al-Tarikh al-Kabir li-Ibn Abi Khaythama - al-Safar al-Thalith
- Author died
- 279 AH
- Editions
- Tab al-Faruq
al-Tarikh al-Kabir li-Ibn Abi Khaythama – al-Safar al-Thalith is the third volume of the biographical history and hadith criticism compilation al-Tarikh al-Kabir (also titled Tarikh Ibn Abi Khaythama and Tarikh Ruwat al-Hadith), authored by the Baghdadi traditionist and historian Ibn Abi Khaythama (185–279 AH / 801–892 CE) .
Compilation and Sources
The author was assisted in compiling al-Tarikh by his son, the traditionist Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Khaythama . Ibn Abi Khaythama drew upon several distinct authorities across different disciplines: he received hadith and critical appraisals extensively from Yahya ibn Ma'in, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and his father Zuhayr ibn Harb; he studied genealogy under Mus'ab ibn Abd Allah al-Zubayri; he took historical narratives and lore (ayyam al-nas) from Abu al-Hasan al-Mada'ini; and he acquired literary scholarship (adab) from Muhammad ibn Sallam al-Jumahi .
Content and Scope
Al-Safar al-Thalith comprises biographical notices of hadith transmitters arranged according to the methodology of traditionists . The volume includes transmitted evaluations regarding narrator reliability (al-jarh wa-al-ta'dil), recording Ibn Abi Khaythama's direct inquiries to Yahya ibn Ma'in about various figures, as well as transmitted statements from earlier authorities such as Malik ibn Anas and Mus'ab al-Zubayri . It also documents technical discussions regarding hadith texts, transmitter defects, and regional chains of transmission .
Reception and Transmission
The work received high praise among hadith scholars. Al-Daraqutni stated that he knew of no work richer in scholarly benefits than Ibn Abi Khaythama's Tarikh , an assessment echoed by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi . Ibn Abi Khaythama strictly transmitted the book only in its full form; when Abu al-Abbas al-Sarraj requested to borrow a portion of it to extract notes, the author refused on account of an oath not to transmit it except in full, prompting al-Sarraj to return it without narrating from it . Prominent scholars transmitted the work from the author, including Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, Ibn Sa'id, Muhammad ibn Makhlad al-Duri, Abu Bakr ibn Kamil, Isma'il al-Saffar, and Qasim ibn Asbagh .
Manuscripts and Editions
A manuscript of al-Safar al-Thalith is preserved in the library of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez (MS 244, copied in 610 AH / 1213–1214 CE) . Other surviving portions of the larger Tarikh include an incomplete copy of part 50 in al-Mahmudiyya Library in Medina and a parchment gathering in Rabat . Al-Safar al-Thalith was edited by Salah ibn Fathi Hilal and published by al-Faruq al-Hadithah in Cairo in 1424 AH / 2004 CE .
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