Sharh al-Hadith al-Muqtafa fi Mabath al-Nabi al-Mustafa
- Author died
- 665 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-‘Umarayn al-‘Ilmiyyah
Sharh al-Hadith al-Muqtafa fi Mabath al-Nabi al-Mustafa (Arabic: شرح الحديث المقتفى في مبعث النبي المصطفى, lit. 'The Commentary on the Followed Hadith on the Mission of the Chosen Prophet') is a hadith commentary by the Damascus-based Shafi'i scholar and historian Abu Shama al-Maqdisi (599–665 AH / 1202–1267 CE) . The work presents an exhaustive textual and isnad analysis of the narrations concerning the beginning of the prophetic mission and the onset of revelation .
Background and Purpose
Abu Shama composed the treatise to provide a comprehensive, rigorous model (unmudhaj) illustrating how prophetic reports ought to be analyzed across all relevant legal and textual disciplines . He selected the major report on the start of the Prophet's mission recorded in the two canonical collections (al-Sahihayn) through the narrations of Aisha and Jabir ibn Abd Allah . The text was incorporated as the third treatise in the first volume of his compendium al-Kitab al-Marqum fi Jumlat min al-Ulum, a multi-work collection referenced in his chronicle al-Mudhayyal 'ala al-Rawdatayn .
Content and Method
The work focuses on the detailed exposition of the opening hadith of revelation: أَوَّلُ مَا بُدِئَ بِهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ مِنَ الْوَحْيِ الرِّؤْيَا الصَّادِقَةُ فِي النَّوْمِ ("The first form of revelation that came to the Messenger of Allah was true dreams during sleep") . Abu Shama undertakes an exhaustive study covering both the chain of transmission (isnad) and the matn (matn), exploring the theological, linguistic, and jurisprudential facets derived from the report . In the course of his analysis, the author cross-references his commentaries on the praise poems composed by his teacher Alam al-Din al-Sakhawi, including Dhat al-Usul and Dhat al-Durar .
Teaching and Reception
When Abu Shama assumed the leadership of the hadith professorship at the Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya in Damascus, he inaugurated his first public lecture using the introductory discourse of this book . The session was attended by high dignitaries and scholars, including Chief Judge Ibn Khallikan . During the assembly, Abu Shama examined its isnad and matn, incorporating extemporaneous additions beyond the original text, which prompted praise and poetic verses composed in his honor by attendees .
The book was transmitted by Abu Shama's students; Salah al-Din al-Ala'i documented receiving the work through Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Da'ud ibn Zafir al-Fadili, who read the first half to Abu Shama and received an authorization (ijaza) for the rest .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscripts containing the treatise alongside other short works of Abu Shama survive in collections such as the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin (MS 3307) . A historical handwritten copy bearing Abu Shama's handwriting was previously held at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Hydra, Algiers, before its loss . The treatise was edited by Jamal 'Azzun and published in a single volume by Maktabat al-'Amrayn al-'Ilmiyya in Sharjah in 1420 AH (1999 CE) .
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