The Prominence of Ahmad Shakir as a Contenporary Hadith Scholar A Review of Selected Studies

Ahmad Shakir has made a distinguished name of himself as an icon in the Islamic intellectual world, specifically in the field of hadith. And this is by means of his renowned works which contribute immensely in the contemporary field of hadith sciences. Yet he was not immune from criticism, as claims have been put forward by other hadith scholars regarding his background and methodology in rating the class of hadith. Although such criticisms do not in any form degrade his credibility as a figure who has contributed in the knowledge of hadith. As such, this article aims to study the background of Ahmad Shakir and the process of his knowledge development which paved the way for him to be regarded as an authority on hadith. In addition, the study will objectively scrutinize and examine some selected publications on Ahmad Shakir, in an attempt to affirm the exact right view. Thus, to achieve this purpose, qualitative research is conducted by way of library research, in addition to the content analysis method in examining textual contents. And the data is analyzed based on inductive and deductive methods. In summary, the findings of the analysis illustrate that Ahmad Shakir was indeed an icon and renowned intellectual whose expertise in the field of hadith is so pronounced. His scholarly achievements proved that he was able to produce works that will continue to be basic hadith references of this contemporary.