Ibn Jurayj

Ibn Jurayj's collection of traditions, reportedly titled Kitab al-Sunan, is credited with pioneering the standard structure of fiqh works and beginning the musannaf genre. His student Abd al-Razzaq ibn Hammam claimed he was the first to arrange traditions in subject order, dividing them into chapters named 'books'. Ibn al-Nadim, who was familiar with the work, stated it was similar in form to later works of sunan - containing, for example, a chapter (kitāb) on salah followed by a chapter on zakat.[2][7]

He also reportedly authored books on tafsir and manasik, referred to in later sources as Kitāb al-Tafsir and Kitāb al-Manāsik respectively.[8] However, according to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the work on tafsir in fact consisted of his students' recordings of the lectures he gave on the subject.[2] In 2020, his tafsir was published for the first time after a manuscript of the work was discovered. It contained commentary on surahs An-Nisa to Al-Waqi'a.[9]

Hadith transmitted by Ibn Jurayj are present in all six of the canonical Sunni hadith collections.[10] During his stay in Yemen, Ibn Jurayj's lectures were attended by ʽAbd al-Razzaq al-Sanʽani, who included 5,000 of the traditions taught in his musannaf.[11]

Ibn Jurayj's status as a hadith transmitter was viewed positively by his student Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattani, although he cast doubt on those traditions which had been transmitted from memory and where an informant had been concealed (tadlis). The evaluation of Ibn Jurayj being a trustworthy transmitter when not practicing tadlis was also shared by later hadith critics, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Yahya ibn Maʻin and Ali ibn al-Madini.[2] More recently, Motzki assessed Ibn Jurayj's material in ʽAbd al-Razzaq al-Sanʽani's musannaf, concluding he did not forge the traditions he transmitted.[11]