Tanin Al Mujaljalat Bi Tabyin Al Musalsalat – by Imam Hamid Al Uskudari Al Hanafi

Tanin Al Mujaljalat Bi Tabyin Al Musalsalat by al-Imam Hamid Al Uskudari Al Hanafi (d. 1172 AH) is one of the largest known hadith collections of the Musalsal genre (see below).  It contains some 289 unique ahadith with their chains . 

The transmission of these Musalsal narrations is something transmitted from the early Muslims (Salaf) and down through the ages until this time by scholars of hadith and keen students of knowledge who primarily belong to the major Sunni Madhhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali).  One who looks into the biographies of many of the transmitters in every Musalsal  chain of transmission  can identify the Madhhab affiliation of the narrators in terms of jurisprudential (fiqhi), creedal (aqida related like Ash’ari and Maturidi) or at times the  spiritual affiliation (suluk/tariqa) also.

Here follows the download link followed by a succinct article on what precisely is a Musalsal hadith and its specific uniqueness.

Download the work – HERE

 

The Musalsalat in Ḥadīth: Linking the Present to the Past

The Musalsalat in Ḥadīth: Linking the Present to the Past
A Treatise on Definition, Value, Significance and Categories of
Al-Aḥādīth Al-Musalsalah

By:
The Very Insignificant Slave of His Lord
Shihabuddīn Abu Muḥammad Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn As-Sayyid Sa‘d
Al-Ḥasani Al-Azhari Ash-Shāfi‘ī Ash-Shadhilī
Dhul-Hijjah 1432 – November 2011

IHSAN Publications
London

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious Most Merciful

Introduction:

At a time when a lot of people claim following the Prophet ^ , it is very important to know that trying to benefit his Ummah is one of the ways for being good and connected to him. He ^ said: ‘The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.’[1] And as narrated by Ibn ‘Umar that a man came to the Messenger of Allah ^ and asked: O Messenger of Allah, who is the most beloved by Allah amongst people and which action is the most beloved to Allah? He ^ said: ‘Of people, the most beloved by Allah are those with the most benefit to people and the most beloved action to Allah is to make a Muslim happy, relieve him from a plight, pay a debt on his behalf or to protect him from hunger (i.e. by feeding him) and it is dearer to me to accompany a brother to fulfil his need than to seclude myself in this mosque i.e. the Mosque of Madinah for a month. And whoever withholds his anger, Allah will cover his faults and whoever holds back his rage which he is able to let go, Allah will fill his heart with serenity on the day of resurrection and whoever accompanies his brother to fulfil his need, Allah will make him firm on the  path on the day when feet will slip.’[2]

With this in mind, it is important to revive the blessed sunnah of the scholars of the past who used to link the Ummah with its Prophet ^ through holding gatherings narrate his aḥādīth, especially those known as Al-Musalsalāt or Al-Aḥādīth Al-Musalsalah (pl. Musalsal) as these aḥādīth link people to the person of the Prophet ^ in all his states. If being beneficial to people and removing distress from them are two great deeds, then what is more beneficial than teaching people about their Messenger ^ and removing them from the distress of ignorance. Imam Ibn Majah reports that the Prophet ^ said: ‘Whoever revives a sunnah of mine that has been deserted after me, will get a reward equal to that given to whoever follows it amongst people and that will diminish nothing of their reward.’[3]

It is with this intention that this paper is written to provide an understanding of one of the topics of the science of ḥadīth, inspire students of knowledge to explore, learn and spread such aḥādīth and try to strengthen their link with the Prophet ^ through this. This paper is also written with the intention of creating a sense of appreciation for the merit of isnād (chain of transmission), a unique feature of this Ummah which links its generations of scholars, keep it connected to its tradition, keep the religion preserved from intruders and self-claimed “scholars” and revive in the students of knowledge the honour of belonging to great generations of scholars and make them realize their duty. ‘Abdullah ibn Al-Mubārak said: “Al-Isnād (to mention and narrate the chain of narrators and be linked to them) and without it, anyone who wanted to say something would have been able to say it.”

