The Oldest Known Copy of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim in the Hand of Ibn al-Khāḍiba
12/3/2026
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The book Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, compiled by the great ḥadīth scholar Imām Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Naysābūrī (d. 261 AH), is among the most distinguished works of the Prophetic Sunnah. After the Ṣaḥīḥ of Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī, it is regarded by scholars as the most reliable collection of ḥadīth. From the time of its composition, it has received remarkable scholarly attention. Scholars preserved it through transmission, audition, copying, textual verification, and commentary. Generation after generation carried it through circles of learning across the centuries, until it became one of the most important ḥadīth sources relied upon by jurists and ḥadīth scholars in deriving legal rulings and scholarly conclusions.
This sustained scholarly attention is reflected in the large number of manuscript copies, the variety of transmission chains through which it circulated, and the abundance of commentaries and studies devoted to it in both classical and modern times. Among the most recent of these is the commentary written by the author of these lines, Maʿālim al-Minhāj fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim b. al-Ḥajjāj, which, God willing, will soon be published.
Given the immense scholarly value of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the study of its early manuscripts constitutes an important field in the service of the Prophetic Sunnah. Such studies help establish the reliability of the text, reveal the stages of its transmission and circulation among scholars, and shed light on aspects of scholarly life within Islamic civilisation.
In this context, particular significance attaches to a precious manuscript fragment of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim written in the hand of the ḥadīth scholar Abū Bakr al-Daqāq al-Baghdādī, known as Ibn al-Khāḍiba (d. 489 AH). This manuscript is among the oldest surviving textual witnesses of the book. It has been the subject of a careful scholarly study by our esteemed colleague, the distinguished researcher Dr ʿAbd Allāh b. Yaḥyā al-ʿAwbal. In a detailed critical study devoted entirely to this manuscript, he introduced it with a precise description and analysis, demonstrating its scholarly value and highlighting its importance in the history of the transmission of the text of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. His work represents an outstanding example of contemporary scholarly efforts to revive the heritage of ḥadīth and present it with academic precision. In the opening of his introduction he writes:
> “This is a precious fragment from a noble volume belonging to one of the greatest books of Islam and its most illustrious compilations—the second of the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections honoured by the leading imams and guiding scholars.”
Ancient ḥadīth manuscripts are among the most important witnesses to the history of texts and their transmission through the centuries. Early copies are usually closer in time to the author’s era, which gives them particular importance in the verification and establishment of texts. The closer a manuscript is to the author’s lifetime, the greater its scholarly value, because the likelihood of scribal error or alteration is significantly reduced compared with later copies. For this reason, scholars engaged in editing classical works carefully consult the oldest available manuscripts and compare them with other copies in order to reach the text that most closely reflects what the author originally wrote.
The manuscript of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim written in the hand of Ibn al-Khāḍiba belongs to precisely this category of significant textual witnesses. It is a fragment dating back to the fifth century AH, relatively close to the lifetime of the author. The fragment begins in the middle of the Book of Prayer and continues until the end of the Book of Funerals. Although it does not represent the entire work, its scholarly value is considerable because of the important textual and historical features it contains.
The editor described this manuscript with great care in his introduction, clarifying its status among the manuscript witnesses of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. He notes that it is among the oldest surviving textual bases of the book, even stating that “this portion represents the earliest known manuscript witness of the Ṣaḥīḥ.” Such a description clearly demonstrates the importance of this manuscript in the fields of ḥadīth studies and textual scholarship.
For a long time, however, the manuscript remained unattributed to its copyist. The name of the scribe was not clear to scholars who had previously examined it. Dr ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAwbal undertook a meticulous scholarly investigation, analysing the handwriting and comparing its characteristics with descriptions found in biographical sources that mention the script of Ibn al-Khāḍiba. He also examined historical and scholarly indicators connected with the manuscript. This investigation led to an important conclusion: the manuscript was indeed written by the ḥadīth scholar Abū Bakr al-Daqāq al-Baghdādī, known as Ibn al-Khāḍiba. In his introduction the editor remarks that the manuscript remained unattributed for a long time, until careful examination of the handwriting and the accompanying evidence revealed that it was written in Ibn al-Khāḍiba’s own hand. As he writes:
> “The name of its scribe remained hidden from view until God, in His grace and bounty, enabled its discovery and identification.”
