Hadith al-Sitta min al-Tabiin

Hadith al-Sitta min al-Tabiin (The Hadith of the Six Successors and the Mention of Its Routes and Differing Paths, Arabic: حديث الستة من التابعين وذكر طرقه واختلاف وجوهه) is a specialized hadith monograph (juz') by the Baghdadi traditionist and historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (392–463 AH / 1002–1071 CE), devoted to the critical investigation ('ilal) and transmission routes of a single Prophetic tradition Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…+1.

Subject and Content

The treatise investigates the narration concerning the virtue of Surah al-Ikhlas, قل هو الله أحد تعدل ثلث القرآن (" Say, 'He is Allah, [who is] One' equals a third of the Quran") Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…+1. The work centers on examining a transmission reported by Mu'adh ibn Mu'adh al-'Anbari from Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, which had been challenged and rejected by the hadith critic Yahya ibn Ma'in, who asserted that the report had no foundation from Shu'bah Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…+1.

Al-Khatib compiles and cross-examines the various chains of transmission (turuq) and variations (ikhtilaf al-wujuh) to evaluate the criticism, citing supporting paths through transmitters such as Ubayd Allah ibn Mu'adh from his father, Abu Bahr al-Bakrawi, and 'Uthman ibn Muhammad al-Nashiti Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…+1. A distinct feature of the examined chain is the presence of six successive generations/figures from the Successors (al-Tabi'un) narrating from one another consecutively, an uncommon phenomenon in hadith chains Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…+1.

Transmission and Reception

The text was transmitted directly from al-Khatib al-Baghdadi by his student Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sulami al-Misasisi, who received it at the end of Jumada al-Akhirah in 452 AH Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta….

The work is listed among al-Khatib's writings by classical biographers and bibliographers, including Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Muntazam, Yaqut al-Hamawi in Mu'jam al-Udaba', and Ibn Qadi Shuhbah Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…. Later scholars of hadith criticism cite it as a rare example of a monograph specifically dedicated to analyzing the hidden defects of an individual hadith Juhud al-Muhaddithin fi B…+1.

Manuscripts and Editions

A manuscript copy of the treatise is preserved in the Zahiriyyah Library in Damascus Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…. The text was edited by Muhammad ibn Rizq ibn Tarhuni and published by Dar Fawwaz in al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia (1412 AH / 1991 CE) Hadith al-Sitta min al-Ta…+1.