Sunnis suffice themselves by transmitting the isnād of the...

Sunnis suffice themselves by transmitting the isnād of the hadīth by quoting one trusted person who cites any member of the sahābah in whose justice they believe, and they believe in all of them.

To them, the traditions recorded in the Sahīh books of al-Bukhāri and of Muslim are never to be doubted, so much so that these books have become as though they were on par with the Holy Qur’ān in as far as accuracy is concerned; otherwise, what is t he meaning of the vast majority of Sunnis taking upon themselves to accept all what these Sahīh books contain?!

In order to underscore this, let us quote the view of Shaykh Abū ‘Amr ibn al-Salāh in the Introduction to al-Nawawi’s Sharh of Muslim’s Sahīh as follows: “ALL what is decided by Muslim, may Allāh have mercy on him, as being authentic in his book [Muslim’s Sahīh ] is absolutely authentic. The same applies to what al-Bukhāri decided in his book as being authentic.

This is so because the nation has received such an acceptance, with the exception of those whose contention is disregarded, through consensus.” He adds saying, “The view of an infallible person cannot miss, and the nation in its consensus is [thus] protected against falling into error.”[^3] As for the Shī’ahs, they precondition, first and foremost, the rendering of isnād of hadīth to any of the Imāms from among Ahlul Bayt (‘a), basing their argument on the following statement of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ): “I have left among you that which, if you uphold it, you shall never stay: the Book of Allāh and my ‘itrat , my Ahlul Bayt.”[^4] and also on this verse of the Almighty: “Allāh only wishes to remove all abomination from you, O members of the family (Ahlul Bayt), and to make you pure and spotless” (Qur’ān, 33:33).

As for the other conditions, the most important among them is to compare the narrative with the text of the Book of Allāh (ṣ) then to look into its context and isnād then compare it with others the decisive tawātur (consecutive reporting) of which has already been fixed and, finally, judging it through reason. Following any narrative which lacks any of these conditions is to be seriously considered and contemplated.

The major ahādīth book with the Shī’ahs are four: Al-Kāfi, Man lā Yahduruhu al-faqīh, Al-Istibsār and Al-Tahdheeb , and all the narratives in these books are subject to investigation [rather than taking them for granted as is the case with our Sunni brethren].