Al-Suyūṭī, in the Supplement to Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ, lists the work simply as “ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth.”
Ibn Kathīr—may Allah have mercy on him—introduces the book by outlining his method:
“I followed in his footsteps—meaning Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ—walked where he walked, abridged what he had expanded, and arranged what he had left scattered….”
He criticizes Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ for enumerating the disciplines of ḥadīth in sixty-five categories, noting that these could, in theory, be subdivided without limit. Ibn Kathīr remarks:
“In all of this there is room for reconsideration—indeed, even in his expanding the topics to that number. Certain categories could be combined, which would have been more appropriate. He also separated matters that are essentially the same, whereas it would have been better to list each type alongside its counterpart. We shall therefore arrange what we mention in the order most suitable, occasionally merging one topic with another for the sake of brevity and coherence, while drawing attention to the necessary points of discussion.” (1)
The book was first published in Mecca in 1353 AH, edited by Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Razzāq Ḥamza, under the title Ikhtiṣār ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth, or al-Bāʿith al-Ḥathīth ilā Maʿrifat ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth. Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir then annotated it and brought out a Cairo edition in 1355 AH with the same title, later revising, annotating, and correcting it for a further Cairo printing in 1370 AH. He writes in his introduction:
“It is a unique book in its field, authored by a great Imām, one of the trustworthy and investigating authorities in this discipline. Its manuscripts are exceedingly rare. For years we only heard of it in bibliographies until our colleague, the learned Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Razzāq Ḥamza, instructor in the Sacred Mosque, discovered it while in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah in 1346 AH. His copy was housed in the Library of Shaykh al-Islām Aḥmad ʿĀrif Ḥikmah under catalogue no. 57 (Muṣṭalaḥ). It is an old manuscript written in Ṭarābulus al-Shām in 765 AH, copied from another exemplar collated against an approved, reliable copy that had been read to the author himself and bears his handwriting, as the scribe—may Allah have mercy on him—testifies.” (2)
Most recently the text has appeared in two volumes, edited by ʿAlī Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Ḥalabī, and published by Maktabat al-Maʿārif in Riyadh.
- Al-Ijtihād fī Ṭalab al-Jihād
This printed epistle was composed by Ibn Kathīr for Emir Manjak, deputy of the sultan in Damascus, when the latter took office for the second time (771–775 AH), to be dispatched “to the lands bordering the sea so that they might take their share of jihad.” (3)
Ibn Kathīr states plainly in the introduction that he wrote it at the order of the deputy of the sultan in Damascus, “for he is the deputy of the Imām, and obedience to what he commands is obedience to Allah and His Messenger.” (4)
The epistle was printed in Cairo in 1347 AH and was published by the Azhar Society for Publishing and Authorship.