بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
Ālimah Siddiqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fi 'l-Hadith
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
Title: Arbaʿ Rasāʾil fī ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth
Title: At-Taqyīd li Maʿrifat Ruwāt as-Sunan wa ‘l-Masānīd
Genre: Ḥadīth: ʿIlm ar-Rijāl
Editor: Sharīf ibn Ṣāliḥ at-Tashādī
Language: Arabic
Publisher: Wazārat al-Awqāf wa ‘sh-Shuʾūn al-Islāmiyyah, Qaṭar
Author: Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Maqdisī, better known by Ibn Nuqṭah
Pages: 2 volumes: 996 pages
Overview
At-Taqyīd li Maʿrifat Ruwāt as-Sunan wa ‘l-Masānīd is a book on the narrators of ḥadīth and their biographies. The author, Imām Ibn Nuqṭah (d. 639 AH) (raḥimahullāh), collected the profiles of the narrators of the al-Kutub as-Sittah (Six Canonical Ḥadīth Collections), and mentioned their general information, the jarḥ (criticism) levied against them, the taʿdīl (authentication) regarding them, and their status according to the scholars of ḥadīth. Thereafter, he added narrators from other sunan and musnad works, and adhered to mentioning the most famous of them. The author depended on many unique sources that are now considered lost, which adds much value to the book. He arranged the book in alphabetical order according to the style of lexicons, and began with the name Muḥammad, to take blessings from the name of our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ.
The Author
His full name is Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Ghanī ibn Abī Bakr al-Baghdādī, Abū Bakr al-Ḥanbalī. He has been given the title Muʿīn ad-Dīn, and Muḥibb ad-Dīn, however, he is well known as ‘Ibn Nuqṭah’ because there was a maid named Nuqṭah who took care of his paternal grandmother; thus, he became well-known with her name. He was born on the 10th of Rajab in the year 579 AH. He travelled extensively to several countries, so he related from many teachers. In Damascus, he heard from Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥasan al-ʿĀqūlī, ʿUmar ibn Ṭabarzad, Ibn al-Akhḍar al-Ḥāfiẓ, and others. In Isfahān, he heard from Abu ‘l-Fakhr Asʿad ibn Rawḥ, ʿAfīfah al-Fārfāniyyah, ʿĀʾishah bint Muʿammar. In Naysāpūr, he heard from Muʾayyad aṭ-Ṭūsī, Zaynad ash-Shaʿriyyah, Manṣūr ibn ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-Furāwī, and many others.
Imām ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥājib (raḥimahullāh) mentioned him in his Muʿjam and praised him saying, “This Shaykh of ours is the [ḥadīth] memoriser of our time and the ṭāf (roamer) of countries [for ḥadīth]. He heard extensively and authored fine books on ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth (Science of Prophetic Tradition) and Ansāb (Lineages). He was an imām (leader), thiqah (reliable), thabt (accurate), of beautiful [Qurʾān] recitation, beautiful handwriting, enormous benefit, dignity, chastity and upright character outwardly and inwardly. He was generous to others, content with little [for himself], and very desirous upon doing good.”
Imām Dhahabī (raḥimahullāh) praised him in Siyar Aʿlām an-Nubalāʾ saying, “The imām, the ʿālim, the ḥāfiẓ, the mutqin, the one who travelled excessively [for knowledge] (ar-raḥḥāl). His father was from among the ascetic ones, so Abū Bakr (Ibn Nuqṭah) adhered to ḥadīth, and collected and compiled. He was reliable [in ḥadīth], of good recitation, of good handwriting, well-versed in what he said. He had grace, dignity, piety, righteousness, chastity, and contentment. He compiled a mustadrak (add-on to an author’s work) on Ibn Mākūlā’s ‘Al-Ikmāl’ which indicates to the vastness of his knowledge.”
He passed away on the 21st of Ṣafar in the year 629 AH in Baghdad and he was buried beside the grave of his father.
Methodology in the book
The author commenced the book with a short introduction in which he mentioned that the reason that propelled him to author this book was the request of Ḥāfiẓ Abu ‘l-Walīd ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbdillāh al-Qurṭubī. Ḥāfiẓ Abu ‘l-Walīd requested him to compile a treatise on the profiles of the narrators of al-Kutub as-Sittah, and said to him, ‘I would be pleased to know about them, their criticism, authentication, and status according to the scholars.’ The author, however, did not limit himself to this request. Rather, he added many profiles from the narrators of sunan and musnad works and said, ‘It is indispensable for anyone involved in this matter to know them.’
Thereafter, he referred to the ḥadīth scholars who preceded him in the compilation of books on the narrators of ḥadīth and stated that his book is “like an addition to history through which upright narrators can be recognised.” He further added that he will restrict himself to mentioning only the most well-known narrators because “there is no way for anyone to compile the profiles of all the narrators of the sunan works in their entirety.”
His methodology in mentioning the narrators is like the scholars before him. He starts every entry with the full name, lineage, teknonym and title of the narrator. Then, he follows it with those who the narrator narrated from and those who narrated from him, mostly mentioning those teachers that the narrator heard a compilation [of ḥadīth] from and his students who heard a compilation from him. After that, he mentions the criticism levied against the narrator as well as those who authenticated and praised him. At the end, he mentions any books authored by the narrator. Sometimes, if available, he quotes a marfūʿ ḥadīth via the chain of the respective narrator.
Concluding thoughts
This book is a highly beneficial resource for students of ḥadīth. It contains the profiles of not just the narrators of the al-Kutub as-Sittah, but rather, the most important and well-known narrators that one normally encounters in the chains of ḥadīths. It saves a student time and effort from having to search through voluminous books of rijāl al-ḥadīth and sometimes read through lengthy passages just to get a general idea about a narrator and his status in the transmission of ḥadīth. Studying this book and using it as reference means that a can then focus on learning the most important narrators through this book. The editor of this book, Sharīf ibn Ṣāliḥ at-Tashādī has added a useful dirāsah of the book in the beginning, expounding on the author’s methodology and the books he relied on, among other discussions. He has produced this book with much precision and straightforwardness, clarifying the pronunciation of names, alluding to the differences between manuscripts, etc. making it very easy for the reader to derive benefit conveniently.
May Allāh be pleased with them all.
The PDF can be accessed here.