Takhrij Hadith al-Asma al-Husna

Takhrij Hadith al-Asma al-Husna (Documentation of the Hadith of the Most Beautiful Names) is a specialized hadith treatise by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (773–852 AH / 1372–1449 CE) dedicated to tracing and critically evaluating the transmission routes of the hadith concerning the ninety-nine names of God Ifrad Ahadith Asma Allah …+1.

Background and Scope

The work follows the tradition of single-hadith monographs (ajza'), such as the earlier compilation by Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani (d. 430 AH) titled Turuq Hadith Inna lillahi Tis'atan wa-Tis'ina Isman Ifrad Ahadith Asma Allah …. Ibn Hajar composed the treatise to examine the variant chains of transmission (turuq) of the narration reported from Abu Hurayrah stating that God has ninety-nine names, and to assess whether the detailed enumeration (sard) of those names was part of the prophetic statement (marfu') or an interpolation (mudraj) by later transmitters Ifrad Ahadith Asma Allah …+1.

Analysis of Transmissions

Ibn Hajar notes that the core hadith stating that God has ninety-nine names is well-known, but the explicit listing of the names occurs primarily through three distinct transmission paths al-Ujala fi al-Ahadith al…+1:

1. The transmission of al-Walid ibn Muslim from Shu'ayb from Abu al-Zinad from al-A'raj from Abu Hurayrah, recorded by al-Tirmidhi al-Ujala fi al-Ahadith al…+1.
2. The transmission of Zuhayr ibn Muhammad from Musa ibn 'Uqbah from al-A'raj from Abu Hurayrah, recorded by Ibn Majah al-Ujala fi al-Ahadith al…+1.
3. The transmission of 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Husayn from Ayyub and Hisham ibn Hassan from Muhammad ibn Sirin from Abu Hurayrah, recorded by al-Hakim al-Naysaburi in al-Mustadrak and Ja'far al-Firyabi in al-Dhikr al-Ujala fi al-Ahadith al…+1.

Analyzing these routes, Ibn Hajar observes significant discrepancies, additions, and omissions among the various lists of names al-Ujala fi al-Ahadith al…+1. He critiques al-Hakim's defense of al-Walid ibn Muslim's listing, explaining that the reason al-Bukhari and Muslim omitted the listing from their collections was not merely al-Walid's singular reporting (tafarrud), but also transmission discrepancies, instability (idtirab), concealment of narrators (tadlis), and the likelihood of interpolation al-Ujala fi al-Ahadith al…+1. Furthermore, he points out that the third route contains 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn al-Husayn, whose weakness is agreed upon among hadith critics Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi+1.

Critical Conclusion

Ibn Hajar concludes that the specific enumeration of the ninety-nine names is an interpolation (idraj) inserted by early scholars or transmitters who gathered divine names from the Quran and Sunnah, rather than the literal words of the Prophet ﷺ Majallat al-Jami'a al-Isl…+1.

Publication

The treatise was edited by Mashhur ibn Hasan Salman and published in 1413 AH (1993 CE) by Maktabat al-Ghuraba' al-Athariyya in Medina Ilm al-Takhreej wa-Dawruh…+1.