Juz fihi Shurut Umar ibn al-Khattab ala al-Nasara, wa Hadith Wasil al-Dimashqi wa Munazaratuhu lahum
- Author died
- 344 AH
- Editions
- دار البشائر الإسلامية للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع
Juz fihi Shurut Umar ibn al-Khattab ala al-Nasara, wa Hadith Wasil al-Dimashqi wa Munazaratuhu lahum (A Hadith Tract Containing the Conditions of Umar ibn al-Khattab upon the Christians, and the Account of Wasil al-Dimashqi and His Debate with Them) is a hadith tract (juz) transmitted by the Iraqi traditionist Ibn al-Sammak (d. 344 AH / 955–956 CE) . It records the transmission of the conditions attributed to the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab regarding the Christian population of the Levant, alongside an account of a Muslim captive's theological disputation .
Contents and Scope
The tract is limited strictly to two distinct historical and legal narratives with their chains of transmission (asānīd) :
- The Conditions of Umar (al-Shurūṭ al-ʿUmariyya): The text records the narration of Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm al-Ash'ari detailing the treaty and stipulations agreed upon between Umar ibn al-Khattab and the Christians of the Levant regarding their security, property, churches, and social conduct under Muslim rule .
- The Account of Wasil al-Dimashqi: The second report details the narrative of Wasil al-Dimashqi, focusing on his capture by the Byzantines (al-Rūm) and his theological debate with his Christian captors during his imprisonment .
Transmission and Reception
The text was transmitted from Ibn al-Sammak through an unbroken chain of prominent Baghdadi scholars: Abu al-Husayn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Bishran (d. 415 AH), followed by Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Ghalib al-Harbi (d. 458 AH), who transmitted it to the Hanbali jurist Abu Bakr al-Ansari, known as Qadi al-Maristan (d. 535 AH) . It was subsequently transmitted by Abu Hafs Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Tabarzadh (d. 607 AH), who read it to students at the Salihiyya school in 603 AH .
The Damascene historian Ibn Asakir cited the complete narrative of Wasil al-Dimashqi in his Tarikh Dimashq through his own isnad leading back to Ibn al-Sammak . The tract was also documented in later bibliographical registers, including Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's Anshab al-Kuthub fi Ansab al-Kutub under the title Shurut Umar ibn al-Khattab ala Ahl al-Dhimma, riwayat Abi Amr Uthman ibn Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Sammak .
Manuscripts and Publication
A manuscript of the work is preserved at the Leiden University Library in the Netherlands within a composite codex (MS Or. 951, ff. 21p–25p), where it constitutes the second text in the collection . It was edited by Nizam Muhammad Salih Ya'qubi and published in Beirut by Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyya in 1422 AH / 2001 CE as part of the Liqa al-Ashr al-Awakhir bi-al-Masjid al-Haram series .
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