Gaps in a Collection of Pious Lives

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أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّكَ الطَّالِبُ الصَّادِقُ وَالْمُرِيدُ الْمُحَقِّقُ

As for what follows, indeed you are the sincere seeker and the true aspirant.

لَمَّا نَظَرْتَ فِي كِتَابِ حِلْيَةِ الأَوْلِيَاءِ لِأَبِي نُعَيْمٍ الأَصْبَهَانِي أَعْجَبَكَ ذِكْرُ الصَّالِحِينَ وَالأَخْيَارِ

When you looked into the book 'Adornment of the Saints' by Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, you were impressed by the mention of the righteous and the virtuous.

وَرَأَيْتَهُ دَوَاءً لِأَدْوَاءِ النَّفْسِ

And you saw it as a remedy for the ailments of the soul.

إِلَّا أَنَّكَ شَكَوْتَ مِنْ إِطَالَتِهِ بِالأَحَادِيثِ الْمُسْنَدَةِ الَّتِي لَا تَلِيقُ بِهِ وَبِكَلامٍ عَنْ بَعضِ المَذْكُورِينَ كَثِيرِ قَلِيلِ الفَائِدَةِ

However, you complained about its excessive length due to the chained hadiths that do not suit it, and about speech from some of the mentioned people that is lengthy but of little benefit.

وَسَأَلْتَنِي أَنْ أَخْتَصِرَهُ لَكَ وَأَنْتَقِيَ مَحَاسِنَهُ

You asked me to abridge it for you and to select its beauties.

فَقَدْ أَعْجَبَنِي مِنْكَ أَنَّكَ أَصَبْتَ فِي نَظَرِكَ

I was impressed by you, for you were correct in your view.

إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكْشِفْ لَكَ كُلَّ الأَمْرِ

However, it did not disclose to you the whole matter.

وَأَنَا أَكْشِفُهُ لَكَ فَأَقُولُ مَسَاوِئَهُ

I will disclose it to you by mentioning its flaws.

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ كِتَابَ الحِلْيَةِ قَدْ حَوَى مِنَ الأَحَادِيثِ وَالحِكَايَاتِ جُمْلَةً حَسَنَةً

Know that the book 'Adornment' contains a good collection of hadiths and stories.

إِلَّا أَنَّهُ تَكَدَّرَ بِأَشْيَاءَ وَفَاتَتْهُ أَشْيَاءُ

However, it is tainted by things and missed other things.

فَ الأَشْيَاءُ الَّتِي تَكَدَّرَ بِهَا عَشَرَةٌ

So the things that it is tainted by are ten.

الأَوَّلُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْكِتَابَ إِنَّمَا وُضِعَ لِذِكْرِ أَخْبَارِ الأَخْيَارِ

The first is that this book was composed to mention the reports of the virtuous;

وَإِنَّمَا يُرَادُ مِنْ ذِكْرِهِمْ شَرْحُ أَحْوَالِهِمْ وَأَخْلَاقِهِمْ لِيَقْتَدِيَ بِهَا السَّالِكُ

The purpose of mentioning them is to explain their states and morals, so that the seeker may emulate them.

فَقَدْ ذُكِرَ فِيهِ أَسْمَاءُ جَمَاعَةٍ ثُمَّ لَمْ يُنْقَلْ عَنْهُمْ شَيْئًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ

Yet it mentioned the names of a group, then reported nothing of that from them.

ذُكِرَ عَنْهُمْ مَا يَرْوُونَهُ عَنْ غَيْرِهِمْ أَوْ مَا يُسْنِدُونَهُ مِنَ الْحَدِيثِ

Included was what they narrated from others or what they transmitted as hadith.

كَمَا مَلَأَ تَرْجَمَةَ هِشَامِ بْنِ حَسَّانَ بِمَا يُرْوَى عَنِ الْحَسَنِ

As he filled the biography of Hisham ibn Hassan with what is narrated by al-Hasan,

وَتِلْكَ الْحِكَايَاتُ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تُدْخَلَ فِي تَرْجَمَةِ الْحَسَنِ لَا فِي تَرْجَمَةِ هِشَامٍ

Those stories should be included in the biography of al-Hasan, not in the biography of Hisham.

وَكَذَلِكَ مَلَأَ تَرْجَمَةَ جَعْفَرَ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ بِمَا يُرْوَى عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ دِينَارٍ وَنُظَرَائِهِ

Similarly, he filled the biography of Ja'far ibn Suleiman with what is narrated from Malik ibn Dinar and his peers,

وَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ لَهُ عَنْهُ شَيْئًا

And did not mention anything about him personally.