Cite this article as: Qaasim-Badmusi, S. B., (2026). Assessing ChatGPT in Detecting al-Hadith al-Muʿallal: An Applied Study. Zamfara International Journal of Humanities, 4(2), 102-118. www.doi.org/10.36349/zamijoh.2026.v04i02.010
By
Qaasim-Badmusi Saheed
Biodun, Ph.D.
Department of Islamic
Studies, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State
Abstract: Hadith is ranked second in importance to the
Qur’an. It is a practical explanation of the Qur’an. However, there is need to
verify the authenticity of Ahadith transmitted through single channels.
Classical hadith critics adopted the science of ʿilal al-ḥadīth to detect
hidden defects. While the science of hidden defects (ʿilal al-ḥadīth) is among
the most difficult disciplines of hadith studies, recent advances in Artificial
Inteligence have raised questions about whether such tools can assist or replicate
parts of classical analytical methods. In view of this, the paper selected a
defective hadith of Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾah narrated by Al-Bayhaqi. The hadith
narrates the recitation of a companion behind the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم during the Zuhr prayer.
ChatGPT was asked to verify the authenticity of the hadith and its findings
were recorded. To evaluate the performance of ChatGPT in detecting a defective
hadith (al-ḥadīth al-muʿallal), the findings were evaluated by comparing them
with the views of classical hadith critics. The paper shows where ChatGPT;s
findings align with classical hadith critics’ views, where they overlook subtle
defects and where they misquote classical hadith critics. The study concludes
that ChatGPT can serve as a supportive academic tool in hadith studies without
replacing the role of human experts.
Keywords: ChatGPT, al-Hadith al-Muʿallal, Applied Study.
Introduction
The Qur’an and Hadith are primary sources of Islamic law.
Both are revelation from Allah. The Qur’an is transmitted through multiple
channels while Hadith is narrated through multiple and single channels. Hence,
the one narrated through single channel is subject to hadith criticism.
Classical hadith critics greatly contributed to methodologies of detecting
al-Hadith al-Muʿallal. Recent developments in Artificial Intelligence raised
questions about whether such tools can assist or replicate parts of classical
analytical processes. To critically assess the extent to which ChatGPT can
identify and analyze hidden defects (ʿilal) in hadith, a defective hadith of Ḥajjāj
ibn Arṭāʾah on the recitation of a man behind the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم during the Zuhr prayer was selected. The objectives
behind the selection of the hadith are to:
1. Examine ChatGPT’s analytical approach to
detecting hidden defects in hadith Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾah.
2. Compare ChatGPT’s
findings with the evaluations of classical hadith critics.
3.
Identify
strengths and weaknesses in ChatGPT’s findings when applied to hadith Ḥajjāj
ibn Arṭāʾah.
4. Determine the academic value and limitations of
ChatGPT as a supplementary tool in hadith studies.
5. Recommend guidelines for the effective use of
ChatGPT especially in the field of hadith.
The Concept of al-Hadith al-Muʿallal
According to the early authorities in Hadith Studies, ʿIllah
in the general sense is any cause that undermines the authenticity of a ḥadīth,
whether hidden or apparent, and any discrepancy in a ḥadīth, whether it is
detrimental or not. However, al-Ḥadīth al-Muʿallal, in the specific sense, is
the one that contains a hidden defect (ʿillah) affecting its authenticity, even
though on the surface it appears sound. Such defects are not obvious – unlike a
plainly weak narrator or broken chain – and require the researcher’s
carefulness to uncover. In practice, identifying al-Hadith al-Muʿallal is
crucial: it can change a narration’s status from apparently sound to very weak.
The scholars remarked on its difficulty: it was said to be knowledge that only
the well-versed should investigate[1]
Artificial Intelligence and Islamic Textual
Studies
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the performance of activities
demanding human-like intelligence by a system. Natural Language Processing
(NLP) is a subfield of AI that is designed and developed to understand and
interpret the human language. At present, NLP is widely useful across various
fields to perform specific tasks such as summarization, and social media hate
speech detection. The modelling of Islamic texts has attracted growing interest
in NLP. Effectively modelling these texts is of paramount importance to
teachers, students, and laymen in deriving knowledge from the Qur’an and Hadith
texts[2].
Scanning through the historical stages of technological tools
and Islamic Sciences, it is noted that digital technologies have brought forth
new tools that enhance access to and preservation of Islamic sources, thereby
reshaping research practices in the Islamic sciences[3],
such as Al-Maktabah Sh-Shamilah
Over the last decade, universities and research institutions
now offer online databases containing Qurʾānic texts, ḥadīth collections, and
other reference materials. Also, Islamic manuscripts are converted into
searchable digital formats to improve accessibility[4].
The use of artificial intelligence in Islamic studies,
especially by non-specialists, has grown considerably in the past few years.
Many studies, in the recent years, have focused on utilizing text-mining and
natural language processing technologies to analyse hadith texts. Given that
ChatGPT is a new player in this space, there is need to benchmark its judgments
carefully against traditional scholarship.
