المستخلص: |
This study discusses one of the sciences of hadith, the interpolations that oc¬cur in the text of a Prophetic report. Idraj (interpolation) is counted as one of the branches of the science of 'illal al-hadith (defects in hadith) which in turn is considered one of the most difficult sciences. It is only undertaken by indi¬viduals who are endowed with a discerning faculty and a critical perspicacity in addition to an expansive knowledge of the transmission of hadith and a complete erudition in conditions and ranks of hadith narrators. We learn through this study that mudraj hadiths are those which have extra¬neous additions to their text. These are of two kinds: Mudraj al-matn (an insertion in the text of the hadith). The addition can occur in beginning, middle, or end of a hadith, the latter being the most common. Mudraj al-isnad (an addition is made in the ascription of the hadith). It has five divisions. Interpolation is detected when it is impossible to ascribe the words to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), if the Companion who narrated the hadith stated that he did not hear the inserted words or expressions from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or the additional words or statement occur separately in other reports and are attributed to their is¬suer. The science of idraj is important in that it serves to distinguish between the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the words of the narrators. Idraj usually occurs as a result of a narrator extracting a rul¬ing from the hadith, as a result of the narrator explaining a difficult word or words in the hadith, or as a result of inexactness on the part of the narrator. Hadith scholars and jurists agree on the unlawfulness of making idraj inten¬tionally. A mudraj hadith is classified as authentic, fair, or weak. This paper is both a theoretical study, represented in understanding mudraj hadiths, as well as a practical study represented in clarifying the effects of this kind of hadith on juristic contentions and rulings. The paper demon¬strates how idraj leads to scholarly differences of opinion on certain rulings such as for instance: making ablution with the leftover drinking water of a cat, the ablution of one who touches his inner upper thighs or testes, reciting surat Al- Fatiha after the imam, reciting the second tashahud (testification of faith) in prayer, the fast of a person observing spiritual retreat, or the istis'a of a slave (a slave working to accumulate the price of his freedom after he is partially emancipated). What is of particular notice is the contention be-tween Hanafi and Shafi'i scholars on the issue of idraj and how the Hanafis have used interpolated expressions or statements for inference while the Shafi'is renounced this practice.
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