Rijal Studies - An Introduction

A review of the history of human intellectual disciplines shows that sciences have not emerged instantaneously. Rather they have grown over time and have been perfected through the ages under the influences of a multiplicity of causes. Islamic sciences (‘ulūm), especially the discipline of hadith, have had such a trajectory. In its initial stages, hadith was merely concerned with hearing and learning the statements of the Infallibles (as), committing them to the memory or writing them down, and eventually transmitting them to those who were yearning to learn them.
Hadith has a noble status in Islam because, after the Qur’an, it is the most important source from which the intentions of Shari‘a can be derived. From the Shī’ī perspective, after the Prophet Muhammad (s) the infallible Imams were in charge of the explication of Shari’a. The Imams would explain the revelation at various stages and further explicate jurisprudential and theological issues with their own hadiths.