Ma’rifatu ‘Ulūm Al-Ḥadīth Wa Kammiyyati Ajnāsihi

One of the earliest systematic works authored with the explicit intention of codifying the principles of ḥadīth sciences is Maʿrifat ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth wa Kamiyyat Ajnāsih by the distinguished ḥadīth master, Imām Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī (d. 405 AH). Born in 321 AH, Imām al-Ḥākim is often regarded as the final link among the mutaqaddimūn (early scholars) and the earliest of the mutaʾakhkhirūn (later generation), marking a pivotal transitional figure in the development of ḥadīth methodology.

Al-Ḥākim was universally recognised for his encyclopaedic knowledge of ḥadīth, and his role in articulating its foundational principles remains unparalleled among his contemporaries. Unlike earlier figures who addressed ḥadīth terminology incidentally within larger works, al-Ḥākim authored this treatise with the clear objective of delineating the genres and classifications within ʿulūm al-ḥadīth, making his effort one of the earliest works composed with full methodological intent.

This text enumerates and explains fifty-two distinct types of ḥadīth-related sciences, providing an early framework upon which later scholars—such as Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ—would elaborate. For this reason, Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAwwāmah has asserted that Maʿrifat ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth is more rightfully entitled to be considered the first true authored work in muṣṭalaḥ al-ḥadīth—more so than Imām al-Rāmhurmuzī’s al-Muḥaddith al-Fāṣil, which was not written with the same intention of codifying nomenclature.

The book’s publication history includes an initial print in India, followed by an edition issued by Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah (DKI) with taḥqīq by Shaykh Sayyid Muʿẓam Ḥusayn, which was widely criticised for its poor quality. A significantly improved critical edition was later produced by Aḥmad b. Fāris al-Salūm, which has since been reprinted by several reputable publishers.

Maʿrifat ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth remains a foundational reference for understanding the historical roots of hadith classification and the intellectual framework inherited by later authors. Its precise definitions and structured taxonomy paved the way for subsequent manuals and commentaries throughout the Islamic tradition.