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Tawaatur: Difference between revisions
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==The number of chains== | ==The number of chains== | ||
The number of chains that a hadith needs to be mutawaatir is defined by scholars. However scholars | The number of chains that a hadith needs to be mutawaatir is defined by scholars. However scholars do not agree as to what the number of chains is: | ||
{{Quote|[https://www.islamic-awareness.org/hadith/ulum/asb3.html An Introduction To The Science Of Hadith]| | {{Quote|[https://www.islamic-awareness.org/hadith/ulum/asb3.html An Introduction To The Science Of Hadith]| | ||
There is no precise definition for a "large number of reporters"; although the numbers '''four, five, seven, ten, twelve, forty and seventy, among others, have all been variously suggested''' as a minimum, the exact number is irrelevant (some reporters, e.g. Imams of Hadith, carry more weight anyway than others who are their contemporaries): the important condition is that the possibility of coincidence or "organised falsehood" be obviously negligible. | There is no precise definition for a "large number of reporters"; although the numbers '''four, five, seven, ten, twelve, forty and seventy, among others, have all been variously suggested''' as a minimum, the exact number is irrelevant (some reporters, e.g. Imams of Hadith, carry more weight anyway than others who are their contemporaries): the important condition is that the possibility of coincidence or "organised falsehood" be obviously negligible. | ||
}} | }} | ||
The hadith is mutawaatir when there is "no possibility" that so many people could agree on a lie. This is the traditional view, though forensic investigators or modern scholars of oral traditions would not use such a criterion. Some | The hadith is mutawaatir when there is "no possibility" that so many people could agree on a lie. This is the traditional view, though forensic investigators or modern scholars of oral traditions would not use such a criterion. Some scholars might think that 4 chains are enough, other might think that 70 chains are needed, there is not a universal acceptance of what is and is not mutawaatir. | ||
==Methodological Criticisms== | ==Methodological Criticisms== | ||
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Modern standards of forensics and oral tradition scholarship would not find this criterion ipso facto convincing. Some possible criticisms: | Modern standards of forensics and oral tradition scholarship would not find this criterion ipso facto convincing. Some possible criticisms: | ||
*There were thousands of Muslim transmitters available when the hadiths were written; | *There were thousands of Muslim transmitters available when the hadiths were written; even giving the the most generous assumptions of Muslim honesty, it wouldn't be hard to find 4, 5 or 70+ loose transmitters, liars, or persons willing to affirm a tradition they don't know to be true. Islamic scholars respond by pointing out that hadith scholars did more than just collect isnads, as they also analyzed the reliability of the transmitters. Consequently, it may well be the case that there are descriptions of the prophet that have been correctly transmitted - critical scholars admit that while the general bar of evidence for most hadiths considered authentic cannot be a source of certainty, there may still be some narrations that are reliable. As far as certainty is concerned - that is, ''knowing for a fact that a report is not fabricated or incorrect'' - this degree of certainty remains generally unattainable where empirical evidence is lacking (as a result, where a minted coin is found from the 8th century - determined using scientific methods - we may be relatively sure that this coin was minted at this time in history, but we can't be ''religiously certain'' it was minted by one or another person, and finding written evidence regarding someone's statements may not be sufficient, as there is always a chance that the scribe or report was mistaken, lying, or manipulating facts). | ||
*Most sahih hadiths are not mutawaatir, but they are accepted anyway (because all people in the chain supposedly always tell the truth), which calls the entire framework into question | *Most sahih hadiths are not mutawaatir, but they are accepted anyway (because all people in the chain supposedly always tell the truth), which calls the entire framework into question | ||
==False chains== | ==False chains== | ||
When a hadith is mutawaatir it has to be accepted according to Islamic scholars: | When a hadith is mutawaatir it has to be accepted according to Islamic scholars, as fabrication and mistaken transmission are deemed impossible: | ||
{{Quote|[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34651/mutawaatir-hadeeth Mutawaatir hadeeth]| | {{Quote|[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34651/mutawaatir-hadeeth Mutawaatir hadeeth]| | ||
With regard to the ruling on mutawaatir reports: a mutawaatir report must be accepted, because it is definitive and certain, even if there is no other corroborating evidence. And there is no need to examine the biographies of its narrators. This is a matter concerning which no wise man will have any doubts. | With regard to the ruling on mutawaatir reports: a mutawaatir report must be accepted, because it is definitive and certain, even if there is no other corroborating evidence. And there is no need to examine the biographies of its narrators. This is a matter concerning which no wise man will have any doubts. | ||
}} | }} | ||
The following are some critiques that have been made regarding the possibility of this kind of certainty:: | |||
*If a person who writes the hadiths makes up his own hadith, he can include "many" (4, 5... or 70) made up chains and it will be called "mutawaatir" | *If a person who writes the hadiths makes up his own hadith, he can include "many" (4, 5... or 70) made up chains and it will be called "mutawaatir" | ||
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*Nafi‘ al-Madani - a famous rawi Warsh transmitted from him | *Nafi‘ al-Madani - a famous rawi Warsh transmitted from him | ||
And for every qari, there are two rawi's which also | And for every qari, there are two rawi's which also often differ, even though they had the same teacher. The most popular version of the Arabic Quran today is the version of Hafs, who was one of the students of Aasim. Since other versions of the Quran differ from Hafs' version, the most popular version of the Quran is ahad. And even if all 10 qari had exactly the same text of the Quran, according to some scholars mutawaatir requires 70 chains, so 60 chains would be missing. | ||
On top of this, modern scholarship has uncovered variants such as the Sana'a palimpset which preserve readings not found in any of the qira'aat, further making it impossible to make the claim of being mutawattir of the text of the Quran. | On top of this, modern scholarship has uncovered variants such as the Sana'a palimpset which preserve readings not found in any of the qira'aat, further making it impossible to make the claim of being mutawattir of the text of the Quran. | ||