Muntakhab min Kitab al-Shuara li Abi Nuaym al-Asbahani
- Author died
- 430 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashāʾir
Muntakhab min Kitab al-Shuara (Selection from the Book of Poets) is an abridged compilation derived from the larger biographical work on poets authored by the hadith scholar and historian Abu Nuaym al-Asbahani (d. 430 AH / 1038 CE) .
Transmission and Manuscript History
The extant text represents an early transmission of selections from Abu Nuaym's original Kitab al-Shuara. It was transmitted directly from Abu Nuaym by the Quran reciter and traditionist Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Haddad, and subsequently transmitted from al-Haddad by Abu Bakr Ismail ibn Abi Nasr, known as Danikqadh .
The manuscript bears an audition record (sama‘) belonging to the traditionist Abd al-Ghani ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi, who endowed the manuscript as a religious bequest (waqf) at the Diya'iyyah Library . A manuscript copy of the work is preserved in the Zahiriyyah Library (al-Asad National Library) in Damascus .
Content and Method
The selection focuses on early Islamic and mukhadram poets, providing biographical entries, historical reports, and selected verses. The documented poets include:
- Hassan ibn Thabit, including poetry composed regarding the events surrounding the death of Uthman ibn Affan .
- Kab ibn Malik, including his verses composed on the Battle of Badr and the Prophet's ﷺ request for poets during the Battle of the Trench .
- Labid ibn Rabiah, recording his stance toward composing verse after embracing Islam and his interaction with Umar ibn al-Khattab .
- al-Nabighah al-Jadi, covering his lineage, his longevity, and his death and burial in Isfahan .
- Abu Dhuayb al-Hudhali, recording prophetic traditions and historical narrations related through his chain .
- al-Farazdaq, documenting his statements regarding prominent early poets .
Abu Nuaym employs the methodology of traditional hadith compilation, furnishing connected chains of transmission (asānīd) for each poetic excerpt and historical report. He frequently transmits through earlier philologists and authorities, such as Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sallam al-Jumahi, al-Asmai, and Abu Ubaydah .
Publication
The work was edited by Ibrahim Salih and published in a single volume by Dar al-Bashair in 1994 as part of the scholarly series Nawaadir al-Rasa'il .
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