al-Fitan li-Numaym ibn Hammad
- Author died
- 228 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Tawḥīd
Kitab al-Fitan (The Book of Tribulations) is an early compilation of apocalyptic and eschatological traditions compiled by the hadith scholar Nu'aym ibn Hammad al-Marwazi (d. 228 AH / 843 CE), focusing on civil strife, cosmic portents, and end-time battles .
Subject Matter and Scope
The book is devoted to reports concerning historical trials, future civil conflicts (fitan), apocalyptic warfare (malahim), and the portents of the Day of Judgment (ashrat al-sa'a) . Its contents cover narratives regarding the succession of internal conflicts following the death of the Prophet ﷺ, such as sequential waves of turmoil affecting the regions of Syria, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula, as well as accounts detailing the emergence of the Mahdi and events preceding the end of time .
Method and Sources
Nu'aym arranged the work thematically by chapter headings, transmitting each report with its chain of transmission (isnad) . The material comprises prophetic traditions (marfu'), non-prophetic statements from the Companions and Successors (mawquf and maqtu'), and historical or biblically derived lore (isra'iliyyat), frequently citing figures such as Abd al-Wahhab al-Thaqafi, Yahya ibn Sa'id al-'Attar, and transmission lines going back to early narrators like Ka'b al-Ahbar and Tubay' ibn 'Amir .
Scholarly Reception and Critique
While Nu'aym was recognized by peers like Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Ma'in for his staunch adherence to the Sunnah and his steadfastness during the Mihna (Inquisition), later critical hadith scholars expressed strong reservations regarding the contents of Kitab al-Fitan . Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi stated that it is impermissible to use Nu'aym as an authoritative proof because he compiled Kitab al-Fitan and included within it oddities and repudiated traditions (manakir) . Later scholars frequently analyzed its individual narrations, pointing out severed chains, uncorroborated solo transmissions, and weak narrators embedded in its paths of transmission .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscripts of the work have been preserved in historical collections, including copies at the British Museum in London, the Atif Efendi Library in Istanbul, and the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus . The book has been edited and published in print, notably in an edition verified by Samir Amin al-Zuhayri and published by Maktabat al-Tawhid in Cairo (1412 AH) .
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