al-Muqtarah fi Ajwibat Bad Asilat al-Mustalah
- Author died
- 1422 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Āthār lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
al-Muqtarah fi Ajwibat Ba‘d As’ilat al-Mustalah (The Proposal Regarding Answers to Some Questions on Terminology) is a work on Hadith terminology (mustalah al-hadith) and methodology by the Yemeni scholar Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadi'i (d. 1422 AH / 2001 CE) .
Background and Composition
The book originated from recurring inquiries received by al-Wadi‘i from students across Yemen and other Islamic regions regarding the practical method of benefiting from classical Hadith collections . Al-Wadi‘i initially responded to these questions in recorded audio lectures on cassette tapes, but decided to compile and publish them in written form so that the material would be preserved in print .
Al-Wadi‘i supplemented his original answers with a series of technical questions submitted by his student Abu al-Hasan al-Misri, citing their utility and precision . In his preface to the second edition, al-Wadi‘i noted that he expanded the work to include questions presented by students from the town of Lawdar . He also emphasized that the study of Hadith terminology should serve as a practical instrument rather than an end in itself, advising students not to let technical nomenclature divert them from the primary sources of the Quran and the Sunnah or from distinguishing sound narrations from flawed ones; for this reason, he intentionally refrained from answering certain theoretical questions .
Contents and Structure
The work is organized in a question-and-answer format addressing specialized issues in Hadith nomenclature, transmitter criticism (al-jarh wa-al-ta‘dil), and the practical handling of chains of transmission (isnad) .
The core sections include:
- Inquiries posed by Abu al-Hasan al-Misri in the presence of students of knowledge, addressing various topics such as the evaluation of narrators known for pursuing knowledge whose status is otherwise unstated in biographical dictionaries, the rulings of early versus later critics, and specific transmitter issues .
- Inquiries from the youth of Lawdar (As’ilat Shabab Lawdar), covering broader Hadith questions and reconciling various critical statements made by classical authorities .
Publication History
The first edition of the work was published in Sana'a by Maktabat al-Quds in 1411 AH (1991 CE) . Following several unauthorized printings, al-Wadi‘i prepared an authorized second edition at the request of publisher Sa‘id bin ‘Umar Hubayshan of Dar al-Athar in Sana'a . Subsequent authorized editions were published by Dar al-Athar, including a third edition in 1425 AH (2004 CE), as well as a print by Maktabat Umm al-Qura in Cairo .
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