Search

This study investigates the origin, transmission, and reception of two hadith with doctrinal significance on the formation of early Sunni identity and memory of the past--the Mountain hadith, in which the Prophet designates each of the first three caliphs as either a saint or a martyr; and the Ten Promised Paradise hadith, which names the first four caliphs and another five or six Companions as the future residents of paradise. The study identifies Qatada b. Di'ama and Hilal b. Yasaf as the earliest transmitters of both hadith. Analysis of their transmission of the Ten Promised Paradise hadith reveals the emergence of a seminal trend among Kufan traditionists, who, by advocating for an all-embracing approach to 'Uthman, 'Ali. and the latter's opponents, allowed various Kufan groups to find common ground, which was also accompanied by the formation of a comprehensive historical narrative on the first fitna., The first fitna, or civil war, is a major focus of discussion in early Muslim historiography, dogmatic writings, and heresiography. As the judgment passed on the Companions involved in the [...]

This article studies how the 'UthmanT position endorsing the first three caliphs, which was embraced by the majority of the ahl al-hadith in the first two centuries of Islam, came to be replaced by the four-caliph thesis. It examines variations in the narrations of different chains of transmission of Ibn 'Ulnar's tradition in relation to the geographical affiliation and movements of the transmitters active in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. The analysis suggests that Ibn 'Umar's tradition was present in two versions at the turn of the ninth century, circulated in Iraqi cities and non-Iraqi cities respectively. Through its investigation, this study substantiates the current narrative on early ahl al-hadith attitudes toward the first four caliphs and offers more insights that help explain why the 'UthmanT hadith narrators failed to perpetuate their ideas., INTRODUCTION The four-caliph thesis--the belief that the first four caliphs, in contrast to subsequent rulers, were chosen by the Prophet as rightly guided (rashidun)--was not a standard Sunni position in [...]

This article revisits a widely accepted yet unsubstantiated trajectory of early Kufan Zaydi history, namely, that with 'Ali recognized as the fourth rightly guided caliph by the proto-Sunni traditionists, represented by Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 241/855), the Batri traditionists were Sunnified. Analysis of Saffna's hadith transmission and the transmitters of the first four caliphs' virtues suggests that the four-caliphs thesis was likely circulated in Kufa by the late eighth century and that Kufan traditionists of various sectarian persuasions played an important role in its formation. This paper argues that the Kufan Shi'i traditionists came to identify with their traditionist townspeople as a result of shared qualities and mutual enemies. By revisiting a narrative that is often taken for granted, this study proffers new insights into the formation of a defining Sunni doctrine--the four-caliphs thesis--as well as the transformation of the Kufan Shi'is., As the stronghold of 'Ali and the headquarters of several HashimI Shi'i movements, Kufa is associated with Shi'ism in the first centuries of Islam. Although there were other religiopolitical alignments [...]