al-Tadwin fi Akhbar Qazwin
- Author died
- 623 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah
al-Tadwin fi Akhbar Qazwin (The Recording of the History of Qazwin) is a biographical dictionary and local history of the city of Qazwin authored by the Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar Abu al-Qasim al-Rafi'i (d. 623 AH / 1226 CE) .
Background and Purpose
In his introduction, al-Rafi'i notes that many prominent Islamic cities had dedicated local histories, such as Tarikh Baghdad by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, the history of Egypt by Ibn Yunus, Wasit by Aslam ibn Sahl, Isfahan by Ibn Mardawayh, Ibn Mandah, and Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, Hamadhan by Salih ibn Ahmad and Shirawayh, Nishapur by al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, Herat by Abu Ishaq ibn Ma'in, Balkh by Abu Ishaq al-Mustamli, Merv by al-Abbas ibn Mus'ab and Ahmad ibn Sayyar, Bukhara by Abu Abd Allah Ghunjar, and Samarqand by Abu Sa'd al-Idrisi . He observed that Qazwin lacked an extensive work of this nature, aside from an abridged treatise by al-Khalil ibn Abd Allah al-Khalili that omitted many earlier and later figures, and an unfulfilled initiative by Hibat Allah ibn Zadhan . Al-Rafi'i titled his book Kitab al-Tadwin fi Dhikr Ahl al-Ilm bi-Qazwin to record both prominent and lesser-known scholars, students of knowledge, and ascetics who were native to Qazwin, settled there, or entered the city as traders, visitors, or garrison troops .
Structure and Method
The work opens with four introductory chapters:
- The religious merits and distinct characteristics of Qazwin .
- The name of the city, recording that it was historically known in Persian as Kashwin before being Arabized .
- The construction of the city and its Islamic conquest by al-Bara ibn Azib .
- Its administrative districts, valleys, subterranean water channels, mosques, and cemeteries .
Following these chapters, al-Rafi'i lists the Companions of the Prophet and the Successors who entered Qazwin . The subsequent biographical dictionary is arranged strictly in alphabetical order by the Arabic alphabet, ordering entries by the subject's given name, father's name, and grandfather's name, without dividing the entries chronologically or by prestige . As an exception, individuals named Muhammad are placed at the beginning of the dictionary out of reverence for the Prophet . Figures known only by their patronymic (kunya) are placed at the conclusion of the corresponding section .
In each entry, al-Rafi'i provides biographical details, transmitted sayings, poems, and hadiths recorded with their chains of transmission, drawing upon what he heard from contemporary scholars as well as written registers and earlier manuscripts .
Publication
The work has been published in an edition prepared by Aziz Allah al-Utaridi in four volumes .
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