The authenticity of hadith—whether this or that report is correctly attributed—was a major subject of scholarship in the Middle Ages and has continued to be today. However, this collection of articles is primarily concerned with other problems involving hadith: changing interpretations over time, the use of hadith not to establish rules but to encourage godly behaviour, comparison between modern and premodern methods of hadith study, the collection and study of hadith among jurisprudents and Sufis as well as traditionists (hadith specialists), the development of hadith studies in the Levant an ... More

The authenticity of hadith—whether this or that report is correctly attributed—was a major subject of scholarship in the Middle Ages and has continued to be today. However, this collection of articles is primarily concerned with other problems involving hadith: changing interpretations over time, the use of hadith not to establish rules but to encourage godly behaviour, comparison between modern and premodern methods of hadith study, the collection and study of hadith among jurisprudents and Sufis as well as traditionists (hadith specialists), the development of hadith studies in the Levant and Turkey, and different approaches to hadith among modern Sunni and Shiʿi scholars.