The Layman's Guide to Utilizing the Books of Rijal

by Abul Layth

One of the most liberating experiences for the student of knowledge is learning to utilize the books of Rijaal, or the books containing the names of the narrators throughout history declaring their reliability or lack thereof. These works are encyclopedias of historical knowledge, entries that contain the man’s (or woman’s) entire lineage, whether their memories were sound, whether or not they were ‘deviants’ or simply had minor ‘deviation’ in creed, whether or not they were pious or lax in their religiousity. The entries mention who they studied beneath, when they were born, when they died, what their companions said of them, where they were born, where they studied etc.

In this brief article I am going to attempt to show the layman how these works are utilized. Using the techniques that I am going to present are not a license for being “studied” in this science. There are thousands of volumes, thousands of opinions, and over a thousand years of research that need one with ijaazah to truly understand. The goal here is to simply give a brief overview. This article also gives the student the ability to do some research on their own, to verify what they are being told, and to have a basic understanding of the what and who of hadithic discussions.

Step 1: Finding the Chain and the Man (or Woman) You Want to Research

To begin the process we must first find the individual we want to research. Generally you would have a reason to research the individual, but this is just a learning experience so I will choose for you.

Due to the wide availability of the arabic/english version of Sahih Al-Bukhari published by Dar-us-Salam I am going to use this print for ease and access.

Vol. 1 Chapter 29: Religion is Very Easy hadith #39

(click the Image)

‏حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏عَبْدُ السَّلَامِ بْنُ مُطَهَّرٍ ‏ ‏قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏عُمَرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏مَعْنِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْغِفَارِيِّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ‏ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ ‏ ‏صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ‏ ‏قَالَ ‏ ‏إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ وَلَنْ ‏ ‏يُشَادَّ ‏ ‏الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا ‏ ‏غَلَبَهُ ‏ ‏فَسَدِّدُوا ‏ ‏وَقَارِبُوا ‏ ‏وَأَبْشِرُوا وَاسْتَعِينُوا ‏ ‏بِالْغَدْوَةِ ‏ ‏وَالرَّوْحَةِ ‏ ‏وَشَيْءٍ مِنْ ‏ ‏الدُّلْجَةِ ‏

One must first divide the hadith into its two parts;  A) The isnad (chain) and B) The matn (wording/text).

The Chain is:

حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏عَبْدُ السَّلَامِ بْنُ مُطَهَّرٍ ‏ ‏قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ‏ ‏عُمَرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏مَعْنِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الْغِفَارِيِّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْمَقْبُرِيِّ ‏ ‏عَنْ ‏ ‏أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ

al-Bukhari narrates that Abdus-Salam ibn Mutahhar said, Umar ibn ‘Ali narrated to us from Ma’n ibn Muhammad Al-Ghifari from Sa’id ibn Abi Sa’id Al-Maqburi from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet Muhammad …

The Matn is:

إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ وَلَنْ ‏ ‏يُشَادَّ ‏ ‏الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا ‏ ‏غَلَبَهُ ‏ ‏فَسَدِّدُوا ‏ ‏وَقَارِبُوا ‏ ‏وَأَبْشِرُوا وَاسْتَعِينُوا ‏ ‏بِالْغَدْوَةِ ‏ ‏وَالرَّوْحَةِ ‏ ‏وَشَيْءٍ مِنْ ‏ ‏الدُّلْجَةِ ‏

“The religion is easy. Whoever overburdens himself in religion will not be able to continue. So do not be extreme, and draw near, and receive the good tidings that you will have good reward, and seek help in [prayer] in the mornings, afternoons, and the last hours of the night.”

In this case the text is not what concerns us. I am choosing the man named “Ma’n ibn Muhammad al-Ghifari” to review.

Step 2: Researching the Narrator

There are hundreds of different works that can be referenced. However, I have chosen one of the most available and common ones, having many prints, the Tahthib At-Tahthib of Hafith Ibn Hajr Al-’Asqalani. It can downloaded here.

The scholars of hadith have done the hard work for the researcher by alphabetizing the names of the narrators so as to make it easier and more organized for the student or scholar.

