Dar al-Kitab wal-Hikmah | The Letter of Imam Abu Dawud as-Sijistani to the People of Makkah Describing His Sunan

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

الثلاثاء، 29 رمضان، 1431 هـ

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The Letter of Imam Abu Dawud as-Sijistani to the People of Makkah Describing His Sunan

By Al-Imam Abu Dawud as-Sijistani , Translated by Abu Bakr Salmaan ibn Nasir , on Saturday, October 09, 2004

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بسم الله الرَّحمن الرَّحيم

May Allah grant us a pardon which is not accompanied by anything displeasing and after which there shall be no punishment. Indeed, you asked me to discuss the hadiths in Kitab as-Sunan, whether they are the most sahih of what I know concerning each topic, and I came upon all of that which you mentioned.

ÝóÇÚúáóãõæÇ Ãóäøóåõ ßóÐóáößó ßõáøõåõ ÅöáÇøó Ãóäú íóßõæäó ÞóÏ Ñõæöíó ãöä æóÌúåóíäö ÕóÍöíÍóíäö ÝóÃóÍóÏõåõãóÇ ÃóÞúÏóãõ ÇöÓäóÇÏÇð æóÇáÂÎóÑõ ÕóÇÍöÈõåõ ÃóÞúæóãõ Ýíö ÇáÍöÝúÙö ÝóÑõÈøóãóÇ ßóÊóÈúÊõ Ðóáößó æóáÇó ÃóÑóì Ýíö ßöÊóÇÈöí ãöä åóÐóÇ ÚóÔóÑóÉó ÃóÍóÇÏöíËó

So know that that is the case except if it should have been related from two sahih routes, one of them having a higher chain while the narrator of the other is stronger in hifdh, so I occasionally would write that, and I do not see in my book even ten hadiths that are like this.

æóáóãú ÃóßÊõÈú Ýöí ÇáÈóÇÈö ÅöáÇøó ÍóÏöíËÇð Ãóæ ÍóÏöíËóíäö æóÅöä ßóÇäó Ýöí ÇáÈóÇÈö ÃóÍóÇÏöíËó ÕöÍóÇÍó ÝóÅöäøóåõ íõßúËöÑõ æóÅöäøóãóÇ ÃóÑóÏúÊõ ÞõÑúÈó ãóäúÝóÚóÊöåö

æóÅöÐóÇ ÃóÚóÏúÊõ ÇáÍóÏöíËó Ýöí ÇáÈóÇÈö ãöä æóÌúåóíäö Ãóæ ËóáÇËóÉò ÝóÅöäøóãóÇ åõæó ãöä ÒöíóÇÏóÉö ßóáÇóãò Ýöíåö æóÑõÈøóãóÇ Ýöíåö ßóáöãóÉñ ÒóÇÆöÏóÉñ Úóáóì ÇáÃóÍóÇÏöíË

æóÑõÈøóãóÇ ÇÎÊóÕóÑúÊõ ÇáÍóÏöíËó ÇáØøóæöíáó áÃóäøöí áóæ ßóÊóÈúÊõåõ ÈöØõæáöåö áóãú íóÚáóãú ÈóÚúÖõ ãóäú ÓóãöÚóåõ ÇáãõÑóÇÏó ãöäåõ æóáÇó íóÝúåóãõ ãóæÖöÚó ÇáÝöÞåö ãöäåõ ÝóÇÎúÊóÕóÑúÊõ áöÐóáößó

And I only wrote one or two hadiths concerning each bab,^[1] even if there were a number of sahih hadiths concerning that bab, for there would be too many and my intent was to make it (the book) easy to benefit from.

And when I repeated a hadith in any bab from two or three routes, then it is only due to additional speech contained, and perhaps it contains one additional word not in the other hadiths.

And occasionally, I summarized a long hadith for if I were to write it completely, some of those who heard it would not understand the place of fiqh in it, so I summarized it for that reason.

