Examining the Views of Opponents of Traditions of Exposition ( Arḍ) among the Sunnīs

According to the content of the traditions that later on became renowned as “traditions of exposition” (‘arḍ) in the language of the legal theorists and jurists، the traditions whose issuance by the Infallibles is suspicious are exposed to the Holy Qur’ān and are at least rejected in case they are opposed by the Qur’ān. These traditions، that are among the sound and valid traditions in the Shī‘a sources and even regarded by some legal theorists and jurists as frequently narrated (mutawātir)، have been disfavored and even opposed to by most of the Sunnī scholars to the extent that they have been described in the Sunnī sources as among the traditions fabricated and forged by the impious and the heretics، and are characterized by such titles as setting up (waḍ‘)، weakness of sanad، opposition to the Qur’ān، contradiction with the Prophetic traditions، and denial of the authority of sunna. While explaining the Sunnī viewpoints concerning traditions of exposition، this article has propounded the most important objections and their reasons for opposition to the above-mentioned traditions and separately analyzed and evaluated.