Ibn Hajar Asqalanis HADY AL SARI a Medieval Interpretation of the Structure of Al Bukharis Al Jami Al Sahi Introduction

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Ibn Hajar's Hady al-sārī: A Medieval Interpretation of the Structure of al-Bukhārī's al-Jāmiʿal-ṣaḥīḥ: Introduction and TranslationAuthor(s): Mohammad FadelReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jul., 1995), pp. 161-197Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/546299 .

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IBN HAJAR'SHADYAL-SARi:A MEDIEVALINTERPRETATIONOF

THE STRUCTUREOF AL-BUKHARI'SAL-JAMIcAL-SAHIH:INTRODUCTIONAND TRANSLATION

MOHAMMAD ADEL,The Universityof Chicago

I. INTRODUCTION

IBN Hajaral-CAsqalani 773-852/1372-1449)1 was an Egyptian who lived in thelate Mamlik period. Although he wrote in many different fields, he earnedhis scholarlyreputation for his works on Prophetic tradition. Perhaps his most famous work is his

commentary upon Sahih al-Bukhari, known as Fath al-bari bi-sharh sahih al-Bukhari.

Hady al-sdri is his introductionto this commentary.2Hady al-sdri is a lengthy work. Much of it consists of indexes: a glossary of rare

words found in the Sahih, vocalizations of ambiguous propernames, full identificationof the transmittersal-Bukhari cited in his work, etc. The first four chapters, however,

present his view of the generic features of Sahih al-Bukhari as a text. In these chapters,Ibn Hajaris concerned with revealing the structureof the work and explaining the com-

plexities which arise in this work as a result of its structure.

Chapter1 is a history of the hadithmovement fromthe deathof the Prophetto the time

of al-Bukhariand an evaluation of al-Bukhari'sposition in that movement. Chapter2 in-cludes IbnHajar'sexplanationof the purpose(s)of al-Jimic al-sahih and al-Bukhari's ri-teria for citing texts therein.In this chapter,he also attempts o explain al-Bukhdri'smethodin writingchapter itles (see below). Chapter3 is a discussion of techniquesal-Bukhariusedin citing his material:taqtic3(abbreviation), khtisir (summation),and tikrdr(repetition).In this chapter,IbnIHajar iscusses thereasonswhichled al-Bukhari o use these techniquesand what the contexts are in which he uses them.The finalchapter s IbnHajar'sdiscussionof the "suspended,"or the mucallaq, reportsfound in al-Jimic al-sahih.

These chaptersrepresenta type of hadith criticism whose main purposeis not to deter-mine the historicity of the transmittedmaterial.Although Ibn Hajaruses the researchof

the earlier historical critics, his purpose in these chaptersis to reveal the work'sinternalcoherence and structureby attempting o understand he conventions of the book. In addi-tion, Ibn Hajardoes not claim to have reached his conclusions aboutthe work as a resultof statementsattributed o the book'sauthor.Rather,the authorclaims to base his conclu-sions upon his readingof the text.

1 Aba al-Fadl Ahmad b. CAll b. Muhammad b.

Muhammadb. CAllal-CAsqaldni.For a more detailed

biography, see the Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2d ed.

2 Ibn IHajar al-CAsqaldni, Hady al-sari, ed.IbrahimCAtwaCAwadCairo, 1963).

3 Words that are transliterated in boldface aretechnical terms. I always transliterate the term whenit is first used by the author.ThereafterI use the En-

glishtranslationunless I have been unable to find a

one-word equivalent in English, in which case I will

preserve the boldface transliterationthroughout thetranslation.

[JNES 54 no. 3 (1995)]@ 1995 by The University of Chicago.All rights reserved.0022-2968/95/5403-0001$1.00.

161



162 JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

Nevertheless,why shouldwe be concerned with a work such as this?Perhaps he firstrea-son to studythis work is the positionof its author, bnHajar.While modernacademicschol-

arshipin both the Arabworld and the Western world seems to ignore the intellectual life

of the Mamlik period,4 his eraproducedworkswhich were of considerable mportance orMuslim intellectuals up to the modernage.5Ibn Hajar'scommentary,Fath al-bnri, is oneof those books. LaterMuslim scholarlytraditionwas to know him simply as "al-hiifiz," hehadith scholar,par excellence. Not only did his reading of al-Bukharicome to occupy a

privileged position within the tradition of Bukharicriticism after his death, it was well onits way to canonizationeven duringhis lifetime. His biography reportsthatMuslim rulersfrom Morocco and Iran intervenedwith the Mamlik sultan to obtaincopies of the workasit was being written.6Thus,if Sahihal-Bukhari s recognizedas a criticalpartof theMuslim

literarycanon, then influentialreadingsof this canonical work likewise deserve scholarlyattention.

Another equally importantreason is its place in intellectual history. While Ibn IHajarand his workscan and should be the object of intellectual history,he himself is also a his-torian of ideas. For example, Ibn Hajar'sobservations on the nature of al-Bukhari's ext

provide an interesting perspective on the differences between it and another importanthadith work from roughly the same period, Sahih Muslim. Ibn Hajar'srepresentationofauthors of hadith works such as al-Bukhari and Muslim shows them to be far from mere"collectors" of texts. Each of theirworksrepresentsa differenttype of writing,with Mus-lim tending more to "pure" iterary history and al-Bukhariallowing interpretiveconcernsto dominate the structureof his work.

Ibn Hajar's nterpretationof the differenthadithworks can be profitablycomparedwith

that of Ignaz Goldziher, the founder of modernhadith studies.7 One of the main conclu-sions of Goldziher'sresearch into the literary origins of hadith, on the one hand, and its

relationshipto the developmentof Islamic law,fiqh, on the other,was the existence of two

parties in the first centuries of Islam, the ahl al-ra~y,"the partisansof opinion,"and ahl

al-hadith, "thepartisansof the hadith."Accordingto Goldziher,much of early Islamic in-tellectual history is a result of the battles waged between these two forces.8 This bitter

conflict, in the opinionof Goldziher, ed to forgeryof hadithmaterialen masse. Goldziher's

scholarly successors, moreover, have allowed the questions of literary history raised byhim to dominatesubsequenthadith scholarship. Unfortunately, his has obscured other m-

portantquestions regardingthe early hadith movement.9

Consequently, the early traditionists have come to be viewed by modern scholars asmore or less passive collectors. The differencesin theirworks are subsequentlyreduced to

4 The typical stance towardthis period by modernhistorians of thought is to dismiss it as a periodof mere compilation and commentary. See, for ex-

ample, Ignaz Goldziher, Muslim Studies, 2 vols.,trans.C. R. Barberand S. M. Stern (London, 1971),vol. 2, p. 245.

5 The situation in the Arab world is slightly more

complex, given the presence of "traditional" ntellec-tuals who share a certaincontinuity with the traditionof learningwhich IbnHajarso ably represented.Thus,when I use the term "modern scholarship,"I meanthose scholars who are associated with the new insti-tutionof learning,the nationaluniversity.

6 Fathal-batriwas composed as a series of lectureswhich were delivered over the course of twenty-fiveyears, 817-42/1414-38.

7 Goldziher, Muslim Studies, vol. 2, chap. 8, "The

Hadith Literature," p. 189-251.8 Ibid., pp. 77-85.9 Fora summaryof modern accounts of the begin-

nings of Islamic law and the hadith literature, seeHaraldMotzki, Die Anfdinge er islamischenfJurispru-denz, Abhandlungen tirdie Kunde des

Morgenlandes,vol. 50, no. 2 (Stuttgart,1991), chap. 1, "Die Anfdingeder islamischen Jurisprudenzn der Forschungdes 19.und 20. Jahrhunderts,"p. 7-49.



IBN HAJAR'S HADY AL-SARI 163

each author'scritical (from the perspectiveof literary history) acumen.This characteriza-

tion, however, only obscures the problem of authorship n these different works. More-

over, this position also obscures the mannerin which the six books became canonized.10

Instead,the canonizationof these six books is understoodimplicitlyas markinga type ofcanonization akin to the canonization of the gospels, in which, by analogy, other hadithworks come to be considered less true.

It is doubtful, however, whether this analogy is helpful, for one does not find Muslim

hadithcritics assigning "truth"values to texts based solely on considerationsof theirtex-tual sources. This can be seen clearly in instances where a text exists in differentsourceswith differentversions. When two versions of a single text exist, one in al-Bukhari,andone in the

Sah.ih

of Ibn Khuzayma, or example, one cannot say solely on the basis of thetext's inclusion in al-Bukhari that it is the authoritativeversion of the text. Indeed, it isdoubtful thathadithcritics even thoughtin termsof an "authoritative" ersion of a text."

Goldziher'sresearch,however, was not confined to questions of the authenticityof thehadithliterature. n chapter8 of his MuslimStudies,he reveals his knowledge of the struc-tural complexities and the differences in the various hadith collections. For example, hediscusses the importantdifferencesbetween al-Bukhari's ollection and that of his youngercontemporary,Muslim b. al-Hajjaj.His vision of early Islamic intellectual history as abattle between ahl al-ra'y and ahl al-hadith, however, results in a somewhat equivocalposition toward the work of al-Bukhari.Although Goldziher claims him as a clear repre-sentative of ahl al-hadith, Goldziher'ssubsequentdiscussion of the book's structurecastsinto doubtthe accuracyof his initial characterization.

The theoreticallyproblematicnatureof al-Jimic al-sahih is most clearly revealedwhen

Goldziher contrasts it with Malik's Muwatta'. Commenting on the presence of fatwas(legal opinions) in the latter, Goldziher says: "A transmitterof the hadith school wouldhave put forward notfatwas, but hadiths going back to the Prophet."12More importantly,however, he also notes that"Malikb. Anas is not a mere collector of traditionsbut is firstandforemost an interpreter f them from the point of view of praxis"(emphasisadded).13

On the other hand, Goldziher describes the Sahih of al-Bukhiri as a musannaf, a typeof hadith work which was organized by legal topic instead of by narrator,as had beenthe previous practice in the musnad collections. According to Goldziher, this genre of

hadith collection was introduced in the third century to prove the relevance of the

hadith to law. He says that the "structureof this book (al-Jdimical-sahih) is that of a

pure work of traditions (without addition of racy as in Mdlik)."14Goldziher explains al-Bukhdri'schapter titles as his attempt to propagatethe doctrine of the ahl al-hadith byalerting readersto the point of the quoted texts."1

Immediately after making this statement,however, Goldziherbegins to qualify it. On

page 218, for example, he says, "By this example, I wished to show in how unmistakable

10They are:al-Jdimic l-sahih of al-Bukhari d. 256/

869), the Sahih of Muslim (d. 261/875), the SunanofAba Dawfd al-Sijistdni(d. 275/889), the Sunan of al-Tirmidhi(d. 279/892), the Sunanof al-Nasa'i (d. 303/915), and theSunan of IbnMija (d. 273/886). Inthisre-

spect,it is

importanto remember hat there were sev-

eral otherworks,both in thesahih and thesunanmodes,written afterthe deaths of these six authors.Why were

they not included in the canon?

" For an explanation of this lack of canonizationof the sunna, see Bernard Weiss, The Search forGod's Law (Salt Lake City, 1992), pp. 259-60.

12Goldziher, "HadithLiterature," . 198.

13Ibid., p. 199.14

Ibid., p.216.

15 Ibid.




a way al-Bukharitried to win over readers to a certainpartisan opinion in the headingsand introductionof the chaptersin his collection" (emphasis added). On page 220, Gold-

ziher remarksthat "he (al-Bukhari)always thinks first of the theoreticalapplicationsfor

which his materialshould, or should not, be used."Although the representationof al-Bukhari began by emphasizing the differences be-

tween him and Malik, differences which representedthe conflict between the ahl al-racyand the ahl al-hadith, Goldziher concludes his descriptionof al-Bukhari'sworkin a man-ner almost identical to the comments cited earlierin his descriptionof the Muwatta . This

equivocation is only heightened when Goldziher contrasts Muslim with al-Bukhari.The

Sahih of Muslim, we are told, is similar in design and purpose to al-Bukhari's.Sahih.

In

almost the next breath,however, he tells us that Muslim is not overly concerned with the

practical application of the material which he cited!16

This, then, is anotherreason to study Ibn Hajar'sHady al-sari. In the first four chapters

of this work,especially in chapters2-4, IbnHajardevotes detailed attentionto the genericfeatures of al-J~imic l-sahih. In the course of his exposition, he providesmany answers tothe questions Goldziherraised but only partiallysucceeded in answering.

Ibn Hajar, in writing his commentary on al-Bukhari, was able to take advantage ofthe scholarship of previous centuries. According to the consensus of learned opinion,al-Bukhari'spurpose in writing his book, while it included the goal of separatingvalid

hadiths from those which were less reliable, was not limited to this. His purposewas alsoto cite these texts in a manner that would reveal their legal ramifications.Thus, IbnHIajar

quotes al-Nawawi (d. 676/1277) as saying: "The purpose of al-Bukhariis not limited to

hadiths. Rather,his goal is to derive from them certainmeanings and to use them as evi-

dence for certain topics."17Al-Nawawi furtherexplains that this is why one finds suchgreatdifferences in the cited materialwithin the differentchaptersof the book, some hav-

ing many hadiths, others having only one and still others having none.The greatdifferences in the material cited in various chapterseven led some critics to

conclude that al-Bukhari had not completed the book. Furthermore, n instances wherethe materialcited did not seem appropriate or al-Bukhari'schaptertitle, this same groupof critics maintained that one had to conclude that these texts had been inserted incor-

rectly by copyists.18Ibn Hajar recognizes this as a possible explanation for some of the problematic sec-

tions of the book. He cautions, however, that this explanation is valid "only in a few

places, as shall be made clear, by the will of God" [p. 19]. Instead of explaining the in-consistencies in al-Bukhari'smaterial as a result of scribal incompetence, Ibn HIajarn-troduces a critical distinction in the types of texts which al-Bukhari cited in his work:

16 Ibid., pp. 226-29. Furthermore, ccordingto Ibn

Hajar,Bukhdri'sSahih contained atwds of both Com-

panionsandFollowers,andinterrupted eports, ust liketheMuwatta'of Malik.Significantly,Muslim'sSahihisalmost entirely composed of formally valid hadiths.

17Hady al-sdri, p. 19. Subsequent page referencesto the Arabic text of this work will appearthrough-out this paper in brackets.

18For example, Aba al-Walid al-Baji (d. 474/1081) reported that one of the copyists of al-Jdmical-sahih, al-Mustamli, said: "I copied the book of

al-Bukhdri from the original which was in the pos-session of Muhammadb. Yasuf al-Farabri(d. 320/

932). I saw that parts of it had been completed,while others had been left unfinished. Among themwere titles in which he hadyet to place anything,and

among them were hadiths which he had yet to groupinto chapters with titles. Therefore, we put the two

together."

4 have inserted death dates throughoutthe text ofthe translationusing parentheses instead of the cus-

tomarybrackets.




primaryand secondary.The former, which he refers to as the asl, are cited using the ex-

pression haddathand, some equivalent expression, or valid Cancana.Texts cited in thismannerareformally valid accordingto al-Bukhari'sstipulations.Theirrelationshipto the

chaptertitle under which they are cited can be ambiguous, however.On the other hand, al-Bukhariwished to include texts which did not meet his formal

stipulationsfor validity, althoughhe deemed themvalid for argumentation. n these cases,he cited these texts in asuspendedform or would even use the wordingof a formally weaktext in the title of the chapterif its meaning supportedal-Bukhari'sargument.Ibn Hajarrefers to these formally deficient texts, as tabac, secondary [p. 20]. According to Ibn

.Hajar,al-Bukhari intended these texts to serve as a type of commentaryon the primary

texts in the case of ambiguity in the primarytexts:

Inthiscontext ambiguityn theasl) thetitleserves o interprethehadith, aking heplaceof the

jurist's tatement,orexample,"Themeaning f thisgeneralhadith s particular,"r"themeaningof this specifichadith s general."Thus, he title creates he impression f analogybecauseof theexistence f theunifying atio egis.... Thatwhichwehavementioned bouthegeneral nd hepar-ticular s alsotrue or theunqualifiednd hequalifiederm.The same s also the casefortheexpla-nationof theproblematic,larificationf theambiguous,nterpretationf theapparent,nddetailingthe succinct.This s wheremostoftheproblematicnstancesf titlesof thisbook ie. This s thereasonbehind hefamous ayingof thenobles,"Al-Bukhdri'surisprudencefiqh)s in his titles."

