Mawsuat Aqwal al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal fi Rijal al-Hadith wa Ilalihi
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- ‘Ālam al-Kutub
Mawsu‘at Aqwal al-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal fi Rijal al-Hadith wa-‘Ilalihi (Encyclopedia of the Statements of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal on Hadith Narrators and Defects) is a four-volume reference work compiling the critical judgments and transmissions of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164–241 AH / 780–855 CE) concerning hadith narrators (rijal) and hidden defects (‘ilal). It was compiled and arranged by al-Sayyid Abu al-Ma‘ati al-Nuri, Ahmad ‘Abd al-Razzaq ‘Id, and Mahmud Muhammad Khalil, and published in its first edition by ‘Alam al-Kutub in Beirut in 1417 AH / 1997 CE.
Background and Purpose
The compilers completed the compilation on 16 Rabi‘ al-Thani 1416 AH (12 September 1995 CE) in Awlad Saqr, Sharqia Governorate, Egypt, with proofreading and collation assistance from Muhammad Mahdi al-Muslimi, Ayman al-Zamili, Ibrahim Muhammad al-Nuri, Ashraf Mansur, and ‘Isam ‘Abd al-Hadi.
The encyclopedia was developed as part of an effort to assemble the dispersed evaluations of early hadith critics directly from primary sources into single reference works. It was preceded by the compilers' earlier three-volume work al-Jami‘ fi al-Jarh wa-al-Ta‘dil (published by ‘Alam al-Kutub in 1412 AH / 1992 CE) and formed part of a multi-author series that later produced encyclopedias on the statements of Yahya ibn Ma'in and al-Daraqutni.
Sources and Scope
The compilation gathers statements attributed to Imam Ahmad from sixteen major classical biographical and hadith works, cited by entry or volume and page numbers:
- Kitab al-‘Ilal wa-Ma‘rifat al-Rijal by Ahmad ibn Hanbal
- Su’alat Ibn Hani’ li-l-Imam Ahmad
- Riwayat al-Marwazi wa-Ghayrihi li-l-Imam Ahmad
- Su’alat Abi Dawud li-l-Imam Ahmad
- al-Tarikh al-Kabir by al-Bukhari
- Ahwal al-Rijal by al-Juzajani
- Tarikh Abi Zur‘ah al-Dimashqi
- al-Du‘afa’ by al-'Uqayli
- al-Jarh wa-al-Ta‘dil by Ibn Abi Hatim
- al-Majruhin by Ibn Hibban
- al-Kamil fi Du‘afa’ al-Rijal by Ibn 'Adi
- Tarikh Baghdad by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi
- Mizan al-I‘tidal by al-Dhahabi
- Tahdhib al-Kamal by al-Mizzi
- Tahdhib al-Tahdhib by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani
- Bahr al-Dam fi-man Takallama fihi al-Imam Ahmad bi-Madhh aw Dhamm by Ibn Abd al-Hadi
Structure and Method
The work is organized as an alphabetical biographical dictionary arranged by the Arabic alphabet (huruf al-mu‘jam), beginning under the letter alif with the entry of Adam ibn Abi Iyas al-‘Asqalani. Under each narrator's entry, the compilers present the narrator's full identification followed by the verbatim statements and inquiries transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hanbal through his direct students and recorded in early sources, cross-referenced with exact citations.
In their methodological introduction, the compilers emphasize Imam Ahmad's adherence to the Sunnah and strict avoidance of speculative legal reasoning (ra'y). They also discuss his principles in al-jarh wa-al-ta‘dil, while critically remarking upon his rejection of certain senior contemporaries—such as Ali ibn al-Madini and Yahya ibn Ma'in—due to their concession under duress during the inquisition regarding the createdness of the Quran (fitnat khalq al-Qur'an).
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