Dhikr al-Imam Abi Abd Allah Ibn Mandah
- Author died
- 581 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyyah
Dhikr al-Imam Abi Abd Allah Ibn Mandah (Mention of Imam Abu Abd Allah Ibn Mandah) is a biographical monograph authored by the Hadith scholar Abu Musa al-Madini (d. 581 AH / 1185 CE), dedicated to the life, virtues, and transmission network of the Hadith master Abu Abd Allah Ibn Mandah (d. 395 AH / 1005 CE) .
Background and Purpose
Abu Musa al-Madini authored the work after a group of his companions asked him to record the number and identities of Ibn Mandah's direct students and companions from whom Abu Musa himself had received Hadith narrations . In the introduction, he explains that transmitting a narration through any of Ibn Mandah's pupils placed him in an elevated chain comparable to receiving reports directly from earlier eminent scholars who had narrated from Ibn Mandah during his lifetime—such as Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Hamzah (d. 353 AH), Abu al-Shaykh (d. 369 AH), and Abu Bakr Ibn al-Muqri' (d. 381 AH) .
Structure and Contents
The monograph opens with a biographical profile of Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Mandah, detailing his Persian lineage tracing back to Fayruzan ibn Jaharbakht and noting that he was born in Isfahan in 310 or 311 AH and raised there . Abu Musa documents Ibn Mandah's journeys in pursuit of Hadith, highlighting that he traversed the Islamic East and West twice and collected extensive material from over 1,700 teachers . Among these, he copied one thousand juz' each from four principal authorities: Abu Sa'id Ibn al-A'rabi in Mecca, Khaythamah ibn Sulayman in Tripoli, Abu al-Abbas al-Asamm in Nishapur, and al-Haytham ibn Kulayb in Bukhara .
The biography incorporates testimonies of contemporary praise and dream reports affirming Ibn Mandah's leadership in Hadith, including commendations from Abu Ahmad al-Assal, Abu Ishaq ibn Hamzah, and Abu al-Abbas al-Mustaghfiri . It also records his demise on Thursday night (the eve of Friday) at the close of Dhu al-Qa'dah in 395 AH, his burial the following day after Friday prayer at the Dulkabad cemetery outside Bab Duzayy in Isfahan, the funeral prayer led by his son Abu al-Qasim Abd al-Rahman, and excerpts from a lengthy 70-verse poetic elegy composed by Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Jurjani .
Following the biographical introduction, the author lists his own teachers who were students of Ibn Mandah, ordering them by their given names (beginning with those named Ahmad) to facilitate reference . Under each transmitter's entry, Abu Musa cites a sample Hadith or report received through that specific chain, providing complete transmission paths .
Publication
The work was edited by Amir Hasan Sabri and published by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah in Beirut in 1425 AH / 2004 CE .
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