al-Duafa li-Abi Nuaym
- Author died
- 430 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Thaqāfah
Kitab al-Du'afa' (The Weak Narrators) is a biographical dictionary of weak hadith transmitters compiled by the hadith scholar and historian Abu Nu'aym al-Asbahani (336–430 AH / 948–1038 CE) .
Genre and Content
The work belongs to the genre of narrator criticism (ilm al-jarh wa-al-ta'dil), focusing specifically on establishing the unreliability, weaknesses, and defects of criticized hadith transmitters . It forms part of the established tradition of specialized biographical dictionaries dedicated to impaired transmitters (kutub al-du'afa'), alongside similar works authored by critics such as al-Bukhari, al-Nasa'i, al-'Uqayli, Ibn Hibban, Ibn 'Adi, and al-Daraqutni .
Manuscript Tradition and Publication
A manuscript copy of the work is preserved in the library of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fez, Morocco, under catalog number 70 . The text was edited by Faruq Hamadah and published by Dar al-Thaqafah in Casablanca in 1405 AH (1984 CE) .
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