Hadith Abi al-Qasim al-Halabi
- Author died
- 371 AH
- Editions
- Manuscript published in the free Jawāmiʿ al-Kalim software affiliated with Islamweb
Hadith Abi al-Qasim al-Halabi (The Hadith Collection of Abu al-Qasim al-Halabi, also known as Hadith al-Halabi 'an Shuyukhih) is a short hadith monograph (juz') compiled by the hadith scholar Abu al-Qasim Ismail ibn al-Qasim al-Halabi (d. after 370 AH / 980 CE or after 390 AH / 1000 CE), preserving a selection of traditions he received from his teachers .
Author and Transmission
The author, Abu al-Qasim Isma'il ibn al-Qasim ibn Isma'il al-Halabi al-Misri al-Khayyat al-Mu'addib, resided in Damascus near Bab Kaysan . Historical sources record variant terminus post quem dates for his death: Kamal al-Din Ibn al-Adim notes that he was alive and narrating in Homs after Dhu al-Qi'da 370 AH , while manuscript transmission records place a narration session by him at the Great Mosque of Homs on Friday, 27 Dhu al-Qi'da 390 AH .
The transmission lineage (riwayah) of the surviving text traces back directly to Abu al-Qasim al-Halabi through the following chain:
- Transmitted from the author by Abu al-Mi'mar al-Musaddad ibn Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Umluki al-Himsi in Homs .
- Transmitted from al-Umluki to Abu Abd Allah al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Abi al-Hadid al-Sulami, who heard it at al-Umluki's house on 28 Dhu al-Qi'da 425 AH, and later had it read back to him at the Suq al-Ghazl al-Mu'allaq mosque in Damascus in Jumada al-Ula 480 AH .
- Transmitted from Ibn Abi al-Hadid to Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Asakir ibn Surur al-Maqdisi al-Khashshab .
Content and Structure
The work comprises fifty-nine numbered reports along with appended lines of ascetic poetry recited to the author by Ibn Imran . The traditions cover a range of devotional and ethical themes, including:
- Asceticism (zuhd), worldly detachment, and weeping from the fear of God .
- Eschatology, descriptions of the Day of Judgment, and trials at the end of time (fitan) .
- Moral virtues, aiding fellow Muslims, intentions, and proper religious etiquette .
- Virtues and reports concerning Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Prophet's household .
In compiling these narrations, Abu al-Qasim relies on transmissions from several teachers, including Ali ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Ghada'iri, Abu Ahmad al-Abbas ibn al-Fadl ibn Ja'far al-Makki, Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (known as Ibn Abi Nadlah), Abu al-Hasan Ya'qub ibn Ishaq al-Asqalani (dictated from memory in the congregational mosque of Ashkelon in 318 AH), Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Wasiti, Abu al-Abbas Yahya ibn Ali ibn Hashim al-Kindi, and Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Yazid al-Barqi (transmitted at Tarsus) .
Manuscript Preservation
A historical manuscript copy of the text is preserved in the Al-Zahiriyya Library collection in Damascus under manuscript number 3761 (Majmu' 24, folios 108–115), documented and indexed in manuscript catalogues including Khizanat al-Turath .
Answer updated