Al-Bukharisually esorts o thiswhenhe cannot indahadithwhichmeetshiscriteria f validityandwhoseapparentmeanings [thesameas]whathe intends o establish n thechapter p.25].

The relationship of formally deficient material to the formally valid material was not

the only source of structuralcomplexity, however, according to Ibn Hajar.Another im-portantsource of confusion was al-Bukhari'sabbreviationandrepetitionof hadith texts.He would abbreviatea hadith when it contained several ideas which could be used as evi-dence for different topics. Because he did not wish to repeat the text unless it providedadditionalinformation,he would cite it completely only once. In all subsequentinstances,he would cite only that partof the text which was relevant to the new chapter.

On the other hand, he would often repeat the same text, matn, in its entirety if hecould cite it with a differentisnid or if there were differences in the text's wording. An-other reason leading to the repetition of hadith texts is that al-Bukhariwished to estab-lish that a meeting had taken place between two transmitters who had appearedin an

earlier text cited with Cancana [p. 26].19From this discussion, we see that al-Bukhdriwas greatly concernedwith the economyof his presentation.The cost of this, however, was that technical hadith informationre-

gardingdifferentisnids and transmitters s scatteredthroughout he book. In this regard,this technical hadith informationis made secondary to considerations of the text's legalimplications.

This puts us in a betterposition to understand he position of al-Bukhdri'sal-Jamic al-sahih in relation to the Muwatta",on the one hand, and to Sahih Muslim on the other.Ibn

Hajarreportsthat some hadith critics objected to the unqualifieddescription of al-Jamical-sahih as superiorto the book of Malik, "becausethey both share the criteria of validity

19Al-Bukhariwouldnotaccepttransmissionsof the

CanCana ariety until he had established that the twotransmitters admet andwerenotjust contemporaries.



166 JOURNAL OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES

and an exaggerated critical sense. Furthermore, he fact that there are more hadiths in

al-Bukharidoes not requirethat it has the virtue of being more valid" [p. 21].Ibn Hajar replies noting that the two authors'respective concepts of validity is sub-

stantively different:

The answer o that[objection]ies in thetwo authors'espectiveunderstandingf validity.Malikdoes not consider nterruptionn the isnid to be a defectin the hadith.Forthis reasonhe cites

mursals, munqatics,and communicationsbaldghat)as partof the mainobjectof the book,whereasal-Bukhari onsiders nterruption defect in the isnid. Thus,he does not cite these

hadiths except as something outside the main object of his book, e.g., tacliqs and titles of chapters

(emphasis dded) p. 21].

Ibn Hajarseems to imply that the only difference in the two works is a formal one: al-

Bukhdriis much more rigorous than Malik in separatingprimarytexts from secondarytexts. It seems

importantto

add, however,that

Malikwas not concerned with

providingtechnical information about isnids and transmitters in the manner of al-Bukhari. Itseems that what gives the latter'sbook its complexity is its desire to provide legal infor-

mation at the same time that it is providing information of interest to hadith scholars.

The book's organization is a result of the tension between these two goals.That this is so is confirmedby Ibn Hajar'sdiscussion of the scholarly community'sre-

ception of the books of al-Bukhari and Muslim. While the overwhelming majority of

scholars, according to Ibn Hajar,agree that al-Bukhari'smaterial is more valid than thatof Muslim, some preferredMuslim. Ibn IHajarmentions two of those critics who pre-ferred Muslim, AbUCAll

al-H.ifizal-Naysabfri (d. 349/960) and "one of the Maghribi

scholars,"whom Ibn

.Hajarlater

identifies, significantly,as Ibn Hazm

(d. 456/1064).Later scholars attributed o Abu CAll he statement,"there is not a book underHeavenmore valid thanthe book of Muslim." Ibn Hajar says that Abu CAlidoes not mean to saythat Muslim's criteria of validity are more exacting than al-Bukhari'snor that his trans-mitters were more competent than al-Bukhari's; rather, AbU CAliwas referring to thedifferent ways in which the two books were organized, a difference that made Muslim'sbook more useful for the traditionist:

[H]e (AbliCAli) eems to havegivenMuslimprecedence veral-Bukhariora reasonother hanthatwhichwe have beendiscussing, .e., the relevant riteria f thetransmittersecessaryor es-

tablishing validtransmission. ather, e gave precedenceo MuslimbecauseMuslimcomposed

his book in his town withhis texts in frontof him during he lifetime of manyof his teachers.Thus,he was able to be verycareful n preservinghewordingof his hadithsandwas able to in-

spect them closely during composition. Furthermore,because he did not attemptto do that which

al-Bukhdri did, i.e., derive legal rulings around which chapters could be organized, somethingwhich necessitated taqtic of his hadiths according to their topics, Muslim was able to gather allthe paths of the hadith in one place, and could limit himself to hadiths and omit mawquifs (em-

phasis added) [p. 23].

This point is strengthenedby IbnHajar's dentificationof the "Maghribishaykh"as Ibn

iHazm.As is well known, Ibn.Hazm

was a Zahirite who rejected analogy. If we acceptwhat Ibn Hajarsays about al-Bukhari'schaptertitles, Ibn Hazm's preferenceof Muslim

makes sense: the hadiths which al-Bukhari had cited in his book, even those that IbnH1ajarefers to as primary exts, despite the high critical standardsof al-Bukhari,were tooenmeshed in al-Bukhari'sinterpretations o be of much use for a

Z.hiritesuch as Ibn




Hazm. For someone who was interestedin radical legal change, on the other hand, Mus-lim's book allowed greater interpretivefreedom, since it was not in the service (or to a

significantly lesser extent) of any legal system.20

Ibn IHajarmakes a very strong case in Hady al-sdri for the uniqueness of al-Jamic al-sahih. At the same time, his analysis suggests that the text of al-Bukhariis operatingon

many differentlevels. The function of his introduction,then, is to alert the readerto the

many sides of this work so that he can get the most out of the text.This brings us back to our time and our concerns. If Ibn Hajar'saccount of the struc-

ture of al-Bukhari'swork can be accepted as plausible, it requiresthat we begin to take

seriously the notion that theform of a reportcan dramaticallyaffect the content of the

report.In other words, before we can understand he significance of a text's citation in awork such as al-Jimic al-sahih, we must understand he function of that citation withinthe context of the work.

Hady al-sdri provides some clues to solving the problematicrelationshipof form andcontent in al-Bukhari'swork. While Ibn Hajarreached many conclusions regardingtheconventions of al-Jamic al-sahih, modern scholars should test these conclusions againstthe evidence providedby the work itself. This method will eventually result in a greaterunderstandingof the generic structureof al-Jamic al-sahih. By doing this, we should beable to gain a deeper understandingof early Islamic intellectual history and of the role

played by the hadith movement within it.21

II. HADYAL-SARI

THEINTRODUCTION

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate [p. 15].

The shaykh, the Imam, the scholar, the pious doctor, the proof of Islam, the destina-tion of knowledge seekers, the pillar of traditionists, the ornament of gatherings, the

unique one of his age, alone in his epoch, revivifierof the noble sunna, suppressorof in-novators and the misguided, the brightcomet, Abl al-Fadl Ahmadb. CAlib. Muhammadb. Muhammadb. CAlial-CAsqaldni, nown as Ibn

.Hajar,may God rewardhim with Para-

dise, by His favor and generosity, said:Praise belongs to God who has eased the people of

Islam'sbreasts to the sunna. Thus,

they were led by it and in its study found comfort. He destroyed the ones iniquitous intheir innovations after they had become excessive in disputing it and their innovationshad exceeded all bounds. I witness that there is no god except God, alone, with no part-ner, the knower of the heart'ssubmission and of its refusal [to submit], the One aware ofits hidden secrets, be they united or separate.

I also bear witness that Muhammadis His servant and His messenger, the one, bywhose right falsehood became low after it had been high. Throughhis mission, the lights

20 Ibn.Hajar

also points out that many Maghribijurists who had written on hadiths having legal im-

plicationsuse

Muslim and not al-Bukhdridue to thetexts' "existence in Muslim in their entirety whereasal-Bukhdrihad abbreviated them" [p. 24].

21 Iftikhar Zaman pointed out examples of the

results of this method when applied to Al-Jamic al-sahih in his lecture entitled "Early Islamic Intel-

lectual History: Orientalist Hadith Scholarship andthe Significance of Deobandi HadithCriticism,"pre-sented at the annualmeeting of the Middle East Stud-ies Association (MESA), 1991, Washington,D.C.




of guidance reappearedand their proof became manifest, after they had been extin-

guished. May God bless him and granthim peace as long as the Heavens and the Earth

endure,the formerin its loftiness, andthe latterin its vastness; and,may He bless his fam-

ily and Companions, those who crushed the armies of the apostates, and who conqueredtheir fortresses. They abandoned their homes and desire for the love of the one callingthem to God, never to returnto them after bidding them farewell. They were zealous in

following his words, deeds, and manners, thereby preserving the noble sunan (norms)from disappearance.

To begin (ammd bacd): the study of the religious sciences, which are received fromthe best of mankind, is the noblest thing which has been singled out for special atten-

tion, and the most appropriate hing in which precious days should be spent. No rationalman would doubt that the axis of these sciences is the Book of God [which is] followedand the sunna of His select Prophet. The remaining sciences are either tools to under-

stand them, and they are the lost things which are sought, or they are unrelatedto them,and they are the harm to be overcome.

I have seen that the Imam Abli CAbdAllah al-Bukhari in his al-Jdmic al-sahih, was

enlightened from their bright light, in establishing and in deriving [knowledge], andthathe drank from their thirst-quenching wells eagerly. Because of his good intention, hewas blessed with good fortune in that which he compiled: both friend and foe submittedto it, and both consenting and contestant accepted his conclusions about the validity [of

hadiths] willingly.I asked God's guidance about [my desire] to add to it explanatory notes about its

benefits which would make clear its purposes and reveal its meanings by explaining its

subtle and difficult points.22And, I also asked that I should precede this with an intro-duction which explains its structure and draws attention to its unique features. The in-troduction will be comprehensive but brief and easily grasped. It will open the book'sclosed doors, make its difficultpaths easy, and ease the breasts.

The introduction will be limited to ten chapters,God willing:1. An explanation of the reason which led the authorto compose this book.2. An explanation of the book's subject, revealing his purpose in [writing] the book.There will also be an investigation of the author'scriteria for including hadiths, and itwill be established that it is among [p. 16] the most valid compilations of Prophetichadiths. Appendedto this will be a discussion of his marvelous andunique chaptertitles

in whose precision he was unique among his peers. Through his careful attention tothem, he became more famous than his colleagues.3. An explanation of his purpose in summarizinghadiths and practicing taqtic, as wellas the benefit derived from the repetition of certain hadiths.4. An explanation of his reason for including tacliqs and fthir mawqfifa, despite thefact that this is contraryto the main object of the book.23 (Ibn IHajar) ppendedto thissection a summarylist of those tacliqs which are attributedto the Prophet and pointedout which narratorsattributed hem to the Prophet.5. A brief explanation of the rare words present in the book's texts, arranged n the or-der of the letters of the dictionary, so that its use would be convenient and easy.

22 "By explaining .. ." s aparaphraseorthe Arabic

expression "taqyidawdbidihiwa iqtinds shawaridihi,"which literally means "by chaining its wild beasts and

huntingdown its runaways."23 My translationends at the point where this ap-

pendix begins.




6. Indication of the correct spelling and vocalization24 dabt) of its problematicnames,

agnomen (kund), and genealogies. This is divided into two categories. The first includes

al-mu'talifa and al-mukhtalifa which can be organized arounda rule facilitating its re-

view and its repeated usage; those names which do not fall under this category will bementioned in the text. The second includes the problematicnames which appear[in the

text] only once (al-mufradat).7. Identifying his teachers whose descent Bukharineglected to mention if the names are

common, like Muhammad,but not for rare names like Musaddad.There will also be abrief discussion of all the unknown and ambiguous names which are in the book.8. Discussion of the book's hadiths which AbUl l-Hasan al-Daraqutni(d. 385/995) andother hadith critics criticized and the answer to their objections one hadith at a time.This will clarify that there is nothing in the book which contradictshis criteriaof inclu-sion as we have established them.

9. A review of all his narratorswho have been subjectsof criticism,arrangedaccordingtothe dictionary,and a reply to the charges, fairly and impartially,as well as excusing theauthor or having includedsome againstwhom thereare strong objections.This was eitherbecause the authorrejectedthe charges leveled againstthe narrator,or because the authornarrateda hadith of the suspect transmitterwhich was in agreementwith the hadithof amore reliable transmitter,or for anotherreason.10. An index of his book, chapterby chapter,and an enumerationof the hadiths in each

chapter.The numberenumeratedhere will include the repeated hadiths. I arranged t fol-

lowing the methodof the Shaykhal-Islim, Abl Zakariyyaal-Nawawi (d. 676/1277), mayGod be pleased with him, in order to gain blessings throughhim. Then, I added to it an

explanationof the appropriatenessof the book'sorder],which I acquired romShaykhal-IslamAbUHafs al-Bulqayni(d. 805/1403), may Godbe pleasedwithhim. Then,I followedit with the names of the Companionswhich appear n the book, arranged n alphabeticalorder,and anenumerationof how many hadithseach one has in the book. Here,the precisenumber of the book'shadithswithoutrepetitionwill be found.

I concluded the introductionwith a biography revealing his unique attributesand vir-

tues, inclusive of his accomplishments and deeds, so that mention of him adorns thebook's conclusion.25

When these chapters are completed and these principles established, I shall begin to

explain the book, seeking the aid of al-Fattah and al-Wahhab.26 irst, I shall narrate he

chapterand its hadith, God willing, and, if the relationshipbetween the two is hidden, Ishall explain it. Second, I shall reveal the information,both regardingthe isnid and thetext, which can be validly gained from the hadith. This includes supplements,additions,clarification of the unclear,pointing out a mudallis' declaration thathe received the text

directly and a succeeding transmission from one who heard [the text] from a senileteacher.I will acquirethis [information]from the oldest masAnid (sing. musnad), jawf-mic (sing. jimiC), andmustakhrajit (sing. mustakhraj), as well as the ajzV?(sing. juz')

24 Hereafter,I will translatedabt as "vocalization."25 "Adorns . ." is a paraphrase or the Arabic "wi-

sitata Ciqdinizamih wa surratamiski khitamihl."26Al-Fattah and al-Wahhabare two of the divinenamesof God in Muslimtradition, he formermeaning"the one who disposes of affairsdecisively andfairly,"

while the lattermeans "theone who gives (often)."Forthe meaning of al-Fattah, see al-Zamakhshari,al-

Kashshaf 4 vols. (Beirut, n.d.), vol. 3, p. 259, andal-Tabari,Jamical-baydn t ta" wil dy al-qur'an, 12 vols.(Cairo, 1987), pt. 22, p. 65 (Qurcdn34:26).




and thefawd'id (sing. fdaida), on the condition that all I cite must meet either the condi-

tions of validity or goodness (hasan).Third, [p. 17] I shall join (asilu) his interruptedmucallaq and mawqfif reports [cited

in the book]. In discussion of this matter, the extra benefits are united and the scatteredpearls are arranged.

Fourth, I will vocalize [using words] the problematic aspects of all the mattersmen-

tioned previously, be they [proper]names or epithets, along with an explanation of the

meanings of words, pointing out subtle points of rhetoric and things similar to this.

