Ilal al-Daraqutni = al-Ilal al-Warida fi al-Ahadith al-Nabawiya
- Author died
- 385 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ṭaybah
Al-Ilal al-Warida fi al-Ahadith al-Nabawiyya (commonly known as Ilal al-Daraqutni) is an encyclopedic work on hidden defects in prophetic traditions compiled by the Baghdadi hadith scholar al-Daraqutni (306–385 AH / 918–995 CE) .
Composition and Transmission
The compilation of the work arose through an initiative by Abu Mansur ibn al-Karaji (also cited as Ibn al-Karkhi), who sought to assemble a musnad collection containing hadiths with their hidden defects (musnad mu'allal) . Abu Mansur submitted his source manuscripts to al-Daraqutni, who marked the defective narrations . Scribes then copied each marked hadith onto separate paper slips (riqa'). When al-Daraqutni's student Abu Bakr al-Barqani sought his commentary on these reports, al-Daraqutni would glance at the text on the slip and dictate his critical analysis entirely from memory . When al-Barqani asked him why he inspected the slip beforehand, al-Daraqutni explained that looking prompted his memory .
Abu Mansur died while the material remained scattered on loose slips . Several years later, al-Barqani obtained al-Daraqutni's permission to transcribe the slips into structured fascicles (ajza'), arranging them according to the musnad format . Al-Barqani then read the organized text back to al-Daraqutni, and subsequent scholars copied the work from al-Barqani's exemplar .
Structure and Method
Al-Barqani structured the work around the individual transmissions of the Companions rather than thematic chapters of jurisprudence . He organized the entries as follows:
- The Ten Promised Paradise are placed first, followed by the remaining male Companions .
- The transmissions of the female Companions follow the male Companions .
- The hadiths of prolific narrators are arranged under the names of the individuals who transmitted from them, and occasionally by second-tier sub-transmitters .
Entries typically open in a question-and-answer format, beginning with "he was asked" (su'ila) regarding a specific hadith, followed by al-Daraqutni's response introduced by "he said" (fa-qala) . In his responses, al-Daraqutni identifies the common narrator around whom discrepancies in the chain of transmission (isnad) occur, details the competing paths of transmission, identifies who agreed or disagreed, and evaluates the soundness of the respective routes . The extant text spans 170 musnads and contains more than 3,987 queries .
Reception and Editions
The work is considered among the most comprehensive classical treatises dedicated to hadith defects . Ibn Kathir praised it as the most eminent work composed in the discipline of ilal, remarking that it was unprecedented in its scope and left subsequent scholars unable to match it .
The book was edited across multiple volumes by Mahfuz al-Rahman Zayn Allah al-Salafi, who published volumes 1 through 11 through Dar Tayba in Riyadh (beginning in 1405 AH / 1985 CE), while volumes 12 through 15 were prepared with commentary by Muhammad ibn Salih al-Dabbasi and published by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in Dammam in 1427 AH .
Answer updated