A Critical Evaluation of Some Problematic Hadith Narratives

Abstract

This study examines some issues critical to understanding the hadith literature in the modern context. It argues that this literature, despite its widely accepted status as a foundational source of Islam second in importance only to the Qur’an, continues to be a subject of controversy in some Muslim and non-Muslim quarters. This article brings together a small sample of problematic hadith narratives for the purpose of critically evaluating them according to certain criteria. This will be the basis for passing judgment over these pre-selected hadith that are, for instance, textually incompatible with the purport of the Qur’an.