Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatihim

Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatihim (Continuation of the History of the Birth and Death Dates of Scholars) is a biographical necrology composed by the Syrian hadith scholar and historian Abd al-Aziz al-Kattani (d. 466 AH / 1073–1074 CE) Talqih al-Uqul fi Fadail …+1. The book serves as a chronological record of the deaths of scholars, particularly hadith transmitters and jurists associated with Damascus and neighboring regions Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ul….

Scope and Content

The work was composed as an annalistic continuation (dhayl) of Ibn Zabr al-Raba'i's (d. 379 AH) biographical work, Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatihim, which had recorded scholars' birth and death dates from the first year of the Hijra down to the year 338 AH al-Wafayat - lil-Iraqi. Al-Kattani resumed the chronology from the year 338 AH, opening with the death of the Damascene judge Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Thabit al-Baghdadi, and extended the record year by year down to 462 AH, shortly before his own death Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ul…+1.

Method and Sources

In his introductory rubric, al-Kattani explains that he compiled the documented deaths of the teachers who narrated in Damascus and of his own direct authorities, drawing upon oral transmissions, personal eyewitness accounts—such as attending funeral prayers—and written notes found in the notebooks and registers of his teachers Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ul…+1. Entries are arranged chronologically under annual headings Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ul…+1. Under each year, al-Kattani lists the deceased scholars, often noting the exact month and day of death, their primary teachers, notable pupils, their reliability and standing in hadith criticism, their doctrinal leanings when relevant, and occasionally their approximate or confirmed age at death Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ul…+1.

Continuations and Legacy

Al-Kattani's work became a key link in a long chain of successive continuations in Islamic necrological historiography al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha…:

• His student Hibat Allah ibn Ahmad ibn al-Akfani (d. 524 AH) compiled a supplement titled Dhayl Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatihim (also called Jami' al-Wafayat), covering the years 463 to 485 AH and adding sixty-three supplementary biographies to al-Kattani's period (338–462 AH) al-Wafayat - lil-Iraqi+1.
• Ali ibn al-Mufaddal al-Maqdisi (d. 611 AH) continued Ibn al-Akfani's supplement down to 581 AH in his Wafayat al-Naqala al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha…+1.
• Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri (d. 656 AH) then supplemented Ibn al-Mufaddal's book with al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-Naqala, covering 581 to 642 AH al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha…+1.
• Izz al-Din al-Husayni (d. 695 AH) continued al-Mundhiri's work in Silat al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-Naqala, spanning from 641 to 674 AH al-Hafiz al-Iraqi wa Atha…+1.

Modern Publication

The text was edited by Abd Allah ibn Ahmad Sulayman al-Hamad and published in Riyadh by Dar al-Asimah (1409 AH / 1989 CE), printed alongside Ibn Zabr's original text and Ibn al-Akfani's continuation al-Sabr inda al-Muhaddith…+1. It was also edited by Muhammad al-Misri under the title Tali Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatihim and published in Kuwait by Markaz al-Makhtutat (1410 AH) al-Mashyakha al-Baghdadiy….