al-Tadhkira fi al-Ahadith al-Mushtahara = al-Laali al-Manthura fi al-Ahadith al-Mashhura
- Author died
- 794 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyah
al-Tadhkira fi al-Ahadith al-Mushtahara (Arabic: التذكرة في الأحاديث المشتهرة), titled by its author as al-La'ali al-Manthura fi al-Ahadith al-Mashhura (The Scattered Pearls Concerning Famous Hadiths), is a specialized hadith treatise by the Shafi'i scholar Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi (745–794 AH / 1344–1392 CE) examining widely circulating traditions.
Purpose and Scope
Al-Zarkashi authored the work to examine hadiths commonly spoken among the general public and jurists who lacked expertise in hadith critique . In his introduction, he notes that while Taj al-Din al-Fazari had authored a work refuting baseless customs among commoners, determining the veracity of widespread sayings attributed to the Prophet ﷺ was even more critical . He categorized circulating reports into two main classes: those that possess an authentic basis but are difficult to locate because they appear in obscure or unexpected sources, and those that have no basis whatsoever . He cautioned against attributing fabricated or unverified reports to the Prophet ﷺ, citing the warning narration: من يقل علي ما لم أقل فليتبوأ مقعده من النار ("Whoever attributes to me what I did not say, let him take his seat in the Fire") .
Method and Structure
The book is structured topically into subject chapters (abwab) . Within each chapter, the author numbered each main entry, leaving only the final chapter unnumbered . The work contains 234 primary head-hadiths, though the actual number of cited narrations is higher due to additional supporting texts and variant wordings discussed under each entry . Al-Zarkashi's method is marked by precision in source attribution (takhrij) and frequent consultation of lexicographical and rare-vocabulary (gharib al-hadith) literature .
Reception and Influence
The treatise is recognized as one of the earliest dedicated works on hadiths circulating on the tongues of the public . While compact, it provided the foundation for subsequent extensive works in the genre .
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti abridged al-Zarkashi's text in al-Durar al-Muntathira fi al-Ahadith al-Mashhura, rearranging it in alphabetical order for easier lookup, appending numerous additional narrations, and commenting on points of disagreement . Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi similarly drew upon and expanded the tradition in his al-Maqasid al-Hasana . Later, Najm al-Din al-Ghazzi compiled Itqan ma Yahsun, merging the material of al-Zarkashi's al-Tadhkira, al-Suyuti's al-Durar al-Muntathira, and al-Sakhawi's al-Maqasid al-Hasana alongside his own additions .
Editions
- Edited by Mustafa Abd al-Qadir Ata and published in a single volume by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya (Beirut, 1406 AH / 1986 CE) under the title al-La'ali al-Manthura fi al-Ahadith al-Mashhura al-Ma'ruf bi-l-Tadhkira fi al-Ahadith al-Mushtahara .
- Edited by Dr. Lutfi al-Sabbagh .
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