Manaqib al-Asad al-Ghalib Ali ibn Abi Talib li-Ibn al-Jazari
- Author died
- 833 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Qur'an
Manaqib al-Asad al-Ghalib Ali ibn Abi Talib (Arabic: مناقب الأسد الغالب علي بن أبي طالب) is a treatise on the virtues and narrations of the fourth caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib, composed by the Shafi'i hadith scholar and master of Quranic readings, Ibn al-Jazari (751–833 AH / 1350–1429 CE) .
Title and Purpose
The full title given by the author and later bibliographers is Manaqib al-Asad al-Ghalib, Mumazziq al-Kata'ib wa-Muzhir al-Aja'ib, Layth bin Ghalib, Amir al-Mu'minin Abi al-Hasan Ali ibn Abi Talib . In his opening remarks, Ibn al-Jazari explains that he composed the work to assemble authenticated chains of transmission (ahadith musnada) comprising rigorously authentic (sahih), good (hasan), and mass-transmitted (mutawatir) traditions detailing the virtues of Ali .
The author intended the collection to serve as a means of devotional closeness and salvation on the Day of Judgment, framing love for the Prophet's household (Ahl al-Bayt) and Companions as fundamental to adhering to the Sunnah .
Contents and Methodology
The work is organized around narrations transmitted through continuous chains (muttasilat), patterned chains (musalsalat), and elevated transmission routes linked directly to Ali ibn Abi Talib across three primary domains: Quranic recitation, companionship (suhba), and the Sufi cloak (al-khirqah) .
Key traditions and themes treated in the text include:
- Hadith of Ghadir Khumm: Ibn al-Jazari records the Prophet's declaration: من كنت مولاه فعلي مولاه، اللهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه ("Whoever has me as his master, Ali is his master; O God, befriend whoever befriends him and oppose whoever opposes him") . He classifies this tradition as hasan sahih through numerous chains and declares it mass-transmitted (mutawatir) from both the Prophet ﷺ and Ali, rejecting attempts by critics lacking comprehensive hadith knowledge to declare it weak . He lists dozens of Companions who transmitted it, establishes that it occurred on 12 Dhu al-Hijjah 11 AH during the Return from the Farewell Pilgrimage, and records multiple variant routes, including a patterned chain where female descendants named Fatima narrate one from another .
- Hadith of Manzila: He documents the Prophet's statement to Ali during the expedition of Tabuk: أما ترضى أن تكون مني بمنزلة هارون من موسى غير أنه لا نبي بعدي ("Are you not pleased that you are to me in the position of Aaron to Moses, except that there is no prophet after me?"), citing its consensus of authenticity via Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and other Companions documented in Ibn Asakir's Tarikh Dimashq .
- Love and Hatred of Ali as Signs of Faith: He presents the tradition from Muslim's Sahih and the Sunan collections stating that only a believer loves Ali and only a hypocrite hates him, noting his own high transmission lines (muwafaqa 'aliya) corresponding to early compilations .
- Transmission of the Khirqah: The text details Ibn al-Jazari's personal investiture with the Sufi cloak from his teacher Abu Hafs Umar ibn al-Hasan al-Maraghi in 772 AH, tracing its chains through the Ahmadiyya, Qadiriyya, and Suhrawardiyya paths back through figures such as Al-Junayd and Al-Hasan al-Basri to Ali ibn Abi Talib, while noting the critical evaluation among hadith specialists regarding whether al-Hasan directly heard traditions from Ali .
Publication
The work has been edited by Tariq al-Tantawi and published by Maktabat al-Qur'an in Cairo (1st ed., 1414 AH / 1994 CE) . Manuscripts of the work are preserved in institutional archives, including the microform library at the Islamic University of Madinah .
Answer updated