al-Lataif min Daqaiq al-Maarif fi Ulum al-Huffaz al-Aarif
- Author died
- 581 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah
al-Laṭāʾif min daqāʾiq al-maʿārif fī ʿulūm al-ḥuffāẓ al-aʿārif (The Subtleties of Minute Points of Knowledge in the Sciences of the Master Scholars) is a treatise on the rare and intricate sciences of hadith transmission and chain analysis (isnād) by the Persian hadith master Abu Musa al-Madini (501–581 AH / 1108–1185 CE) .
Composition and Structure
The work was composed as a series of dictations (imlāʾ) delivered by Abu Musa al-Madini to his students . The dictation sessions took place across several years, with specific preserved parts recording their dates of delivery:
- Part 1: Dictated on Saturday, 2 Rajab 547 AH .
- Part 3: Dictated on Saturday, 25 Dhu al-Qaʿda 547 AH .
- Part 4: Dictated on Saturday, 20 Safar 548 AH .
- Part 5: Dictated on Saturday, 23 Rabiʿ al-Thani 548 AH .
- Part 8: Dictated on Saturday, 23 Safar 549 AH .
In his introduction, the author states that he compiled subtle varieties of hadith knowledge that only discerning hadith masters could grasp, aiming to provide a beneficial guide for those engaged in hadith studies .
Contents and Subject Matter
The work focuses on specialized isnad phenomena and transmission curiosities, comprising nineteen distinct categories of isnād subtleties (laṭāʾif), with illustrative examples drawn from across the hadith corpus .
The text opens with a chapter on reciprocal transmission where two narrators transmit from one another while sharing the same direct shaykh (Bāb riwāyat rajulayni kull wāḥid minhumā ʿan al-ākhar wa-shaykh al-marwiyyi ʿanhu fī riwāyatihimā wāḥid), beginning with examples from the Companions .
Reception and Editions
The biographical literature refers to the book under variations of its title, such as al-Laṭāʾif fī al-maʿārif and al-Laṭāʾif min ʿulūm al-maʿārif . The historian al-Tayyib Bamakhrama praised it, remarking that the book "is just as its name suggests" .
The book was edited by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ali Samak and published by Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah in Beirut in 1420 AH / 1999 CE .
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