al-Amali bi-Jami Dimashq
- Author died
- 463 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah
Al-Amali bi-Jami Dimashq (Dictations at the Great Mosque of Damascus) is a collection of hadith dictations delivered by the scholar and historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (392–463 AH / 1002–1071 CE) at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus .
Composition and Transmission
The surviving text represents the fifth part (al-juz al-khamis) of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's dictations in Damascus, preserving four distinct dictation sessions (majalis) . The sessions were recorded on various Fridays between 458 AH and 459 AH during his residence in the city .
The primary line of transmission for this part runs from al-Khatib al-Baghdadi to Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn al-Hasan ibn Khayrun al-Muqri, who transmitted it from the author's original manuscript at the mosque on Darb Nusayr in Shawwal 535 AH, having received it from al-Khatib in al-Muharram 463 AH . From Ibn Khayrun, it was transmitted by Abu al-Fadl Sulayman ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Mawsili, who recited it in Baghdad on Friday, 23 Shawwal 610 AH .
Structure and Contents
The extant fifth part is divided into four sessions, each compiled with full chains of transmission (isnad) and centered on specific thematic reports and exhortations:
- First session: Dictated on Friday, 12 Dhu al-Hijjah 458 AH. It contains twelve reports focused primarily on the prohibition of fasting during the days of Tashriq, the legal rulings and merits of animal sacrifice (udhiyah), the prescription of kindness in slaughtering, and the disqualifying physical defects of sacrificial animals .
- Second session: Dictated on Friday, four nights remaining in Shawwal 459 AH. It comprises twelve reports covering supplications upon hearing the call to prayer (adhan), the merit of supplication, the expiation of sins through worldly hardship, the special status of Friday, the prohibition of hoarding food (ihtikar), seeking refuge from debt and sin, the virtues of the Prophet's companions, and poetic lines attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib on patience in adversity .
- Third session: Dictated on Friday, 3 al-Muharram 459 AH. It contains eleven reports discussing voluntary fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, the virtues of fasting in the month of al-Muharram, night vigil prayer (salat al-layl), the martyrdom of soldiers, the statement of faith freeing believers from Hellfire, the tradition of the slip of paper on the scale of deeds (hadith al-bitaqah), and the division of religious communities .
- Fourth session: Dictated on Friday, 10 al-Muharram 459 AH (the Day of Ashura). It opens with reports regarding the fast of Ashura and its historical context upon the Prophet's arrival in Medina, followed by traditions recounting the martyrdom of al-Husayn ibn Ali and related historical narrations .
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