al-Ilzamat wa al-Tatabbu lil-Daraqutni
- Author died
- 385 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Al-Ilzamat wa al-Tatabbu (The Obligations and the Tracking Critique) is a hadith critical work by the Baghdadi traditionist Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni (306–385 AH / 918–995 CE) that analyzes the contents and transmission criteria of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim .
Contents and Structure
The work consists of two complementary treatises that are frequently joined together:
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Al-Ilzamat: In this treatise, al-Daraqutni compiles approximately seventy hadiths arranged according to individual Companions' musnad collections . His purpose was to document narrations that satisfied the transmission conditions (shart) and methodologies of al-Bukhari and Muslim—or either one of them—but were omitted from their two collections . He argued that because the two compilers included narrations from specific Successors (tabi'un) or through isolated transmitters, they were methodologically obliged (yalzam) to record comparable sound transmissions from those same figures or from their trustworthy peers . For instance, he noted that al-Bukhari narrated via Qays ibn Abi Hazim from Mirdas al-Aslami, and Muslim narrated via Qays from Adi ibn Amira—with Qays being the sole narrator from each—arguing that other well-preserved narrations transmitted solely through Qays from figures such as al-Sunabih, Dukayn ibn Sa'id, or Qays's father ought to have been included on the same basis . He likewise cited Companions whose soundly transmitted narrations were omitted entirely from both works .
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Al-Tatabbu: In this critical survey, al-Daraqutni tracked and analyzed narrations included in the Two Sahihs that he evaluated as having subtle hidden defects (ilal) in their chains or texts, thereby falling short of the compilers' strict standards . According to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, the critique targeted 210 hadiths across the two collections: 32 shared by both al-Bukhari and Muslim, 78 recorded by al-Bukhari alone, and 100 recorded by Muslim alone .
Transmission and Manuscripts
The combined work was transmitted through a chain preserved by Abu Tahir al-Silafi, who heard it in Alexandria in Dhu al-Qi'da 573 AH from Abu al-Husayn al-Mubarak ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Sayrafi (who had read it in Baghdad in Safar 495 AH from his original hearing), from Abu Talib Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Fath al-Harbi al-Zahid, from Abu Muhammad Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad al-Nakhshabi, from al-Daraqutni . In al-Silafi's manuscript, al-Ilzamat appears first, immediately followed by al-Tatabbu within the same gathering without a separate title break, whereas other manuscript traditions preserved al-Tatabbu as an independently titled tract .
Reception and Scholarly Responses
Later hadith scholars engaged extensively with al-Daraqutni's evaluations:
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Responses to al-Ilzamat: Al-Nawawi and other scholars maintained that the obligation (ilzam) al-Daraqutni posited was not strictly binding, because neither al-Bukhari nor Muslim committed to recording every authentic narration; rather, their stated aim was to compile a representative selection of sound hadiths . Al-Nawawi observed that where the two authors omitted a seemingly sound report that formed a primary legal basis in its chapter, they likely perceived a hidden defect in it, omitted it to avoid excessive length, forgot it, or deemed another narration sufficient .
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Responses to al-Tatabbu: Abu al-Walid al-Baji cited al-Daraqutni's critiques as an illustration of legitimate scholarly ijtihad in evaluating narrations, noting that each critic investigates authenticity according to his own scholarly discernment . Detailed rebuttals defending the Two Sahihs against al-Daraqutni's individual criticisms were formulated by al-Nawawi in his commentary on Sahih Muslim and by Ibn Hajar in Hady al-Sari, the introduction to his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari .
The combined text has been edited and published in a single volume by the Yemeni scholar Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi'i .
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