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The most comprehensive and up-to-date English-language guide on hadith scholarship
The source of much of our knowledge of the first two centuries of Islamic history, the hadith literature is made up of thousands of traditions collected during the formative years of Islam. Alongside the Qur'an, the hadith forms a second major body of Islamic scripture, and much of Islamic belief and practice rests on the hadith including Islamic law, Islamic theology, Qur'anic interpretation, political thought, and personal behavior. Yet despite its importance to Muslims worldwide and its indispensable role as a source for early Islamic history, the hadith remains unexplored territory for many non-specialist readers.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Hadith is a concise yet comprehensive overview of both Islamic and Western traditions of hadith study, offering up-to-date scholarship and providing readers with an essential guide to this distinctive aspect of Islam.
Written by a multidisciplinary team of distinguished scholars, the Companion discusses questions of authenticity, epistemology and authority in the hadith and explores the relationship of the hadith literature to other ways of transmitting knowledge and establishing authority.
* Covers the origins of hadith, the application of hadith within the Islamic intellectual tradition, and contemporary revaluations of hadith literature
* Addresses developments in modern scholarship about the origins of Islam and Islamic law which are rooted in a revaluation of hadith
* Presents new and groundbreaking research from international scholars from divergent perspectives to present an accurate and lively overview of the field
* Explores the emergence of skepticism about hadith among western scholars
* Surveys the evolution of a wide range of approaches to hadith among modern Muslims
Filling a significant gap in current literature in the field, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Hadith is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and researchers in Islamic studies, Islamic law, history, and theology.
List of contents
List of Figures vii
Notes on Contributors ix
Introduction 1
Daniel W. Brown
I. Overview 13
1 The Classical Tradition 15
Ghassan Abdul-Jabbar
2 Western Hadith Studies 39
Daniel W. Brown
II. Beginnings 57
3 Revelation 59
William A. Graham
4 Muhammad 75
Andreas Görke
5 Recording 91
Gregor Schoeler
6 Dating 113
Pavel Pavlovitch
III. Growth 135
7 Collections 137
Ghassan Abdul-Jabbar
8 Commentaries 159
Mustafa Macit Karagözoglu
9 Genres 187
Roberto Tottoli
IV. Impact 203
10 Law 205
Christopher Melchert
11 Exegesis 223
Herbert Berg
12 Theology 241
Huseyin Hansu
13 Sufism 265
Aiyub Palmer
14 Shi¿ism 281
Ahmad Pakatchi
V. Modernity 295
15 Reform 297
Jawad Anwar Qureshi
16 Reappraisal 315
Daniel W. Brown
17 Gender 335
Adis Duderija
Bibliography 353
Index 383
About the author
Daniel W. Brown is Director of the Institute for the Study of Religion in the Middle East and author of
Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought and
A New Introduction to Islam.
Summary
The most comprehensive and up-to-date English-language guide on hadith scholarship
The source of much of our knowledge of the first two centuries of Islamic history, the hadith literature is made up of thousands of traditions collected during the formative years of Islam. Alongside the Qur'an, the hadith forms a second major body of Islamic scripture, and much of Islamic belief and practice rests on the hadith including Islamic law, Islamic theology, Qur'anic interpretation, political thought, and personal behavior. Yet despite its importance to Muslims worldwide and its indispensable role as a source for early Islamic history, the hadith remains unexplored territory for many non-specialist readers.
The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Hadith is a concise yet comprehensive overview of both Islamic and Western traditions of hadith study, offering up-to-date scholarship and providing readers with an essential guide to this distinctive aspect of Islam.
Written by a multidisciplinary team of distinguished scholars, the Companion discusses questions of authenticity, epistemology and authority in the hadith and explores the relationship of the hadith literature to other ways of transmitting knowledge and establishing authority.
* Covers the origins of hadith, the application of hadith within the Islamic intellectual tradition, and contemporary revaluations of hadith literature
* Addresses developments in modern scholarship about the origins of Islam and Islamic law which are rooted in a revaluation of hadith
* Presents new and groundbreaking research from international scholars from divergent perspectives to present an accurate and lively overview of the field
* Explores the emergence of skepticism about hadith among western scholars
* Surveys the evolution of a wide range of approaches to hadith among modern Muslims
Filling a significant gap in current literature in the field, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Hadith is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and researchers in Islamic studies, Islamic law, history, and theology.