Fifth, I shall cite those legal opinions of the Imams which are derived from the report,as well as the legal judgments, ascetic admonitions, andnormative customs [likewise de-rived from the report].Inthis regardI will limit myself to the preponderantopinions, stickto the clear, and stay away from the difficult [opinions]. However, I shall be concernedwith harmonizingthose reportswhich appear o be in conflict, by explicitly differentiating

the abrogatingtext (al-ndsikh) from the abrogated ext (al-mansiikh),the generalterm(al-Cdmm)from the specific (al-khass), and the unqualified term (al-mutlaq) from the qual-ified (al-muqayyad). I will also identify the ambiguous text (al-mujmal) and its clarifier

(al-mubayyin), and the apparent(al-zidhir),and its interpreter al-mu'awwil).In additionto this, I shall also mentionrules of juristic method,bits of linguistic infor-

mation, and some selected differencesamong the legal schools, accordingto that which Iknow of the Imams'opinions, andthatwhich my comprehensionwas able to grasp.I shallfollow this plan, God willing, in every chapter.If the same text shouldbe repeatedin an-

other, differentchapter,I will also mention the reason which led him to repeat it, while

omittingthe restof the information.If its wordingor meaninghas changed,however, I will

pointout the specific differenceresultingfromthatchange.If it is thenrepeateda thirdtimein anotherchapter,I will limit myself to discussing its relevance [to thatchapter],explain-ing that which had been omitted in previous discussions, and pointing out the previousplaces in the work where the text had been discussed at length. But, if the firstcitation isdistant fromthe thirdcitation, I will change the orderby limiting the first discussion to its

relationship,and in the second citation I will discuss the variouspoints mentionedprevi-ously, being careful to be brief andto avoid excessive comments.

It is God that I ask to favor me with His aid in completing it, by His generosity and

favor, and that He guide me to that of the truth in which there has been difference [ofopinion], by His permission, and that He be generous to me because of my study of the

reports of His Prophet by rewardingme in the next abode, and that He pour forth untome and those who review it, and those who read it, and those who copy it, plentifulbounties, one after the other. Indeed, He is the hearer,the One who answers.

CHAPTER I

An Explanation of the Reason WhichLed AbiFCAbdAllah al-Bukhdri to Compose His

al-Jamic al-sahih and an Explanation of His Good Intention in Doing This

Know, may God teach you and me, that the reportsof the Prophet (S),27 in the age ofhis Companions and the oldest Followers, had neither been recorded in comprehensive

27 (S) represents the standard Muslim invocation

placed after the Prophet's name: "May God blessHim and grantHim peace."




collections nor organized topically for two reasons. The first is that initially they wereforbidden to do this, as has been established in Sahih Muslim, for fear that some of itwould be confused with the GreatQur'an. The second is that their memories were vast

and their intellects quick. Moreover, the majority of them were not able to write.Then, at the end of the age of the Followers, it happenedthat the reportswere com-

piled and arranged opically. This was a result of the scholars'having scatteredthrough-out the cities and the increase of the innovations of the Khawarij,the Rawafid, and the

rejecters of destiny.The first ones to do this were al-Rabic b. Sabih (d. 160/777), Sacid b. Abi CArba (d.

156/773), among others. They would compile individual works on each topic. This prac-tice continued until the beginning of the third generation, when they began to make

compilations of legal rules. Thus, Imam Malik (d. 179/795) arrangedtheMuwat.ta,

inwhich he sought out the strongest hadiths of the Hijazis. Also, he added to it the state-

ments of the Companions and the legal opinions of the Followers, and those who cameafter them.

In Makka,therewas Abi MuhammadCAbd l-Malik b. CAbd l-CAzizb. Jurayj(d. 150/

767), in Syria Abti CAmrCAbd l-Rahmanb. CAmr l-AwziCi(d. 157/774), in Klfa Abi

CAbdAllah Sufyan b. Sacid al-Thawri(161/778), and in Basra Abl Salama [p. 18].Ham-adb. Salama b. Dinar (d. 167/784). Then, many people fromtheir time followed them in

this practice, until one of the Imams thought to make a separate work limited to the

hadiths of the Prophet(S) This occurred at the very beginning of the thirdcentury.Thus,cubayd Allah b. Mlsa al-CAbsi l-Kiffi (d. 179/795) arrangeda musnad, as did Musaddadb. Musarhadal-Basri (d. 228/843), Asad b. MUisa l-Umawi (d. 212/843), and Nucaymb.

Hammadal-KhuzdCid. 228/843), who settled in Egypt. Then after that, the Imams fol-lowed theirpath,until it was rare to find an Imamamongthe huffa-z sing. hafiz) who didnot organize his hadiths as a musnad, such as the Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal(d. 241/855),

Ishaq b. Rahawayhi (d. 238/853), cUthmanb. Abi Shayba (d. 239/853), and other nobleindividuals. Some of them organizedtheir materialaccordingto both topic and musnad,such as Abi Bakrb. Abi Shayba(d. 235/849).

Whenal-Bukhari,mayGodbe pleasedwithhim, saw these collections andnarratedhem,and inhaledtheirscent and saw theirface, he foundthem to be, in respectto theircontents,inclusive of whatwould be consideredvalidandgood, althoughmanyof them also includedthat which would be considered weak: the lean cannot be describedas fleshy.

This aroused in him the desire to gatherthe valid hadiths in whose validity no faithfulperson could hold a doubt into one book. Moreover,what he had heard fromhis teacher,the Commanderof the Faithful n bothhadith andlaw, Ishaqb. Ibrahimal-Hanzall,knownas Ibn Rahawayhi, increased his determination.This is accordingto what Ablial-CAbbdsAhmad b. CUmaral-Lu'lu'i told us on the authorityof al-IHafizAbli

al-.Hajjaj

al-Mizzi.Ytsuf b. Yacqtibinformed us. Abli al-Yumn al-Kindi (d. 613/1216) informed us. AbUiMansFiral-Qazzaz informedus. Al-Hafiz Abti Bakr al-Khatib(d. 463/1072) informed us.

Muhammadb. Ahmadb. Yacqtibnformedme. Muhammadb. Nucayminformedus. I heardKhalaf b. Muhammadal-Bukhari d. 361/971) in Bukharaiay: "I heardIbrahimb. Macqilal-Nasafi (d. 295/908) say: CAbtiCAbdAllah Muhammadb. Ismacilal-Bukharisaid:

We werewithIshiq b. Rdhawayhindhe said,"If (only) you (pl.) wouldgathera briefbook ofthe validsunna of the MessengerS) of God?"That[statement]ell intomy heart, o I began ogatheral-Jamic al-sahih.




We were told, by means of the established isnfd, on the authorityof Muhammadb.

Sulayman b. Faris (d. 312/924), that he said, "I heard al-Bukhari say:

I dreamtthat I saw theProphet(S)

and it was asthough

I wasstandingdirectly

in front of him. In

my hand was a fan, which I used to protect him. So I asked one of those who interpretdreams

[about it], so he said to me: "You protecthim from lies," and that was what led me to produceal-

Jaimic al-sahih.

Al-Hafiz Abf Dharral-Harawi(d. 434, 435/1042, 1043) said: I heard Aba al-Haytham

Muhammadb. Makki al-Kushmihani(d. 389/998) say: I heardMuhammadb. Ytsuf al-

Farabri(d. 320/932) say: Bukhari said: I never included a hadith in the Sahih withoutfirstbathing and praying two rakcas.

Abfi CAlial-Ghassani said: it was reported from him that he said, "I composed al-

Jamic al-sahih from 600,000 hadiths."

Al-IsmaCili(d. 290/908) narrated rom him that he said, "I included only the valid inthis book, but the valid hadiths which I excluded are greater."Al-IsmaCilisaid:

That s because f he hadincludedeveryvalidhadith n his possession,he wouldhaveincludedthehadithsof a [large]groupof Companionsn everychapter.Subsequently,ewouldhavemen-tioned hepathsof everyone of them,sincetheywerevalid.Thus he bookwouldhave beenverylong indeed.

Ahmad b. CAdi aid: I heard al-Hasan b. al-HIusayn l-Bazzaz say: I heardIbrahimb.

Macqil al-Nasafi say [Bukhari said]: "I included only the valid in my book, al-JdmiCal-

sahih, and I left out many valid hadiths so it would not be long."28Al-Farabri also said: I heard Muhammadb. Abi Hdtim al-Bukhari al-Warraqsay, "I

saw Muhamamdb. Ismacil al-Bukhari in a dream walking behind the Prophet (S) whowas also walking. Whenever the Prophet(S) picked up his foot, al-Bukhariwould placehis foot in that place."

Al-IH•fiz Abl Ahmad b. CAdisaid: I heard al-Farabrisay: I heard Najm b. Fudayl,and he was possessed of understanding,say that he had a similar dream.

[p. 19] Abfi JacfarMuhammad29 . CAmr l-cUqayli (d. 322/934) said:

Whenal-BukhariomposedheSahih,he read t to Ahmadb. Hanbal,Yaihyb. Macin,CAlib. al-Madini,andothers.Theyfound t good andtestified o its validityexcept [in the case of] fourhadiths.

Al-cUqayli said: the opinion in this matter is al-Bukhdri's,and the four [in question]are valid.

CHAPTER

Explanation of its Object30 nd Revealing His Purpose in It

It has been established that in arrangingthe book, he committed himself to criteriaof

validity, and that he includes therein only valid hadiths. That is the basis of its object.

28

This is as it appearsin the printededition. Per-haps it should read after Ibrahimb. Macqilal-Nasafi,"I heardAbMi AbdAllah

say,....the quote."

29 The text reads Mahmtid,which is a mistake.30The text reads mawdic, which means "place."This instead should be read as mawdiiC.



IBN HAJAR'SHADYAL-SARI 173

That this is his primary purpose is known from his name for the book, al-Jamic al-sahihal-musnad min hadith rasil allah, salla allahu Calayhiwa sallama, wa sunanihi wa

ayyamihi (The valid, documented hadiths of the Messenger of God (S), his rules, and

his battles). This is also known explicitly from those reportswhich we have transmittedfrom him throughthe Imams [about the book].

Subsequently, he decided to include within it legal benefits and observations.31Thus,

by using his understanding, he derived from the texts many meanings and scatteredthem throughoutthe chaptersof his book according to criteria of appropriateness mu-ndsaba). Furthermore,he also concerned himself with the legal verses of the Qur'anandderived from them unprecedentedmeanings. And he used various methods to refer totheir meanings.

The shaykh Muhyi al-Din [al-Nawawi], may God make him beneficial, said: the pur-pose of al-Bukhariis not only limited to hadiths. Rather,his goal is to derive from them

[certainmeanings] and to use them as evidence in certaintopics. It is for this reason thathe omitted from many chapters the isnfd of the hadith and instead was content to say,"So-and-so from the Prophet (S)" or the equivalent. Sometimes he mentions the textwithout the isnid, and other times he might use it as a mucallaq.

He did this because he intended to use it to argue the point which he is explaining. Hemakes reference to the hadith on account of its being known. Often it had been previ-ously mentioned in its entirety, many times only recently. Often many of his book's

chapters have several hadiths, while other chapters have no hadiths. Some do not con-tain a verse from the Book of God, and some contain nothing at all.

Some have claimed that he did this intentionally and that his goal was to show that

there were no valid hadiths, according to his requirements,which supported the ideathat he was explaining. It was this that led some of those who copied his book to com-bine chapters which contained no hadiths with hadiths which had not been included in

any chapter.Thus, comprehendingit (the author'spurpose) became difficult for the one

studying it. But the Imam Abl al-Walid al-Baji al-Mdliki (d. 474/1081) explained thecause of that [ambiguity] in the introductionto his book Fi asmadrijal al-Bukhari [Onthe names of Bukhari's transmitters].He said: Al-Hafiz Ab5iDharr CAbdal-Rahim b.

Ahmad al-Harawi informed me. He said: Al-Hdfiz Abi Ish1q Ibrahim b. Ahmad al-Mustamli (d. 376/986) told us. He said:

Icopied

thebook of al-Bukharirom theoriginal

whichwas in thepossession

ofMuhammad

.Yiisufal-Farabri. saw thatpartsof it hadbeencompleted,whileothershadbeen left unfinished.Amongthemweretitles in whichhe hadyet to place anything,andamongthemwerehadithswhichhe hadyet to group ntochapterswithtitles.Therefore,we putthe two together.

Aba al-Walid al-Baji said: the validity of this statement is strengthenedbecause Abl

Ishaq al-Mustamli's transmission, Abfi Muhammadal-Sarakhsi'stransmission, Abl al-

Haytham al-Kushmihani'stransmission, and Abl Zayd al-Marwazi'stransmission differin the order of their arrangement,although all of them copied it from the same manu-

script. This resulted from what each one took to be the properposition in the work ofthe glosses or the separate notes added to it. This is also strengthenedby the fact that

you find two or more titles, sequentially, without any intervening hadiths. Al-Baji said:31 This could be read as hukmiyya legal), as I have

done, or perhaps, hikamiyya,which means "wise."




I broughthismatterup in this contextbecauseof the concernwhichthe peopleof my city haveshown nseeking heconnectionoining hetitleof thechapter nd hehadithswhich ollow t.Theirexcessiveconcernwith thisproblem as ledto arbitrarynterpretationshichareunjustifiable.

I said: in situations in which it is difficult to understand the relationship between thetitle and the hadith, this is a good rule to apply. But this occurs in only very few places,as shall be made clear, by the will of God.

It appearsto me, however, that al-Bukhari,despite this, used differentmethods to titlehis chapters. [p. 20] Thus, if he found a hadithwhich was appropriate o the chapter,evenif only in a hidden manner,and it was valid accordingto his criteria,he cited it using theconventions of his book, which are "He told us [haddathand]"an equivalent expression,or CanCanameeting his criteria.However, if he could not finda hadith which satisfies his

criteria, despite its suitability for argumentation,he included it in the book but used an

expression which was different from those expressions he used in citinghadiths

whichmet his criteria.It is for this reason that he used tacliqs, as will be explained in the chap-ter concerning the status of the tacliq. However, if he could not find for the chapter a

hadith valid under his or others' criteria, but there was a hadith which is beneficial

(yusta'nas bihi) and because some people give such texts precedence over analogy, heused the wording of that hadith or its meaning as the title of the chapter.In such cases,he would then cite a verse from the Book of God testifying to the validity of its meaningor a hadith supportingthe general importof that [weak] report.Thus, the hadiths in thebook are of three types, and this will be explained in detail, God willing.

Let us now begin to ascertainthe criteria of validity used in the book and to establishthat his book is the most valid book of Prophetichadith. Al-HIafiz

Abfial-Fadl b. Tdhir

(d. 507, 508/1113, 1114) said: in that which I read to the reliable Abfi al-Farajb. Ham-

mad was that Yiinus b. Ibrahim b. CAbdal-Qawiyy informed him on the authority of

Abii al-Hasanb. al-Muqayyar,on the authorityof Abi al-MuCammarl-Mubarakb. Ah-mad from him [al-Bukhari]:

Al-Bukhdri'sriterias that he cites hadiths, he reliabilityof whosetransmitterss agreeduponandwhichhe can traceback o a famouscompanion,withoutanydisagreementmong hereliablescholars;moreover,he isnAdmustbe continuous nd unbroken. f thereweretwo or morewhonarratedrom hecompanion,hen t is good,although nenarrators sufficient, rovidedhat he

pathto himis valid.

He said: that which al-Hakim AbFiCAbdAllah (d. 405/1014) asserted about the crite-ria of al-BukhariandMuslim, i.e., that they requiredthat there be two or more narratorsfrom the companion and that there be two or more narrators rom the famous follower,and so forth, is contradictedby the fact that they both cited hadiths of a group of Com-

panions who only have one narrator.

[Ibn IHajar aid:] that which al-Hdkim said, although it is incorrect concerning someof the Companions whose hadiths al-Bukhari cited, is valid for those after them, for

there is not in the book a primaryhadith text32 hat was transmittedby someone who

[subsequently] had only one transmitter.

