Qasidat al-Salafi
- Author died
- 576 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat wa-Dar Ibn Hazm
Qasidat al-Salafi is a theological and didactic poem composed by the Hadith scholar and jurist Abu Tahir al-Silafi (d. 576 AH / 1180 CE), in which he outlines his traditionalist creed, extols elevated Hadith transmissions, commemorates the authorities of Ahl al-Sunnah, and repudiates major heresiarchs and theological innovations.
Composition and Transmission
The poem spans approximately ninety verses. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi records that Abu Tahir al-Silafi personally recited it in the month of Rajab, 566 AH, as transmitted through the Hadith master Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (Ibn Surur) and recorded by later scholars.
Structure and Contents
The poem opens with an appeal to adhere to verified, elevated chains of transmission (asānīd ‘awālī) and to cast aside erroneous or deficient paths of transmission. In its first half, al-Silafi lists premier early Hadith authorities and exemplars of Sunni orthodoxy, including:
- Early figures such as Malik ibn Anas, Ma'mar ibn Rashid, Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj, Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Layth ibn Sa'd, and al-Awza'i.
- Later masters of transmission and critique, among them Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn Wahb, Yahya al-Qattan, Hammad ibn Zayd, Hammad ibn Usama, Hisham al-Dastuwa'i, Harb ibn Isma'il al-Kirmani, the three Ya'qubs (Ya'qub ibn Shayba, Ya'qub ibn Ibrahim al-Dawraqi, and Ya'qub al-Fasawi), Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Ibn Khuzayma, and Ibn Manda.
In the second half, al-Silafi formally transitions to an explicit exposition of his doctrine and personal convictions, advising believers to keep company exclusively with adherents of the Sunnah. He condemns theological innovations and scholastic disputes, specifically attacking early sectarians and rationalist theologians by name, such as Ma'bad al-Juhani, Wasil ibn 'Ata, Ghaylan al-Dimashqi, al-Ja'd ibn Dirham, Jahm ibn Safwan, Bishr al-Marisi, Ibn Kullab and his followers, Abu al-Hudhayl al-'Allaf, Hafs al-Fard, Thawr, and Thumama ibn Ashras.
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