Imam Khomeini and Fiqh al-Hadith

Mahdi Mehrizi

The paper first surveys some aspects of Imam Ruhullah Khomeini's school of hadith scholarship, followed by the topic of fiqh al-hadith 'hadith scholarship' from his perspective. To represent Imam Khomeini's views in the realm of fiqh al-hadith, the writer extracted eight principles with pivotal role from his fiqh, usul, hadith, and mystic works, followed by some discussions. The above principles are as follows: 1. common-sense understanding of the hadith, 2. words serve to express the senses, 3. noticing the social character of the Prophet and the Imams, 4. invitation to rational, logical affairs, 5. content-wise criticism of the hadith, 6. abstaining from dogmatism in understanding hadiths, 7. attention to spatio-temporal changes in hadith scholarship, and 8. attention to contradictory hadiths.

Key Word: Fiqh al-Hadith (Hadith Scholarship), Imam Khomeini, Content-Wise Criticism.

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