Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad

Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad (full title: Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad fi al-Dhabb ʿan al-Musnad lil-Imam Ahmad) is a hadith treatise by the Indian Shafiʿi scholar Muhammad Sibghat Allah al-Madrasi (d. 1280 AH / 1864 CE), written to defend Musnad Ahmad against accusations that it contains fabricated hadiths Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1.

Purpose and Composition

The book was conceived as an appendix (dhayl) to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's al-Qawl al-Musaddad fi al-Dhabb ʿan al-Musnad Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1. Ibn Hajar had authored his work to refute claims made by earlier scholars—most notably Ibn al-Jawzi in his al-Mawdu'at—that certain narrations in Ahmad ibn Hanbal's Musnad were fabricated (mawḍūʿ) Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1. While Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi had initially cited nine such narrations, Ibn Hajar added fifteen more, addressing a total of twenty-four (or twenty-three) hadiths Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1. However, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti noted in al-Nukat al-Badiʿat ʿala al-Mawduʿat that Ibn al-Jawzi's work in fact contained thirty-eight narrations from Musnad Ahmad Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad.

To address the narrations omitted by Ibn Hajar, Qadi al-Mulk Muhammad Sibghat Allah ibn Muhammad Ghawth ibn Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Madrasi composed this supplement, completing it on 6 Safar 1281 AH (1864 CE) Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1. In it, he examines and defends twenty-two additional hadiths from the Musnad against the charge of fabrication Musnad Ahmad.

Method and Scope

Al-Madrasi treats each criticized hadith sequentially Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1. His defense relies on traditional hadith methodology, including:

• Re-evaluating impugned narrators across biographical dictionaries (kutub al-rijāl) and clarifying that perceived defects or weakness (layyin, ḍaʿf) do not equate to forgery Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1.
• Citing corroborating transmissions (mutābaʿāt) and supporting witness reports (shawāhid) from other collections to elevate narrations above the status of fabrication Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1.
• Leveraging grading determinations from earlier hadith masters, such as al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Bayhaqi, al-Diya al-Maqdisi, Ibn Hajar, and al-Suyuti Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1.

Publication History

Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad has appeared in multiple print editions:

• First published alongside Ibn Hajar's al-Qawl al-Musaddad in Hyderabad, Deccan, in 1319 AH (1901–1902 CE), and reissued in a third edition in 1979 CE al-Madhhab al-Hanbali Dir…+1.
• Published in Cairo by Maktabat Ibn Taymiyyah (1st edition, 1401 AH) Dhayl al-Qawl al-Musaddad+1.
• Published in Pakistan by Idarat Turjuman al-Sunnah (4th edition, 1402 AH) al-Matalib al-Aliya Muhaq….
• Appended in full by the hadith scholar Ahmad Muhammad Shakir at the conclusion of his edition of Musnad Ahmad, alongside Ibn Hajar's treatise Musnad Ahmad.