Ṭarrād al-Zaynabī

Abū'l-Fawāris Ṭirād ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī az-Zaynabī was an 11th-century Iraqi muhaddith, diplomat, and government official who served as the naqīb al-nuqabā' under the Abbasid caliphate from 1061 until his death in 1098. He wrote two books of his own, neither of which are known to have survived.

Name and titles His name is variously vocalized as Ṭirād or Ṭarrād in modern sources, although according to Andreas Görke, "Ṭirād seems to be the correct reading".

Based on the certifications of the Kitāb al-Amwāl, he is sometimes addressed with the laqab al-Kāmil, and he also had the title Shihāb al-Ḥaḍratayn, or "shooting star of the two courts". What the "two courts" referred to is unclear – usually at the time it referred to both the Abbasid and Seljuk courts, indicating that Ṭirād may have associated with the Seljuks as well as the Abbasids, but his father had a similar title Niẓām al-Ḥaḍratayn and probably died before the Seljuks were in Baghdad, so it may have a different meaning.

He appears to have studied hadith from a young age, following a practice of children attending lectures by elderly muhaddiths in order to minimize the length of the chain of transmission.

Career Ṭirād served as naqīb al-nuqabā' (or naqīb al-hāshimiyīn) under the Abbasid caliphate. He was first appointed naqīb of Basra, and was later appointed naqīb al-nuqabā' in 1061. His job in this capacity involved supervising the naqībs of the different cities. He seems to have been a fairly high-ranking dignitary of the Abbasid caliph; he is documented serving as a caliphal envoy on numerous occasions, and in one case, while the caliph was away on a pilgrimage, acted as his deputy.

Ṭirād also owned a manuscript of Abu Ubaid al-Qasim ibn Sallam's Kitāb al-Amwāl from sometime between 1070 (when the book is documented with another owner) and 1080 (when the first certificate of audition bearing his name appears) until at least 1097. A note in the book indicates that he had received his own certification for the book in 1021 (412 AH) under the supervision of Ibn al-Badi.

Later life and death Ṭirād went on a hajj to Mecca in 1096 (489 AH) and taught there and in Madinah during his journey. He died in 1098 (491 AH). His son ʿAli ibn Ṭirād al-Zaynabī directly succeeded Ṭirād as naqīb al-nuqabā' after his death. ʿAli later also served as vizier of the caliphs al-Mustarshid and al-Muqtafi.