æóÃóãøóÇ ÇáãóÑóÇÓöíáõ ÝóÞóÏ ßóÇäó íÍÊóÌøõ ÈöåóÇ ÇáÚõáóãóÇÁõ ÝöíãóÇ ãóÖóì ãöËáõ ÓõÝíóÇäó ÇáËøóæÑöí æóãóÇáößö Èäö ÃóäóÓò æóÇáÃóæÒóÇÚöí ÍóÊøóì ÌóÇÁó ÇáÔøóÇÝöÚöí ÝóÊóßóáøóãó ÝöíåóÇ æóÊóÇÈóÚóåõ Úóáóì Ðóáößó ÃóÍãóÏõ Èäõ ÍóäÈóáò æóÛóíÑõåõ

ÝóÅöÐóÇ áã íóßõä ãõÓäóÏñ ÖöÏøõ ÇáãóÑóÇÓöíáó æóáã íõæÌóÏ ÇáãõÓäóÏõ ÝóÇáãõÑÓóáõ íõÍÊóÌøõ Èöåö æóáóíÓó åõæó ãöËáõ ÇáãõÊøóÕöáö Ýíö ÇáÞõæøóÉö

And as for mursal^[2] hadiths, then the scholars of the past such as Sufyan ath-Thawri, Malik ibn Anas, and al-Awza'i used to use them as a proof until ash-Shafi'i came and criticized them and Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others followed him in that.

So when there is no musnad^[3] hadith in opposition to the mursal hadiths and there is no musnadhadith to be found, then the mursal is used as a proof, and it is not like the muttasil^[4] in strength.

æóáóíÓó Ýíö ßöÊóÇÈö ÇáÓøõäóäö ÇáøóÐöí ÕóäøóÝÊõåõ Úóä ÑóÌõáò ãóÊúÑõæßö ÇáÍóÏöíËö . æóÅöÐóÇ ßóÇäó Ýöíåö ÍóÏöíËñ ãõäßóÑñ ÈóíøóäÊõ Ãóäøóåõ ãõäßóÑñ æóáóíÓó Úóáóì äóÍúæöåö Ýíö ÇáÈóÇÈö ÛóíÑõåõ

æóåóÐöåö ÇáÃóÍóÇÏöíËõ áóíÓó ãöäåóÇ Ýíö ßöÊóÇÈ ÇÈäö ÇáãõÈóÇÑóßö æóáÇó ßöÊóÇÈö æóßöíÚò ÅöáÇøó ÇáÔøóíÁõ ÇáíóÓöíÑõ æóÚóÇãøóÊõåõ Ýíö ßöÊóÇÈö åóÄõáÇóÁö ãóÑóÇÓöíáõ . æóÝíö ßöÊóÇÈö ÇáÓøõäóäö ãöä ãõæóØøóÃö ãóÇáößö Èäö ÃóäóÓò ÔóíÁñ ÕóÇáöÍò æóßóÐóáößó ãöä ãõÕóäøóÝóÇÊö ÍóãøóÇÏö Èäö ÓóáóãóÉó æóÚóÈÏö ÇáÑøóÒøóÇÞö . æóáóíÓó ËõáõËõ åóÐöåö ÇáßõÊõÈõ ÝöíãóÇ ÃóÍÓóÈõåõ Ýíö ßõÊõÈö ÌóãöíÚöåöã ÃóÚäíö ãõÕóäøóÝóÇÊö ãóÇáößö Èäö ÃóäóÓò æóÍóãøóÇÏö Èäö ÓóáóãóÉ æóÚóÈÏö ÇáÑøóÒóÇÞö

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Footnotes

The termbab is used for chapter as well as for a topic.
A hadith narrated by aTabi'i from the Prophet ( Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÓáã ) directly without mention of aSahabi.
With a connectedisnad, chain of narration.
Muttasilmeans connected.
Abandoned inhadith. This is said concerning a narrator whose narrations are not used even to strenghten other narrations or as witnesses for other narrations.
Literally,munkar means rejected or objectionable. Here, Imam Abu Dawud means by it one which is clearly a mistake.
Extremely weak.
Some scholars have understood this statement to mean that anything he does not comment on is to be regarded as being at leasthasan. More likely, however, he means that there is not some severe weakness in the hadith rendering it unusable. So a hadith that he did not comment on could still be weak.
Plural ofJami'.
Plural ofmash-hur, meaning famous.
Both words mean strange. They are used for very particular meanings inMustalah al-Hadithby later scholars. However, it is clear that Abu Dawud did not use them with those meanings.
ContainingTadlis.The most common form ofTadlis is to say ( Úä‘An) “From” or ( ÞÇáQala) “He said” or something similar to that giving the impression that one heard it directly from that person while not having done so. For this reason, the scholars do not except the report of theMudallis, one who commitstadlis, except when he is explicit in indicating that he heard the hadith directly from the one he is narrating from.
Plural ofmursal.
Deficient
Asceticism
The Virtues of Deeds