al-Taliq ala al-Rahiq al-Makhtum
- Author died
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- Editions
- Dar Al-Tadmuriyyah
al-Taliq ala al-Rahiq al-Makhtum (Commentary on The Sealed Nectar) is a critical commentary and verification work by Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Mallah, written to annotate historical inaccuracies, weak narrations, and phrasing issues in Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri's widely circulated biography of the Prophet Muhammad, al-Rahiq al-Makhtum .
Purpose and Scope
Al-Mallah authored the book due to the immense popularity of al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, which won first prize in the worldwide Prophetic biography competition organized by the Muslim World League following the first Sirah conference in Pakistan in Rabi al-Awwal 1396 AH . Because it became an adopted textbook in numerous Islamic institutes, universities, and courses, al-Mallah sought to safeguard the authenticity of the Prophetic biography by addressing unverified reports and weak traditions contained within it . The author emphasized that his work is not intended as a warning against al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, a diminution of its standing, or a standalone critical edition (tahqiq), but rather a scholarly compilation of critical notes and evaluations .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction, two main parts, and a conclusion :
- Introduction: Details the reasons for composition, the benefits of studying the Prophetic biography, and the methodology of dealing with its historical reports .
- Part One: Divided into two chapters: the first provides a concise biography of al-Mubarakpuri, and the second lists the errors that al-Mubarakpuri himself amended in his own revised edition of al-Rahiq al-Makhtum .
- Part Two: Contains the core commentary, addressing errors and unverified accounts found across all editions of al-Rahiq al-Makhtum that were left uncorrected in al-Mubarakpuri's revision .
- Conclusion and Summary: Concludes with an abridgment summarizing the critique into 150 concise notes .
Method and Sources
Al-Mallah arranged his commentary sequentially, following the chapter titles and original ordering of al-Rahiq al-Makhtum . He quotes al-Mubarakpuri's text verbatim, prefaced by the word qawluh ("his statement"), and classifies his criticisms into three main categories: expressions used by the author where alternative wording is preferable, weak hadiths, and unestablished historical narratives and incidents .
In determining the authenticity of hadiths and reports, al-Mallah relies on classical and contemporary scholars, citing figures such as Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Dhahabi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, and Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani . He drew heavily from the works of al-Albani, Akram Diya al-Umari, and Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Awshan's Ma Sha'a wa-Lam Yathbut fi al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Common but Unestablished Reports in the Prophetic Biography) .
Review and Publication
Portions of the text were reviewed by Nasir ibn Abd al-Karim al-Aql, while Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Awshan examined the work and provided observations that al-Mallah incorporated . Abd Allah ibn Mani al-Ruwaiqi reviewed the complete text, added his own annotated comments, and composed a foreword .
The first edition was published by al-Dar al-Alamiyyah in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1431 AH / 2010 CE . Al-Mallah finished revising and expanding the second edition in Riyadh on 20 Safar 1438 AH (20 November 2016 CE), rectifying printing omissions from the first edition, comparing early and later editions of al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, and expanding the volume by roughly 150 pages; this edition was subsequently published by Dar al-Tadmuriyyah in 1438 AH / 2017 CE .
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