al-Mukhtasar al-Kabir fi Sirat al-Rasul
- Author died
- 767 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Risalah
al-Mukhtasar al-Kabir fi Sirat al-Rasul (The Great Compendium on the Biography of the Messenger) is a treatise on the prophetic biography (sira) by the Shafi'i scholar and judge Izz al-Din Ibn Jama'a (694–767 AH / 1295–1366 CE) . It summarizes key events and details of the life and attributes of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Authorship and Identification
The book was authored by Izz al-Din Abu Umar Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Jama'a al-Kinani . Classical biographers, including Ibn Qadi Shuhbah and Ibn al-Iraqi, noted that he composed two biographical works on the Prophet: a larger work, known as al-Sirah al-Kubra (or al-Mukhtasar al-Kabir), and an abridgment, known as al-Sirah al-Sughra (or al-Mukhtasar al-Saghir) .
Due to shared family names within the Ibn Jama'a scholarly lineage, modern bibliographers encountered confusion regarding the work's attribution . It was previously attributed by Carl Brockelmann and in some catalog listings to the author's father, Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'a (d. 733 AH / 1333 CE), and at times to his grandson, Izz al-Din Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Jama'a (d. 819 AH / 1416 CE), before scholarly examination affirmed that both the larger and smaller biographies belong to Izz al-Din Abd al-Aziz ibn Jama'a .
Significance and Reception
The compendium served as an important direct source for later scholars . Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya drew significantly upon al-Mukhtasar al-Kabir in the biographical sections of the first volume of his Zad al-Ma'ad, quoting reports through Izz al-Din, such as poetic verses authored by Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'a detailing the horses of the Prophet ﷺ .
Manuscripts and Editions
Several manuscript copies of Ibn Jama'a's biographical treatises survive:
- A 44-folio manuscript preserved in the Iraqi Awqaf Library in Baghdad (MS 957 / 1134), bearing marginal corrections .
- Copies preserved in the al-Azhar Mosque Library (Rawaq al-Magharibah, MS 997) and the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub, MS 3267 Tarikh) .
- An early copy preserved at Princeton University Library (Yahuda Collection, MS 1383), transcribed in 737 AH during the author's lifetime, comprising 58 folios, alongside another copy dated to 791 AH .
The text was edited by Sami Makki al-Ani and published under the title al-Mukhtasar al-Kabir fi Sirat al-Rasul by Dar al-Nashr in 1413 AH / 1993 CE .
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