Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatuhum
- Author died
- 379 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-‘Āṣimah
Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatuhum (The History of the Birth and Death of Scholars) is a specialized chronological biographical dictionary compiled by the Damascene hadith scholar Abu Sulayman Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Zabr al-Raba'i (d. 379 AH / 989 CE), documenting the birth and death dates of scholars and narrators from the beginning of the Islamic calendar .
Scope and Structure
The book is arranged annalistically, recording scholars and transmitters according to the years of their birth and death, beginning with the first year of the Hijra (1 AH) . It extends down to the year 338 AH, though some modern discussions note coverage reaching 357 AH .
The work represents the earliest surviving independent biographical text organized around dates of death (kutub al-wafayat) . An earlier known attempt in this genre, compiled by Abd al-Baqi ibn Qani' (d. 351 AH) covering the period up to 346 AH, has not survived . Establishing precise birth and death dates was essential for hadith critics and biographers to verify the chains of transmission (isnad) and examine the contemporaneity of narrators and their teachers .
Continuations and Influence
Due to its importance as a chronological reference, al-Raba'i's work served as the foundation for a long sequence of continuations (dhuyul) by later scholars :
- Abd al-Aziz al-Kattani (d. 466 AH) composed Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatuhum (also called Tali Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatuhum), picking up from 338 AH and continuing down to 462 AH .
- Hibat Allah ibn al-Akfani (d. 524 AH) appended Dhayl Dhayl Tarikh Mawlid al-Ulama wa Wafayatuhum (also known as Jami al-Wafayat), covering 463 AH to 485 AH and adding sixty-three biographies to the period covered by al-Kattani .
- Sharaf al-Din Ali ibn al-Mufaddal al-Maqdisi (d. 611 AH) continued the lineage with Wafayat al-Naqala, which reached 581 AH .
- Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri (d. 656 AH) wrote al-Takmila li-Wafayat al-Naqala, extending coverage from 581 AH to 642 AH with detailed vocalization of names and lineages .
- Subsequent supplements were added by Izz al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Husayni (d. 695 AH) in Silat al-Takmila, followed by later additions by Ahmad ibn Aybak al-Dimyati (d. 749 AH) and Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi (d. 806 AH) .
Editions
The work has been published in modern critical editions:
- Edited by Abd Allah Ahmad Sulayman al-Hamad in two volumes, published by Dar al-Asima in Riyadh (1410 AH / 1989–1990 CE), published alongside the supplements of al-Kattani and Ibn al-Akfani .
- Edited by Muhammad al-Misri, published by the Manuscript Center in Kuwait (1410 AH) .
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