“Don’t You Ever Say a Word About Him!”: Ḥadīth Scholars and Censorship in Early Islamic History

This paper argues that early ḥadīth compilations reflect theological debates among Islamic sects in the 2nd/8th and 3rd/9th centuries. In early Muslim society, each sect or group held distinctive opinions on controversial theological issues, such as free will versus predestination and the significance of the Companions. Each side defended its position using specific arguments. When the Qurʾān provided sufficient evidence to support their views, they used it; otherwise, they turned to the extensive ḥadīth compilations to bolster their doctrines. However, these collections did not always perfectly align with their needs, as they sometimes contained counter-narratives and unfavorable transmitters. In such cases, some narrators or traditionalists deliberately interfered with or falsified both the isnāds and the texts of the ḥadīths. It is possible to trace these manipulations in the ḥadīth books compiled during the 2nd/8th and 3rd/9th centuries. This paper aims to highlight examples of falsification in ḥadīth literature by using the method of comparison (muʿāraḍa) and to emphasize the possibility of identifying the transmitters responsible for these manipulations.