Islamic advice literature may include collections of stories or anecdotes such as legal opinion, interpretation of religious text, legal theory, guidance, consultation, or Islamic stories. They are usually printed on small leaflets, and often involve advice from individuals or authorities. By contrast, Nasîhat and advice literature can come from secular, non-Ulama too. Unlike Fiqh Tafsir and Fatwa, or Nasîhat based on them, advice can go beyond religious scriptural realm or even seen to take support of otherwise not easily admissible Hadith or religious rulings in order to make normative pleas. According to Gudrun Kramer, individuals in Muslim societies may urge religious and moral advice, and individuals may be passionate in providing their advice on far-reaching topics. These topics may be mundane — for example, whether or not it is okay to wear a wig according to the norms of their community. Hence, according to Marzieh Bashirpour, social behavior of Muslims is deeply influenced by advice literature.
Means of providing advice
Means of providing Islamic advice includes traditional as well as modern technologies. In Egypt's Al-Azhar University did set up 'advice / fatwa kiosks' at subway stations. In 2000 AD Al-Azhar University introduced a phone-in advice service called "Dial-a-Sheikh"
Islamizing the Islamic State
According to Luke Yarbrough, early Islamic state heavily depended on non-Arabs, frequently non-Muslim civil, officials specially by the late Umayyad and early 'Abbasid states. The situation started to change in the 8th century as Muslims began to compete for social and economic benefits by using religious leverage. By the 9th century, Islamic jurists began to oppose employment of non-Muslims with little influence but major formal shift started coming by the 12th century, when independent advice literature campaigned for dismissal of non-Muslim civil officials. Jennifer A. London looks at then scholarly import and presentations of medieval fables as part of advice literature which spoke about political thoughts through characters employed in those literature as mirror for princes. According to Sami Helewa, prophetic anecdotes about Joseph, David and Soloman called "'Qisas' al-anbiya" by 9th century AD Persian Islamic scholar Al-Tabari and subsequently 11th century AD scholar Al-Tha'labi served as advice literature to medieval Islamic rulers. A 10th-century anonymous Arabic manuscript is seen giving advice to rulers through the rhymes like "an: yasüsu I- 'âmmata bi-siyâsati l-qur'ân, wal- khàssa bi-siyàsati l-zamán". with a religious undertone. At times, advice goes beyond religious and suggests administrative policies through rhymes like "ba: ya'taqilu gundahu bil-raghba, là bil-rahba" . Karakhanid writer Yusuf Balasaghuni wrote Islamic advice literature in Kutadgu Bilig, the only known literary work written in Turkic from the Karakhanid period. Ebrahim Moosa and Nicholas Roberts, in "Expressions of Political Quietism in Islamic History" in Political Quietism in Islam: Sunni and Shi’i Practice and Thought, state that in medieval times, despite the backdrop of power of Muslim empire in which political quietism became a virtue of ideal citizens, the genre of Nasîhat and advice literature started thriving. According to al-Sarhan, the goal of advice literature then in those times was to help preserve political authority as part of pragmatic quiet activity. al-Sarhan further states that while Siyasat nama by Nizam al-Mulk, Nasihat al-Muluk by al-Ghazali, al-siyasa al-shar'iyya by ibn Taymiyya while epitomizing political activism on one hand very much gave into the divinely sanctioned absolutism of the caliphs on other hand. Strategy through advice literature was subtle expression of political activism calling for equitable and sound governance within four corners of religious diktats while continuation of pragmatic obedience to authority in power. But to quote suitable advice literature explores from beyond religion, for example one political theorist of 11th century al-Mawardi attributes a pre-Islamic 6th-century quote of al-Afwah al-Awdi: "There is no benefit in leaderless people when disorder reigns, and they will never have a leader if the ignorant amongst them leads." al-Sarhan says that first half of quote conforms to political quietism as labeled by modern scholars same time second half matches with expectations of obedient religious Muslim citizen of a just and sharia compliant rule. Giving example of Zoroastrianism becoming invisible post 8th century AD from Persian literature, Ali Pirzadeh says that Islamic literature and Islamic advice literature wipes out most traces of local culture and heritage by giving exclusive prominence to Arabic narratives. Ali Pirzadeh further says that Iranian empire encouraged advice literature to hide their incompetence caused due to hereditary succession and to retain servitude of vested interests.
Social Islamization
In early and medieval centuries Sufi literature including their advice literature played a substantial role in spreading Sufi Islamic values among Muslim masses. In early Turkish classical advice literature Yunus Emre a 13th century poet's Risâletü'n-Nushiyye, Feridüddin Attar's Pend-nâme, Sa'dî's Bostan and Gulistan, and Mesnevi of Mevlana, Ahmed Fakih's Çarh-nâme played substantial role among Turkish Muslim culture and masses. According to Agnès Nilüfer Kefeli borders between high and popular Islam are often blur; since Arabic was not easily accessible to commoners folk tales were used as popular method of instructions of Islam that included sufi books.
Persecution of dissent
Medieval monarchs and caliphs could persecute most kind of dissent which did not suit them: ibn Tayyamiya was jailed six times in the early 14th century when he wandered from then a popular saying "Sixty years of unjust ruler are better than one night without a ruler"
Gender
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi's Bihishti Zevar, published in 1905, influenced the continuation of traditional patriarchal gendered role narratives among south Asian Muslims. Marzieh Bashirpour theorizes that Urdu advice literature's emphasis on adab politeness in interaction molded class differentiation between the literate and non illiterate and thereby validated discrimination toward the lower classes. Late 19th century and early twentieth century revival reformists promoted women's education, but their advice literature centered on making women better mothers equipped for better household management.
