al-Ibar fi Khabar man Ghabar - wa Dhuyuluhu

al-Ibar fi Khabar man Ghabar - wa Dhuyuluhu (Lessons in the News of Those Who Have Passed - and Its Continuations) is an annalistic biographical chronicle written by the historian and hadith master Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH / 1348 CE), along with a series of continuations (dhuyul) composed by the author and later scholars al-Ibar fi Khabar man Gha…+1.

Composition and Method of the Original Work

Al-Dhahabi compiled the work as an abridgment of his larger encyclopedic history, Tarikh al-Islam (The History of Islam) Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al…+1. In his introduction, al-Dhahabi stated that he designed it as a concise chronicle organized by year to record the most prominent events and obituaries that a scholar ought to commit to memory and have at hand al-Ibar fi Khabar man Gha….

The main text covers the history of the Muslim community beginning from the first year of the Hijra (1 AH) up to the year 700 AH Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al…+1. Under each year, the author briefly notes significant historical happenings across Islamic lands and then records the prominent scholars, narrators, and notable figures who died during that year, organizing the biographies alphabetically by given name al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha…. Biographies and obituaries form the vast majority of the work's material, to the point where political events are entirely omitted in certain years al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha….

Al-Dhahabi's Continuation

Following the completion of the original text, al-Dhahabi authored a continuation titled Dhayl al-Ibar, which picks up from the year 701 AH and extends to the year 740 AH (and in some records to 741 AH) Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. In this supplement, he maintained the annalistic framework, providing brief monthly accounts of events followed by alphabetical biographical entries, focusing predominantly on figures from Syria and Egypt Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al….

Subsequent Continuations (Dhuyul)

Due to the widespread circulation and utility of al-Ibar, a chain of subsequent historians produced successive supplements to extend its coverage:

• Continuation by al-Husayni: Al-Dhahabi's student, Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Ali al-Husayni (d. 765 AH), wrote a continuation titled Ibar al-A'sar wa-Khabar al-Amsar (also referred to as Dhayl al-Ibar), covering the period from 741 AH to 764 AH (or 762 AH) Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1. He initially adopted al-Dhahabi's method before shifting in 753 AH to integrating events and deaths chronologically by month Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al….
• Continuation by Ibn Sanad: Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Sanad (d. 791 AH, or 792 AH) wrote a continuation on al-Husayni's work, covering events up to around 780 AH (or 785 AH) Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.
• Continuation by Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi: Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi (d. 806 AH) authored a continuation extending from 741 AH to 763 AH al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha…+1. Shihab al-Din Ibn Hijji critiqued al-Iraqi's supplement, stating that it fell below the level of his scholarship and relied heavily on al-Husayni's earlier work al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha….
• Continuation by Ibn al-Iraqi: Al-Iraqi's son, Ibn al-Iraqi (d. 826 AH; also reported 820 AH), wrote a continuation on his father's work that began with his own birth year in 762 AH and continued through 786 AH Kashf al-Zunun an Asami a…+1.
• Continuation by al-Murshidi: Nasim al-Din Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Murshidi (d. 833 AH) added a continuation to the elder al-Iraqi's work that spanned the years 764 AH to 778 AH Dhayl al-Iraqi ala al-Iba…+1.

Modern Publication

The text of al-Ibar and its continuations has been edited and published in various editions. Al-Dhahabi's al-Ibar was edited from manuscripts by Muhammad al-Sa'id ibn Basyuni Zaghlul al-Ibar fi Khabar man Gha…. Al-Dhahabi's and al-Husayni's continuations were edited by Muhammad Rashad Abd al-Muttalib (Kuwait, 1970) Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al…. Ibn al-Iraqi's continuation was edited by Salih Mahdi Abbas Dhayl Ibn al-Iraqi ala al…, and the continuations by Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi and al-Murshidi were edited and annotated by Ahmad Abd al-Sattar Dhayl al-Iraqi ala al-Iba….