al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - al-Daraqutni

al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat (Brothers and Sisters) is a specialized hadith biographical work by the Baghdadi hadith master al-Daraqutni (306–385 AH / 918–995 CE) dedicated to identifying siblings among hadith transmitters and historical figures Inayat al-Ulama bil-Isnad…+1.

Purpose and Scope

In the disciplines of hadith terminology, identifying brothers and sisters (ma'rifat al-ikhwa wa-l-akhawat) serves to prevent mistaking unrelated transmitters who share a father's name for siblings, facilitates the memorization of narrator names, and avoids erroneously dismissing narrations by lesser-known siblings as scribal errors Tasmiyat al-Ikhwa alladhi…+1. While the broader discipline spans multiple generations of transmitters, the extant portion of al-Daraqutni's work specifically documents siblings among the male and female Companions of the Prophet ﷺ—including those who narrated directly from him, those who saw him without transmitting, those born during his lifetime, and those whose siblings were born after his death al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …+1.

Structure and Content

The surviving first part of the book opens with siblings from the clan of Banu Hashim ibn Abd Manaf al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …. Al-Daraqutni begins with the children of the Prophet ﷺ, detailing his daughters—Fatima, Zaynab, Ruqayya, and Umm Kulthum—and sons, noting who among them transmitted hadiths and who did not al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …. The text continues with sibling groups among other prominent families, including the offspring of al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Rabi'a ibn al-Harith, and Abu Bakr al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …+1.

Method

Al-Daraqutni's approach exhibits distinct features in comparison to earlier compilations on the subject, such as those by Ali ibn al-Madini and Abu Dawud al-Sijistani al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …:

• Biographical entries: He provides concise biographical notices for the figures he records rather than merely listing their names al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - ….
• Narrative breadth: He includes all Companions in a sibling group regardless of whether they were active transmitters of hadith al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - ….
• Hadith documentation: He cites hadith texts throughout the biographies, reporting some through his own chains of transmission—such as from his teacher Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'id—and citing others without full isnads al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …+1.

Reception and Transmission

The book was preserved and transmitted through a chain of narration passing from al-Daraqutni to Abu al-Hasan Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn al-Adl, then to Abu al-Husayn al-Mubarak ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Sayrafi, and subsequently to the hadith master Abu Tahir al-Silafi in Alexandria al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …. Later scholars extensively drew upon and cited al-Daraqutni's work, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba and Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, al-Sakhawi in Fath al-Mughith, and Muhibb al-Din al-Tabari in Dhakha'ir al-Uqba Fath al-Mughith bi Sharh …+2.

Manuscript Status and Publication

Only the first volume of the work is known to have survived, while the remainder is lost Inayat al-Ulama bil-Isnad…+1. The extant portion exists in a unique manuscript preserved in the Chester Beatty Library in Ireland, comprising eight folios with a lacuna estimated at two folios between the entries for the children of al-Abbas and those of Abu Bakr al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - …. This surviving first volume was edited by Basim Faysal al-Jawabira and published by Dar al-Raya in Riyadh al-Ikhwa wa al-Akhawat - ….