Abstract
This article focuses on Hadith scholars who called themselves Aṣḥāb or Ahl al-Ḥadīth and connected to a scholarly line originating in tenth-century Khurāsān. They spread across West Asia from the latter half of the tenth century to the first half of the thirteenth century and wrote many works discussing various matters by using Hadith in a particular style to repeat several citations, which transmitted identical matns (body of tradition) with different isnāds (list of trasmitters). This article first summarizes their historical outlines and defines their ideological tendency and academic interest. Then it clarifies that the style of repetition aimed to demonstrate the authenticity of the Hadiths according to the concept of mashhūr (well known) or mutawātir (widespread), through an analysis of description of the Isfahan’s virtue in the History of Isfahan by Abū Nu‘aym. Finally, the article observes that the Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth frequently used the style of repetition from the eleventh century to the first half of the thirteenth century but have seldom used it since the mid-thirteenth century, when criticism on mutawātir grew. Through these discussions, this article describes how Hadith scholars used Hadiths and their theories and knowledge in their scholarly practices.
