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The sifat traditions (a?adith al-sifat) is a term that refers to certain prophetic sayings with ostensibly anthropomorphic content. In interpreting such traditions, most traditionalists (ahl al-?adith) of the 3rd /9th century, especially the Hanbalites, applied an approach that combines both of literal interpretation and non-interpretation known as without how (bila kayfa). In the mid-5th/11th century, however, a Nishapurian traditionalist Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Husayn al-Bayhaqi (d. 458/1066) turns to a new approach by which he interpreted the sifat traditions in a figurative way. This paper aims to examine al-Bayhaqis methodology in dealing with problematic content of sifat traditions shown in his book titled al-Asma wa al-Sifat. By applying historical method, I will uncover the socio-political background in which he decided to discard the old approach and offer the new one. I found that al-Bayhaqi combines both traditionalist and rationalists scholarship in dealing with problematic sifat traditions. By applying distinctive separation between mutawatir and a?ad traditions, he accepts without how (bila kayfa) the anthropomorphic descriptions in mutawatirs as divine attributes, but interprets figuratively the descriptions mentioned in a?ads unless it is corroborated by statements from al-Quran or mutawatir traditions. I also found that al-Bayhaqis approach is a response to the traditionalists incapability to face socio-religious challenges in the context of Shia political triumph.
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In-Text Citation: (Noor, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Noor, U. M. (2019). Abu Bakr Al-Bayhaqi and His Approach to Sifat Traditions. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(6), 326–336.
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