Amali al-Adhkar fi Fadl Salat al-Tasbih
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat Qurṭubah
Amali al-Adhkar fi Fadl Salat al-Tasbih (Dictations on Invocations Concerning the Virtue of the Tasbih Prayer) is a hadith treatise by the Shafi'i traditionist Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE), dedicated to the detailed documentation, chains of transmission, and critical evaluation of the narrations concerning the prayer of glorification (Salat al-Tasbih) .
Composition and Context
The text originated as a series of specialized dictation sessions (amali) delivered by Ibn Hajar as part of his broader hadith extraction project on al-Nawawi's Kitab al-Adhkar, a work also known as Nata'ij al-Afkar fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Adhkar . The dictation on the chapter of the Tasbih prayer was delivered from memory by Ibn Hajar on Tuesday, 13 Rabi' al-Awwal 848 AH, with Zayn al-Din Ridwan al-Uqbi serving as the scribe and repeater of the dictation (mustamli) .
Scope, Method, and Contents
The work opens with al-Nawawi's heading on the remembrances of the Tasbih prayer and the report transmitted by al-Tirmidhi regarding the differing views on its authenticity and its practice by scholars such as Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak . Ibn Hajar systematically gathers the transmission routes (turuq) of the hadith across the early compilations and traces them back to various Companions, including Abdullah ibn Abbas, his brother al-Fadl, their father al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Abdullah ibn Umar, Abdullah ibn Amr, Abu Rafi, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Umm Salama, Anas ibn Malik, and an unnamed Ansari companion, whom some identified as Jabir ibn Abdillah .
For each narration, Ibn Hajar analyzes the transmitters, clarifies the variations in the wording and the mechanics of the prayer, and distinguishes sound paths from weak or anomalous ones . He identifies the primary and strongest transmission as the hadith of Ibn Abbas reported through Musa ibn Abd al-Aziz from al-Hakam ibn Aban from Ikrima, grading its chain as hasan (fair) and noting that corroborating testimonies (shawahid) further strengthen it .
Critical Evaluation and Reception
A central focus of the treatise is Ibn Hajar's critique of the verdict of Ibn al-Jawzi, who had included the hadith of Salat al-Tasbih in his collection of fabrications (al-Mawdu'at) on the grounds that Musa ibn Abd al-Aziz was unknown (majhul) . Ibn Hajar refutes this claim, demonstrating that Musa ibn Abd al-Aziz had been declared reliable by prominent authorities such as Yahya ibn Ma'in, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Hibban, and that multiple narrators transmitted from him .
Ibn Hajar also reviews the broader scholarly consensus and lists earlier traditionists and jurists who authenticated the hadith or declared it fair, including Ibn Mandah, Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani, Abu Musa al-Madini, Ali ibn al-Mufaddal, Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri, Ibn al-Salah, al-Nawawi, and Taqi al-Din al-Subki . Later scholars frequently cited Ibn Hajar's conclusions in Amali al-Adhkar when addressing the legal validity and textual reliability of the Tasbih prayer .
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