The significance of Ilm al-Rijāl and its connection with the Hadith sciences.
Abstract
The study examines ʿIlm al-Rijāl (the Science of Narrators) as one of the most important disciplines of ḥadīth studies, specializing in the investigation of narrators’ conditions and in distinguishing between narrations that are accepted and those that are rejected. The research presents several definitions of ʿIlm al-Rijāl, all of which agree that it concerns itself with the identity of the narrator and the attributes that affect the acceptance or rejection of a ḥadīth, such as integrity (ʿadālah), reliability (thiqah), precision in transmission (ḍabṭ), and weakness (ḍaʿf).
The study further clarifies that this discipline aims at attaining knowledge of the Sunnah of the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them), determining the evidentiary value of solitary reports (khabar al-wāḥid), as well as identifying the reliability of narrators and the continuity of chains of transmission. The research also addresses the issues and subjects of this science, explaining its relationship with other ḥadīth sciences, such as Dirāyah al-Ḥadīth, biographical studies (tarājim), and history.
Moreover, the study emphasizes that ʿIlm al-Rijāl occupies a fundamental position among the Islamic sciences, since both fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and uṣūl al-fiqh (legal theory) depend upon it in the derivation of legal rulings and in distinguishing authentic ḥadīths from weak ones through the examination of narrators and chains of transmission according to precise principles and methodological standards
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