al-Ilm - Zuhayr ibn Harb
- Author died
- 234 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktab al-Islami
Kitab al-Ilm (The Book of Knowledge) is an early hadith treatise on the virtues, etiquette, and pursuit of sacred knowledge compiled by the traditionist Abu Khaythama Zuhayr ibn Harb (160–234 AH / 777–848 CE) .
Scope and Content
The work is a thematic collection devoted to encouraging the seeking of religious knowledge (talab al-ilm) and preserving prophetic tradition . Rather than focusing on legal rulings or substantive jurisprudence, it compiles narrations, reports, and sayings from the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and the early generations (salaf) regarding the standing of scholars, the manners (adab) incumbent upon students and teachers, and guidance to motivate seekers of sacred learning .
Transmission
The text was transmitted directly from Abu Khaythama by the hadith master Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi . Subsequent transmission ran through Abu Hafs Umar ibn Ibrahim al-Kattani, Abu al-Fath (also recorded as Abu Sa'd or Abu al-Fadl) Ismail ibn al-Fadl al-Ikhshid al-Sarraj, and Abu al-Faraj Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Isbahani . The work was documented in classical bibliographical registers, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras and Katib Chalabi's Kashf al-Zunun .
Manuscripts and Editions
The text survived in manuscript copies held at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus . Notable surviving witnesses include:
- A copy penned by Abd al-Salam ibn Abi Bakr al-Dimashqi al-Shafi'i, dated 583 AH .
- A copy transcribed by Buran (or Turan) ibn Sunqur al-Rumi, which preserves an audition (sama') certificate dated 614 AH read before the historian Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Jazari (Ibn al-Athir) .
The treatise was first edited and annotated by Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani at the request of Muhammad Nasif, and published in 1385 AH in Damascus as part of the compilation Min Kunuz al-Sunna .
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