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You can find this entry in volume 4 page 130 in the downloadable edition we mentioned before.

The first thing you see is the letters “khaa taa seen and qaaf خ  ت س  ق”. Not only did the masters of hadith alphabetize the narrators and compile them in an orderly fashion, mention their full names, etc, but they also mentioned the books of hadith that utilized the narrator. The scholars of hadith utilized a symbol system to convey which book of hadith the narrator can be found in. In this case خ represents Bukhari’s Sahih, ت represents Sunan of Imam At-Tirmidhi, س stands for the Sunan of Imam An-Nasa’i and ق stands for the Sunan of Ibn Maajah.

The entry states his full name and his origin: Ma’an ibn Muhammad ibn Ma’n ibn Nadlah ibn ‘Amru Al-Ghifari, Abu Muhammad, the Hijaazi (from the area of Hijaz in the arabian pennisula).

The entry then states who he reported from and who reported from him:

He reported from Hanthalah ibn ‘Ali Al-Aslami and Sa’id Al-Maqburi. And those who reported from him were his son Muhammad, Ibn Jurayj, Abdullah ibn Abdullah Al-Ash’ari, and Umar ibn ‘Ali Al-Muqaddimi. Then Ibn Hajr simply states, “Ibn Hibban mentioned him in his [work] Ath-Thiqaat (the trustworthy narrators).”

Two things we should immediately look for to be certain that this is the man’s bio we seek:

1) Is the one who he is reporting from in the chain  stated by Ibn Hajr in his Tahthib? In this case it is Sa’id ibn Abi Sa’id Al-Maqburi. The answer is yes.

2) What of the one who is reporting from him? In this case it is Umar ibn ‘Ali and yes he is mentioned by Hafith as one who narrates from him.

Take note that not all of those who narrate from the one you are looking for or who he narrates from are mentioned. This is simply one of the many methods to be certain that you have the right bio. Another method would be to compare the time frames in which they lived. For example, if a narrator is reporting from Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and you are looking for a tabi’i who directly narrated from Abu Hurayrah, then you have definitely found the wrong individual. Beware! Many names are very similar, and it may be necessary to know where the individual is from in order to find the right individual.

Back to the entry:

The brief allusion of Hafith Ibn Hajr to Ibn Hibban’s ruling seems to be acceptance of the narrator as trustworthy. However, this is simply not enough information to get by with so we are obligated to look elsewhere. Hafith Ibn Hajr wrote another work, which is the abridged version of At-Tahthib At-Tahthib known as Taqrib At-Tahthib. In it, entry 6822, he states that this man is “Maqbul” which means acceptable. However, according to Hafith Ibn Hajr “Maqbul” is the sixth-level grading of a narrator and it means, ‘one who has few hadith and it is not established that his hadith have been abandoned, and this is referenced with the word maqbul/acceptable so as it must have a follow up report, and if it is doesn’t then it is a weak (layyin) hadith.’

In his commentary, Hafith Shu’ayb Al-Arna’ut states:

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“Rather he is Saduq, Hasan in hadith.”  The Shaykh argues that Imam Al-Bukhari narrated 4 hadith from him in his Sahih and Ibn Hibban declared him thiqah in his Ath-Thiqaat.

It is also interesting to note that Hafidh Ibn Hajr Al-’Asqalani in his Fat-hul-Baari, his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, beneath this hadith states about Ma’n ibn Muhammad:

وَهُوَ مِنْ أَفْرَاد مَعْن بْن مُحَمَّد , وَهُوَ مَدَنِيّ ثِقَة قَلِيل الْحَدِيث

“And this [report] is from the singularly narrated hadiths of Ma’n ibn Muhammad, and he is Madani, thiqah (trustworthy) and has very few hadith.” He goes on to bring supporting chains as well.

This technique will only guide you in how to look up narrators. It does not tell you the definitions for the nomenclature of  the science of hadith. For this, there are several works in english that will aid you in your research. I hope this helps to clarify some mistaken views about the science of hadith.

May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad His family and his those who follow them Amin!