Chapter 3: `Ilm al-Rijal

The following verse of the Qur’an made it incumbent upon al-muhaddithin (scholars of hadith) to make a thorough enquiry into details of narrators of ahadith:

“O believers, if an ungodly man comes to you with a report, investigate, lest you afflict a people unwittingly and then repent of what you have done.” (49:6)

As to who were pioneers in this field, it must be admitted that the Shi`ah had taken a lead in this field. The first writer to compile a book on this subject was Abu Muhammad `Abd Allah ibn Jibillah ibn Hayyan al-Kanani (died 219/834).¹⁰ But according to Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his Kitab al-‘awa’il, the first writer on `ilm al-rijal was Shu`bah (died 260/87374).¹¹ However, it is clear that the statement of Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti does not correspond with historical fact, for `Abd Allah ibn Jibillah died forty years before Shu`bah.

Another important point that should be noted here is that writing of chronicles of persons or biographical accounts was current amongst the Shi`ah from the very early days of Islam. If this is taken into account, Abu Rafi` and his desendents took a lead before all others.¹²

Some books on `ilm al-rijal gives biographical accounts of narrators without giving the dates of their death, such as Ta’rikh of Ibn Jarir, Muruj al-dhahab of al-Mas`udi, aI-Kamjl fi al-ta’rikh of Ibn al-Athir. Some give dates of death without biographical accounts. Others, being more comprehensive, give almost all essential details, such as the works of Abu al-Faraj Jawzi and al-Dhahabi.¹³