Abstract:

Imam al-Hadi ila’l-Haqq Yahya bin al-Husayn was a Zaidi Imam who lived in the 3rd century hijri. Imam al-Hadi founded the Zaidi state in Yemen, clashed with Qarmatians and Batiniyyah, made the khutbah in his own name, and issued coins. In addition to his political career, Imam al-Hadi was also a mutakallim and a faqih. After studying fiqh with the companions of Abu Hanifa in Iraq, his views and opinions on fiqh laid the foundation of the Hadawiyya school. As a scholar worth studying in multiple aspects, Imam al-Hadi’s interpretations on hadiths in particular deserve further emphasis. Assuming a different position from his peers with his hadith interpretations, Imam al-Hadi’s works draws attention with his openly critical stance on interpreting hadith reports without paying attention to their sources. His frequent references to the Qur’an in his interpretations stands out in particular. In his view, hadiths are only valuable when they are aligned with the Qur’an, which is in the center of his world of thought. It is quite possible to observe this approach of Imam al-Hadi in almost every line in his works. On the other hand, the most significant attribute of his, was the active mindset in his approach to the Qur’an, hadith, and sunnah. With all of this in mind, it is possible to suggest that Imam al-Hadi’s interpretations are grounded on an integrated foundation with the pillars of Qur’an, sunnah, reason, and ijma.

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