Hadith As Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in Islam pdf

9780230605350ts02.qxd1210-3-0805:43 PPage 12I-Jadith As Scriptureinterests of the Muslim community the desire to maintain the flexibilityof the content of the oral tradition. Schoeler admits that this reason is not40openly expressed, but cites several instances that he believes indicate it. ne instance Schoeler offers as an indication that the desire to main-tain flexibility of the oral tradition was the primary motivation is thestory related by Ibn Sa(d about (Umar ibn consideration and41subsequent rejection of the idea of committing the Hadith to writing. choeler acknowledge that after this (Umar is portrayed as a staunchopponent of both oral and written transmission of the Hadith, yetSchoeler dismisses the importance of this portrayal because it representsan extreme position that did not gain widespread acceptance. However,nothing in this particular example suggests that (Umar’s decision not tohave the Hadith committed to writing was out of a desire to maintainflexibility in the oral tradition, as Schoeler suggests. In further supportof his suggestion, Schoeler paraphrases the following report in Taqyidal-Cllm about the companion Ibn Mas(أ¼d, which I translate from theoriginal in full here:Ibn Ma(sأ¼d related a Hadith and then his son said: That is not howyou related [it before];” he [Ibn Mas(أ¼d] said: How do youknow?” He [his son] said: I wrote it down.” He [Ibn Mas(ud] said:Bring me the notebook!” So he brought it and he destroyed it. 43Although, the wording of this story does contain some hint, as Schoelernotes, of the issue of variation in the oral traditions, there is no indicationthat Ibn Mas(أ¼d’s reaction was motivated by a desire to maintain flexibilitythrough such variation in content. This is something that Schoeler readsinto the text, which, as he states, is not openly expressed. 44Some reports do suggest a concern for maintaining a dichotomybetween written and oral sources of authority by indicating a preferencefor oral transmission. However, as Toorawa demonstrates in his analysisof the transition of early Arab/ Muslim society from an oral/ aural”45culture to a writerly” culture, a preference for oral transmission andlearning in the early period is not limited to the Hadith, but includes theQur’أ¤n as well. 6 Toorawa notes very practical reasons for the apparentpreference of oral transmission and learning, including defects in theArabic script that could and did lead to errors on the part of those whorelied on books for their knowledge. 47 John Burton has also recognizedthe same problem of defective texts, arguing that controversies overwhether the noun feet” should be read as genitive or accusative inQur’أ¤n 5:6 resulted from early Muslims relying on Qur’أ¤nic texts