The Criteria of Criticism in Hadith

The criticism and interpretation of Hadith is rooted in the Islamic teachings; especially in the domain of both Imam's and other prominent Islamic infallible figures. Quran and the tradition demand hearing the quotes and also paying close attention to them. This is fulfilled merely through the survey of speeches of famous Islamic figures. Although the criticism and interpretation of the text and the original documents of these Hadith is required for any researcher, still considering the fields of theoretical and practical criticism and their related criteria is required as well. This is true regardless of whether these criteria are literary, quoted, or even rational ones. All these can make the practice of criticism much easier.The criteria and touchstones of quoting the Hadith are related to both the validity of Hadith's originality and its text. Sciences such as Derayeh (intelligence) and Rejal (aspiration) were responsible for the practice of criticism. In the criticism of the Hadith's text, relying on these four criteria is necessary and demanded; the literary, quoted, sensational and also the rational. That also depends on the context with which the researcher deals with. Some experts have also added another criterion to these; that is the criteria related to the definite sciences.