Qaidah fi al-Jarh wa al-Tadil
- Author died
- 771 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Bashā’ir
Qaidah fi al-Jarh wa al-Tadil (A Rule Concerning Disparagement and Accreditation) is a specialized treatise on the principles and boundaries of hadith transmitter criticism written by the Shafi'i jurist and hadith master Taj al-Din Ibn al-Subki (d. 771 AH / 1370 CE) .
Subject and Methodology
In the treatise, Ibn al-Subki examines the conditions governing acceptable and unacceptable evaluations of transmitters, scrutinizing foundational criteria in biographical evaluation (al-jarh wa al-ta'dil) . A central focus of the work is the critique of the unqualified application of the conventional maxim that "disparagement takes precedence over accreditation" (al-jarh muqaddam 'ala al-ta'dil) . Ibn al-Subki argues that this rule cannot be taken unconditionally; rather, when an individual's uprightness ('adala) and leadership (imama) are well-established, their praisers are numerous, and their critics are few, any disparagement accompanied by contextual indicators of factional bias (ta'assub madhhabi) or personal rivalry must be disregarded in favor of their proven integrity . He contends that applying the rule without these qualifications would undermine the standing of virtually all major scholars, as nearly every leading authority has faced criticism from detractors .
Ibn al-Subki similarly qualifies the principle of accepting explained criticism (al-jarh al-mufassar), maintaining that even an explicit critique should not be accepted against a scholar whose good deeds predominate over faults and whose defenders outweigh critics, where external circumstances suggest rivalry or sectarian animus . In supporting his stance on discounting peer criticism (ta'n al-aqran), he draws upon the positions of earlier authorities, such as Ibn Abd al-Barr . He also addresses errors stemming from historical biographers, critiquing biographical biases including entries by his teacher al-Dhahabi .
Publication History
The treatise has frequently been published alongside Ibn al-Subki's related work Qaidah fi al-Mu'arrikhin (A Rule Concerning Historians) . It was edited and commented upon by Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda (first published in 1388 AH / 1968 CE), appearing across multiple printings in Beirut, Cairo, and Lahore . It was also included by Abu Ghudda in his collection Arba' Rasa'il fi 'Ulum al-Hadith (Four Treatises in Hadith Sciences), published in Aleppo and Beirut .
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