There is a book by Ibn Hajar al-‘Aqsallaani entitled Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb. What does this title mean, and what is the story of this book?
Praise be to Allah.
This book is a highly condensed summary of a large book about
the names and status of narrators of hadeeth.
Al-Haafiz al-Maqdisi (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote his
book entitled al-Kamaal fi Asma’ al-Rijaal, in which he recorded the
sayings of the imams concerning the narrators of the two Saheehs and
the four Sunans, relying on the histories of al-Bukhaari, the book of
Ibn Abi Haatim, the book of Ibn Mu’een, his companions and so on.
Then al-Haafiz al-Mazzi shortened the book
and called it Tahdheeb al-Kamaal. Then Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallaani
shortened it further and added some material that was omitted by the two
earlier scholars, which was a great deal of material. He called this summary
Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb. Then he condensed it further in the book called
Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb.