Ways to detect a weakness in Hadith

طرق كشف ضعف الحديث

Abstract

The scholars of Hadith agreed that the science of “Defective Traditions” is one of the most important and difficult among Sciences of Hadith. So only some critics of Hadith have mastered this science.

Scholars have many definitions for Defective Hadith but the most commonly used and agreed upon definition is: “The Hadith which has some hidden reason that invalidate the authority of Hadith while the hadith appears sound apparently”. So only the experts who are with deep memorization, experience and insightful understanding of transmitters can comprehend these defects in Hadith. And detecting any weakness in Hadith, which is known as  علم العلل الحديثis one among the greatest and minute knowledge of Hadith Sciences and only experts of the field can recognize and comprehend it. This field of Hadith Sciences is so delicate and minute that only the experts having through knowledge of chains, transmitters, words, time periods and ages of transmitters can detect it.

As far as this topic is concerned it is must to discuss it from critique’s point of view to understand how the experts are used to of detect any weakness in Hadith and what was their process. Books of Hadith gives a complete picture of it and these books provide a detailed overview of how the experts were finding the weakness in Hadith.

So this article is an attempt to identify the ways through which scholars were capable of detecting weakness in Hadith which seems sound apparently.