Some notes on the history of the categorization of Imāmī Ḥadīth

• Published in: Turkish journal of shiite studies Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 215 - 233
• Main Author: Ali,Aun Hasan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Habip Demir 01-12-2019
• Subjects: Din Bilimleri; hadis; hadith; hilla; hille; İktisat & İşletme & Finans; imamism; i̇mamiyye; mezhepler; sects; shia; Tarih; Uluslararası İlişkiler; şiilik; Türkiye; Çorum; Hadith; İmamiyye; Hadis; Imamism; Hille; Islamic Sects; Hilla; İslam Mezhepler; Şiilik; Shia
• ISSN: 2687-1882

The formative period of Imāmī law is generally placed in Buwayhid Baghdad.
However, by the end of the Buwayhid era, Imāmī law had not yet developed
all of the features that would enable future scholars to elaborate the law along
particular methodological lines. In particular, it was not until the 7th/13th
century that Imāmī scholars invented a typology to systematize the use of
ḥadīth as an independent source of law. Because the bulk of substantive law
rests on the Sunnah, and because the main source of Muslims’ knowledge of
the Sunnah is ḥadīth, it is argued that the moment when ḥadīth come to be
regarded as an independent source of law is a strong indication of its
formative period. While some scholars have tried to locate this development
in an earlier stage of the development of Imāmī law, a careful examination of
key passages in the relevant texts demonstrates that their argument is based
on a misunderstanding of the nature of early bio-bibliographical writing as
well as a misunderstanding of the arguments of critics of the typology.