Basic Rules of The Al-Djarh Wal-Ta'Dil

The author in this article highlights the issue of whether al-djarh wa't-ta`clil is preferable to another. According to him, a hadith imam should be aware of which al-djarh wa't-ta`clil terms he should choose while the criticism of the narrators takes place. Otherwhise, as it is possible to see in examples, many hadith scholars are mistaken on this issue. Ibn al- Subki, in his ridjal books chooses examples and criticizes his teacher al-Dhahabi in this work. He also gives other examples of mubaddithin. He emphasizes that the scholars of the same generation may show signs of jealousy. Sometimes the people are making such mistakes, too. According to him, to prevent the mistakes made in these subjects, true scholars must have the right knowledge of the past al-djarh wa't-ta`clil scholars who have proven themselves in the past and therefore do not have suspicions about them. Decency must be in mind while criticism of the narrator is made. Without a proper source, the arguments between scholars should not be considered.