As for the copyist himself, Ibn al-Khāḍiba was among the scholars of ḥadīth active in the fifth century AH. He was known for transmitting ḥadīth, attending scholarly auditions, and copying works of ḥadīth. The editor describes him as one of the recognised scholars of ḥadīth who devoted themselves to writing and transmitting ḥadīth literature. The fact that this manuscript was written by a ḥadīth scholar adds considerably to its scholarly value, since scholars of ḥadīth were particularly careful in preserving and verifying the texts they transmitted. They also ensured that what they wrote was compared with reliable source copies. For this reason, manuscripts written by scholars themselves—or produced under their supervision—are usually closer to the correct text than those copied by scribes with no scholarly connection to the discipline.
One of the most significant scholarly features of this manuscript is the presence of several audition notes (samāʿāt). In the terminology of ḥadīth scholars, samāʿ refers to the process whereby a student reads a book to a teacher, or hears it read in the teacher’s presence, with this event recorded in the manuscript as documentation of the act of transmission. This method was one of the principal means of transmitting books in the Islamic scholarly tradition. Students would gather in scholarly assemblies to read and hear texts from scholars, and they would then record these sessions in their manuscripts.
These audition notes constitute valuable scholarly documents that assist researchers in studying the history of how books circulated and were transmitted among scholars. The editor highlights this feature in his introduction, noting that the manuscript contains a number of valuable audition records indicating that it was read and transmitted in gatherings of ḥadīth scholars. These records illuminate an important aspect of scholarly life in Islamic civilisation, where the transmission of books took place within a disciplined framework based on reading, audition, and documentation. Through studying these notes, researchers can identify some of the scholars who participated in reading or hearing the text, and can even trace the path of the manuscript as it passed from one generation to another.
The importance of these audition records is not limited to their historical value. They can also contribute to textual analysis, sometimes helping to explain textual variations in the manuscript or indicating stages in the revision and correction of the text.
For this reason, scholars engaged in editing manuscripts give considerable attention to studying such notes and marginal records, since they form an essential part of the textual history of the work.
Furthermore, this manuscript represents an important source for the critical editing of the text of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. It can be used for comparison with other manuscript copies. When differences arise between manuscripts, editors often rely on the earliest and most authoritative copies in order to determine the correct reading. In this respect, the manuscript of Ibn al-Khāḍiba has particular significance. It represents an early witness to the text of the book and was written by a recognised ḥadīth scholar. The editor therefore notes that its importance lies not only in its early date but also in the scholarly indicators it contains showing the circulation of the book among scholars.
The study of this manuscript also reveals an important dimension of scholarly life in the Islamic world. It shows how scholars transmitted books and shared them through gatherings of audition, and how they carefully documented these processes in their manuscripts. It also highlights the crucial role manuscripts played in preserving scholarly heritage and transmitting it across generations long before the emergence of printing.
The scholarly effort undertaken by our respected colleague Dr ʿAbd Allāh b. Yaḥyā al-ʿAwbal has played a significant role in bringing the value of this manuscript to light and introducing it with scholarly precision. He succeeded in establishing its attribution to Ibn al-Khāḍiba after it had long remained unidentified, and he provided a detailed scholarly description of its textual and palaeographical features. He also analysed the audition notes and marginal records contained within it. Through this work, he has helped clarify the manuscript’s place among the textual witnesses of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. We can only express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAwbal for this distinguished scholarly service to the book of 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 indeed among the noble forms of serving the Prophetic Sunnah and caring for its manuscript heritage.
Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/8668
