Tashil al-Sabila li Murid Marifat al-Hanabila
- Author died
- 1410 AH
- Editions
- Mu'assasat al-Risalah for Printing, Publishing and Distribution
Tashil al-Sabila li Murid Ma‘rifat al-Hanabila (Facilitating the Path for the Seeker of Knowledge of the Hanbalis) is an expansive biographical dictionary of scholars and jurists belonging to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence, authored by the Najdi-born Meccan scholar Salih bin Abd al-Aziz Al Uthaymin (1320–1410 AH / 1902–1990 CE) .
Purpose and Sources
Al-Uthaymin authored the book to make biographical information about Hanbali scholars accessible to students and researchers, noting that specialized biographical collections for the school were scarce and difficult to obtain . In his introduction, he stated that he had direct access to only two specialized Hanbali biographical works—an abridgment of Tabaqat al-Hanabila by Ibn Abi Ya'la and an abridgment by Hasan al-Shatti—while lamenting that seventeen other major Hanbali biographical references were unavailable to him .
To overcome this limitation, he extracted Hanbali entries from broader historical and biographical literature . His primary sources included Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad by Ibn al-Jawzi, Mizan al-I‘tidal by al-Dhahabi, Lisan al-Mizan, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, Ta‘jil al-Manfa‘a, and al-Durar al-Kamina by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Shadharat al-Dhahab by Ibn al-Imad, Mu‘jam al-Buldan by Yaqut al-Hamawi, al-Bidaya wa-l-Nihaya by Ibn Kathir, and Ghayat al-Nihaya fi Tabaqat al-Qurra’ by Ibn al-Jazari . He also referred in approximately twenty entries to his own work, al-Qatf al-Dan .
Structure and Scope
The dictionary contains 3,183 biographical entries, including duplicate listings, spanning from the founder of the school, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), down to individuals who died in the year 1380 AH . It is arranged as follows:
- An extensive biography of Ahmad ibn Hanbal spanning roughly 150 pages, abridged from Ibn al-Jawzi's Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad .
- The first generation (al-tabaqa al-ula), comprising 591 companions and students of Ahmad ibn Hanbal who studied under him and transmitted from him .
- A single biography dedicated to Imam al-Khiraqi (d. 299 AH), representing those who transmitted from Ahmad's students .
- A chronological arrangement by century from the 4th century AH through the 14th century AH up to 1380 AH, ordering scholars within each century by their year of death .
Methodology and Scholarly Assessment
Al-Uthaymin adhered to explicit documentation by attributing every entry to its source, either quoting texts verbatim or summarizing key points while noting abridgments . The book is recognized as one of the largest single compilations of Hanbali biographies, containing 502 entries not documented in other printed specialized Hanbali biographical works .
Critical evaluations of the work noted around 150 intentional duplicate entries included due to discrepancies in death dates in the source literature, alongside fewer than ten accidental repetitions . The work also included eighteen scholars who belonged to other legal schools—sixteen Shafi‘is and two Hanafis—though the editor noted that Hanbali affiliations could be argued for some of them .
Publication and Supplement
Al-Uthaymin did not publish the work during his lifetime, expressing a wish to incorporate newly printed biographical works and update coverage to the end of his era, a task hindered by failing eyesight . Following his death, his handwritten manuscripts—consisting of a initial draft and an updated fair copy across three large notebooks each—were obtained through Muhammad al-Rifa‘i, a former judge in Mecca, by scholar Bakr Abu Zayd .
Abu Zayd edited the manuscript and appended an extensive supplement titled Fa'it al-Tashil (What Escaped al-Tashil), which added 1,178 Hanbali biographies extending up to 1418 AH, drawn from his own work Ulama al-Hanabila min al-Imam Ahmad ila Wafayat ‘Asrina . The work was published posthumously by Mu’assasat al-Risala in Beirut in 1422 AH (2001 CE) .
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