Barnamaj al-Wadi Ashi
- Author died
- 749 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī
Barnamaj al-Wadi Ashi (The Catalogue of al-Wadi Ashi) is a bio-bibliographical index of transmissions (barnamaj) compiled by the Andalusian scholar al-Wadi Ashi (d. 749 AH / 1348 CE), documenting his teachers, chains of transmission (asānīd), and the texts he was authorized to transmit .
Composition and Purpose
The work was authored by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Jabir ibn Muhammad al-Qaysi al-Wadi Ashi, who settled in Tunis and traveled across both the Islamic West and East . Al-Wadi Ashi composed the book in response to a request by a student of transmission who asked him to record the names of the prominent masters he had studied with in Tunis and during his journeys, specify the works and texts he had studied under them, and document those scholars from the East and West who had granted him written or direct general licenses of transmission (ijāzah) .
Structure and Method
Al-Wadi Ashi organized the work into two distinct parts:
- The First Part: Dedicated to the biographies of his teachers, detailing their names, lineages, kunyas, birth and death dates where available, and verses of poetry they composed or transmitted .
- The Second Part: Dedicated to enumerating the transmitted texts and works received from these scholars, recording elevated chains of authorization through licenses (al-ijāzah) .
The catalogue documents transmissions for fundamental Islamic titles across hadith, Maliki jurisprudence, Quranic readings, grammar, and literature, linking Western Islamic scholarship with Eastern transmission networks .
Editions
The work has been published in modern scholarly editions:
- An edition published in the Spanish journal al-Andalus (1973–1974) .
- An edition edited by Muhammad Mahfuz, published in Beirut by Dar al-Gharb al-Islami (1400 AH / 1980 CE) .
- An edition edited by Muhammad al-Habib al-Hila, published in Makkah by Umm al-Qura University (1401 AH / 1981 CE) .
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