Hadith Musab al-Zubayri
- Author died
- 317 AH
- Editions
- al-Dār al-‘Uthmāniyyah
Hadith Mus'ab al-Zubayri (The Hadiths of Mus'ab al-Zubayri) is a specialized hadith tract compiled by the traditionist Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi (214–317 AH / 829–929 CE), preserving the narrations dictated to him by his teacher Mus'ab al-Zubayri (156–236 AH / 773–851 CE).
Transmission and Authorship
The text consists of narrations that Mus'ab ibn Abd Allah ibn Mus'ab ibn Thabit ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam dictated in Sha'ban 228 AH. Al-Baghawi was the last transmitter to narrate directly from him. In Baghdad in the year 317 AH, al-Baghawi transmitted this collection to Abu Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ansari, known as Ibn Abi Shurayh. The chain of audition continued through Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abi Mas'ud al-Farsi, then Abu al-Fath Abd al-Salam ibn Ahmad al-Harawi (known as Bakira) in Herat, followed by Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Abd al-Qahir al-Tusi Hamdan, and was subsequently read before Abu Tahir Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Khatib al-Tusi al-Mawsili at his residence in Mosul in Jumada al-Akhira 599 AH.
Content and Sources
The compilation gathers hadiths and historical reports transmitted by Mus'ab al-Zubayri through prominent authorities. A significant portion features chains originating from Malik ibn Anas, making the collection a primary source for Mus'ab's transmission of Malik's Muwatta. Other teachers appearing in the work include Abd al-Aziz al-Darawardi, Mus'ab's father Abd Allah ibn Mus'ab, Dahhak ibn Uthman, and Hisham ibn Abd Allah al-Makhzumi.
The contents span prophetic traditions concerning legal and ritual matters—such as pilgrimage rites, oaths, and seeking lawful sustenance—as well as historical narrations and pre-Islamic poetry, including verses attributed to Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl and early reports concerning the family of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam.
Reception and Preservation
Later traditionists and historians utilized the work extensively in their citations and source referencing, including al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn Asakir, Abu Tahir al-Silafi, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani.
Manuscript copies survived in major repositories: the first part is held at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (Majmu' 117), with a microfilm copy at the Islamic University of Madinah (No. 2467), while a complete manuscript is preserved at the Chester Beatty Library. The work has been edited by Abu Abd al-Bari Rida Bushama and published in Riyadh.
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