 

The Shaykh of our Shuyūkh As-Sayyid Abul Faḍl ‘Abdullah ibn As-Siddiq Al-Ghumāri said: “For a scholar, the sanad is like a chain that links him to the Prophet ^. Wherever he moves, the chain moves with him and therefore, whoever has been given the chain, his knowledge will be blessed. As for a scholar who has knowledge but does not have such link to the Prophet ^, he will be like a circle that is disconnected from the rest of the chain, whenever he moves, he moves alone. Sooner or later, he will witness how much barakah (blessings) he has lost. This barakah is an immaterial thing that is witnessed on those who are linked to the Prophet ^ and follow his footsteps.

At this day and age, we have been plagued with many self-appointed “scholars” who grew on the surface and stayed without roots and hence without fruits. They continue to lead their followers in the wrong direction because of the lack of this compass of isnād and cause more damage. This paper is, by Allah’s permission, a humble attempt to fix some of this damage.

In this article, we will shed light on:

1. The definition of al-ḥadīth al-musalsal
2. The categories and forms of tasalsul
3. The importance of preserving al–musalsalāt
4. The famous collections of musalsalāt
5. The virtues and benefits of tasalsul and issues relating to it
6. How to get the full chain of a musalsal and a conclusion on the topic

 

1. 1.     The definition of al-ḥadīth al-musalsal

The linguistic definition: The word musalsal is taken from salsala which means to make a chain in which the rings are connected to each other. Salsal is the sweet and cold water that runs through the throat.

Technically: It is a ḥadīth whose narrators share the same attribute or same state or in which the narration has one state or one attribute. The attributes of the narrators may be verbal or practical and the attributes of the narration may relate to the way of narration, the time of narration or the place of narration. [4]

The difference between the attribute and the state is that while the former is permanent the latter is temporary. This attribute of tasalsul describes the chain obviously not the text of the ḥadīth.

 

1. 2.     The categories and forms of al-musalsal

 At the beginning of his book ‘Al-‘Arūs Al-Majliyyah fi Asānid Al-Ḥadīth Al-Musalsal bil Awwaliyyah’ (The Beautified Bride on the Chains of the Ḥadīth which is Narrated First), Al-Ḥafiz Murtaḍa Az-Zabīdi[5] wrote: “Bear in mind that al-musalsalāt, as mentioned by the ḥuffaẓ, are of various categories; some of them are related to the order of the narration like the one narrated first, some others are related to the time like the one narrated on the day of ‘īd, others are related to the place of the narration like the one narrated at al-multazam, a fourth group are related to the state of the narrator like being alone while narrating from his Shaykh, a fifth group are related to the attribute of the narrators like being a ḥāfiẓ, a jurist, Egyptian, his name is Muḥammad  or his narrating from his father, a sixth group is related to the practical attribute of the narrators like writing the ḥadīth or shaking hands with the student, a seventh group are related to the attribute of the narration like orally…etc and a  final group related to the verbal attribute of the narrator like saying ‘I love you’ or reciting a sūrah.”

In his book At-Taqrīb, Imam An-Nawawi[6] mentions that the attributes and the states of the narrators are either verbal or practical or both. As for the attributes of the narration, they either relate to the formula of delivery (ṣīghat al-adā’), the time or the place of the narration.[7] Imam As-Sakhāwi[8] added another category relating to the date of the narration. Abu ‘Amr ibn Aṣ-Ṣalāḥ[9] noted that these categories are examples and tasalsul is not confined to them only.

 

With this in mind, we can say that the categories of al-musalsalāt include but to confined to:

 

1-    The one in which the chain includes a statement said by each narrator: An example of this is the famous ḥadīth narrated by Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal in which the Prophet ^ said to him: “I love you, so say O Allah enable me to remember You, and thank You and worship You perfectly.” Each narrator said to the one after him: I love you…and then narrated the ḥadīth.

