Journal of Islamic Studies > Volume 26, No. 1, 2014

An Analytical Inductive Study on the Use of Gestures In Al-Jarḥ wa Al-Taʻdīl (Discrediting and Accrediting Hadith Narrators/ Fahad abdulaziz al amer

Major scholars of Hadith used gestures when executing operations of al-Jarḥ wa al-taʻdīl (discrediting and accrediting of
Hadith narrators,. The gestures implicitly expressed certain messages. This research identifies the gestures embedded in the books of al-jarḥ
wa al-taʻdīl and discusses their meanings in a comprehensive way. It studies the gestures exhibiting similarities in a collective way, which
enhances the understanding of the gesture meaning. It studies also the biography of the narrator in question so that the significance of the
gesture can be adequately deduced in the light of related statements made by the experts of al-Jarḥ wa al-taʻdīl regarding the narrator. The
research ends with sixteen conclusions. Further in-depth studies are recommended with respect to the gestures scholars used in the context of
evaluating the status of a particular narrator.