in some of his other writings, where he also discusses a number of its questions.1 The book is likewise attributed to him in several biographical catalogues, such as Kashf al-Ẓunūn by Ḥājjī Khalīfa and Hadiyyat al-ʿĀrifīn by al-Baghdādī.2

As for the title, the complete name appears in every manuscript consulted for this critical edition, and the written sources give it in full as Hidāyat al-Ḥayārā fī Ajwibat al-Yahūd wa-l-Naṣārā; the author himself cites it in his introduction. This shows that the occasional variant found in a few manuscript copies is merely a scribal slip or an abbreviation—for example, the Aya Sofya copy has at one point “Kitāb al-Ḥayārā…,” while the Ḥājj Bashīr Āghā Library copy in Istanbul reads “Hidāyat al-Khiyārā….”

Sources of the Book
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—drew on a set of sources of substantial scholarly weight. They range from works of Qur’anic exegesis, such as al-Ṭabarī, to hadith collections—the two Ṣaḥīḥs, the Sunan, the Masānīd, and others from which he quotes. He also relies on writings about the Prophet’s biography, traits, and proofs of prophethood, including Sīrat Ibn Isḥāq, Sīrat Ibn Hishām, and Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwa by al-Bayhaqī, by Abū Nuʿaym, and by Qawwām al-Sunnah. From Ibn Qutayba he cites passages from the still-manuscript work Aʿlām Rasūl Allāh ﷺ fī al-Tawrāt wa-l-Injīl (“The Marks of the Messenger of Allah, God bless him and grant him peace, in the Torah and the Gospel”). He also makes use of biographical compilations and works on the Companions, such as Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, al-Istīʿāb by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, and al-Taʾrīkh al-Kabīr by al-Bukhārī, and was