Transmitters Whom Ibn Ḥajar Declared Unjustly Weakened in al-Taqrīb: A Critical Comparative Study

Abstract

Abstract:

Title: Transmitters Whom Ibn Ḥajar Declared Unjustly Weakened in al-Taqrīb: A Critical Comparative Study

Research Topic:

This study focuses on transmitters who were accepted by Hadith scholars yet were classified as weak by some authorities in the field of al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl (criticism and accreditation). Ibn Ḥajar, in his work al-Taqrīb, pointed out the error in these scholars' weakening of certain transmitters.

Research Objectives:

The study aims to determine the more accurate assessment of these transmitters regarding their reliability and criticism, and to highlight the reasons behind the discrepancy between Ibn Ḥajar and earlier critics.

Methodology:

The research employs an analytical, critical, and inductive approach.

Findings:

The study found that Ibn Ḥajar challenged the evaluations of eleven critics regarding twenty-seven transmitters. The errors in these earlier assessments stem from several causes, including excessive strictness in criticism, where some critics could not tolerate even minor faults in transmitters.

Recommendations:

The study recommends greater scholarly attention to the science of critical counter-evaluations (taʿaqqubāt) and the encyclopedic works of al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl, especially supplementary and divergent opinions. It also advocates for the compilation of a comprehensive encyclopedia that collects the views of major scholars such as Ibn Ḥazm on transmitters.