A Summary of Tahhan’s Usul al-Takhrij
Introduction
According to the scholars of hadith, takhrij various
meanings:
a) To make a hadith known to people by
mentioning the narrators who related the hadith with their channels of
transmission. For example, when one sees the phrase “al-Bukhari made takhrij
of such and such hadith,” it means that al-Bukhari narrated the hadith and
mentioned its chain separately.
b) To take a hadith from various collections and
narrate them.
c) To show the original source of a particular hadith.
Technically, takhrij means to reveal the original source of a hadith
with its chain of transmission, and after having revealed the original source,
the chain of transmission is mentioned, and the status of the hadith is
clarified.
Revealing the original source
means that the hadith collection in which the respective narrations are
found will be mentioned. “al-Bukhari made takhrij of it in his Sahih,”is
one example of how an author reveals the original source of a hadith.
Original sources include the following:
1.
Books of hadith that
were compiled by their authors who took ahadith directly from their
teachers along with chains of transmission that go back to the Prophet (May
Allah bless Him and give Him peace). This type includes the Sihah Sittah,
the Muwatta of Malik, the Musnad of Ahmad, and other similar
compilations.
2.
Hadith compilations
that include ahadith recorded in works from the abovementioned category.
This type includes works that compile the two Sahih collections of al-Bukhari
and Muslim into a single work—al-Jami’ Bayna Sahihayn, works that focus
on the first type of hadith literature but only record one part (ar: atraf)
of a hadith—as al-Mizzi did in Tuhfat al-Ashraf bi-Ma'rifat al-Atraf,
or works that merely summarize one of the Sihah Sittah works, such as
al-Mundhiri’s Tahdhib Sunan Abi Dawud.
3.
Works authored in another
genre, such as fiqh or tafsir, but rely directly on hadith
evidence. This type is considered an original source provided the author
produces his own chain of transmission. Examples of this class are Kitab
al-Umm by al-Shafi’i and Jami’ al-Bayan by Ibn Jarir al-Tabari.
Popular works dedicated to takhrij include:
Takhrij Ahadith al-Muhadhdhab, Muhammad
bin Musa al-Hazimi
Takhrij Ahadith al-Mukhtasar al-Kabir, Muhammad
bin Ahmad 'Abd al-Hadi al-Maqdisi
Nasb al-Rayah li-Ahadith al-Hidayah, 'Abd Allah
bin Yusuf al-Zu'ayli.
Al-Talkhis al-Habir fi takhrij ahadith Sharh al-Wajiz
al-Kabir, Ahmad bin 'Ali bin Hajar al-'Asqalani.
Methods of Takhrij
The methods of takhrij are five, based on whether:
1.
One knows the companions
relating the hadith.
2.
One knows the first word of the
hadith.
3.
One knows a word or phrase from
a popular hadith which commonly circulates between people.
4.
One knows the subject matter of
the hadith.
5.
The chain of transmission and
text of the hadith are available.
The First
Method
Provided one knows the name of the companion relating the hadith,
the following genre of works will be of benefit in making takhrij of a
particular hadith:
I.
Masanid
II.
Ma'ajim
III.
al-Atraf
1. Masanid
Masanid, the plural of musnad, refers to hadith
compilations in which the author lists the hadith of a certain companion in one
place. The author may arrange his compilation alphabetically, according to who
accepted Islam first, by tribal affiliation, country, or according to other conventions.
Some of the more important masanid are:
a) Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal
b) Musnad Abu Bakr 'Abd Allah bin Zubair al-Humaydi
c) Musnad Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin Daud al-Tayalisi
Musnad Ahmad
Musnad Ahmad is not arranged in a specific manner, rather, the
work takes various things such as merit, tribal affiliation, or other matters
into consideration for its arrangement. Some publishers have added indexes to
the work thereby facilitating referencing and so forth.
Musnad al-Humaydi
Musnad al-Humaydi is arranged in the following manner; ahadith
related by the khulafah al-rashidin, the ten promised paradise, with the
exception of Talhah bin 'Ubayd Ullah, since a hadith was not narrated to him,
those who embraced Islam first, the hadith of the mothers of the believers,
female companions, men of the Ansar, and then the masanid of the
remaining companions.
2. Ma'ajim
Ma'ajim, plural of mu’jam, refers to hadith
compilations in which the author arranges the masanid of companions,
teachers, or lands in alphabetical order.
Some of the important ma'ajim include:
a) al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and al-Mu'jam
al-Saghir, Abu al-Qasim Sulaiman bin Ahmad al-Tabarani.
b) Mu'jam al-Sahabah, Ahmad bin 'Ali bin Bal al-Hamdani.
c) Mu'jam al-Sahabah, Abu Ya'la Ahmad bin 'Ali al-Mawsuli.
3. al-Atraf
Atraf are hadith compilations wherein the author
confines himself to mentioning only a part of a hadith, and that part
mentioned alludes to the rest of the hadith.
