4to. Volume I: [4], 323 pp., [1] / Volume II: 276 pp., / Volume III: [2], 291 pp., / Volume IV: 270 pp., Arabic text within borders, paper slightly browned, contemporary half-calf, rubbed cover, printed at al-Matba’a al-Othmaniyya, Cairo, 1893.

Synopsis

Majid al-Din as-Shaybani al-Jazari (1149-1209), widely known as Ibn al-Athir, was from a family of scholars. His siblings were very popular among historians, especially his youngest brother Abu al-Hassan ibn Muhammad, better known as ‘Aki ‘Izz al-Din ibn al-Athir, who was known for his excellent written works such as al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh and ‘Usul al- Ghabah fi Ma’rifat al-Sahabah.
Majid al-Din was well known for his depth of knowledge and problem-solving skills. Imam Abu Shama’ah said about him: “He read hadith and excelled at it; he was extremely intellectual with pious characteristics”. He wrote many works and this one is among the most popular ones, which is an encyclopaedic dictionary of reports and prophetic traditions, which are either problematic in their wordings or their meaning is not immediately clear.