32 The Arabic reads hadithuasI. This refers to Ibn

IHajar's ivision of the texts in al-Bukhari into pri-mary and secondary, the former being valid, con-

nected hadiths, and the latterbeing texts found in histitles which do not meet al-Bukhari's standards of

validity.



IBNHAJAR'SADY L-SARI 175

Al-Hdfiz Abl Bakr al-Hrzimi (d. 584/1188), may God have mercy upon him, said:

what al-Hdkim said is the opinion of one who has not plunged deeply-into the hidden

parts of al-Sahih. Had he only read the book completely in the manner it deserves to be

read, he would have found several examples from the book which would have contra-dicted his claim. Then, in summary,he

[al-H.fiz

AbUBakr] said: the criteria of al-Sahihis that the hadith'sisnad be connected and that its narratorbe a Muslim and truthful.He

can neither be a mudallis nor have gone senile. He must be known for probity,precision,care, intelligence (salim al-dhihn), making few errors,and having properbelief.

He [al-Hafiz Abl Bakr al-Hazimi] said: the method of those who compose sahihs is

that they study the quality of the reliable transmitter's ransmissions in his reports from

his reliable teachers. Some of them, their hadiths are valid and established, while the

hadiths of others are corrupted.He said: there is some ambiguity in this subject. The manner in which it is clarified is

knowledge of the transmitters' lasses in respect to the narratorof the original reportandthe ranks of their sources of knowledge. Let us make this clear with an example. Supposethat you know that the students of al-Zuhri (d. 124/742), for example, are five groups.Each group has an advantage over the one following it. The transmissions of the first

group are the most valid, and these are the transmitters hat al-Bukhari seeks. The second

group is equivalent to the first in critical ability. However, the first group, in addition totheir ability, also spent a long time studying with al-Zuhri.Among them were some who

would accompany al-Zuhri in travel and would remain with him when he was settled inone place. The second group, however, did not study with al-Zuhria long time, so it wasnot able to become sufficiently acquaintedwith his hadiths. Therefore, their mastery of

al-Zuhri's material was below the first's, although they satisfy Muslim's criteria (i.e.,Muslim accepts the reportsof both the firstand the second group).

He [Abi Bakr al-Hazimi] gave us [as] examples from the first group Yinus b. Yazid

al-Ayli (d. 159/775), CUqaylb. Khalid al-Ayli (d. 141, 142, 144/758, 759, 761), Malik b.

Anas, Sufyan b. CUyayna 198/814), and Shucaybb. Abi Hamza (d. 162, 163/778, 779).From the second group he gave as examples al-Awzaci, al-Layth b. Sacd (d. 175/791),CAbd l-Rahmdnb. Khalid b. Musafir(d. 127/744), and Ibn Abi Dhi'b (d. 158/775).

He (Abi Bakr al-Hazimi) said: examples of the third group are Jacfarb. Burqan (d.150, 151, 154/767, 768, 770), Sufyan b. Husayn, Ishaq b. Yahya al-Kalbi. Examples ofthe fourth are Zamca b. Salih, Mucawiya b. Yahya al-Sadafi and al-Muthanna b. al-

Sabah (d. 149/766). Examples of the fifth are CAbdal-Quddus b. Habib, al-Hakam b.CAbdAllah al-Ayli, and Muhammadb. Sacid al-Masltb.

The first group satisfies the criteria of al-Bukhdri. He might, [p. 21] however, citethose hadiths of the second group which he considers to be valid, without including all

[of them]. As for Muslim, he cites the hadiths of both groups inclusively and cites the

hadiths of the thirdgroup in the manner that al-Bukharicites the second group's reports.As for the fourth and fifth, neitheral-Bukharinor Muslim concerns himself with them.

I said: most of the reports which al-Bukhari cites from the second group are taCliqs,and he occasionally included a tacliq from the thirdgroup. The above-mentionedprinci-ple, however, is valid only for those who have narratedmany hadiths [such as al-Zuhri].

By means of this principle, then, the students of Nafic (d. 117/735), al-ACmash d. 148/765), Qatada (d. 118/736), and others should be measured. As for those who did not nar-

rate many hadiths, the two shaykhs (Muslim and Bukhari) relied upon the [individual]




reliability and probity [of the transmitters],and also the rarity of their errors in citingtheir hadiths.

Among these (those who did not transmitmany hadiths),however, were some on whom

they (Muslim andBukhari)reliedextensively. Thus,they both includedhadithsof individ-uals such as Yahya b. Sacidal-Ansari(d. 143/760), even when they were alone in report-ing them. Among them (these hadiths), however, were those (the transmitters) n whom

they could not place greattrust,so they only cited from such ones those reportsfor whichothers transmittedparallelversions. The latter case is more common.

Al-Imam AbTCAmr . al-Saldh (d. 643/1245) said in his book, F Culiimal-hadith, ac-

cordingto thatwhich AbU

al-.Hasan

b. al-Jawziinformedus on the authorityof Muhammadb. YTsuf al-Shaficifromhim directly(samacan): he firstto compose a sahih was AbfiCAbdAllah Muhammadb. Ismacilal-Bukhari.He was followed by Abtial-HIusaynMuslim b. al-

.Hajjaj

al-Qushayri. AlthoughMuslim had studied with al-Bukhariandhadbenefitedfrom

him, they also shared several teachers. Their two books are the most valid books aftertheBook of God the Mighty.

As for that which was transmittedto us from al-Shafici (d. 204/820), may God be

pleased with him, that he said: I do not know of a book of knowledge on Earth morecor-rect than the book of Mdlik, he (Ibn al-Saldh) said: some of them narrated his using adifferentexpression, i.e., "more valid than the MuwattaD." He (al-Shafici) said that, how-

ever, before the books of al-Bukhariand Muslim had been written.

Moreover, the book of al-Bukhari s the more valid of the two and the more beneficial.As for that which was transmitted o us from AbTiCAlial-Hafizal-NaysabFri(d. 349/960),the teacherof al-HakimAbi CAbdAllah al-Hdfiz,that he said: "Thereis not a book under

Heaven more valid than the book of Muslim b. al-Hajjaj,"t, and the statementof one ofthe Maghribi scholars who preferredMuslim to al-Bukhari,are unproblematic f the in-tent is that Muslim'sbook is superiorto al-Bukhari's n that Muslim did not include any-thing in the book other than valid hadith. For, after the book's opening invocation

(khutba), there is nothing except valid hadith, unmixed with the likes of that which is inal-Bukhari'sbook in the titles of his chapterswhich do not meet the criteriaof validity.

It does not follow from this, however, that Muslim's book is superiorto al-Bukhari's n

respect to validity. If what was intended[by this statement]is that the hadiths of Muslimare more valid thanthe hadiths of al-Bukhari,then that is rejected,and God knows best.

[IbnHajarsaid:]there are some points in the previous statementwhich requireevidence

andexplanation,for some of the Imamshave foundproblematic he unrestricteddescriptionof al-Bukhari'sbook as more valid thanMdlik'sbook because they both sharethe criteriaof validity and an exaggerated critical sense. Furthermore, he fact that there are more

hadiths in al-Bukharidoes not requirethat it have the virtueof being more valid.The answerto that[objection] ies in the two authors' espectiveunderstanding f validity.

Malikdoes notconsiderinterruptionn the isnid to be a defect in the hadith.Forthis reasonhe cites mursals, munqatics, andcommunications balhghat)as partof the mainobjectof

the book, whereas al-BukhFriconsiders interruptiona defect in the isnid. Therefore,hedoes not cite such hadiths except as something outside the main object of his book, suchas tacliqs and titles of chapters.Moreover,there is no doubtthatalthoughsome may con-

sider the interrupted eportto be a valid argument, t is weakerthan the connectedreport,since both reportssharein the probityandreliabilityof theirtransmitters.Thus, the trans-

parency of al-Bukhari'swork is clear. It is certain that al-Shfici said that unrestrictedly




about theMuwatta'in respectto the collections that were extantin his age, suchas the com-

pilations of Sufyan al-Thawri,1Hammad. Salama,and others.That is a preferencewhichis grantedwithout argument.

Ibn al-Salah's comment also requires that the scholars are in agreement that al-Bukhari'sbook is more valid thanMuslim's,save thatobjection which he mentioned fromAbi CAlial-Naysaburiabove and one of the shaykhsof the Maghrib, [p. 22] i.e., thatMus-lim's book is preferableto al-Bukhari'swithout, however, an explicit mention of validityas the criterion of preference.

We say: we were informedby means of the valid isnfd from Abf CAbd l-Rahmanal-

Nasaii (d. 303/915), and he is the teacher of AbNCAllal-Naysaibri, that he said: "Thereis nothing in these books [of hadith] better (ajwad) than the book of Muhammadb. Is-macil."He could mean by "better"nothing other than the quality of al-Bukhari's snids,as is the immediateunderstandingarisingfrom the convention of the hadith specialists. A

statementsuch as this from one such as al-Nasdai,due to his precision, inspection, care,andinvestigationin the criticism of transmitters,andhis precedencein this matterover the

people of his age, is the clearest expression [of praise one can earn]. Indeed, some of the

specialists have even consideredhim superior n his knowledge of these matters o Muslimb. al-Hajjaj.Al-Daraqutniand others considered him superiorin these and other issues,

giving him precedenceover the Imamof Imams,Abl Bakr b. Khuzayma d. 311/924), au-thor of al-Sahih.

At-IsmaCili,n his Madkhal,said:I have studiedal-Jimic thatAbf CAbdAllah al-Bukhari

composed and found it to be inclusive, as it was named,of many of the valid sunan, and

pointingto manyimportantderivedmeanings. Only one who hasjoined a knowledgeof law

andlexicographyto knowledgeof hadithandits transmitters s well as knowledgeof trans-missions and their weaknesses can attain that which al-Bukhariachieved. Furthermore,such a person must be very capable in all these subjects,having delved deeply into all ofthem. He, may God have mercyuponhim, was the one who devoted his entire life to these

pursuits.Thus, he became an expertand reached the end point of knowledge, and he sur-

passed the others. He joined to this a pureintention andthe desire to be beneficial, so Godbenefited [us] throughhim and benefited him.

He (al-IsmiCili)said: many, among them al-Hasanb. CAlial-Halwani (d. 242/856), im-itated his method, except that he limited himself to the sunan. Anotherwas Abi Dawid

al-Sijistani (d. 275/889), who was a contemporaryof Abi CAbdAllah al-Bukhari. His

methodin that which he called the Sunan was to mentionthatwhich hadbeen narrated on-cerning the subjecteven if there was weakness in its isnfd, assumingthere were no other

hadiths on the topic. Another was Muslim b.

al-.Hajjaj.He was close to al-Bukhari n time

and thus desired the same goal as al-Bukhari. He took from him [directly] or from his

books, buthe was not as exacting on himself as was Abi CAbdAllah. Thus,he transmittedon the authorityof manytransmitterswhom al-Bukhdriomitted.The goal of all was good,however, althoughnot one of them reached the same level of exactitude as Abfi CAbdAl-

lah. Furthermore,not one of themwas able to derive meaningsanddiscuss the subtle legalpoints of the hadith in al-Bukhari's ashion. Nor did any of them entitle their chaptersinsuch a way as to bring out the relationshipbetween the chapter's itle and the hadith nar-

ratedtherein.Bounty is God's;He shows preferencewith it to whomever He wishes.Al-Hakim, Abf Ahmad al-Naysibtri (d. 375/985), who was a contemporaryof Abi

CAl al-Naysibiri, and is given precedence over him in knowledge of the transmitters,




said, in what al-HIfiz Abf Yacla Al-Khalili (d. 446/1054) related in al-Irshid, the sum-

maryof which is: May God be merciful to Muhammadb. Ismacil.He organizedthe texts

(usil), meaning the texts of the rulings in the hadith, and he explained [them] to the

people. Everyone who worked on this subject after him borrowed from his book, likeMuslim b. al-Hajj~j.

Al-Diraqutni, whenever the two sahihs were mentioned,would say, "wereit not for al-

Bukhari,Muslim would not have gone or come." Anothertime he said, "Whatdid Muslim

do? All he did was take al-Bukhari'sbook andcompose a mustakhraj baseduponit, while

makingsome additions."Abf al-CAbbasl-Qurtubi n thebeginningof his book, al-Mufhimft sharh Sahih Muslim,openly declared thatwhich we have related from al-Daraqutni.

What the Imams have said concerning the superiorityof al-Bukhariis great, and it is

sufficient to note their agreementthat he was more knowledgeable in this discipline than

Muslim and thatMuslimused to testify to his precedence,his leadership,and his singularity

in the knowledge of this in his own lifetime. This even resulted in Muslim abandoninghisown teacher,Muhammadb. Yahyaal-Dhuhali(d. 258/871), accordingto the famous story,which we shall mentionin detail,Godwilling, in thebiographyof al-Bukhari.This is a gen-eral explanation[of al-Bukhari's uperiority].

As for the specific reasons of his superiorityover Muslim, we have alreadyestablishedthat the basis of a valid hadith is connectedness, the precisionof the transmitters,and theabsence of defects. Upon observation,the narrators n al-Bukhari'sbook are more carefuland are more closely connected. The proof of this lies in the following considerations:

(1) The first is that those whose hadiths al-Bukhari ncluded in his book, but Muslim did

not, arejust over 430 transmitters,80 of whom are mentioned as being weak. [p. 23] Those

whose hadiths Muslim transmitted,but al-Bukharidid not, are 620 transmitters,160 ofwhom arementioned as being weak. There is no doubt that including the transmissionsofthose who were never mentioned as weak is more appropriate hanto include the hadithsof those who were mentioned as weak, though these accusationsmay not be substantial.

(2) The second is thatal-Bukharidid not includemanyof the hadithsof those transmitterswho werementionedas weak.Furthermore, e didnot include thebooks of anyone of them,in whole or in part,withthe exceptionof thecorpusof Clkrimad. 105/723) on the authorityof Ibn CAbbasd. 68/687), as opposed to Muslim who included most of those books, suchas Abf al-Zubayr d. 126/743) on theauthorityof Jdbir d. 78/697), Suhayl(d. 138/755)fromhis father,al-CAlId . CAbd l-Rahman d. 132, 138/749, 755) from his father,

.Hammid

b.

Salama from Thabit (d. 123, 127/740, 744), in addition to others. (3) The third is that ofthose transmitterswhom al-Bukhariwas alone in including,most of them were his teacherswhom he had met and with whom he had studied. Thus he knew theirconditions and waswell acquaintedwith theirhadiths.Therefore,he was able to distinguishtheirvalid hadithsfrom the productsof their imagination.Of the transmitters hatMuslim had included andmentioned as being weak, however, most of them precededhis generation,as they wereFollowers and those after them. Furthermore, here is no doubt that the traditionist ismoreknowledgeable of his teachers'hadiths than those who had precededthem. (4) Thefourth is that al-Bukharionly selectively included transmissionsfrom the second class of

narrators,whereasMuslim includes them as principletexts, as has been establishedprevi-

ously by al-IHafizAbi Bakr al-Hazimi.




These four considerationsconcernthe transmitters' recision.Thereremainsthe issue of

connectedness, which is the fifth consideration.Muslim'smethod, as he said explicitly inthe introduction o his Sahih, and where he respondedvehemently to those who criticized

him, was to consider the mucancan connectedif the two transmitterswere contemporaries,thoughtheirmeetinghad notactuallybeenestablished,unless themuCancinwas a mudallis.

Al-Bukhari, however, does not consider the muCanCano be connected until theirmeetinghas been established,even if only once.

Al-Bukhariused this methodin his Thrikh,andin the Sahihhe used it extensively. Some-

times, he would even include a hadith which seems to have no apparent onnection to the

topic, but it establishes that the narratorhad studieddirectly with thatteacher,since priorto thathe had included some transmissionof his which was mucancan. You will see this

clearly when it occurs, God willing. This is why his book is superiorbecause, althoughwe

may grantMuslim'sclaim of connectedness,it is obvious that al-Bukhari's riteriamakethe

claim of connectednessclearer,but God knows best.As for those considerations hat arerelated to defects, and it is the sixth aspect, the num-

berof theirhadithswhich have been criticized reached210, as will be made clear in detailin an independentchapter.Fewer than 80 of these areal-Bukhari's,and the remainderareMuslim's.There is no doubtthatthatwhich has beencriticized less is better han thatwhichhas been criticized more, but God knows best.

