Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī begins Nukhbat al-Fikar with a profound invocation of praise (al-ḥamd) and a demonstration of his linguistic and theological precision. The discussion of the definite article in al-ḥamdu lillāh reflects the intersection between grammar, theology, and divine self-praise, drawing upon both linguistic authorities such as Ibn al-Naḥḥās and spiritual interpretations from scholars like Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Mursī. Following this, Ibn Ḥajar provides an insightful discourse on taṣnīf (authorship), distinguishing the diverse motives behind literary composition—clarification, correction, innovation, compilation, organization, abridgment, and completion—thereby situating his own work within the scholarly continuum of purposeful writing. His acknowledgment of composing al-Nukhbah at the request of a fellow scholar—possibly ʿIzz al-Dīn Ibn Jamāʿah or al-Zarkashī—further underscores the motivation behind the text’s production.
Ibn Ḥajar then proceeds to delineate the terminology foundational to the science of ḥadīth, beginning with the concept of khabar (report) and its multidisciplinary definitions across linguistics, rhetoric, legal theory, and ḥadīth scholarship. He distinguishes between khabar, ḥadīth, isnād, sanad, and matn, illustrating these through examples such as the opening narration of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. His methodological precision reflects not only his mastery of terminology but also his pedagogical concern for conceptual clarity. In analyzing transmission (ṭuruq), he engages in a linguistic digression on Arabic plural patterns to demonstrate the semantic richness and morphological logic underpinning technical expressions in ḥadīth sciences. The framework culminates in the classification of reports according to the number and reliability of transmission chains—an epistemic foundation that anchors later discussions on certainty and authenticity within transmitted knowledge.
At the heart of Ibn Ḥajar’s epistemological framework lies his exposition on al-khabar al-mutawātir, the mass-transmitted report. Building upon earlier legal theorists and theologians, he defines tawātur as transmission by such a multitude of narrators that collusion upon falsehood becomes rationally impossible, yielding necessary and self-evident knowledge (ʿilm ḍarūrī). Ibn Ḥajar synthesizes the insights of scholars like al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, al-Ghazālī, and ʿĪsā ibn Abān, integrating their epistemological discussions into the applied science of ḥadīth. He identifies four essential conditions for tawātur—numerical abundance, impossibility of collusion, continuity of transmission, and sensory grounding—while rejecting nonessential stipulations such as fixed numbers or uniform geography.
