The Impact of Chapter Arrangement by Hadith Scholars on Understanding the Prophetic Text: A Study of Jāmiʿ Collections

Abstract

This research examines the methodological approach to chapter organization (tabwīb) in comprehensive hadith collections، distinguishing between non-Imami collections and Imami collections، particularly al-Kulaynī's al-Kāfī and al-Ṣadūq's Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh. The study demonstrates that chapter organization is not a neutral technical procedure but an interpretive، ijtihādī act carrying doctrinal hermeneutical weight that directs the understanding of prophetic texts. In non-Imami collections، chapter organization evolved into a tool for theological and jurisprudential polemic، evident in sections such as "Chapter on the Creation of Human Actions" and "Chapter on the Increase and Decrease of Faith،" which reinforced a predestinarian and literalist understanding of doctrine، as well as in sections on the designation of the caliphate، which scattered the hadiths of Ghadīr Khumm and Manzilah across various chapters. In contrast، chapter organization in Imami collections does not represent the author's personal ijtihād but rather reflects the method of the Infallible Imams in classifying religious sciences، constituting a stipulative discipline grounded in transmitted texts and submission، not in analogical reasoning (qiyās) or personal opinion. This is exemplified in al-Kāfī's independent chapter on the designation of the caliphate and in Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh's treatment of ablution and the call to prayer (adhān) with explanations of their underlying rationales، thereby creating an epistemological unity between the Qur'an، the Sunnah، and the Imams، while hierarchically reflecting the gradations of legal rulings with precision، free from the confusion prevalent in other collections.