The Shaykh’s remarks on the merits of *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib* over *Tahdhib al-Kamal*.

The Shaykh : The second book, "Tahdhib Tahdhib al-Kamal" by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, does not contain these three merits at all. He lists the names of the biographee’s teachers and students in a sequence that pays no attention to order whatsoever. This requires time and effort, especially if the biographee is one of the famous hadith masters known for having many teachers and many students. In that case, searching for a teacher or a student takes a long time. These three benefits are not found in the book "Tahdhib al-Tahdhib." However, to confirm what I said earlier, one book does not replace the other. "Tahdhib al-Tahdhib" supplements its original source, "Tahdhib al-Kamal," with things that may have been missed or that were abridged according to the plan he set for his book. It supplements it with benefits that we do not find in the first book. Among the most important of these is that it supplements the statements of the masters of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil regarding this biographee—those masters whose statements about the biographee al-Hafiz al-Mizzi did not address. Therefore, it is not possible to dispense with one of the two books in favor of the other. Rather, when one needs to review the biography of a certain narrator, he must return to both books in most cases. I say "in most cases" because the three benefits I mentioned earlier may not be needed by the researcher in some instances concerning a well-known man. In such a situation, he wants to gather the statements of the masters of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil as comprehensively as possible. In that case, he immediately returns to "Tahdhib al-Tahdhib" and dispenses with referring to its original source, which is "Tahdhib al-Kamal." This is the answer to that question that was put to us while we were heading to the mosque.The Shaykh : Or from the student for a long time. These three benefits are not found in the book *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib*. However, to confirm what I said earlier, one book does not replace another. *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib* supplements its original, *al-Tahdhib*, with what may have been missed or what may have been abbreviated according to the plan he set for his book. So it supplements it with benefits that we do not find in the first book. Among the most important of these is that it supplements the statements of the scholars of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators) regarding this biographical subject—those scholars whose statements the Hafiz al-Mizzi did not address regarding the subject. Therefore, it is not possible to dispense with one of the two books in favor of the other. Rather, when one needs to review the biography of a narrator, he must, in most cases, return to both books. I say "in most cases" because the three benefits I mentioned earlier may not be needed by the researcher in some instances concerning a well-known man. In that case, he wants to gather the statements of the scholars of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil as comprehensively as possible. At that point, he immediately returns to *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib* and dispenses with referring to its original, which is *Tahdhib al-Kamal*. This is the answer to that question that was put to me, and we are heading to the mosque.