Sharh Sahih Ibn Khuzayma - al-Rajihi
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- Sharh Sahih Ibn Khuzayma - al-Rajihi
Sharh Sahih Ibn Khuzayma is a contemporary scholarly commentary by the Saudi scholar Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah al-Rajihi on the hadith compendium Sahih Ibn Khuzayma by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzayma (223–311 AH / 838–924 CE) .
Method and Scope
The commentary follows the sequence of Ibn Khuzayma's surviving text, beginning with the Book of Ablution (Kitab al-Wudu'), and addresses the chapter titles (tarajim), chains of transmission (asand), and matn of each narration . At the outset, al-Rajihi elucidates the book's full designation, Mukhtasar al-Mukhtasar min al-Musnad al-Sahih 'an al-Nabi, noting that Ibn Khuzayma commenced directly without an introductory sermon (khutbah), having first gathered a vast corpus of narrations, abridged them, and subsequently created a further condensation .
In his explanations, al-Rajihi focuses on:
- Clarifying obscure vocabulary and linguistic nuances in the transmitted texts .
- Evaluating hadith wordings and critical additions; for example, commenting on the command to spill water in the narration of a dog lapping from a vessel: إذا ولغ الكلب في إناء أحدكم فليهرقه ("If a dog laps from the vessel of one of you, let him spill it"), noting the anomaly (shudhudh) of the addition fa-lyuhriqhu due to singular reporting from al-A'mash .
- Expounding the legal derivations (istinbat) intended by Ibn Khuzayma's detailed chapter headings, particularly where ambiguous (mujmal) reports are contextualized and resolved by explicit, detailed (mubayyan) traditions .
Key Themes
Throughout his commentary on legal and ritual subjects such as purification and ablution, al-Rajihi addresses both practical jurisprudence and doctrinal points connected to legal matters . In discussing the practice of wiping over leather footwear (al-mash 'ala al-khuffayn), he highlights that Sunni scholars frequently included this legal issue in creedal works due to the sectarian divergence of the Rafidah, who rejected both wiping over leather footwear and washing the feet, while the authentic narrations establishing the practice have reached the level of mass transmission (tawatur) . He also provides rulings on contemporary and practical queries arising during the lessons regarding ritual purity and prayer .
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