Musnad Abis al-Ghifari li-Ibn Abi Ghirza
- Author died
- 276 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Watan
Musnad Abis al-Ghifari (Arabic: مسند عابس الغفاري, fully al-Juz' fihi Musnad 'Abis al-Ghifari wa-jama'a min al-sahaba) is a hadith tract compiled by the Kufan traditionist Ibn Abi Ghirza (b. 180s AH / c. 800s CE, d. 276 AH / 890 CE) . It represents an extant portion (juz') from the author's extensive compilation of traditions arranged under the names of Companion narrators .
Background and Author
The compiler, Abu 'Amr Ahmad ibn Hazim ibn Muhammad ibn Yunus ibn Qays ibn Abi Ghirza al-Ghifari al-Kufi, was a third-century AH hadith scholar from Kufa . He was descended from the Companion Qays ibn Abi Ghirza . Evaluated as trustworthy (thiqa) and meticulous (mutqin) by biographers such as Ibn Hibban, he transmitted from prominent authorities including Ja'far ibn 'Awn, Ya'la ibn 'Ubayd, 'Ubayd Allah ibn Musa, and Abu Nu'aym al-Fadl ibn Dukayn . Ibn Abi Ghirza died in Dhu al-Hijjah 276 AH, though variant reports record his death in 275 AH or early 277 AH . He was noted for compiling a comprehensive Musnad, of which only small portions survived down to later centuries .
Contents and Arrangement
The booklet is organized according to the musnad genre, grouping reports under individual Companions:
- It opens with the reports transmitted on the authority of the Companion Abis al-Ghifari (also cited as 'Abs al-Ghifari), foremost among them his narration from the Prophet ﷺ warning against six corrupting traits: the rule of the foolish, the proliferation of armed guards (shurat), the severing of family ties, the sale of judicial office, the cheapening of human life, and taking the Quran as musical melodies by advancing singers over those of greater religious understanding .
- It proceeds with the narrations of a group of other Companions (jama'a min al-sahaba), including Rafi' ibn 'Amr al-Ghifari (Rafi' ibn al-Hakam), the compiler's forebear Qays ibn Abi Ghirza, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasana al-Juhani, al-Agharr al-Juhani, and Khalid ibn 'Adi al-Juhani .
Transmission and Publication
The primary transmission of this text passed from Ibn Abi Ghirza through his student Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Duhaym al-Shaybani in Kufa, and subsequently through Zayd ibn Ja'far al-'Alawi, Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Narsi, Abu al-Baqa' al-Mu'ammar ibn al-Habbal, and the traditionist Abu Tahir al-Silafi .
A manuscript of the work is preserved at the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (Majmu' 80, folios 162–171) . The text was edited by Ghalib ibn Muhammad Abu al-Qasim al-Hamidi and published in Riyadh by Dar al-Watan in 1419 AH (1998 CE) .
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