Most authors arranged atraf works in two ways:
1.) Alphabetical order based on the Sahabi
2.)
Alphabetical order based on the
beginning of the hadith text.
Some of the more important atraf works are:
a) Atraf al-Sahihayn, Abu Mas'ud Ibrahim al-Dimashqi
b) Atraf al-Sahihayn, Abu Muhammad khalaf bin Muhammad al-Wasiti
c) al-Ashraf 'ala ma'rifat al-atraf (of the four sunan
works), Ibn 'Asakir
d) Tuhfat al-Ashraf (of sihah sittah), al-Mizzi
e) Ithaf al-Mahrah, Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani
Atraf works provide asanid of various ahadith
in one place, and they also allow one to ascertain whether a hadith is gharib,
‘aziz, or mashhur. However, atraf compilations rarely, if
ever, provide the entire text of a hadith.
The Second
Method
This procedure assumes that the first word of the hadith is
known. Three types of works will assist one:
1.
Hadith
compilations containing ahadith that commonly circulate amongst people.
2.
Works that are arranged in
alphabetical order.
3.
Keys and indexes that scholars
wrote for specific books.
1. Hadith compilations containing ahadith that commonly
circulate amongst people.
Many of these works are arranged in alphabetical order, they include;
a) al-Tadhkirah fi al-Ahadith al-Mushtahirah, Badr al-Din
al-Zarkashi.
b) al-Durar al-Muntathirah, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
c) al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, Muhammad bin 'Abd Rahman al-Sakhawi
al-Maqasid al-Hasanah
al-Maqasid al-Hasanah includes 1,357 hadith, and it is said to be more
concise than Suyuti's al-Durar. Al-Sakhawi's student, 'Abd al-Rahman
al-Diba'i al-Shaibani, abridged al-Maqasid al-Hasanah in his Tamyiz
al-Tayyib min al-Kabith. Al-Sakhawi arranged his work in alphabetical order
making it easy for the reader. After mentioning the hadith, al-Sakhawi will
mention who made takhrij of the hadith, whether or not it has a
sound basis, and then he will mention its status and what the 'ulama have to
say about it. If it does not have a basis he will say la asl lahu,
though if it is possible that a hadith has a basis, he will say la
'arifhu.
2. Works that are arranged in alphabetical order
One the most well-known works from this genre is al-Suyuti’s al-Jami’
al-Saghir.
al-Jami' al-Saghir min Hadith al-Bashir al-Nadhir contains
10,031 hadith. This work is also arranged alphabetically. Al-Suyuti’s
method in this work is as follows; he will only mention the text a hadith,
who made takhrij of the hadith, and along with mentioning the
companion who narrated the hadith, he will mention the hadith's
status.
3. Keys and indexes that scholars wrote for specific books
a)
Miftah al-Sahihayn, al-Tuhqadi
b)
Miftah al-Tartib li-Ahadith
Tarikh al-Thatib, Ahmad al-Ghumari
The Third
Method
This method assumes that one knows at least one word from any part of a hadith
that commonly circulates between people. In such case, one may utilizes the
orientalist work al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras li-Alfaz al-Hadith al-Nabawi.
The Fourth
Method
This method assumes that one knows the subject of the hadith.
Based on this method, one makes use of hadith compilations that are
arranged by chapters and subjects. These types of works are many but it is
possible to divide them into three types:
1.
Compilations that are comprised
of sections that contain chapters related to all matters of the
religion. The most famous works of this genre are al-Jawami', al-Mustakhrajat,
al-Mustadrakat and al-Zawa'id.
2.
Compilations that are comprised
of sections that contain chapters related to most matters of the
religion. The most famous works of this genre are al-Sunan, al-Musannafat
and al-Muwattaat.
3.
Compilations that are specific
to one subject of the religion. The most famous types of works in this category
include al-Ajza', al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, al-Fadha'il and
al-Ahkam.
The First Type
al-Jawami’
According to the scholars of hadith, al-jawami’ works are
those works comprised of all chapters of the religion including beliefs, law,
Qur’anic exegesis, history, and so forth. The most famous of all jawami'
are al-Jami' al-Sahih of al-Bukhari, al-Jami' al-Sahih of Muslim,
and al-Jami' of al-Tirmidhi.
Al-Jami' al-Sahih of al-Bukhari
The full title of this work is al-Jami' al-Musnad al-Sahih
al-Mukhtasar min Umur al-RasuluLlah wa Sunnanihi wa Ayyamihi. This work
contains 97 chapters, beginning with revelation, faith, purification, and
concludes with beliefs.
al-Mustakhrajat
According to the scholars of hadith, mustakhrajat are works wherein the
author goes to a certain book of hadith and does takhrij of the ahadith
using his own chains of transmission. A well-known mustakhraj work based
on Sahihayn is the Mustakhraj of Abu Nu'aym al-Asfahani.
