Journal of Islamic Studies (Feb 2014)
An Analytical Inductive Study on the Use of Gestures In Al-Jarḥ wa Al-Taʻdīl (Discrediting and Accrediting Hadith Narrators
Abstract
Major scholars of Hadith used gestures when executing operations of al-Jarḥ wa al-taʻdīl (discrediting and accrediting of Hadith narrators,. The gestures implicitly expressed certain messages. This research identifies the gestures embedded in the books of al-jarḥ wa al-taʻdīl and discusses their meanings in a comprehensive way. It studies the gestures exhibiting similarities in a collective way, which enhances the understanding of the gesture meaning. It studies also the biography of the narrator in question so that the significance of the gesture can be adequately deduced in the light of related statements made by the experts of al-Jarḥ wa al-taʻdīl regarding the narrator. The research ends with sixteen conclusions. Further in-depth studies are recommended with respect to the gestures scholars used in the context of evaluating the status of a particular narrator.
