al-Mughni an al-Hifz wal-Kitab
- Author died
- 622 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi
al-Mughni an al-Hifz wal-Kitab (The Dispenser from Memorization and Books) is a hadith treatise by the Hanafi scholar Diya' al-Din 'Umar ibn Badr al-Mawsili (557–622 AH / 1162–1225 CE) devoted to identifying topical chapters and subjects in which no authentic prophetic hadith is established . The book is also known under the longer title al-Mughni 'an al-Hifz wal-Kitab bi-Qawlihim: Lam Yasihha Shay'un fi Hadha al-Bab ("The Dispenser from Memorization and Books Through Their Saying: Nothing is Authentic in This Chapter") . Al-Mawsili was born in Mosul and died in Damascus in 622 AH, though some biographical sources record his death in 623 AH .
Purpose and Structure
In his introduction, al-Mawsili explains that he composed books on fabricated and unauthentic traditions (al-mawdu'at) and designed this work without citing full texts (matn) or chains of transmission (isnad), avoiding repetitive listings of reports . Instead, he organized the work by chapter headings that indicate directly whether reports in that field are sound or flawed . He stated three reasons for this approach:
- To make knowledge as accessible as possible to students .
- To accommodate individuals occupied with public or professional duties who lack the time for extensive study, such as rulers, viziers, judges, and craftsmen .
- To encourage further reading by offering concise initial material, as deriving benefit from a small amount motivates learners to pursue more .
Scope and Content
The treatise covers theological themes, legal topics, and personal or regional virtues, citing judgments from early hadith critics such as al-'Uqayli, Abu Hatim al-Razi, and Ishaq ibn Rahwayh .
Among theological topics, it addresses matters such as whether faith increases and decreases, sects like the Murji'ah, Jahmiyyah, and Qadariyyah, the antiquity of divine speech, the creation of angels, and reports concerning the intellect . On legal matters, it examines topics including sun-warmed water (al-ma' al-mushammas) and the narration regarding water reaching two large vessels (qullatayn) . Regarding virtues, it notes that no authentic reports were transmitted specifically on the virtues of Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan or on the specific praise or blame of Abu Hanifah and al-Shafi'i, while recording limited exceptions for virtues of places, such as three authenticated reports concerning Jerusalem .
Reception and Critique
Later scholars evaluated al-Mawsili's blanket rulings across these topical categories. In Fath al-Mughith, al-Sakhawi observed that al-Mawsili faced numerous objections regarding the book, though he noted that the author had predecessors among early authorities for each chapter . Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti noted in Tadrib al-Rawi that al-Mawsili compiled a book on chapters where nothing is authentic and was subjected to criticism on many of his assessments, adding that certain earlier critics had declared some hadiths baseless when evidence contradicted that judgment .
Publication History
The work was published in Cairo in 1342 AH (1924 CE) through the Society for the Publication of Arabic Books (Jam'iyyat Nashr al-Kutub al-'Arabiyyah), with editing, annotations, and an introduction by Muhammad al-Khadir Husayn . That edition was prepared from a manuscript preserved in the Taymuriyya Library (No. 286 Hadith) and collated against a copy in the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya) .
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