What are the books you advise students of knowledge to refer to in the study of narrators?
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The questioner : And what are the books you advise students of knowledge to turn to in the study of narrators?
The Shaykh : These, and referring to the sources from which they took their information. Among the most important of these, in reality, is the book *Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil* (The Critique and Vindication of Narrators) by Ibn Abi Hatim. Then *Al-Tarikh al-Kabir* (The Great History) and *Al-Tarikh al-Saghir* (The Small History) by al-Bukhari, both of which are printed, and *Al-Tarikh al-Muttasil* (The Connected History), which is still lost to this day. Then *Thiqat Ibn Hibban* (The Reliable Narrators of Ibn Hibban), *Thiqat al-'Ijli* (The Reliable Narrators of al-'Ijli), Ibn Shahin, and others like them. Today, praise be to Allah, they are publishing these. The book *Tarikh al-Khatib al-Baghdadi* (The History of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi) is a very great reference for some biographies that may not be found in all these sources. Likewise, *Tarikh Dimashq* (The History of Damascus) by Ibn Asakir. Damascus was the center of Arab scholarship, and some of its volumes were printed separately, not in sequence. Some copies have been photographed today, but these copies have gaps and deficiencies. I wish this deficiency could be filled, even if from some other copies. These are the sources that a student of knowledge must refer to, in addition to the first books we mentioned, which are considered comprehensive works.
The Shaykh : These, and referring to the sources from which they took their information. Among the most important of these, in reality, is the book *Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil* (The Critique and Vindication of Narrators) by Ibn Abi Hatim. Then *Al-Tarikh al-Kabir* (The Great History) and *Al-Tarikh al-Saghir* (The Small History) by al-Bukhari, both of which are printed, and *Al-Tarikh al-Muttasil* (The Connected History), which is still lost to this day. Then *Thiqat Ibn Hibban* (The Reliable Narrators of Ibn Hibban), *Thiqat al-'Ijli* (The Reliable Narrators of al-'Ijli), Ibn Shahin, and others like them. Today, praise be to Allah, they are publishing these. The book *Tarikh al-Khatib al-Baghdadi* (The History of al-Khatib al-Baghdadi) is a very great reference for some biographies that may not be found in all these sources. Likewise, *Tarikh Dimashq* (The History of Damascus) by Ibn Asakir. Damascus was the center of Arab scholarship, and some of its volumes were printed separately, not in sequence. Some copies have been photographed today, but these copies have gaps and deficiencies. I wish this deficiency could be filled, even if from some other copies. These are the sources that a student of knowledge must refer to, in addition to the first books we mentioned, which are considered comprehensive works.