Editing and Printing Hadith Literature in Nineteenth-Century India: Aḥmad ʿAlī Sahāranpūrī and the Maṭbaʿ-i Aḥmadī Press

Abstract From manuscripts to various types of printing, the production of written knowledge has undergone drastic changes since the nineteenth century. What impact did this transitionary period have on hadith manuscripts, which enjoyed a complex textual tradition spanning centuries? Through a case study of the North Indian hadith scholar Aḥmad ʿAlī Sahāranpūrī (d. 1880) and his printing press, Maṭbaʿ-i Aḥmadī, this article contributes to the burgeoning scholarship on early-modern editorial practices. Focusing on the use of lithographic printing in nineteenth-century India, this study examines how Sahāranpūrī employed editorial techniques to print hadith literature that paralleled other prolific printing hubs like Cairo while also preserving the distinctive premodern characteristics of these texts. Moreover, this article will showcase the broader editorial trends in India at the time vis-à-vis hadith literature with a focus on what set Sahāranpūrī’s work apart from that of his fellow Indian editors.