Methodology of Authenticating Narratives from the Perspective of Sunni Scholars

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistance Professor, Hadith Department, Faculty of Hadith Knowledge and Education University of Quran and Hadith, Qom, Iran.

2 Ph.D Student of Quran and Hadith Knowledge, Theology Faculty, Meybod university, Meybod, Iran.

Abstract

One of the most significant challenges facing scholars of both denominations i.e. Shia and Sunni is the authentication of hadith chains. This research seeks to answer the question: What method have contemporary Sunni hadith scholars chosen for authenticating hadith narrations? To what extent do they rely on the science of hadith transmission (ilm al-riwayah) and how much do they rely solely on the rulings of their predecessors? To obtain the opinions of Sunni scholars, references have been made to the works of both early and contemporary scholars. This paper has been developed using a library research method and a descriptive-analytical and research approach. In this study, it was found that the methodology of contemporary Sunni scholars in authenticating narrations is mostly book-centered. They generally classify hadith into three groups. The first category includes hadiths from the Sahih collections, the most famous of which are Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Scholars accept the hadiths from these two books without any objection and have contemplations regarding other Sahih collections like Sahih Ibn Hibban, Ibn Asakir, and Ibn Khuzaymah. The second category consists of hadiths whose predecessors have evaluated and determined the authenticity of their chains of transmission, such as the four Sunan collections. Contemporary scholars rely on the rulings of narrations authenticated by previous Imams and consider their opinions valid. The third category includes hadiths that do not fall into the previous two categories. The narrations in this category are examined based on the principles of matn (content) and isnad (chain of transmission) in five stages, and their rulings are issued accordingly.

Keywords

References

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11- Pajooheshname Hadith Tatbighee
Volume 10, Issue 19
March 2024
Pages 255-276

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History

  • Receive Date: 23 May 2023
  • Revise Date: 11 September 2023
  • Accept Date: 22 January 2024

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