Hadith al-Uthmani lil-Dibaji
- Author died
- 572 AH
- Editions
- مكتبة العبيكان
Hadith al-Uthmani lil-Dibaji (also known as al-Fawa'id) is a collection of hadith transmissions compiled by the Alexandrian judge and traditionist Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Uthmani al-Dibaji (484–572 AH / 1091–1176 CE).
Author and Background
The author, Abu Muhammad Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya al-Uthmani al-Dibaji al-Iskandarani, was known in his time by the moniker Ibn Abi al-Yabis. He traced his lineage through the Umayyad family back to Muhammad al-Dibaj ibn Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn Uthman ibn Affan. Born in 484 AH (1091 CE), he served as a judge in Alexandria and was regarded as the city's foremost hadith scholar after Abu Tahir al-Silafi. He died in Shawwal 572 AH (1176 CE) at the age of eighty-eight, though Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti recorded his age at death as ninety-eight.
Scope and Transmission
The collection consists of hadith transmissions and scholarly benefits (fawa'id) organized into eight fascicles (ajza'). The author compiled these reports from several prominent authorities without undertaking distant travels, narrating from:
- His father, Abd al-Rahman ibn Yahya
- Abu Bakr al-Turtushi
- Abu al-Qasim ibn al-Fahham al-Siqilli
- Abu Abd Allah al-Razi
- Abu al-Fadl Ja'far ibn Isma'il ibn Khalaf al-Muqri'
- Abd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Hammud
The eight parts of the work were transmitted directly from the author by Ja'far ibn Ali al-Hamadhani. In addition to Hamadhani, a number of renowned traditionists narrated hadiths from al-Dibaji and transmitted his material, including Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, Abd al-Qadir al-Ruhawi, Ali ibn al-Mufaddal, Hammad al-Harrani, and Ibn Rajih.
Reception and Standing
Scholarly evaluations of the collection and its transmitter reflect a notable local controversy. Abu Tahir al-Silafi rejected al-Dibaji, declared him weak, and accused him of fabrication and lying. In response to al-Silafi's hostility, al-Dibaji publicly declared that he forgave everyone with whom he had differences except al-Silafi, stating that their dispute would be judged before God.
Despite al-Silafi's censure, local jurists and notables in Alexandria defended al-Dibaji to Hammad al-Harrani, testifying that his audition records (sama'at) were authentic—many of them originally read in al-Silafi's own sessions—and describing him as upright, pious, and disciplined. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi judged him to be personally trustworthy (thiqa fi nafsihi), while biographers noted that he suffered from cognitive decline (kharaf) in his extreme old age, which contributed to later claims of unreliable transmission.
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