Masanid Firas al-Maktab
- Author died
- 430 AH
- Editions
- مطابع ابن تيمية
Masanid Firas al-Maktab (Arabic: مسانيد فراس المكتب, lit. 'The Transmissions of Firas al-Maktab') is a specialized hadith collection compiled by the Isfahan-based scholar Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani (d. 430 AH / 1038 CE), gathering the narrations transmitted through the Kufan narrator Firas ibn Yahya al-Maktab (d. 129 AH) .
Subject and Structure
The book is an individual monograph (juz') dedicated to recording the hadiths and reports transmitted by Abu Yahya Firas ibn Yahya al-Hamdani al-Kharifi al-Kufi al-Mukattib, an early transmitter regarded as trustworthy (thiqah) from the circle of al-Sha'bi .
Abu Nu'aym arranges the narrations under headings according to Firas's direct authorities and the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ from whom they related traditions . The majority of the material is centered on the transmission path of Firas from al-Sha'bi, organized under distinct sections including:
- Al-Sha'bi from Jabir ibn Abd Allah
- Al-Sha'bi from al-Bara' ibn Azib
- Al-Sha'bi from Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As
- Al-Sha'bi from al-Nu'man ibn Bashir
- Al-Sha'bi from Abd Allah ibn Umar
The compilation also contains narrations through other intermediate teachers, such as Atiyyah al-Awfi and Zadhan .
Method
Abu Nu'aym records each tradition with his full chain of transmission (isnad) reaching back to Firas, frequently documenting multiple parallel routes of transmission (turuq) through different students who narrated from Firas, such as Sufyan al-Thawri, Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, Shayban ibn Abd al-Rahman, and Zakariyya ibn Abi Za'idah .
In addition to marfu' (prophetic) hadiths, the work records mawquf reports (sayings attributed to Companions) . Abu Nu'aym occasionally incorporates critical remarks regarding transmission errors, such as pointing out when a narrator erred by interpolating al-Sha'bi into an isnad instead of the correct authority, Zadhan .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in repositories in Saudi Arabia, including the Central Library of the Islamic University of Medina and the Mahmudiyyah collection at King Abdulaziz Library in Medina .
The text was edited by Abu Yusuf Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Misri and published in one volume by Matabi' Ibn Taymiyyah in Cairo in 1413 AH (1993 CE) .
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