Man Asha Bad al-Mawt li-Ibn Abi al-Dunya
- Author died
- 281 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Kutub al-Thaqafiyyah
Man 'Asha Ba'd al-Mawt (Those Who Lived After Death) is a work compiled by the Baghdadi traditionist and educator Ibn Abi al-Dunya (208–281 AH / 823–894 CE) . It gathers transmitted reports and accounts concerning individuals who revived, spoke, or returned to life after dying .
Subject and Content
The work belongs to the genre of hadith, exhortation, and moral counsel (wa'z wa-irshad) . Ibn Abi al-Dunya documented narrations equipped with chains of transmission detailing accounts of people who experienced apparent death and subsequently spoke or revived to recount what they encountered, such as visions of their graves and the barzakh . Scholars such as al-Tufi cited the work within discussions on bodily resurrection and accounts of those restored to life after death .
Transmission and Reception
The book was preserved and transmitted through classical chains of authority, including a line recorded by al-Jalal al-Suyuti reaching Ibn Abi al-Dunya through Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Lanbani . It is enumerated among Ibn Abi al-Dunya's well-known writings in biographical and bibliographical dictionaries, including the listings of Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi in Mir'at al-Zaman and Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' . Narrations from the book were cited by later scholars such as Ibn Rajab in Ahwal al-Qubur and Ibn Kathir in Musnad al-Faruq .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscripts of the text are preserved in multiple collections, including the Bavarian State Library in Munich (MS 885/3), al-Maktabah al-Ahmadiyyah in Aleppo (MS 7), the Khedivial Library in Cairo (MS 7/260), the Central Library in Riyadh (MS 7522/f), and the Institute of Arabic Manuscripts in Cairo .
Printed editions of the work include:
- An edition edited by 'Abd Allah Muhammad al-Darwish, published by 'Alam al-Kutub (1406 AH) .
- An edition edited by Ahmad 'Ali Jab Allah, published by Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah (1407 AH) .
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