An Introduction to the Science of the Hadith -
'' Kitab Mar’rifat Anwa’ ‘Ilm al-Hadith, ''
*[A5+] Large Paperback - 384 pages
by Ibn al-Salah al-Shahrazuri [d.643h],
Translated by Eerik Dickinson,
Reviewed by Professor Muneer Farid
Series: Great Books of Islamic Civilisation.

Description :


About this book : After the Qur'an itself, the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, form the most important foundation of Islamic thought. The hadith were accounts -- usually brief -- of the words and actions of the Beloved Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. As such, they were subjected to intense scrutiny by generations of Muslim scholars.



Better known as the Muqaddima, Ibn al-Salah, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, (1181-1245 CE) composed this work while serving as the head of the Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiya in Damascus, one of the most prestigious institutions for the study of hadith in the Islamic world. He provides a complete overview of the science devoted to the study of the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and also a guide to the terminology and techniques of the scholars of hadith as it summarizes most of the previous work on the subject and forms the basis of almost all later activity in the field. The book enjoyed immense popularity and influenced most subsequent writing on the subject.





Abu 'Amr 'Uthman ibn 'Abd al-Rahman Salah al-D?n al-Kurdi al-Shahrazuri (1181 CE/577 AH – 1245/643), commonly known as Ibn al-Salah, was a Kurdish Shafi'i hadith specialist and the author of the seminal Introduction to the Science of Hadith. He was originally from Sharazora region in Sulaymaniyah province in Iraqi Kurdistan, was raised in Mosul and then resided in Damascus, where he died.




About the translator : The translator Eerik Dickinson has degrees from the Universities of Michigan and Yale. He has taught Arabic and Islam at Yale and Hunter College in New York City. In addition to publishing articles on hadith and the Arabic biographical tradition in learned journals, he has contributed to the 'Encyclopedia of Islam', the 'Encyclopedia of the Qur'an and Medieval Islamic Civilisation: An Encyclopedia.' His first book The Development of early Sunnite Hadith Criticism appeared in 2001.







Table of Contents :


---Foreword,
---About this Series,
---About the Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilisation,
---Translator's Introduction,
---Author's Introduction.


