'Hadith', or traditions said to be from the Prophet Muhammad, are one of the main sources of the Islamic religion. There are many hadith, but are they all accepted? If not, then which ones are rejected and why? The principles of what to do with hadith (or 'Mustalah' in Arabic) were set up by two of the four major orthodox schools of Sunni thought: the Hanafis and the Shafis. Their methodology towards hadith results in the differing theology and jurisprudence between the schools. During the past eight hundred years, the Shafi principles of hadith have become more widespread, to the point where Shafi Mustalah was also adopted by many Hanafis. In recent times nearly all institutes are teaching Shafi principles of hadith. This has resulted in confusion for Hanafis (and others) since the principles of hadith they are learning do not correspond to Hanafi legal theory.
This book, "Hanafi Principles of Testing Hadith", is recommended for readers of all backgrounds who interact with hadith. If you are one of those who have read the many traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and are left confused because the hadith seemingly defies logic or conflicts with established principles of Islam or ethics then this book is essential reading.
This is the first book of its kind in English, containing as it does the classical Hanafi principles of authenticating hadith in Arabic, with translation and exhaustive commentary all in one manual.