Israʾiliyyat or Traditions of Jewish Origin: A Major Instance of Transferred Traditions

Abstract

One of the recent inquiries in the field of hadith studies is the investigation of transferred traditions and their causes and impacts on Shi‘i hadith circles. By exploring some traditions in the hadith collection of al-Shaykh al-Saduq and comparing the textual similarities and also the chain of transmitters, this research attempts to show that traditions of Jewish origin in the Shi‘i hadith circles are often transferred traditions and more care and attention should be paid in transmitting and relying on them. However, such traditions in the Imami School are but few and had less chance of appearance, mainly because the Sunni transmitters of such traditions were critiqued and the Imams of the household of the Prophet, peace be upon them, stood against the transmission of these traditions and restrained their effect on the Shi‘i scholars of hadith.