al-Ghaya fi Sharh al-Hidaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya
- Author died
- 902 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat Awlād al-Shaykh lil-Turāth
al-Ghaya fi Sharh al-Hidaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya (The Utmost Goal in Explaining the Guidance in the Science of Transmission) is a commentary on Hadith terminology and sciences by the Egyptian Shafi'i scholar and historian Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (831–902 AH / 1428–1497 CE) . It serves as an elucidation of al-Hidaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya, a didactic poem on Hadith sciences composed by the Quranic master and scholar Ibn al-Jazari (d. 833 AH) .
Background and Purpose
In his introduction, al-Sakhawi explains that although Ibn al-Jazari excelled in arranging, structuring, and summarizing the topics within his poem al-Hidaya fi Ilm al-Riwaya, the versified text still required a clarifying commentary to resolve obscure points and make its meanings accessible . Al-Sakhawi composed the work in response to the request of a student who sought a balanced reference text suitable for recitation and teaching—one designed to be neither excessively lengthy nor detrimentally brief—to guide novice students and serve as an aid for advanced scholars .
Contents and Methodology
The work systematically explains the verses of Ibn al-Jazari's poem, treating standard disciplines and rules of Hadith transmission (riwaya) and criticism . Topics addressed in the commentary include:
- The various modes of receiving and transmitting Hadith (turuq al-tahammul wa-al-ada'), detailing forms such as direct audition (al-sama'), recitation before the teacher (al-ard / al-qira'ah), handing over texts (al-munawalah), written transmission (al-kitabah), notification (al-i'lam), bequest (al-wasiyyah), and finding texts in a scholar's handwriting (al-wijadah) .
- The conditions governing valid transmission, such as hearing Hadith from behind a barrier, copying manuscripts during an audition session, and transmitting from personal manuscripts or verified secondary copies .
- Narrator qualifications and specific cases, including blind or illiterate narrators, as well as the rules governing transmission by meaning (al-riwaya bi-al-ma'na) versus verbatim reporting .
- Methodological inquiries in Hadith classification, such as discussing why Ibn al-Salah did not assign a dedicated category to the recurrent report (al-mutawatir), reasoning that its investigation is not primarily a matter of chain-based evaluation (isnad) .
Throughout the commentary, al-Sakhawi defines terms, cites scholarly disagreements across legal and traditionist schools, provides grammatical analyses of the verses, and evaluates differing viewpoints on disputed practices .
Modern Editions
The work has been published in modern print editions:
- An edition edited by Muhammad Sidi Muhammad al-Amin (Dr. Muhammad Sidi al-Amin), published jointly by Dar al-Qalam in Damascus and al-Dar al-Shamiyyah in Beirut (1413 AH / 1992–1993 CE) .
- An edition edited by Abu A'ish Abd al-Mun'im Ibrahim, published by Maktabat Awlad al-Shaykh lil-Turath (2001 CE) .
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