Are the Principles of Ḥadīth Among Muḥaddithīn and Uṣūlī Fuqahāʾ the Same?
Source: Fatāwā Amnpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amnpūrī
❖ Question
Are the principles of ḥadīth used by the muḥaddithīn and by the uṣūlī fuqahāʾ the same?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
- The principles of ḥadīth among the muḥaddithīn and the uṣūlī fuqahāʾ are different.
- The valid and authoritative principles are those of the muḥaddithīn, because ḥadīth is their specialized field.
- Muḥaddithīn knew their narrations and methodology better than anyone else.
- No one has the right to invent principles against those of the muḥaddithīn.
✿ Statement of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd (رحمه الله, d. 702H)
“The scholars of ḥadīth added the conditions that a narration must not be shādh (anomalous) or muʿallal (defective). According to the fuqahāʾ, these two conditions are debatable, because many types of ʿilal (hidden defects) by which the muḥaddithīn consider a narration defective are not recognized in the principles of the fuqahāʾ. Therefore, according to the muḥaddithīn, the definition of a ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth is: A musnad narration with a continuous chain, narrated by reliable and precise narrators until its end, and it must not be shādh or muʿallal.”
(al-Iqtiḥāḥ, p. 5)
◈ Conclusion
- The muḥaddithīn’s principles are decisive and authoritative in ḥadīth sciences.
- The uṣūlī fuqahāʾ differ, but their principles cannot override those of the muḥaddithīn.
والله أعلم بالصواب
