al-Ightibat biman Rumi min al-Ruwat bil-Ikhtilat
- Author died
- 841 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Hadith
al-Ightibat biman Rumi min al-Ruwat bil-Ikhtilat (The Rejoicing in Those Narrators Accused of Mental Confusion) is a specialized biographical work in hadith criticism by al-Burhan al-Halabi (d. 841 AH / 1438 CE), cataloging transmitters who suffered from cognitive decline (ikhtilat) in their later years .
Background and Purpose
The composition of the treatise was prompted by an observation made by Ibn al-Salah in his Ulum al-Hadith, where he noted that identifying trustworthy narrators who became cognitively impaired later in life was an essential yet neglected area of hadith study that warranted a dedicated monograph . Although the author's teacher Abu al-Fadl al-Iraqi pointed out that Salah al-Din al-Ala'i had previously compiled a brief alphabetical treatise on the subject, al-Burhan al-Halabi had not encountered al-Ala'i's text when preparing his own book . Observing that Ibn al-Salah had only named sixteen trustworthy transmitters, al-Burhan al-Halabi sought to expand substantially upon that list .
Structure and Methodology
The work is organized alphabetically according to the given names and patronymics of the narrators ('ala huruf al-mu'jam fi al-ism wa-ism al-ab) . Unlike earlier discussions that focused primarily on reliable transmitters, al-Burhan al-Halabi broadened his scope to include both trustworthy (thiqat) and untrustworthy figures who were reported to have suffered from mental confusion . The principal utility of documenting such transmitters in hadith criticism is to determine whether their reports were received prior to their deterioration—in which case they remain acceptable—or after its onset, which renders them unaccepted .
Transmission and Editions
The text was preserved in manuscripts, including a recension prepared by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Umar al-Nasibi al-Halabi al-Shafi'i . It was published in modern print by the Aleppine scholar Muhammad Raghib al-Tabbakh . It was also edited and expanded by Ala' al-Din Ali Rida in a volume titled Nihayat al-Ightibat biman Rumi min al-Ruwat bil-Ikhtilat, published by Dar al-Hadith in Cairo .
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