Textual Criticism In Shī？a (PhD. Dissertation)

Beginning with ？usūls, that is, the ？adith booklets which were originally formed to record the Imam’s words back in the late second hijrī century, Shī？ī (Ithnā ？Asharī/Twelver) ？adith scholarship has developed a comprehensive and unique literature over the last twelve centuries. One of the unique features of Twelver Shī？īte ？adith approach is the fact that the systematic application of isnad-centered criticism in the study and evaluation of ？adiths with regard to accuracy was begun to be practiced after the 7th hijrī century and gained wide acceptance only after that time. To put it differently, the text (matn) and the textual criteria, instead of the chain of transmitters (sanad) were central in the evaluation of ？adith reports for a long time in the history of Shī？ī ？adith scholarship. This centrality of textual criteria employed in the evaluation of ？adith reports continued throughout the Shī？ī ？adith history and it reached its most effective position in the last century. Despite the decisive role the text and textual criteria have played in the study of ？adiths in Shī？a, textual criticism has received little scholarly attention so far, which makes this topic a significant research question. Furthermore, in order to examine the exact meaning of textual criticism present in Islamic tradition as comprehensively as possible, it is a necessity to approach it not only from Sunnī perspective but also with an approach that includes all the other madhhabs. Correspondingly, this study, ？ī？a’da Metin Tenkidi [Textual Criticism In Shī？a] (PhD. Dissertation, Ankara University, Institute of Social Science, Department of Main Islamic Sciences, Ankara, Turkey, 2017) has explored the different approaches and practices of textual criticism as employed over the course of Shī？īte ？adith tradition. The social and political unrest, especially during the 2nd and 3rd hijrī centuries before the Shī？a (Ithnā ？Asharīyah) completed its development as a systematic Islamic madhhab, led to the emergence of ？hulāt, the extremist groups ascribing divine characteristics to ？Alī and his family members. As an effective way of propagation and attracting more supporters, such groups used some reports fabricated in accordance with their views, and attributed them to the Imams of Shī？a. The widespread practice of fabricating ？adiths led way to the formation of a group reacting against such extremist ideas as well. The first chapter of the thesis provides a brief overview of the 3rd century Shī？ī theologians’ critiques of the ？hulāt-induced ？adiths, and explores the initial attempts of