Research Methodology with a Special Reference to Hadith Compendia

Abstract

Research signifies thorough investigation of the subject concerned with a view to developing new ideas or formulating new interpretation of the existing idea/s. In the field of Islamic Studies, Hadith sources, such as the six or nine canonical compilations, other categories of Hadith collections, and Hadith commentaries, among others, are surveyed to prove or disprove one thing or another. In most cases, only the reports from the purportedly authentic Hadith compendia are borrowed and quoted without subjecting them to critical analysis. In such borrowings of Hadith reports what is relied upon is the highly revered names of scholars of Hadith, such as al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, Abu Da’ud, Anas ibn Malik, Ahmad ibn Hanbal etc. These Hadith scholars are known for having authenticated Hadith reports before they recorded them in their respective Hadith collections. All the Hadith books seem to have been based on chain of narrators, hardly giving any consideration to the nature the narrated reports. Hadith reports still need serious process of authentication from the angle of Hadith-texts. For that matter, Hadith reports, irrespective of their sources, must be checked against several criteria, the Qur’an, highly authentic practices of the Prophet (s.a.w.), human reasoning, most reliable historical accounts, and moderation. The methodology applied in the paper is critical analysis. The conclusion reached in the paper is that despite the well-known authenticity of Hadith sources the borrowed reports therefrom entail further authentication from the angle of the texts of reports.