Construction and Criticism of Hadith among Sufis: An Analytical Study of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din

Discussing a hadith that is not as important as the Quran, requires strict rules regarding the validity of its matan and sanad. These rules and criteria became a problematic dynamic among Sufis and hadith experts. There are even negative accusations against the book of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din as the primary book for sufis which contains many hadiths dha'if and even maudhu'. Therefore, this research is considered important to find the construction of hadith and the problematic point that occurs between hadith experts and Sufis in interpreting hadith, especially those contained in the book of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din. With the type of qualitative research of literature and analytical descriptive approach, the conclusion was produced that the weakness that hadith experts criticized the book of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din did not reduce the degree of quality and credibility of Ihya' 'Ulum al- Din as a general book in studying Islam. The reason is that some of the dho'if or maudhu' hadiths contained in them are not used as postulates in terms of shari'a law, but only explain fadhail al-a'mal which is agreed to be legality by hadith experts as long as it does not penetrate into the realm of ilahiyat. The problem of interpretation rivalry among hadith experts and Sufis is caused by differences in the angles of the hadith in the recitation of the hadith. The difference comes from the two epistemologies that underlie the thinking of the two groups of scholars. Sufis, are more concerned with irfani epistemology, prioritizing matan over sanad, whereas hadith scholars who use bayani epistemology, have strict rules in passage. However, there are some hadith experts, such as al-Iraqi and al-Zabidi, who seek to find common ground for sanad's validity in the hadiths in the book of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din. Until finally the negative accusations against the book which were originally considered to use many maudhu' hadiths were finally refuted. This has led to the book of Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din remaining relevant and significant for study today.