Intikhab al-Awali wa al-Shuyukh al-Akhyar min Faharis
- Author died
- 1262 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al Fikr Al Mouaser / Dar Al Fikr
Intikhab al-Awali wa al-Shuyukh al-Akhyar min Faharis (Selection of Lofty Transmissions and Choice Shaykhs from the Catalogues) is a work of hadith transmission and scholarly lineage compiled by the Damascene Shafi'i scholar Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Kuzbari (d. 1262 AH / 1846 CE) for his teacher Ahmad ibn Ubayd Allah al-Attar (1138–1218 AH / 1725–1803 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
The work is a mashyakha (a register of teachers and transmissions), compiled by al-Kuzbari at the instruction and request of al-Attar . Its compilation and writing were completed on 1 Sha'ban 1207 AH under al-Attar's authorization . The book documents al-Attar's principal teachers, the texts he read under their tutelage, his transmission authorizations (ijazat), his chains of transmission (asanid), and his personal spiritual litanies .
Content and Structure
The book opens with an introduction stating its purpose, followed by a detailed listing of al-Attar's teachers, organized by location and type of license:
- Damascene Teachers: Prominent local scholars under whom al-Attar studied extensively, including Ali ibn Ahmad al-Kuzbari, Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad al-Ghazzi, Ismail ibn Muhammad al-Ajluni, Ahmad al-Manini, Ali al-Daghastani, Abd al-Rahman ibn Ja'far al-Kurdi, Abd Allah al-Basrawi, and Musa al-Mahasini .
- Visiting Scholars and Correspondents: Scholars who visited Damascus or issued general certifications from abroad, including Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kurdi, the Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad al-Tafilati, and Safi al-Din al-Bukhari al-Khalili . It also records authorizations received from scholars in the Hijaz and Cairo, such as Ja'far al-Barzanji, Abd al-Rahman al-Fitni, Ahmad al-Mallawi, Ahmad al-Jawhari, Muhammad and Yusuf al-Hafni, Atiyyat Allah al-Ajhuri, and Murtada al-Zabidi, whom al-Attar met during his travels to Cairo .
- Chains of Transmission: Detailed asanid for the recitation of the Quran (according to the reading of Hafs from Asim), Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, the remaining six canonical collections, and legal works . The text highlights elevated isnads running through Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, as well as al-Attar's chain in Shafi'i school jurisprudence passing through Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi to al-Shafi'i . It also incorporates sequentially transmitted narrations (al-ahadith al-musalsala), such as the Hadith of Handshaking .
- Conclusion (Khatima): A collection of recommended devotional formulas and prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ, such as al-Sigha al-Kamaliyya and al-Sigha al-Munjiyya, daily morning litanies (wird al-subha), and designated Quranic recitations .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in several collections, including Princeton University Library (MS 1819) and Dar al-Kutub in Cairo (under Talaat 180 and Mustalah Hadith 487) . A significant manuscript was transcribed by the Hanafi jurist Ibn Abidin, completed on 28 Dhu al-Hijjah 1218 AH shortly after al-Attar's death, to which Ibn Abidin appended a poetic elegy (ritha') mourning his teacher . The text was edited by Muhammad Muti' al-Hafiz and published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus and Beirut (1414 AH / 1994 CE) .
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