Khabar al-Wahid al-Sahih wa Atharuhu fi al-Amal wa al-Aqida
- Author died
- 1442 AH
- Editions
- Majallat al-Turāth al-‘Arabī - Majallah Faṣliyyah Taṣdur ‘an Ittiḥād al-Kuttāb al-‘Arab
Khabar al-Wahid al-Sahih wa Atharuhu fi al-Amal wa al-Aqida (The Authentic Solitary Report and Its Impact on Practice and Creed) is a scholarly treatise by the Syrian hadith scholar Nur al-Din 'Itr (1356–1442 AH / 1937–2020 CE), examining the legal and theological authority of authentic solitary traditions (hadith al-ahad) .
Publication and Context
The work was originally published as an academic study in Majallat al-Turath al-Arabi, a quarterly journal issued by the Arab Writers Union in Damascus, spanning issues 11 (Jumada al-Akhira 1403 AH / April 1983 CE) and 12 (Ramadan 1403 AH / July 1983 CE) across nineteen pages . 'Itr composed the treatise to address polarization concerning authentic solitary reports, responding both to overzealous stances whose proponents insinuated that rejecting or interpreting an authentic report expels a person from Islam, and to excessive reservations that undermined their binding status .
Structure and Contents
The treatise defines the solitary report (khabar al-wahid) as any transmission that does not attain the rank of recurrent reporting (tawatur), thereby encompassing individual (fard), scarce (aziz), and well-known (mashhur) reports, while noting the distinct classification of mashhur within the Hanafi school . The discussion is systematically organized around the impact of authentic solitary reports in two core spheres: practical law and theological doctrine .
Impact on Practical Rulings
'Itr demonstrates that an authentic solitary report fulfills rigorous textual and isnad-based criteria that exclude defects, rendering compliance obligatory in practical legal matters (al-amal) . He affirms that this reflects the consensus of the vast majority of early and later scholars, including the four Sunni juristic imams and the jurists of the various regions, with dissent limited to marginal figures such as Abu Ali al-Jubba'i of the Mu'tazila .
Impact on Creed
Regarding doctrine (al-aqida), 'Itr outlines three gradations of knowledge yielded by religious proofs :
- Definitive Certain Knowledge (al-ilm al-yaqini al-qat'i): Derived from self-evident rational truths and definitive texts such as the Quran and recurrent hadith; denial of this category constitutes disbelief (kufr) .
- Inferential Certain Knowledge (al-ilm al-nazari): Attained through deduction and specialized mastery of hadith criticism and defect analysis .
- Probable Knowledge (al-zann).
The treatise concludes by highlighting types of solitary reports that yield inferential certain knowledge when accompanied by contextual indicators (al-qara'in), including reports received by the Muslim community with consensus of acceptance (talaqqi bi-l-qabul), reports classified as well-known among hadith scholars with multiple sound transmission lines, and chains composed entirely of impeccable master memorizers—such as the "Golden Chain" of Malik ibn Anas from Nafi' from Abdullah ibn Umar . 'Itr emphasizes adhering to the balanced methodology of classical authorities without unwarranted extremism or premature charges of apostasy (takfir) .
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