A Note on the Book Accepting Reports and Knowing Transmitters

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A Note on the Book Accepting Reports and Knowing Transmitters

Praise be to God. This article transmits a useful scholarly note from Dr. Khalid al-Hayik on the book Qabul al-Akhbar wa Ma’rifat al-Rijal by Abu al-Qasim al-Ka’bi al-Mu’tazili, one of the early Mu’tazili leaders of the fourth Islamic century.

The article explains that the book is among the earliest known writings to gather suspicions concerning the Companion Abu Hurayrah رضي الله عنه and, more broadly, the hadith scholars. Its purpose is not fair analysis but the collection of criticisms against the people of hadith. Al-Ka’bi transmitted material from earlier sources, some sound and some unsound, without adding much of his own.

It also notes that the published critical editions of the book remain incomplete in an important respect: the chains of transmission are often not fully restored, making it difficult to identify the people named in the reports and judge their reliability. One example discussed is the accusation that Abu Hurayrah committed tadlis by narrating from Ka’b al-Ahbar and from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم without distinction. The article explains that this claim rests on unreliable transmission and that attributing it to Shu’bah ibn al-Hajjaj is not sound.

Despite the book’s problematic polemical content, the article points out that it still preserves rare passages and unique reports not easily found in other biographical works. Its benefit therefore lies in careful scholarly use, alongside close distinction between accusations carried by weak or fabricated transmission and genuine criticism transmitted from recognized hadith authorities.

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