DefinePK

Abstract

​The Prophetic Sunnah is the second most crucial source of Islamic legislation after the Holy Qur'an, commanding continuous scholarly attention throughout Islamic history. As the need for systematic indexing of the codified Ahadith (Prophetic narrations) arose in the modern era, Orientalists made significant contributions to this field.
​This research highlights the Orientalists' methodical efforts in cataloging Hadith, focusing particularly on "Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras li-Alfāẓ al-Ḥadīth al-Nabawī" (The Concordance of the Words of the Prophetic Hadith), a monumental seven-volume work. This project, conceived by the Dutch Orientalist A.J. Wensinck in 1916 and completed in 1969, utilized nine core Sunni Hadith sources, including the six famous collections (the Ṣaḥīḥayn and Sunan Arba'ah), Muwaṭṭa' Mālik, Sunan ad-Dārimī, and Musnad Aḥmad. The method adopted was based on the indexing principles previously established by Muslim scholars.
​Another key Orientalist endeavor is "Miftāḥ Kunūz al-Sunnah" (The Key to the Treasures of the Sunnah), also compiled by Wensinck, which serves as the largest thematic index for fourteen primary Hadith texts.
​The primary objective of this study is to illuminate the methodologies used by Orientalists in creating these concordances, especially Al-Mu'jam al-Mufahras, to enhance the understanding of these specialized cataloging techniques among Arab readers. While these efforts, which involved decades of international collaboration, proved invaluable in facilitating research and easy access to Prophetic narrations, the study also contextualizes them against the backdrop of the much earlier and well-established tradition of compilation and indexing (fahrasah and mu'jam) within the Islamic scholarly heritage. This work underscores the significance of these modern indices while affirming the pioneering role of classical Muslim scholars in the codification and indexing of Hadith.