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and his Companions (1), and may abundant blessings and peace be upon him.
To proceed:
The works devoted to the technical terminology (2) of the hadith scholars have multiplied, some being expansive and others concise. One of my brethren (3) asked me to distill for him (4) the most important matters, so I granted his request, hoping thereby to be counted among those who tread those paths.
(1) The phrase “wa-sahbihi” (and his Companions) is omitted in manuscript B.
(2) Manuscript W reads “mustalah.”
(3) Manuscript W reads “ikhwani” (my brothers).
(4) Manuscripts B and D have “lahum” (for them), although the surrounding context requires the singular form, as indicated by the sentences that follow.
وَصَحْبِهِ (١) وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيماً كَثِيراً.
أَمَّا بَعْدُ:
فَإِنَّ التَّصَانِيفَ فِي اصْطِلَاحِ (٢) أَهْلِ الحَدِيثِ قَدْ كَثُرَتْ وَبُسِطَتْ وَاخْتُصِرَتْ، فَسَأَلَنِي بَعْضُ الإِخْوَانِ (٣) أَنْ أُلَخِّصَ لَهُ (٤) المُهِمَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَأَجَبْتُهُ إِلَى سُؤَالِهِ؛ رَجَاءَ الِانْدِرَاجِ فِي تِلْكَ المَسَالِكِ.
(١) «وَصَحْبِهِ» سقطت من ب.
(٢) في و: «مصطلح».
(٣) في و: «إخواني».
(٤) في ب، د: «لهم»؛ والسِّيَاق يقتضي الإفراد؛ للجُمل الواردة بعده.