CHAIN OF SANAD THE SIX BOOKS SHAH WALIYY ALLAH AL-DIHLAWI (1114-1176H):A FOCUS ON WORK AL-IRSHAD ILA MUHIMMAT ‘ILM AL-ISNAD

Abstract

Shah Waliyy Allah al-Dihlawi is a leading hadith scholar and prominent revivalist of India in the 12th century. The figure excelled in reforms to protect the sanctity of Islam in line with the threats that befell Muslims during his lifetime. The reform was done in three main approaches, namely writing, thinking and education in various disciplines of Islamic studies, including hadith. In other words, without the leadership of a figure, Islam's survival is in jeopardy. The work of al-Irshad ila Muhimmat ‘Ilm al-Isnad is a proof of the involvement of figures who had a significant impact on the science of hadith. Through this work, Shah Waliyy Allah al-Dihlawi re-emphasizes the relevance of maintaining the chain connection of the books of turath muktabar hadith such as the Six Books. The work in this category of thabat reignites the corpus of discussion on the importance of the chain connection in books of turath which almost diseappear and no longer discoursed. This paper aims to reveal the chain of sanad the Six Books according to Shah Waliyy Allah al-Dihlawi based on descriptive content analysis method in analyzing his work. The findings of the chain are summarized in a discussion based on the background specifications of the author and his work, the teacher’s chain, numbers of main line of narrator, method of riwayah, samples and relevance. Based on this work, it can be summed that the figure plays a significant role in restoring the relevance on the spectrum of chain as well as the momentum of chain connection practice based on adherence adaptation of the original hadith narration method. His chain of sanad in this work is the primary connection in the continuity of the chain of sanad thus far, especially in the Indian subcontinent. This study suggests that the narration of the chain of sanad based on the turath books of hadith is relevant to be applied endlessly as it generally aims to maintain continuity with the absolute source of knowledge, prophet PBUH.