Risalat al-Bayhaqi lil-Juwayni
- Author died
- 458 AH
- Editions
- دار البشائر الإسلامية
Risalat al-Bayhaqi lil-Juwayni (The Epistle of al-Bayhaqi to al-Juwayni) is a critical scholarly letter written by Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi (384–458 AH / 994–1066 CE) to the Shafi'i jurist Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (d. 438 AH). It offers hadith-based critiques and methodological advice regarding al-Juwayni's legal writing.
Background and Purpose
The epistle was occasioned when Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni commenced drafting an extensive legal work titled al-Muhit, in which he resolved not to restrict himself to any single school of law (madhhab) and intended to base his legal determinations directly on hadith texts. Upon examining early portions of the manuscript, al-Bayhaqi identified several errors and inaccuracies pertaining to hadith sciences and transmitter criticism. He composed this letter as a corrective addendum (istidrak) and counsel to clarify matters of hadith methodology that had been overlooked.
Content and Arguments
In the opening of the epistle, al-Bayhaqi states that his primary objective in his hadith studies was to distinguish between narrations suitable for legal argument and those that are unviable. He critiques jurists among his contemporaries who cited reports without evaluating their authenticity or who resorted to uncritical imitation when defending their legal positions against counter-evidence.
Al-Bayhaqi urges adherence to sound narrations and adherence to the standards set by al-Shafi'i regarding the rejection of reports from weak or unknown transmitters. He outlines a basic taxonomy of marfu' (prophetic) reports into three broad divisions:
- Narrations agreed upon by experts as authentic.
- Narrations agreed upon as weak.
- Narrations concerning whose authenticity scholars disagree.
Among specific issues addressed in the letter, Ibn Rajab noted that al-Bayhaqi rejected al-Juwayni's assertion that no mursal (hurried/disconnected) narration constitutes valid proof except for the mursal reports of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, denying that such a blanket exclusion was accurately attributed to al-Shafi'i.
Transmission and Reception
Upon receiving the epistle and having it read to him, Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni acknowledged al-Bayhaqi's critique, remarked, "Such is the blessing of knowledge" (هكذا بركة العلم), and ceased work on al-Muhit.
The text was transmitted by al-Bayhaqi's son, Shaykh al-Qudat Abu 'Ali Isma'il ibn Ahmad al-Bayhaqi, to Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Habib al-Baghdadi. It was recorded in bibliographical and transmission registers by scholars including Abu Sa'd al-Sam'ani in al-Tahbir and Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani in al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras, where it appears under the title Risalat al-Bayhaqi ila Abi Muhammad al-Juwayni fi al-hathth 'ala ittiba' al-hadith (The Epistle of al-Bayhaqi to Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni on Urging the Following of Hadith).
Manuscripts and Editions
The epistle was preserved with omissions by Taj al-Din al-Subki in Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya al-Kubra. A complete manuscript comprising seven folios is held at the Ahmet III Library in Istanbul (MS 1127). It has been published in Cairo within Majmu'at al-Rasa'il al-Muniriyya and as an independent critical edition prepared by Firas ibn Khalil Mash'al (Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyya, Beirut, 2007).
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