Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Akhbar man Dhahab
- Author died
- 1089 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Kathīr
Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Akhbar man Dhahab (Nuggets of Gold on the Chronicles of Those Who Have Gone) is a biographical chronicle by the Syrian Hanbali scholar and historian Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali (1032–1089 AH / 1623–1679 CE), surveying ten Islamic centuries from 1 AH to 1000 AH (622–1592 CE) .
Composition and Scope
Ibn al-Imad completed the compilation of the book on Monday, 19 Ramadan 1080 AH, when he was around forty-eight years old . The book established his primary reputation as a historian .
The work is organized annalistically, opening with the first year of the Hijra and concluding at the close of year 1000 AH . Under each year, the author records notable historical events—such as major campaigns, battles, and incidents—followed in concise prose by the obituaries and biographies of rulers, ministers, scholars, saints, and literary figures who died during that year . The work contains approximately ten thousand biographical entries in total .
Method and Sources
Ibn al-Imad drew upon a wide range of earlier historical and biographical works, revising mistakes, inadvertent slips, or perceived partiality in earlier writings . He cited numerous source texts in his introduction and throughout the body of the work, though he noted that he occasionally omitted explicit source attributions for the sake of brevity or when the report was widely recognized . The biographical narratives are interspersed with occasional literary anecdotes and thematic digressions .
Abridgments and Editions
The Damascene scholar Abd al-Rahim ibn Mustafa ibn Shuqda (d. 1160 AH) condensed the chronicle to roughly half its length under the title Muntakhab Shadharat al-Dhahab fi Akhbar man Dhahab, completing his abridgment in late Sha'ban 1140 AH and appending extra anecdotes, corrections, and biographies .
Shadharat al-Dhahab was first published in Cairo by Maktabat al-Qudsi (1350–1351 AH) in eight volumes, typeset from the author's copy held at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya and collated with other manuscripts, including the copy of Amir Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri . A critical edition prepared by Mahmud al-Arna'ut under the supervision of Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut was published by Dar Ibn Kathir in Damascus and Beirut (1406–1414 AH) across ten text volumes and an eleventh volume comprising detailed analytical indices .
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