Faḍāʾil (sing. faḍīla ; (moral) excellence, an excellent quality, or exquisiteness) denotes the superior qualities of individuals and groups, places and regions, or actions and objects. From the second/eighth century onwards, "faḍāʾil" came to denote a distinct genre of monographic works with material predominantly based on the Qurʾān and ḥadīth . The term also denotes sections and chapters in other genres of writing, including ḥadīth collections and historical, biographical, or geographical literature, where it has been extended to denote superior qualities in non-religious contexts. Although many derivatives of the root