The categories of hadith;
---[1]. Sound hadith; (Ma'rifat al-sahih min al-hadith),
------Some Important Notes,
---[2]. Fair hadith, (Ma'rifat al-hasan min al-hadith),
---[3]. Weak hadith, (Ma'rifat al-da'if min al-hadith),
---[4]. Supported hadith, (Ma'rifat al-musnad),
---[5]. Uninterrupted hadith, (Ma'rifat al-muttasil),
---[6]. Raised hadith, (Ma'rifat al-marfu),
---[7]. Halted hadith; (Ma'rifat al-mawquf),
---[8]. Cut-off hadith, (Ma'rifat al-maqtu'),
---[9]. Loose hadith, (Ma'rifat al-mursal),
---[10]. Interrupted hadith, (Ma'rifat al-munqati),
---[11]. Problematic hadith, (Ma'rifat al-mu'dal),
------Subsidiary Issues,
---[12]. Misrepresentation and the Treatment of Misrepresented hadith, (Ma'rifat al-tadlis wa-Hukm al-mudallas),
---[13]. Anomalous hadith, (Ma'rifat al-shadhdh),
---[14]. Unfamiliar hadith, (Ma'rifat al-Munkar min al-hadith),
---[15]. Analysis, Parallelisms and Attestations, (Ma'rifat al-i'tibar wa-'l-mutaba'at wa-'l-Shawahid),
---[16]. Additions of Reliable Transmitters and the Treatment of Them, (Ma'rifat ziyadat al-thiqat wa-Hukmiha),
---[17]. Isolated hadith,  (Ma'rifat al-afrad),
---[18]. Defective hadith, (Ma'rifat al-hadith al-mu'allal),
---[19]. Disrupted hadith, (Ma'rifat al-Mudtarib min al-hadith),
---[20]. Material Interpolated into hadith; (Ma'rifat al-mudraj fi 'l-hadith),
---[21]. Forged hadith, (Ma'rifat al-mawdu'),
---[22]. Mixed-up hadith, (Ma'rifat al-maqlub),
---[23]. The Characteristic of Those Whose Transmission is Accepted and Those Whose Transmission as Rejected, and the allied subjects of impugning and discrediting, and certifying and accrediting,
---[24]. The Methods of Hearing and Receiving Hadith, and the Manners of Registering These,
---[25]. On the Writing of hadith and the Means of Fixing and Recording Texts, (Fi Kitabat al-hadith wa-Kayfiyat dabt al-kitab wa-taqyidihi),
---[26]. On the Manner of Relating Hadith and the Stipulations Regarding the Conveyance of Them, and Related Matters,
---[27]. Guidelines for the Transmitters of Hadith, (Ma'rifat adab al-Muhaddith),
---[28]. Guidelines for the Student of Hadith; (Ma'rifat adab talib al-hadith),
---[29]. Elevated and Low Isnads, (Ma'rifat al-Isnad al-'ali wa-'l-nazil),
---[30]. Famous hadith; (Ma'rifat al-mashhur min al-hadith),
---[31]. Rare and Scarce Hadith, (Ma'rifat al-Gharib wa-'l-'aziz min al-hadith),
---[32]. Rare words in the Hadith; (Ma'rifat Gharib al-hadith),
---[33]. Enchained Hadith, (Ma'rifat al-musalsal min al-hadith),
---[34]. Abrogating and Abrogated Hadith, (Ma'rifat nasikh al-hadith wa-mansukhihi),
---[35]. Misreadings in the Isnads and the Texts of Hadith,
---[36]. Contradictory Hadith, (Ma'rifat mukhtalif al-hadith),
---[37]. Additions to Cohesive Isnads, (Ma'rifat al-mazid fi muttasil al-asanid),
---[38]. Hadith with Hidden Looseness, (Ma'rifat al-marasil al-khafi irsaluha),
---[39]. The Companions, (Ma'rifat al-Sahaba),
---[40]. The Followers, (Ma'rifat al-Taba'in),
---[41]. Older People Transmitting Hadith from Younger Ones, (Ma'rifat al-Akabir al-ruwat 'an al-asaghir),
---[42]. Symmetrical Transmissions, and Other Instances of Peers Transmitting from One Another,
---[43]. Brothers and Sisters among Scholars and Transmitters,
---[44]. The Transmission by Fathers from Their Sons, (Ma'rifat riwayat al-aba' 'an al-abna'),
---[45]. The Transmission by Sons from Their Fathers,
---[46]. Those from Whom Two Transmitters, One Early and One Late, both relate,
---[47]. Companions, Followers and Later Figures from Whom Only A Single Transmitter Related Hadith,
---[48]. Those Who are Referred to by Different Names or Varying Epithets,
---[49]. Unique Names, Nicknames and Paidonymics of the Companions, Transmitters of Hadith, and Other Scholars,
---[50]. Names and Paidonymics,
---[51]. The Paidonymics of Those Better Known under Their Name, rather than Their Paidonymics,
---[52]. Nicknames of Transmitters of Hadith and Other People Mentioned with the Transmitters,
---[53]. Homographic Names and Gentilics, and Related Matters,
---[54]. Homonymic Names, Gentilics, and So Forth,
---[55]. A Category Composed of the Two Previous Categories,
---[56]. Transmitters Resembling One Another in Name and Lineage Who are Distinguished by the Relative Position of the Names of the Son and Father,
---[57]. Those Whose Lineage Refers to Someone Other than Their Father,
---[58]. Gentilics the Actual Significance of Which Differs from the Apparent One Which First Comes to Mind,
---[59]. Obscure References, (Ma'rifat al-mubhamat),
---[60]. The Dates of Transmitters, (Ma'rifat tawarikh al-Ruwat),
---[61]. Reliable and Weak Transmitters of Hadith, (Ma'rifat al-thiqat wa-'l-du'afa' min Ruwat al-hadith),
---[62]. Reliable Transmitters Who Confused Their Hadith at the End of Their Life,
---[63]. The Generations of Transmitters and Scholars,
---[64]. Transmitters of Hadith and other Scholars Who Were Clients,
---[65]. The Residences and Lands of Transmitters.


---Bibliography,
---Index.

* Dimensions : 24 x 17 x 2.8cm.