Methodology and Resources of Ibn Asakir (d. 571 AH/1175 CE) in His Accounts of the Two Imams, al-Sajjad and al-Baqir (peace be upon them), in His Book, *History of Damascus*

Abstract

This research examines the methodology and sources of Ibn Asakir (d. 571 AH/1175 CE) regarding the accounts of Imams al-Sajjad and al-Baqir (peace be upon them) in his book, *Tarikh Madinat Dimashq* (History of Damascus), which is considered one of the important books dealing with the lives of the Imams (peace be upon them). The research includes an introduction to this book, its title, importance, subject matter, and the reason for its composition. It also examines the approach the author followed in presenting the accounts of the two Imams (peace be upon them), which relied on the style of hadith scholars, resulting in numerous chains of transmission and the repetition of narrations with each change in the chain of transmission. This led to a substantial number of biographies. Furthermore, the research analyzes the sources he selected for his accounts, which included material from previous works.