Caretaker conventions

The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim

“…Most scholars, however, have been content to either reproduce Goldziher's conclusions or devote only cursory remarks to the issue. 17 The superÀ cial character of these observations stems from the frequency with which they treat the adÖth canon as ancillary to some larger topic, such as early Islamic historiography or a survey of the sources of Islamic law. Such studies have followed Goldziher by dating the emergence of the canon from anywhere between the third/ninth century and the seventh/thirteenth century, devoting little thought to the actual nature or function of the canon.…”

“…." 21 In the conclusion to The Eye of the Beholder, a study on how the Sunni com- 17 For a deferral to Goldziher by one of the leading Western scholars on adÖth, see Eerik Dickinson, "Ibn al-ÍalÎ al-ShahrazÚrÖ and the IsnÎd," Journal of the American Oriental Society 122, no. 3 (2002): 488.…”

“…These ideas were further developed in Kermode's article "The Canon" (1987) in The Literary Guide to the Bible. 17 Canon studies has also generated a number of studies in comparative religion. Miriam Levering's Rethinking Scripture: Essays from a Comparative Perspective (1989) tackled issues of canonization and authority in a wide range of scriptural traditions.…”

“…16 Unlike Ibn Óanbal, Muslim felt that there were enough ÍaÖ adÖths in circulation that transmission-based scholars could dispense with less worthy narrations in elaborating Islamic law and doctrine. 17 Such thinking represented a 14 Muslim b. al-ÓajjÎj al-NaysÎbÚrÖ, KitÎb al-tamyÖz, ed. Muammad Muß¡afÎ al-A'ýamÖ (Riyadh: Ma¡ba'at JÎmi'at RiyÎð, [1395), 134, 136; Muammad b. IdrÖs al-ShÎÀ 'Ö, al-Umm (Cairo: DÎr al-Sha'b, 1968-), 7:258-9.…”

“…16 Muhammad Abd al-Rauf, "ÈadÖth Literature," 274. 17 Muslim b. al-ÓajjÎj, ÄaÖ Muslim (Cairo: Maktabat wa Ma¡ba'at Muammad 'AlÖ Íubay, [1963]), 1:22. Al-BukhÎrÖ is also quoted as rejecting the use of non-ÍaÖ new stage in the critical study of adÖth but continued the transmissionbased legal strain in Islamic scholarly culture.…”