Qurrat Ayn al-Muhtaj fi Sharh Muqaddimat Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj
- Author died
- 1442 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn al-Jawzī
Qurrat Ayn al-Muhtaj fi Sharh Muqaddimat Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj ("Delight of the Eye of the Needy in Explaining the Introduction to Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj") is a two-volume hadith commentary authored by the Ethiopian-Meccan scholar Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Adam al-Ityubi (d. 1442 AH / 2020 CE), dedicated to analyzing the famous theoretical introduction (Muqaddimah) of Sahih Muslim by Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj .
Composition and Purpose
The author composed the work to resolve the expressions and clarify the meanings of Imam Muslim's Muqaddimah, providing students and researchers of hadith with a comprehensive treatment of its methodological discussions . Al-Ityubi finished drafting the first volume of the commentary on Saturday, 19 Rajab 1422 AH (6 October 2001 CE), and completed the entire work on the eve of Friday, 15 Muharram 1423 AH (29 March 2002 CE) . The text was published in two volumes by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in Rajab 1424 AH . He later supplemented this commentary with his broader multi-volume work on the entire hadith collection, al-Bahr al-Muhit al-Thajjaj fi Sharh Sahih al-Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj .
Structure and Content
Before embarking on the line-by-line commentary, al-Ityubi opens the book with an extensive introductory study divided into two main chapters:
- Chapter One: A detailed biography of Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, examining his lineage, birth year, death and its reported cause, upbringing, occupation, scholarly travels, creed, and legal school .
- Chapter Two: A critical study of Sahih Muslim, discussing its rank among hadith compilations, its virtues, and the conditions of authenticity established by its author .
Al-Ityubi concludes this preliminary section by detailing his personal transmission chains (asanid) to Imam Muslim through several teachers, including his father Ali ibn Adam ibn Musa, Abd al-Basit ibn Muhammad al-Burnawe, Hayat ibn Ali, and Muhammad Zayn al-Dani .
The first volume treats the opening parts of the Muqaddimah, while the second volume opens with the section prohibiting narration from weak transmitters and exercising caution in hadith transmission (Bab al-nahy 'an al-du'afa' wa-l-ihtiyat fi tahammuliha) through to the conclusion of Muslim's text .
Sources and Method
In examining the text's narrations, linguistic terms, and methodological debates, al-Ityubi draws heavily on classical hadith critics, including Ibn Ammar (Ilal Ahadith Sahih Muslim), Muhammad ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi (Shurut al-A'immah al-Sittah), Qadi Iyad, al-Hazimi (Shurut al-A'immah al-Khamsah), Ibn al-Salah, al-Nawawi, Ibn Rushayd al-Fihri, al-Mizzi, al-Dhahabi, Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani . He also incorporates assessments from later and contemporary hadith scholars, including Abd al-Rahman al-Mu'allimi, Mashhur Hasan, and Khalid al-Durays, particularly regarding debates over contemporaneity (mu'asarah) and meeting (liqa') in narrations transmitted with the particle 'an (al-hadith al-mu'an'an) .
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