Juz Ibn al-Ghatrif
- Author died
- 377 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah
Juz Ibn al-Ghatrif (جزء ابن الغطريف, also known as Juz al-Ghatrifi) is a hadith tract (juzʾ) compiled by the Jurjani hadith scholar Abu Ahmad al-Ghatrifi (d. 377 AH / 987 CE), containing narrations he collected from various prominent scholars across Khurasan, Rayy, Hamadhan, and Baghdad .
Transmission and Preservation
The compilation represents the transmissions preserved from Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim ibn al-Ghatrif al-Jurjani al-Ribati (d. Rajab 377 AH / 987 CE) . The text was primarily preserved and transmitted on his authority by the Shafi'i jurist and judge Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari (Tahir ibn Abd Allah al-Tabari), who heard it from him in Gorgan and was the last person to transmit directly from him .
Through Abu al-Tayyib al-Tabari, the work was studied and transmitted in Baghdad and other scholarly centers by a circle of notable students, including Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Baqi al-Bazzaz al-Hanbali, Abu al-Mawahib Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Muluk al-Warraq, Abu al-Qasim Hibat Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn al-Husayn, Abu al-Izz Ahmad ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Kadish, Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Badran al-Khulwani, and Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Sab'un al-Qayrawani . The full tract was later received through these lines of transmission by scholars including Abu Tahir al-Silafi and Abu Hafs Umar ibn Tabarzadh, and was preserved down to later traditionists such as Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti .
Contents and Notable Hadiths
The compilation brings together narrations received by Ibn al-Ghatrif from his prominent teachers, including Abu al-Abbas ibn Surayj, Abu Khalifah al-Jumahi, Zakariyya al-Saji, Qasim al-Mutarriz, Imran ibn Musa al-Mujashi'i, and Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Sufi .
Among the distinct transmissions recorded in the text:
- A hadith narrated via Abu al-Abbas ibn Surayj from Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Ramadi from Abu Asim from Ibn Awn from Nafi' from Abd Allah ibn Umar, wherein the Prophet ﷺ said: مَنْ جَاءَ مِنْكُمُ الْجُمُعَةَ فَلْيَغْتَسِلْ ("Whoever among you comes to the Friday prayer should take a ritual bath") . Ibn al-Ghatrif was noted for having uniquely transmitted certain hadiths from Ibn Surayj that no other student related from him .
- A report transmitted through Jaysan (the freedman of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr) from Salman al-Farisi describing Ibn al-Zubayr drinking cupping blood, in which the Prophet ﷺ stated: وَيْلٌ لَكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ، وَوَيْلٌ لِلنَّاسِ مِنْكَ، لَا تَمَسُّكَ النَّارُ إِلَّا قَسَمَ الْيَمِينِ ("Woe to you from the people, and woe to the people from you; the Fire shall not touch you except to fulfill the oath") .
Scholarly Reception and Evaluation
Ibn al-Ghatrif's colleague Abu Bakr al-Isma'ili narrated from him in his Sahih and described him as devoted to fasting and standing in prayer (sawwam qawwam) . Al-Isma'ili occasionally referred to him by various obscure designations (such as al-Abdi, al-Abqasi, al-Naysaburi, or al-Thaghri) because Ibn al-Ghatrif was a contemporary peer who resided in his home rather than an elder teacher .
Certain narrations of Ibn al-Ghatrif drew scholarly scrutiny; critics questioned his transmission from al-Sufi concerning a camel offered by the Prophet ﷺ to Abu Jahl, though al-Sam'ani noted that others also transmitted it from al-Sufi . Critics also faulted him for reciting the Musnad of Ishaq ibn Rahawayh without his original audition manuscript, though Hamzah al-Sahmi recorded that Abu Amrah al-Razjahani confirmed having seen Ibn al-Ghatrif's audition note across the entire book . Although Ibn al-Salah mentioned a report from Abu Ali al-Bardha'i claiming that Ibn al-Ghatrif suffered from confusion (ikhtilat) late in life, Ibn Hajar noted that Hamzah al-Sahmi did not record any such lapse in his Tarikh Jurjan, despite being his student and intimately acquainted with his career .
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