A Critical study of the Notion of Shiite Hadith Scholars’ Turning Away from Isnad (documentation

Abstract

Observing documentation of hadith (isnad), has witnessed ups and downs at different eras ,among Shia and Sunni scholars. Over the past centuries some Sunni scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Suyuti have accused Shia of neglecting isnad , and therefore condemning them for it. Contemporary Sunni scholars have further claimed that observing documentation (isnad) is specific to Sunnis from which the Shia have copied since the fourth century on. This article has rejected these accusations based on the following arguments , citing examples for each : 1) Ahl-ol-Bayt’s emphasis on documentation and the narrators’ qualities, 2) Ahl-ol-Bayt’s observance of documentation 3) compilation of documented (musnad) hadith and rijal works before the fourth century, 4) Shiite hadith scholars’ practical efforts in documentation, 5) and Shiite scholars’ views on documentation. These evidences shows that the origin of such an accusation is ignorance and bias on part of the opponents

Keywords

• : hadith chain of transmitters
• isnad of shia hadith
• isnad analysis
• shia rijal
• background of documentation