How We Know Early Hadith
Critics Did “Matn” Criticism and
Why It’s So Hard to Find
Critics Did “Matn” Criticism and
Why It’s So Hard to Find
Dr. Jonathan A.C. Brown has published numerous books and articles about Islamic law and Hadith. He has studied and conducted research in many countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Morocco. Among his research interests are conflicts between Sunni and Salafi Islamic thought and historical criticism of Hadith.
In Islam, the doings and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are preserved through an oral tradition known as the Hadith. These narrations must pass stringent tests of accuracy before being taken as credible. The Isnad describes the chain of narration, while the Matn is the actual content of the Hadith. Scholars have generally held that early critics only evaluated the authenticity of Hadith based on the Isnad. However, Dr. Brown’s research suggests that the Matn was also considered.
Saturday October 17th
Galileo McAlister, Harvey Mudd College
4PM - 7PM
Brought to you by the Claremont Colleges MSA in collaboration with the HIKMA foundation of Southern Claifornia.
