Stylistic Markers Of Authenticity In Ḥadīth Texts: An Integrative Framework Bridging ʿilm Al-Ḥadīth And Literary Stylistics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33102/johs.v10i2.391Keywords:
Hadith Authenticity, Stylistic Analysis, Arabic Rhetoric, Narrative Coherence, Textual CriticismAbstract
This article proposes an integrative framework that bridges classical ʿilm al-ḥadīth and modern literary stylistics to reassess internal markers of authenticity in prophetic discourse. While traditional hadith scholarship has emphasized isnād (chain of transmission) and transmitter reliability, this study shifts analytical focus to the matn (text), exploring its rhetorical structure, semantic density, and narrative coherence. By drawing upon classical Arabic rhetoric and contemporary stylistic theory, the framework highlights how internal linguistic and discursive features can function as epistemic cues for textual integrity. This conceptual approach neither replaces nor overrides classical methodologies; rather, it enriches them by incorporating tools from literary linguistics, discourse analysis, and digital humanities. The model invites interdisciplinary engagement and offers new directions for theorizing hadith authentication at the intersection of tradition, textuality, and modern scholarship.
Downloads
References
Al Aqad, M. H., Hussin, M., Rifa’In @ Mohd Rifain, S., & Yoyo. (2025). Figures of speech in the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad: An analysis of Tashbīh, Isti’ārah, and Kināyah. Southeastern Philippines Journal of Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.53899/spjrd.v30i1.862.
Alzaidi, M., Mashaqba, B., Aldahmani, F., et al. (2025). Persuasion strategies in the prophetic Hadith of tolerance: A cognitive linguistic perspective. Cogent Arts and Humanities. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2505937
Azmi, A. M., Al-Qabbany, A. O., & Hussain, A. (2019). Computational and natural language processing based studies of hadith literature: A survey. Artificial Intelligence Review, 52 (3), 1713–1753. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-018-9646-1
Çakır, F. (2024). An analysis and metaphorical interpretation of the tradition “The world is the believer’s dungeon and the unbeliever’s paradise.” Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi, 28(1), 60–80. https://doi.org/10.18505/cuid.1416312
Çamur, F. Y. (2022). Güvenilir ravi ‘güvenilmez’ rivayet: Bir Ṣaḥīḥu’l-Buḫārī rivayetindeki meçhul bedevi kadın kıssasının olgusal gerçekliği üzerine. Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 63(2), 557–605. https://doi.org/10.33227/auifd.1091108
El Marouani, M., Boudaa, T., & Enneya, N. (2018). Incorporation of linguistic features in machine translation evaluation of Arabic. Communications in Computer and Information Science. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-96292-4_39
Hassanein, H. (2018). Discourse functions of opposition in Classical Arabic: The case in Ḥadīth Genre. Lingua, 202 , 225–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2017.11.002
Machsun, M. A. F. (2023). Linguistic complexity in ḥadīth: An examination of the role and origins of 'al-kalimāt al-mubtakirah' in ḥadīth. Jurnal Studi Ilmu-ilmu al-Qurʾan dan Hadis, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.14421/qvh.v24i2.4634
Rashwan, H. (2024). Hadith as oral literature through early Islamic literary criticism. Studia Islamica. https://doi.org/10.1163/1958379X-bja10048
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The copyright of this article will be vested to author(s) and granted the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, unless otherwise stated.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
