Shart al-Qiraa ala al-Shuyukh lil-Salafi
- Author died
- 576 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Tawḥīd lil-Nashr
Shart al-Qiraa ala al-Shuyukh (The Condition of Reading Hadith to Teachers) is a specialized hadith methodology treatise written by the hadith scholar Abu Tahir al-Silafi (d. 576 AH / 1180 CE) addressing the rules and conditions governing the practice of reading hadith texts before teachers for valid transmission.
Background and Composition
The treatise arose from debates that took place in hadith assemblies upon al-Silafi's arrival in Damascus in 509 AH / 1115 CE. The dispute concerned whether a student reciting hadith before a teacher (al-mutasaddi li-l-riwayah) is obligated to physically show the teacher the written record of the teacher's original audition (surat sama'ihi) in the booklet (al-juz'), or whether it is sufficient merely to inform him from whom he received it—even if the teacher does not inspect his own name in the copy and instead relies on the assertion of the session's knowledgeable guide (al-mufid). The debate also encompassed whether reading from an accurate transcript made from the original manuscript constitutes valid audition.
Al-Silafi initially hesitated to issue a formal written ruling out of deference to the resident scholars and jurists of Damascus, recalling his father Abu Ahmad Muhammad's counsel never to advance oneself over those more deserving of precedence. Continued insistence, however, compelled him to commit his answer to writing.
Contents and Methodology
Al-Silafi structures his resolution by distinguishing between two categories of hadith transmitters:
- The knowledgeable transmitter ('arif bi-hadithihi): If the teacher is well-versed in the hadith he transmits, his listening to the reader and confirming the recitation with "yes" or an equivalent expression is sufficient. This holds whether the reader is expert or not, and whether the text is read from the master copy or an accurate transcription, because the knowledgeable teacher can detect and rectify misreadings (tashif), errors, and textual distortions (tahrif).
- The unversed transmitter with sound audition: If the teacher possesses a valid record of transmission but lacks direct scholarly mastery over his material, reliance shifts from the teacher to the trustworthy, knowledgeable session leader (al-mufid / al-thiqah al-muqayyid). The audience relies on the mufid's recitation and selection, provided he is reliable and upright, while still requiring that the teacher be informed during the reading of the sources through which the part was heard.
Al-Silafi noted that narrating from such transmitters was an expedient adopted by hadith masters (al-huffaz) to preserve chains of transmission (isnad); without the dispensation granted by scholars, writing from them or transmitting their narrations would not have been permissible.
Reception and Transmission
The treatise was transmitted through chains of narration recorded by subsequent scholars, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in al-Mu'jam al-mufahras and Salah al-Din al-Ala'i in Itharat al-fawa'id. Its core legal and methodological conclusions were cited by major hadith theoreticians, such as Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi in al-Nukat 'ala Muqaddimat Ibn al-Salah and Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi in Sharh al-Tabsira wa-l-tadhkira.
Publication
The work was edited and annotated by Muhammad ibn Farid Zaryuh and published by Dar al-Tawhid in Riyadh (first edition, 1429 AH / 2008 CE), printed alongside al-Silafi's Fawa'id hisan as selected by Abu Muhammad Abd al-Qadir al-Ruhawi.
Answer updated