Dhikr man yu'tamad qawluhu fi al-jarh wa al-ta'dil
- Author died
- 748 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā'ir
Dhikr man yu'tamad qawluhu fi al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (Mention of Those Whose Statements Are Relied Upon in Impugnment and Validation) is a biographical reference treatise on hadith critics by the Syrian historian and hadith scholar Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH / 1348 CE). The work serves as a specialized directory of scholars whose evaluations of hadith transmitters are accepted and referenced.
Purpose, Scope, and Structure
Al-Dhahabi composed the treatise to identify the qualified scholars whose critical judgments regarding narrator validation (ta'dīl) and impugnment (jarḥ) are authoritative. In his introduction, he states that his aim is to list those who, when they spoke concerning transmitters, had their evaluations accepted and their critique turned to, organizing them chronologically by generation.
The book surveys more than 715 scholars spanning from the early era of Islam down to al-Dhahabi's own time. Al-Dhahabi structures these figures across twenty-two biographical generations (ṭabaqāt):
- First generation: includes thirty-seven scholars, among them Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj (d. 160 AH), al-Awza'i (d. 157 AH), Sa'id ibn Abi 'Aruba (d. 155 AH), Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161 AH), Malik ibn Anas, and Hammad ibn Zayd (d. 179 AH).
- Second generation: records fifty-eight figures and mentions that there are numerous others, including 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), Jarir ibn 'Abd al-Hamid (d. 188 AH), Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Fazari (d. 185 AH), 'Abd Allah ibn Wahb (d. 197 AH), and Waki' ibn al-Jarrah (d. 197 AH).
- Third generation: lists scholars such as 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi (d. 198 AH) and Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan (d. 198 AH)—whom al-Dhahabi highlights as primary authorities whose unanimous declaration of a defect rarely heals—as well as Sa'id ibn Mansur and Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i.
Later generations encompass authorities such as Ibn Khuzayma and Ibn al-Jarud in the seventh layer, Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi in the thirteenth layer, and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi.
Method and Critical Typology
In the opening discussion, al-Dhahabi introduces a methodological classification of hadith critics along two axes: breadth of output and critical rigor.
Regarding the volume of their critical remarks, he divides them into three groups:
- Critics who evaluated the majority of narrators, such as Yahya ibn Ma'in and Abu Hatim al-Razi.
- Critics who evaluated a large number of narrators, such as Malik ibn Anas and Shu'ba ibn al-Hajjaj.
- Critics who commented only occasionally on individual narrators, such as Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna and al-Shafi'i.
Regarding their temperament and methodological strictness, he classifies them into three categories:
- Strict critics (muta'annitūn): stringent in criticism and exacting in validation, potentially declaring a narrator soft over two or three mistakes; their validation is to be held firmly, whereas their solo criticism is scrutinized and accepted only when explained (mufassar), such as Yahya ibn Ma'in, Abu Hatim al-Razi, and Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub al-Juzajani.
- Lenient critics (mutasāhilūn): the opposite of the strict group, such as Abu 'Isa al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, and Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi.
- Moderate and equitable critics (mu'tadilūn munṣifūn): balanced evaluators, such as Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Zur'a al-Razi, and Ibn 'Adi.
Al-Dhahabi also traces the historical origins of narrator criticism, noting that validation and impugnment first emerged at the conclusion of the Companions' era with figures like 'Amir al-Sha'bi and Muhammad ibn Sirin, before expanding with later generations as defective narrations and innovators increased.
Reception, Abridgment, and Editions
The treatise served as a core reference on the tiers of hadith critics. The hadith scholar Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi (d. 902 AH) compiled an abridgment from it titled al-Mutakallimun fi al-rijal, narrowing al-Dhahabi's broader register to approximately 210 of the most prominent critics.
The text was edited by 'Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda based on a unique manuscript witness, with vocalization of names, titles, and patronymics. This edition has been published in Beirut and Lahore, as well as in Aleppo where it was printed alongside Qā'idah fī al-jarḥ wa-al-ta'dīl by Taj al-Din al-Subki.
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