Min Hadith Abi Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sawwaq
- Author died
- 440 AH
- Editions
- Min Hadith Abi Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sawwaq
Min Hadith Abi Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sawwaq (From the Hadith of Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sawwaq) is a hadith tract (juz') preserving a collection of prophetic traditions and narrations transmitted by the Baghdad traditionist Ibn al-Sawwaq (361–440 AH / 972–1048 CE).
Author and Background
The author, Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn Imran ibn Sahl ibn Nasr ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-Bundar, was known as Ibn al-Sawwaq, a nisba associated with the sale of sawiq (parched barley or wheat meal). He was born on 9 Jumada al-Akhirah 361 AH and resided in the al-Rusafah quarter of Baghdad. He studied hadith under prominent scholars of his era, including Ahmad ibn Ja'far ibn Malik al-Qati'i, Abu Muhammad ibn Masi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Salih al-Burujirdi, Makhlad ibn Ja'far al-Baqarhi, Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al-Khiraqi, and Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Lu'lu' al-Warraq.
Ibn al-Sawwaq was declared trustworthy (thiqah) by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, who wrote down hadith from him, and was described by al-Dhahabi as a truth-telling elder (al-shaykh al-saduq). Among those who transmitted from him were al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Ibn Makula, Thabit ibn Bundar, Abu Yasir, and Ibn al-Tuyuri. He died on the evening of Sunday at the end of Dhu al-Hijjah 440 AH at the age of eighty, and was buried in the Bab Harb cemetery on Monday, the first of Muharram 441 AH.
Content and Structure
The work comprises a series of traditions narrated with complete chains of transmission (asānīd) through Ibn al-Sawwaq's direct teachers, primarily Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ja'far al-Qati'i and Abu al-Abbas Muhammad ibn Nasr ibn Mukram al-Mu'addil.
The collection spans several legal, moral, and historical themes:
- Moral guidance and eschatological reports, such as wisdom sayings related to Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas regarding virtuous traits, and traditions regarding the mercy granted to the Muslim community.
- Ritual practices and legal rulings, including narrations transmitted from Uqbah ibn Amir regarding times when prayer and burial are forbidden, the merits of attending the mosque to learn verses from the Quran, and the rulings regarding the days of Tashriq.
- Prophetic reports on fasting manners, such as fasting on Fridays and reports from the Mothers of the Believers Umm Salamah and A'ishah.
- Virtues and historical accounts concerning the Prophet ﷺ and his companions, including the raising of hands during supplication, lists of prominent companions recounted by Ali ibn Abi Talib, and traditions concerning historical encounters during the Prophet's lifetime.
Transmission and Manuscripts
The transmission of this compilation was preserved through a direct chain of students and scribes:
- Transmitted from Abu Mansur al-Sawwaq by Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn al-Mahdi.
- Transmitted through authorized license (idhnan) from him by Abu Tahir Barakat ibn Ibrahim ibn Tahir al-Khushu'i.
- Transmitted from al-Khushu'i by Abu Bakr Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Nasir ibn Ta'an al-Basrawi.
- Documented in the audition and scribal copy of Abd al-Hafiz ibn Abd al-Mun'im ibn Ghazi al-Maqdisi.
Manuscript copies of the juz' are preserved in manuscript repositories, including the al-Zahiriyya Library collection in Damascus (MS 3811 / majāmīʿ 75), with microfilm and photographic holdings cataloged at the Central Library of the Islamic University of Madinah, the Manuscript Library in Kuwait, and the Central Library of Makkah.
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