الأحاديث المشكلة المتعلقة ببني إسرائيل وتطبيقاتها المعاصرة : دراسة نقدية تحليلية

Abstract

This research aims to address problematic hadiths related to the Children of Israel within the contexts of creed (ʿaqidah) and worship (ʿibadat), with particular focus on their practical implications for interactions with non-Muslims. It also seeks to clarify the ambiguity surrounding the term "Children of Israel" and to explore its conceptual relationship with the legacy of Prophetic traditions. The study adopts an inductive approach to collect and classify relevant hadiths that may be deemed problematic. It further applies the methodology of hadith scholars (muḥaddithūn) to authenticate these narrations, tracing them back to their original sources and evaluating their levels of authenticity. In addition, historical and analytical methods are employed to formulate key questions and categorise responses, to develop a comprehensive and reasoned interpretation of the hadiths under study. The findings are systematically organised to promote sound understanding and offer well-supported solutions based on textual evidence. The study underscores the significance of problematic hadiths as a field of inquiry that can be approached across various disciplines, provided that each field applies appropriate methodological frameworks. It also highlights the contributions of both early and contemporary scholars—hadith specialists and others—whose discussions on such narrations, though valuable, often remain scattered and uncollected in a unified, systematic body of work. The research identifies nearly one hundred problematic hadiths related to the Children of Israel, encompassing areas of creed, worship, and social transactions. Notable examples include the hadith: “Every child is born in a state of fiṭrah (natural disposition), until his parents make him a Jew or a Christian,” contrasted with another hadith stating: “The wretched one is he who was decreed to be wretched while in his mother’s womb, and the happy one is he who was decreed to be happy while in his mother’s womb.” In addition to over twenty other hadiths, these examples serve to support the study’s reasoning and interpretation. The research concludes with a compilation of interpretative approaches and solutions presented across approximately twenty-five thematic discussions, covering over thirty specific issues. These discussions aim to link the meanings of these hadiths to their contemporary applications, thereby offering a deeper and more precise understanding of this vital dimension of the Prophetic tradition; and strengthening its applicability to the realities of peaceful co-existence in today’s world.