al-Ghurar wa al-Durar fi Sirat Khayr al-Bashar
- Author died
- 819 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Nawadir
al-Ghurar wa al-Durar fi Sirat Khayr al-Bashar (The Blazes and Pearls in the Biography of the Best of Mankind) is a concise compendium on the prophetic biography (al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah) composed by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar al-Izz Ibn Jama'a al-Hafid (749–819 AH / 1348–1416 CE).
Author and Context
The author, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Sa'd Allah ibn Jama'a al-Kinani, titled Izz al-Din and known as al-Izz Ibn Jama'a al-Hafid, was born in Yanbu in 749 AH. He belonged to a prominent scholarly dynasty of judges and jurists and was celebrated as a leading authority in Egypt in the rational sciences (al-ulum al-aqliyyah) and Arabic letters. Among his teachers were Taj al-Din al-Subki, Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini, and Ibn Khaldun, while his students included Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and al-Qalqashandi. Towards the end of his life, he focused intensely on hadith studies before dying of the plague in Cairo in Rabi' al-Akhir 819 AH.
Scope and Characteristics
The work was conceived as an abridged, accessible handbook outlining the essential events and aspects of the life of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. In his introduction, Ibn Jama'a characterized the treatise as:
"A work small in size, precious in knowledge, containing essentials from the biography of our master Muhammad ﷺ, and I have titled it al-Ghurar wa al-Durar fi Sirat Khayr al-Bashar."
The text is marked by a brief, precise style tailored for students and readers seeking a distilled overview of the prophetic narrative without expansive chains of transmission or prolonged digressions.
Attribution and Modern Edition
The attribution of the text to al-Izz Ibn Jama'a is attested on the title page of the primary manuscript, where it is explicitly ascribed to him. It is also referenced by Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli in al-A'lam among Ibn Jama'a's authored works as a concise treatise on the prophetic biography. Furthermore, the work was preserved in a manuscript codex (majmu') alongside another confirmed treatise by the same author, al-Safwah fi al-Tasawwuf, which is listed in Kashf al-Zunun.
The text has been edited and published with annotations and hadith documentation by Adnan Abu Zayd.
Answer updated