al-Ilal wa Marifat al-Rijal li Ahmad riwayat al-Marwadhi wa ghayrihi
- Author died
- 241 AH
- Editions
- tahqiq Subhi al-Samarrai · tahqiq Wasi Allah Abbas
al-Ilal wa-Ma'rifat al-Rijal (The Hidden Defects of Hadith and the Knowledge of Narrators, recension of al-Marrudhi and others) is a compilation of rulings on hadith criticism, narrator evaluation, and historical reports transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH / 780–855 CE) .
Transmission and Content
The work brings together Ahmad's answers and critical assessments preserved by three of his close disciples: Abu Bakr al-Marrudhi (d. 275 AH), Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Maymuni (d. 274 AH), and Ahmad's eldest son, Salih ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 266 AH) . It was transmitted from these three students by Abu Awanah al-Isfara'ini, and from Abu Awanah by Abu Ahmad al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Tamimi al-Naysaburi . The manuscript's full title describes it as a section of Ahmad's discourse on hidden defects of hadith (ilal) and the evaluation of narrators (rijal), along with hadiths, historical accounts, and related narratives .
The text covers most major branches of hadith criticism (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil) alongside historical anecdotes, rather than containing fully chained (musnad) hadith narrations from Ahmad . The largest portion of the work consists of al-Marrudhi's transmission, which spans from the beginning through entry 310 . al-Maymuni's questions and transmissions form the second largest component, covering entries 336 through 514 .
Manuscripts and Publication
A primary manuscript of this recension is preserved in Damascus at al-Zahiriyya Library (within Majmu' 40, comprising 22 folios), with a photographic copy held at the Islamic University of Madinah (no. 99) . The text was edited by Wasiyyullah ibn Muhammad Abbas and published in one volume under the title al-Jami' fi al-Ilal wa-Ma'rifat al-Rijal by al-Dar al-Salafiyyah in Bombay (1408 AH / 1988 CE) .
Answer updated