As for AbUCAllal-Naysabiri's statement,we have yet to find for him an explicit decla-rationthatMuslim'sbook is more valid thanal-Bukhari's, ontrary o what the unrestrictedstatement of al-ShaykhMuhyl al-Din [al-Nawawi] implies in his Mukhtasar t Culm al-

hadith and in his introduction o his commentaryon al-Bukhari,where he says:

Themajority aveagreed hatal-Bukhdris the morevalidof thetwo, andthemorebeneficial fthe two. But AbUCAlial-NaysdbUrind one of theMaghribi cholars aid thatMuslim's s morevalid.

The importof Abf CAli'statement s to deny greatervalidityto anyworkother than Mus-lim'sbook. As for claiming greatervalidity,however, that is uncertain,since his statementis unqualified mutlaq).Thus,he could have intended eitherthat the book of Muslim is su-

perioror he could have merely intendedthat the two books areequal, but God knows best.

But, as Abl CAli'sopinion appearsto me, he seems to have given Muslim precedenceover al-Bukharifor a reasonother thanthat which we have been discussing, i.e., the rele-

vant criteria of the transmittersnecessaryfor establishinga valid transmission.Rather,hegave precedenceto Muslim because Muslim composed his book in his town with his textsin front of him duringthe lifetime of many of his teachers.Thus, he was able to be verycareful in preservingthe wordingof his hadiths andwas able to inspect them closely dur-

ing composition. Furthermore, ecause he did not attempt o do thatwhich al-Bukharidid,i.e., derive legal rulings aroundwhich chapterscould be organized, something which ne-cessitatedtaqtic of his hadithsaccordingto theirtopics, Muslim was able to gatherall the

paths of thehadith in one place and could limit himself to hadiths and omit mawqifs. Itwas only in a few places thathe made use of them, andthat was secondary,not intended.

[p. 24] It is for this reason that Abt CAlisaid what he said, although I have seen some

of the Imaimssay that it is possible that he did not see the Sahih of al-Bukhari. Thatseems to me unlikely. What I have mentioned is more plausible, but if Abf CAlihad ever




said explicitly that which has been attributedto him, his argumentwould be refuted bythat which we have mentioned previously, both in general and in detail, 'andGod is the

granterof success.

As for the Maghribishaykh,no statement s relatedby them (the Maghribis)specificallyascribing superior validity to Muslim; rather,there is one unqualifiedstatementregardingMuslim's superiority according to that which Abt al-Fadl al-Q•di CIyad d. 544/1064)related in the Ilmdc from Abi Marwan al-Tubni.He (Abi Marwdn) said, "One of myteachers preferredthe Sahih of Muslim to the Sahih of al-Bukhari."I, however, havediscovered the explanation for this preference from one of the Maghribis. I read in theFihrist of Abt Muhammadal-Qasim b. al-Qdsim al-Tujibi,"Abf Muhammad b. IHazm(456/1064) preferred he book of Muslim to the book of al-Bukharibecause afterMuslim's

invocation, there is nothing in the book except hadith."I think that this Ibn Hazm is the shaykh of Abti Marwan al-Tubni, whose name al-

Qadi CIyadomitted. It is possible that it is anotherperson, although the reason for thepreference would be the same.

Another example of this is the statement of Maslama b. Qasim al-Qurtubi33d. 353/

964), and he was a contemporary of al-Diraqutni. When he mentioned the Sahih ofMuslim in his history, he said, "No one has made a book like it."That also is to be takenas praise for its excellent composition and the excellence of its organization.

I have noticed that many of the Maghribis who have written on legal hadiths while

omitting the texts' isnfds, such as CAbd l-Haqq (d. 581/1185) in his Ahkamand Jamc,rely on Muslim's Sahih for the transmission and citation of texts instead of al-Bukhari.This is due to their (the texts') existence in Muslim in their entirety, whereas al-Bukhari

had abbreviated them. This is another reason of preferencewhich has nothing to do withthe matter of validity, but God knows best.

Now that this has been established, this argumentfor al-Bukhari'ssuperioritycan bemet by anotherargumentfor its superiority,one that also has nothing to do with validity.It is that which al-Imam, the model [scholar], AbU Muhammadb. Abi Jamra(d. 599/

1202) mentioned in his abridgmentof Sahih al-Bukhari. He said:

Oneof themystics Cdrifin)whomI mettold methatone of themasters,well known orhis virtueandsuperiorityaid: "TheSahihof al-Bukhari,f it is read n a time of crisis, the crisis is re-solved,and t has notbeenbrought pona boatwhichsubsequentlyank."

He (Ibn Abi Jamra)also said: the prayersof al-Bukhariwere answered,and he prayedfor his readers,may God have mercy upon him.The most importantreason which requirespreferringal-Bukhari is what his book in-

cluded by way of the chaptertitles, whose brilliance confused great intellects, and aston-ished the mind and eyes. They reachedthis rank,and obtained this station,because of anawesome cause which necessitated this. This cause is revealed in what AbtiAhmadb. CAdinarrated rom CAbd l-Quddusb. Humam,who said:

I witnessed several shaykhs say: Al-Bukhari changed the titles of his Jdmic, meaning he finalizedthem (bayyadaha), between the grave of the Prophet (S) and his pulpit, and he would pray tworakcas for every title.

33 The text calls himMuslimb. Qdsim,which isanerror.




Now, let us begin discussion of the titles and clarify that which remained hidden to

those who were not scrutinizingand that which expressedthe criticisms of a rawyouth be-

fore an experiencedold or middle aged man, falling well short of his goal.34

The first item of his titles to fall under criticism was the first hadith he included,which he used to begin the book and open the book's invocation. Blame succeeded in re-

turning some of his critics toward his side, while others persisted in their opposition.Let us mention a rule which explains the differenttypes of titles in the book, some of

which are obvious in theirpurpose,while others are hidden. The ones that areclear, how-

ever, are not a matter of our concern here. The clear titles are those that signify the chap-ter'scontents by way of correspondence

(mut.ibaqa).

Its purpose is to inform [the reader]of the chapter'scontents without considerationof the amount of the benefit, as thoughal-

Bukhari is saying, "this is the chapter in which there is this and that,"or "the chapterin

which there is evidence for such and such a ruling,"for example.

Sometimes, the title is taken [either] from the exact wording of the chapter'stext-aportion of it, that is, or from its meaning. Usually, this [i.e., in the lattercase] happenswhen the wording of the text can bearmore thanone meaning.Therefore,he will specifyone of the meaningsby those hadiths which are mentionedbelow the title.

The opposite of this can also be found, however, i.e., the ambiguitycan be [p. 25] in the

hadith,while the title clarifies it. In this context, the title serves to interpret he hadith,tak-

ing the place of the jurist'sstatement,for example, "the meaningof this generalhadithis

particular," r "the meaning of this specific hadith is general."Thus, the title creates the

impressionof an analogy because of the existence of the unifying ratio legis or that the

particularwhich is intended to convey a more general meaningthan its apparentmeaning

does so by way of al-acld or al-adna.35That which we have mentionedaboutthe generaland the particular s also true for the unqualifiedterm and the qualifiedterm. The same isalso the case for the explanationof the problematic,clarificationof the ambiguous,inter-

pretationof the apparent,anddetailingthe succinct. This is where most of the problematicinstances of this book'stitles lie. This is the reason for the frame of the saying of manyno-bles "Al-Bukhdri'surisprudence fiqh)is in his titles."

Al-Bukhariusually resorts to this when he cannot find a hadithwhich meets his criteriaof validity andwhose apparentmeaningis [the same as] what he intendsto establishin the

chapter.He also may do this for the purposeof sharpeningthe intellect [by requiringthe

reader]to make explicit the implicit andto bringthe hidden into the open. Indeed,he does

this often, meaningthe latter,wherehe mentions the explanatoryhadithfor that context ineither a previous or a later place in the book, as though he is referringthe readerto it,

pointing to it by way of subtle suggestion andreference.

34 "Falling . . goal" is a paraphraseof an Arabic

proverb which reads "awradaha rada sacdin wa sac-dun mushtamilun, ma hakadha t radu ya sacdu al-ibilu." See Abi al-Fadl Ahmad b. Muhammad al-

Maydani, Majmacal-amthal, 4 vols., ed. Muhammad

Abi al-Fadl Ibrahim(Cairo, 1978), vol. 3, p. 427.35 Al-adnd refers to the afortiori argument,which

entails mentioning only a nawc (pl. anwdc), "spe-cies," while intending thejins, "type."An example isthe word "Fie" in verse 17:23 "Do not say to them

[your parents]'Fie'!"It includes hitting, cursing, kill-

ing, etc. To prohibit a nawc, therefore, is to prohibitat the same time the jins of that nawc. Al-acld iswhen thejins is mentioned,but the sense of the utter-ance is restricted to only particular_species of the

jins. An example is verse 9:103, "Take from their

property charity." Property, however, is understoodto apply only to certain types of property.It entails,

then, a restriction of the word's meaning. See, Abial-Walid Ibn Rushd, al-Hafid, Bidayat al-mujtahid(Cairo, n.d.), p. 2.




Often he titles his chaptersusing the interrogative,such as "Chapter: s This Such andSuch?" or "Those Who Said Such and Such,"and so forth. This is when he is not certainwhich of the two possibilities is correct. In doing this, his goal is to explain whether or

not a specific ruling has or has not been established. Thus, he will give the chaptera titleusing a ruling, although his goal is to show that the conclusiveness of the rule is yet tobe established or that the evidence supportsboth possibilities. Although one of the two

positions might be more apparent[to him], he wants to leave the matteropen for inquiryand to point out that there remains room for furtherinterpretationor that there is a con-tradiction that requiresa suspension of judgment. This occurs when he believes there is

indeterminacyin the texts or that the methodused in deriving the ruling is a controversial

type of inference.He often uses titles that appearto be of little utility, but when the observer is careful

and precise, its meaning appears.For example, his statement, "Chapter:A Man's Say-

ing, 'We Have Not Prayed'."This statementis a rebuttal to those who find such a state-ment detestable. Another example is his statement, "A man's saying, 'the prayer passedus'." This is likewise an argumentagainst those who detest this unqualifiedwording.

Often his titles reflect particular events which do not immediately appear at first

glance, such as his statement, "Chapter:The Imam'sUsing a Toothpickin the Presenceof His Subjects."Because it might be thoughtthat use of the toothpick is something low,some people might imagine that it is more appropriate or it to be done in private, so asto protect their good reputation. But, as it occurred in the hadith that the Prophet (S)used a toothpick in the presence of the people, this signifies that it falls underthe rubricof propergrooming, nothing else. Ibn Daqiq al-CId d. 702/1302) pointed this out.

Often he titles the chapter with a word that refers to the meaning of a hadith whichdid not meet his criteria of validity, or he may use the explicit wording of a hadithwhich failed to meet his criteria in the title. He will then include in the chapter a textwhich will bear its meaning, sometimes in an apparentmanner,other times in a hiddenmanner.

An example is his statement, "Chapter:The Commanders Are from the Quraysh."This is the wording of a hadith transmitted from CAli [b. Abi Talib], may God be

pleased with him, but it did not meet al-Bukhari'scriteria. However, he did include inthe chapterthe hadith "There shall always remain a governor from the Quraysh."

Another example is his statement, "Chapter:Two, or More, Are a Group."This is the

wording of a hadith transmitted from Abi Milsa al-AshCari,but it does not meetal-Bukhdri'sstandards.He then transmitted n this chapter,"(You two) make the adhan,and say the iqdma, and let one of you (two) lead the other (in prayer)."36

Sometimes he was content to use the wording of a hadith which is not valid accordingto him as the wording of the title. He then included with it a reportfrom a Companionor a verse from the Qur'an, as though he is saying that there are no valid hadiths in the

chapterwhich satisfy his criteria.

A lack of concern for these subtle goals has caused some careless readers of the bookto believe that he did not put it into final form [tabyiSd]. he one who observes carefullyachieves his goal, and the one who is serious will find what he seeks.

36 The adhan is the first call to prayer, and theiqdma is the second (and final) call to prayer.



IBN HAJAR'S HADYAL-SAR7 183

The CAllma Nasir al-Din Ahmadb. al-MunayyirKhatibal-Iskandiriyya(d. 683/1284)collected four hundred itles of this type, and al-Qadi Badral-Din Ibn Jamicacommented

upon them and summarizedthem, making some additions. One of the Maghribis, Mu-

hamamdb. Mansurb. Hamamaal-Sijilmasi, commentedupon this [problemof the titles],but his work is not very long. Indeed, all that is in the book is about one hundredtitles,and he named his book Fakkaghrdd al-Bukhari al-mubhamafi al-jamc bayna al-hadithwa al-tarjama [Unlocking al-Bukhari'sambiguities in the relationshipof the hadith to its

title]. Zayn al-Din CAlib. al-Munayyir,the brotherof al-CAlldmaNdsir al-Din, also dis-

cussed at great length this matter in his commentaryon the Sahih of al-Bukhdri.I also

happened upon a volume from a book entitled, Tarjumanal-tarlijim [The interpreterof

the chaptertitles] of AbUiCAbdAllah b. Rushayd al-Sabti (d. 721/1321), which includes

discussion of this issue. The volume reachedthe Book of Fasting.Hadit been completed,it would have been extremely useful. Despite its incompleteness, it remains a very bene-

ficial work, and God is the granterof success.

CHAPTER 3

Explanation of His Abbreviation and Summationof.Hadiths

and the Benefit in His

Repetition of.Hadiths

in Different Chapters [p. 26]

Al-HIfiz Abf al-Fadl Muhammadb. Tahir al-Maqdisi said, in a work of his which he

called Jawab al-mutacannit [A reply to the stubborn],according to what we were told:

know that al-Bukhari, may God have mercy upon him, would mention a hadith in hisbook in several contexts. Moreover, in every chapter that he uses it, he cites it with adifferent isnad. Furthermore,with his vast understanding, and deductive abilities, he

would extract from a single text an appropriate meaning for the different chapters inwhich he cites it. Rarely does he cite a hadith in more than one context with the same

isnid and the same wording. Rather, he cites it from differentpaths for reasons whichwe shall mention, but God knows best what his object is in doing this.

One of his techniques is to cite the hadith from one companion, then cite it again fromanothercompanion, with the purpose of clearing it from the charge of being anomalous

(ghardba). He follows the same technique for the transmittersof the second and third

generations, and so forth, until he reaches his own teachers. The one who is not familiarwith the craft [of hadith] thinks this constitutes a repetition, but it does not, for it pro-vides new information.

Another reason [for doing this] is that by using this method, he was able to includeother hadiths, each version of which contains differentideas. Thus, he cites each one ina differentchapterusing a path different than the first.

Another reason is that therearehadiths which some transmittershave narrated n their

entirety while others narratedonly in a summaryfashion. He narrates hem as they have

come down to him so as to exonerate their transmitters rom any suspicions.Another reason is that the wording of the narratorsmay differ. Thus, one transmitter

might reportthe hadith using a word that bears a certain meaning, and another transmit-ter might have reportedthat hadith using a different expression for the very same wordwhich could give an entirely differentmeaning [to the hadith]. In this case, he will cite




each version, assuming they are valid according to his criteria, with its path, and makea separatechapter for each version.

Anotherpurpose is the issue of hadiths which exist both as muttasil and mursal. The

probabilityof connectedness appearedmore likely to him, causing him to include it. Henarrates the mursal version to alert the reader that its existence as a mursal did notaffect his judgment about the connectedness of the hadith.37

Another is those reports which exist both attributedto the Prophet(S) and attributedto a Companion. His treatmentof these is similar to the previous question.

