The Earliest Manuscript of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim in the Handwriting of Ibn al-Khāḍibah
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12/3/2026
The book Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by the Imām, ḥadīth master Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj al-Naysābūrī (d. 261 AH) is regarded as one of the most eminent compilations of the Prophetic Sunnah and, after Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī by Imām Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī, it is considered by scholars to be the most authentic book of ḥadīth. Since its composition, it has received extensive scholarly attention. Scholars have cared for it through transmission, listening (samāʿ), copying, verification, and commentary. Generations of students and scholars transmitted it in study circles across the centuries until it became one of the most important ḥadīth sources relied upon by jurists and ḥadīth scholars in deriving rulings and legal reasoning.
This scholarly attention is reflected in the large number of manuscript copies, the multiple chains of transmission through which it has been narrated, and the abundance of commentaries and studies written about it in both earlier and later periods. Among the most recent of these is the commentary by the author of these lines, Maʿālim al-Minhāj fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, which I hope will be published soon, Allah willing.
Given the great scholarly importance of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the study of its early manuscripts represents an important academic field in the service of the Prophetic Sunnah. Such studies help verify the text of the book and reveal the stages through which it was transmitted and circulated among scholars. They also shed light on aspects of intellectual life within Islamic civilisation.
In this context, special importance attaches to a precious manuscript fragment of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim written in the handwriting of the ḥadīth scholar Abū Bakr al-Daqāq al-Baghdādī, known as Ibn al-Khāḍibah (d. 489 AH). This manuscript is considered among the earliest surviving handwritten sources of the book. It has been the subject of a precise scholarly study by our esteemed colleague and distinguished researcher Dr ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā al-ʿAwbal, who devoted a specialised critical study to it. In this study he introduced the manuscript through description and analysis, revealed its scholarly significance, and highlighted its place in the history of transmitting the text of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. This work represents an outstanding example of contemporary scholarly efforts to revive the ḥadīth heritage and present it with academic precision.
At the beginning of his introduction he writes:
“This is a precious fragment of a noble register from one of the greatest registers of Islam and its grand collections — the second of the authentic collections held in highest esteem by the guiding Imams.”
Ancient ḥadīth manuscripts are among the most important witnesses to the history of texts and their transmission through the ages. Early copies are usually closer in time to the author’s era, which gives them great importance in verifying and establishing texts. The closer a manuscript is to the time of the author, the greater its scholarly value, since the likelihood of scribal mistakes or alterations is less than what might occur in later copies. For this reason, scholars editing classical works are keen to consult the earliest available manuscripts and compare them with other copies in order to reach the text closest to what the author originally wrote.
The manuscript of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim written in the hand of Ibn al-Khāḍibah belongs to this category of important textual witnesses. It is a fragment dating back to the fifth Islamic century, relatively close to the time of the author. The fragment begins in the middle of the Book of Prayer and ends at the conclusion of the Book of Funerals. Although it does not represent the entire work, its scholarly value is considerable due to the important historical and academic characteristics it contains.
The editor described this manuscript in detail in his introduction, clarifying its position among the manuscript copies of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. He notes that it is among the earliest surviving manuscript sources of the book and remarks that:
“This portion is the earliest known handwritten source of the Ṣaḥīḥ.”
This description reveals the significant place of this manuscript in both ḥadīth studies and textual scholarship.
For a long time this manuscript remained unattributed to its scribe. The name of the copyist was not clear to researchers who had previously examined it. However, Dr ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAwbal conducted a careful scholarly study of the manuscript, analysing the handwriting and comparing its characteristics with descriptions found in biographical sources that discuss the handwriting of Ibn al-Khāḍibah. He also relied on historical and scholarly indicators connected to the manuscript.
This research led to an important conclusion: the confirmation that the scribe was the ḥadīth scholar Abū Bakr al-Daqāq al-Baghdādī, known as Ibn al-Khāḍibah. The editor explains in his introduction that the manuscript had long remained unattributed until, after examining the handwriting and supporting evidence, it became clear that it was written by Ibn al-Khāḍibah. He writes:
“The name of its scribe had remained hidden from view until Allah, by His grace and generosity, facilitated the uncovering and recognition of this matter.”
As for the scribe himself, Ibn al-Khāḍibah was among the scholars engaged in the science of ḥadīth in the fifth Islamic century. He was known for transmitting ḥadīth, attending scholarly auditions, and copying ḥadīth books. The editor describes him as one of the recognised people of ḥadīth who took great care in writing and copying ḥadīth literature.
The fact that this manuscript is written in the handwriting of a ḥadīth scholar greatly increases its scholarly value. Ḥadīth scholars were especially careful in preserving the accuracy of ḥadīth texts and reviewing them. They were also keen to compare what they wrote with reliable source manuscripts. Therefore, manuscripts written by scholars or produced under their supervision are usually closer to the correct text than those copied by scribes who were not connected to scholarly learning.
Among the important scholarly features of this manuscript is that it contains several samāʿāt (audition records). In the terminology of ḥadīth scholars, samāʿ refers to a student reading a book to a teacher — or the teacher reading it while the student listens — in the teacher’s presence, with this event being recorded in the manuscript as documentation of the transmission. This method was one of the most important ways of transmitting books in Islamic scholarship. Students would gather in scholarly assemblies to read books and hear them from scholars, then record this in their copies.
These audition notes represent valuable scholarly documents that help researchers study the history of how books circulated and were transmitted among scholars.
The editor highlighted this feature in his introduction, noting that the manuscript contains several valuable audition records indicating that it circulated among scholars and was read in gatherings of ḥadīth study. These records reveal an important aspect of intellectual life in Islamic civilisation, where the circulation of books occurred within a structured framework based on reading, listening, and documentation.
Through studying these audition notes, researchers can identify the names of scholars who participated in reading or hearing the book, and they can trace the path through which the manuscript passed from one generation to another.
The importance of these audition notes is not limited to historical aspects; they may also help explain certain textual phenomena within the manuscript and sometimes indicate stages in the revision or correction of the text.
For this reason, scholars editing manuscripts pay great attention to studying the audition notes and marginal records found in handwritten copies, since they represent an important part of the history of the text.
Furthermore, this manuscript represents an important resource for establishing the text of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. It can be used in comparing the text with other manuscript copies. When differences appear between manuscripts, editors usually rely on earlier and more reliable copies to determine the correct reading. In this regard, the manuscript of Ibn al-Khāḍibah carries particular importance because it represents an early witness to the text of the book and is written in the handwriting of a recognised ḥadīth scholar.
The editor notes that the importance of the manuscript is not limited to its early date but also includes the scholarly evidence it contains demonstrating how the book circulated among scholars.
This study also reveals an important aspect of the history of scholarly life in the Islamic world. It shows how scholars circulated books and transmitted them through audition gatherings, and how they documented this process in manuscripts. It also illustrates the role manuscripts played in preserving scholarly heritage and transmitting it across generations centuries before the emergence of printing.
The scholarly effort exerted by our respected colleague Dr ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā al-ʿAwbal played a significant role in highlighting the value of this manuscript and introducing it with academic precision. He succeeded in establishing its attribution to Ibn al-Khāḍibah after it had remained unattributed for a long time. He also provided a detailed scholarly description of its palaeographical and academic features and studied its audition records and marginal notes.
This work has helped demonstrate its importance among the manuscript copies of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. We can only extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yaḥyā al-ʿAwbal for this noble scholarly service to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and for his blessed efforts in introducing this precious manuscript and making it accessible to researchers and students of knowledge. Such work is a form of service to the Prophetic Sunnah and care for its manuscript heritage.
Photo from Mohammad Akram
