The end in strange speech and narration

Forward by Ibn Al-Athir, Sharaf عليه علي حسن الحلبي Introduction to the edition Indeed, praise be to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and from the bad consequences of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, there is no misleader for him; and whom He misguides, there is no guide for him. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. Indeed, the knowledge of strange hadith is among the noble sciences from which the hadith scholar benefits, and it is indispensable for the jurist; because it is an important art, and ignorance of it is repulsive to the narrators especially, and to scholars in general. It must be verified and carefully pursued, and this is only due to its importance, high status, and lofty rank. Therefore, only a few individuals from the people of knowledge—old and new—have delved into it, because engaging with it is difficult, deserving of caution, and worthy of careful pursuit. From here: the scholars’ warning against entering into it without mastery— as Al-Manawi said: “Let him beware of its pursuer and fear Allah that he does not undertake to interpret the speech of His Prophet—peace be upon him—by guesswork, and indeed some guesswork is sinful” [Al-Hujurat: 12]. The early scholars were very cautious in verifying it. The first known person who authored in the science of strange hadith was: Imam Al-Nadr ibn Shumail—who died in the year 203 AH—, as Al-Hakim Al-Nisaburi mentioned in ‘The Knowledge of Hadith Sciences’ (p. 88). After him, various works followed, such as: ‘Strange Hadith’ by Imam Abu Ubaid Al-Qasim ibn Salama—who died in 244 AH—, then Ibn Qutaybah, Ibn Al-Anbari, Al-Khattabi, and others... until this blessed and noble chain of hadith science reached the Imam Muhaddith (Al-Mubarak ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Athir Al-Jazari), who died in 606 AH. He collected the benefits of these books, arranged them, and refined them; so his book became a main reference for those engaged in knowledge, regardless of their levels, sciences, or fields of knowledge. This is a new, distinguished edition of this beneficial and blessed book; it delights the eyes and benefits researchers. We have compiled this entire work into one volume to facilitate benefit from it—whether traveling or stationary—and we have worked hard to organize it so that it has an elegant appearance, adorned with beauty, and distinguished by correctness of information. In conclusion of this introduction, I can only thank the brothers responsible for [Center (N) for Publishing Services] for their diligent effort in working on this book and for their agreement in the pursuit of correctness. We ask Allah—Glory be to Him—to greatly benefit from this edition and to multiply its benefits. And our last supplication is praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. This is written by ‘Ali ibn Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdul Hamid Al-Halabi Al-Athari.