Oxford Scholar Dr. Joshua Little Gives 21 REASONS Why Historians are SKEPTICAL of Hadith

In the second part of our interview with Dr. Joshua Little, we discuss the views of historical-critical scholarship in regard to the authenticity question: Do hadiths reliably go back to the Prophet Muhammad? Note: I was suffering from a fever during this interview... so I start to fade near the end -- apologies in advance! You can follow Dr. Little on Twitter: @IslamicOrigins You can check out his blog at: You can contribute to his Patreon here: You can watch Part 1 of this interview here: 42:47 Prior Probability 47:17 Lateness of the Sources 56:18 Full of Contradictions 01:03:50 Propagandistic Reports 01:07:38 Historical Anachronisms 01:26:13 Supernatural Elements 01:28:13 Reports of Mass Fabrication 01:33:49 Late Isnāds 01:44:30 The Early Usage of the Word “Sunna“ Differs from the Classical Usage 01:52:43 Rapid Numerical Growth in Hadith 01:57:01 Absence of Hadith in Early Sources 02:08:55 Peculiar Patterns Inconsistent with Genuine History 02:18:10 Hadiths Contradict Earlier Sources 02:21:06 Orality Means Less Precision in Transmission 02:31:16 Extreme Variation, Rapid Mutation 02:34:29 Artificial Literary Topoi 02:37:52 Product of Popular Storytelling 02:40:34 Exegesis Pretending to be History 02:43:58 Quranic Amnesia: Discontinuity Between Quranic Milieu 02:50:26 No Effective, Consistent Method --- The Impactful Scholar, MPAC’s official YouTube podcast, is brought to you by the MPAC Research Bureau, a part of MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council). Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment and share! Subscribe to The Impactful Scholar: Follow The Impactful Scholar on Twitter: MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council) Subscribe to MPAC’s channel: Like MPAC on Facebook: Follow MPAC on Twitter: Follow MPAC on Instagram: Visit MPAC’s website: About the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC): We improve public understanding and policies that impact American Muslims by engaging our government, media, and communities. MPAC and The Impactful Scholar need your help! Please make a donation today: Make sure to let us know that you donated to help The Impactful Scholar.