Inba al-Ghumr bi-Abna al-Umr

Inba al-Ghumr bi-Abna al-Umr (Informing the Uninitiated on the Notables of the Age) is an annalistic chronicle and biographical history by the Shafi'i hadith scholar and chief judge Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE) Hawadith al-Zaman wa Wafa….

Scope and Structure

Ibn Hajar intended the work as a historical record of the era he witnessed al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya. He commenced the chronicle with the year of his birth in 773 AH (1371/1372 CE) and carried it forward through the year 850 AH (1446/1447 CE) Hawadith al-Zaman wa Wafa…+1. In the preface of the book, he noted that with respect to events, it is suited to serve as a continuation (dhayl) to the continuation of the history composed by Ibn Kathir, whose coverage had reached the year 773 AH al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya.

The book is structured chronologically by year Majallat al-Risala+1. For each successive year, Ibn Hajar documents state affairs and general historical occurrences, followed by biographical notices and obituaries of notables and scholars who died in that year Majallat al-Risala+1. The biographical notices give comprehensive coverage to hadith transmitters, with particular focus on those whom Ibn Hajar met personally or who granted him certificates of transmission (ijazah) Majallat al-Risala.

Continuations and Editions

The chronicle served as a reference and model for subsequent historians of the Mamluk period Hawadith al-Zaman wa Wafa…+1. Ibn al-Himsi composed his history Hawadith al-Zaman wa-Wafayat al-Shuyukh wa-al-Aqran explicitly as a continuation (dhayl) to Inba al-Ghumr, taking up the historical narrative from the year 851 AH onwards where Ibn Hajar had concluded Hawadith al-Zaman wa Wafa…+1.

An autograph draft (musawwadah) of the manuscript in Ibn Hajar's own hand is preserved in al-Khizana al-Zahiriyya in Damascus Majallat al-Risala. The text has been published in multiple editions, including a printing by the Da'irat al-Ma'arif al-Uthmaniyya in Hyderabad, India, edited by Muhammad Abdul Mu'id Khan Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1, and an edition published in Cairo by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, edited by Hasan Habashi al-Rawd al-Basim fi Hawad…+1.