Abstract
After the Holy Quran, the most important source for understanding Islamic law and acquiring teachings in areas such as beliefs, jurisprudential rulings, ethics, and practices is the collection of narrations and hadiths attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Imams (PBUH). However, in Sunni hadith sources, there are narrations that conflict with the criteria for accepting hadiths – such as compatibility with reason, the Quran, and established Sunnah. One of the controversial examples is the narration of the “dispute between Prophet Musa (PBUH) and the Angel of Death,” which is reported in various Sunni sources with different chains of narration and texts. The contradictions within the content of this narration – including the illogical portrayal of the interaction between the Angel of Death and the Prophet of God, its incompatibility with teachings such as the infallibility of the Prophets, the moral conduct of the Prophet, and adherence to divine commandments – highlight the need for historical and chain-based scrutiny of this hadith.This study, using the method of dating the chain of narration and text, investigates the origins and developmental history of this narration. By performing a comparative analysis of similar texts, categorizing different versions, constructing a network of narrators’ chains, and identifying primary and secondary common links, the results show that the fabrication of this hadith dates back to the second half of the first century AH, coinciding with the lifetime of Abu Huraira. Furthermore, from a content critique perspective, the narration contradicts Islamic theological principles (such as the infallibility of the Prophets), ethical principles, and religious logic, and even lacks support within the context of the teachings of the Abrahamic scriptures. Therefore, given the inconsistencies in its chain and content, the attribution of this narration to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is scientifically and religiously invalid.
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