750–850 CE
Early Abbasid Period
The early Abbasid period saw the formalization of the isnad-critical sciences and the biographical evaluation literature ('ilm al-rijal), the crystallization of the classical Sunni legal schools following al-Shafi'i's ranked source-hierarchy, and the compilation of what would become the canonical Hadith collections — al-Bukhari's and Muslim's most prominently — from a far larger body of circulating reports. Canonical status for specific collections was, on the historical record, a gradually achieved status rather than an immediate property of the texts.
Content from this period
- Research Paper
Islam: History, Authority and the Development of Islamic Tradition
A historical-critical review of the Qur'an and Hadith as sources of religious authority in Islam, distinguishing established fact, scholarly consensus, majority and minority opinion, disputed claims, and theological interpretation at every step.
- Article
Islam: A Reader's Guide to the Qur'an, Hadith and Early Islamic History
A plain-language companion to Revert Way's academic review of the Qur'an and Hadith: the same evidence, sources, and arguments, with every technical term and historical figure introduced on first use.