Editing Biographical evaluation (section)

{{short description|Islamic religious studies to distinguish reliable from unreliable hadith}}
{{redirect|Rijal|Nepalese surname|Rijal (surname)}}
{{Hadith |studies}}
'''Biographical evaluation''' ({{langx|ar|عِلْمُ الرِّجال|ʿilm ar-rijāl}}; literally meaning'' 'Knowledge of Men', ''but more commonly understood as the ''Science of Narrators)'' refers to a discipline of [[Islam]]ic religious studies within [[hadith terminology]] in which the narrators of [[hadith]] are evaluated. Its goal is to establish the credibility of the narrators, using both historic and religious knowledge, in order to distinguish [[Hadith terminology#Sahih|authentic]] and [[Hadith terminology#Hasan|reliable]] hadiths from [[Hadith terminology#Da`if|unreliable]] hadiths.<ref name="Muqaddimah 101">''Muqadimah Ibn al-Salah'', by Ibn al-Salah, edited by 'Aishah bint 'Abd al-Rahman, p. 101, ''Dar al-Ma'arif'', Cairo.</ref> '''{{Transliteration|ar|ʿIlm ar-rijāl}}''' is synonymous with what is commonly referred to as '''{{Transliteration|ar|al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl}}''' (discrediting and accrediting) – the criticism and declared acceptance of hadith narrators.{{NoteTag|Al-[[al-Suyuti|Suyūṭī]] mentioned in the chapter of ''Tadrib al-Rawi'' entitled 'Recognizing the trustworthy, reliable narrators and those who are weak and unreliable': "''al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʻdīl'' is permissible..."<ref name= "tadrib" />}}<ref name= "tadrib">''Tadrib al-Rawi'', vol. 2, p. 495, ''Dar al-'Asimah'', first edition, 2003.</ref>