The Perspectives of Muslim Scholars and Orientalists on the Authority of Mutawātir Ḥadīth: A Comparative Study
Arguments about mutawātir ḥadīth have been discussed and debated among Muslim scholars to guarantee the validity of mutawātir ḥadīth. It is ranked as the highest classification of tradition in ḥadīth criticism and acceptable to be used as proof for Islamic teaching without having to examine their...
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| Summary: | Arguments about mutawātir ḥadīth have been discussed and debated among Muslim
scholars to guarantee the validity of mutawātir ḥadīth. It is ranked as the highest
classification of tradition in ḥadīth criticism and acceptable to be used as proof for
Islamic teaching without having to examine their narrators. In contrast to the Muslim
scholars, orientalists, with their theories and methods, have doubted the authenticity of
mutawātir ḥadīth. They doubted this category of ḥadīth, from its definition to the chains
of narrators and related issues. Through their own invented methodologies and theories,
they refute the validity of mutawātir by focusing on the isnād or matn of ḥadīth. Both
scholar groups clearly have their perspectives regarding mutawātir ḥadīth which have
been spread in many of their works. Hence, this study focuses on three aspects that
could be regarded as the main points in the discussions about mutawātir ḥadīth which
are the reliability of the isnād, the existence of the mutawātir and the knowledge created
from the narration of mutawātir. The perspectives from both groups regarding these
aspects are analysed, compared, and discussed thoroughly in this study, mainly to justify
the authority of mutawātir. This study is conducted using a qualitative research
methodology and each perspective is analysed comparatively. The primary purpose of
this comparative analysis is to reveal a unique aspect of each perspective about
mutawātir ḥadīth. Throughout the discussions, the similarities and differences between
the perspectives of Muslim scholars and orientalists can be seen, clearly influenced by
the scholars’ different objectives. The Muslim scholars’ perspectives tend to focus on
strengthening the reliability of mutawātir ḥadīth while the orientalists’ perspectives tend
to focus on theories invented to dispute the validity of mutawātir ḥadīth. Therefore, this
study hoped to serve as a complete reference when discussing the perspectives of
Muslim scholars and orientalists on mutawātir ḥadīth. |
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