Amthal al-Hadith lil-Ramhurmzi
- Author died
- 360 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Kutub al-Thaqāfiyyah
Amthal al-Hadith (The Parables of Hadith), also recorded under the title Kitab Amthal al-Nabi (The Book of the Prophet's Parables), is a thematic hadith collection compiled by the judge and traditionist Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Ramahurmuzi (d. ca. 360 AH / 971 CE) focusing on parabolic, allegorical, and proverbial traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad .
Background and Transmission
The work is among the notable specialized thematic compilations produced by al-Ramahurmuzi, who was described by Ibn al-Nadim as an accomplished author with an elegant compositional style who followed the literary manner of al-Jahiz, composed poetry, and transmitted hadith . Ibn al-Nadim and Yaqut al-Hamawi recorded the work in their bibliographical surveys under the title Kitab Amthal al-Nabi .
In Andalusian transmission records, Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili documented his chain of transmission for the book under the full title Kitab Amthal al-Hadith al-Marwiyyah ‘an Rasul Allah, noting that the transmitter Abu al-Qasim Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Talib al-Baghdadi read the text directly before al-Ramahurmuzi in Ramhurmuz in the month of Muharram, 333 AH .
Content and Method
The compilation is dedicated to documenting prophetic traditions containing explicit comparisons, similes, and moral parables (amthal), cited with their chains of narration (asānīd) . Through these narratives, al-Ramahurmuzi compiles reports illustrating religious concepts, ethical directives, and doctrinal teachings via analogies and symbolic imagery employed in prophetic speech .
Editions
The work has been published in modern print editions:
- An edition edited by Ahmad Abd al-Fattah Tammam under the title Amthal al-Hadith al-Marwiyyah ‘an al-Nabi ﷺ, published by Mu’assasat al-Kutub al-Thaqafiyyah in Beirut (1409 AH / 1988 CE) .
- An edition published by al-Dar al-Salafiyyah in Bombay, India, edited by Abd al-Hamid .
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