A Critical Study of the Views of Orientalists Regarding the Chains of Transmission of Hadith

It is possible to state without reservation that the chain of transmission is one of the fundamental components of traditions. In the present era one of the important discussions wherein Orientalists have raised numerous doubts and questions relates to the issue of chains of transmission, which in turn have been countered by many rebuttals. The present paper aims to put forward a critical study of the views of Orientalists regarding the chains of transmission of hadith. The research herein is descriptive-analytical and is carried out with a critical outlook. First, we mention the historical genesis of the chain of transmission after which we proceed to study and critique the views of some important Orientalist scholars. The outcome of this research
shows that the goals of Orientalists and their theoretical principles are completely different from those of Muslim scholars. As such, their methodology in the field of Islamic hadith studies has yielded no benefit, and the evidence they have provided for their claims are inconclusive. There are many flaws in their arguments and these are discussed and studied in the present article.