al-Zuhd li-Abi Dawud
- Author died
- 275 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Mishkāh lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Kitab al-Zuhd (The Book of Asceticism) is a hadith compilation on renunciation, piety, and the traditions of early Muslims compiled by the traditionist Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (202–275 AH / 817–889 CE) .
Scope and Content
While Abu Dawud dedicated his principal work, Sunan Abi Dawud, primarily to legal traditions and rulings (ahkam)—explicitly noting that he omitted extensive narrations concerning asceticism (zuhd) and merits (fada'il) from it—he compiled traditions on personal piety and ascetic discipline in dedicated works . Kitab al-Zuhd documents the exemplary ascetic conduct, devotional practices, and moral sayings of the early generations, focusing largely on reports transmitted from the Companions (sahaba) and the Successors (tabi'un), as well as elevated (marfu') narrations traced back to the Prophet ﷺ .
Transmission
The book was transmitted from Abu Dawud through multiple chains recorded in classical bibliographies:
- Recension of Ibn al-A'rabi (Abu Sa'id Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ziyad): This widely transmitted branch focuses predominantly on the sayings and ascetic practices reported from the Companions and the Successors .
- Recension of Ibn Dasah (Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Bakr): This transmission incorporates attributed elevated (musnad marfu') hadiths alongside biographical material not found in Ibn al-A'rabi's recension .
Editions
The work has been published in several modern editions, including:
- An edition of the transmission of Ibn al-A'rabi, edited by Yasir Ibrahim and Ghunaym 'Abbas (Dar al-Mishkat, 1414 AH / 1993 CE) .
- An edition edited by Diya' al-Hasan (al-Dar al-Salafiyyah, 1413 AH) .
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