Analyzing the Role of Practical Reputation in Strengthening the Hadith from the Perspective of ‘Allāma Majlisī (RA)

Sunna is the second source of receiving rulings and doctrinal knowledge, and it is extremely necessary to protect this basic pillar in understanding religion and determining the effective components in validating traditions.
The history of hadith has witnessed a lot of research in the works of traditionists about the effective criteria in authenticating hadith. "Practical reputation" and its compensatory role regarding the weakness of hadiths is among the important criteria that has a significant contribution to this authentication.
Knowing the opinion and life history of great scholars regarding the influence of reputation in strengthening the hadith will be a very good guide in identifying the position of its issues. Accordingly, some research has been conducted in this field regarding the views of some jurists, including Vahid Behbahani and Imam Khomeini. With a descriptive-analytical method, the present article has taken a look at the role of practical reputation as a compensatory feature (jābiriyyat) for the weakness of hadiths in the works of ‘Allāma Majlisī (RA) such as "Biḥār al-Anwār", "Mulādh al-Akhyār" and "Mir‘āt al-‘Uqūl", a research which has been missing so far. The outcome of this research is to prove the valuable status of the practical reputation of the jurists in strengthening the hadith from the viewpoint of ‘Allāma Majlisī (RA), which is an approach based on following the method of the earlier companions.