al-Sunna li-Abi Bakr ibn al-Khallal
- Author died
- 311 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Rāyah
al-Sunna (Arabic: كتاب السنة, lit. 'The Book of Sunnah') is a major early theological treatise compiled by the Hanbali jurist and traditionist Abu Bakr al-Khallal (d. 311 AH / 923 CE) .
Background and Compilation
Al-Khallal devoted himself to collecting, organizing, and transmitting the scholarly heritage and statements of Ahmad ibn Hanbal . To gather these transmissions, he undertook extensive journeys across various regions—including Syria, al-Jazira, and Fars—recording directly from approximately one hundred of Ahmad's immediate companions, as well as from their students . He subsequently edited and arranged these materials into thematic chapters, producing dedicated compendia for theology (al-Sunna), hadith defects (al-'Ilal), knowledge (al-'Ilm), and comprehensive jurisprudence (al-Jami') .
Scope and Method
The work is also referenced under the descriptive title al-Sunna wa-Alfaz Ahmad wal-Dalil 'ala Dhalika min al-Ahadith ("The Sunnah, the Formulations of Ahmad, and the Textual Evidence Thereof from Hadiths") . In it, al-Khallal records the theological positions, statements, and answers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal with their transmission chains (asānīd) . Alongside the reports traced back to Ahmad, al-Khallal includes elevated hadith transmissions (ahadith 'aliyah) narrated through his own teachers from the peers of Ahmad, such as the disciples of Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, and Baqiyyah ibn al-Walid .
Biographers noted that the book originally spanned three large volumes (mujalladāt) . Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi remarked that the composition of al-Sunna alongside al-Khallal's other works stands as evidence of his scholarly stature and expansive knowledge .
Transmission and Modern Publication
The work was transmitted by al-Khallal's disciples, most notably his prominent student Abu Bakr 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Ja'far (known as Ghulam al-Khallal) and the hadith master Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar . In modern times, the surviving portions of al-Sunna were edited by 'Atiyyah al-Zahrani and published by Dar al-Rayah in Riyadh in 1410 AH (1989 CE) .
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