In Muslim al-NaysÄbÅ«rÄ« (d. 261/875). The skeptical traditionalist, Pavel Pavlovitch studies the life and works of Muslim b. al-ḤajjÄj al-NaysÄbÅ«rÄ«, the author of the famous collection of traditions (ḥadÄ«th) al-Musnad al-á¹£aḥīḥ (The Sound Collection), which Sunni Muslims rank as the third most authoritative source of legal and theological norms after the QurʾÄn and Muḥammad b. IsmÄʿīl al-BukhÄrÄ«âs á¹¢aḥīḥ.
Based on multiple biographical sources and Muslimâs extant works, Pavel Pavlovitch studies hitherto unexplored aspects of Muslimâs biography, elaborates on his founding contribution to the science of ḥadÄ«th criticism, and examines the transmission history of Muslimâs á¹¢aḥīḥ in unprecedented detail. The monograph includes the first systematic study of Muslimâs traditionalist theology, which played a defining role in the formation of Sunni identity.
Motives and Acknowledgments List of Graphs, Diagrams, and Tables Conventions
Introduction
1 The State of the Field and Method
â1âSources and Studies
â2âMethod
â3âTechnical Terminology
â4âDetermining the ḥadÄ«th Transmittersâ Dates of Birth and Death
â5âDetermining the Distance between Centers of Learning
2 Iraq and Northeastern Iran in Muslimâs Lifetime: Politics and Intellectual Currents
â1âThe City of NaysÄbÅ«r
â2âThe Miḥna
â3âPolitical Factions
â4âTheological Issues and Intellectual Trends
3 Life and Worldview
â1âShaykhs and Centers of Learning
â2âDoctrinal Affiliation
â3âPiety
â4âPolitical Views
4 Muslimâs Theology
â1âMuslim, al-BukhÄrÄ«, and the Perception of the Quran
â2âMuslim and the Definition of Faith
â3âMuslim and the Issue of qadar: Synergy between Divine Predestination and Human Agency
â4âConclusion
5 Muslimâs ḥadÄ«th Criticism
â1âThe Delicate Art of Transmitter Evaluation
â2âMuslimâs Criteria of ḥadÄ«th Criticism
â3âMuslimâs Vocabulary of ḥadÄ«th Transmission and Evaluation
â4âConclusion
6 Muslimâs Works
â1âExtant Works
â2âWorks That Are Preserved as Secondary Citations
â3âLost Works
7 The Ṣaḥīḥ
â1âThe Collectionâs Title and Purpose of Composition: Muá¹£annaf, Musnad, and á¹¢aḥīḥ
â2âWhen Did Muslim Compose the á¹¢aḥīḥ, and Was It Finished?
â3âIs Muslimâs á¹¢aḥīḥ an Appendix to al-BukhÄrÄ«âs á¹¢aḥīḥ?
â4âContents and Structure of the á¹¢aḥīḥ
â5âReception and Canonization
8 The Transmission of the Ṣaḥīḥ
â1âThe Transmission through IbrÄhÄ«m b. Muḥammad b. SufyÄn al-NaysÄbÅ«rÄ«
â2âThe Transmission through AbÅ« Muḥammad Aḥmad b. Ê¿AlÄ« b. al-Ḥasan al-QalÄnisÄ«
â3âThe Transmission through MakkÄ« b. Ê¿AbdÄn
â4âThe Transmission through Aḥmad b. al-SharqÄ«
â5âOther Transmissions of the á¹¢aḥīḥ
â6âManuscripts and Editions
Conclusion
Appendix 1: IsnÄd Diagrams Appendix 2: Muslimâs Informants according to al-MizzÄ« Appendix 3: Muslimâs Major Shaykhs according to KitÄb al-Zahra, Compared with an Electronic Count in al-Maktaba al-ShÄmila and an Alternative Count by DÄr al-Taʾṣīl Appendix 4: Transmitters on Muslimâs Authority Appendix 5: First/Seventh and Second/Eighth-Century Traditionists Who Made Transmitter-Critical Pronouncements according to Muslimâs Introduction Appendix 6: Reasons for Transmitter-Critical Pronouncements according to the Introduction to Muslimâs á¹¢aḥīḥ Appendix 7: Muslimâs KitÄb al-Qadar Compared with al-BukhÄrÄ«âs KitÄb al-Qadar Appendix 8: The Number of Books in the á¹¢aḥīḥ according to Ibn Manjuwayh, Ê¿Abd al-BÄqÄ« (= Wensinck, al-NawawÄ«), and DÄr al-Taʾṣīl (= al-MizzÄ«) Appendix 9: The Known Sections in Ibn Ê¿AsÄkirâs Division of the á¹¢aḥīḥ Appendix 10: The Shaykhs of Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ZakariyyÄʾ al-NasawÄ« Bibliography Index of Personal Names Index of Dynasties and Parties Index of Geographical Names Index of Titles of Pre-Modern books Index of Topics and Terms Quranic References
All interested in the social and intellectual history of Iraq and Iran in the third century H/ninth century CE, ḥadīth criticism, traditionalist theology, and the transmission of Sunni foundational texts.