Stories of the Prophets
Yahya bin Ma'in
يَحْيَى بْنُ مَعِينٍ رَحِمَهُ اللهُ
Pioneer of the Science of Criticism of Hadith Narrators (d. 233 AH)
Yahya bin Ma'in is known as one of the main pioneers of the science of al-jarh wat-ta'dil (criticism and assessment of the credibility of hadith narrators), a scientific discipline that is the foundation for assessing the authenticity of hadith to this day. He is said to have evaluated the credibility of tens of thousands of narrators throughout his life, with an assessment that is highly respected and often referred to by Imam Bukhari and other major hadith scholars.
1Imam Al-Jarh wat-Ta'dil
Yahya bin Ma'in (158–233 H) from Baghdad, the greatest imam in the science of narratorial criticism (al-jarh wat-ta'dil), a close friend of Imam Ahmad. He spent his wealth writing and researching hadiths to sort out the authentic ones from the fake ones.
📖 QS Al-Hujurat: 6
2Guardian of Hadith Purity
With his thoroughness, Yahya bin Ma'in became a bulwark that protected the Sunnah from forgery; The scholars adhere to their assessment of the narrator. He died in Medina in 233 H while performing the Hajj, and was prayed on the coffin of the Prophet ﷺ.
📖 QS Al-Hijr: 9