Risala fi Jam Ashkal al-Hadith al-Daif
- Author died
- 1175 AH
- Editions
- The Editor
Risala fi Jam' Ashkal al-Hadith al-Da'if (Treatise on Gathering the Forms of Weak Hadith) is a concise treatise on hadith terminology by the Syrian Hanafi scholar Ibn Hammat al-Dimashqi (1091–1175 AH / 1680–1761 CE), systematically categorizing the various permutations of defect that render a prophetic narration weak.
Author and Context
The author, Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Hasan Hammat-zadah al-Dimashqi, was of Turkmen origin and active in hadith and legal theory (usul al-fiqh). Born in Damascus in 1091 AH, he traveled to Mecca and Constantinople before dying in Egypt in 1175 AH. He maintained an interest in hadith terminology, especially Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's Nukhbat al-Fikar and its commentary Nuzhat al-Nazar, authoring several works related to them. The Risala is an exceptionally short work that occupies only three pages in its manuscript form.
Content and Methodology
In the treatise, Ibn Hammat establishes an exhaustive, mathematical inventory of all potential configurations of weak hadith based on the absence of the six fundamental conditions required for acceptance (shurut al-qabul):
- Continuous transmission (ittisal al-sanad), abbreviated with the letter Sad (ص).
- Narrator uprightness ('adala), abbreviated with 'Ayn (ع).
- Narrator precision (dabt), abbreviated with Ta' (ط).
- Freedom from irregularity (shudhudh), abbreviated with Shin (ش).
- Freedom from damaging defects ('illa qadiha), abbreviated with Qaf (ق).
- A corroborating witness when needed (al-'adid), abbreviated with Dal (د).
By calculating all combinations of missing conditions—whether missing singly or in groups—the author generates a total of 63 possible configurations of weakness:
- Missing one condition: 6 configurations.
- Missing two conditions: 15 configurations.
- Missing three conditions: 20 configurations.
- Missing four conditions: 15 configurations.
- Missing five conditions: 6 configurations.
- Missing all six conditions: 1 configuration.
The text presents these variations systematically and summarizes them in an abbreviated tabular grid.
Manuscript and Editing
A manuscript of the treatise is preserved in Medina at the King Abdulaziz Library, within the Arif Hikmat collection (collection no. 66/80). The text was edited and published with introductory commentary by Abd Allah ibn Dayfullah al-Ruhayli.
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