Sharh Mushkil al-Athar, or simply Mushkil al-Athar, is a 10th-century Sunnihadith collection by Al-Tahawi. The book focuses on hadiths that are hard to understand, especially those that seem contradictory or confusing. Al-Tahawi explains these narrations, resolves apparent conflicts, and draws related legal and theological conclusions. It is considered his final work and contains over six thousand hadiths, including some repetitions.
The work is usually called Mushkil al-Athar or Sharh Mushkil al-Athar.
The Hyderabad edition (1333 AH / 1914 CE) uses Mushkil al-Athar, while the Beirut edition (1415 AH / 1994 CE) calls it Sharh Mushkil al-Athar.[1]
Other historical sources and manuscripts give different titles. Ibn Hayr al-Ishbili lists it as Bayan Mushkil al-Hadith al-Rasul Allah wa Istikhrāj al-Ahkam Allati Fihi wa Nafy al-Tazaddi Anhu, reflecting the subheadings that start with "Babu bayani mushkili ma ruwiya fi…". Ibn 'Atiyya calls it Kitab Ta’wil Mushkil al-Hadith, and a manuscript in the Istanbul Millet Library uses the name cited by Ibn Hayr. The Beirut edition keeps Sharh Mushkil al-Athar on the cover but mentions other historical names inside.[1]
Content
The hadiths are organized under about one thousand headings, but they are not grouped into larger sections like earlier collections.[2] In the preface, Al-Tahawi explains that he wrote the book to make difficult hadiths understandable, show the rulings they contain, and clarify apparent contradictions. Difficult hadiths are divided into two types: those that conflict with other sources and those that are unclear because of brief or metaphorical wording.[2] Al-Tahawi examines all relevant narrations, checks their reliability, cites supporting reports, and refers to the Qur’an when needed. Apparent contradictions are handled using interpretation, abrogation, and preference in order. The book also examines chains of transmission, narrator reliability, and hidden defects in hadiths. Some hadiths about legal rulings are summarized, with readers directed to his earlier work Sharh Ma'ani al-Athar for details. The influence of earlier scholars, such as Al-Shafi'i jurists and Ibn Qutaybah, is evident, and Al-Tahawi combines their methods to produce a more complete and organized collection.[1]
Legacy
Several scholars have worked on Sharh Mushkil al-Athar, creating commentaries, abridgements, and reorganized editions:[1]
One of the earliest abridgements is attributed to Abu al-Walid al-Baji. In this version, chains of transmission were omitted, listing only the names of the Companions, and material from al-Muwatta was added.
Jamal al-Malati (d. 1400) condensed al-Baji's version further under the title al-Mu‘tasar min al-Mukhtasar min Mushkil al-Athar, reducing its length by about half while keeping the original order and addressing earlier criticisms.
A modern edition was published in Hyderabad (I–IV, 1333/1914), but this edition included only about half of the work and had many errors.
A complete new edition was later published by Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ut as Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (I–XVI, Beirut 1408/1987, 1415/1994), with the last volume serving as an index.
Abu’l-Husayn Khalid Mahmud al-Ribat later reorganized the work according to legal topics and published it as Tuhfat al-Akhyar bi-Tartib Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (Riyadh 1420/1999).
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