and in grammatical accuracy. He himself knew exactly what he would authorize and to whom he granted authorization. In fact, merely transmitting his books by wijāda (1) is sufficient to establish proof. Abū al-Yamān’s report from him on that basis demonstrates that the formula “he informed us” can be used for ijāzah, as the distinguished hadith scholars of the Maghrib are wont to do—though it is a kind of tadlīs, for it gives the impression that the material was received through direct audition; Allah knows best.
Yazīd ibn ʿAbd Rabbih said: “Shuʿayb died in 162 AH.”
Yahyā al-Wuḥāḍī and others said: “He died in 163.”
I say: He passed away one year before Ḥarīz ibn ʿUthmān; Ibn Ṭabrazad possesses a copy transmitted by Bishr ibn Shuʿayb from his father.
A number of scholars have written to inform us, saying:
“ʿUmar ibn Muḥammad informed us; Ibn al-Ḥuṣayn informed us; Ibn Ghailān informed us; Abū Bakr al-Shāfiʿī narrated to us; Ibrāhīm ibn al-Haytham narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn ʿAyyāsh narrated to us; Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah narrated, from Ibn al-Munkadir, from Jābir, who said:
‘The final practice of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was to forego ablution after consuming anything that had been touched by fire.’”
(1) Wijāda: reporting a text found in the author’s own handwriting without having received it directly from him.
(1) Al-wijada (the acquisition of texts by finding) occurs when a student discovers hadiths in the handwriting of their transmitter—whether or not he actually met or heard from that transmitter—or when he comes across hadiths in works by well-known authors. In such cases, he may not cite the report as “narrated to me by So-and-so”; rather, he must say, “I found this in the handwriting of So-and-so,” provided the script is identified with certainty, or simply, “So-and-so said…,” and similar formulations.
A large number of such reports appear in the Musnad of Ahmad, transmitted by his son Abd Allah, who repeatedly says: “I found this written in my father’s hand in his book.”
More than one modern verifier maintains that acting upon wijada is obligatory once confidence is achieved: the reader must be certain that the text is indeed in the shaykh’s own handwriting or that the book is authentically attributed to its author. In addition, the author himself must be reliable and the isnad of the report sound before it can be used as evidence.
A sound wijada that meets these conditions is no less trustworthy than any form of ijaza (authorization). The classical mother-works of hadith and other disciplines have, in fact, reached us through continuous transmission that relied heavily on wijada and on various ancient, dependable manuscripts.
(2) Its chain of transmission is strong. It is also recorded by Abu Dawud, no. 192, Book of Purification, “Chapter on omitting wuduʾ when the water has been altered …”