2-    The one in which the chain includes an action done by each narrator: An example of this category is the famous ḥadīth of shaking hands in which each narrator shakes hands with the narrator after him. The action goes back throughout the chain to Anas ibn Malik who said: I shook hands with the Prophet ^ and I did not touch silk softer than the palm of the Prophet ^.

3-    The one in which the chain includes a combination of a statement and an action: An example of this category is the ḥadīth which is narrated back to the Prophet ^ where he said: ‘A person will not find the sweetness of faith until he believes in Divine destiny; its good and its evil, its sweet and its bitter.’ The Prophet ^ then held his beardand said: ‘I believe in Divine destiny; its good and its evil, its sweet and its bitter.’

4-    The one in which the chain includes a verbal attribute of the narrators like the ḥadīth in which the narrators read Surat Aṣ-Ṣaff. Ibn Ḥajar[10] said: The most authentic musalsal in the world is the one in which narrators read Surat Aṣ-Ṣaff.[11]

5-     The one in which the chain includes a practical attribute of the narrators like their names, their specialties or their countries the ḥadīth in which all the narrators are ḥuffaẓ or fuqahā’ or their names are Muḥammad or all of them are Egyptians…etc. And the ḥadīth in which all the narrators are ḥuffaẓ and the one in which all the narrators are fuqahā’ are also considered very authentic in terms of tasalsul as noted by Imam As-Suyūṭi.[12]

6-    The one in which the the narration has a specific formula of delivery like a ḥadīth which is narrated with ‘I heard’ all the way back to the Prophet ^.

7-    The one in which the narration has happened at a specific time like the ḥadīth of the day of ‘īd and the ḥadīth about clipping the nails on Thursday.

8-     The one in which the narration has happened at a specific place like the one narrated by Ibn ‘Abbās on the acceptance of du‘ā’ at al-multazam and him doing du‘ā’ there.

9-    The one in which the narration has happened at a specific date like the famous ḥadīth which is narrated first to every student by his teacher known as ḥadīth al-awwaliyyah.

All these previous categories can actually be classified into a) Aḥādīth in which the state or the attribute is kept in all levels of the chain which is called ‘musalsal tāmm’ and b) Aḥādīth in which the state or the attribute is missed in some levels of the narrators which is known as ‘musalsal nāqiṣ’ or incomplete.

 

3.     The importance of preserving al-musalsalāt

In addition to the knowledge such aḥādīth add to the specialists, they are quite important for the preservation of accuracy in the transmission of the ḥadīth, following the example of the Prophet ^ verbally and practically, avoiding any cheating in the narration and this last one happens when the formula of the narration is clear in indicating how the student has received the ḥadīth from his teacher and also requiring a level of specification and focus on issues that may be neglected or overlooked by the narrators (e.g. when the narrators names are the same, it will be required to know who is who) and finally maintaining the chain at a certain level.

Alongside, gathering to narrate such aḥādīth facilitates memorization for students of knowledge and gives them happiness that this Ummah is linked with the blessed chain throughout centuries.

