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Kitab al-Zuhd of Ahmad ibn Hanbal

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By Ahmad ibn Hanbal

كتاب الزهد لأحمد بن حنبل

Ahmad ibn Hanbal's (d. 241 AH) book on renunciation, transmitted with additions by his son Abd Allah, presenting the renunciation of the prophets, then the Companions, then the Successors; the publisher quotes Ibn Taymiyya calling it 'the best work' on the subject, and Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih holds that the current printed text is an abridgement of an original of twenty parts, as Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili records 1 2.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq

Spirituality and SufismScripture and its sciencesEthics and character

Summary

Kitab al-Zuhd ("The Book of Renunciation") of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH) is a collection of reports with chains on renunciation, transmitted from him by his son Abd Allah together with additions from Abd Allah's own teachers. 1 3 4 The publisher of the Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya edition describes it as setting out the renunciation of the prophets, foremost the Prophet ﷺ Muhammad, then of the Companions, then of the Successors, and quotes Ibn Taymiyya: "the best work written on it is the Kitab al-Zuhd of Imam Ahmad". 1

Transmission and chain

The printed text opens with a chain beginning with a reading to Ibn al-Munhar of Damascus in 708, from Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Fahm al-Badani, from Abu al-Qasim Yahya ibn As'ad ibn Bawsh, from Abd al-Qadir al-Yusufi, from al-Hasan ibn Ali (may God be pleased with him) ibn al-Mudhhib, read in Rabi' al-Awwal 443, from Abu Bakr al-Qati'i, from Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, from his father. 3 It begins with reports on the Prophet's life and work at home, such as A'isha's saying that his practice was "constant", that he would patch his garment and mend his sandal, and that he died with his armour pledged to a Jew for thirty measures of food. 3 5

Structure

The book arranges its reports under the names of prophets, then Companions, then Successors; among its chapters in the Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya edition are: 6 7

The reports about prophets are transmitted with chains to Companions, Successors and those they quoted, and are presented here as attributed to their narrators.

The printed book and its larger original

Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih holds that the current printed Kitab al-Zuhd "is only an abridgement of this great, large work", relying on Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili's note in his Fahrasa, after giving his chain for the book: "it is twenty parts". 2 He says he had earlier edited a manuscript titled al-Muntakhab min Kitab al-Zuhd li-l-Imam Ahmad and found reports in it that are not in the printed text, so he searched until he found parts of the original. 2

From these he published "Part 13" from a fragment in the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus (hadith section, no. 1131), of 105 folios with the beginning lost; at its end it reads "end of the thirteenth part", followed by parts 19 and 20, which he published separately with Dar al-Rayahin. 52 The part holds 592 reports, most from Abu al-Darda', al-Hasan al-Basri and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz; the fragment is in the transmission of Abu al-Qasim Yahya ibn As'ad ibn Bawsh al-Azaji, and all its chains run through Abd Allah ibn Ahmad from his father, or are Abd Allah's additions. 52 4 The first surviving report is Abu Hazim's saying that no servant makes good what is between him and God without God making good what is between him and people. 53

Editions in this harvest

  • Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1403 AH / 1983, with a publisher's preface and a short biography of the author, without a named editor. 54 55 56
  • "Part 13", edited by Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih, Dar al-Rayahin, Amman, first edition 1447 AH / 2026, with a vocalised text, tracing and grading of the reports, and biographies of Ahmad and his son Abd Allah. 57 58 59 60
For young visitors

In this book Imam Ahmad collected reports about prophets, Companions and Successors who lived simply and did not cling to this world, such as how the Prophet patched his own clothes.

Notes for researchers

  • In the Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya edition, printed page = scan page minus 4.
  • The files also include a fourth item, an image of a manuscript whose machine reading is unusable (item alfirdwsiy2018), which was excluded, and a fifth, Ahmad Farid's al-Bahr al-Ra'iq fi al-Zuhd wa-l-Raqa'iq, which is a different book from Ahmad's.

Connections

Explore the connections

Mentions
Harim ibn Hayyan al-Abdi· Khulayd ibn Abd Allah al-Asri· Abu al-Aliya al-Riyahi· Muwarriq al-Ijli· Ubayd ibn Umayr al-Laythi· Umayr ibn Habib ibn Humasha al-Khatmi· Asim ibn Hubayra· Renunciation (zuhd)

People and things also explored

Basra· Tabattul (withdrawal from the world)· Ahl al-Hikma (People of Wisdom) lesson series· Bustan al-Amal (programme)· Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din· Kitab al-Zuhd wa-l-Raqa'iq· Eating little· Curtailing hope in the world (qisar al-amal)

Sources

  1. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 7
  2. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 7
  3. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 12
  4. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 18
  5. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 13
  6. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 483
  7. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 484
  8. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 48
  9. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 55
  10. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 58
  11. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 65
  12. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 68
  13. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 70
  14. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 75
  15. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 83
  16. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 92
  17. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 100
  18. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 104
  19. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 107
  20. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 117
  21. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 139
  22. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 146
  23. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 161
  24. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 171
  25. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 186
  26. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 190
  27. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 192
  28. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 209
  29. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 225
  30. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 228
  31. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 229
  32. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 234
  33. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 236
  34. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 241
  35. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 212
  36. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 273
  37. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 286
  38. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 290
  39. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 294
  40. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 296
  41. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 308
  42. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 357
  43. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 371
  44. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 375
  45. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 376
  46. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 415
  47. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 438
  48. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 439
  49. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 447
  50. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 453
  51. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 458
  52. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 17
  53. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 24
  54. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 5
  55. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 6
  56. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Zuhd (Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, Beirut 1983) , p. 9
  57. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 3
  58. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 8
  59. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 15
  60. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Kitab al-Zuhd, part 13, first edition of a manuscript fragment, ed. Abu Umar Mahmud ibn Shawqi ibn Muflih (Dar al-Rayahin, Amman 2026) , p. 19
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Kitab al-Zuhd of Ahmad ibn Hanbal”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/work/kitab-al-zuhd-ahmad-ibn-hanbal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-06.

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