Mujam al-Shuyukh li-Ibn Asakir
- Author died
- 571 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir
Mu'jam al-Shuyukh (معجم الشيوخ, "Dictionary of Teachers") is a biographical dictionary of transmitters compiled by the Damascene Shafi'i hadith scholar and historian Abu al-Qasim Ibn Asakir (499–571 AH / 1105–1176 CE), documenting the masters from whom he received hadith and scholarly authorizations .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn Asakir states in his preface that the book is a record of the teachers from whom he heard narrations directly (sama') during his travels across various cities, as well as those who granted him written authorizations to transmit (ijazah) from different regions and provinces . Over the course of his extensive journeys through Syria, the Hijaz, Iraq, and Khurasan, his total scholarly informants numbered approximately 1,300 male teachers and over eighty female teachers .
Structure and Method
Ibn Asakir arranged the dictionary in strict alphabetical order according to the given names of the teachers, as well as those of their fathers and grandfathers, intentionally avoiding any prioritization based on social status or scholarly prominence . The only exception was in the letter alif, where he placed individuals named Ahmad first to seek blessing through the name of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
Under each biographical entry, the author typically provided a prophetic hadith, a narrative anecdote (hikayah), or a poetic recitation (inshad) transmitted through that teacher . Whenever he did not have a specific narration readily available at the time of drafting, he still included the teacher's name in its alphabetical position to register his audition or authorization from them for future reference .
Transmission and Publication
The work was transmitted through multiple lines, including the author's son Baha' al-Din al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Asakir, as well as the transmitters Taqi al-Din Abu al-Wahsh Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Mansur ibn Nasim al-Maqdisi and Abu Ya'la Hamzah ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Jawhari al-Khayyat .
Mu'jam al-Shuyukh was edited by Wafa' Taqi al-Din, with a foreword by Shakir al-Fahham, and published in Damascus by Dar al-Basha'ir (1421 AH / 2000 CE) .
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