Riwayat Sahih Muslim min Tariq Ibn Mahan Muqaranah bi Riwayat Ibn Sufyan
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- Riwayat Sahih Muslim min Tariq Ibn Mahan Muqaranah bi Riwayat Ibn Sufyan
Riwayat Sahih Muslim min Tariq Ibn Mahan Muqaranah bi Riwayat Ibn Sufyan (The Transmission of Sahih Muslim via Ibn Mahan Compared with the Transmission of Ibn Sufyan) is a specialized hadith study by Musaddaq al-Duri examining the textual and chain variants between the two primary transmission recensions of Sahih Muslim .
Background and Composition
The work originated as a master's thesis submitted in 1432 AH / 2010 CE to the Department of Quranic Sciences at the College of Education in Tikrit University, under the supervision of Muhammad Ibrahim Khalil al-Samarra'i . The study aims to defend the integrity of Sahih Muslim by systematically addressing the variations found across its manuscript traditions and transmissions, specifically contrasting the western (Maghrebi) recension transmitted through Abu al-'Ala' Abd al-Wahhab ibn Isa ibn Mahan with the eastern (Mashriqi) recension preserved through Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan .
Structure
The book is organized into an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion :
- Introduction: Outlines the motives for the study and the methodology applied .
- Chapter One: Introduces Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj and his Sahih, divided into three sections covering Muslim's biography, the characteristics and methodology of his collection, and the transmission lines, printed editions, and classical commentaries dedicated to the work .
- Chapter Two: Details the variations occurring in the chains of transmission (isnads) across the collection, beginning from Muslim's introduction .
- Chapter Three: Examines the differences found in the hadith texts (mutun) .
- Conclusion: Summarizes the analytical findings and statistical outcomes of the comparison .
Method and Sources
The author extracted textual and chain discrepancies by consulting major classical commentaries and marginalia that documented the two recensions, primarily :
- Taqyid al-Muhmal wa Tamyiz al-Mushkil by Abu Ali al-Ghassani al-Jayyani (d. 498 AH) .
- Al-Mu'lim bi Fawa'id Muslim by Abu Abd Allah al-Mazari (d. 536 AH) .
- Ikmal al-Mu'lim bi Fawa'id Muslim and Mashariq al-Anwar by al-Qadi Iyad (d. 544 AH) .
- Sharh Sahih Muslim by al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH) .
- Al-Dibaj 'ala Sahih Muslim by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH) .
The differences are arranged following the topical chapter order of Sahih Muslim . Biographical profiles of narrators are provided in chronological tiers (teachers of Muslim, students, and sub-narrators), adhering to a uniform biographical structure covering names, kunyas, origins, teachers, students, reliability status, and death dates . Wherever possible, the author attempts to reconcile (jam') the diverging readings instead of discarding one as outright defective .
Key Findings
The study documents 117 total points of divergence between the transmissions of Ibn Mahan and Ibn Sufyan across the entirety of Sahih Muslim . After critical analysis and reconciliation, the confirmed errors and scribal oversights reduce to 28 in chains and 8 in texts on the part of Ibn Mahan's line, compared to 3 in chains and 1 in text on the part of Ibn Sufyan's line . The author concludes that these differences constitute an insignificant fraction relative to the total number of hadiths in the collection, attributing valid variants to the fact that Imam Muslim narrated his book in multiple dictation sessions, as well as to legitimate narration by meaning (riwayah bi-al-ma'na), auditory mishearing (tashif al-sama'), and scribal variations .
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