The Common Link and its Relation to the Technical \adīth Terms

Subject Areas : The Journal of Islamic History and Civilisation

سیدعلی آقایی ^{1 *}

1 - ندارد

Received: 2012-05-04 Accepted : 2012-07-23 Published : 2012-08-22

Keywords: Common link, Madār, Tafarrud, Gharīb, fard, I‘tibār, Mutābi‘āt, Shawāhid,

Abstract :

Western scholars for a long time. They have interpreted thatdifferently in their studies and used it for dating traditions. This articleanswers the question, whether early Muslim traditionists, werefamiliar with this phenomenon and also which technical \adīth termsare coined for explaining different features of traditions and theirtransmitters related to common link. Review of early \adīth worksreveals that the technical terms such as “gharīb” and “fard” are coinedand used concerning some aspects of the same phenomenon.Furthermore, it identifies that “madār” is equivalent with the Westernterm “common link”. Finally, examining how early traditionists dealtwith this phenomenon, this paper clarifies that the difference betweenWestern and Muslims scholars’ understanding and interpretation ofthis phenomenon, is rooted in their different approaches to the validityof HHadīth and their method in criticizing the traditions.