The Development of Early Sunnite Hadīth Criticism: The Taqdima of Ibn Abī Hātim Al-Rāzī (240/854-327/938)

hadith are the documents recording the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad. Originally an enormous and amorphous corpus, Muslim scholars of the third/ninth century separated the hadith they regarded as true from those they held to be forgeries, producing collection of hadith which still command the respect of Muslims today. Ibn Abi hatim al-Razi (240/854-327/938) was one of the most prominent exponents and practitioners of hadith criticism. He left a copious written legacy, including his famous Taqdima, a biographical dictionary of the early hadith critics. The Taqdima reveals Ibn Abi hatims's vision of the critic and gives insight into the mechanism of hadith criticism. It also provides a platform for the examination of the basic intellectual orientation of the hadith critics and their conflicts with their opponents.