Tuhfat al-Dhakirin bi Uddat al-Hisn al-Hasin
- Author died
- 1250 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Qalam
Tuhfat al-Dhakirin bi Uddat al-Hisn al-Hasin (The Gift of the Remembrancers on the Provision of the Fortified Stronghold) is a commentary on prophetic supplications and invocations by the Yemeni scholar al-Shawkani (d. 1250 AH / 1834 CE) .
Background and Purpose
The book is an extensive commentary (sharh) on Uddat al-Hisn al-Hasin (The Provision of the Fortified Stronghold), an abridgment prepared by the Quranic and hadith scholar Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH) from his own comprehensive compendium of supplications, al-Hisn al-Hasin min Kalam Sayyid al-Mursalin (The Fortified Stronghold from the Words of the Master of Messengers) .
Al-Shawkani explained in his introduction that while Uddat al-Hisn al-Hasin was among the most beneficial and well-arranged collections of prophetic invocations (adhkar), it did not sufficiently draw attention to problematic narrations or provide complete attribution to the original hadith compilations . Noting that determining the authenticity (tashih), adequacy (tahsin), or weakness (tad'if) of hadiths is the foremost objective of hadith transmission and essential for believers seeking to adhere to the Sunnah with certainty and distinguish authentic practice from innovation (ibtida'), and observing that no prior scholar had produced a commentary fulfilling this purpose, he composed Tuhfat al-Dhakirin to examine and grade its narrations critically .
Transmission and Sources
Al-Shawkani recorded his chain of transmission (isnad) for Uddat al-Hisn al-Hasin back to its author, Ibn al-Jazari, through his teacher Abd al-Qadir ibn Ahmad al-Kawkabani, tracing the lineage through prominent Yemeni scholars including Sulayman ibn Yahya al-Ahdal, Yahya ibn Umar al-Ahdal, Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Battah al-Ahdal, al-Tahir ibn Husayn al-Ahdal, Ibn al-Dayba' (Abd al-Rahman ibn Ali al-Dayba'), and Zayn al-Din Ahmad ibn Abd al-Latif al-Sharji .
Method and Scope
In his commentary, al-Shawkani systematically assesses the chains and source references of the hadiths cited in the base text rather than relying on general attribution formulas for authenticity or weakness . Alongside critical hadith grading (al-tashih wa-al-tasqim), he elucidates lexical meanings, records variant textual wordings (alfaz al-hadith), and provides parallel narrations that corroborate the meaning of the invocations .
The work follows the ten-chapter organization established in Uddat al-Hisn al-Hasin, which covers:
- The virtues and etiquettes of remembrance, supplication, and sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ .
- The times, conditions, and locations of answered prayers; those whose supplications are granted; the Greatest Name of Allah and His Beautiful Names; and the signs of answered prayer along with praising Allah for it .
- Invocations prescribed for the morning, evening, night, day, sleep, and waking states, as well as subsequent chapters dedicated to supplications for various life circumstances, general remembrance, seeking forgiveness (istighfar), virtues of the Quran, and prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ .
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