The Dating of the Narration "Khayru Nisāʼil Jannah" Transmitted by Ṭabarānī in Shaykh Ṣadūq's al-Khiṣāl Using the Isnād-Matn Analysis Method

Abul Qāsim Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ibn Ayyūb ibn Muṭayyir al-Lakhmī al-Shāmī, known as Ṭabarānī, was one of the greatest Sunni Hadith scholars of the Islamic world and one of the longest-living. In Shi'a books, especially Shaykh Ṣadūq's al-Khiṣāl, many of his narrations have been transmitted. Shaykh Ṣadūq, through correspondence with him in Isfahan, transmitted the narration "Khayru Nisāʾ al-Jannah" via writing with his permission. This narration is mentioned in various Sunni sources, but in Shi’a sources, Shaykh Ṣadūq was the first to introduce it into Imami sources, transmitting it from his Sunni Shaykh, Lakhmī. For this reason, regarding to the importance of analyzing the chain of narration (Isnād) and text (Matn) of this narration in both Sunni and Shi’a sources, especially regarding the chronological order of its narrators, the present study was conducted. To this end, using the Isnād-matn analysis method for examining hadiths and a descriptive-analytical approach, after describing the different opinions and views among the hadith scholars in explaining this hadith, we seek a clear answer to the question: ‘What changes are there in the main clause of this hadith?’ The results of the analysis using the Isnād and text method show a high degree of correlation of this hadith in various Sunni sources and a slight difference with the Shi’a transmission. The analysis revealed that almost all Sunni sources transmitted this hadith in a similar manner, whereas in the Shi’a transmission by Shaykh Ṣadūq in the main phrase, slight changes in wording were made. However, the meaning and concept remain the same, and the general sense is conveyed to the reader.

Keywords:

Hadith Dating , Isnād-matn , Narration Khayr Nisāʾ al-Jannah , Ṭabarānī: Shaykh Ṣadūq: al-Khiṣāl