Another reason is those hadiths in which one of the narratorsadded a transmitter othe isnid, and another omitted him. In such a case he narratesboth versions, where hebelieves that the transmitterheardit from a teacher who reportedit to him from anotherteacher. Later, the transmitter met the other teacher who reported it to him directly.Thus, the transmitterwould narrateboth versions.38

Another reason is that he may cite a hadith whose narrator transmitted it withCancana,so he cites it from a differentpath which makes explicit that there was a meet-

ing [between the different transmitters],as is well known about his method concerningestablishing a meeting before accepting the mucancan. These are the reasons he may re-

peat a single text in one or more places.As for his abbreviation of hadiths in certainchapters,and his abridgementof them in

others, this is because of the text's brevity, or the interconnectedness of its parts,and its

having expressed two or more judgments together. In this case, he repeats it accordingto the meaning desired, while at the same time he tries to make sure it is not empty of

hadith information.Thus, he cites the hadith from a teacher other thanthe one on whose

authorityit had been cited previously, as has been explained in detail above. Thus, yougain for thathadith many paths. Sometimes he would add to it the provenance(makhraj)of the hadith where he knows of only one path for it. In such cases, he acts freely with

it, at times citing it connected, at others mucallaq, sometimes he cites it completely,other times he limits himself to that part which is of relevance to him in that chapter.Thus, if the text contains several unconnected ideas, he mentions each idea in a separatechapter to avoid lengthening the book. Sometimes, however, he will cite it in its en-

tirety. These are his reasons for abbreviation.One of al-Bukhari'scommentatorsrelatedthat in one of the copies of the book, in [the

Book of] Pilgrimage, in the chapter on hastening to stand [at CArafat] fter the chapter

on shorteningthe sermonat CArafat,hat Abl CAbdAllah said: "Inthis chapterthe hadithof Malik from Ibn al-Shihab [al-Zuhri] should be added, but I do not wish to add to it a

superfluous(repeated)hadith."This statementmeans that he does not repeat a hadith inhis book which has both the same text andisnad. If such a thing has occurred n the book,

37 There is a controversyamong hadith specialistsas to which form should be given greatercredence inthe event thatbotha mursal anda muttasil version ex-ist. See cUthmanb. CAbd l-Rahmin Ibn al-Salih, Mu-

qaddimat bnal-salah, ed. Bint al-Shdti'(Cairo, 1989),

pp.228-29, andal-Bulqayni,Mahasinal-istilih, on thebottom half of Muqaddimat bnal-Salah, p. 212.

38 For example: A related to B who related to C

that the Prophetdid x. Then, C tells D on the author-

ity of B from A that the Prophetdid x. Later, how-ever, C meets A, who narrates x to him directly.Then, C tells E on the authorityof A thatthe Prophetdid x. Thus, we have two different isnads for thesame text and for the same transmitter C: (1) D ----C---- B ----A, the Prophet, (2) E---- C----A, the

Prophet.




then it is accidental. In any case, that actually happened only a few timies,and when I

reach them in my commentary,I shall point them out, God willing.As for mentioning [p. 27] only part of a text, then not citing the rest of it in another

context, he rarelydid such a thing. This occurs when the omitted text is a statement of acompanion, but there might be a reason which could lead to part of it being considered

attributableto the Prophet. In such cases, he summarizes that which he thinks can be at-

tributedto the Prophetand omits the rest, since it has nothing to do with the purpose of

his book.An example of this is the hadith of Huzayl b. Shurahbil rom CAbdAllah b. Mascld,

may God be pleased with him, who said: "The people of Islam do not abandon their

freed slaves (ahl al-IslOmld yusayyibuin),39lthough the people of the Jahiliyya did do

this."40Al-Bukhari cited it in this manner,and it is a summaryof a mawqfif hadith, the

beginning of which is: "A man came to CAbdAllah b. Mascld and said, 'I have freed a

slave of mine and left him. He died and left propertybut no heir'. CAbdAllah said: 'Thepeople of Islam do not abandon their freed slaves, although the people of Jahiliyya did

do this. You are the possessor of his bounty so you can have his estate. But if you areafraid of sinning and feel ashamed, then we shall accept it and put into the treasury'."

Al-Bukhari limited his citation to thatpartwhich can be attributed o the Prophet,andthat is CAbdAllah's statement: "The people of Islam do not abandon their freed slaves."

Al-Bukhari reasoned that the statement'sgenerality requiresthat it had been transmittedfrom the Lawgiver. He then summarizedthe remainder,since it is not partof the book's

subject. This is among the most hidden instances of this type that I have come across.With this established, it has become clear thathe does not repeat [a hadith] except for

some reason. Even if it does not appearto be connected with the isnad or the text, it hasbeen repeatedbecause of a differentruling that the text contains which is emphasized bythe second title. It follows from this that such repetitions should not be considered super-fluous. How [could it be otherwise] when he does not empty it of additional information

regardingthe isnad, which is that he cites it from a different teacher, as has been madeclear in detail previously. This is clear to whoever does a comprehensive reading of his

book, and is honest to himself, and God is the granterof success, there is no God otherthan Him.

CHAPTER 4

Explanation of his Reasonfor Citing Mucallaqs Whichare Marfricand Mawqiif and an

Explanation of the Rules [Governing] That

The meaning of tacliq is that report in which one or more names have been omittedfrom the beginning of its isnid, even if it is the entire isn~d. Sometimes, al-Bukhariiscertain of its attribution,so says: "He said,"while at other times he is uncertain of it, so

says: "It is mentioned. . "

39Sayyaba Cabdahu means to free one's slavewhile renouncing both rights of inheritance and obli-

gations of blood money. See Majd al-Din b. al-Athir,

al-Nihdya fi gharib al-hadith wa al-athar, 5 vols.

(Beirut, 1979), vol. 2, p. 431.40 The Arabic is "actaqtuCabdi 8dibatan."




The mucallaq which is marffic is of two types. The first is that which is found in an-other place in the book connected. The second is that which is in the book only as a

mucallaq. As for the first, we have alreadyexplained the reason for it in the chapter pre-

ceding this one. He cites it mucallaq because it can only be cited from one path,41sinceit is one of his principles that he does not repeat [a hadith] unless repetition has abenefit. When the paths of the hadith are few, then, and the text is inclusive of several

rulings, he needs to repeat it. In this case, however, he takes liberty with the isnad bysummarizingit out of fear of being lengthy.

The second type, and that is the hadith which is not mentioned in the book except asa mucallaq, comes in two forms. Either he cites it using a form [implying] certainty(jazm), or he cites it using a form [implying] weakness (tamrid).42

Knowledge of the transmission'svalidity up to the transmitter on whom al-Bukhari

suspendedthe text is gained from the first form. Nevertheless, one must still inquire into

those transmittersof the hadith whose names he has revealed. Sometimes, they meet hiscriteria, while at other times they do not.

As for those that meet his criteria, there are several reasons why he did not cite thesetexts connected. One is that he has alreadycited a hadith similar in meaning being freetherefore not to cite the full version because of the previous complete citation. Thus, hecited it as a tacliq to be brief. Another reason is that he had heard it in that manner;orhe heard it but doubted his having heard it from his teacher; or he heard it from histeacher during a discussion (mudhikaratan), so he did not think to include it as partofthe work. This happens most often in those texts which he cited on the authorityof histeachers. An example of this is in the Book of Trusteeship(wikala), where he said:

cUthman b. al-Haythamsaid: CAwftold us, Muhammadb. Sirin told us, from Abli Hurayra,mayGod be pleased with him, who said: the Messenger of God (S) appointed me as an agent for the

zakat of Ramadan, .. the rest of the hadith.

He also cited this hadith in other places, among them the chapteron the virtues of the

QurDan nd the chapter in Iblis. However, he did not say "cUthmdn told us," in any ofthe places where the hadith is cited. Thus, it is apparent hat he did not hear it from him.

The authorhas used this expressionfor thatwhich he did not hear [p. 28] fromhis teach-ers in a numberof hadithswherehe cites themon theirauthorityusing the expression,"So-and-so said (qdla fuldn)." In anothercontext, however, he would cite them with an inter-

mediarybetween him andthem, and many examples of this will be seen. Forexample, hesaid in the Tdrikh,"Ibrahimb. MUsasaid: Hishamb. Yilsuf told us,"then he (al-Bukhari)mentioned a hadith. Then, he said: "They told this to me on the authorityof Ibrdhim."

This, however, is not always the case in everythingthat he has cited using this expres-sion, i.e., "he said."Because of the possibility [thathe did not hearit], texts he cited usingthis expression should not be taken to mean that he heard them from his teachers. It doesnot follow from this, however, that he is a mudallis, for al-Khatib(al-Baghdadi)and oth-

ers have said explicitly that the phrase"he said"should not be takento niean "he heard"unless it is the practice of the transmitter o use this phraseonly for those reportswhich

41 The Arabic is "haythu yadiqu makhraj al-

hadith."42 These areformalcategoriesbaseduponthe voice

of the verb. To cite a text with the active voice, for ex-

ample, "he said," s to usejazm. To cite a text with thepassive voice, for example,"It s said," s to use tamrid.




he has heard. This requiresthat for those whose custom in this matteris not known, the

possibility [thathe did not hear it from his teachers] remains, and God, the High, knowsbest.

As for that which does not meet his criteria, it may satisfy the criteria of others, andmay be good and valid for argumentation.It might be weak not on account of a weak-

ness in its transmittersbut because of a minor interruption n its isnad. Al-Ismacil said:

Al-Bukharimightdo this eitherbecausehe heard t from that teacher hroughan intermediary[whosereports] romthat teacherhe considersreliablebecausehe [theintermediary]s knownandfamous n [transmitting]romthat eacher r becausehe heardt fromsomeonewho does notmeethis criteria f validity.By namingwho tells it, he drawsattentiono thathadith.Hedoes notcite it in order o relate t himself.

I said: the cause of this is that he desired to cite it, but not as partof the book's prin-

cipal texts.An exampleof thatwhich is validby the standardsof others is his statement n [theBook

of] RitualPurity,"CADisha, ay God be pleased with her, said, 'TheProphet(S) used to re-

member God at all times'."This hadith is valid accordingto the standardsof Muslim, andhe cited it in his Sahih as will be seen.

An example of that which is good and appropriate or argumentation s his statement,"Buhz b. IHukaymrom his father, from his grandfather,who said, 'God is more worthyto be ashamedof than the people'."It is a good, famous hadithfromBuhz, andthe authorsof the Sunan cited it as will be seen.

An example of that which is weak due to interruption[in its isn~d], except that it issaved

byanother consideration is his statement in

[theBook

of] Zakat, "Tawissaid:

'Muc'dh b. Jabal said to the people of Yaman:bring me garments,either small or used,for the poor as your sadaqa instead of wheat andbarley, as it is easier for you and betterfor the Companions of Muhammad (S)'." Its attribution to Tawus is valid; however,

Tawis did not study with Mucadh.One of the recent commentators, however, raised an objection about the judgment

concerning the form [implying] certainty, and that it does not establish the validity ofthe hadith up to the mucallaq Canhu.He [the one raising the objection] noted that theauthor cited a hadith about which the objector said:

CAbdAllah b. al-Fadl aid on theauthority f AbuiSalamaon theauthority f AbuiHurayrarom

the Prophet S), that he said, "Do not say one prophet s more worthythan another.. . thehadith."AbaMascud l-Dimashqiwascertain hat hisreports notvalid,becausecAbdAllahb.

al-Fadltransmittedt fromal-Acraj romAbi Hurayra, ot from Aba Salama.Moreover, his

objections strengthenedy the factthattheauthor ited it in another ontextconnectedmutta-sil), andhe said:"From AbdAllahb. al-Fadl romal-ACrajromAbaHurayra."

This objection is rejected, and the rule [abouthis tacliqs] remainsvalid, and is not con-tradictedby this weak argument.Abl Dawild al-Tayalisi (d. 204/819) narrated his hadith

in his Musnad from CAbdAllah b. al-Fadl fromb_ l Salama frombn Hurayra, ust asal-Bukharihad suspendedit exactly. Thus, AbfiMascfid'sclaim thatCAbdAllah b. al-Fadldid not transmit the reportexcept from al-ACrajs shown to be false. Rather,it has been

established that CAbdAllah b. al-Fadl learned this hadith from two teachers, and we shallexplain this in more detail in the properplace, God willing.




The second type is the form [implying] weakness. Validityto whom the hadithwas sus-

pendedcannotbe obtained fromthis form. Some of this type may be valid, however, whileothers may not, as we shall demonstrate.As for that which is valid, we did not find that

which meets his criteriaof validity except in a very few places. Furthermore,we have dis-covered that he does not use this form except when he cites the hadith with its meaning,not its wording.An example in his statement n [theBook of] Medicine, "[areport] s men-

tioned on the authorityof Ibn cAbbas rom the Prophet S) concerningthe use of the Fatihaof the Book as a charm [to heal the sick]." He related this hadith in anothercontext as a

musnad, using the path of CUbaydAllah b. al-Akhnas from [p. 29] Ibn Abi Malika fromIbnCAbbas,may God be pleased with both of them, thata groupof the Prophet's S) Com-

panions passed througha tribe, one of whose members had been stung (by a scorpion).Then, he mentioned the hadith abouttheirtreatingthe man using the Fatiha.In the hadiththe Prophet S), whenthey informedhim of whathappened,says:"Thebest thingfor which

you have taken a wage is the Book of God."This, as you see, shows that in the first versiondiscussed,he cited only the report'smean-

ing, andtherefore,he didnotcite it usingthe form[implying] certainty.This is because thereis nothing in the connected version which suggests that the Prophet(S) himself said any-thing aboutusing the Fatihaas a charm.All thathe did was not to forbidthem fromdoingso. This [knowledge] is obtained from al-Bukhari'spresentation[of the material].

As for those reports in which he used the form [implying] weakness which were notcited in another context, some are valid, although not by his criteria, some are good,some are weak, and thus, rejected, except that they are in conformity with practice, and,some are weak, and thus, rejected, with no mitigating circumstances which would com-

pensate for their formal deficiency.An example of the first is al-Bukhari'sstatement in [the Book of] SalLt: "It is men-

tioned from CAbdAllah b. SRdib hat he said, 'The Prophet (S) recited "al-Mu'minfin"

duringthe morning prayer up to the story of Moses and Aaron, or Jesus, at which pointhe coughed, so [he stopped reciting] and he bowed (rakac)'."This is a valid hadith underthe criteria of Muslim. He included it in his Sahih. Al-Bukhari, however, did not cite

[any hadiths transmitted]by one of its transmitters.He said in [the Book of] Fasting:

It is mentioned on the authorityof Abii Khdlid from al-ACmash rom al-Hakam, and Muslim al-

Batin and Salama b. Kdhil from Sacid b. Jubayr, and CAtd'and Mujahid from Ibn CAbbas,who

said, "A woman said to the Prophet (S), 'My sister died, and she still had to fast two months

consecutively, ... the hadith'."

The transmitters of this hadith are all cited in the Sahih, except that there are greatdifferences in its isnid. Moreover, Abil Khalid Sulayman b. Hayyan al-Ahmar wasalone in citing it in this fashion, and the best students of al-ACmashdiffered from him inthis regard,as will be demonstrated,God willing.

An example of the second kind, which is the good, is his statement in [the Book of]Sales, "It is mentioned from cUthman b. CAffan, may God be pleased with him, that the

Prophet (S) told him: 'When you sell, weigh [the sold material], and when you buy, ask

that it [the materialbought] be weighed'."Al-Daraqutnitransmittedthis hadith from the

path of CAbdAllah b. al-Mughira, who is truthful (sadi~q), from Munqidh, the client ofcUthman. Sacid b. al-Musayyab accepted this [as a valid transmission] from cUthmanand followed it. Ahmad b. Hanbal, in his Musnad, cited it from the path of [Sacid b. al-




Musayyab], except that in its isnid is Ibn Lahica. Ibn Abi Shayba transmittedit in his

Musannaf [using the path] from CAta' rom cUthmdn,in which there is an interruption.The hadith is good, then, because of these factors which strengthenit.

