Evaluating the Reliability of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri in Sunni and Shia Hadith ‎Scholarship: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Although they both recognize the authority of hadith as a source of Islamic teachings, Sunnis and Shiites have different criteria for determining which hadith are authentic and can be used as guidelines. Such differences have resulted in the mutual rejection of reports from the opposing tribes. However, a number of narrators are reported to be sources of transmission in the hadith literature of each group. One of them was Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. Unfortunately, a number of studies still focus on al-Zuhri's position as a narrator in only one group without considering cross-group narration. This library research elaborates on the validity of al-Zuhri in hadith literature according to Sunni and Shia scholars. Content analysis is applied and then linked to the rules of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil. The cooperative attitude with the ruler was used as an excuse for al-Zuhri's weakness in the field of hadith. Moreover, the ruler at that time had tensions with the ahli bait, so al-Zuhri was labeled as the enemy of the ahli bait. However, scholars from these two groups affirmed al-Zuhri's integrity before the ruler and proved that he was a figure close to the ahli bait. Despite claims about al-Zuhri's affiliation to the Shia, this study does not deny the existence of intersections in hadith narration among Sunnis and Shias.