Diwan al-Sunna - Qism al-Tahara
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- Diwan al-Sunna - Qism al-Tahara
Diwan al-Sunna - Qism al-Tahara (The Register of the Sunna: Section on Ritual Purity) is an extensive hadith encyclopedia compiled by a team of researchers under the general supervision of Adnan al-Arur . It constitutes the inaugural published part of the wider Diwan al-Sunna project, an initiative aimed at assembling all narrations attributed to the Prophet ﷺ from approximately two thousand hadith sources and classifying them into seventy thematic encyclopedias with systematic source attribution (takhrij) and critical evaluation (tahqiq) .
Scope and Structure
The section on ritual purity (Mawsu'at al-Tahara) encompasses 27 volumes comprising 14,693 pages and containing 3,468 hadiths . It is arranged according to traditional legal classification (al-tabwib al-fiqhi), divided into several specialized treatises (kutub), including:
- Kitab al-Miyah (Book of Waters)
- Kitab al-Najasat (Book of Impurities)
- Kitab Qada' al-Hajah (Book of Relieving Oneself)
- Kitab al-Wudu' (Book of Ablution)
- Kitab al-Ghusl (Book of Ritual Bathing)
- Kitab al-Hayd wa-l-Nifas (Book of Menstruation and Postnatal Bleeding)
Each book is further partitioned into thematic chapters (abwab), such as the virtues of ablution, the manner of performing it, and the acts that necessitate it .
Method
For each entry, the work presents the narration through a standardized editorial framework :
- Chapter Heading (al-Bab): Established according to a comprehensive thematic tree .
- Text (al-Matn): Quoted in full from the most authentic source or the highest chain, opening with the topmost narrator (Companion or Successor); textual variants and additional phrases from other compilers are integrated using brackets and parentheses to distinguish additions and variant phrasings .
- Summary Verdict (al-Hukm): Records the scholarly consensus on authenticity or weakness, lists earlier scholars who evaluated the report in order of their death years, and notes whether the hadith was accepted by al-Bukhari and Muslim or contested .
- Lexicology (al-Lugha): Explains uncommon or difficult vocabulary (gharib al-hadith) .
- Legal Benefits (al-Fawa'id): Highlights legal rulings and derivations made by jurists from the text when applicable .
- Takhrij: Documents source citations using specific letter codes and volume, page, or hadith numbers .
- Isnad (al-Sanad): Provides the transmission pathways used to arrive at the evaluation .
- Critical Analysis (al-Tahqiq): Analyzes narrator reliability, unbroken continuity (ittisal), and hidden defects ('ilal), engaging with opposing opinions according to hadith terminology rules .
- Separate Variants: Lists distinct narrations that differ substantially in wording or ruling as separate items .
- Notices (al-Tanbihat): Notes manuscript corruptions (tashif) or misattributions in source references .
Composition and Publication
Work on the Diwan al-Sunna project began around thirty years before its electronic publication, initially compiled using paper index cards before digital tools were introduced . The project experienced delays due to conflicts in Syria and the supervisor's engagement in public debates and preaching .
Scientific direction and final review of the purity encyclopedia were led by Abu Umar Ahmad Bakri al-Mushtuli, alongside an editorial team based in Egypt, while the first volume was also reviewed by Ali al-Halabi and Mustafa al-Adawi . Organizational and publishing support was provided in Riyadh by Dar al-Rayah under Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Umar and Dar al-Tabi'in under Abid ibn Abd Allah al-Sa'dun . As of 25 Jumada al-Akhira 1440 AH, the completed text of the purity section was released in digital format (via the al-Shamela platform) to collect feedback and corrections from scholars before print publication .
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