Introduction to the Science of Hadith

As the Introduction was not officially named by the author, there exists some speculation as to its actual title, with different possibilities suggested. al-Dhahabī referred to it as `Ulūm al-Ḥadīth, The Sciences of Hadith, Nūr al-Dīn `Itr, in the introduction to his edition of the Introduction, concluded that its actual name is either ʻUlūm al-Ḥadīth (The Sciences of Hadith) or Ma`rifah Anwā`i `Ilm al-Ḥadīth (Familiarity with the Types of the Science of Hadith). This is based upon the author's own usage in his own introduction in addition to the usage of other scholars in the centuries after the authoring of the book. Similar to Bint `Abd al-Raḥmān, he acknowledged that the book is most commonly referred to as Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ (The Introduction of Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ). ==Overview==

Origin Books of hadith terminology passed through two developmental phases. The first was the compilation of the statements of earlier scholars, quoting the expressions they had used without evaluating those terms or suggesting terms applicable to those expressions. This was the methodology adopted by earlier scholars such as Yaḥyā ibn Ma`īn, `Alī ibn al-Madīnī, Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, al-Tirmidhī in their works. The second phase consisted of books based upon and evaluating those of the first phase. Their authors cited the quoted statements of the earlier works and began the arrangement and codification of relevant terms. Principles were established and, for the most part, accepted, with individualized terms exclusive to particular scholars explained in context. Examples of books authored in this manner are: Ma`rifah `Ulūm al-Ḥadīth by al-Ḥākim, Al-Kifāyah by al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī and the Introduction of Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ. He therefore only mentioned the statements of the earlier scholars as appropriate and mostly sufficed with conclusions drawn from them and then specifying or clarifying a definition. Ibn Jamāʻah, in his abridgement, divided these terms into four different categories according to subject (and adding six terms in the process). The first pertains to the matn (text) of the hadith and its three divisions and 30 types. The three divisions are ṣaḥīḥ, ḥasan, and ḍa`īf. The thirty types include those mentioned in hadith terminology and others. The second deals with the isnād (chain of narration) and comprises 11 types. These types generally fall within the discipline of biographical evaluation. The third category includes six types: the qualifications necessary for conveying hadith, the manners in which they are transmitted, the transcription of hadith, and the etiquette of the narrator and of the student. The fourth category, which comprises 21 types, relates to the names of the narrators. This includes the definition of a ṣaḥābī (companion), a tābi`ī (follower), the time periods of narrators, names and paidonymics among others. Later scholars included additional types of hadith in their own works, with some almost reaching 100. ==Impact==

The Introduction became the basis for subsequent books in hadith terminology. In many instances this influence was direct, with numerous scholars authoring books indicating its finer points, explaining and abridging it and converting its meanings to poetry which then, in turn, was explained as will be discussed below. • al-`Irāqī described it as "the best book authored by a hadith specialist in defining its terminology." • Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Fāsī described it as beneficial. • Ibn Ḥajr said that because Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ "gathered in it what had been previously dispersed throughout other books, people focused upon it, following his methodology. The works are innumerable in which the Introduction has been set to verse, abridged, added to and subtracted from, disagreed with and supported." Muḥammad ibn Jaʻfar al-Kattānī quoted the above from Ibn Ḥajr. Books based upon the Introduction As alluded to previously, a number of works have been authored, based upon or otherwise derived from Introduction. Both the number of these derivative works and the stature of their authors are indicative of the prominence and significance of this work. Nukat Each of the following have authored a book of nukat (نكت), literally 'points of interest or benefit', of the Introduction: • al-`Irāqī in al-Taqyīd wa al-Īḍāḥ (التقييد والايضاح) • Al-Badr al-Zarkashī • Ibn Ḥajr in al-Ifṣāḥ (الافصاح) Abridgements Each of the following have authored an abridgement: • Ibn Jamā`ah in al-Manhal al-Rawī (المنهل الروي) • al-Nawawī in al-Irshād (الارشاد), which he then abridged in Taqrīb al-Irshād (تقريب الارشاد), which was explained a number of times by: • al-`Irāqī • al-Sakhkhāwī • al-Suyūṭī • Ibn Kathīr in Al-Bā`ith al-Hathīth (الباعث الحثيث) Poetry The following have set Introduction to verse, adding some content in the process: • al-`Irāqī in his thousand verse poem, ''Nuẓam al-Durar fi 'Ilm al-Athar (نظم الدرر في علم الأثر)'', which, in turn, was explained by a number of scholars, including: • al-`Irāqī himself in two explanations, one long and the other brief; • al-Sakhkhāwī in Fatḥ al-Mughīth (فتح المغيث) • al-Suyūtī in Qaṭr al-Durar (قطر الدرر) • Quṭub al-Dīn al-Khaydarī in ''Su'ūd al-Marāqī (صعود المراقي)'' • Zakariyyā al-Ansārī in Fatḥ al-Bāqī (فتح الباقي) • al-Suyūṭī in his thousand verse poem which was comparable to al-ʻIrāqī's with some additions. ==Editions==

The numerous editions of the Introduction in its original Arabic include two of the more reliable: • Muqaddimah Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ wa Muḥāsin al-Iṣṭilāḥ, edited ʻĀʼishah bint ʻAbd al-Raḥmān, Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1990, 952 pgs. It is published along with Muḥāsin al-Iṣţilāḥ by al-Bulqīnī. • `Ulūm al-Ḥadīth li Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, edited Nur al-Din `Itr. Damascus: Dār al-Fikr al-Mu`āṣir, 1998, 471 pgs. An English translation by Eerik Dickinson, An Introduction to the Science of Hadith (2006), was published as part of the "Great Books of Islamic Civilization" series. Dickinson's translation features a biography of Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ derived from numerous sources, in addition to copious footnotes throughout. == References ==