An example of the third, and it is the weak which has no [external formal] support[Cidid], except that it is in concord with practice [Camal, is his statementin [the Book

of] Bequests: "It is mentioned from the Prophet (S) that he ruled that debts are to be

paid off before bequests." Al-Tirmidhi (d. 279/892) narrated this connected from the

hadith of Ab~iIshdq al-Sabici from al-Harithal-ACwar rom CAli.Al-HIrith is weak, andal-Tirmidhi declared the hadith to be strange (istaghrabahu). He also mentioned theconsensus of the knowledgeable in favor of this opinion, however.

The fourth kind, and it is that which is weak and without [external formal] supportis

extremely rare in the book. Moreover, where it occurs, the authorexplicitly mentions its

[the hadith's] weakness, contraryto his practice toward the previous kind. An example

of this is his statement in the Book of Prayer,"It is mentioned from Abii Hurayra,whoattributed t [to the Prophet], 'The Imamshall not pray a voluntary prayerin the place [inwhich he led the congregational prayer']."This is not a valid hadith. Abii Dawild cited itfrom the path of Layth b. Abi Sulaym from al-Hajjij b. CUbayd rom Ibrahimb. Ismacilfrom Abi Hurayra.Layth b. Abi Sulaym is weak, and his teacher'steacher is unknown.

Furthermore,others' transmissions differed with him over it.This [discussion] is comprehensiveof all that is in the book concerning taCliqsattrib-

uted to the Prophet,both those in the form [implying] conclusiveness (jazm) andthose inthe form [implying] weakness (tamrid).Al-Nawawi has reported hatthe expert tradition-ists as well as others have agreedto give these two [forms] due consideration43 ut that it

is not appropriate o take something which is weak as certainmerely because the form re-quires its validity to the one to whom it was attributed.Therefore,it is not appropriate tocite] anything weak in [the form implying] certainty, since it, as a form, requiresthat itsattribution o the speaker(al-mu~dkflayhi) be valid. He said:

Manyauthors,urists,andothershaveignored his [distinction].Al-Bayhaqi d. 458/1066)wasseverelycriticalof those who didnotadhere o this [distinction etween he two forms], or it isa woefulexampleof laxityonthepartof the onewho does it. [Theone whodoesthis]says[aboutthevalid]"it is mentioned"nd"it is narrated"ndsays[about] he weak"hesaid"and"he nar-rated."This[practice]eads to a reversalof meanings nd a departureromcorrectness.

He also said:

Al-Bukhdri,mayGodhavemercyuponhim,was careful n his use of thesetwo forms,and hegave themtheirproperudgmentn his Sahih.Thus,he says some of whathe has to say in onetitle usinga form[implying]weakness,andin another,usinga form[implying]conclusiveness,keeping n mind hatwhichwe havementioned.Thismakesoneawareof his careandpiety.Us-ing thisprinciple,his statement, Ihave notincluded n al-Jamic p. 30] al-sahihanythingwhichis notvalid"shouldbe taken o mean hatfor whichI havecited its isnid, andGod knowsbest.

It has already become clear from our detailed classification of his suspended reports,however, that there is no need for this interpretation.Everythingwhich is in the book isvalid meaning that it is all acceptable. Only rarely is there something in it which can be

43 He means that they have agreed to cite validmaterialusing jazm and weak materialusing tamrid.




rejected out of hand. This is the judgment [concerning] the reports attributedto the

Prophet.As for the mawqiafs, he uses the form [implying] certainty with those which are valid

in his mind, although they may not meet his formal requirementsof validity. He uses theform [implying] uncertainty,however, with reportsin whose isnfid there is weakness or

interruption,except in those places where the report'sweakness is strengthened by itsexistence by way of a differentroute or because of its fame from the one who transmit-ted it. He cites the legal opinions of the Companions and the Followers, as well as their

opinions in many matters of exegesis of Qur'anic verses, for the purpose of gainingcomfort in them, and to strengthen his preferredopinion on those questions in whichthere are differences among the Imams.

Therefore, it should be said thateverything which is cited in the book is either thatforwhich titles were written, or that by which titles were written.44The purpose of this

work, essentially, is the valid hadiths which are musnad, and this is that for which hewrote titles. As for mawqfifs, tacliqs, and, yes, verses from the Qur'an, these are men-tioned only secondarily. Thus, all of these are used to write the titles. When they areconsidered together, however, and when they are also considered in relation to the

hadiths, they explain one another, some explaining (mufassir) and others being ex-

plained (mufassar). Thus, under this consideration, some of these are also that for whichhe wrote titles. His primary purpose, however, is hadith, so understandthat, for it is a

properexplanation by which many objections to the author'scitation of this type of ma-terial can be explained, and God grants success.

APPENDIXI

INDEX OF PROPERNAMES FOUND IN THETRANSLATION45

CAbd l-Haqqb. CAbd l-Rahmdnb. CAbdAllah al-Ishbili,AbUMuhammad: n Andalusianscholar of hadith,he is commonlyknown as Ibn al-Kharrat.His two most famousworks,

al-Jamcandal-Ahkamare still in manuscript orm.Al-AClam,:52;Al-Siyar,21:198-202

[p. 180].

CAbd l-Quddis b. Habibal-KilaCi l-Shamial-Dimashqi,Abi Sacid: he is considered o beweakby all. Lisanal-mizan,1912 ed., 4:45-48 [p. 175].

CAbd l-Rahimb.

Ahmadal-Harawi,Abi Dharr:atransmitter f

hadithand

Mdliki uristfrom

Herat. He adoptedthe Maliki school aftermeeting al-Baqilldni n Baghdad.Nafh.

al-tib,2:70-71; Tadhkirat

al-huffazz,:1103-8 [p. 172].

CAbd l-Rahmanb. Khalidb. Musafir:he was a studentof al-Zuhriandacquireda bookfromhim which,according o IbnMacin,contained wo to threehundredof his hadiths.While in

Egypt,al-Laythb. Sacdtransmitted hese hadiths.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,6:165-66 [p. 175].

44 The text says "mimmdtarjama ahu aw mimmd

tarjama ahu." I have read it as "mimmaturjimalahuaw mimmdturjimabihi."

45 The following are the works used in preparingthis

appendix:Al-Dhahabi, Siyar aclam al-nubalad,25 vols. (Beirut,1982-85).Al-Dhahabi, ed. CAbd l-Rahmdnb. Yahyd al-Mucal-

limi, Tadhkiratal-huffaz, 4 vols. (Hyderabad, 1388/1968).Ibn CImdd l-Hanbali, Shadharat al-dhahab, 8 vols.(Cairo, 1931).

Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli, AI-AClhm,11 vols., 3d ed.(Beirut, 1969).al-Maqarri, ed. Ihsdn CAbbds,

Nafh.al-tib, 8 vols.

(Beirut, 1968).



IBNHAJAR'SADY L-SARI 191

Abi Dawnd, Sulaymdn b. al-AshCath:he compiled one of the six authoritativehadithcollections.Al-Aclam,3:182 [p. 177].

Ahmadb. Hanbal:he was the eponym of the Hanball egal school who became famous by

enduringpersecution or his refusalto adoptthe Muctazilitepositionon the creatednessofthe Qur"an.Al-Aclam,1:192-93 [p. 171].

Al-CAldD. CAbd l-Rahm~ b. Yacqiibal-IHuraqil-MadaniAbt Shibl:al-Waqidireportedthathis book (sahifa)was famousin Madina. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,8:186-87 [p. 178].

Acmash, Sulaymin b. Mihrdn,al-Kifi, al-Asadi bi-al-waldk,Abfi Muhammad:he was an

important Iraqischolarof theFollowers.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,4:222:62 [p. 176].Asad b. Mflsdb. Ibrdhimb. al-Walidb. CAbd l-Malik b. Marwdnal-Umawi:he was known

as Asad al-sunna.Al-Nasd'i consideredhim a thiqa(reliablesource),althoughhe was not

impressedby his writings(wa law lamyusannifkanakhayran ahu). Tahdhibal-tahdhib,1:260 [p. 171].

Al-AwzaCi,CAbd l-Rahmanb. CAmr,Abi CAmr:e was the Imamof Syriaand theeponymof the Awzaci legal school, which did not survive. Tahdhib al-tahdhib, 6:238-42

[p. 171].

Al-Bayhaqi,Ahmadb. al-IHusaynl-Shafici,Abfl Bakr:he wrote several famous works on

hadithandShaficitefiqh.Al-AClam, :13 [p. 189].

Al-Bulqayni, Siraj al-Din CUmarb. Raslan al-Shafici, Abfi Hafs: he wrote Mahasin al-

istilah, a commentaryon Muqaddimat bn al-Salah, a work on the science of hadith. Ithas been printedalong with al-Muqaddima,ed. Bint al-Shati' (Cairo, 1989). Al-AClam,5:205 [p. 169].

Al-Daraqutni,CAlib. cUmarb. AhmadAb~i

al-.Hasan:

he was the leadingcollector of hadith

of his generationand wrote severalsurvivingworks on the science of hadithas well as hisown compilation,Sunanal-Daraqutni,which hasbeenpublished.Al-AClam,:130 [p. 169].

Al-Hakamb. CAbdAllahb. Sacdal-Ayli, AbticAbdAllah:Ahmadb. Hanbalclaimedthatallof his hadithswere forged(mawdiia). Lisanal-mizan,2:332-34 [p. 175].

Al-Hakim Muhammadb. CAbdAllah al-Naysabtiri, Abti CAbdAllah: one of the mostfamous scholars andcompilers of hadith. He wrote works on the science of hadith andal-Mustadrak Caldal-sahihayn, in which he claims to have included hadiths valid

according to the conditions of Muslim and al-Bukhdri but which they ignored. Al-

Aclam, 7:101 [p. 174].Hammddb. Salamab. Dinaral-Basri al-Taymibi-al-wald'. Knownas Abfi Salama,he was

generallyconsidered o be a reliabletransmitter f hadithsand was also well knownfor hisasceticism.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,3:11-16 [p. 171].

Al-Hasan b. CAlib. Muhammadal-Halwani, al-Hudhali,Abti CAli: ll the authorsof the sixvalid collections narratedhadithsfrom him except al-Nasa'i. His positionon whether he

personwho maintains hatthe Qur'anwas created s an unbelieveror not was a sourceofsome controversy.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,2:302-4 [p. 177].

Ibn Hajar al-CAsqaldni,Tahdhibal-tahdhib, 12 vols.

(Beirut, 1968).Ibn Hajar al-CAsqalIni,Lisdn al-mizan, 6 vols. (Hy-

derabad, 1329/1911).Ibn Khallikan,ed. Ihsdn CAbbds,Wafaydtal-acydn, 8vols. (Beirut, 1968).Muhammad b. Jacfar al-Kattdni, Al-Risala al-mus-

tatrafa, 3d ed. (Damascus, 1383/1964).

Please note that thepage numbers n bracketsat theend of entries in this section referthereader o the

firstinstance in the translation where the name appears.




Al-Hdzimi,Muhammadb. Abi cUthmdnMusab. cUthman,al-IH•fizAbfl BakrZaynal-Din:he wrotea numberof workson the scienceof hadith, ncludingKitabal-ictibarfial-nasikh

wa al-mansiikhminal-akhbarandShurit al-a'immaal-khamsa,bothof which have been

published.Al-AClam,:339;Al-Risalaal-mustatrafa,80 [p. 175].

Al-.Husayn

b. CAllb. Muhammad . Yahyaal-Tamimial-Naysabtiri,Al-HafizAbt Ahmad:he

was known as Husaynakand was a close companionof Ibn Khuzayma see below), whoused to representhim at the majlis al-sulttanwhenever Ibn Khuzaymacould not attend.Tadhkiratal-huffaz,3:968-69 [p. 178].

Al-Husaynb. CAllb. Yazid, Abi CAli:he was a famoushadith scholarand was the teacherof

Muhammadb. CAbdAllah al-IHlkimal-Naysaburi.Al-AClam, :266; Tadhkiratal-huffazz,

3:902-5 [p. 176].IbnAbi Shayba,cUthmanb. Muhammad AbtiShayba)b. Ibrahimb. cUthmanb. Khustial-

Kiffi al-CAbsibi-al-wald', Abi al-Hasan: n additionto his musnad, he also compiled a

commentaryon the Qur"an.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,7:149-51 [p. 171].Ibn Abi Shayba, CAbdAllah b. Muhammad(AbWi hayba) b. Ibrahim,AbN Bakr: he is

known as Abti Bakr Ibn Abi Shayba, authorof the MusannafIbn Abt Shayba (whichhas been published and is the subject of the Ph.D. dissertationof HaraldMotzki of the

University of Hamburg). He is the brother of cUthmin b. Abi Shayba. Tahdhibal-

tahdhib,6:2-4 [p. 171].Ibn Hazm, CAlib. Ahmad,Abil Muhammad:he is the famous SpanishZahirite urist who

wroteextensivelyin many scholarlyfields.Al-AClam,:59 [p. 180].IbnJurayj,CAbd l-Malikb. CAbd l-CAziz . Jurayjal-Umawibi-al-wald':Ahmadb. Hanbal

mentionshim with Sacidb. Abi CArtibas amongthe firstto compose (sannafa)books. In

addition o being a transmitter f hadith,he was also a prominent.Hijazi

jurist.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,6:402-6 [p. 171].

Ibn Khuzayma,Muhammadb. Ishiaq,Abt Bakr: a jurist and transmitterof hadith; it is

reported hathe wrote over 140 books.He was nicknamed he "imamof imams" imamal-

a'imma) by al-Subki. He compiled a collection of valid hadiths known as Sahih ibn

Khuzayma.Al-AClam,:253 [p. 177].Ibnal-Munayyir,Ahmadb. Muhammad . MansUr: nAlexandrian cholarand manof letters.

Al-AClam, :212 [p. 183].Ibn al-Salah,cUthmanb. CAbd l-Rahman,AbUCAmr: e is known as Ibn al-Salahand is

authorof the famousMuqaddimai Culimal-hadithon the science of tradition.Al-AClam,

4:369 [p. 176].Ibrahimb. Macqilal-Nasafi,Abi Ishiq: he was a transmitter f hadithandservedas thejudge

of Nasaf. He also composeda musnadanda tafsir.Al-AClim,1:70 [p. 172].

clkrimab. CAbdAllah al-Barbari: e was the client (mawla)of Abtial-CAbbas AbdAllahb.

CAbbas. lkrimawas well known as an exegete (mufassir)and was accused of havingKhariji ympathies.Al-AClam,:43-44. IbnCAbbas as one of themostprominent oungercompanions and became prominent n both exegesis (tafsir) and law (fiqh).Al-AClam,4:228-29 [p. 178].

Ishaqb. Ibrahimb. Makhladb. Ibrahimb. Mataral-IHanzali, btiYacqtib:he was knownas

IbnRahawayhi;he settledin Naysabir andis considered o be one of the Imams.Tahdhib

al-tahdhib,1:216-19 [p. 171].Ishaqb. Yahyab. CAlqama:e was known as al-CAwsi.He transmitted adithsfromal-Zuhri.

The only student o transmithis materialwas Yahyab. Salih. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,1:255-56 [p. 175].




Al-IsmSiili, Muhammadb. Ismdcilb. Mihrdn,AbfiBakr:a scholarof hadithfromNaysabfrwho collected the hadithsof Malik, al-Zuhri,Yahy~ b. Sacid, CAbdAllah b. Dindr,and

Musf b. CUqba.Al-Aclam,6:259 [p. 172].

CIyad . Mfsd, al-Qdi AbNfl-Fadl:he was a Miliki juristwho wroteextensivelyon hadith.He also wrote Tartibal-maddrik,a work on the historyof the Maliki school. Al-Aclam,5:282 [p. 180].

