Al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal
Encyclopedia
Al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal is a collection of biographies of hadith
narrators within the Islamic discipline of biographical evaluation by the 12th-century Islamic scholar Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi
.
narrators mentioned in the six canonical hadith collections
. These six books are Sahih al-Bukhari
and Sahih Muslim
and the four Sunan books by Al-Nasa'i
, al-Tirmidhi
, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah. The biographies relate to the standing of each narrator relating to his narrating ability which is referred to in Arabic as `Ilm al-Rijāl.
The book is not currently published and exists in manuscript form in the Al-Zahiriyah Library in Damascus
, Syria
. The author ordered his work by mentioning the Companions
first, beginning with the ten promised paradise
, and then moving on to the Followers, beginning with those named named Muhammad and so on. It is four volumes long in manuscript form.
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
narrators within the Islamic discipline of biographical evaluation by the 12th-century Islamic scholar Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi
Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi
Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi is a classical Sunni Islamic scholar and a prominent Hadith master.-Works:He is the author of many famous works, including :*al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal *Umdat al-Ahkam -References:...
.
Overview
The author collected in this book the names and biographies of all, or most, of the hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
narrators mentioned in the six canonical hadith collections
Six major Hadith collections
The six major Hadith collections are collections of hadith by Islamic scholars who, approximately 200 years after Muhammad's death and by their own initiative, collected "hadith" attributed to Muhammad...
. These six books are Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī , as it is commonly referred to, is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Islam. These prophetic traditions, or hadith, were collected by the Persian Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, after being transmitted orally for generations. Muslims view this as one of...
and Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim is one of the Six major collections of the hadith in Sunni Islam, oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It is the second most authentic hadith collection after Sahih Al-Bukhari, and is highly acclaimed by Sunni Muslims...
and the four Sunan books by Al-Nasa'i
Al-Nasa'i
Al-Nasā'ī , full name Aḥmad ibn Shu`ayb ibn Alī ibn Sīnān Abū `Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Nasā'ī, was a noted collector of hadith , and wrote one of the six canonical hadith collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan al-Sughra, or "Al-Mujtaba", which he selected from his "As-Sunan al-Kubra"...
, al-Tirmidhi
Al-Tirmidhi
Tirmidhī , also transliterated as Tirmizi, full name Abū ‛Īsá Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Mūsá ibn al Ḍaḥḥāk al-Sulamī al-Sulamī al-Tirmidhī Tirmidhī , also transliterated as Tirmizi, full name Abū ‛Īsá Muḥammad ibn ‛Īsá ibn Sawrah ibn Mūsá ibn al Ḍaḥḥāk al-Sulamī al-Sulamī al-Tirmidhī...
, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah. The biographies relate to the standing of each narrator relating to his narrating ability which is referred to in Arabic as `Ilm al-Rijāl.
The book is not currently published and exists in manuscript form in the Al-Zahiriyah Library in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. The author ordered his work by mentioning the Companions
Sahaba
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
first, beginning with the ten promised paradise
Hadith of the ten promised paradise
The prophet Muhammad, in a Hadith accepted by Sunni Muslims, specified ten of his companions who were promised paradise. Those companions named in this Hadith are referred to by Sunnis as The Ten Promised Paradise...
, and then moving on to the Followers, beginning with those named named Muhammad and so on. It is four volumes long in manuscript form.
Books derived from al-Kamal
- Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-MizziYusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-MizziJamal al-Din, Abi al-Hajjaj, Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi was an Islamic scholar from the Levant.-Biography:Al-Mizzi was born in Aleppo and grew up and settled in Damascus. He died at Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyyah in Damascus in the year 1342 C.E...
compiled, edited and abridged this work naming it, Tahdhib al-Kamal fi asma' al-rijal. According to the numbering system of the editor of the published edition, Dr. Bashar 'Awwad Ma'roof, it contains the biographies of 8,640 narrators, including CompanionsSahabaIn Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
. It has recently been published in both eight volumes and 35 by Mu'assasah al-Risalah in Beirut, Lebanon; the first edition was 1998. The names of the biography subjects are arranged in alphabetical order in contrast to the original work. - Further, one of al-Mizzi's gifted pupils, Al-DhahabiAl-DhahabiMuhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Uthman ibn Qaymaz ibn `Abd Allah, Shams al-Din Abu `Abd Allah al-Turkmani al-Diyarbakri al-Fariqi al-Dimashqi al-Dhahabi al-Shafi`i , known as Al-Dhahabi , a Shafi'i Muhaddith and historian of Islam.-Biography:...
, summarised his teacher's work and produced two abridgements: a longer one called Tadhhib al-Tahdhib and a shorter one called Al-Kashif fi Asma' Rijal al-Kutub al-Sittah. - A similar effort to the work of al-Mizzi was made by Ibn HajarIbn HajarThere were several Muslim scholars named "Ibn Hajar"*Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani – Shafi'i and Hadith scholar*Ibn Hajar al-Makki al-Haitami - Shafi'i*Ibn Hajar Abi Bakr...
, who prepared a lengthy but abridged version, with about one-third of the original omitted, entitled Tahdhib al-Tahdhib It is currently published in numerous editions, most notably in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in twelve volumes. Later, he abridged this further in a brief work entitled Taqrib al-Tahdhib mentioning only basic biographical information, such as name, era, date of death and the author's conclusion regarding that narrator's standing as a narrator. - The work of al-Mizzi was again serviced by Safi al-Din Ahmad b. 'Abdullah al-Khazraji (d. after 923) who abridged al-Dhahabi's work, Tadhhib al-Tahdhib, making valuable additions, producing his Khulasah al-Tathhib.