al-Jami lima fi al-Musannafat al-Jawami min Asma al-Sahaba
- Author died
- 632 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktabah al-Islāmīyah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Al-Jami lima fi al-Musannafat al-Jawami min Asma al-Sahaba (The Comprehensive Compilation of Companion Names from Major Works) is a biographical dictionary of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad compiled by the Andalusian hadith scholar Abu Musa al-Ru'ayni (d. 632 AH / 1235 CE).
Title and Manuscript
Classical biographical dictionaries, including those by al-Dhahabi and al-Suyuti, noted that al-Ru'ayni composed a work on the Companions without recording its complete title. The full title appearing on the title page of the unique manuscript is al-Jami lima fi al-Musannafat al-Jawami min Asma al-Sahaba al-A'lam Uli al-Fadl wa-l-Ahlam.
The surviving autograph manuscript is preserved in the Hasaniyya Library in Rabat (MS 6908). It comprises 323 folios penned in Maghribi script, completed at the end of Dhu al-Hijjah 628 AH (1231 CE), four years prior to the author's death. The manuscript suffered from humidity and wear along the edges, and its initial two folios were lost.
Sources and Methodology
Al-Ru'ayni designed the book to synthesize earlier specialized works on the Companions as well as major canonical hadith collections. In addition to the four main sources relied upon by his contemporary Ibn al-Athir in Usd al-Ghaba—Ma'rifat al-Sahaba by Ibn Mandah, Ma'rifat al-Sahaba by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, al-Isti'ab by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, and the supplement to Ibn Mandah by Abu Musa al-Madini—al-Ru'ayni drew upon twelve additional sources. These included Mu'jam al-Sahaba by al-Baghawi, al-Sahaba by Ibn al-Sakan, al-Ikmal by Ibn Makula, al-Istidrak 'ala al-Isti'ab by Ibn al-Amin al-Tulaytuli, the supplements on Ibn 'Abd al-Barr by Ibn Fathun and Ibn Bashkuwal, al-Sahaba by al-Daraqutni, al-Mu'jam al-Kabir by al-Tabarani, al-Tarikh al-Kabir by al-Bukhari, and the six canonical hadith collections.
To streamline cross-referencing, al-Ru'ayni employed a system of abbreviation symbols (rumuz):
- (ند) for Ibn Mandah, (نع) for Abu Nu'aym, and (بر) for Ibn 'Abd al-Barr.
- (مو) for Abu Musa al-Madini's supplement (which al-Ru'ayni cited as al-Mustafad bi-l-Nazar wa-l-Kitaba min Ziyadat Ma'rifat al-Sahaba).
- (بغ) for al-Baghawi, (كن) for Ibn al-Sakan, and (كو) for Ibn Makula.
- (طل) for al-Tulaytuli, (فت) for Ibn Fathun, (بش) for Ibn Bashkuwal, and (قط) for al-Daraqutni.
- (خ) for al-Bukhari's Sahih or Tarikh, (م) for Muslim, (د) for Abu Dawud, (ت) for al-Tirmidhi, (س) for al-Nasa'i, (ق) for Ibn Majah, and (ط) for al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Kabir.
- (ز) for his own critical additions and supplementary notes (ziyadat).
Structure and Content
The book is arranged alphabetically, beginning with Companions named Muhammad, followed by the Ten Promised Paradise, and then proceeding from Alif through Ya. Subsequent sections cover individuals known exclusively by unique names (al-afrad), agnomens (al-kuna), and female Companions (al-nisa). Within each alphabetical section, the names and their fathers' names are ordered largely by their first, second, and third letters.
Biographical entries typically provide the subject's full lineage, agnomen, tribal or regional affiliations, and textual vocalization for ambiguous names. When available, al-Ru'ayni recorded the date of birth, timing of conversion to Islam, military engagements (such as Badr or al-Hudaybiyya), public offices, familial details, and narrators who transmitted from the Companion. He also quoted hadiths directly through his own chains of transmission or summarized their contents, and concluded entries with dates or circumstances of death.
Scholarly Value and Publication
The work holds significant historical value because Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani did not have access to it when compiling al-Isaba fi Tamyiz al-Sahaba. It preserves 132 biographical entries for individuals cited among the Companions that do not appear in other widely published classical reference works on the Sahaba. Furthermore, it preserves citations and isnads from otherwise lost works or incomplete texts, such as portions of Ibn Mandah's Ma'rifat al-Sahaba.
The text was edited by Mustafa Bahu and published in Cairo by al-Maktaba al-Islamiyya in 1430 AH (2009 CE).
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