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Tawaatur (تواتر) is supposed to be a concept that will solve the problem that the reports about Muhammad are based solely on oral traditions. Tawaatur means "succession" and in the "science" of hadiths it means that there is a lot of isnaads (chains of narrators of an oral tradition). When a hadith has a lot of chains, the hadith is then called "mutawaatir" (متواتر). The mutawaatir hadiths are distinguished from hadiths that are called ahaad (آحاد) which have a "small" number of chains (although ahad literally means "one" <ref>https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%d8%a2%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%af</ref>).
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Tawaatur (تواتر) is a concept that seeks to classify hadith traditions into more or less reliable categories based on the multiplicity of attestation traditions standing behind them. Tawaatur means "succession" and in the "science" of hadiths (so called due to its Arabic designation, علم الحديث, "'ilm al-hadith", where "'ilm" meaning "knowledge" is also used in Arabic to mean "science" (compare Latin "scienta", "knowledge", source of the English word "science")) it means that there is a lot of isnaads (chains of narrators of an oral tradition). When a hadith has a lot of chains, the hadith is then called "mutawaatir" (متواتر). The mutawaatir hadiths are distinguished from hadiths that are called ahaad (آحاد) which have a "small" number of chains (although ahad literally means "singular" <ref>https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/%d8%a2%d8%ad%d8%a7%d8%af</ref>).


==The number of chains==
==The number of chains==
The number of chains that a hadith needs to be mutawaatir is defined by scholars. However scholars don't know what the number of chains is:
The number of chains that a hadith needs to be mutawaatir is defined by scholars. However scholars do not agree as to what the number of chains is:
{{Quote|[https://www.islamic-awareness.org/hadith/ulum/asb3.html An Introduction To The Science Of Hadith]|
{{Quote|[https://www.islamic-awareness.org/hadith/ulum/asb3.html An Introduction To The Science Of Hadith]|
There is no precise definition for a "large number of reporters"; although the numbers '''four, five, seven, ten, twelve, forty and seventy, among others, have all been variously suggested''' as a minimum, the exact number is irrelevant (some reporters, e.g. Imams of Hadith, carry more weight anyway than others who are their contemporaries): the important condition is that the possibility of coincidence or "organised falsehood" be obviously negligible.
There is no precise definition for a "large number of reporters"; although the numbers '''four, five, seven, ten, twelve, forty and seventy, among others, have all been variously suggested''' as a minimum, the exact number is irrelevant (some reporters, e.g. Imams of Hadith, carry more weight anyway than others who are their contemporaries): the important condition is that the possibility of coincidence or "organised falsehood" be obviously negligible.
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The hadith is mutawaatir when there is "no possibility" that so many people could agree on a lie. So it's very subjective. Some scholar might think that 4 chains are enough, other might think that 70 chains are needed.
The hadith is mutawaatir when there is "no possibility" that so many people could agree on a lie. This is the traditional view, though forensic investigators or modern scholars of oral traditions would not use such a criterion. Some scholars might think that 4 chains are enough, other might think that 70 chains are needed, there is not a universal acceptance of what is and is not mutawaatir.


*There were thousands of Muslims available when the hadiths were written, so even if most Muslims were honest, it wouldn't be hard to find 4, 5 or 70+ liars.
==Methodological Criticisms==
*Most sahih hadiths are not mutawaatir, but they are accepted anyway (because all people in the chain supposedly always tell the truth)
 
Modern standards of forensics and oral tradition scholarship would not find this criterion ipso facto convincing. Some possible criticisms:
 
*There were thousands of Muslim transmitters available when the hadiths were written; even giving the the most generous assumptions of Muslim honesty, it wouldn't be hard to find 4, 5 or 70+ loose transmitters, liars, or persons willing to affirm a tradition they don't know to be true. Islamic scholars respond by pointing out that hadith scholars did more than just collect isnads, as they also analyzed the reliability of the transmitters. Consequently, it may well be the case that there are descriptions of the prophet that have been correctly transmitted - critical scholars admit that while the general bar of evidence for most hadiths considered authentic cannot be a source of certainty, there may still be some narrations that are reliable. As far as certainty is concerned - that is, ''knowing for a fact that a report is not fabricated or incorrect'' - this degree of certainty remains generally unattainable where empirical evidence is lacking (as a result, where a minted coin is found from the 8th century - determined using scientific methods - we may be relatively sure that this coin was minted at this time in history, but we can't be ''religiously certain'' it was minted by one or another person, and finding written evidence regarding someone's statements may not be sufficient, as there is always a chance that the scribe or report was mistaken, lying, or manipulating facts).
*Most sahih hadiths are not mutawaatir, but they are accepted anyway (because all people in the chain supposedly always tell the truth), which calls the entire framework into question


