A Rāwī and a Riwāyah

TURKISH ISLAMIC STUDIES series (TISs) For over two centuries, scholars in Türkiye have produced a rich and sophisticated body of work across Islamic sciences and intellectual history. Yet this scholarship has remained insufficiently visible in global academic discourse, while Western and Orientalist studies have long circulated widely in Turkish translation. The Turkish Islamic Studies series (TISs) responds to this imbalance by introducing major works of Turkish Islamic scholarship to international readers through carefully supervised English translations. The series aims to foster a more reciprocal exchange of knowledge and to open Türkiye's Islamic scholarly heritage to the world. About this Volume In “a Rāwī and a Riwāyah”, Sabri Kızılkaya presents a methodological study of ḥadīth authentication and interpretation through the integrated analysis of isnād and matn. Rather than treating transmission chains and textual content as separate fields, the work examines how they may be read together to understand the formation, circulation, and reception of a report. Centred on a fitan tradition concerning the fire of the Ḥijāz and its illumination of the necks of camels in Busrā, the study traces the report across early sources and later interpretive literature. It analyzes isnād form, isnād content, textual form, and textual content, while engaging modern debates on dating, matn criticism, Orientalist scholarship, and alternative ḥadīth methodologies. By combining classical Muslim methods with contemporary analytical tools, this volume contributes to debates on authenticity, interpretation, and the methodological future of ḥadīth studies. Opening Türkiye's Islamic scholarship to the world.