The Hadiths of Jaʿfar al-Sādiq in the Muwatta' from the Perspective of Isnad Criticism

Abstract

In this article, the hadith/narration relationship between two important hadith and fiqh scholars of the second century of Anno Hegirae (AH/Hijri), Ja‘far al-Sādiq (d. 148/765) and his student Imam Malik (d. 179/795), is discussed in the context of Muwatta'. In the Muwatta, there are 14 hadiths/narrations whose chain of transmission includes Ja‘far al-Sādiq, and which he narrated entirely from his father, Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 114/732). Among these, there are those whose chain of transmission is not continuous (muttasil) and therefore pose a problem. The presence of narrations with problematic chains of transmission (isnad) attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq in the Muwatta, considered among the earliest hadith sources, has revealed the necessity of examining of these narrations in terms of the authenticity of their isnad.The aim of this research is to reveal the hadith/narration link between the two well-known scholars of the second century of Hijri under the framework of an attempt of isnad analysis. The research is limited only to the criticism of the isnad. Since subjecting the same hadiths / narrations to text / content criticism would exceed the limits of this article, that subject is left to another research / researcher. Similarly, the political and religious problems and debates of the period are not addressed.