Fadail al-Ramy li-Ishaq al-Qarrab
- Author died
- 429 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Manār
Fada'il al-Ramy (The Merits of Archery), also known as Fada'il al-Ramy fi Sabil Allah, is a specialized hadith work by the hadith scholar and historian Abu Ya'qub Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Qarrab al-Sarakhsi (d. 429 AH / 1038 CE) compiling prophetic traditions and early narrations on archery and martial training for the cause of God.
Content and Themes
The work gathers hadiths and reports documenting the religious virtues, spiritual rewards, and legal encouragement associated with shooting arrows and target practice. Among its key themes and reports are:
- Spiritual Rewards of Archery: Traditions relating that shooting an arrow in the way of God—whether it reaches its target or falls short—serves as light on the Day of Resurrection, elevates a person's rank in Paradise, or equals the reward of manumitting a slave. Al-Qarrab noted that he collected the tradition regarding the arrow becoming light on the Day of Resurrection through more than ten distinct transmission paths.
- Collective Merit in Weaponry: The hadith stating that God admits three people into Paradise on account of a single arrow: the craftsman who manufactures it anticipating reward, the archer who shoots it, and the one who supplies or passes it.
- Permissible Recreation: Traditions establishing that whereas worldly idle pastimes are void, archery practice, horse training, and playing with one's spouse constitute righteous recreation, with the Prophet ﷺ expressing a specific preference for archery over riding.
- Instruction and Admonition: Narrations detailing instructions from early figures, such as Umar ibn al-Khattab writing to the people of the Levant commanding them to teach their children swimming, horsemanship, and archery, as well as warnings against neglecting or forgetting archery after acquiring the skill.
Transmission and Reception
The book circulated through classical transmission lines. Taj al-Din al-Subki documented receiving the work via an isnad tracing back through Abu Tahir al-Silafi from Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Mas'ud ibn Shadhrah, from Abu Ali al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Matt al-Harawi in Herat, directly from al-Qarrab.
The compilation was widely referenced by later scholars, including Ibn al-Qayyim in his treatise on horsemanship and archery, al-Suyuti in his Quranic commentary al-Durr al-Manthur, and al-Munawi in Fayd al-Qadir.
Manuscripts and Editions
Several early manuscript copies of the work have survived in library collections:
- Köprülü Library, MS 384/1, containing an audition note dated 615 AH.
- Fatih Library, MS 3520 (fols. 100–105), dated 674 AH.
- Feyzullah Efendi collection, MS 507/3 (fols. 23–27).
- A manuscript in a United States university collection (MS 600), dated 479 AH.
- Dar Saddam, MS 8942/3, copied in the 9th century AH.
The text was printed in India in 1960 CE, and was later edited by Mashhur ibn Hasan Salman and published by Maktabat al-Manar in Zarqa, Jordan, in 1409 AH (1989 CE).
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