Abstract
The first three Hijrī centuries corresponded to a period when the Islamic sciences were not clearly separated from one another. During these centuries, one of the basic factors in the formation of the Islamic sciences was undoubtedly a narrative phenomenon. The concept of narrative report—believed to be unique to Hadith science—has an important place in the Islamic sciences, such as fiqh, history, Arabic language, and tafsīr. There was a mutual methodological influence in the fields of Hadith and the study of Arabic language and poetry, particularly in how the attribution and transmission of narrative reports was assessed and how the authority of a poet to define style or usage was determined. In fact, the concept of narrative report is based on an older history than Hadith in the Arabic language, especially in the context of poetry. However, with the establishment and development of the isnād system in the science of Hadith, the reliability of the information transmitted in the Arabic language was questioned. These narratives were transferred within a framework. This study indicates that the theoretical effect of Hadith on the narrative reports in the science of Arabic language should be explored in the context of the concept of ṭabaqa (generation) and the criteria of criticism about poets. Therefore, the need for trust in narrative reports constitutes a similar need in all Islamic sciences. For this reason, the two main questions of the study are as follows: (1) was there a systematic narrative concept among the Arabic language sources?; and (2) according to Arabic language science, what were the narrative concepts and their definitions? This study will examine biographical books written in the first three Hijrī centuries to answer these questions that have not been explored before.
