Bidayat as-sul fi Tafdil ar-Rasul (The Beginning of the Quest for the High Esteem of the Messenger) is a concise work summarizing succinctly forty distinctive virtues and characteristics of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) Translated by Aisha Bewley. The Author Imam 'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam, nicknamed the Sultan of Scholars, produced a number of brilliant works in Shafi'i jurisprudence, QurÆanic exegesis, methodological fundamentals of Sacred Law, formal legal opinion, government, and Sufism, and a masterpiece on Islamic legal principles, Qawa'id al-ahkam fi masalih al-anam [The Bases of Legal Rulings in the Interests of Mankind].