Alam al-Madrasa al-Hadithiyya al-Baghdadiyya al-Muasira
- Author died
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- Editions
- Research paper presented at the Second Scientific Conference at the University of Anbar 12/Jumādá al-Ūlá/1433 AH
Alam al-Madrasa al-Hadithiyya al-Baghdadiyya al-Muasira (A‘lām al-madrasah al-ḥadīthiyyah al-baghdādiyyah al-mu‘āṣirah: Aṣālah wa-Ibdā‘, "Eminent Figures of the Contemporary Baghdad Hadith School: Authenticity and Innovation") is a biographical treatise by the Iraqi scholar Abd al-Qadir al-Muhammadi, dedicated to documenting the lives and scholarship of key contemporary Hadith authorities from Baghdad.
Background and Purpose
The treatise was prepared by al-Muhammadi—a faculty member at the Iraqi University—as a research contribution for an academic conference. In his introduction, the author highlights the historical role of Baghdad and Iraq as centers for Hadith transmission and critical evaluation of narrators, citing early authorities such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Ma'in, al-Daraqutni, and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi. Although al-Muhammadi noted that he initially wished to profile early classical scholars, the thematic requirements of the conference and time constraints led him to focus exclusively on three modern figures representing the Baghdad tradition.
Structure and Content
The work is organized around detailed biographical studies (mabahith) of three modern Baghdadi scholars:
- Abd al-Karim Sa'iqa (1285–1379 AH / 1867–1959 CE): Abd al-Karim ibn Abbas Al al-Wazir al-Yamani al-Baghdadi, known as Abu al-Sa'iqa. Born in the Bab al-Azaj quarter of Baghdad to a family of Hasani sharifs who migrated from Yemen through Hama, he studied under scholars such as Nu'man Khayr al-Din al-Alusi and Mahmud Shukri al-Alusi, published the journal al-Sa'iqa, and taught a generation of Iraqi Hadith specialists.
- Subhi al-Samarra'i: Abu Abd al-Rahman Subhi ibn Jasim al-Badri al-Samarra'i, a prominent Hadith scholar and editor of classical texts in Baghdad.
- Bashar Awwad Marouf: Bashar ibn Awwad ibn Maruf al-Ubaydi al-Baghdadi al-A'zami (b. 1359 AH / 1940 CE), a specialist in manuscript editing and critical evaluation of biographical dictionaries and Hadith collections.
Sources and Methodology
The author employed a methodology combining written historical sources with direct oral history and personal validation:
- For the biography of Abd al-Karim Sa'iqa, al-Muhammadi relied on oral accounts provided by Sa'iqa's direct students, Subhi al-Samarra'i and Ibrahim Munir al-Mudarris, along with published references including Tarikh 'Ulama' Baghdad fi al-Qarn al-Rabi' 'Ashar al-Hijri by Yunus Ibrahim al-Samarra'i and Ni'mat al-Mannan by Muhammad Ghazi al-Baghdadi.
- For Subhi al-Samarra'i, the study drew upon first-hand observations from al-Samarra'i's scholarly circles in Baghdad, recollections from his peers and students, and Ni'mat al-Mannan; the text was then reviewed and endorsed by al-Samarra'i.
- For Bashar Awwad Marouf, al-Muhammadi relied on direct transmission from him, followed by sending the completed text to Marouf in Amman, who approved and stamped it with his personal seal.
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