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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 [...]

The concept that a certain nine or ten Companions, assured of Paradise in a Prophet ḥadīth, are superior to the rest of the Companions is among the most noteworthy Sunni beliefs. However, though well represented in the works of the ninth-century ḥadīth scholars, this concept has yet to receive adequate discussion in current scholarship. This article investigates its origin by examining various versions of the 'Ten Promised Paradise' ḥadīth through isnād-cum-matn analysis. The analysis suggests that this hadith, first emerging before 700, was widely circulated in Iraqi cities (above all, Kufa), and Madina before the mid-eighth century. Through examination of the socio-political milieu in which the earliest known disseminators of the ḥadīth lived, this article argues that the concept came into circulation after the second fitna. This ḥadīth's ascendancy emerged (in Kufa) from protest against both the Umayyad hostility towards the ʿAlids and their partisans and proto-Shiʿi movements of all kinds (the Ghulāt and Hāshimīs); its propogation in Madina was most likely prompted by rivalry between the caliphate and the Hijazi elite. The article goes on to explore how the ethos of this ḥadīth became an early Sunni doctrine. A close examination of the transmitters following the earliest identifiable disseminators of various versions of the ḥadīth reveals that many transmitters played a prominent role in shaping the communal identity of the ahl al-ḥadīth. They took part in formulating their historical memory, developing ḥadīth criticism and establishing sunna either by articulating the 'orthodoxy' or by combating the so-called 'innovators'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For example, Mu ammad b. Ja ada is simply noted as a Qadari without any further evaluation, whereas both Sulayman b. Qarm and Nu b. Qays are graded as I ali i but I laysa bi-l-qawi i . In the 52 cases where Ali b. al-Madini and Ya ya b. Ma in disagree, Ya ya b. Ma in's assessment for 27 of these is either ambiguous or vague. It is found that Ali b. al-Madini agrees with Ya ya b. Ma in's evaluation of hadith transmitters more often than that of A mad b. anbal. As for the opinions of Ya ya b. Ma in and A mad b. anbal, I consulted the collections, I Mawsu at aqwal Ya ya b. Ma in fi rijal al- adith wa- ilalihi i and I Mawsu at aqwal al-Imam A mad b. anbal fi rijal al- adith wa- ilalihi i . [Extracted from the article]

Considered precursors of ḥadīth criticism, the opinions of ʿAlī b. ʿAbdallāh b. Jaʿfar al-Madīnī (161–234/778–849), extensively cited by later ḥadīth scholars, have given considerable weight to the credibility of a ḥadīth and its transmitters. Despite his centrality to the science of ḥadīth, there is not a single monograph dedicated to him and his intellectual output in the scholarly literature in English. This article presents a critical reconstruction of his life. Although the biographical sources on ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī are copious, the earliest details, especially on evaluation of his scholarly accomplishment, are often tendentious and contradictory. There is also a controversy related to his submission to the miḥna. Analysis of these biographical reports intimates that the questioning voices mainly came from the early Ḥanbalī circle, while other scholars, comprising Yaḥyā b. Maʿīn's disciples and non-Baghdadis, especially of Basran and Khurasani origins, tended to defend ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī. This paper argues that ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī's unfaltering status as a leading ḥadīth critic can be attributed to the geographical outreach of his supporters, whose overall attitude towards the createdness of the Qurʾān is more tolerant compared with that of the Ḥanbalīs. More importantly, ʿAlī b. al-Madīnī's contribution to the formation of ḥadīth criticism as a discipline was realized from early on, which is manifest in his knowledge of ʿilm al-rijāl and mastery of ʿilal al-ḥadīth. His theorization of ḥadīth transmission through the framework of the madār al-isnād also laid the epistemological foundation for the following ḥadīth critics in their formulation of the disciplinary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese four-character idioms possess structural uniformity, profound meaning and cultural connotation; however, the research in the field has failed to give sufficient prominence to their idiomaticity and regularity. Adopting the framework of "Construction Grammar," in this article we discuss their interrelated syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic features by examining four-character forms with the patterning [yi-X-#-Y] 'one-X-number-Y'. In particular, we examine instances that fall under three specific prefabs with high type frequency: [yi- X-yi-Y] 'one-X-one-Y', [yi-X-er-Y] 'one-X-two-Y', and [yi-X-qian-Y] 'one-X-thousand- Y.' We also investigate their syntactic functions. In addition, we explore the relationships between X, Y, and the construction from the perspective of metaphorical extension, and investigate the interaction between different constructions. Newly created idioms such as [yi-li-yi-xiu] 'One mandatory day off and one flexible rest day' and [yi-dai-yi-lu] 'The Belt and Road' imply that the higher the type frequency of a construction, the higher its productivity. In other words, being classified as fixed phrases, idiomatic expressions have a certain degree of openness and productivity in Modern Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]