Dating of the traditions of miracle based on the method of text and isnad analysis

Mu`jizah (miracle) is one of the major subjects of Qur'anic sciences that has permanently received the attention of scholars and theologians. Different interpretations from the aspects of conditions and possibility of its occurrence are laid on the carpet. Since this term has not occurred in the Qur'an, and that a diversity of opinions about its application in the hadith literature exists, it is an inevitable necessity to discuss the quality of emergence of the thought of i`jāz (inimitability), and the application of the term mu`jizah (miracle). Having applied the method of analytical dating of text and isnad, this article has investigated the traditions in which the term mu`jizah is contained. Dating the text suggests differences in various editions of the traditions. The isnad-oriented dating indicates that Shaykh Ṣadūq, as a common link of the traditions of miracle, has mentioned this term in his hadith works. Similarly, the combined dating of text and isnad suggests that one cannot consider the Infallible Imams as the theoreticians of the term mu`jizah. Therefore, having patterned on the Qur'an, they have used in different hadiths the words āyāt bayyināt (manifest signs) and barāhīn (proofs) in this field.