Heresiographical Descriptions in the Evaluation of Narrators and Their Impact according to Imam al-Haythami in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: A Creedal-Hadith Study

Abstract

This research examines the heretical descriptions (al-awṣāf al-bidʿiyyah) with creedal significance that Imam Nur al-Din Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Haythami (d. 807 AH) applied to certain narrators in his work Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid wa Manbaʿ al-Fawāʾid, as part of the hadith evaluation mechanism, not merely as independent sectarian classifications. The research stems from a methodological problematic concerning the determination of the position of these descriptions within the system of jarḥ wa taʿdīl (criticism and authentication), and the clarification of their influence on the judgment of narrators and narrations in terms of acceptance, rejection, or suspension. The study adopted a critical analytical inductive methodology, through examining instances of heretical descriptions found in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid, analyzing their terminological meanings and critical contexts, while comparing Imam al-Haythami’s work with the statements of the imams of jarḥ wa taʿdīl, in light of the creedal and hadith principles established by Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah. The research concluded that the heretical descriptions used by Imam al-Haythami were not employed as independent discrediting defects that invalidate a narration by themselves, nor were they neutral descriptions devoid of effect. Rather, they were generally employed as evaluative indicators to be read within a composite system of criteria, most notably: the degree of heresy, the narrator’s status regarding calling to his doctrine or refraining from it, the extent of the narration’s connection to the point of creedal dispute, and the association of the description with evidence of discrediting or impaired accuracy. The study also demonstrated that al-Haythami’s methodology is characterized by critical balance, as it combines the preservation of creed with maintaining the scholarly standards for accepting narrations.