Man Takallama Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq
- Author died
- 748 AH
- Editions
- T Amirir · t al-Ruhayli
Man Takallama Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq (Those Criticized While Being Deemed Trustworthy) is a specialized treatise in hadith biographical evaluation (rijal) by the Damascene scholar and historian Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi (673–748 AH / 1274–1348 CE) . The work gathers trustworthy and acceptable transmitters of hadith who were subjected to criticism by certain authorities that did not justify discarding their narrations .
Title and Attribution
The treatise appears under slight title variations across surviving manuscript copies, including Dhikr Asma' Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq, Dhikr Asma' Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq aw Salih al-Hadith, and Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwathuqun .
Attribution to al-Dhahabi is attested across multiple manuscript witnesses preserved in libraries in Egypt, Yemen, Mecca, and India, including an Indian manuscript bearing a chain of transmission (isnad) tracing back to the author . Furthermore, al-Dhahabi's student Salah al-Din al-Safadi explicitly affirmed in his biographical work Nakt al-Himyan fi Nukat al-Umyan that he transcribed the treatise in his own hand and read it directly back to al-Dhahabi .
Purpose and Scope
In his introduction, al-Dhahabi describes the work as a beneficial chapter designed to identify trustworthy transmitters who were impugned by certain scholars with remarks that do not necessitate rejecting their narrations, or transmitters who exhibited slight softness (layyin) while others were more retentive and precise . He establishes that the narrations of such figures remain at least of the fair (hasan) grade if not within the highest tiers of sound (sahih) hadiths, with the exception of specific objectionable reports (ahadith tustankar) that served as the cause for their criticism, which warrant suspension of judgment .
The work is not an exhaustive compendium of every transmitter who was both praised and criticized, but rather a curated compilation focusing primarily on prominent figures whose transmissions are included in the standard hadith collections . It is distinct from another smaller treatise by al-Dhahabi titled al-Thuqat al-Mutakallam Fihim bi-ma la Yujib Raddahum, which covers roughly 96 figures, whereas this treatise contains 405 biographical entries .
Structure and Method
The work comprises 405 biographical entries arranged alphabetically by the transmitters' given names (huruf al-hija') . Al-Dhahabi utilizes single-letter shorthand abbreviations to indicate which of the six major canonical hadith collections (al-Kutub al-Sittah) cite the narrator:
- kha' for Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari
- mim for Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
- dal for Abu Dawud al-Sijistani
- ta' for Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi
- sin for Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb al-Nasa'i
- qaf for Ibn Majah
- ayn-ha' for the four Sunan collections collectively
- ayn for all six collections .
Al-Dhahabi's entries are concise, typically spanning one to two lines . In each entry, he presents the narrator's name, resolves ambiguities by citing a prominent shaykh where necessary, states his own assessment or quotes earlier critical authorities, and provides brief qualifications or context when needed .
Editions
The work has been edited and published in several modern editions, notably:
- An edition prepared by Muhammad Shakur ibn Mahmud al-Hajji Amrir al-Mayadini under the title Dhikr Asma' Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq (al-Zarqa: Maktabat al-Manar, 1406 AH / 1986 CE) .
- A critical edition by Abdullah ibn Dayf Allah al-Ruhayli titled Dhikr Asma' Man Tukullima Fihi wa Huwa Muwaththaq aw Salih al-Hadith (Medina, 1426 AH / 2005 CE) .
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