al-Tadil wa al-Tajrih liman kharraja lahu al-Bukhari fi al-Jami al-Sahih
- Author died
- 474 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Liwa' lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
al-Taʿdīl wa-l-tajrīḥ li-man kharaja lahu al-Bukhārī fī al-Jāmiʿ al-ṣaḥīḥ (Accreditation and Disparagement of Those Transmitted from by al-Bukhari in the Sahih) is a specialized biographical evaluation (rijāl) work by the Andalusian scholar Abu al-Walid al-Baji (403–474 AH / 1013–1081 CE), examining the narrators included in Sahih al-Bukhari .
Purpose and Scope
Al-Baji composed the work in response to a student's request to compile the names of all transmitters from whom al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih, spanning from his direct teachers back to the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ . The objective of the book was to record their verified patronymics (kunās), genealogies (ansāb), and the assessments of hadith critics regarding their uprightness (ʿadālah) and reliability, serving as an introductory guide for researchers in hadith criticism .
The biographical entries are arranged alphabetically according to the standard alphabetical ordering customary in al-Baji's native region of al-Andalus .
Methodology and Theoretical Preface
Before the biographical dictionary itself, al-Baji provided a detailed theoretical introduction outlining the foundational principles of transmitter criticism (al-jarḥ wa-l-taʿdīl) and the criteria for distinguishing authentic from flawed reports . In this preface, he argued that evaluating transmitters is achieved through critical examination (naẓar) and scholarly reasoning (ijtihād) rather than passive imitation (taqlīd) . He also included a chapter demonstrating that disparaging unreliable transmitters is a religious duty aimed at safeguarding the Prophetic tradition, rather than prohibited backbiting (ghaybah) .
The introductory section further features a concise biography of al-Bukhari detailing his lineage, birth and death dates, memory, expertise in hadith, and a description of the characteristics of his Sahih .
Sources and Transmission
Al-Baji explicitly listed the chains of transmission (asānīd) through which he received his primary sources. He related Sahih al-Bukhari via his teacher Abu Dharr al-Harawi from Abu Muhammad al-Hamawi, Abu Ishaq al-Mustamli, and Abu al-Haytham al-Kushmihani, from Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Firabri, from al-Bukhari .
For biographical evaluations, he relied on major early works of history and hadith criticism, citing al-Bukhari's al-Tarikh al-Kabir, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Ibn Abi Hatim's al-Jarh wa-l-Ta'dil, Abu Nasr al-Kalabadhi's al-Hidayah wa-l-Irshad, Ibn Adi, the history of Abu Hafs al-Fallas, Yahya ibn Ma'in, and Abu al-Abbas al-Abbar . He also incorporated notes from oral scholarly exchanges and direct queries to leading hadith masters of his era, such as Abu Dharr al-Harawi, Abu Abd Allah al-Suri, al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, and Abu al-Najib al-Urmawi .
Publication
The work was edited by Abu Lubabah Husayn and published in three volumes by Dar al-Liwa in Riyadh in 1406 AH (1986 CE) .
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