al-Jawahir al-Ghawali fi Dhikr al-Asanid al-Awali lil-Budayri
- Author died
- 1140 AH
- Editions
- al-Jawahir al-Ghawali fi Dhikr al-Asanid al-Awali lil-Budayri
al-Jawahir al-Ghawali fi Dhikr al-Asanid al-Awali (The Precious Jewels in Mentioning Elevated Chains of Transmission) is a thabat (record of transmission) compiled by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar and traditionist Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Budayri (d. 1140 AH / 1728 CE), documenting his elevated chains of narration across traditional and rational sciences.
Title and Author
The author was Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Budayri al-Husayni al-Dimyati al-Shafi'i al-Ash'ari (also known as Ibn al-Mayyit and al-Burhan al-Shami). The work is referenced under slight title variants in scholarly catalogues and manuscript copies, including al-Jawahir al-Ghawali fi Dhikr al-Asanid al-Awali, al-Jawahir al-Ghawali fi Bayan al-Asanid al-Awali, and al-Jawahir al-Ghawali fi al-Asanid al-Awali. While standard biographical sources place al-Budayri's death in 1140 AH (1728 CE), variant reports record it as 1131 AH or 1141 AH.
Composition and Sources
Al-Budayri completed the composition of the work in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal 1137 AH. Abd al-Hayy al-Kattani described the work as an abridgment drawn from al-Umam li-Iqaz al-Himam by Ibrahim al-Kurani, in which al-Budayri diversified the transmission routes and included biographical entries for numerous scholars from the Levant, the Hijaz, Egypt, and the Maghrib.
Content and Method
The book opens with praise of God for elevating the status of scholars through short, elevated chains of narration (al-sanad al-'ali). In his introduction, al-Budayri emphasizes the significance of seeking elevated isnads as the foundation for transmission in Islamic jurisprudence and religious disciplines, quoting the report of Imam al-Tusi that closeness in chains of transmission represents closeness to God. He further cites the prophetic narrations: اتقوا الحديث إلا ما علمتم ("Be wary of narrating hadith except what you know") and بلغوا عني ولو آية ("Convey from me, even if a single verse").
Al-Budayri begins his enumeration of transmissions with the science of Quranic exegesis (tafsir) owing to its noble subject matter, presenting the transmission lineages of major commentaries such as Ma'alim al-Tanzil by al-Baghawi through teachers including Ali al-Shibramallisi, via Ibrahim al-Laqani, Salem al-Sanhuri, al-Najm al-Ghayti, and Zakariyya al-Ansari.
Transmission and Derivative Works
Al-Budayri granted an authorization (ijaza) for the book to his student Muhammad ibn Salim al-Hifni (al-Hifnawi), who later used it to authorize his own pupils in rational and transmitted sciences. In 1167 AH, Murtada al-Zabidi compiled Laqt al-La'ali min al-Jawahir al-Ghawali, an extraction dedicated to the chains of transmission of his teacher al-Hifni derived from the work, upon which al-Hifni wrote an authorization for al-Zabidi. Subsequent scholars, including Abd al-Hayy al-Kattani, received and transmitted the text through chains connecting back to al-Budayri via al-Hifni and Mustafa al-Bakri.
Physical Scope and Manuscripts
The work comprises approximately six quires (kuraris), with some manuscript copies spanning 43 folios. Manuscript copies are preserved in multiple institutions worldwide, including the Gotha Research Library in Germany, Princeton University Library in the United States, the al-Azhar Library and Dar al-Kutub in Cairo, the Awqaf Library in Aleppo, and the King Saud University Central Library in Riyadh. One manuscript completed by a scribe in Sha'ban 1167 AH contains the handwritten authorization and seal of Muhammad ibn Salim al-Hifni on its title page.
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