Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin Adrakahum al-Baghawi

Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin Adrakahum al-Baghawi (The Death Dates of the Teachers Whom al-Baghawi Reached) is a 3rd-century AH biographical obituary treatise by the Baghdad hadith scholar Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi (214–317 AH / 829–929 CE), recording the death dates, locations, and narrative notes of the scholars of his era Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.

Scope and Structure

The treatise documents the obituaries of approximately three hundred scholars from the 3rd century AH whom al-Baghawi lived through, encompassing both those from whom he transmitted hadith and those he met or missed Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1. Unlike biographical dictionaries arranged alphabetically or geographically, al-Baghawi structured the work chronologically according to the years and months of the scholars' deaths Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna…+1.

The text opens with entries for the year 225 AH, recording the deaths of Sa'id ibn Sulayman in Baghdad and Yahya ibn Yusuf al-Zammi in the month of Rajab Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…. Entries then progress through subsequent years across various Islamic centers, including Kufa, Basra, Samarra, Mecca, Medina, and Tarsus Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.

Method and Content

In each biographical entry, al-Baghawi typically specifies:

• The year, month, and occasionally the exact day of death Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.
• The city or place of demise, such as Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, or Samarra Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.
• His personal hearing status from the scholar, explicitly noting whether he wrote hadith from them («وقد كتبت عنه»), saw them without hearing from them («وقد رأيته ولم أسمع منه»), or did not record anything from them («وما كتبت عن أحد منهم») Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.
• Occasional physical descriptions and personal practices, such as whether the scholar dyed his hair and beard («كان يخضب» or «كان لا يخضب»), their approximate age at death, or traits like visual impairment Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.
• Contextual circumstances of death, such as dying in prison or being among the earliest traditionists brought to Samarra to pass away there Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.

Transmission and Reception

The surviving text was transmitted from al-Baghawi by the hadith master Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar (d. 379 AH), through Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-'Atiqi (d. 441 AH), and then through Abu al-Fadl Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn Khayrun al-Baqillani (d. 488 AH), with an audition note (sama') recorded for Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Bardani Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin….

Later scholars cited the book as a primary reference for 3rd-century AH hadith transmitters' death dates. Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi relied extensively on al-Baghawi's text as a primary source for obituaries in his Tarikh al-Islam Tarikh al-Islam. It is also cited in biographical and hadith works by Ibn 'Asakir and Al-Hakim al-Naysaburi al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahih…+1.

Manuscripts and Publication

A manuscript of the work is preserved in the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus within Majmu' 106 (fols. 168–176 / MS 3842), containing an audition note dated 483 AH Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna…+1. The text was edited by Muhammad 'Aziz Shams and published in a single volume by al-Dar al-Salafiyya in Bombay, India, in 1409 AH / 1988 CE Wafat al-Shuyukh alladhin…+1.