Jacfarb. Burqanal-Kilabial-Jazarial-Raqqi,Abu CAbdAllah: hadithcritics consideredhimto be reliable except in his transmissions from al-Zuhri.Tahdhibal-tahdhib, 2:84-86

[p. 175].Jabirb. CAbdAllah:he was one of the youngercompanionsof theProphetwho is reported o

have lived well into the Umayyadperiod.Al-AClam,:92 [p. 178].Khalaf b. Muhammadal-Bukhari:Siyaraclim al-nubalar,16:70 [p. 172].

Al-Khalili,Khalilb. CAbdAllahb. Ahmadb. Ibrahimb. al-Khalilal-Qazwini,AbfiYacla:he

was a judge anda scholar of hadithand wroteal-Irshadfi Culama3l-bilad, to which IbnHajarreferredn the text.Al-AClam,:368 [p. 178].

Al-Khatibal-Baghdadi,AbtiBakrAhmadb. CAli: e is the authorof TarikhBaghdad,as wellas numerousother works on the science of hadith.Al-AClam, :166 [p. 171].

Al-Kushmihani,Muhammadb. Makkial-Marwazi,AbI al-Haytham:he was a transmitter f

Sahihal-Bukhart.Shadharital-dhahab,3:132 [p. 172].Al-Laythb. Sacd:he was theImamof Egyptanda studentof Malik. His famous etter oMalik

is preserved n al-Qidi CIyad'sTartibal-maddrik.Al-AClam,:115.

MSlikb. Anas: he is the eponymof the Miliki school of jurisprudence nd the famousImamof Madina.Al-AClam,:128 [p. 171].

Maslamab. al-Qasim:he was an Andalusianhistorianandtransmitter f hadithfromQurtubawho traveledextensively in the East and wroteworks on the science of transmittersCilmal-rij]l). Al-AClam,:122 [p. 180].

Al-Mizzi, Yisuf b. CAbd l-Rahmdn,Abi al-Hajjaj:he wrotemanyworks on the science of

transmitters,he most famous of which is Tahdhibal-kamal.Al-AClam,:313 [p. 171].Mucawiyab. Yahyaal-Sadafial-Dimashqi,AbtiRawh: he served as the treasurer f al-Rayy

in the days of al-Mahdi. He was not consideredto be a very reliable transmitter ndwasaccusedof buyingbooks and then"transmitting"hem. The dateof his death s notknown.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,10:219-20 [p. 175].

Muhammadb. CAbd l-Rahman:he was known as Ibn Abi Dhi'b, a famous scholar of the

Medinese fromthe generationof the Followers.Al-AClam,:61 [p. 175].Muhammadb. CAli,Abo al-Fath:he is knownas IbnDaqiqal-cid. He was a famousEgyptian

transmitter f hadithandjurist,who wroteextensively on legal hadiths.Al-AClam,:173-74 [p. 182].

Muhammadb. Ahmadb. CAbd l-MalikAbtiBakr: he is knownas IbnAbi Jamra.He was a

SpanishMiliki jurist.His abridgmentof al-Bukharihas been published.Al-AClam, :213

[p. 180].

Muhammadb. Muslim b. Tadrus,Abo al-Zubayr:t is reported hatal-Laythb. Sacd obtainedtwo books fromAbi al-Zubayrcontaininghadithsof Jdbir.Althoughcontroversial,he isconsideredreliable;many of his students were consideredunreliable,however. Tahdhib

al-tahdhib,9:440-43 [p. 178].MuIhammad . Sacidl-MaslCb: charged with heresy (zandaqa), he was executed by

al-Mansir. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,9:184-86 [p. 175].

Muhammadb. Sulaymanb. Fanris:l-Siyar,14:388 [p. 172].




Muhammad . CUmar . Muhammad: e was a Maghribi ravelerwho wrotea famousaccountof his tripto the Hijdz.Al-ACl11m,:205 [p. 183].

Muhammadb. Yahyab. CAbdAllah al-Dhuhalial-Naysdburi,Al-HafizAbi CAbdAllih: he

was a very respected scholar of hadith from Naysabir. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,9:511-16[p. 178].

Muhammadb. Yisuf b. Matar al-Farabri,AbN CAbdAllah: al-Kushmihanitransmittedal-Bukhari's ahihfromal-Farabri. hadharital-dhahab,2:286 [p. 172].

Musaddadb. Musarhadb. Musarbalal-Basrial-Asadi,AbUal-Hasan:he was consideredoneof the most reliable transmitters f hadithof his generation n Basra.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,10:107-9 [p. 171].

Muslim b. al-Hajjij al-Qushayri,Abi al-HIusayn: e compiled the famous collection of

hadithsknownas SahihMuslim,which is second in validityonly to al-Bukhari's ollection.

Al-AClim,8:117-18 [p. 171].

Al-Muthanna . al-Sabahal-Yamanial-Abnawi,Abi 'Abd Allah:he was a descendantof thePersianabndtwho hadsettledin Yaman n pre-Islamic imes. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,10:35-37 [p. 175].

Nafic: he was the mawli of CAbdAllah b. CUmar . al-Khattab, ne of theprominentyoungerCompanions.Al-Acldm,8:319 [p. 176].

Al-Nasi'i, Ahmad b. CAlib. ShucaybAbt CAbdal-RahmSn:he compiled one of the sixauthoritative ollectionsof Prophetichadiths.Al-AClatm,:164 [p. 177].

Al-Nawawi, Muhyi al-Din Yahya b. Sharafal-Shafici,Abi Zakariyyd:he compiled manyfamous collections of hadiths,e.g., Riyddal-stlihin, as well as works on the science of

hadithandShaficifiqh.Al-ACldm,:184-85 [p. 169].

Nucaymb. Hammadb. Mucawiyab. al-HIrithb. Humamb. Salamab. Malikal-Khuzacial-Marwazi,Abi CAbdAllah: he was considered to be a reliable transmitter nd compiledbooks on the teachingsof Muhammadb. al-Hasanal-ShaybaniandAb

.Hanifaas well as

worksreplyingto theJahmiyya.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,10:458-63 [p. 171].

QatSdab. Dicama al-Sadisi al-Basri, AbUial-Khatt~b:he was a leading transmitterof

hadithandjurist amongthe Followers in Basra.Tahdhibal-tahdhib, 8:351-56 [p. 176].Al-Qaysarani,Muhammadb. Tahirb. cAll b. Ahmad al-Maqdisi:he was a famous sixth-

centuryhafizwho composedmany works on the science of hadith.He died in Baghdad.

Al-ACltm, :41; al-Ristla al-mustatrafa,123 [p. 174].Al-Rabicb. Sabih al-Sacdial-Basri,Abi Bakr: he was a mawldSacdb. ZaydMandt,who,

despite his reputationfor piety, made errors in his transmissions. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,3:247-48 [p. 171].

Sacid b. Abi CAribaMihrin al-CAdwi l-Basri,Abfial-Nadr:he was a mawldof Bani CAdi .Yashkur.He was a qadari, althoughnot a propagator f theirdoctrine.His transmissionsaregenerallyconsideredreliable(thosemade before theonset of senility,ca. 143). Tahdhib

al-tahdhib,4:63-66 [p. 171].Al-Shdfici,Muhammadb. Idris:he is the eponymof the ShdfiCiteegal school who wrotethe

oldest survivingwork on Islamiclegal theory(ustilal-fiqh),al-Risdla.Al-ACldtm,:249-50

[p. 176].

Shucaybb. Abi HamzaDinar al-Umawi, al-Himsi, Abti Bishr: he was a scribe of al-Zuhri

andwas considered one of his most reliabletransmitters.Ahmadb. Hanbalwas reportedto have seen his books andpraisedthem for theirprecision. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,4:351-52 [p. 175].




Sufydn b. CUyayna:a famous transmitterof hadith in Makka duringthe second century.

Al-AClim,3:159 [p. 175].

Sufydn b. Husayn al-Wasiti, Abt Muhammad:he was considered reliable except in his

transmissions from al-Zuhri. He died during the reign of either Harlin al-Rashid oral-Mahdi.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,4:107-9 [p. 175].

Suhaylb. Abi S lih: he was generallyconsideredreliable,althoughal-Bukharicited his ma-

terialonly if it was accompaniedby anotherhadith.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,4:263-64 [p. 178].

Sulaymanb. Khalafal-Baji, Abi al-Walid:he was a Maliki legal scholar who wrote manyworks on legal theory, positive law, as well as a commentaryon the Muwatta'.Al-AClim,3:186 [p. 173].

Al-Tayalisi, Sulaymanb. Dawid, Abi Dawid: he was one of the earliestcollectors of hadith

to compile a musnad. Al-AClim,3:187 [p. 187].Thabit b. Aslam al-Bunani al-Basri, Abi Muhammad:he was one of the Followers and

transmittedmany hadithsfrom the CompanionAnas b. Malik. He was also a storyteller(qdss). Tahdhibal-tahdhib,2:2-4 [p. 179].

Al-Thawri,Sufyan.b. Sacidb. Masriiqal-Kifi, Abi CAbdAllah: manyof the hadithcritics

gave himthe nickname"Commander f the Faithful nhadith."Tahdhib l-tahdhib,4:111-

15 [p. 171].Al-Tirmidhi,Muhammadb. CIsa:he compiled one of the six authoritativecollections of

Prophetichadiths.Al-AClam,:213 [p. 189].

CUbaydAllahb. Mtsa b. Abi al-Mukhtar l-Kifi al-CAbsi i-al-wald9,Abi Muhammad: e isconsideredreliableby many,althoughhis Shicisympathiescaused some critics to considerhim unreliable.Tahdhibal-tahdhib,7:50-53 [p. 171].

CUqaylb. Khalid b. CAqilal-Ayli al-Umawi, mawld cUthmanb. CAffan: e was reportedto be the most reliable transmitterof al-Zuhri after Malik. Tahdhibal-tahdhib, 7:255-56 [p. 175].

Al-cUqayli,Muhammad . CAmr,Abi Jacfar:he is the authorof al-Ducafad l-kabir,ed. CAbdal-MuCtiAmin al-Qalcaji Beirut,1984).Al-ACldm,:210 [p. 172].

Yahya b. Sacid b. Qays al-Ansari, Abi Sacid: he was an importantsource for Malik inhis Muwatta9, as well as having served as a judge. Tahdhib al-tahdhib, 11:221-24

[p. 176].Ytnus b. Yazid b. Abi al-Nijad al-Ayli, mawla Mucawiyab. Abi Sufyan, Abt Yazid: he

became well known as a studentof al-Zuhri,althoughhe was accusedof havingtransmitted

some unknown material (mandkir)attributed o al-Zuhri. Tahdhib-tahdhib,11:450-52[p. 175].

Zamca b. Salih al-Jundial-Yamani:he is considered an unreliable ransmitter, specially inconnection with his al-Zuhrimaterial.His date of death s not known. Tahdhibal-tahdhib,3:338-39 [p. 175].

Zayd b. al-Hasanb. Zaydb. al-Hasanb. Sacid al-Kindi,Taj al-Din, Abi al-Yumn:he wasknown as musnidal-sham. Wafaydtal-acydn,2:339-42; Tadhkirat

al-huffiz.,

4:1402.Al-

Aclam, 3:96-97 [p. 171].

Al-Zuhri,Muhammadb. Muslim b. CUbaydAllahIbn Shihab:he was a famous transmitter f

hadithsaboutthe Followers andone of their eadingscholars.Al-AClam,:317 [p. 175].




APPENDIXII

TECHNICALTERMS46

'a-la-fa, kha-la-fa

Al-mu'talifa and al-mukhtalifa are two terms denoting names which appearto be the

same in writing but are pronounceddifferently, for example, bishr and busr. Muq., 590.

ja-ma-'a

JNmic (pl. jawgmic) is a collection of hadiths arrangedtopically and includes all

religious topics of relevance to a Muslim, not just legal points, for example, Bukhari's

Al-Jamic al-sahih.

ja-za-'a

Juz' (pl. ajzVD)s a small collection of hadithseither on one topic or from one narrator.

ha-fa-za

Hifiz is a title which denotes, in the context of hadith studies, a scholar who has de-voted himself to the study of traditions, i.e., a hadith specialist.

kha-ra-ja

Mustakhraj denotes a special type of hadith collection in which a collector of hadithcompiles the same texts of a previous work but cites them with isnids to himself, using

a path other than the original path used by the original compiler of the work, for exam-ple, al-Humaydi'sAl-Jamcbayna al-sahihayn.

da-la-sa

Tadlis is a term denoting: (1) either a reporter'stransmission of a report from ateacher whom he has met without his having actually heardthat text from the teacher or

(2) the transmitter'suse of a name for his teacher other thanthe one by which he is com-

monly known. The reporterwho does this is called a mudallis. Transmittersof hadithaccept the reports of a mudallis but in cases where he uses a form requiring that heheard it from the teacher, for example, "fulan told me"; if the mudallis were to say"from fulin," however, it would not be taken to mean thathe had heard the text from theteacher.Muq. 230-36.

ra-sa-la

Mursal is a hadith text in which a Follower omits the name of the Companion whotransmittedthe hadith from the Prophet,accordingto the usage of the hadith specialists.Jurists (fuqahai3)and legal theorists (usuliyyRin) se this term to denote any hadith textin which someone other than a Companion says: "The Messenger of God (S) said:.... "Muq., 202-12.

46 For an introduction to the different genres of

hadith works, see Malhmfdal-Tahhan,Usil al-takh-rij wa dirdsat al-asdnid (Aleppo, 1978). Muq. refers

to Muqadimmat bn al-Saldh.




ra-fa-ca

Marflic is a reportwhich is attributed, iterally "raised," o the Prophet.

sa-na-da

Musnad when used for a hadith collection means a collection of hadiths arrangedac-

cording to the Companion who transmittedthe report from the Prophet, for example,Musnad of Ibn Hanbal or the Musnad of al-Tayalisi [p. 5].

Musnad when used to describe a hadith text denotes a text which was transmitteddi-

rectly,from transmittero transmitter,withoutany interruptions.The termmuttasil is syn-

onymous. Ibn al-Saldh, however, reportsthat the term musnad is at times used by some

hadith critics to refer to any text attributed o the Prophet,even if there is an interruptionin its isnad. He, however, considers the two terms synonymous. I have treated them syn-

onymouslyin the translationand have rendered hem as "connected"

Muq.,190-92.

Isnid refersto the documentationof the hadith text's transmissionhistory.This usually

precedesall hadithtexts, for example, "Maliktold me on the authorityof Nafic on the au-

thorityof Ibn CUmarhatthe Prophetsaid.... "

Ca-la-qa

Tacliq, Mucallaq is a term denoting a hadith text in which one or more narratorshave

been omitted from the beginning of the isn~d, Muq., 167,226-28. It literally means "to

suspend."Tacliqdescribesthe act of "suspending"a text withoutproperattribution,while

mucallaq describesthe text itself.

Ca-na- a-na

cAncanais a term used to describe the transmitter's tatement n the hadith's snad, "So

and so from, i.e., can, So-and-so."It is controversialbecause the student does not mention

how he acquiredthe text from the teacher.Muq., 220-26. One who practicescancana is

called the muCancin,whereas the mucanCancanhu is the source of the text.

qa-.ta-Ca

Taqtic is a technical term which Ibn Hajar defines as separating a hadith's text intoseveral parts, each of which expresses a different idea or theme.

Munqaticis a

hadithtext in whose

isnadthere is an

interruption,meaningthatwithin

the isnid there is a transmitterwho did not hear the report from the transmitterabovehim in the isnid and that the name omitted between the two is not mentioned. This also

includes those isnads which include an ambiguous reference, such as shaykh or "man."Muq., 213-15.

ma-ta-na

Matn is the text, the "content"of the hadith report.

wa-qa-fa

Mawqiif is a reportwhich is "stopped"at a Companion, although it can also be usedto describe reportsof the Followers. Muq., 194-95.

Ibn Hajar Asqalanis HADY AL SARI a Medieval Interpretation of the Structure of Al Bukharis Al Jami Al Sahi Introduction

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