Ujala al-Mubtadi wa Fudala al-Muntahi fi al-Nasab
- Author died
- 584 AH
- Editions
- General Authority for Amiri Press Affairs
Ujala al-Mubtadi wa Fudala al-Muntahi fi al-Nasab (The Beginner's Expeditious Guide and the Adept's Complement in Genealogy) is a specialized manual of Arab tribal genealogy and relative adjectives (nisbas) authored by the hadith scholar and jurist al-Hazimi (548–584 AH / 1153–1188 CE) . Arranged alphabetically, the treatise was composed to provide students of hadith with a concise, reliable reference for identifying transmitters and their tribal lineages .
Purpose and Background
Al-Hazimi framed the study of genealogy as an indispensable branch of hadith science, which encompasses nearly one hundred disciplines required for verifying and evaluating transmission chains . He noted that Arab lineages relied strictly on oral and transmitted reports (naql) because descent was tied to tribes that had largely dispersed over time, whereas non-Arabs (Ajam) were generally identified by geographic locations and crafts . Observing that earlier genealogical texts by chroniclers were often voluminous and filled with details unnecessary for hadith scholars, al-Hazimi compiled the work as an accessible handbook focused on lineages commonly encountered in hadith literature .
Transmission records at the beginning of the text state that it was read to al-Hazimi in teaching sessions that concluded on 13 Dhu al-Hijjah 583 AH at the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, as transmitted by Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Mubarak ibn Masawayh al-Wasiti .
Structure and Contents
The work opens with an introductory section outlining the conventional terminology and taxonomy of Arab tribal organization:
- The Six Arha': The major, steadfast tribal confederations likened to millstones due to their strength, demographic size, and fixed pastures—comprising Bakr ibn Wa'il and Abd al-Qays in Rabi'a; Banu Tamim and Banu Asad in Mudar; and Banu Kalb and Tayy in Yemen .
- The Nine Jamajim: The principal "skull" lineages that formed autonomous tribal bodies—four belonging to Mudar (Ghatfan, Hawazin, Tamim, and Kinana), two to Rabi'a (Bakr ibn Wa'il and Abd al-Qays), and three to Yemen (Madhhij, Azd, and Quda'a) .
- Hierarchical Levels of Kinship: The descending strata of Arab genealogical groupings: sha'b (nation or overarching confederation), qabila (tribe), 'imara (sub-tribe), batn (clan), fakhdh (branch), fasila (family group), and 'ashira (extended family unit) .
The main body is organized as an alphabetical dictionary of tribal relative adjectives (nisbas), beginning with the letter hamza . Under each heading, al-Hazimi specifies the exact vocalization and diacritical markings of the tribal name, traces the ancestral connection, and mentions notable figures—primarily Companions of the Prophet, Successors, and prominent hadith transmitters—who bore the name, while deliberately limiting grammatical etymologies and scholarly disputes to maintain brevity .
Title Variants and Print History
Bibliographical and historical sources cite the work under slight variations, including Ujalat al-Mubtadi fi al-Nasab, Kifayat al-Mubtadi fi Ma'rifat al-Ansab, and Ujalat al-Nasab fi Ma'rifat Ansab al-Arab .
The book was edited and annotated by the Moroccan scholar Abd Allah Gannun and published in Cairo in 1384 AH (1965 CE) . A second, revised edition incorporating additional manuscript witnesses was published by the Arabic Language Academy in Cairo in 1393 AH (1973 CE) .
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