Mutun Talib al-Ilm - al-Idafiya - 8
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- Dr. ‘Abd al-Muḥsin ibn Muḥammad al-Qāsim
Mutun Talib al-Ilm - al-Idafiya - 8 is a critical edition of the didactic poem on hadith terminology Nazm al-Durar fi Ilm al-Athar (also known as Alfiyyat al-Suyuti) by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 CE), prepared by Abd al-Muhsin al-Qasim as the eighth volume in the supplementary track of his educational curriculum Mutun Talib al-Ilm .
Scope and Content
Al-Suyuti composed Nazm al-Durar fi Ilm al-Athar over five days as an urjuza (poem in the rajaz meter) comprising 995 lines . It presents a comprehensive synthesis of hadith nomenclature, gathering the core material of previous authorities while adding further classifications and benefits . As al-Suyuti described the work, it encompasses all the sciences in Ibn al-Salah's treatise as well as the additions found in Abd al-Rahim ibn al-Husayn al-Iraqi's Alfiyya, while incorporating double that amount in concise, fluent verse free of superfluous filler or structural complexity . The author of al-Risala al-Mustatrafa noted that al-Suyuti paralleled al-Iraqi's Alfiyya while supplementing it with abundant insights and points of benefit .
The text covers fundamental topics in hadith methodology, including the definitions of hadith, isnad, and matn; categories of accepted and rejected transmissions; definitions and rules of sound (sahih), fair (hasan), and weak (da'if) reports; the earliest compilations of hadith; and evaluations of the soundest chains of transmission across different regions and Companions .
Editorial Method and Manuscript Base
The editor, Abd al-Muhsin al-Qasim, completed this edition on 26 Safar 1442 AH . Designed primarily for memorization, this version excludes the critical apparatus of manuscript variants, source attributions, hadith verifications, and explanatory commentary, all of which the editor recorded in a separate edition . In the typographical layout, al-Suyuti's additions over al-Iraqi's Alfiyya are printed in red ink, enabling students studying both texts to distinguish between the core principles from Ibn al-Salah, the additions of al-Iraqi, and the further augmentations introduced by al-Suyuti .
The edition was established using seven manuscript copies :
- Alif: A manuscript held at the Library of Mecca (No. 89), transcribed in 881 AH during the author's lifetime, representing the earliest witness accessed .
- Ba: A manuscript in the Bashir Agha collection at the King Abdulaziz Library in Medina (No. 547/98), dated 883 AH, read aloud before al-Suyuti and bearing his handwritten annotations .
- Jim: A manuscript at al-Maktaba al-Ahmadiyya in Aleppo (No. 35), copied in 885 AH in the handwriting of al-Suyuti's student Abd al-Rahman Ibn al-Khatib .
- Dal: A manuscript at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya (No. 28 / mustalah Taymur), transcribed in 885 AH by the author's student Nizam al-Din Jaramard al-Hanafi, who read it to al-Suyuti and received an authorization (ijaza) in the author's handwriting .
- Ha: A manuscript at the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf Library in Cairo (No. 317), written in 889 AH by a scribe inside al-Suyuti's residence with his permission .
- Waw: An undated manuscript in the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul (No. 192), written by al-Suyuti's student Abd al-Qadir al-Faqusi .
- Zay: A manuscript at the Laleli Library in Istanbul (No. 353), transcribed in 1024 AH directly from manuscript Waw .
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