al-Muqiza
- Author died
- 748 AH
- Editions
- t Abu Ghudda · T Rakaiz
al-Muqiza (Arabic: الموقظة, lit. 'The Awakener') is a concise treatise on hadith terminology and criticism (mustalah al-hadith) by the Syrian scholar and historian Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (673–748 AH / 1274–1348 CE) .
Title and Attribution
The book is traditionally known as al-Muqiza and is referred to in one manuscript colophon as al-Muqaddima al-muqiza ("The Awakening Introduction") . Its attribution to al-Dhahabi is attested across classical scholarship . Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani cited al-Dhahabi's discussion on the fair (hasan) hadith from al-Muqiza in his al-Asʾila al-faʾiqa, a reference later recorded by al-Sakhawi in al-Jawahir wa-l-durar . It was likewise cited by Ibn Abi Sharif in his gloss on Sharh Nukhbat al-fikr and by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in works such as al-Hawi li-l-fatawi, Tuhfat al-abrar, and al-Bahr al-ladhi zakhar .
Source and Method
Al-Dhahabi composed al-Muqiza primarily as an abridgment and critical adaptation of al-Iqtirah fi bayan al-istilah by his teacher Ibn Daqiq al-Id (d. 702 AH), which itself drew upon the Ulum al-hadith of Ibn al-Salah . Al-Dhahabi enters directly into the material without an introductory sermon or preface . Throughout the text, he occasionally attributes citations directly to Ibn Daqiq al-'Id—using phrases such as "our teacher Ibn Wahb said" or "our teacher Ibn Daqiq al-'Id said"—though he more frequently summarizes his teacher's formulations without explicit attribution .
Rather than adhering to the nine systematic chapters of al-Iqtirah, al-Dhahabi selected specific topics and organized the text in a continuous sequence under brief headings (fasl or masʾala) . In doing so, he condensed various discussions, which produced occasional brevity and nuance best understood by consulting al-Iqtirah .
Content and Structure
The contents of the work encompass the primary categories of hadith terminology, transmission ethics, and narrator evaluation (al-jarh wa-l-ta'dil):
- Hadith Terminology: Al-Dhahabi defines twenty-two technical terms: the authentic (al-sahih), fair (al-hasan), weak (al-da'if), discarded (al-matruh), forged (al-mawdu'), hurried (al-mursal), perplexing/severed (al-mu'dal), disconnected (al-munqati'), stopped (al-mawquf), elevated (al-marfu'), connected (al-muttasil), supported (al-musnad), anomalous (al-shadhdh), rejected (al-munkar), solitary/rare (al-gharib), continuously patterned (al-musalsal), narrated with 'an (al-mu'an'an), concealed (al-tadlis), confounded (al-mudtarib), interpolated (al-mudarraj), performance formulas (alfaz al-ada'), and inverted (al-maqlub) .
- Grading and Transmission: Al-Dhahabi arranged the opening categories in descending order of strength: sahih, hasan, da'if, matruh, and mawdu' . He also addressed narrator probity ('adala) and the reception of narration by minors .
Al-Dhahabi introduced several independent critical insights into the work. He asserted that the hasan hadith lacks a single definitive rule capable of encompassing all its instances . He divided hasan chains of transmission into two varieties: those fluctuating between authenticity and fairness, and those fluctuating between fairness and weakness . He also treated al-matruh as an independent grade situated below da'if and above mawdu' . Furthermore, he incorporated specialized remarks on narrator evaluation (rijal) and the ranks of hadith masters that reflect his extensive background in biographical criticism .
Editions and Commentaries
al-Muqiza was edited and annotated by Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda based on two manuscripts, published in Beirut with five supplementary appendices covering issues such as Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj's methodology in his Sahih . It was later edited by Ahmad ibn Shihab Hamid based on three manuscripts . Contemporary commentaries and explanations on the treatise include Sharh al-Muqiza by Abu al-Mundhir Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Minyawi and a commentary by Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'id .
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