al-Zuhd li-Waki
- Author died
- 197 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Dār
Kitab al-Zuhd (The Book of Asceticism) is an early compilation of hadith and pious traditions on asceticism and world-renouncing piety by the Kufan traditionist Waki ibn al-Jarrah (129–197 AH / 746–812 CE) .
Scope and Contents
The book is an early collection devoted to the traditions of zuhd (asceticism), containing 539 narrations . Its material comprises prophetic hadiths (marfūʿāt), companion reports (mawqūfāt), Successor traditions (maqāṭīʿ), and early scriptural narratives (isrāʾīliyyāt) .
Reception
The work is considered among the greatest of Waki's compilations and served as a foundational source for subsequent scholars who authored works on asceticism and piety (al-zuhd wa-l-waraʿ) . Ahmad ibn Hanbal praised Waki' as the imam of the Muslims in his era and urged students to consult his writings . Yahya ibn Main related that Waki would recite from his Kitab al-Zuhd, noting that upon reaching a particular report, Waki' would be moved to set the text aside and leave without completing the session, repeating this over three consecutive days .
Manuscripts and Publication
A unique manuscript copy of Kitab al-Zuhd is preserved at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (MS Hadith 242, fols. 41–85, under general no. 1033), with a microfilm copy housed at the Islamic University of Madinah . The text was edited by Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Jabbar al-Fariwa'i as a master's thesis at the Islamic University of Madinah, defended in Shaban 1402 AH . It was first published by Maktabat al-Dar in Medina in 1404 AH (1984 CE), and subsequently issued in a second edition by Dar al-Sumay'i in Riyadh in 1415 AH .
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