It also contains a valuable study on retreat in the mosque (iʿtikāf), which was mentioned earlier in its proper place.
“Kitāb [Aṣl] al-Sunnah wa-Iʿtiqād al-Dīn,” by Ibn Abī Ḥātim, critical edition.
He did not finish the verification, and the book itself is now lost.
Al-Shaybānī cites it in Ḥayāt al-Albānī 2/582, and al-Qaryūtī in A Constellation of Imams of Guidance, p. 241.
In the journal al-Aṣālah it is attributed to al-Ḥumaydī.
That, however, is probably a mistake; the correct attribution is to Ibn Abī Ḥātim, for four reasons:
First:
I do not know of any book by al-Ḥumaydī on this subject except a brief epistle entitled Uṣūl al-Sunnah, printed at the end of his Musnad (2/546–458) and occupying three pages.¹
Second:
Ibn Abī Ḥātim actually wrote a work entitled Aṣl al-Sunnah wa-Iʿtiqād al-Dīn, printed in India, and its title matches exactly what al-Shaybānī and al-Qaryūtī reported.
Third:
Al-Shaybānī read his book—including this very piece of information—to al-Albānī,² so, all in all, his statement carries greater weight, especially since the book is lost, as noted above. Had it still existed, ʿAlī b. Ḥasan would have recorded its catalogue number in the Shaykh’s library, as he did with other items.
Fourth:
Al-Shaybānī listed the work in Ḥayāt al-Albānī (2/582) under no. 42, and immediately after it, under no. 43, he cited al-Ḥumaydī’s book Asbāb al-Ikhtilāf. It is therefore likely that ʿAlī b. Ḥasan’s eye slipped while copying—a well-known mishap among copyists and transmitters.
This is what appears most plausible to me, and Allah knows best.
Some sources give the title in the plural, Uṣūl al-Sunnah, but the form I have adopted seems correct, and under that very title the book was printed in India. Allah knows best.
“Kitāb al-Īmān,” by Ibn Abī Shaybah, critical edition (printed).
“Kitāb al-Īmān,” by Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim b. Sallām, critical edition (printed).
… “Kitāb al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr” = “Comprehensive Index of the Hadiths of Kitāb al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr.”
… “Kitāb al-Thiqāt,” by Ibn Ḥibbān = “Facilitating Benefit.”