The Wiley Blackwell Concise Companion to The Hadith

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 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 Karagözogğlu 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 Shiʿism 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