The Wiley Blackwell Concise Companion to The Hadith

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND UP-TO-DATE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE GUIDE ON HADITH SCHOLARSHIP Representing a primary source of knowledge on the first two centuries of Islamic history, the hadith literature is a collection of thousands of traditions recorded during the formative years of Islam. Alongside the Qur'an, the hadith forms a second major body of Islamic scripture and much of Islamic belief and practice rests on the hadith, including Islamic law, Islamic theology, Qur'anic interpretation, political thought, and personal behavior. Yet, despite its importance to Muslims worldwide and its indispensable role as a source for early Islamic history, the hadith remains unexplored territory for many. The Wiley Blackwell Concise Companion to the Hadith is a succinct yet comprehensive overview of both Islamic and Western traditions of hadith study, offering up-to-date scholarship and providing readers with an essential guide to this distinctive aspect of Islam. Written by a multidisciplinary team of distinguished scholars, the Companion discusses questions of authenticity, epistemology, and authority in the hadith, and explores the relationship between hadith literature and other ways of transmitting knowledge and establishing authority. Covers the origins of hadith, the application of hadith within the Islamic intellectual tradition, and contemporary revaluations of hadith literature Addresses developments in modern scholarship about the origins of Islam and Islamic law which are rooted in a revaluation of hadith Presents new and groundbreaking research by international scholars from divergent perspectives to present a wide-ranging overview of the field Explores the emergence of skepticism about hadith among western scholars Surveys the evolution of a wide range of approaches to hadith among modern Muslims Filling a significant gap in current literature in the field, The Wiley Blackwell Concise Companion to the Hadith is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and researchers in Islamic studies, Islamic law, history, and theology.