Ibn al-Jawzi
Ikhbar Ahl al-Rusukh fi al-Fiqh wa al-Tahdith bi Miqdar al-Mansukh min al-Hadith
- Author died
- 597 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat Ibn Ḥajar lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Ikhbar Ahl al-Rusukh fi al-Fiqh wa al-Tahdith bi Miqdar al-Mansukh min al-Hadith (Informing the Firmly Grounded in Jurisprudence and Hadith Transmission of the Extent of Abrogated Hadiths) is a treatise on the science of abrogated prophetic traditions (al-nasikh wa al-mansukh) by the Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE).
Purpose and Scope
Ibn al-Jawzi composed the work as a concise monograph (juz') aimed at evaluating and curtailing unfounded claims of abrogation in Hadith literature. In his introduction, he defined its scope by stating:
"I have singled out in this book only what has genuinely been abrogated or could potentially be so, and I turned away from that which has no basis or possibility for abrogation. Thus, whoever hears of a report claimed to be abrogated that is not in this book, let him know the baselessness of that claim. I have carefully examined them, and they amount to twenty-one hadiths."
Structure and Methodology
The hadith material in the treatise is primarily drawn from the earlier work on abrogation by Ibn Shahin (d. 385 AH / 995 CE). While retaining the cases presented by Ibn Shahin—apart from a rare few—Ibn al-Jawzi reorganized them according to the topical chapters of jurisprudence (abwab al-fiqh). Throughout the text, he critically assessed Ibn Shahin’s assertions, sharply rejecting several instances where abrogation had been claimed without sufficient justification.
Reception and Transmission
Later scholars cited the treatise when addressing controversies over abrogation. Ibn Abi al-'Izz referenced Ibn al-Jawzi’s compilation of twenty-one contested reports, observing that those whose abrogation is genuinely sound among them are fewer than ten. Nasir al-Din al-Albani similarly drew upon Ibn al-Jawzi's prefatory criteria to reject baseless claims of abrogation regarding specific legal traditions.
The text was transmitted through continuous chains of transmission. Siraj al-Din al-Qazwini recorded hearing the work in Wasit in Muharram 699 AH from Ahmad ibn Ghazal ibn Muzaffar al-Muqri', who transmitted it via Ali ibn Ma'tuq ibn Abi al-Rida al-Sadri from Ibn al-Jawzi, as well as through a high chain via Fakhr al-Din Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi through general authorization (ijaza) from the author.
Editions
The work was edited by Ali Rida and published by Dar al-Ma'mun li-al-Turath in Damascus (1st edition, 1412 AH / 1991 CE).
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