The introduction to the science of al-Jarh wal-Ta'dil

How does one harm a scholar's narration of knowledge? Or how does one make his narration acceptable and just? And how do you accept his narration in one matter and reject it in another? To answer these questions, the science of criticism and correction was established; it serves as a standard for measuring transmitters of knowledge to know who’s narration is accepted and who’s is rejected. This science first emerged within the womb of Hadith knowledge and the narration of the Prophetic Sunnah when liars and claimants appeared. Its foundational principles were derived from the Quran and Sunnah, as the scholar Al-Ma'mali Al-Yamani states: The first to speak about the conditions of men were the Quran, then the Prophet (peace be upon him), then his companions... This speech later became an independent science with a defined framework, known methodologies, and specialized terminology that diverged from their linguistic meanings to specific connotations. This book, "Introduction to the Science of Criticism and Correction," gently lifts the veil from the science of criticism and correction, providing us with a brief overview of its boundaries, origins, conditions for practitioners, the most famous critics and their ranks, and the methodology of each. It then mentions the most important classifications of narrators in the science, their approaches, and concludes with the rules and comprehensive criteria that this science revolves around, summarized from 38 specialized books on criticism and correction, in addition to what is mentioned in the books of Hadith terminology and the books of 'Ilal' (weakness in narration) in this regard.