Ulum al-Hadith wa Mustalahuh
- Author died
- 1407 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-ʿIlm lil-Malāyīn
Ulum al-Hadith wa Mustalahuh (Hadith Sciences and Its Terminology) is a comprehensive manual on the methodology and terminology of Prophetic tradition written by the Lebanese scholar Subhi al-Salih (1345–1407 AH / 1926–1986 CE). First published in 1378 AH (1959 CE)—with another report dating the initial printing to 1379 AH—by Damascus University Press, the book subsequently went through numerous editions published in Beirut by Dar al-Ilam lil-Malayin.
Content and Structure
Subtitled ʿArd wa-Dirasah ("A Presentation and Study"), the book presents hadith nomenclature and historical transmission systematically. It covers several distinct thematic divisions, notably:
- The History of Hadith (Tarikh al-Hadith): An examination of early transmission, tracing linguistic and historical developments between terms such as hadith and sunnah from pre-Islamic usage to the specialized definitions of later traditionists.
- Hadith Between Form and Substance (al-Hadith bayn al-Shakl wa-al-Madmun): An analysis arguing that hadith criticism was not limited merely to chains of transmission (isnad / form), but extended rigorously to the substance and text (matn).
- The Status of Hadith in Legislation, Language, and Literature (Makanat al-Hadith fi al-Tashriʿ wa-al-Lughah wa-al-Adab): An exposition of the role played by Prophetic traditions across jurisprudence and Arabic linguistic disciplines.
The work examines technical classifications of narrations—such as the rigorous conditions for authentic (sahih), fair (hasan), and weak (daʿif) reports—distinguishing between variations in narrators' precision (dabt) and integrity. It also engages with early recording (al-tadwin al-mubakkir) and critiques modern and Orientalist claims regarding the origins and transmission of hadith, distinguishing between concealment (tadlis) and deliberate fabrication (wadʿ), citing observations by Western scholars such as Siegmund Fraenkel and Wilhelm Ahlwardt.
Scholarly Reception and Printings
The work has been characterized by contemporary scholars, including Sayyid Rizq al-Tawil and Muhammad ʿAjjaj al-Khatib, as an effective synthesis that combines modern pedagogical framing with the classical rules formulated by early hadith authorities. Khaldun al-Ahdab described it as one of the leading and pioneering works produced on hadith nomenclature in the modern period. Following its initial university printing, the single-volume work saw at least fourteen printings, including a thirteenth edition in 1981 (446 pages) and a fourteenth in 1403 AH (448 pages).
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