Demonstrating the central role of third/ninth century ḥadīth scholars in the articulation of Sunnī Islam, this book bases its findings largely upon the analysis of multiple biographical dictionaries, such as al-Dhahabī’s Tadhkirat al-ḥuffāẓ, Ibn Saʿd’s Kitāb al-ṭabaqāt al-kabīr, and collections of the critical comments of Ibn Maʿīn and Ibn Ḥanbal.
Part I establishes conceptual and historical frameworks for the study of Sunnī ḥadīth scholarship.
Part II examines in detail the three foundational principles of Sunnī Islam: 1) the collective probity of the ṣaḥāba, 2) the discipline of ḥadīth-transmitter criticism, and 3) a historical vision of the authoritative channels by which ḥadīth traversed the two centuries between the life of the Prophet Muḥammad and the first major ḥadīth books.