Khulasat al-Tasil li Ilm al-Jarh wa al-Tadil
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- T al-Miraj · T Alam al-Fawaid
Khulasat al-Tasil li Ilm al-Jarh wa al-Tadil (A Summary of the Foundational Principles of the Science of Narrator Criticism and Evaluation) is a treatise on hadith methodology and narrator criticism by the contemporary scholar Hatim al-Awni.
Publication and Context
The book was written by al-Sharif Hatim ibn Arif al-Awni and published by Dar Alam al-Fawa'id in Mecca in 1421 AH (2000/2001 CE). It stands alongside several other specialized works by the author on hadith theory and terminology, including al-Manhaj al-Muqtarah li Fahm al-Mustalah (A Proposed Approach to Understanding Hadith Terminology) and al-Mursal al-Khafi wa Ilaqatuhu bi al-Tadlis (The Hidden Mursal and Its Relation to Tadlis).
Scope and Core Arguments
The treatise focuses on clarifying and grounding the conceptual definitions and theoretical rules used in ilm al-jarh wa al-tadil (the science of validating and invalidating hadith transmitters).
Among its key discussions is the precise definition of transmitter uprightness (adalah). Al-Awni upholds defining adalah in absolute terms as an entrenched disposition or faculty (malakah) that prompts its possessor to adhere consistently to piety (taqwa) and decorum (muru'ah). Addressing critiques of this definition, he argues that possessing such a disposition does not necessitate infallibility, as an individual with a habit or trait may occasionally act against it. He also emphasizes that human faculties vary in strength and depth among individuals, which aligns with the Sunni creedal doctrine that faith increases and decreases.
Al-Awni concludes that defining probity by such an inner faculty is functionally equivalent to defining the upright person (al-adl) as one whose obedience outweighs disobedience or whose good outweighs evil, specifically formulating the definition of the upright transmitter as a sane, adult Muslim who is free from causes of moral transgression (fisq) and breaches of social decorum.
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