Tuhfat al-Gharib bi-Tarajim Rijal Mujami al-Hafiz al-Tabarani al-Awsat wa al-Saghir Mimman Laysa fi al-Tahdhib
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- Maktabat Ibn ‘Abbās lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Tuhfat al-Gharib bi-Tarajim Rijal Mujami al-Hafiz al-Tabarani al-Awsat wa al-Saghir Mimman Laysa fi al-Tahdhib ("The Gift to the Stranger: Biographies of the Narrators in Hafiz al-Tabarani's al-Awsat and al-Saghir Excluded from al-Tahdhib") is a biographical dictionary of hadith transmitters compiled by the contemporary scholar Tawfiq al-Zantani (Tawfiq ibn Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud al-Hajj al-Khalifi al-Zantani) . The book focuses on identifying and assessing the transmitters (rijal) found in the chains of transmission (isnad) of Sulayman ibn Ahmad al-Tabarani's two hadith collections, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Saghir, who were omitted from standard biographical works on the transmitters of the Six Books such as al-Mizzi's Tahdhib al-Kamal and its derivatives .
Genesis and Background
The author conceived the work while studying at Dar al-Hadith in Ma'rib under Abu al-Hasan al-Sulaymani, observing the practical utility of works by Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi'i on the transmitters of al-Hakim al-Naysaburi's al-Mustadrak and al-Daraqutni's Sunan . Researchers often faced difficulties tracing obscure or lower-tier transmitters (al-tabaqah al-nazilah) in large hadith compendia . After corresponding with al-Wadi'i through an intermediary, Salih ibn Muhammad al-Farjani, al-Wadi'i suggested compiling biographical guides either for the transmitters of Ibn Hibban's Sahih or for al-Tabarani's three Mu'jam dictionaries . While Abu al-Husayn al-Qasimi al-Ghiryani undertook the transmitters of Ibn Hibban, al-Zantani focused on al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam al-Saghir .
Structure and Contents
The work covers approximately 5,000 transmitters and is organized alphabetically according to the standard method of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's Taqrib al-Tahdhib and al-Mizzi's Tahdhib al-Kamal (by the narrator's given name, father, and grandfather, followed by patronymics [kunya] and obscure entries) :
- Volume 1: Extends from the letter Alif through the end of the letter Zay, concluding with the entry for Zayn ibn Shu'ayb al-Iskandarani .
- Volume 2: Begins with the letter Sin and ends with the letter Lam, concluding with Lu'lu' al-Rumi .
- Volume 3: Opens with the letter Mim and covers the remaining letters, patronymics, and unidentified figures .
Appended to the third volume is a separate monograph titled Juz' al-Ta'liqat 'ala Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Awsat al-Matbu' ("Treatise of Annotations on the Printed Edition of al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Awsat") . This appendix systematically records textual misreadings (tashif), inadvertent name inversions (qalb), and corrections to both the base text and editorial footnotes of the Dar al-Haramayn edition of al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, edited under the supervision of Tariq ibn 'Iwad Allah and Abd al-Muhsin al-Husayni .
Methodology and Sources
The author instituted several methodological criteria for the compilation:
- Inclusion Criterion: Entries are limited strictly to transmitters found in al-Tabarani's al-Awsat and al-Saghir who do not appear in Tahdhib al-Kamal or Tahdhib al-Tahdhib .
- Textual Basis: For al-Mu'jam al-Saghir, the author utilized a distinct manuscript copy he had critically edited, rather than relying on flawed earlier editions; for al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, he relied primarily on the Dar al-Haramayn printed edition while recording corrections for its typographical errata .
- Cross-Referencing and Identification: Transmitters mentioned only by kunya, title, or attribution to a distant ancestor are cross-referenced to their full identified names . Distortions occurring in the original text are cited with their specific hadith numbers, while directing readers to the corrected form and the commentary section .
- Biographical Sources and Critical Evaluation: Critical evaluations (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil) are extracted primarily from comprehensive classical biographical works, such as Ibn Hajar's Lisan al-Mizan, Ibn Abi Hatim's al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil, Ibn Hibban's al-Thiqat, and al-Bukhari's al-Tarikh al-Kabir, as well as modern critical assessments by Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani .
- Resolving Obscurity (Jahalah): For obscure transmitters lacking explicit classical evaluation, the author notes additional students who narrated from them beyond those mentioned in al-Tabarani's chain, thereby resolving individual obscurity (jahalat al-'ayn) .
Publication
The work was published in three volumes by Maktabat Ibn 'Abbas in Egypt in 1430 AH / 2009 CE as part of its academic thesis series in hadith studies .
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