Why did Ibn Hazm not cite any hadith from Baqi ibn Makhlad's Musnad in his book "Al-Muhalla," despite his praise for it? And was Baqi's Musnad lost before Ibn Hazm's time? And is his Musnad restricted to Marfu'at (Prophetic traditions directly attributed to the Prophet)? And why did Ibn Hazm not mention anything from Baqi's book that he compiled on the rulings of the Tabi'in?
Ibn Hazm mentioned in "Al-Muhalla" مرفوع (marfu') hadiths and narrations from the Companions and the Tabi'in through the channel of Baqi ibn Makhlad, on the authority of his shaykh, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah. Among these are: the hadith of Ibn Umar, on the authority of Umar, concerning vows made during the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah); the hadith of Jabir concerning taking an oath at the Minbar; and the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd concerning the marriage of a man to a woman in exchange for teaching her the Quran. It is likely that Ibn Hazm abridged the chains of transmission (isnad) of these hadiths in "Al-Muhalla," which is an abridgement of the book "Al-Eisal." It is also possible that the narrations mentioned by Ibn Hazm are from Baqi's Musannaf or Ibn Abi Shaybah's Musannaf. Ibn Hazm had access to Baqi ibn Makhlad's Musnad and favored it over others, even though the complete Musnad is not available now. It is known that all hadiths in the Musnad are marfu' and their outward appearance indicates continuous chains of transmission (ittisal). Baqi included in his Musnad Ahmed's Musnad and other Musnads. The Sunnah that was lost with the loss of Baqi's Musnad is preserved in the remaining other Musnads.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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