The Life and Works of Al-Nas rhring

Aḥmad ibn Shu‘ayb al-Nasā’ī (d. 303/915?) was a Sunni traditionist, one of whose collections, al-Mujtabā , is traditionally counted among the Six Books. Some thirty works have been attributed to him, which this study reviews in greater detail than has been done before (especially in European languages). It also examines where and when al-Nasā’ī collected ḥadīth with greater precision than previous studies, and considers at length his method of ḥadīth criticism. Confirming a recent trend in ḥadīth scholarship, al-Nasā’ī's method turns out to depend heavily on isnād comparison. Al-Nasā’ī was also a traditionist- jurisprudent, not committed to any of the nascent schools, and a moderate Shi'i. G.H.A. Juynboll likewise stressed isnād comparison. His method differs from that of al-Nasā'ī and other early Sunni ḥadīth critics mainly in his willingness to detect false attributions equally in support of orthodoxy and unorthodoxy.