al-Mutawarin
- Author died
- 409 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam, al-Dār al-Shāmiyyah
al-Mutawarin (The People in Hiding) is a specialized historical and biographical treatise by the Egyptian hadith scholar and genealogist Abd al-Ghani ibn Sa'id al-Azdi (332–409 AH / 944–1018 CE) . The work documents narratives of early Muslim figures—particularly scholars and reciters from the generation of the Successors (al-Tabi'un)—who fled or went into hiding to escape the persecution of the Umayyad governor al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi .
Subject and Content
The treatise compiles reports and narrations with chains of transmission regarding individuals targeted by al-Hajjaj . Among the prominent figures whose episodes of concealment and flight are recorded in the work are:
- Al-Hasan al-Basri: Documenting his period of concealment in the house of Abu Khalifah al-Hajjaj ibn 'Ittab, where scholars such as Humayd al-Tawil and Malik ibn Dinar visited him, as well as his prostrating in gratitude upon receiving news of al-Hajjaj's death .
- Ibrahim al-Nakha'i: Detailing his hiding, his inability to pray in congregation out of fear of al-Hajjaj, his weeping from joy when al-Hajjaj died, and his eventual death and nighttime burial while still in hiding .
- Sa'id ibn Jubayr: Recounting his flights between different regions until he was captured and brought before al-Hajjaj, who subsequently ordered his execution .
- Mujahid ibn Jabr and Abu 'Iyad: Reporting their joint concealment from al-Hajjaj and leading each other in prayer on the day of Eid al-Fitr .
- Al-A'mash (Sulayman ibn Mihran): Describing his hiding in the marshlands and reed beds (al-ajam) during the reign of al-Hajjaj .
- Abd Allah ibn al-Harith (known as Babbah): Recording his flight from al-Hajjaj toward Oman following the uprising of Ibn al-Ash'ath, where he remained until his death .
- Imran ibn Hittan: Documenting his movements between various tribes when al-Hajjaj pursued him, eventually seeking refuge with Rawh ibn Zinba' .
Transmission and Modern Publication
The text was transmitted through chains of hadith scholars beginning directly from the author via Ibrahim ibn Sa'id al-Habbal, through Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Farra', Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Irtahi, Jamal al-Din Abd Allah ibn al-Hafiz Abd al-Ghani, Sulayman ibn Hamzah, and down to Izz al-Din ibn Jama'ah .
A manuscript copy of the treatise is preserved in the al-Zahiriyya Library in Damascus . The work was edited by Mashhur Hasan Mahmud Salman and published under the full title al-Mutawarin alladhina ikhtafaw khawfan min al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi in 1410 AH (1990 CE) by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus and al-Dar al-Shamiyyah in Beirut .
Answer updated