Taghliq al-Taliq
- Author died
- 852 AH
- Editions
- al-Maktab al-Islāmī, Dār ʿAmmār
Taghliq al-Taliq (Closing the Suspensions) is a hadith reference work by the Shafi'i scholar and hadith specialist Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE), dedicated to documenting continuous chains of transmission for the suspended and corroborative narrations in Sahih al-Bukhari .
Title and Background
The title derives metaphorically from the Arabic verb ghallaqa, meaning to securely close or lock a door . Ibn Hajar explained that because the disconnected chains left behind by al-Bukhari stood open like unsecured portals, tracing their full transmission chains served to close and secure them .
In the introduction, Ibn Hajar noted that the needs of a student studying Sahih al-Bukhari broadly fall into three categories: explaining rare vocabulary and grammar; examining the characteristics of the narrations and chapter relations; and providing connected chains (wasl) for the suspended prophetic reports (marfū‘āt), non-prophetic statements (mawqūfāt), and corroborative narrations (mutāba‘āt) . Observing a critical need for connecting these interrupted reports, and stating that no prior scholar had devoted an exhaustive, standalone work to the subject, he compiled the book to fill this gap .
Taghliq al-Taliq is one of Ibn Hajar's earliest major compositions . He completed it in 804 AH / 1401–1402 CE according to his own remark in Intiqad al-I'tirad, while other biographical accounts record its completion in 807 AH / 1404–1405 CE, possibly reflecting the final fair copy .
Method and Scope
The work is organized sequentially following the books and chapter headings of Sahih al-Bukhari . For each suspended narration (mu‘allaq) or companion and successor report (athar), Ibn Hajar cites fully connected chains of transmission (asānīd) through his own routes back to primary sources .
His documentation identifies:
- Narrations that al-Bukhari transmitted in connected form in other chapters of the Sahih .
- Reports connected by al-Bukhari in his other writings outside the Sahih .
- Reports not transmitted with a connected chain through al-Bukhari's own works, for which Ibn Hajar traces connected lines of transmission recorded by other hadith authorities in their respective collections .
Reception and Summary
The book earned wide praise upon its appearance and contributed significantly to Ibn Hajar's early scholarly reputation . It received formal commendations (taqrīẓ) from major scholars of his era, including Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini, Majd al-Din al-Fayruzabadi, Zayn Abd al-Barr Ibn al-Shihnah, and Radi al-Din al-Ghazzi .
Ibn Hajar subsequently prepared an abridgment of the work which he incorporated into Hady al-Sari, the introduction to his grand commentary Fath al-Bari . In this abridged version, he omitted his personal isnad chains while retaining the citations of the original compilations where the narrations were recorded in connected form .
Publication
The work has been edited by Sa'id Abd al-Rahman Musa al-Qazaqi and published in five volumes .
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