al-Jami fi al-Jarh wa al-Tadil
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- ‘Ālam al-Kutub
al-Jami fi al-Jarh wa al-Tadil (The Compendium on Jarh and Ta'dil) is a biographical reference work on hadith narrator criticism compiled and arranged by al-Sayyid Abu al-Ma'ati al-Nuri, Hasan Abd al-Mun'im Shalabi, Ahmad Abd al-Razzaq 'Iyd, and Mahmud Muhammad Khalil al-Sa'idi, published in 1412 AH / 1992 CE.
Background and Purpose
The compilers framed the work as an effort to revive direct engagement with the early authorities of hadith criticism, critiquing later reliance on abridged manuals or contemporary evaluations rather than primary classical literature. They conceived the project as part of an effort to assemble early critical statements into accessible collections, dividing the material into an initial era covering narrators prior to al-Bukhari, and a subsequent phase spanning from al-Bukhari through al-Daraqutni. The compendium specifically gathered narrator appraisals across this latter historical range.
Sources and Scope
The collection gathers judgments of narrator disparagement and accreditation (jarh wa ta'dil) formulated by twelve classical hadith critics:
- Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH), drawn from his al-Tarikh al-Kabir, al-Tarikh al-Saghir, al-Du'afa' al-Saghir, and his remarks recorded in Tartib 'Ilal al-Tirmidhi al-Kabir.
- Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 261 AH), taken from Kitab al-Kuna.
- Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Salih al-'Ijli (d. 261 AH), extracted from his Kitab al-Thiqat.
- Abu Zur'ah al-Razi (d. 264 AH), collected from his Kitab al-Du'afa' and his responses to the questions of al-Bardha'i.
- Abu Dawud al-Sijistani (d. 275 AH), extracted from Su'alat al-Ajurri.
- Ya'qub ibn Sufyan al-Fasawi (d. 277 AH), taken from al-Ma'rifah wa al-Tarikh.
- Abu Hatim al-Razi (d. 277 AH), drawn from 'Ilal al-Hadith.
- Abu 'Isa al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH), gathered from his Sunan and Tartib 'Ilal al-Tirmidhi al-Kabir.
- Abu Zur'ah al-Dimashqi (d. 281 AH), collected from his Tarikh.
- Abu Bakr al-Bazzar (d. 292 AH), drawn from Kashf al-Astar 'an Zawa'id al-Bazzar.
- Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Nasa'i (d. 303 AH), taken from al-Du'afa' wa al-Matrukun.
- Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni (d. 385 AH), including a portion of his critical remarks drawn from al-Du'afa' wa al-Matrukun, Su'alat al-Sahmi, Su'alat al-Barqani, his Sunan, Kitab al-'Ilal, and al-Ilzamat wa al-Tatabbu'.
Structure and Methodology
The text is arranged alphabetically by narrator names, beginning with the letter alif. Under each entry, the compilers provide the narrator's name and patronymic, followed by numbered citations of specific evaluations attributed to the aforementioned critics, citing the exact source texts. Excerpts from outside the designated core sources are included on rare occasions when necessary to disambiguate identical narrator names or highlight sharp differences in assessment.
Publication and Related Compilations
The work was published in three volumes by 'Alam al-Kutub in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1412 AH / 1992 CE. It formed part of a sequence of reference projects undertaken by the compiler group, which included al-Musnad al-Jami' as well as multi-volume encyclopedias devoted to individual critics, such as Mawsu'at Aqwal al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Mawsu'at Aqwal Abi al-Hasan al-Daraqutni, and Mawsu'at Aqwal Yahya ibn Ma'in.
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