Hadith Dhi al-Nun al-Misri
- Author died
- 248 AH
- Editions
- A manuscript published in the free Jawāmiʿ al-Kalim program affiliated with Islamweb
Hadith Dhi al-Nun al-Misri (The Hadiths of Dhu al-Nun al-Misri) is a short hadith monograph (juz') containing prophetic traditions, spiritual maxims, and biographical narratives attributed to the early Egyptian ascetic Dhu al-Nun al-Misri (d. 245 AH / 859 CE or 248 AH / 862 CE) .
Transmission and Structure
The preserved text opens with a transmission chain passing from Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Abd al-Latif al-Raba'i by authorization (idhnan) from Zaynab bint Ahmad, through her grandfather Abu Tahir Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Silafi, back to Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Zakariyya al-Sufi, who read it from his original audition in Baghdad in Dhu al-Qi'da 495 AH . The transmission proceeds through earlier authorities back to Muhammad ibn Salama, who recorded hearing directly from Dhu al-Nun .
The compilation is organized into two primary segments:
- Prophetic Traditions: The first part transmits hadiths with chains linking Dhu al-Nun to earlier authorities. These include a report tracing through the Ahl al-Bayt up to the Prophet ﷺ regarding the daily remembrance: سَمِعتُ جِبْرِيلَ عليه السلام يَقُولُ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، مَنْ قَالَ مِنْ أُمَّتِكَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ: لا إِلَهَ إِلا اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ الْمُبِينُ، كَانَ لَهُ أَمَانٌ مِنَ الْفَقْرِ وَمِنْ وَحْشَةِ الْقَبْرِ وَاسْتَجْلَبَ بِهِ الْغِنَى وَاسْتَقْرَعَ بِهِ بَابَ الْجَنَّةِ ("I heard Gabriel, peace be upon him, say: O Muhammad, whoever among your nation says a hundred times every day: 'There is no god but God, the Sovereign, the Evident Truth,' it shall be a safeguard for him from poverty and from the desolation of the grave, and thereby he will draw wealth and knock upon the gate of Paradise") . It also includes a narration through Malik ibn Anas from al-Zuhri from Anas ibn Malik that عَلامَةُ حُبِّ اللَّهِ حُبُّ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ، وَعَلامَةُ بُغْضِ اللَّهِ بُغْضُ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ("The sign of love for God is loving the remembrance of God, and the sign of enmity toward God is hating the remembrance of God"), as well as a narration through al-Layth ibn Sa'd from Nafi' from Ibn Umar stating that الدُّنْيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَجَنَّةُ الْكَافِرِ ("The world is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the disbeliever") .
- Biographical and Spiritual Excerpts: The remainder consists of extensive extracts drawn from Tabaqat al-Sufiyya by Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami and al-Arba'un fi Shuyukh al-Sufiyya by Abu Sa'id al-Malini . These sections document Dhu al-Nun's origin in Akhmim in Upper Egypt, his Nubian ancestry, the naming disputes over his personal name (Thawban or al-Fayd) and kunya (Abu al-Fayd or Abu al-Fayyad), his journey to Baghdad, his summons to Samarra by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil, and his statements on spiritual auditions (sama'), repentance, love, and ascetic conduct .
Critical Assessment
Hadith critics evaluated the traditions transmitted under Dhu al-Nun's name with caution. Al-Daraqutni remarked that Dhu al-Nun transmitted narrations from Malik containing questionable elements (fi asanidiha nazar), noting that he was fundamentally a preacher, though he also stated that when an isnad back to Dhu al-Nun is authentic, his hadiths are upright and he is reliable (thiqah) . Other scholars pointed out defects in specific reports included in the work; Abu Ya'la al-Khalili classified the tradition concerning the love of God's remembrance via Malik from al-Zuhri as baseless (la asla lahu) and forged upon Dhu al-Nun, adding that Dhu al-Nun's meeting with Malik is not historically sound .
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