Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World

About this book

Jonathan A.C. Brown, a professor at Georgetown University and a Muslim scholar of hadith, wrote this book as a clear introduction to how hadith have been collected, evaluated and used.

He explains how the Prophet's ﷺ words were transmitted, how the great collections such as Bukhari and Muslim were compiled, and how scholars developed methods for judging authenticity through the study of narrators and chains. Later chapters show how hadith shaped Islamic law, theology and spirituality, describe Shia and Sufi approaches, and examine modern debates, including Western academic criticism and Muslim reform movements.

The book is part of Oneworld's Foundations of Islam series and is written for general readers as well as students.

What's inside

• How hadith were transmitted and collected
• How scholars judged authenticity
• The role of hadith in law and theology
• Sunni, Shia and Sufi perspectives
• Modern debates about hadith