Rethinking Hadith Methodology

by Mehmet Gormez, Cengiz Sisman (Translator), Ismail Eris (Translator)

Overview

In the early centuries of Islam, Muslim scholars developed countless scientific disciplines in attempting to classify, investigate, and utilize the hadiths and the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad. As none of these sciences evolved into a fully fledged hadith science, scholars began to implement the methodology of fiqh in examining the hadiths. After Imam al Shafii in the ninth century, hadiths were almost exclusively confined to the realm of legal studies. This new legalistic and literalist approach to the hadith created serious problems, primarily for two reasons, the Prophet did not intend that each of his words and utterances should form the basis of a legal system, and unlike the Quran, the Prophets statements were transmitted over generations and not always verbatim and therefore recorded hadiths could not be treated as immutable legal documents. The aim of this book is to demonstrate the necessity of creating a new hadith science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9786056919589
Publisher:	Kopernik Inc.
Publication date:	12/10/2019
Pages:	520
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.22(d)

About the Author

The former president of Diyanet, a public institution in charge of Religious Affairs in Turkey, earned his Ph.D. degree from the Ankara University. The Turkish version of this book won the prestigious award of Islamic Studies by Turkiye Diyanet Foundation in 1996. Prof. Gormez carried out various research projects on the hadith and Sunnah as visiting scholar in different universities of Egypt and United Kingdom. He worked for years in the Faculty of Divinity of Ankara University and lectured in the Hacettepe University and Hoca Ahmed Yesevi University of Kazakhstan respectively. He is married with three children and speaks Arabic and English. He currently serves as the president of Institute of Islamic Thought in Ankara. He has published articles and books in Turkish, English and Arabic.

Table of Contents

Editorial Note 11

Preface 15

Notes on Transliteration 20

List of Abbreviations 21

Introduction 23

I Scope and Significance of the Subject Matter 23

II The Purpose of the Book 29

III The Plan and Method of the Study 31

Part I Conceptual Framework Related to Understanding 35

I Conceptual Framework of Understanding and Narration in Islamic Tradition: 36

Hifz wa Dabt (Memorization and Retention) 36

Fahm wa Wa'y (Understanding and Deep Understanding) 39

Fiqh and Nazar (Understanding and Consideration) 40

Istinbat wa Istikhraj (Inference and Deduction) 44

Bayan wa Tabyin (Explanation and Exposition) 46

Tafsir wa Ta'wil (Interpretation and Allegorical Interpretation) 48

Dalalah (Implication) 53

1 Dalalah 'Aqliyyah (Rational Implication) 55

2 Dalalah Tabi'iyyah (Natural Implication) 55

3 Dalalah Wad'iyyah (Declaratory Implication) 55

1 Dalalah al-'Ibarah (Explicit Meaning) 56

2 Dalalah al-'Isharah (Alluded Meaning) 56

3 Dalalah al-Dalalah (Implied Meaning) 57

4 Dalalah al-'Iqtida' (Required Meaning) 57

II Conceptual Framework of Understanding in Contemporary Semantics and Hermeneutics 58

Meaning and Understanding 58

Interpretation and Interpreting 67

Narration and Explanation 70

Concept and Comprehension 72

III Evaluation and Comparison 73

Part II Attempts to Understand the Sunnah and the Hadith, and the Sciences Of Hadith 79

I Attempts to Understand the Sunnah and the Hadith In History: 79

The Time of the Prophet and his Companions 79

Understanding Hadith and Sunnah during the Formative Period of the Science of Hadith 93

The Period of Commentary and Super-commentary 128

Modern Times 136

II The Sciences of Hadith That Deal with the Understanding of Sunnah and Hadith 152

The Sciences of Hadith in General 152

Dirayat al-Hadith 158

Fiqh al-Hadith 163

Gharib Al-Hadith (Rare Words of the Hadiths) 175

1 They apply the method of pragmatics from the disciplines of semantics 180

2 They apply semantic analysis 182

3 They touch upon 'Fiqh al-Hadith' 183

Mukhtalif Al-Hadith / Mushkil al-Hadith (The Contradictory Hadiths) 183

Asbab Wurud al-Hadith (The Circumstances for the Utterance of the Hadiths) 189

Part III Methodologies in Understanding the Principles of Jurisprudence and Hadiths 195

I Methodologies of Understanding 195

II Methodologies of Understanding in Islamic Tradition 200

Bayan 201

Irfan 203

Burhan 205

Burhan Based on Bayan 206

Bayan Based on Burhan 206

III The Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence as a Methodology of Understanding 210

The Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence and Understanding the Hadiths 210

The Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence - Hadith and Sunnah 212

Primary Essence ('asl) 214

Proof (dalil) 216

Ruling (Hukm) 217

IV The Method of Understanding in the Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence 219

Method of the Jurists ('Usul al-Fuqaha) 224

Method of the Theologians ('Usul al-Mutakallimin) 226

V Applying the Method of Understanding of the Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence to Hadith 237

VI The Reasons for the Inapplicability of the Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence to the Hadiths 246

The Difference between Language and Utterance 246

Written Language-Spoken Language 247

Daily Language-High Language 249

Free Language-Legal Language 252

The Expressions Used by the Prophet and Their Transmission 253

Communication between the Prophet and his Companions 255

The Communication between the Companions and the Ummah 257

Linguistic Knowledge of the Transmitters and Literal Transmission 272

Recording the Hadiths in Writing 276

Rewriting the Hadiths Texts (istinsakh) 280

Transmission by Meaning 282

The Reasons for why the Hadiths were Transmitted through Different Wordings 291

Part IV Understanding Hadith and Sunnah in Terms of the Fundamental Features of the Activity of Understanding 295

I Fundamental Elements of the Activity of Understanding The Five Stages of Understanding a Hadith 299

II Understanding the Hadiths and the Sunnah in terms of Fundamental Elements of the Activity of Understanding 303

Narrator: 308

Understanding the Sunnah and the Hadith in Terms of the Relationship amongst Nubuwwah/Risalah - Sunnah 308

1 Mission to Deliver the Divine Message (Tabligh) 311

2 Explanation (bayan) 313

3 Call (da'wah) 315

4 Teaching (ta'lim) 315

5 Purification (Tadhkiya) 316

Narrated: Semantic Analysis of the Sunnah and the Hadith 321

1 Originality 326

2 Continuity 326

3 Consciousness 327

4 Being Positive 327

5 Being Exemplary 328

6 Correctness 328

7 Being Moderate (Middle Path) 328

8 Normativity 329

1 Religious Language 355

2 Narrative Style of the Prophet 372

a) Direct Narration 374

b) Indirect Narration 376

3 Stories 384

4 Parables (Amthal) 387

5 Concept and Conceptualization 388

6 Encouragement and Discouragement (Targhib wa Tarhib) 393

1 Categorizations of the Prophetic Actions according to the Qur'an 413

2 Categorizations of the Deeds according to the Prophetic 415

3 Classification of the Deeds according to Their Customary 417

4 Categorization of the Deeds in Terms of the Division of 420

6 Categorizations of the Deeds in Terms of the Tasks of the Prophet 423

Context 424

Types of Context 427

1 Linguistic Context 428

2 Classificatory Context 428

3 Thematic Context 428

4 Functional Context 428

5 Existential Context 428

a) Historical Context 432

b) Social Context 435

That which is Understood and the Audience 443

Conclusion 453

Bibliogaphy 459

Glossary 479

General Index 503