This paper is a response to Harald Moritz’s journal titled “Analyzing Muslim Traditions: Studies in Legal, Exegetical, and Maghazi Hadith,” which covers the overall Muslim traditions that report the statements as well as behaviors of Prophet Mohammed, his companions, and his generational tabi’un (successors). Under this foundation, the author is able to approach different Muslim texts as potential sources of reconstructing some aspects of legal, social, and religious practices or thoughts active during early Islam (first three centuries A.H).
What interests me in this reading is how the concept of ‘Maghazi Hadith’ or ‘Hadit’ is utilized. Unlike other Muslim scholars that devoted themselves to study Hadit as a moral and religious inspiration or as a source of law, Moritz used the Muslim traditions exclusively as a historical source. Together with his companions, the author seeks the knowledge of Hadit with the principal objective of finding out what exactly happened during the previous eras. This is because the Hadits typically touch on all legal, exegetical, and theological matters, which in turn allows progress in the reconstruction of historical jurisprudence, events, institutions, religious ideas, and the exegesis of the Quran over the centuries.
In conclusion, my comment in this text focused on the topic of Hadits or, rather, Muslim traditions. As seen from Harald Moritz’ article, the Hadits are of prime importance in the actual compilation and study of early Muslim history. This is because it allows scholars to focus on the specific methods that have been applied from the religious scripture to this day, while also ensuring proper studies are conducted to determine whether the methods, premises, or conclusions of Islamic thoughts and practices were sound.