Explores key texts and critical themes of hadith commentary

Represents a milestone for the field: the first-ever edited volume on the important subject of hadith commentary
Presents diverse case studies of hadith commentaries across time, place and sect
Delivers new insights into themes of Islam and politics, Islamic mysticism, Islamic law, Islamic philosophy and the digital humanities
Offers cross-disciplinary models of cutting-edge methods in textual studies from a group of international scholars

Hadith commentary has been a central site of Islamic intellectual life for more than a millennium, across diverse periods, regions and sects. This is the first volume of scholarly essays ever collected on the key texts and critical themes of hadith commentary. The book unfolds chronologically from the early centuries of Islam to the modern period, and readers will discover continuities and changes as a group of international experts offer illuminating studies of Sunnis, Shi'i and Sufis who interpret and debate the meaning of hadith that spans a wide terrain: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, India, and further. The volume also models a variety of methodological approaches, including social history, intellectual history, the study of religion, and digital history. By highlighting both differences and commonalities as the practice of hadith commentary circulated across distant eras and lands, this volume sheds new light on the way Muslims have historically understood the meaning of Muhammad's example.