Dr. Ali Aghaei on “Reconstructing Early Shiʿi Hadith Sources”: Methodological Reflections at Leiden University

Dr. Ali Aghaei from the Institute for Islamic Theology at Humboldt University of Berlin gave a talk titled “Reconstructing Early Shiʿi Hadith Sources: Methodological Reflections and Critical Assessments” during a two-day internal workshop with theresearch project Embodied Imamate team at Leiden University (March 26–27, 2025).

The talk explored methodological challenges and possibilities in reconstructing the earliest layers of Shiʿi hadith literature. While modern hadith studies have developed significantly in the context of Sunni sources, the Shiʿi tradition remains comparativelyunderstudied. Drawing on recent scholarship—particularly the work of Hossein Modarressi—the presentation examined the so-called Bio-Bibliographical Method, which uses isnād analysis and Shiʿi bibliographical dictionaries to trace the origins of later hadith compilations. Through a critical assessment of this approach, Dr. Aghaei reflected on key methodological assumptionssuch as the nature of written transmission and the reliability of later bibliographical sources. The talk offered both a critique and a constructive outlook on how digital and historical methods might contribute to identifying and contextualizing now-lost sources in the Shiʿi hadith tradition.