Manaqib al-Shafii lil-Abari
- Author died
- 363 AH
- Editions
- al-Dār al-Athariyyah
Manaqib al-Shafii (The Virtues of al-Shafi'i) is a biographical work on the life, virtues, and reports of Imam al-Shafi'i (150–204 AH / 767–820 CE), composed by the hadith scholar Abu al-Hasan al-Abari (d. 363 AH / 974 CE) .
Composition and Structure
Manaqib al-Shafi'i represents one of the major early specialized compendia in the genre of manaqib (virtues and biographical merits) dedicated to al-Shafi'i . According to Taj al-Din al-Subki, it followed earlier monographs on the subject by scholars such as Dawud al-Zahiri, Zakariyya al-Saji, and Ibn Abi Hatim . Al-Abari arranged his comprehensive work into seventy-four chapters .
The work was transmitted from al-Abari by his student Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Bushra al-Laythi al-Sijistani . Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani recorded holding a high transmission certificate (ijaza) for the book via Abu Abd Allah Isa ibn Shu'ayb al-Sijzi from al-Laythi, missing only a single fascicle (juz') .
Contents and Scholarly Reception
The text collects reports, chains of transmission, and anecdotes detailing al-Shafi'i’s lineage, sayings, character, and scholarship . In addition to biographical reports, classical hadith commentators and biographers frequently quoted critical assessments made by al-Abari in the book .
Among its most widely cited passages is al-Abari's discussion of the narrator Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Janadi and his declaration that the prophetic reports regarding the coming of the Mahdi—his descent from the Prophet's family, his seven-year rule, his filling the earth with justice, and the descent of Jesus to pray behind him—have reached recurrent transmission (tawatur) . This judgment was cited and endorsed by numerous scholars, including Abu Abd Allah al-Qurtubi, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-Mizzi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, al-Sakhawi, and al-Suyuti .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscript fragments of the work survive in libraries such as the Cârullah (Jar Allah) collection in Istanbul . An edition reconstructed from two surviving manuscript portions and texts preserved across classical literature was edited by Jamal Azzun and published in 2009 (1430 AH) by al-Dar al-Athariyya .
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