The Evidentiary Authority of the Mursal Narrations of Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr: A Critical Examination of Sayyid al-Khoei’s Methodology

This study aims to investigate the evidentiary authority of mursal (interrupted) narrations within Imami rijāl studies through an examination of the mursal narrations transmitted by Muhammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr and a critical analysis of the methodology adopted by Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim al-Khoei in dealing with them. The study employs analytical, critical, and comparative approaches while utilizing inductive methods to trace narrations and analyze chains of transmission. The study reaches several important conclusions. Most notably, it demonstrates that the famous claim attributed to Muhammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr—namely, that “he narrates only from trustworthy transmitters”—lacks conclusive proof both in terms of its chain of transmission and its semantic implications. The study further reveals that Sayyid al-Khoei’s methodology represents a significant methodological transformation in the science of rijāl, shifting the discipline from a framework based primarily on acceptance and transmission to one grounded in critical analysis and scholarly scrutiny. The research also identifies a substantial methodological gap between al-Khoei’s approach and that of earlier scholars in their treatment of mursal narrations. Moreover, it demonstrates that this methodological divergence carries far-reaching juristic implications, requiring the reexamination of numerous legal conclusions that were originally based upon such narrations. The study recommends conducting comprehensive inductive investigations into the mursal narrations transmitted by all members of the group known as the Companions of Consensus (Aṣḥāb al-Ijmāʿ), organizing specialized academic seminars to examine the jurisprudential implications of critical rijāl methodologies, and developing new mechanisms for dealing with mursal narrations that combine rigorous critical analysis with the practical requirements of legal deduction.