Al-Rihla fi Talab al-Hadith الرحلة في طلب الحديث

Al-Riḥlah fī Ṭalab al-Ḥadīth

الرحلة في طلب الحديث

Al-Riḥlah fī Ṭalab al-Ḥadīth (“Traveling in Search of Hadith”) by the eminent historian and hadith master al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (d. 463 AH / 1071 CE) is a classical collection documenting the journeys undertaken by the Companions, Successors, and later hadith scholars in pursuit of Prophetic traditions.

The book contains approximately three dozen reports of scholars traveling long distances specifically to hear a single hadith directly from its narrator. These include the journeys of Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh to Syria to hear a hadith from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Unays and Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī to Egypt to verify a hadith from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir. Such accounts illustrate the importance attached to direct transmission, verification, and preservation of the chain of narration.

Features of Dr. Nūr al-Dīn ʿItr’s Edition

This critical edition was prepared by the renowned Syrian hadith scholar Dr. Nūr al-Dīn ʿItr (may Allah have mercy on him). In addition to verifying and documenting the reports and their chains, Dr. ʿItr has supplemented al-Khaṭīb’s collection with additional accounts of journeys for hadith that were not included by the author, drawing on other classical sources.

The edition therefore brings together al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī’s original material with additional reports and scholarly annotations, providing a fuller picture of the tradition of riḥlah in the study and transmission of hadith.