The Taqdima of Ibn Abi Hatim was meant to serve as an introduction to his biographical dictionary of hadith transmitters, Kitab al-Jarh wa-l-taעdil. Dickinson argues that the primary purpose of this introduction was to show that hadith criticism as practiced by Ibn Abi Hatim began early and was used continuously up to his own time. In this way, he defended the practice and its techniques against its detractors. Dickinson also highlights the general principles and methods of the hadith critics of Ibn Abi Hatim's time.