==False chains==
==False chains==
When a hadith is mutawaatir it has to be accepted according to Islamic scholars:
When a hadith is mutawaatir it has to be accepted according to Islamic scholars, as fabrication and mistaken transmission are deemed impossible:
{{Quote|[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34651/mutawaatir-hadeeth Mutawaatir hadeeth]|
{{Quote|[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34651/mutawaatir-hadeeth Mutawaatir hadeeth]|
With regard to the ruling on mutawaatir reports: a mutawaatir report must be accepted, because it is definitive and certain, even if there is no other corroborating evidence. And there is no need to examine the biographies of its narrators. This is a matter concerning which no wise man will have any doubts.  
With regard to the ruling on mutawaatir reports: a mutawaatir report must be accepted, because it is definitive and certain, even if there is no other corroborating evidence. And there is no need to examine the biographies of its narrators. This is a matter concerning which no wise man will have any doubts.  
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So a big number of chains means that the content of the hadith is 100% from Muhammad. But anyone can make a false chain of narrators for his made up hadith:
The following are some critiques that have been made regarding the possibility of this kind of certainty::


*If a person who writes the hadiths makes up his own hadith, he can include "many" (4, 5... or 70) made up chains and it will be called "mutawaatir"
*If a person who writes the hadiths makes up his own hadith, he can include "many" (4, 5... or 70) made up chains and it will be called "mutawaatir"
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==Tawatur in transmission of the Quran==
==Tawatur in transmission of the Quran==
Some apologists think that the Quran was perfectly preserved, because there is a tawaatur in its transmission. The point of tawaatur is that many people say the same thing, therefore it must be true, but in the case of the Quran, many people say different things. We have many versions (qira'aat) of the Arabic Quran. We have 10 reciters (in Arabic "qurra", plural of "qari"):
Tawaatur is often invoked to substantiate the reliable transmission of the Quran. The point of tawaatur is that many people say the same thing, therefore it must be true; yet in the case of the Quran, this criterion is not met. There are many versions (qira'aat) of the Arabic Quran accepted by traditional scholars as being authentic. We have 10 "reciters" (in Arabic ''qurra'', plural of ''qari''):


*Ibn Kathir al-Makki
*Ibn Kathir al-Makki
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*Nafi‘ al-Madani - a famous rawi Warsh transmitted from him
*Nafi‘ al-Madani - a famous rawi Warsh transmitted from him


And for every qari, there are two rawi's which also sometimes differ, even though they had the same teacher. The most popular version of the Arabic Quran today is the version of Hafs, who was one of the students of Aasim. Since other versions of the Quran differ from Hafs' version, the most popular version of the Quran is ahad. And even if all 10 qari had exactly the same text of the Quran, according to some scholars mutawaatir requires 70 chains, so 60 chains would be missing.
And for every qari, there are two rawi's which also often differ, even though they had the same teacher. The most popular version of the Arabic Quran today is the version of Hafs, who was one of the students of Aasim. Since other versions of the Quran differ from Hafs' version, the most popular version of the Quran is ahad. And even if all 10 qari had exactly the same text of the Quran, according to some scholars mutawaatir requires 70 chains, so 60 chains would be missing.
 
On top of this, modern scholarship has uncovered variants such as the Sana'a palimpset which preserve readings not found in any of the qira'aat, further making it impossible to make the claim of being mutawattir of the text of the Quran.  


*Apologists assume that there are parallel chains of unmentioned Muslims for the Hafs version, which makes it mutawatir. It's reasonable to assume that many other Muslims were memorizing the Quran, but the claim that the other people's version was 100% identical to the Hafs version is unsubstantiated.
*The claim that the Hafs version is mutawaatir does not stand to scrutiny, despite the current widespread usage in Muslim devotion and liturgy. It's reasonable to assume that many other Muslims were memorizing the Quran through the ages, but their is no evidence they were all using the Hafs version and much evidence to the contrary.


==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />
[[Category:Fiqh (legal theory)]]
[[Category:Hadith]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Qur'anic textual history]]
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