Introduction to the Science of Hadith English Book

"Introduction to the Science of Hadith" is a 13th century book written by Ibn Al-Salah. It describes the science of hadith and its terminology.

The Introduction comprises 65 chapters, each covering a hadith related issue. The first 33 chapters describe the various technical terms of hadith terminology which describe the conditions of a hadith's authenticity, or acceptability as a basis for Islamic jurisprudence. The following chapters relate to the isnad, or chain of narration. Next are a series of chapters pertaining to the etiquette to be observed by hadith scholars and manners of transcription. The last chapters describe various issues relating to the narrators of hadith including naming conventions.

Ibn Al-Salah began the Introduction as a series of lectures he dictated to his students in Damascus ending in 1233. It has received considerable attention from subsequent authors who explained, abridged and set it to poetry and it became an example for latter books of its genre.