Al-Jami li-Sirat al-Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya Khilal Sittat Qurun
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- Dar Ata'at al-Ilm
Al-Jami li-Sirat al-Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya Khilal Sittat Qurun (The Compendium of the Biography of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya over Six Centuries) is a biographical compilation assembled and edited by the Saudi scholar Ali al-Imran . The book collects historical and biographical notices devoted to the Hanbali jurist and theologian Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) across six centuries of Islamic scholarly literature .
Background and Publication
The work was conceived on the pattern of Al-Jami li-Sirat Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya Khilal Sab'at Qurun (The Compendium of the Biography of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya over Seven Centuries), which Ali al-Imran had co-compiled earlier . Published by Ata'at al-Ilm, the book served as the final release in the 35-title, 65-volume series Athar al-Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya wa-ma Lahiqaha min A'mal (The Works of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Associated Works) . That larger editorial project was founded and supervised by Bakr Abu Zayd and funded by the Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al Rajhi Charitable Foundation .
In its printed edition, the volume incorporates two complementary works between its covers: Ali al-Imran’s Al-Jami li-Sirat al-Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya, and a bibliographic study titled Mu'allafat al-Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: Nusakhuha al-Khattiyya wa-Tab'atuha (The Works of Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya: Their Manuscripts and Printed Editions) prepared by Muhammad Uzayr Shams .
Scope and Structure
The compendium gathers forty-nine distinct biographical entries on Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya from chronicles, biographical dictionaries, and biographical registers (tabaqat) . The chronological scope begins with the earliest contemporary scholars who recorded Ibn al-Qayyim's life and extends to the turn of the fourteenth Islamic century (1300 AH) . The compiler chose 1300 AH as the cutoff point because subsequent biographical notices generally repeated earlier material without offering new data, and because fourteenth- and fifteenth-century writings were already widely accessible . Certain authors who died after 1300 AH—such as Siddiq Hasan Khan al-Qannawji (d. 1307 AH) and Nu'man al-Alusi (d. 1317 AH)—were included because their works were composed prior to that date .
The entries are arranged chronologically according to the death dates of their respective authors .
Method and Sources
The compiler categorized the source material into several tiers of historical significance:
- Contemporary accounts: Regarded as the most authoritative entries in the collection, these include the notices by Ibn al-Qayyim's direct students and contemporaries, notably Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d. 773 AH) in al-Muntaqa min Mu'jam Shuyukhih, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d. 795 AH) in al-Dhayl 'ala Tabaqat al-Hanabila, Khalil ibn Aybak al-Safadi (d. 764 AH) in A'yan al-Asr and al-Wafi bi-al-Wafayat, Al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH) in al-Mu'jam al-Mukhtass, and Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH) in al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya .
- Later non-contemporary sources: Important subsequent works include Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's al-Durar al-Kamina and Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi's al-Radd al-Wafir .
- Derivative compilations: Works whose factual content derives largely from earlier sources, such as Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali's Shadharat al-Dhahab (drawing from Ibn Rajab), Muhammad al-Shawkani's al-Badr al-Tali' (drawing from Ibn Hajar), and al-Qannawji's Abjad al-Ulum (drawing from al-Shawkani), valued primarily for their secondary commentaries, defences of Ibn al-Qayyim, and textual clarifications .
In editing the texts, the compiler transcribed and vocalized unpublished manuscript entries directly from preserved codices and corrected typographical corruptions present in previous printings of the published sources . Footnotes identify the publication data or manuscript repositories for each source text, with editorial commentary generally restricted to necessary corrections and cross-references .
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