Fadail al-Sahaba li-Ahmad ibn Hanbal
- Author died
- 241 AH
- Editions
- Mu’assasat al-Risālah
Fada'il al-Sahaba (Virtues of the Companions) is a hadith compilation by Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH / 780–855 CE) dedicated to traditions and reports concerning the virtues, merits, and rankings of the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Transmission and Composition
The work reached subsequent generations primarily through the transmission (riwayah) of Ahmad ibn Hanbal's son, Abu Abd al-Rahman Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal (213–290 AH), who received it from his father . From Abdullah, it was transmitted by his student Abu Bakr al-Qati'i (Ahmad ibn Ja'far, d. 368 AH) . As with their transmission of Ahmad's Musnad, both Abdullah and al-Qati'i incorporated additional narrations (ziyadat) with their own chains of transmission alongside the original core compiled by Ahmad ibn Hanbal .
Scope and Content
The collection compiles prophetic hadiths as well as biographical and historical reports (athar) concerning the status of the Companions collectively and individually . It includes chapters dedicated to the general merits of the Companions, the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs—Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib—as well as prominent early Muslims, the Prophet's family (Ahl al-Bayt), the emigrants (Muhajirun), and the helpers (Ansar) .
Publications
The book was edited and critically verified by Wasiyyullah Muhammad Abbas and published in two volumes in 1403 AH / 1983 CE by the Center for Scientific Research at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah, printed by Mu'assasat al-Risalah in Beirut, and later reissued by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in Saudi Arabia in 1999 CE .
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