Karamat al-Awliya lil-Lalakai - min Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a lil-Lalakai
- Author died
- 418 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ṭaybah
Karamat al-Awliya (Karamat Awliya' Allah 'Azza wa-Jall, "Miracles of the Friends of God") is a foundational compendium of narrations compiled by the Shafi'i hadith scholar and theologian Abu al-Qasim Hibat Allah ibn al-Hasan al-Lalaka'i (d. 418 AH / 1027 CE), dedicated to documenting reported charismatic miracles (karamat) granted to righteous Muslims . The treatise forms a major thematic component and supplementary part of his encyclopedic theological work, Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a ("Explanation of the Fundamentals of the Creed of the People of the Sunna and the Community") .
Purpose and Theological Context
The work was composed within the framework of traditionalist Sunni creed to establish the reality and permissibility of supernatural graces (karamat) bestowed by God upon His righteous servants (awliya'), demonstrating the rectitude of their religious path and their adherence to monotheism and prophetic practice . In Sunni doctrine, affirming these miracles serves as evidence of the truth of Islam and a continuation of the prophetic miracles (mu'jizat), standing in contrast to rationalist theological schools such as the Mu'tazila, who rejected the occurrence of karamat out of concern that they would be conflated with the evidentiary miracles of the prophets .
Content and Structure
Al-Lalaka'i organizes the material systematically by historical eras and geographic regions, recording each narrative with its full chain of transmission (isnad):
- The Companions: Narrations recording extraordinary incidents and answered prayers associated with prominent Companions, including Aisha, Asma bint Abi Bakr, and Umm Aws al-Bahziyya .
- The Successors by Region: Reports arranged according to the cities where the Successors (Tabi'un) resided, including Medina (such as Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib and Abu Ja'far Yazid ibn al-Qa'qa'), Kufa (such as Abu Wa'il Shaqiq ibn Salama and Sa'id ibn Jubayr), Basra (such as Haram ibn Hayyan and al-Hasan al-Basri), and Egypt (such as Ubaydullah ibn Abi Ja'far and Haywa ibn Shurayh) , , .
- Later Ascetics and Scholars: Accounts concerning subsequent generations of scholars and devotees, including Sufyan al-Thawri, Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash, Ubaydullah ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Ashja'i, Abu Talib al-Nasa'i, al-Qasim ibn Yazid, Abu Shu'ayb Salih ibn Yunus, and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Masruq , .
Transmission and Editions
The book was preserved and transmitted through classical chains of hadith transmission, notably passing through al-Lalaka'i's student Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali al-Turaythithi to later transmitters such as Abu al-Fath Muhammad ibn Abd al-Baqi ibn al-Batti .
In modern print, Karamat al-Awliya was critically edited by Ahmad Sa'd Hamdan and published by Dar Taybah in Riyadh, both as a standalone volume and as part of the broader multi-volume edition of Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama'a . It was also edited by Muhammad Abd al-Salam Shahin and published in Beirut by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya .
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