The title Sifat al-Safwa is profoundly descriptive. Sifat translates to "characteristics" or "attributes," while Safwa implies the "choice," "elite," or "purest part" of something. Consequently, the book is an encyclopedic biographical dictionary of the spiritual elite of the early Muslim community.
Limitations and cautions
The book is organized systematically to highlight the virtues, asceticism, and wisdom of prominent figures in Islamic history: Prophetic Biography sifatusafwa ibn al-jawzi pdf