Biographical evaluation

Biographical evaluation (Arabic: عِلْمُ الرِّجال, romanized: ʿilm al-rijāl; literally meaning 'Knowledge of Men' , but more commonly understood as the Science of Narrators) refers to a discipline of Islamic 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 authentic and reliable hadiths from unreliable hadiths. ʿIlm al-rijāl is synonymous with what is commonly referred to as al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl (discrediting and accrediting) – the criticism and declared acceptance of hadith narrators.