The Criteria of Preferential Weighing Based on the Chain of Transmission According to Imam Qiwām al-Sunnah al-Iṣfahānī in His Work Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
Textual analysis reveals Imam Qawwam al-Sunnah al-Asbahani's adherence to majority Usuli rules of transmission-chain preference, highlighting the practical application of legal theory.
Key Points
To extract, analyze, and describe the rules of preferential weighing (al-Tarjīḥ) based on the chain of transmission (al-Sanad) used to reconcile conflicting texts in Imam Qiwām al-Sunnah al-Iṣfahānī's commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Inductive survey of all discussions regarding textual conflict and transmission chains in the manuscript of Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Analytical evaluation of the identified fundamental jurisprudential rules (Uṣūlī rules) and their application to textual reconciliation through interpretation (al-Jamʿ bi-Ta’wīl al-Lafẓ).
Imam Qawwām al-Sunnah closely aligns with the majority consensus of Uṣūlī scholars regarding chain-of-narration preference criteria, notably prioritizing narrations with a greater number of transmission paths.
The commentary systematically applies theoretical principles of Islamic jurisprudence to resolve apparent textual contradictions.
Examining legal theory within practical Hadith commentaries demonstrates the real-world operationalization and validity of Uṣūlī principles beyond abstract theoretical frameworks.