al-Kashf al-Hathith
- Author died
- 841 AH
- Editions
- ʿĀlam al-Kutub
al-Kashf al-Hathith (full title: al-Kashf al-Hathith ʿamman Rumiya bi-Wadʿ al-Hadith, "The Earnest Uncovering of Those Accused of Fabricating Hadith") is a specialized biographical dictionary of hadith transmitters accused of forgery, compiled by the Shafi'i hadith scholar Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, also known as Sibt Ibn al-ʿAjami (753–841 AH / 1352–1438 CE) .
Subject and Structure
The book is dedicated to identifying transmitters who were accused of hadith forgery, lying, or stealing narrations, isolating them from broader biographical works on weak transmitters . Entries are arranged alphabetically by transmitter name in standard dictionary order (beginning with Bab al-Hamza), with numbered biographical notices detailing each narrator's identity, background, and the specific critical judgments leveled against them .
In compiling these biographies, al-Halabi draws upon earlier biographical and critical treatises, citing evaluations from prominent hadith critics such as Ibn Hibban, al-Daraqutni, Ibn al-Jawzi, and al-Dhahabi (specifically from Mizan al-Iʿtidal) . Where transmitter identities overlap or names are ambiguous, he adds clarifying remarks to distinguish between distinct individuals who share similar names in the biographical literature .
Reception and Transmission
The book was studied and copied during the author's final days; a student began transcribing a manuscript of the work from the author's copy during his lifetime and finished it eight days after his death . Later scholars referenced and built upon the text:
- Al-Sakhawi noted in Fath al-Mughith that al-Burhan al-Halabi singled out hadith fabricators in al-Kashf al-Hathith, remarking that the work remained open to further additions and supplements .
- Ibn ʿIraq al-Kinani encountered a copy of al-Kashf al-Hathith while traveling through Aleppo in 953 AH and integrated its material into the biographical index of fabricators and liars prefixed to his work Tanzih al-Shariʿah al-Marfuʿah .
Publication
The work has been edited by Subhi al-Samarra'i and published in Baghdad by Matba'at al-ʿAni, as well as in Beirut by ʿAlam al-Kutub and Maktabat al-Nahdah al-ʿArabiyyah (1407 AH / 1987 CE) .
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