The Authentication of Hadith: Ibn Hibban's Introduction to His Sahih

Ibn Hibban was a prominent scholar and critic of Hadith. He seems to have collected Hadith in his hometown of Bust in AH 270-300/881-911. He then travelled and made several journeys between Tashkent and Alexandria for about 40 years before returning to his native Sijistan in 340/951. By focusing on Ibn Hibban's introduction to his al-Taqasim wa-l-anwa? ("Divisions and Categories"), better known as Sahih Ibn Hibban, the primary goal of this article is to examine Ibn Hibban's theory of Hadith authentication. Ibn Hibban's theory of authenticity was established upon a set of formulas pertaining to transmission and knowledge that revolved almost entirely around the examination of isnad (chain of transmission). Since the aspiration of Hadith studies is to distinguish between authentic and weak Hadiths, this article draws on evidence showing that Sahih Ibn Hibban could be considered as a pioneering attempt to systemise the authentication of Hadith in the first three centuries of hijra.