī's thought on marriage, beauty, and intimacy. They reveal a scholar who was unafraid to address the most intimate aspects of human experience, who grounded his discussions in the Qur'an and Sunna, and who celebrated the diversity of human bodies and desires as gifts from the Creator.

Shagã'iq al-Utrunj fi Raqã'iq al-Ghunj is a small treatise, a gem of Arabic prose, combining linguistic precision, rhetorical beauty, and legal insight. It explores the concept of ghunj (coquetry, graceful charm) in its various dimensions: as a quality of character, as an art of expression, and as a dimension of marital intimacy. As Al-Suyūṭī himself notes, the term (ghunj) encompasses a range of meanings: from the graceful movements of a woman to the intimate speech between husband and wife, from the coquettish glance to the tender word. It is, in the words of al-Azharī, "a comprehensive term for everything a man desires from a woman", and, we might add, everything a woman may gracefully offer.

The book Nawāḍir al-’Ayk has been falsely ascribed to the Imam with the pretense that his students mentioned the book. Tihis remains weak, as we cannot rule out that the book has been forged or corrupted by others in order to commit fraud. It was published by some low-esteemed publishers, Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah and Dar al-Kitab al-Jadid, who have no reputation in the world of Islamic scholarship whatsoever, and are known for rushing and producing sloppy works in order to sell more copies.

Whether the manuscripts have his name on them is irrelevant as testimony has been provided by Professor Dr. Sameer Al-Droubi, may Allah grant him success, who is affiliated with the Department of Arabic Language at the University of Mu’tah in Jordan, and worked intensively with Al-Suyūṭī’s books and indexed them in which he says:

“It has been ascribed to al-Suyūṭī that what he did not have, and we analyzed many books, especially on the subject of comprehensive books for several arts, and books of literature and anecdotes, especially those related to the Nikāḥ. Al-Suyūṭī authored only three works on this matter, namely:

Al-Wishāḥ fī fawāʼid al-nikāḥ

Al-yawāqīt al-thamīnah fī ṣifāt al-samīnah

Shaqā’iq al-Utrunj fī Raqā’iq al-Ghunj”

© 2026 Abundance Publisher (E-bog): 6610001438890

Oversættere: AI, Mansa Ng

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 7. oktober 2026