A Muḥaddith Sūfī or a Sūfī Muḥaddith? An Evaluation of General Characteristics of the Sūfī Approaches to Ḥadīths

Abstract

This study concentrates on central points of criticism addressed to Sufis by more traditionalist and normative scholars of Islam from classical period, especially by the ḥadīth authorities (muḥaddithūn), in the ḥadīth methodology (uṣūl al-ḥadīth). It analyzes peculiar characteristics of Sufis in ḥadīth narration in comparison with the mainstream methodology of the muḥaddithūn, with a special focus on the Sufis’ emphasis on the internal and spiritual dimensions of the ḥadīths. The study lists a number of critical scholarly issues around which the Sufi approaches to ḥadīths are formulated and criticized, like their alleged omission of the transmission chains (sanads) of ḥadīths; their general tendency to narrate the ḥadīths in meaning (ma‘nā) rather than in literal wording (lafẓ); their ḥadīth narration relying on spiritual unveiling (kashf), inspiration (ilhām) and dream (ru’yā); their interpretations (ta’wīl) of the ḥadīths on the basis of their specific way of thinking; and their belief of the existence of certain mysterious ḥadīths. Providing a survey of such scholarly issues between the members of the Sufis and muḥaddithūn, this study examines the nature of such criticisms on the basis of the writings of certain authoritative figures in the history of Sufism, including Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī, Abū al-Qāsim al-Qushayrī, and Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-‘Arabī.