Methodology for Editing the Book and Annotating It
In establishing the text and adding commentary I have followed the procedure outlined below:
- Establishing the text
After collating all the manuscripts, I select the reading that appears to me the most reliable. When the manuscripts differ, I generally adopt the wording that the context demands; if the context offers no clear preference, I retain the reading on which most copies agree and list the weaker variant in a footnote. Whenever the divergence affects the meaning, I explain the difference and the grounds for my preference whenever that becomes clear to me.
As for the printed edition, whenever it alone contains a particular phrase or variant, I do not incorporate that solitary reading into the body of the book; I merely signal it in a footnote, for two reasons:
- the printed version is rife with errors, interpolations, and arbitrary alterations—defects I attribute to the manuscript from which it was typeset;
- the manuscript upon which it was based is unknown to me.
- Citing ḥadīths and early reports and reproducing the texts
In documenting the ḥadīths I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to be brief and restrict myself to what is strictly necessary, so as not to lengthen the book or burden it with excessive notes.