In Pursuit of a Common Paradigm: Islamic and Western Hadith Studies (original) (raw)

This article aims to determine the reasons for differences in approaches of Muslim and Western ḥadīṯ scholars to ḥadīṯ literature. Since it is recognised that Orientalists do not consititute a coherent group in this respect, they are classified into three groups embracing either skeptical , revisionist or middle-ground positions. A further question to be explored is what enables to identify an Orientalist and Islamic paradigm despite the existence of various groups in both scholarly traditons. For this purpose, the article attempts to determine the premises upon which Muslim and Western scholars base their studies.