Majlis Abi Nasr al-Ghazi
- Author died
- 532 AH
- Editions
- الفاروق الحديثة للطباعة والنشر
Majlis Abi Nasr al-Ghazi (Arabic: مجلس أبي نصر الغازي, lit. 'Dictation Session of Abu Nasr al-Ghazi'), formally known as Juz' fihi Majlis min Amali Siraj al-Sunna Abi Nasr al-Ghazi, is a short hadith dictation tract (amali) delivered by the Isfahan-based hadith master Abu Nasr al-Ghazi (d. 532 AH / 1137–1138 CE) .
Composition and Transmission
The text records a single dictation session delivered verbatim by Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Ghazi in Isfahan at the residence of the Vizier Abu al-Qasim, situated by the door of the Jurjir Mosque (مسجد جورجير) . The session took place on Thursday, 9 Jumada al-Ula 525 AH .
The dictation scribe (mustamli) for the assembly was Abu Sa'd Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahid ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Sayigh . The work was transmitted directly through al-Sayigh to Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, who read the text back to him in Muharram 576 AH .
Content and Structure
The tract consists of 13 numbered reports focused primarily on affirming the possibility of seeing God in a dream and defending the reputation and reliability of the early hadith transmitter Nu'aym ibn Hammad :
- Dream vision of God: Al-Ghazi opens by stating that seeing God in a dream is established and sound according to approved scholars, citing the narration transmitted through Nu'aym ibn Hammad regarding the Prophet ﷺ seeing his Lord in a dream . He presents multiple supporting chains of transmission (mutaba'at) to demonstrate that Nu'aym was corroborated by other authorities, including Ahmad ibn Salih al-Misri, Harun ibn Sa'id al-Ayli, Yahya ibn Bukayr, and Bahr ibn Nasr al-Khawlani, all tracing the report of Umm al-Tufayl through Ibn Wahb .
- Theological commentary: Al-Ghazi remarks that these leading scholars accepted and corroborated the narration without censure, adding that only a Mu'tazilite or a deviant innovator rejects it . He also cites Ibn Manda regarding the linguistic phrasing of dream-vision reports in the speech of the people of the Hijaz and adduces related reports from other Companions .
- Merits and orthodoxy of Nu'aym ibn Hammad: Al-Ghazi records hadiths and historical reports illustrating Nu'aym's steadfastness in Sunnah, including statements of praise from Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Ma'in affirming that Nu'aym was well known in hadith seeking and trustworthy .
- Creedal statement: The treatise concludes with a chain of transmission through Ibn Mardawayh recording Nu'aym ibn Hammad's creedal dictum on divine attributes: that whoever likens God to His creation has disbelieved, whoever denies what God has described Himself with has disbelieved, and there is no anthropomorphism (tashbih) in what God or His Messenger has described Him with .
Publication
The tract was edited by Khalid ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman and published by Dar al-Faruq al-Haditha in Cairo (first edition, 1429 AH / 2008 CE), as part of a compendium containing six hadith treatises (Majmu' fihi Sitta Ajza' Hadithiyya) .
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