1. 4.     The Famous collections of musalsalāt

There is more than one 400 ḥadīth musalsal in total.[13] The scholars of ḥadīth have given them focus and care in various ways; some scholars wrote on one ḥadīth only like Al-Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Al-Murtaḍa Az-Zabīdi who wrote a commentary on al-musalsal bil awwaliyyah and named it ‘Al-Mirqātul ‘Aliyyah fi Sharḥil Ḥadīthil Musalsali bil Awwaliyyah’ and also wrote on the chains of the same ḥadīth under the title ‘Al-‘Arūs Al-Majliyyah fi Asānid Al-Ḥadīth Al-Musalsal bil Awwaliyyah’. Some other scholars wrote on the classing and explanation of these aḥādīth like the great historian and narrator ‘Abdul-Ḥafīẓ Al-Fasi Al-Firhī[14] in his book ‘Al-’Āyāt Al-Bayyināt fi Sharḥi wa Takhrījil Aḥādīthil Musalsalāt’.  However, other scholars wrote collections of the musalsalāt they narrate and the earliest collection is Musalsalāt Abi Bakr ibn Shādhān by the great muḥddith Abu Bakr ibn Aḥd ibn Ibrahīm ibn Shādhān ( 298 – 383 AH). Scholars have continued to compile their collections of musalsalāt till this day. One of the very famous contemporary collections is Shaykh Yasīn Al-Fādānī’s[15] ‘Al-‘Ujālah  fil Aḥādīth Al-Musalsalah’.  Among other collections of musalsalātare the following:

1. Kitabul Musalsalāt or Al-Jawāhir Al-Mukallalah fil Aḥādīthil Musalsalah by Imam Shamsuddīn As-Sakhāwi.
2. Al- Musalsalāt Al-Kubra and Jiyādul Musalsalāt by Imam Jalaluddīn As-Suyūṭi.
3. Al-Manāhil As-Salsalah fil Aḥādīthil Musalsalah by Muḥammad  ibn ‘Abdil-Wāḥid Al-Ayyūbi (d. 1364 AH)
4. Al-Fawā’id Al-Jalīlah fi Musalsalāt ibn ‘Aqilah by Jamāluddīn Muḥammad  ibn Aḥmad ibn Sa‘īd known as Ibn ‘Aqīlah Al-Makki (d. 1150 AH)
5. Musalsalāt Al-Amīr which is a collection of 13 musalsal mentioned in the collection of the chains (thabat) of Imam Muḥammad  ibn Muḥammad  ibn ‘Abdil-Qādir As-Sanabāwi known as Al-Amīr Al-Kabīr (1145 – 1232 AH).

1. 5.     The virtues of tasalsul and issues relating to it

In addition to the benefits of preserving the attribute of the chain and linking people to the example of the Prophet ^, the tasalsul makes it easy for the narrator to relate the ḥadīth to an unforgettable experience. It is because of this that some scholars relate anecdotes (laṭā’if) and benefits (nikāt) about some musalsalāt. For instance, when a scholar went to listen to some musalsalāt from a female muḥaddithah and she came across the ḥadīth in which the narrators hold their beard, she realized that she had no beard to hold, so she held her chin instead.

Some scholars also wrote the meanings of some musalsalāt in poetry as Imam ibn Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalāni did in ḥadīth al-awwaliyyah. He wrote:

Whoever shows mercy to those on earth, we are told  إن من يرحم مَن في الأرضِ قد

Will be shown mercy by those in heaven so behold جاءنا يرحمه من في السماء                                          

So, show mercy without distinction to all فارحم الخلق جميعاً إنـما                                                                                         

The Merciful shows mercy to those that are merciful  يرحمُ الرحمــــن منَّــا الرُّحمــاء                                                        

 

 

 

