A Compilation and Study of the Hasan Hadiths Reported by Ibn Hibban in His Sahih: From the Chapter on Forgiveness in the Book of Righteousness and Benevolence to the Chapter on Neighbors

Abstract

 This study is derived from a master's thesis in the field of Hadith and its sciences. Examining the narrations found in Ibn Hibban’s Al-Musnad al-Sahih holds immense importance in the realm of Hadith studies, given the work's established status among the authoritative Sunnah compilations recognized by scholars. Scholars have accorded this book special attention both in terms of defining the author's methodology and evaluating the narrations it contains due to observations regarding a certain degree of leniency in Ibn Hibban’s approach to authenticating Hadith (though this leniency was less pronounced than that attributed to others, such as Al-Hakim). Consequently, a need arose for a precise study to examine those narrations that did not attain the rank of absolute authenticity Rather, it belongs to the category of ḥasan (sound/good) hadiths that Ibn Ḥibbān included in a book he titled al-Ṣaḥīḥ a title that might mislead non-specialists into believing that all its narrations are ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) according to later technical definitions. This study aims to examine the actual presence of ḥasan hadiths in the book by analyzing their chains of transmission (isnāds) and investigating Ibn Ḥibbān’s methodology in evaluating them, thereby providing a clearer picture of his critical approach The significance of this research lies in the scholarly service it renders to a work considered one of the most prominent compilations of Hadith. It does so by examining the level of precision employed by the author and uncovering the reasons behind his inclusion of ḥasan (sound/good) narrations in a book designated as Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic). The study arrives at a set of significant and precise scholarly findings regarding this issue, which are presented Allah willingat the end of the paper.