Mushkil al-Hadith and its Role in the Collection of Hadith Sciences

Traditions are of great importance as the most widespread source of receiving rules and precepts of the sacred law of Islam. Sciences that deal with this source are called ḥadith sciences, which consist of three parts of muṣṭalaḥ al-ḥadith (classification of ḥadith), rijal al-ḥadith (study of the transmitters of ḥadith), and fiqh al-ḥadith (science of ḥadith which deals with legal judgments). Mukhtalif al-ḥadith (contradictory ḥadith) and Mushkil al-ḥadith (difficult ḥadith), as branches of fiqh al-ḥadith, are also among the pioneers of this great task, but the contribution of Mushkil al-ḥadith in this collection is the topic addressed in the present article.