Ahadith al-Safar li Abi al-Yaman
- Author died
- 686 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Mughni
Ahadith al-Safar li Abi al-Yaman (Arabic: أحاديث السفر لأبي اليمن, lit. 'Traditions on Travel by Abu al-Yaman') is a short hadith monograph (juzʾ) compiled by the Damascene hadith scholar Abu al-Yaman Ibn Asakir (614–686 AH / 1217–1287 CE), assembling narrations on the etiquette, supplications, and legal rulings pertaining to travel .
Content and Method
The work comprises twelve narrations transmitted by Abu al-Yaman through his own chains of transmission (asānīd) by way of dictation (imlāʾ) . The compiled reports address various aspects of journeying, including:
- The hardship of travel and the recommendation to return promptly to one's family once one's need is fulfilled .
- The Prophet's ﷺ preference for departing on Thursdays and setting out early in the day .
- The shortening of prayers during travel to two rakʿahs .
- Supplications and invocations upon setting out, when night falls on a journey, and when bidding farewell to a traveler .
- Guidelines regarding pace and resting spots during seasons of fertility and drought, and appointing a leader (amīr) when three people travel together .
In addition to documenting the chains, Abu al-Yaman occasionally comments on the status of individual transmissions—such as identifying certain lines of narration as sahīh or gharīb—and provides brief lexical explanations of difficult vocabulary appearing in the supplications .
Transmission and Publication
The collection was transmitted from Abu al-Yaman by several disciples, notably Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Fariqi, through whom it was handed down to subsequent generations of transmitters, including Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Suwaydawi and Zaynab bint Abd Allah al-Iryani . Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani recorded his chain of transmission back to the author via al-Fariqi in his bibliographical register al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras .
A manuscript of the work is preserved in the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya) under accession number 25577 B . The text was edited by Riyad Husayn al-Ta'i and published in a single volume by Dar al-Mughni in Riyadh in 1425 AH / 2004 CE .
Answer updated