Al-Mustadrakat
Al-Mustadrakat are works wherein the author gathers ahadith from
another work that may have been missed by that particular author, but gathers
the ahadith based on the author’s conditions and rules. A well-known
mustadrak compilation is al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn.
Al-Zawa'id
According to the scholars of hadith, zawa’id are works
wherein the author gathers additional ahadith from other hadith
compilations to an already existing compilation. An example of zawa’id
compilations is Zawa'id Ibn Majah—a book containing hadith that Ibn
Majah alone made takhrij of in his Sunan, and the other authors
of the Sihah Sittah did not. One of the most famous zawa'id works is Majma'
al-Zawa'id wa Manba' al-Fawa'id by Hafidh Haythami.
The Second Type
al-Sunan
Sunan works, according to the scholars of hadith,
are compilations that are arranged according to the chapters of fiqh. Sunan
works contain only marfu' hadith. Sunan works are many, and
include:
a) Sunan of Abu Daud
b) Sunan of al-Nasa'i
c) Sunan of Ibn Majah
d) Sunan of al-Daraqutni
al-Musannafat and Muwattaat
Musannafat and muwattaat compilations are works that are
arranged according to fiqh chapters— just like the sunan
compilations, but apart from containing marfu', mawquf, and maqtu’
narrations, they also include statements of companions and legal verdicts of
the early successors.
Famous musannafat include:
a) al-Musannaf, Ibn Abi Shaybah
b) al-Musannaf, 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani
Muwattaat works include:
a) al-Muwatta, Malik ibn Anas
b) al-Muwatta, Ibn Abi Dh'ib al-Madani
The Third Type
al-Ajza'
According to the scholars of hadith, ajza’ compilations
are small books containing one of two things;
1.
Hadith of one
particular companion or someone after the companions such as a juz'
containing what Abu Hanifah related from the companions, by 'Abd al-Samad
al-Tabari.
2.
Hadith on one
particular subjects such as raising the hands in prayer, by al-Bukhari.
Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib
Al-Targhib wa al-tarhib
compilations are arranged by way of gathering all the hadith narrated
for the command of an act or the prohibition of an act. One of the most famous
works in this genre is al-Mundhiri's al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib. In this work,
however, al-Mundhiri does not mention the chains of transmission, but confines
himself to takhrij and grading the hadith's status.
The Fifth
Method
When the chain of transmission and text of the hadith are
available. Utilization of this method requires one to examine at the conditions
of the hadith and the characteristics in the text and chain of
transmission.
The characteristics in the text
Whenever signs of fabrication appear in the text, either through
inaccurate meanings, or when the meaning goes against what is clearly
stipulated in the Quran, the easiest way to know the makhraj is to look
in works that specialize in fabricated reports, or mawdhuw'at. One may
find certain mawdhuw'at works arranged alphabetically whilst others are
arranged according to subject matter.
Among the works arranged alphabetically:
al-Masnu' fi Ma'rifat al-Hadith al-Mawdhu' (al-Mawdhuw'at
al-Sughra), 'Ali Qari al-Harw.
Amongst those arranged by subject:
Tanzih al-Shari'ah al-Marfu'at 'an al-Ahadith
al-Shani'at al-Mawdhu'ah, Abu al-Hasan al-Kinnani.
If the hadith is a hadith qudsi then one looks to works
that specialize in ahadith qudsiyyah, such works include:
a) Miskhat al-Anwar, Muhyi al-din ibn al-'Arabi al-Hatimi
b) al-Ittihaf al-Saniyyah, 'Abd al-Rauf al-Munawi
Characteristics in the Chain of Transmission
When there is some sort of subtlety in the chain, such as
a) A father relating a hadith from his son, the easiest way to make
takhrij of such chain is to look in the works gathering hadith related from son
to father such as Riwayat al-Aba' 'an al-Abna' by Khatib al-Baghdadi.
b) The chain is musalsalan, in such case, one defers to the works
of musalsalah such as al-Musalsalat al-Kubra by al-Suyuti.
c) The chain is mursal, in such instance, one should refer to the
works of murasil such as al-Murasil by Abu Dawud.
d) The chain contains a weak narrator, in which case, one refers to
works such as Mizan al-'itidal by al-Dhahabi.
Characteristics in both the text and chain of
transmission
There are characteristics that one may find in both the text and chain
of transmission, such as irregularities or ambiguity, in such case one should
refer to:
a) 'Ilal al-hadith, Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi
b) al-Asma al-Mubhama, Khatib Baghdadi
c) Mustafad min Mubhamat al-Matn wa al-Isnad, Abu Zar'ah al-Iraqi
This concludes the summary of the takhrij portion of Dr. Mahmud
al-Tahhan’s work Usul al-Takhrij wa al-Dirasat al-Asanid.
Wa al Hamduli Llah
Works Cited
Al-Tahhan, Mahmud. Usul al-Takhrij wa al-Dirasat al-Asanid.
Riyadh. Maktabat al-Ma’arif, 1996. Print.
