Mohammad 'Ali Al-Sâbuni's hadith and commentary (Sharh) methodology

The subject of our study is to present the sharh methodology of Muhammad Ali es-Sabûnî, who Despite his recognition predominantly as a contemporary scholar of Tafsir, also has contributions in the area of Hadith. The study consists of an introduction and two parts. In the introduction, following our general discussion about the life of Sabuni, his works, teachers, students, and his intellectual personality, we introduced his works in the area of hadith in detail. In part one, his views regarding the Sunnah are presented in detail, particularly in light of, "as-Sunnatu'n-Nabawiyyatu'l-Mutahhara Qismun Mina'l-Wahyi'l-İlâhiyyi'l-Munazzal" as well as his other works, and comparitively with different views on this topic. Our comparative analysis shows that (1) his approach regarding the Sunnah is in line with the traditional view, and (2) he has not introduced any new changes to the science of hadith and terminologies. In the second part, his sharh methodology is presented in the context of "Sharhu'l-Muyassar", which is Sabûnî's commentary on Zabidi's at-Tajrīdu's-Sarīh. Here, we have presented his various methods such as, explaining hadith with hadith, stating the asbab al-wurud, his explanations regarding gharīb words in hadith, giving place to grammatical analyses, engaging in matters of jurisprudence and theology, and his responses to contrary views. In addition, while discussing the sharh methodology, after asserting that his work is predominantly a compilation-type study, his own contributions were highlighted. As can be seen in his many other works, this study shows that the author has employed an easily understandable, plain language, here also. As a result, the study emphasises that Sabûnî has contributed an easily understandable, concise addition, to the sharh literature.