Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Ayyûb al-Warrâq (d. 228/843)
and His al-Maghâzî Copy
The renowned Sîra scholar Ibn Ishâq has played a major role in shaping
the current form of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him). Ibn Ishâq’s Sîrah, also known as
al-Maghâzî, became famous during his lifetime and numerous narrators
of al-Maghâzî emerged during the time it was written. Ibrâhîm b. Sa‘d,
who heard al-Maghâzî from Ibn Ishâq three times, is also one of the
famous and reliable narrators of the biography. The fact that Ibrâhîm
b. Sa‘d’s copy is the first copy of el-Maghâzî increases its importance in
this regard. When looking at the sources, it is seen that among those
who listened to Ibrâhîm b. Sa‘d’s copy was Ahmad b. Muhammad b.
Ayyûb al-Warrâq al-Baghdâdî (d. 228/843) is also included.
al-Warrâq’s al-Maghâzî copy quickly became famous and accepted in
the scholarly community. His students, such as Ibn Abī Khaythama,
Abû’l-Hasan al-Baghawî, Muhammad b. Yahyâ al-Marwazî, and ‘Ubayd
b. ‘Abd al-Wâhid al-Bazzâr, received his al-Maghâzî copy and narrated
numerous things from it. Furthermore, the preference for the Ibrâhîm
b. Sa‘d copy that al-Warrâq listened in the quoted passages from Ibn
Ishâq’s al-Maghâzî in the works of Ibn Abī Khaythama, Ibn al-Mundhir,
Abû Nu‘aym al-Isfahânî, and Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, demonstra-tes that
al-Warrâq’s al-Maghâzî copy has reached a serious level of scholarly
scholarship. It is likely due to this and similar reasons that it is often
referred to as “sâhib al-Maghâzî” in sources. Despite this, al-Maghâzî
copy has not survived to the present day. As mentioned, the preference
for al-Warrâq copy of the narration in some works, and the existence of
numerous chains of narrations transmitted by al-Warrâq from Ibrâhîm
b. Sa‘d > Ibn Ishâq > … in other sources, allow for the acquisition of
significant information about al-Maghâzî copy.
As described above, this study comprehensively examines al-Warrâq
narration of the Ibrâhîm b. Sa‘d copy, the first copy of Ibn Ishâq’s al-
Maghâzî. As a result of this study, It is understood that al-Warrâq’s copy
played a central role in the construction of Ibrâhîm b. Sa‘d ver-sion, and
it is believed that his care in refraining from interfering with the narrations
and conveying them verbatim would have contributed positively
to the construction of Ibrâhîm b. Sa‘d version. Furthermore, al-Maghâzî
version narrations transmitted by al-Warrâq enable a more accurate
and comprehensive evaluation of other al-Maghâzî/Sîrah versions.
Keywords: Sîra; al-Warrâq; al-Maghâzî; Ibn Ishâq; Ibrâhîm b. Sa‘d