A Methodological Analysis of Hadith in Imām Abū Dāwūd’s Book “Al-Sunan”

Abstract

Imam Abu Dawud al-Sijistani’s Al-Sunan is one of the most significant hadith collections and a foundational text within the Kutub al-Sittah, with a particular focus on traditions pertaining to legal rulings. The author meticulously arranged the jurisprudential narrations in a systematic order, beginning with purification and continuing through the entirety of the fiqh chapters, rendering the book not only a source of hadith but also a practical guide for legal reasoning. The central research question of this study is: What criteria did Abu Dawud employ in selecting hadiths, and to what extent did he adhere to the conditions outlined in his epistle to the people of Mecca? Findings indicate that he did not restrict himself exclusively to authentic narrations; rather, he included sahih, hasan, and even narrations with tolerable weakness, while providing clarification regarding those with severe defects. His careful arrangement of chapters, deliberate conciseness, and avoidance of unnecessary repetition significantly enhanced the book’s utility for jurists and researchers. Abu Dawud’s silence concerning many narrations is generally interpreted as an implicit endorsement of their acceptability for legal reasoning. This study employs a descriptive-analytical approach, based on library research, to elucidate the hadith methodology and scholarly significance of this seminal work.