Diya al-Din al-Maqdisi
al-Ahadith al-Mukhtara
- Author died
- 643 AH
- Editions
- Dār Khiḍr lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
al-Ahadith al-Mukhtara (The Selected Hadiths) is a multi-volume hadith collection compiled by the Hanbali traditionist Diya al-Din al-Maqdisi (569–643 AH / 1173–1245 CE), gathering authentic narrations omitted from the canonical collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim.
Scope and Method
In this work, also referred to simply as al-Mukhtara or al-Ahadith al-Jiyad al-Mukhtara mimma laysa fi al-Sahihayn aw ahadihima, Diya al-Din committed to compiling authentic narrations that met the standard for legal proof and were absent from the two Sahih works. He drew the material directly from his own heard transmissions (masmu'at).
In his introduction, the author defined his methodology:
"These are hadiths that I selected from what is not in al-Bukhari and Muslim, except that I might mention some of what al-Bukhari reported without isnad (mu'allaqan), and we might mention hadiths with good chains that have a hidden defect ('illa), so we mention the clarification of their defect so that it may be known."
Through this work, Diya al-Din authenticated numerous traditions that had not previously been declared sound by earlier scholars.
Structure and Arrangement
The book is organized according to the individual Musnads of the Companions arranged in alphabetical order, rather than topically by jurisprudential chapters (abwab). Under each Companion, narrations are further ordered by the individual narrators transmitting from them.
Diya al-Din did not live to complete the compilation. Al-Dhahabi notes that he produced ninety parts (ajza') of it. Salah al-Din al-Ala'i recorded that the main sequence reached midway through the Musnad of Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As across seventy-some parts spanning more than five large volumes, while the Musnad of Anas ibn Malik was kept separate as a thirteen-part section.
Reception and Scholarly Assessment
Scholars held al-Ahadith al-Mukhtara in high esteem. Ibn Taymiyyah asserted that Diya al-Din's authentication in this book is superior to that of al-Hakim al-Naysaburi in al-Mustadrak, placing its rigor near the standards of al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban because errors in it are infrequent compared to the forged reports found in al-Hakim's work. Ibn Kathir observed that the work contains valuable hadith scholarship and would have surpassed al-Hakim's Mustadrak had the author completed it. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti classified it among works whose authors strictly committed to authenticity, incorporating its contents into his compendium Jam' al-Jawami'.
Despite general acceptance, critics pointed out occasional narrations that fell short of sound or good status. For instance, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani criticized the inclusion of a narration concerning prayer and marriage transmitted via Baqiyya as uncorroborated (munkar), while al-Dhahabi termed that report baseless (batil).
Editions
An initial portion was edited and published by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir. A multi-volume edition was subsequently edited by Abd al-Malik ibn Abd Allah ibn Duhaysh and published by Maktabat al-Nahdah al-Hadithah in Mecca in 1410 AH.
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