Musalsalat al-Taymi - Makhtut
- Author died
- 535 AH
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- Musalsalat al-Taymi - Makhtut
Musalsalat al-Taymi is a collection of continuous-chain hadiths (al-ahadith al-musalsalat) compiled by the Hadith scholar and exegete Ismail ibn Muhammad al-Taymi al-Asbahani, known as Qawam al-Sunnah (457–535 AH / 1065–1141 CE) .
Overview and Transmission
The work belongs to the Hadith genre of musalsal narrations, wherein each transmitter in the chain of narration reproduces a specific physical action, verbal phrase, or circumstance alongside the transmission of the prophetic report . Bibliographical sources note that the complete compilation originally spanned eight parts (ajza'), opening with the narration on clipping fingernails on Thursdays .
The text was transmitted down through several chains, most prominently through the compiler's grandson, Abu al-Faraj Yahya ibn Mahmud al-Thaqafi, who received it directly from Ismail al-Taymi . Later Hadith masters, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani and Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, documented their chains of transmission back to al-Taymi's compilation .
Contents and Structure
The surviving manuscript treatise presents a selection of seven musalsal narrations extracted from al-Taymi's compilation from his teachers :
- Trimming fingernails on Thursday (al-musalsal bi-qass al-azafir yawm al-khamis): Transmitted through Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Samarqandi, wherein each transmitter clips his fingernails on a Thursday while narrating the chain .
- Handshake (al-musalsal bi-l-musafahah): Transmitted through al-Samarqandi from Abu al-Abbas al-Mustaghfiri, wherein each transmitter clasps the hand of the next and remarks on the softness of the palm while saying "Peace be upon you" .
- Grasping the beard (al-musalsal bi-akhdh al-lihyah): Transmitted through Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Khalaf al-Shirazi from al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, wherein each narrator grasps his beard while declaring faith in divine decree, both its good and bad (amantu bi-l-qadar khayrihi wa-sharrihi) .
- Counting supplications upon the hand (al-musalsal bi-qawlihi: 'udhdhahuna fi yadi): Received through Abu Bakr ibn Khalaf from al-Hakim, in which each narrator counts formulas of blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ in his hand, tracing back through Ali ibn Abi Talib and the archangel Gabriel .
- Interlocking fingers (al-musalsal bi-l-tashbik): Transmitted through al-Samarqandi from al-Mustaghfiri, in which each narrator clasps and interlaces fingers with the recipient, reporting the narration of Abu Hurayrah regarding the sequence of creation across the days of the week .
- Holding hands (al-musalsal bi-l-akhdh bi-l-yad): Transmitted through al-Samarqandi and al-Mustaghfiri from Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sarakhsi, wherein each narrator holds the hand of the student when transmitting the hadith stating: المرء مع من أحب ("A person is with whom he loves") .
- The chain of missing study sessions: A continuous narrative chain relating verses composed regarding absence from the Friday mosque circle of the jurist Mansur .
Manuscript and Audition Records
Manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved in collections including the Al-Zahiriyyah Library in Damascus and the Central Library in Makkah . The text contains certificates of audition (sama'), including a documented reading session that took place on Thursday, 8 Jumada al-Ula 732 AH, near the upper marketplace mosque in Hama, read by Nasir al-Din Muhammad ibn Tughrubul (Ibn al-Sabr) before Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ali al-Jazari al-Hanbali, in the hand of Ismail ibn Ibrahim ibn Jama'ah .
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