1. 6.     How to get the full chain of a musalsal and a conclusion on the topic

To be able to get a full chain of a musalsal, you should find the ḥadīth first in the famous collections of musalsalāt. It is preferable and easier to get it from a modern collection like the collection of Shaykh Al-Fādāni or the collection of Al-Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abdul-Ḥayy Al-Kattāni. Then, find the shortest chain that links you to the compiler of the collection and write down the chain and revise it again; it is preferable as well to show it to a specialist if you can to verify it, then memorise your chain all the way back to the Prophet ^ and use it every time you are narrating the musalsal. It is good to try to find the class of the musalsal you are narrating and if a treatise or a volume or even an article has been written on it, it is good to read it. In addition, use every opportunity to call, visit or travel to the scholars who have asānīd and ask them to narrate the musalsalāt they have received to you in order to keep the tasalsul. This will require that you read what are the musalsalāt that has been narrated and obviously this can be found in the collections of musalsalāt. The most comprehensive collection of musalsalāt is the collection included in the thabat of Shaykh ‘Ābid As-Sindi[16] known as: Ḥaṣr Ash-Shārid fi Asānid Muḥammad ‘Ābid.[17] It is important to highlight here that as much as narration is very important, knowing what you are narrating and understanding it is very important and necessary, otherwise the person may be narrating fabricated things unknowingly. In his great collection of his teachers and chains (thabat) our Shaykh ’Usāmah Al-Azhari[18] says: And I advise (the students) to exert their effort in learning the basics of sciences and study the tools of the critique of ḥadīth and not to consume their life in something that can be achieved in a short time. Imam Abu ‘Amr ibn Aṣ-Ṣalāḥ narrates that Abul-Muẓẓaffar ibn Abi Sa‘d As-Sam‘āni narrated from his father from Muḥammad  ibn Nāṣir As-Sallāmi that he heard Fāris ibn Al-Ḥusayn reciting of his own poetry:

O student of knowledge whose main focus is nothing but to narrate

In narration give focus to the understanding of what you do relate

And narrate ‘little’ but know it; for knowledge has no end, so meditate[19]

يا طالبَ العِلمِ الذي * ذهبتْ بمُدتِه الرواية

كن في الرواية ذا العناية * بالروايــــة والدراية

وارو القليل وراعه * فالعلمُ ليس له نهاية

 

Finally, this article is an open invitation and encouragement to the teachers of knowledge, the seekers of knowledge, the lovers of knowledge, and those who love to listen to it to revive this great tradition of spreading al- musalsalāt and speak about them and bear in mind that it is an honour to be a name in a chain of narrators the first name in which is the Prophet ^. It is important

I would like to conclude by mentioning the ḥadīth of the Prophet ^ that reads: “Be a scholar or a learner or a listener or a lover (i.e. of knowledge and the previous three or to be one of them) and do not be the fifth one otherwise you will be lost.”[20]

Concluding Prayer

I pray to Allah to give us the zeal and the inspiration to seek knowledge and to enable us before seeking it to question our intentions. May Allah bless our days, moments and minutes and make our actions and words fruitful and full of light and barakah and guide us to say what is good and act accordingly. May Allah u make us helpers for those who want to get close to him with guidance and sincere service and bring us not to shame on the day when no wealth nor children will avail. And may the best of prayers and blessings go to our Prophet ^.

O Allah! Use us to deliver Your dīn and enable us to understand what You deliver in Your Book and help us stick to adab with You, Your Messenger ^ and Your righteous slaves.

This article was completed by the grace of Allah just before the dawn of Thursday 7^th of Dhul-Ḥijjah 1432 – 3^rd of November 2011 by this insignificant sinful slave of Allah.

اللهم صلِّ على سيدنا محمد الفاتح لما أغلق والخاتم لما سبق ناصر الحق بالحق والهادي إلى صراطك المستقيم وعلى آله حق قدره ومقداره العظيم والحمد لله رب العالمين.

 

 

 

Bibliography:

