Bulugh al-Maram min Adillat al-Ahkam
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- t al-Zuhayri · t al-Fahl
Bulugh al-Maram min Adillat al-Ahkam (Attainment of the Objective from the Evidences of Rulings) is a collection of legal hadiths compiled by the Shafi'i hadith scholar Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE) . It gathers foundational prophetic traditions that serve as textual proofs for Islamic jurisprudence, evaluated for their authenticity and source attribution .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Hajar originally composed the work for his son Muhammad, as recorded by his student al-Sakhawi in al-Jawahir wa-al-Durar . In the introduction, Ibn Hajar describes the work as a concise manual containing the core hadith evidences for legal rulings, refined so that anyone who memorizes it will excel among their peers, aiding beginners while remaining indispensable to advanced scholars . He also drew upon earlier compilations of legal hadith, notably benefiting from al-Muharrar by Ibn Abd al-Hadi .
Structure and Method
The work comprises 1,596 hadiths arranged according to the standard thematic structure of Islamic jurisprudence, beginning with purification and worship, proceeding through financial and civil transactions, and concluding with judicature and testimony (al-qada' wa-al-shahadat) . Ibn Hajar appended a closing section titled Kitab al-Jami' (or Jami' fi al-Adab), devoted to ethics, character, remembrance of God (adhkar), and supplications (du'a'), ending with the final hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari: كَلِمَتَانِ حَبِيبَتَانِ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ، خَفِيفَتَانِ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ، ثَقِيلَتَانِ فِي المِيزَانِ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ العَظِيمِ ("Two words are beloved to the Most Merciful, light on the tongue, and heavy in the Balance: 'Glory be to Allah and His praise, Glory be to Allah the Magnificent'") .
Ibn Hajar selected the narrations from the primary hadith compendia—principally the Six Books and the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, alongside works such as Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Sunan al-Daraqutni, and Sunan al-Bayhaqi . In presenting the material, he established an abbreviated terminological system in the preface for attributing narrations:
- The Seven (al-Sab'ah): Ahmad, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah .
- The Six (al-Sittah): The aforementioned scholars excluding Ahmad .
- The Five (al-Khamsah): The Seven excluding al-Bukhari and Muslim (alternatively styled as "the Four and Ahmad") .
- The Four (al-Arba'ah): The four Sunan compilers (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah) .
- The Three (al-Thalathah): The Four excluding Ibn Majah .
- Agreed upon (Muttafaq 'alayh): al-Bukhari and Muslim .
For sources beyond these core works, he cited the authors by name . He typically opens each chapter with narrations from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, followed by those from the Sunan . Following each narration, he provided a concise critical evaluation of its status (authenticity, soundness, or weakness), identified supporting variants (shawahid and mutaba'at), and noted hidden defects ('ilal) highlighted by earlier hadith masters .
Reception and Commentaries
The book gained widespread acceptance across legal schools and became a standard text for memorization and instruction in Islamic colleges and seminaries . It generated numerous commentaries, abridgments, and versifications:
- al-Badr al-Tammam fi Sharh Bulugh al-Maram by al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Maghribi, an extensive commentary .
- Subul al-Salam fi Sharh Ahadith Bulugh al-Maram by Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani, a widely circulated abridgment and refinement of al-Badr al-Tammam .
- Fath al-'Allam by Siddiq Hasan Khan, an abridgment of Subul al-Salam .
- Manzumat Bulugh al-Maram, a poetic versification of the book's hadiths by Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani, accompanied by al-I'lam, a takhrij commentary on the poem by Muhammad ibn Yahya Zabarah al-San'ani .
- Other commentaries and supercommentaries include Bashir al-Kiram by Muhammad Amin Kutbi, Nayl al-Maram by Alawi al-Maliki and Ibrahim Sulayman al-Nuri, and commentaries by Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Ahdal, Ahmad al-Dihlawi, Muhammad 'Abid al-Ansari, and Muhammad Ali Ahmadin .
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