al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muhaddithin wa Kunahum

al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muhaddithin wa Kunahum (The History and Names and Agnomens of Hadith Scholars) is a biographical dictionary of hadith transmitters by the Baghdadi judge and traditionist Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Muqaddami (d. 301 AH / 913–914 CE) al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha…+1. It is dedicated to clarifying the names, patronymics, and agnomens (kunyas) of transmitters in order to resolve ambiguities and prevent confusion between similarly named individuals al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha…+1.

Authorship and Transmission

The author, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr ibn Ali ibn Ata ibn Muqaddam al-Muqaddami, was a client (mawla) of Thaqif based in Baghdad, who served as a judge in Baghdad and held the judgeship of Mecca in 280 AH before dying on 1 Shawwal 301 AH al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha…+1. al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muhaddithin wa Kunahum is the only composition attributed to him in biographical records al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….

The book was preserved through the transmission of the historian and traditionist Abu Zakariyya Yazid ibn Muhammad ibn Iyas al-Azdi al-Mawsili Irshad al-Qasi wa al-Dani…+1. The transmission chain (isnad) preserved on the manuscript title page passes through Abu al-Qasim Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Jawzi, Abu Nasr Tahir ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Mawsili (in Mosul in 407 AH), and the jurist Abu al-Fath Nasr ibn Ibrahim al-Maqdisi al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….

Content and Method

The work belongs to the early tradition of biographical compilations on names and kunyas (asma wa-kuna), alongside similar specialized works compiled by figures such as Ali ibn al-Madini, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna…+1. In addition to identifying narrators' names and agnomens, the entries provide several supplementary biographical and critical details:

• Critical assessments of certain narrators regarding their reliability, weakness (da'f), or accusations of fabrication (wad') al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….
• Occasional records of death dates al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….
• Cross-references identifying key teachers and students associated with each transmitter al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….
• Historical narratives and reports concerning prominent memorizers of hadith (huffaz) that illustrate their memory capacity, located toward the end of the text al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….

Reception

Later biographical authorities drew upon al-Muqaddami's material. Ibn Asakir cited his statements in Tarikh Dimashq, and al-Mizzi cited his reports—including al-Muqaddami's narrations transmitted from Ali ibn al-Madini—in Tahdhib al-Kamal al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha….

Manuscripts and Editions

A primary manuscript of the text is preserved in the British Library (formerly British Museum, MS Add. 617 / 717) Khizanat al-Turath - Fihr…+1. The book has been published in two notable scholarly editions:

• Edited by Ibrahim Salih, published by Maktabat Dar al-Urubah in Kuwait and Dar Ibn al-Imad in Beirut (1413 AH / 1992–1993 CE) al-Matalib al-Aliya Muhaq…+1.
• Edited by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Luhaydan, published by Dar al-Kitab wa-l-Sunnah in Karachi (1415 AH / 1994 CE) al-Tarikh wa Asma al-Muha…+1.