علامہ عبدالعزیز پرہاروی اور روایاتِ مشہورہ کی تنقیح

Allāmah Abd al-Azīz Parhārvī and His Critical Evaluation of Widely Circulated Aḥādīth

چکیده

Allāmah Abd al-Azīz Parhārvī (d. 1239 AH) was a distinguished scholar of Hadith, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic jurisprudence, theology, and philosophy in the Indian subcontinent. This article examines his methodology for critically evaluating widely circulated, weak, and fabricated Hadith reports in his important work, Kawthar al-Nabī wa Zulāl Ḥawḍihi al-Rawī. In this book, Parhārvī arranged narrations alphabetically under 353 subjects and assessed their authenticity in light of the opinions of prominent Hadith critics, particularly Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Sakhāwī, Ibn al-Jawzī, and Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī. Through an analysis of selected narrations relating to Āyat al-Kursī, trade, love, the vision of Allah, the constriction of the grave, food, injustice, illness, ablution, and the Day of Eid al-Fitr, the article identifies the principal features of Parhārvī’s critical approach. The study finds that he does not regard an individual scholar’s judgement, criticism of a particular narrator, or expressions such as lā aṣla lahu and lā yathbut as sufficient grounds for declaring a narration fabricated. Instead, he considers multiple chains of transmission, corroborating reports, the opinions of the majority of Hadith scholars, scrutiny of chains and texts, and the established principles of Hadith criticism. At times, he follows the majority opinion; elsewhere, he relies on a recognised Hadith authority or adopts an independent position based on evidence. The article concludes that Parhārvī’s methodology is comprehensive, balanced, comparative, and firmly grounded in the principles of Hadith criticism. His assessments also display significant similarities with the findings of contemporary Hadith scholarship.