al-Birr wa al-Silah li al-Husayn ibn Harb
- Author died
- 246 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Waṭan
al-Birr wa al-Silah (Piety and Maintaining Ties of Kinship) is a specialized hadith work by the hadith scholar al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan ibn Harb al-Sulami al-Marwazi (d. 246 AH / 860 CE), dedicated to the virtues of filial piety and upholding family ties .
Author and Context
Al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan ibn Harb al-Sulami, known by the kunya Abu Abd Allah, was a scholar from Merv who settled as a resident (mujawir) in Mecca . He was a prominent companion and transmitter of Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), transmitting an extensive corpus of narrations from him, as well as from other prominent authorities of his era such as Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, Hushaym ibn Bashir, and Yazid ibn Zuray' . Ibn Harb composed al-Birr wa al-Silah primarily drawing upon the transmissions of Ibn al-Mubarak and other early teachers, contributing to early thematic collections of hadith on Islamic ethics and social obligations .
Subject Matter and Structure
The work is arranged thematically around prophetic traditions and statements of early Islamic figures (athar) concerning filial devotion (birr al-walidayn) and maintaining kinship ties (silat al-rahim) . Its major themes and sections include:
- Filial Piety and its Precedence: The obligation and immense reward of honoring parents, including reports indicating that filial duty ranks among the most beloved deeds alongside prayer and jihad, and narrations highlighting the mother's greater share of devotion and obedience .
- Manners and Etiquette with Parents: Practical demonstrations of reverence, including avoiding raising one's voice, not walking ahead of a father, and abstaining from disputes in judicial courts against one's parents .
- Honoring Parents After Death: The chapter on filial piety after death (birr al-walidayn ba'da mawfihima) records traditions regarding praying for deceased parents, seeking forgiveness on their behalf, and upholding relationships with their friends and acquaintances .
- Upholding Kinship Ties: The virtue of maintaining ties of womb and family (silat al-rahim), even if relatives cut them off, along with stern warnings against severing kinship ties (qat' al-rahim) .
Method and Transmission
Ibn Harb relied heavily on traditional isnad-based transmission, frequently citing through Ibn al-Mubarak, Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, and al-Fadl ibn Musa al-Sinani . The text was preserved and studied among hadith scholars, counting figures such as al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Dawud al-Zahiri among the students and transmitters of Ibn Harb's legacy .
Printed Editions
The work was published in a modern critical edition prepared by Dr. Muhammad Sa'id Bukhari, released by Dar al-Watan in Riyadh (1419 AH / 1998 CE) .
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