al-Buldaniyat li al-Sakhawi
- Author died
- 902 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Ata'
al-Buldaniyat li al-Sakhawi (Arabic: البلدانيات للسخاوي, also entitled al-Ahadith al-Buldaniyat or al-Buldaniyat al-'Aliyyat) is a topographical hadith work compiled by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar and historian Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (831–902 AH / 1427–1497 CE) . The work documents the towns and cities where the author traveled and heard hadith transmissions across Egypt, Syria, and the Hijaz, providing exemplary narrations obtained in each location .
Subject and Structure
The book is structured in a single volume and arranged alphabetically by geographical name . It draws upon al-Sakhawi’s extensive scholarly travels, during which he received transmissions in more than eighty localities—ranging from major urban centers such as Cairo, Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Aleppo, and Jerusalem, to smaller rural stops—from a body of over 1,200 scholars .
Under each locality, al-Sakhawi provides biographical or topographical context and records an illustrative transmission—whether a prophetic hadith, a report (athar), a poetic verse, or an anecdote (hikayah)—narrated to him by a local resident or a visiting scholar present in that town, accompanied by its full chain of narration (isnad) .
Method and Hadith Criticism
In addition to recording chains of narration, al-Sakhawi integrates critical hadith evaluation, assessing the authenticity of texts and comparing transmission routes . For instance, when documenting the hadith regarding prayers in Jerusalem and sending oil for its lamps, he grades the narration as hasan (fair), notes that Abu Dawud remained silent on it in accordance with his standard criteria, and details the corroborating paths of transmission across various regional authorities, such as Mu'awiya ibn Salih, Thawr ibn Yazid, and Yazid ibn Yazid ibn Jabir .
The composition follows the traditional Islamic genre of al-arba'iniyat al-buldaniyya and buldaniyat collections, a literary tradition whose history al-Sakhawi outlined elsewhere as having been initiated by scholars such as Abu Bakr al-Samantari al-Siqilli (d. 464 AH), Abu Tahir al-Silafi, Ibn 'Asakir, and Ibn Nuqtah .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in international archives, including the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin (MS 3664) and the Süleymaniye Library’s Ayasofya collection in Istanbul (MS 1950) . The book was published in Riyadh in an edition edited by Husam ibn Muhammad al-Qattan (Dar al-'Ata', 1422 AH / 2001 CE) .
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