حقيقة وصل العلامة ابن البر لبلاغات موطأ مالك بن أنس

Abstract

This study examines what is known as the "connection" (Al-Wasl) of the "communicated reports" (Al-Balaghat) found in Imam Malik ibn Anas’s Al-Muwatta, as performed by the scholar Ibn Abd al-Barr al-Namari al-Maliki, famously known as Ibn Abd al-Barr al-Andalusi. The research demonstrates that Ibn Abd al-Barr did not provide continuous chains of transmission (Isnad) for all of those reports in his book Al-Tamhid, contrary to the widespread belief among many scholars. Notably, Imam al-Suyuti stated: "Ibn Abd al-Barr authored a work to connect the hurried (Mursal), interrupted (Munqati’), and problematic (Mu’dal) reports in Al-Muwatta, except for four specific reports for which he could not find a chain." However, through meticulous tracking, induction, and enumeration, this study reveals that such a claim is inaccurate. The total number of reports connected by Ibn Abd al-Barr in his work did not exceed sixty-one, as he himself explicitly stated: "Among the reports Malik cited from trustworthy sources and what he reported as 'reaching him' (Balahanahu), there are sixty-one hadiths." This finding is based on the recension of Al- Muwatta that he relied upon in his work, which is the narration of Yahya ibn Yahya al- Laythi—the most famous narration of Al-Muwatta, even if not the most authentic.