Applied study of the rules of al-Jarh wa al-Taadil through the Biography of Ibrahim bin Muslim al-Hajri

Abstract

The importance of the science of al-Jarh wa al-Taadil (science of sifting /vouching and discrediting of narrators) manifests through the fact that it is the defence point of prophetic Hadith, just as the scholars of al-Jarh wa al-Taadil have significant role in the protection of religion from evil hands who want to elude it from the straight path, and considering the fact that this science is difficult, the number of people that gives special interest in it shrinks over time, and those people were the best of their generations. This work aims at giving an applied study of the rules of al-Jarh wa al-Taadil through the biography of Ibrahim bin Muslimal-Hajri. The work tries to exhaust all the views that scholars have on the narrator, and where such views appeared to be contradictory, efforts were made to address the contradiction. Clarifications were made on ambiguous terms. This work elaborates the efforts of scholars in this field, and their meticulosity as they give out their views on narrators. The work adopted applied descriptive analytical research methods. It found that the narrator is generally weak when he unilaterally narrates, but he can be considered when another narrator conforms to what he narrated. He was also accused of extending to the Prophet what others relate from companions, however, Sufyan bn Uyainah has corrected him in such regard, hence, his narrations may be regarded as free from such mistakes.