1. Muḥammad b. Ja‘far Al-Kattāni, Ar-Risālah Al-Mustaṭrafah libayāni Mashhūri Kutubis Sunnatil Musharrafah published by Dārul Bashā’ir 1993
2.  Muḥammad `Abdul-Ḥayy Al- Kattāni, Fihris Al-Fahāris wal Athbāt published by Dārul Gharb Al-Islāmī 1982
3. Muḥammad ‘Ābid b. Aḥmad  As-Sindi, Ḥaṣr Ash-Shārid fi Asānid Muḥammad ‘Ābid published by Maktabatur Rushd, Riyadh 1424 AH
4. Muḥammad b. Muḥammad Abū Shahbah, Al-Wasīṭ fi ‘Ulūm wa Muṣṭalaḥ Al-Ḥadīth published by ‘Ālam Al-Ma‘rifah
5.  Muḥammad Yasīn Al-Fādānī, Al-‘Ujālah  fil Aḥādīth Al-Musalsalah, published by Dārul Basā’ir 1985
6. Muḥammad b. Muḥammad Al- Al-Amīr, Sadd Al-Arab min ‘Ulūmil Isnādi wal Adab published by Dārul Basā’ir with annotation of Muḥammad Yasīn Al-Fādānī and Maḥmūd Sa‘īd Mamdūḥ
7. Jalauddīn As-Suyūṭi, Tadrīb Ar-Rāwi bi Sharḥi Taqrībin Nawāwi, published by Maktabatul Kawthar, Riyadh
8. ’Usāmah Al-Azhari, Mu‘jam Ash-Shuyūkh, published by SOFA Production, Malaysia 2008
9. Muḥammad ’Āl Rashīd, Imdādul Fattāḥ bi Asānīdi ‘Abdel-Fattāḥ, published by Maktabatul Imāmish Shafi‘ī, Riyadh 1999
10. Abu ‘Amr ‘Uthman b. ‘Abdirraḥman Al-Kurdi known as Ibn Aṣ-Ṣalāḥ, Ma‘rifatu Anwa‘i ‘Ulūmil Ḥadith, published with annotation of  Nūruddīn ‘Itr by Dārul Fikr
11. Aḥmad Ayyūb Muḥammad, Mabaḥith fil Ḥadīth Al-Musalsal, unpublished MA, Baghdad 2002
12. Muḥammad b. Ibrahīm b. Jamā‘ah, Al-Manhal Ar-Rawiy fi Mukhtaṣari ‘Ulūmil Ḥadīthin Nabawiy, published by Darul-Fikr with the annotation of Dr. Muḥyiddīn ‘Abdur-Raḥmān Ramadan 1986

Glossary:

• Musalsalāt (sing. musalsal) known also al-aḥādīth al-musalsalah (sing. al-ḥadīth al-musalsal): A category of sayings of the Prophet ^ in which the narrators or the narration share the same attribute or state.
• Ummah: community or group of people or even of any other type of creation like birds or animals.
• ^: peace and blessings be upon him
• Sunnah: way or tradition
• Isnād (pl. asanīd) chain of narrators and used also to refer to the process of narrating something while mentioning the whole chain of narrators
• Shaykh (pl. Shuyūkh) teacher or religious scholar. Also used for an old man
• Tasalsul: the state of being ḥadīth al-musalsal or being in a state of connection throughout the chain of narrators
• Ḥuffāẓ (sing. Ḥāfiẓ) someone who has memorised a huge number of aḥādīth.
• Ḥadīth (pl. aḥādīth): Saying of the Prophet ^
• Al-Multazam: It is the place between the door of the Ka‘bah and the Black Stone
• ‘Īd: literally means something that happens over and over again but here refers to one of the two days celebrated by Muslims to commemorate the end of the blessed month of Ramadān and the season of pilgrimage.
• Sūrah another variation of Sūrat: a chapter of the Qur’an
• ṣīghat al-adā’: the form of delivering a ḥadīth
• fuqahā’ (sign. Faqīh): jurists
• du‘ā’: supplication

• awwaliyyah: The state of being first
• tāmm: full or complete
• nāqiṣ: incomplete
• muḥaddith (pl. muḥaddithīn): Scholars of the science of ḥadīth
• laṭā’if (sing. laṭīfah) literally means something light or nice but here means to anecdote since an  relating an anecdote is a light way of teaching a lesson.
• Thabat (pl. Athbāt): a collection of the chains and the teachers of a particular Shaykh written by him or one of his students.
• Adab (pl. ādāb) etiquettes or manners
• Barakah: blessing
• Dīn: religion or faith

 

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