P R B F A C E
Sl^ams a l - D i n al-Dhahab£ ( 6 7 3 - 7 4 8 A.H)
1 2 7 4 - 1 3 4 8 A.D) has
Kadtt a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t * t h e f i e l d s
T r a d i t i o n of
ef H i s t o r y ef
the Prophet Mahammad ( s ) , canon law of t h e
S c h o o l s , B i o g r a p h i e s of
the t r a d i t i o a i s t s ,
and S c i e n c e of t r a d i t i o n s
(Urn a l - H a d l t l l )
historians,
ISISLK,
theological
theologians
and S c i e n c e of
narrators
( I l n A s m a ' a l - R i j & l ) . His w r i t i n g s embrace a l l t h e major a s p e c t s of
h i s t o r y t r a d i t i o n and t h e o l o g y . Through my i n t e n s i v e s t « d y and r e s e a r c h I have come t o d i s c o v e r a s many as one hundred i m p o r t a n t works
o f a l - D h a h a b I a s h i s c o m p i l a t i o n s , a b r i d g m e n t s and e x e g e s i s e s . About
h a l f of h i s works a r e a v a i l a b l e i n the form of p u b l i s h e d books and
b r o c h u r e s , and more t h a n h a l f of h i s works a r e i n m a n u s c r i p t form
which a r e a v a i l a b l e i n d i f f e r e n t l i b r a r i e s of
the w o r l d . Li&e a l l
t h e p o s t - c l a s s i c a l Arab a u t h o r s a l - D h a h a b l ' s works a r e a l s o f o u n d i n
compilatory character.
Though t h e r e has b e e n s t u d i e s o f a l - D ) j a h a b i ' s i n d i v i d u a l
i n t h e fbrm of e d i t i n g , t r a n s l a t i n g ,
works
commentaries and c r i t i c i s m ,
no
c o m p r e h e n s i v e study of t h e e n t i r e c o r p u s of h i s l i t e r a r y and h i s t o r i c a l o u t p u t has been a t t e m p t e d t i l l
sufficient
t o - d a t e . ^nd t o my mind t h i s
is
j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e a t t e m p t i n t o an a s s i m i l a t i o n and
over a l l a s s e s s m e n t of a l l t h e important e x t a n t l i t e r a r y and
ii
and h i s t o r i c a l works of a l - p h a h a b i . The t o p i c approved by the
Committee of Advance s t u d i e s and Research (CASR) of the Paculty
of A r t s , Aligarh Muslim U n i v e r s i t y for my r e s e a r c h leading t o Ph.D.
degree i s " A C r i t i c a l study of Sljams al-Dim al-Phahabr»8 ( d . 7 4 8 /
1347) comtrlbutlon t o Arabic L i t e r a t u r e with s p e c i a l reference t o
his hi8tori<Sal work."
The meeting of the Committee held oa 2 0 . 1 2 . 1 9 8 3 .
Before t h i s work the sjuae U n i v e r s i t y ) coiiuferrcid^
t o me M.Phil Degree
under the topic»"The l i t e r a r y c o n t r i b u t i o n of some Important H i s t o r i a n s contemporary t o Sljams al-Din al-phahabi" to 1986.
In the preparation of t h i s P h . D . t h e s i s , I received ungrudging
h e l p , enlightened guidance and constant a s s i s t a n c e from my supervisor
Dr .'Abdul Bari M.A.Ph.D.(Patna), (^Read^r* \^ Department of Arabic, Aligarh
Muslim U n i v e r s i t y , A l i g a r h . I r e g i s t e r to him my deepest sense of
g r a t i t u d e and thankfulness f o r providing me with valuable s u g g e s t i o n
and many books .He has gone through the manuscript of the t l i e s l s and
made adjustment a f t e r necessary c o r r e c t i o n . In a l l phases of the
work he extended utmost f a c i l i t i e s which made t h e work to see the
l i g h t of the day. I a l s o r e g i s t e r my sense of g r a t i t u d e and thankfulness to Professor Muld^tiLr ud-Dln Ahmad, ex-Chairman, Department of
Arabic, Aligarh Muslim U n i v e r s i t y for providing me with v a l u a b l e
lil
s u g g e s t i o n and manuscripts from h i s own personal c o l l e c t i o n .
For c o l l e c t i o n of m a t e r i a l s f o r my research, I have been c o n s u l t i a g the l i b r a r i e s of A j i g a r h , D e l h i , Patna and Osmania U n i v e r s i t i e s ,
and the National Library of C a l c u t t a . I a l s o c o n s u l t e d a l l the a v a i l a ble sources i n various l i b r a r i e s of Bangladesh* I am much thankful t o
the s t a f f of t h e s e l i b r a r i e s .
My thanks are a l s o due t o Professor Muhammad Rashed, Chairman,
Department of Arabic, Aligarh Muslim University who always encouraged
and helped me with valuable sutfgestions and materials regarding the
t o p i c of my research work.
I am very much g r a t e f u l t o the Government of India for h i s generous
grant of the scholarships under the Cwltural Exchange Programme which
enabled me to complete-my P h . D . t h e s i s * I am a l s o very much g r a t e f u l
t o the Government of t h e People*s Republic of Bangladesh for
selecting
me f o r awarding a f e l l o w s h i p under t h i s scheme, which helped me t o
c o l l e c t a l l the materials regarding the work and which enabled me t o
submit
it.
Allah alone is besought for help and on Him alone we depend*
August,1990.
Deparfsient of Arabic
Aligarh Mttslim U n i v e r s i t y
Aligarh (INDIA).
MRS.
SULTSNA RAZIA
KHANAM