al-Tarikh al-Awsat
- Author died
- 256 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Waʿy
al-Tarikh al-Awsat (The Middle History) is a biographical and historical work on hadith transmitters compiled by al-Bukhari (194–256 AH / 810–870 CE) .
Composition and Content
Al-Bukhari authored three biographical history works of varying lengths: al-Tarikh al-Kabir (the large history), al-Tarikh al-Awsat, and al-Tarikh al-Saghir (the small history) . According to Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili, al-Tarikh al-Awsat originally comprised seven parts (ajza'), while an annotation on an early manuscript notes an eight-part division .
Unlike al-Tarikh al-Kabir, which is structured alphabetically by transmitter names, al-Tarikh al-Awsat is arranged chronologically by death dates and decades . The material begins with the biography of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and subsequent generations, dividing entries into chronological periods, such as "those who died between the years 40 and 50" and "those between 50 and 60" . Within these chronological sections, al-Bukhari documents transmitters' lineages, dates of death, narrator reliability (al-jarh wa-al-ta'dil), and hadith evaluations (‘ilal) .
Transmission
The work was transmitted from al-Bukhari through two primary recensions:
- The transmission of Zanguyah ibn Muhammad al-Naysaburi (also cited as Zanguyah ibn Ahmad al-Labbad) .
- The transmission of 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Salam al-Khaffaf .
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani noted that the transmission of Ibn Zanguyah differed significantly from that of al-Khaffaf in numerous places . Ibn Khayr recorded isnads for both recensions: one tracing through Abu Umar ibn Abd al-Barr from Khalaf ibn Qasim from 'Abdullah ibn al-Ward from al-Khaffaf, and the other tracing through Abu al-Hasan ibn Mawhab from Ahmad ibn 'Umar al-Dala'i from Abu Dharr al-Harawi from Zahir al-Sarakhsi from Zanguyah ibn Muhammad .
Identity and Modern Publication
Extensive excerpts from al-Tarikh al-Awsat were preserved in later biographical and hadith works by scholars such as Ibn Hajar, al-Sakhawi, and al-Suyuti .
In early modern printings, the text of al-Tarikh al-Awsat was mistakenly issued under the title al-Tarikh al-Saghir, including an edition edited by Mahmud Ibrahim Zayid . Researchers noted that the opening isnad of the printed text (Abu Dharr al-Harawi from Zahir al-Sarakhsi from Zanguyah ibn Muhammad from al-Bukhari) corresponds directly to the established transmission chain of al-Tarikh al-Awsat, as do the verbatim quotations cited from it by classical authors . It was subsequently published under its proper title, al-Tarikh al-Awsat, edited by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Luhaydan (Riyadh, 1418 AH) and by Taysir ibn Sa'd (Riyadh, 1426 AH / 2005 CE) .
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