Akhbar li Hifz al-Quran li Ibn Asakir
- Author died
- 571 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Fara'id lil-Tiba'ah wal-Nashr wal-Tawzi'
Akhbar li Hifz al-Quran (Reports on Memorizing the Quran) is a short hadith monograph (juz') compiled by the Damascene Shafi'i hadith scholar and historian Abu al-Qasim Ibn Asakir (499–571 AH / 1105–1176 CE), gathering prophetic traditions, companion reports, and scholarly sayings on retaining the Quran and religious knowledge .
Transmission and Structure
The work was transmitted from Ibn Asakir by three Shafi'i jurists: al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Salihi, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Mansur, and Mahasin ibn Abi al-Ma'ali . It was read to them by Ahmad ibn Abd al-Warith ibn Khalifa al-Qal'i al-Maghribi in Dhu al-Qi'da 566 AH at the Madrasa of Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Shafi'i .
The text comprises thirteen numbered transmissions with full chains of narration (asānīd) received by Ibn Asakir from his teachers in Isfahan, Nishapur, Herat, Baghdad, and Damascus . It includes:
- Prophetic supplications and practices: Traditions detailing prescribed prayers and supplications for retaining the Quran, including the narration of Ibn Abbas concerning Ali ibn Abi Talib reciting specific surahs during the late night of Friday . Ibn Asakir notes that al-Tirmidhi recorded this tradition and described it as gharīb (unfamiliar) . Other reports record supplications attributed to Abu al-Darda and Ibn Mas'ud .
- Cupping (al-ḥijāmah): A designated section citing a report through Ibn Umar regarding the physical and mental benefits of cupping and favorable days for undergoing it .
- Causes of forgetfulness (sabab al-nisyān): A section documenting reports and counsels from early scholars—including Malik ibn Anas, Sufyan ibn Uyayna, Waki ibn al-Jarrah, and Bishr al-Hafi—identifying sins and moral disobedience as the primary cause for the loss of learned knowledge .
- Selected verses and poetic counsel: A collection of specific Quranic verses recommended for memory retention found in the records of Sukayna, wife of Abu al-Husayn al-Balluti, followed by the well-known poetic verses advising the abandonment of sin to preserve memorization .
Scholarly Assessment and Publications
Later hadith critics evaluated several of the traditions preserved in the booklet. Nasir al-Din al-Albani examined the hadith attributed to Abu al-Darda in Ibn Asakir's collection and deemed it munkar (unacceptable) due to obscurities and weaknesses in its chain of transmission .
A manuscript of the work is preserved in the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS 3812, fols. 84–90) . The text was published in Cairo in 1412 AH, and an edition prepared by Khayr Allah al-Sharif was published by Dar al-Fara'id in Damascus in 1996 .
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