Al-ʿIrāqī (d. 806/1404) and his hadith scholarship

This study aims to examine the contributions of al-ʿIrāqī (d. 806/1404) to the science of ḥadīth. Prepared under the title al-ʿIrāqī and His Scholarship in Ḥadīth, the research consists of an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. In the introduction, the subject, methodology, and sources of the study are presented, and academic works conducted on al-ʿIrāqī in Turkey and abroad are briefly introduced and evaluated. In addition, information is provided on the political, social, cultural, and intellectual conditions of the period in which he lived. The first chapter discusses al-ʿIrāqī's life, scholarly training, travels, teachers, and students, as well as the works he authored. The second chapter is devoted to his role as a scholar of ḥadīth methodology, presenting his views on the subject. The third chapter focuses on his takhrīj activities, with particular emphasis on his method in works such as the takhrīj of al-Ghazālī's Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn. The fourth chapter analyzes his methodology in the Takmila, a commentary on al-Tirmidhī's al-Jāmiʿ. The conclusion section presents the findings of the research. In conclusion, this study has identified and evaluated al-ʿIrāqī's views on ḥadīth methodology and examined in detail his approach to takhrīj and commentary. He addressed methodological issues in a systematic manner, facilitating the understanding of ḥadīth categories and concepts. Rather than merely transmitting the opinions of earlier scholars, he provided objective evaluations and expressed his own views on disputed matters. In his takhrīj works, he adopted a comprehensive and systematic method, analyzing narrations not only in terms of isnād but also matn, while utilizing a wide range of sources. In this respect, his works contributed significantly to strengthening the foundations of ḥadīth studies both in his own time and for subsequent generations. Al-ʿIrāqī's work al-Takmila, written to complete his teacher Ibn Sayyid al-Nās's unfinished al-Nafḥ al-Shadhī, goes beyond a mere continuation and contains original scholarly contributions. In this work, al-ʿIrāqī provides detailed analyses of the takhrīj of narrations, explanations concerning the narrators (rijāl) and legal rulings (fiqhī judgments), as well as comprehensive linguistic and grammatical examinations of words and sentences.