The Impact of Confusion in Narrators’ Names on the Criticism of Imam Ḥafṣ ibn Sulaymān al-Qāriʾ: An Applied Critical Study in the Light of Biographical and ʿIlal Literature

أثرُ الاشتباهِ في أسماءِ الرواةِ في جرحِ الإمام حفص بن سليمان القارئ: دراسة نقدية تطبيقية في ضوء كتب الرجال والعلل

Abstract

This study examines the impact of confusion between similarly named narrators on the critical evaluation of Ḥafṣ ibn Sulaymān al-Asadī al-Kūfī, the renowned transmitter of the Qur’anic reading of ʿĀṣim. Although Ḥafṣ occupies a distinguished and firmly established position in the discipline of Qur’anic recitation, a number of early and later hadith critics described him in strongly negative terms, including weakness, abandonment, and, in some reports, accusations of dishonesty. The article investigates whether all such judgments were directed specifically at Ḥafṣ the Qur’anic reciter or whether some may have resulted from confusion with other transmitters who shared the same name, particularly Ḥafṣ ibn Sulaymān al-Minqarī al-Baṣrī. Using a historical, analytical, and comparative method, the study reviews biographical dictionaries, works of al-jarḥ wa-al-taʿdīl, books of hadith transmitters, and classical sources on Qur’anic readings. It also analyses the chronology, wording, context, and transmission of the major critical statements attributed to leading hadith authorities. The findings indicate that similarity of names, regional affiliations, and incomplete attribution may have contributed to the transfer or misapplication of certain judgments. At the same time, the study does not deny the existence of genuine criticism concerning Ḥafṣ’s precision in hadith transmission. It concludes that his status should be assessed through a careful distinction between his unquestioned authority in Qur’anic recitation and his comparatively weaker position in hadith narration. Such differentiation offers a more balanced and methodologically sound understanding of his scholarly legacy.