Man Wafaqa Ismuhu Kunyat Abihi lil-Azdi
- Author died
- 374 AH
- Editions
- Markaz al-Makhṭūṭāt wa-al-Turāth
Man Wafaqa Ismuhu Kunyat Abihi (Arabic: من وافق اسمه كنية أبيه, lit. 'He Whose Name Matches His Father’s Kunya') is a biographical treatise on Hadith narrators by the tenth-century scholar Abu al-Fath al-Azdi (d. 374 AH / 984 CE) .
Purpose and Subject Matter
The treatise belongs to the specialized branches of rijāl criticism and onomastics (al-asmāʾ wa-l-kunā), which identify specific naming coincidences among transmitters to prevent confusion and errors in isnad chains . In the introduction, al-Azdi states that after compiling an earlier work on transmitters whose given names match those of their fathers (Man Wāfaqa Ismuhu Isma Abīh), he devoted this text to listing every Companion, Successor, and later transmitter whose given name is identical to his father’s patronymic (kunya), appearing in the form of "So-and-so, son of Abu So-and-so" (fulān ibn Abī fulān) .
Structure and Content
The work comprises 114 entries arranged sequentially . Each entry presents the transmitter's name alongside brief notes on his generation, teachers, narrators, or sample reports :
- The opening entries include figures such as Sinan ibn Abi Sinan, Sabrah ibn Abi Sabrah, and 'Amir ibn Abi 'Amir al-Ash'ari .
- The treatise concludes at entry 114 with Hallal ibn Abi Hallal .
Scholarly Context and Reception
Later authorities on Hadith nomenclature and methodology highlighted al-Azdi’s work as the standard reference for this specific category . In didactic works such as Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's Alfiyyah, al-Azdi is cited for having authored the work on this category (exemplified by Sinan ibn Abi Sinan), which is contrasted with its inverse—transmitters whose kunya matches their father's name (such as Abu Muslim ibn Muslim), an area treated separately by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi . Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani likewise paired al-Azdi’s compilation with al-Khatib’s corresponding work when classifying naming categories in Nukhbat al-Fikar and its commentary .
Publication
The text was edited by Basim Faysal Ahmad al-Jawabirah and published in 1408 AH (1988 CE) by the Center for Manuscripts and Heritage in Kuwait in a volume that also included al-Azdi's Man Wāfaqa Ismuhu Isma Abīh and Ala' al-Din Mughaltay's abridgment of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's treatise on the inverse category .
Answer updated