al-Rawd al-Aniq fi Fadl al-Siddiq
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- al-Rawd al-Aniq fi Fadl al-Siddiq
al-Rawd al-Aniq fi Fadl al-Siddiq (The Elegant Meadow on the Virtue of al-Siddiq) is a short hadith treatise by the Egyptian scholar al-Jalal al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 CE) dedicated to the merits of the first caliph, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
Contents and Structure
The work is an arba'un (forty-hadith collection). In his introduction, al-Suyuti states that he compiled forty concise hadiths that are easy to memorize for those who wish to do so.
The text consists of forty sequentially numbered traditions detailing the excellence and virtues of Abu Bakr:
- The first hadith is transmitted on the authority of A'ishah, in which the Prophet ﷺ states: أبى الله والمؤمنون أن يختلفوا عليك يا أبا بكر ("God and the believers refuse that there be any disagreement over you, O Abu Bakr").
- The compilation gathers narrations on Abu Bakr's precedence over the community, his companionship in the cave during the Hijrah, his rank alongside Umar ibn al-Khattab and the other companions, his skill in dream interpretation, and his status as the first from the Prophet's community to enter Paradise.
- The collection concludes with a fortieth narration transmitted from Anas ibn Malik regarding the poetic verses recited by Hassan ibn Thabit in praise of Abu Bakr's companionship in the cave.
Following each narration, al-Suyuti cites the source collections and compilers who recorded it, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, al-Tabarani, al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn Asakir, Ibn Adi, al-Diya al-Maqdisi, al-Daylami, and Ibn al-Najjar. At the conclusion of the text, al-Suyuti notes that while the hadiths on this subject are exceedingly numerous, this treatise was compiled as a brief overview.
Title Variants and Attribution
Bibliographical sources record variations in the title and attribution of the work:
- Hajji Khalifah in Kashf al-Zunun and Ismail Pasha al-Babani in Hadiyyat al-Arifin list the work under the title al-Rawd al-Aniq fi Musnad al-Siddiq among the writings of al-Suyuti.
- In Idah al-Maknun, al-Babani also records a forty-hadith collection entitled al-Rawd al-Aniq fi Fadl Abi Bakr al-Siddiq with the identical opening incipit, attributing it to Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Bakri (d. 952 AH).
Publication
The text has been published under the title al-Rawd al-Aniq fi Fadl al-Siddiq, edited by Amir Haydar and issued by Mu'assasat Nadir in Lebanon.
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