بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
Ālimah Siddīqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fi 'l Ḥadīth
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
Title: Ar-Risālah al-Mustaṭrafah (The Introductory Treatise)
Genre: Ḥadīth
Language: Arabic
Author: Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Kattānī
Taḥqīq: Shaykh Muḥammad ibn al-Muntaṣir al-Kattānī
Publisher: Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyyah
Pages: approx. 222
Introduction
When commencing a study of the ḥadīth sciences, it can become quite overwhelming for a student when he or she encounters the number of Islamic books that are available generally and in the science of ḥadīth in particular. Ar-Risālah al-Mustaṭrafah, authored by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Kattānī (may Allāh Taʿālā have mercy on him) is the perfect book to solve this predicament, and help guide students regarding the books available in each branch of ḥadīth. The ocean of knowledge is without an end and cannot be fully attained even if one dedicated their whole life to it. Thus, our pious predecessors have encouraged us to take the best of every science. Having knowledge of the most relevant and important books to help a student study, in every branch, can help to ‘take the best of every science,’ without needlessly exerting effort in accessing the wrong books.
The author
Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Idrīs al-Kattānī was a Moroccan scholar, mujāhid, theologian and historian from the 19th century. He was born in the city of Fes in 1273 AH/1858 CE. Shaykh Kattānī came from a family of scholars in Fes. He devoted his first works to Islamic jurisprudence and local history, writing an imposing historical-biographical dictionary of local personalities, the Salwat al-Anfās wa Muḥādathatu ‘l-Akyās, which inspired many similar works elsewhere in the Maghreb. He had a leading position in the al-Qarawiyyin University in Fes, in which he taught the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal for the first time ever in the history of Maghreb. He commented on ḥadīth as a critical ḥāfiẓ and gave fatwā based on absolute ijtihād. Despite all this, he would not neglect to enjoin good and forbid evil, and guide and advise in a way that would lead to a spiritual uprising in Fes. As many as 10 000 people from various social strata attended his classes in al-Qarawiyyin. He fell ill and passed away in Fes on the 16th of Ramadan 1345 AH/1927 CE and was buried in the section of the Kattānī family grave on the outskirts of Fes and 100 000 people his funeral. Two years later, his body was moved to a special burial place inside the city of Fes.
Outline of the book
The author has included three main segments throughout the book:
- General discussions: He discusses some important preliminary topics relates to ḥadīth, making it an ideal read for students in the beginning stages of studying ḥadīth. Some topics which he has discussed include: the specialties of ʿIlm al-Ḥadīth and its scholars, the compilation and preservation of the noble ḥadīth, the first person to officially compile a book on ṣaḥīḥ, the six canonical collections, the books of the imāms of the madhahib, the definitions of the various collections of ḥadīth books such as sunan, mustakhraj and musnad, among other topics.
- Books of ḥadīth: The author has introduced, discussed, compared, and given a review for hundreds of books. Based on a rough estimate, he has perhaps at least mentioned the titles of one thousand books, from all the branches of ḥadīth. He has explained all the main genres such as the books of aṭrāf, mawḍūʿāt, ʿilal, jawamiʿ, ʿarbaʿīnāt, etc., as well as other genres such as the books on the names of the Companions (may Allāh Taʿālā be pleased with them), the biographies of the narrators of ḥadīth, the levels of narrators, various ajzā’, different amāli, commentaries of the terminologies of ḥadīth, commentaries of the Qur’ān, jarḥ wa ‘t-taʿdīl and duʿas, among many other books.
- Biographies of the muhaddithīn: Interestingly, this books also serves like an index of short entries of hundreds of scholars of various fields, who have contributed directly or indirectly to the field of ḥadīth. In these entries, the author includes the scholar’s full name, date of birth and demise, birthplace/residency, and the book(s) they have authored in the subject at hand. This not only helps a student become familiar with the various books that have been authored, rather, it also familiarizes the student with the names of hundreds of scholars and their eras. Considering the immense amount of information that will be difficult for one to gauge in reading the book once, it can also be utilized as a reference book.
Concluding thoughts
Ar-Risālah al-Mustaṭrafah is a very useful book for students who are seeking to study a comprehensive text which can guide them about the various genres of the ḥadīth sciences, along with which books are available in each branch, and a brief discussion of the contents of each book. Moreover, it includes some the most important topics of the science of ḥadīth, and is a great source of reference. A student who reads this book and makes an effort to gradually memorize its contents will gain the advantage of knowing which books one can refer to for numerous topics, as well as in which era these books have been authored, and whether or not a particular book is an offshoot of an early book or is similar to any other text.
The PDF can be accessed here.