This book deals with various aspects of the formative period of Muslim tradition, in Arabic: ḥadīth; throughout this study the term ‘tradition’ is used as the equivalent of the Arabic word ḥadīth and is to be understood in this sense only. A ḥadīth proper is the record of a saying ascribed to the prophet Muḥammad or a description of his deeds. In the course of time these records were compiled into a number of collections which together form the so-called ḥadīth literature. Several of these collections acquired so much prestige that they became sacrosanct in the eyes of the Muslims and, subsequently, were vested with an authority second only to the Qur'ān.

When, in the mid-sixties, I wrote my study on modern Muslim discussions about the authenticity of the ḥadīth literature, I realized that I did not take sides, neither in the disputes among Oriental scholars nor in the ones occasionally flaring up between Oriental and western scholars. I had been influenced by the books of Goldziher and Schacht, of course, but also by those of modern Muslim scholars, and I kept postponing my commitment to any particular point of view. Initially I thought of the problems raised by Oriental and western scholars concerning the origins of ḥadīth as mutually irreconcilable. If two points of view could differ so widely, how could anyone even attempt to bring them into harmony?