A Multi-Tiered Matn Criticism Model on Gender-Related Hadiths: Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī and Rashīd Riḍā in Comparison
Keywords:
Matn Criticism, Gender Hadith, Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Rashīd Riḍā, Social RelationsAbstract
Amid growing debates on gender equality in Muslim societies, hadiths concerning women’s leadership and social relations remain contested sources of religious authority. This study aims to comparatively examine how traditionalist and reformist scholars apply naqd al-matn (textual criticism) to gender-related hadiths. Using a qualitative library research design and comparative content analysis, the study analyzes the approaches of Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī and Rashīd Riḍā toward several frequently debated hadiths on women’s leadership, nāqiṣāt ʿaql wa dīn, and marital relations. The findings reveal that the primary difference between both approaches does not lie in the acceptance of hadith authenticity, but in their underlying epistemological assumptions. Ibn Ḥajar employs textual harmonization to preserve the coherence of the hadith tradition, whereas Riḍā uses contextual and Qur’anic ethical considerations to reconstruct normative meanings. This study highlights the epistemological tensions shaping contemporary hadith interpretation and gender discourse.
Abstrak
Di tengah perdebatan yang semakin memanas mengenai kesetaraan gender dalam masyarakat Muslim, hadis-hadis yang berkaitan dengan kepemimpinan perempuan dan hubungan sosial tetap menjadi sumber otoritas keagamaan yang kontroversial. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji secara komparatif bagaimana para ulama tradisionalis dan reformis menerapkan naqd al-matn (kritik teks) terhadap hadis-hadis yang berkaitan dengan gender. Dengan menggunakan desain penelitian perpustakaan kualitatif dan analisis isi komparatif, penelitian ini menganalisis pendekatan Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī dan Rashīd Riḍā terhadap beberapa hadis yang sering diperdebatkan mengenai kepemimpinan perempuan, nāqiṣāt ʿaql wa dīn, dan hubungan perkawinan. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perbedaan utama antara kedua pendekatan tersebut tidak terletak pada penerimaan keaslian hadis, melainkan pada asumsi epistemologis yang mendasarinya. Ibn Ḥajar menggunakan harmonisasi teks untuk menjaga koherensi tradisi hadis, sedangkan Riḍā menggunakan pertimbangan kontekstual dan etika Al-Qur’an untuk merekonstruksi makna normatif. Penelitian ini menyoroti ketegangan epistemologis yang membentuk penafsiran hadis kontemporer dan wacana gender.
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