A Sublime Benefit: On the Principles Governing the Most Beautiful Names
Authored by: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Abī Bakr, known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
Critical Edition: ʿAbd al-Razzāq b. ʿAbd al-Muḥsin al-Badr

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Introduction
All praise belongs to Allah, Who is praised in every circumstance, described with attributes of majesty and perfection. His are the Most Beautiful Names, and He is the Exalted, the Most High.

To proceed: Among the noblest branches of knowledge, the most beneficial and fruitful of them, is the study of comprehensive principles, fundamentals, and universal maxims. The foundations and principles of any science are like the base of a building or the roots of a tree—without them there is no stability. Upon those foundations the subsidiary issues are built, and the branches are strengthened and reinforced by their roots. Through these maxims and principles, knowledge is consolidated, fortified, and grows in steady abundance; by means of them one discerns the sources of primary rulings and gains the criterion for distinguishing between many seemingly similar questions. They also gather together analogous matters and related cases, and it is a mark of scholarly elegance to unite such counterparts⦗1⦘ up to