On Traits Rooted in Strong Faith and Expectation of Divine Reward, Leading to Entry into Paradise Among the Seventy Thousand Without Reckoning: A Study and Tahqiq of the First Chapter of the Manuscript titled “Al-Maqām al-Maḥmūd” by Muḥammad Awqjīzād

This study presents a critical edition and analysis of the first chapter of the manuscript titled “Al-Maqām al-Maḥmūd fī al-Aḥādīth wa al-Akhbār” by the Ottoman scholar Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad Awqjīzādah (d. 1039 AH / 1629 CE). Belonging to the genre of raqāʾiq (spiritual exhortation), the work highlights the virtues of righteous deeds and devotional acts, drawing primarily on Prophetic traditions. The title, inspired by the verse “It may be that your Lord will raise you to a praised station” (Q 17:79), expresses a spiritual longing for intercession through good works. The study revives a previously unedited ethical-spiritual text that promotes moral and faith-based values—dimensions often neglected in contemporary scholarship. Although cited in manuscript catalogues and biographical sources, the text has never been critically edited or examined. Based on a rigorous collation of four manuscript copies, the edition records textual variants, verifies ḥadīths, clarifies obscure vocabulary, and establishes the most reliable version. Stylistic and thematic analysis confirms the attribution to Awqjīzādah and reveals a moderate Sufi orientation that integrates hadith authenticity with spiritual reflection. This contribution enriches the field of spiritual ethics and sheds new light on a neglected facet of Ottoman religious heritage.