The Letter & Number Symbol Key Utilized by the Imams of Hadith Within Their Books

The later scholars of hadith used a letter and number symbol system to identify which Imams used the narrator in their books of hadith. This system is utilized in the encyclopedic biographical works such as Tahthib At-Tahthib of Hafith Ibn Hajr, his Taqrib , Adh-Dhahabi in his Al-Mizan and other works of immense benefit in the science of Hadith.

Examples:

The following are a few examples of the Letter & Number Symbol system:

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At the end of the entry of As-Sa’ib An-Nukri you find the two letters مد  . This is the symbol system. Now if you use the key below you will be able to determine what book of hadith meem daal represents; Abu Dawud’s Marasil.

Another example:

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In this example ‘Amir ibn ‘Ubdah Al-Baahili is used. At the end of his entry you find the letters خت  . Now using the key below you will see that khaa taa stands for Bukhari’s Sahih in Mu’allaq form.

Another example:

In this example I have used the entry Abdul-Aziz ibn Abi Bakra Ath-Thaqafi who is, as Ibn Hajr states, Saduq. At the end of the entry you can see the symbols خت  د  ت  ق . Note that one should be careful not to combine letters or else it will change the referencing and one will be mistaken when verifying or utilizing the symbol system.

So using the code system below one can determine that Abdul-’Aziz’s narrations are found in Bukhari’s Sahih in Mu’allaq form, Abu Dawud’s Sunan, Tirmidhi’s Sunan, and the Sunan of Ibn Majah.

Last Example is for You to Figure Out

This narrator’s name is Qartha’, the only narrator named such in the books of hadith. He is Saduq (honest) according to Hafith Ibn Hajr in this entry. What books of Hadith narrate through him as stated by Hafith Ibn Hajr?

Please post your findings in the comments of this thread so that I know someone understands the system!

The following is a general key as mentioned by Hafith Ibn Hajr Al-’Asqalani in his Intro to Taqrib At-Tahthib:

Codes for Imam al-Bukhari:

خ – Bukhari’s Sahih

خت – Bukhari’s Sahih in Mu’allaq form

بخ – Bukhari’s Adab Al-Mufrad

عخ – Bukhari’s Khalq Af’al Al-’Ibad

ر – Bukhari’s treatise “Juza’ Al-Qira’at”

ي – Bukhari’s Rafa’ul Yadayn

Codes for Imam Muslim

م – Muslim’s Sahih

مق – the Muqaddimah of the Sahih of Imam Muslim

Codes for Imam Abu Dawud

د -Abu Dawud’s Sunan

مد – Abu Dawud’s Marasil

صد – Abu Dawud’s Fadaa’il Al-Ansaar

خد – Abu Dawud’s Naasikh

قد -Al-Qadir

ف – At-Tafarrud

ل – Masaa’il

كد – Musnad Maalik

Codes for Imam Tirmithi

ت – Sunan

تم – Ash-Shama’il

Codes for Imam An-Nasa’i

س -Sunan

عس – Musnad ‘Ali

كن – Musnad Imam Malik of Imam An-Nasa’i

Hafith Shu’ayb Al-Arna’ut mentions two more that Ibn Hajr does not that are sometimes used for Imam An-Nasa’i:

سي – ‘Amal Al-Yawm wal-Laylah

ص – Khasa’is ‘Ali

Codes for Imam Ibn Majah:

ق -Sunan

فق – Tafsir

If the narrator is within all of the six books of hadith the letter ع is used. If the number 4 is used then it is in the four sunan without the two Shayks (i.e. Bukhari and Muslim).

In other than these works the Hafith Ibn Hajr uses تميز (tamayyaz).

Edited 5-30-09

3 Responses to “The Letter & Number Symbol Key Utilized by the Imams of Hadith Within Their Books”

1. Ahmad says:

   May 30, 2009 at 11:59 am

   I am sorry, but I still don’t fully understand what these codes are used for.

   Reply
2. Abul Layth says:

   May 30, 2009 at 3:50 pm

   I’m glad you told me. I have updated the post and given 4 examples for you to learn from. Let me know your answer to the fourth entry insha’allah.

   Reply
3. Ah'mad says:

   August 14, 2009 at 1:59 pm

   Assalaamu ‘alaykum,

   that’s interesting, jazakAllahu kayran

   Reply