Kritik hadith dalam perspektif studi kontemporer

Critical studies of hadith do not always aim at arguing against the legitimacy of hadith as one of the sources of Islamic Law. Nor do it doubt like many orientalist would do the authenticity of the hadith as a source of Islamic teaching. Critical studies of hadith are about investigating the accuracy and validity of the narration chain. Considering that many hadiths take a long period of time before they are being narrated, inaccuracy might have taken place in that process. Therefore a critique is needed. In the context of contemporary life, a critique is even more needed especially that which looks at hadith in terms of its relation with modern science, technology, gender issues, human rights, freedom of expression, and so on. This paper discusses the notion of the critical studies of hadith in contemporary life by focusing on four issues (1) the cognitive foundation of the studies, (2) the objects of the critique, (3) the necessity of the critique, and (4) the normative standards of the critique.