السيرة الذاتية : الاسم : الشريف حاتم بن عارف العوني . المولد : في الطائف 1385ﻫ . الشهادة : دكتوراه في الشريعة الإسلامية , من جامعة أم القرى بمكة المكرمة . المرتبة الأكاديمية : أستاذ مشارك . الوظائف والأعمال : - عضو مجلس الشورى منذ 3/3/1426ﻫ , وحتى الآن . - عضو هيئة التدريس في كلية الدعوة وأصول الدين بجامعة أم القرى . - المشرف العام على اللجنة العالمية لنصرة خاتم الأنبياء ﷺ . - وعضو في بعض المراكز العلمية داخل المملكة . -شارك في الكثير من المؤتمرات والندوات والدورات العلمية والدعوية داخل المملكة وخارجها . - العديد من المشاركات في وسائل الإعلام من الصحف والإذاعة والتلفزيون السعودي وغيره من الفضائيات المختلفة , ببرامج مستمرّة ولقاءات وندوات عابرة .
This is a brilliant work by Sh. Hatim al-'Awni. Similar to his other books, this work empowers the reader with a philosophy beyond mere intake of quotations.
As the title indicates, the book discusses Hadith commentary - its history, method, sources, application and more.
The historical overview relates to the importance given to understanding Hadith in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him), the Sahaba and successive generations which gave rise to the authorship of various types of Hadith commentaries.
Hadith commentary directly ties in with understanding; you can only explain a Hadith once you've understood it, which leads one to ask: how do we accurately understand Hadith? Sh. Hatim al-'Awni dedicates a chapter in this regard.
This chapter discusses legal theory - familiarity of Arabic expression; accumulating reports for wider context; assessing the reliability of reports; distinguishing between words uttered by the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and Hadith transmitters; and more.
This section also explains ways to judge whether the apparent meaning of a Hadith is intended along with numerous examples. Again, a philosophy is being taught with *practical* methods of determination.
Thereafter, the methods of reconciling conflicting reports are listed in order of preference. Here Sh. Hatim critiques the popular claim that Hanafis differ with the other schools.
This is followed by a brilliant discussion on abrogation, with quotes from scholars limiting the number of abrogated rulings and criticising arbitrary appeals to abrogation.
Sh. Hatim then *summaries* the lengthy topic of Ijma' - a crucial subject with multiple complexities. This section discusses the rationale behind Ijma', the way it operates and methods of validation.
The following chapter is a critical assessment of Hadith commentaries with recommendations. As Sh. Hatim points out, the purpose is to simply include books that fulfill the strict criteria set out in the introduction.
The final chapter of the book assesses five excerpts from different Hadith commentaries: 1) Ibn Jarir al-Tabari (d.310ah) - in Tahdhib al-Athar - discussing the legality of poetry;
2) al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d.c.320ah) - in al-Manhiyyat - discussing the ruling of garments hanging below the ankles (Sh. Hatim analyses opinions of numerous scholars from the four schools along with related Hadith, although the focus is to engage in a legal process);
3) al-Kalabadhi (d.380-385ah) - in al-Ikhbar bi Fawa'id al-Akhbar - providing multiple responses to a controversial Hadith (Sh. Hatim quotes at least fifteen classical scholars addressing objections levelled against the Hadith - which shows that such objections are not new and that our attitude to controversial Hadith ought to be one of humility, searching for the numerous explanations and responses provided by scholars);
4) comparing Ibn Abd al-Barr's (d.463ah) approach in al-Tamhid and al-Istidhkar; and
5) comparing al-Khattabi's (d.388ah) approach in Ma'alim al-Sunan and A'lam al-Hadith.
Other topics are also addressed in the book. After all, it is 800+ pages long.
All in all it is an engaging book with valuable discussions on Hadith and Fiqh.