al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-Imam Muslim

Al-Kuna wa al-Asma (The Agnomens and Names) is a biographical reference work on hadith transmitters compiled by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 261 AH / 875 CE) al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-…+1. It identifies narrators primarily known by their agnomens (kuna) alongside their proper given names (asma), lineages, and transmission networks al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-…+1.

Scope and Methodology

The work focuses principally on hadith narrators whose agnomen and given name are both established Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna…+1. Entries typically supply the transmitter's agnomen, formal name, genealogy, affiliation (nisbah), and their primary teachers and students al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-…. Critical remarks on narrator reliability (jarh) are included only occasionally relative to the total number of biographical entries al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-….

Muslim arranges entries chronologically by generation, opening with the agnomens of the Companions (Sahabah) before proceeding to the Successors (Tabi'un) and subsequent generations al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-…. When a transmitter is known by two distinct agnomens, he provides the complete biographical notice under the more famous kunyah and inserts a cross-reference when the secondary kunyah occurs elsewhere in the compilation al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-….

Transmission and Reception

The text was transmitted directly from Muslim by his long-time student Makki ibn Abdan al-Naysaburi (242–325 AH), through whom several of Muslim's major compilations were preserved al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-…. Among those who subsequently received and narrated the work from Makki ibn Abdan was Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Ja'far al-Shaybani (302–372 AH) al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-….

The hadith critic Abu Ahmad al-Hakim (al-Karabisi, d. 378 AH) claimed that Muslim closely copied the material for the work from the historical writings of al-Bukhari, arguing that later authors compiling books on biographical history and names drew upon al-Bukhari and attributed the work to themselves Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna…+1. Modern editors, however, point out that classical scholars universally accepted Muslim's authorship and relied directly on his text, noting further that textual comparisons between the two works show substantial differences in specific biographical entries and evaluations al-Kuna wa al-Asma - lil-….

Manuscripts and Editions

Manuscript copies of al-Kuna wa al-Asma are held in several libraries, including Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya in Cairo, the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, the Sehid Ali Pasa and Ahmed III collections in Turkey, and the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library in Patna Buhuth fi Tarikh al-Sunna…. A critical edition prepared by Abd al-Rahim Muhammad Ahmad al-Qashqari was published in 1404 AH (1984 CE) by the Islamic University of Madinah Dhayl Takmilat al-Ikmal -…+1.