Application of ChatGPT to Verify
the Authenticity of Hadith Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾah
The narration of Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾah on the recitation of a
companion behind the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم during the Zuhr prayer was narrated by
al-Imam Al-Baihaq as follows:
قال البيهقي: أخبرنا أبو سعد الماليني، أنبأ أبو أحمد عبد الله بن عدي الحافظ، ثنا عبد الله بن الحسين الصفار، وابن صاعد، قالا ثنا يوسف بن موسى، ثنا سلمة بن الفضل، ثنا الحجاج بن أرطاة، عن قتادة، عن زرارة بن أوفى، عن عمران بن حصين قال: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي بالناس ورجل يقرأ خلفه، فلما فرغ قال: " من ذا الذي يخالجني سورتي؟ " فنهى عن القراءة خلف الإمام[5].
To examine the narration, ChatGPT was asked
as follows:
What is the degree of authenticity of the following hadith?
Al-Bayhaqī said: We were informed by Abū Saʿd
al-Mālīnī; Abū Aḥmad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAdī al-Ḥāfiẓ informed us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn
al-Ḥusayn al-Ṣaffār and Ibn Ṣāʿid said: Yūsuf ibn Mūsā narrated to us; Salamah
ibn al-Faḍl narrated to us; al-Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāʾah narrated to us; from Qatādah;
from Zurārah ibn Awfā; from ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn, who said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was leading the people in
prayer, and a man was reciting behind him. When he finished, he said: “Who is
it that is contending with me over my recitation?” So he forbade
recitation behind the imam.
ChatGPT Findings[6]
The Degree of Authenticity of the Hadith
This hadith is weak (ḍaʿīf) and is not
established as authentic from the Prophet ﷺ. This judgment is based on a detailed
analysis of both the chain of transmission (isnād) and
the text (matn) in accordance with the methodology of hadith
criticism.
1. The Isnād under Examination
Salamah
b. al-Faḍl
from al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah
from Qatādah
from Zurārah b. Awfā
from ʿImrān b. Ḥuṣayn (may Allah be pleased with him)
2. Evaluation of the Narrators
1. Salamah b. al-Faḍl al-Abrash
· Imām Aḥmad said: “Weak
in hadith.”
· Abū Ḥātim said: “Not
strong.”
· Al-Nasāʾī said: “Weak.”
🔴 He is weak by
consensus among the critics of narrators.
2. al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah
· Well-known for
excessive tadlīs (concealment of transmission)
· Weak in memorization
· Ibn Maʿīn said: “His
hadith is not used as proof.”
· Imām Aḥmad said: “Confused
and a mudallis.”
🔴 He is weak, and
his narration is not accepted unless he explicitly states hearing (samāʿ),
which he did not do here.
3. Qatādah b. Diʿāmah
· Reliable and a great
memorizer
· However, he was also
a mudallis
· His narration here is
with ʿanʿanah (“from Zurārah”)
⚠️ This requires
explicit confirmation of hearing, which is absent in this chain.
4. Zurārah b. Awfā
· Trustworthy, among the
senior Successors (tābiʿūn)
✔️ No issue concerning
him.
5. ʿImrān b. Ḥuṣayn (RA)
· A noble Companion
✔️ His integrity is established.
3. Critical Defects (ʿIlal) of the Hadith
This hadith contains three decisive defects:
1. The weakness of Salamah b. al-Faḍl
2. The weakness and tadlīs of al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah
3. The ʿanʿanah of Qatādah, who was a mudallis
➡️ These defects are
sufficient to render the hadith unacceptable as evidence.
4. Scholarly Judgments
· Although some jurists
cited this narration, it is not sound from a hadith-critical
perspective.
· It was declared weak by:
o Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr
o al-Nawawī
o Ibn Ḥajar (due to its
chain of transmission)
5. Conflict with Authentic Hadiths
This narration contradicts rigorously authentic
hadiths, including:
“There is no prayer for the one who does not recite Sūrat
al-Fātiḥah.”
— Agreed upon (Bukhārī and Muslim)
This hadith is far stronger in authenticity and
is given precedence by the majority of hadith scholars.
6. Final Hadith Ruling
🔴 The hadith is
weak in its chain and is not authentically attributed to the Prophet ﷺ.
🔴 It cannot be used as proof to prohibit recitation behind
the imām.
✔️ The relied-upon evidence is the authentic hadith: “There
is no prayer for one who does not recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.”
The Comparison between Chatgpt’s Findings and the View of
Classical Hadith Critics.
|
S/N |
ChatGPT’s Findings |
Views of Classical Hadith
Critics |
Strengths of ChatGPT |
Limitations of ChatGPT |
|
1 |
|
1- Abū Saʿd al-Mālīnī; Al-Dhahabī said: He journeyed
in pursuit of knowledge and to meet the scholars, traveling to Naysābūr, Iṣfahān,
Baghdad, al-Shām, Egypt, and the Two Sacred Sanctuaries. He acquired much
knowledge and possessed understanding and insight. He compiled and authored
works… and he was characterized by truthfulness, piety, and precision. He
collected the major musnad works … Abū Isḥāq al-Ḥabbāl said: He died on
Tuesday, the seventeenth of Shawwāl, in the year 412 AH.”[7] 2- Abū Aḥmad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAdī al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn
ʿAdī — he is the Imām, the ḥadīth master (ḥāfiẓ), the critic, and widely
travelled scholar; Abū Aḥmad, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAdī ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad
ibn Mubārak ibn al-Qaṭṭān al-Jurjānī, the author of the book al-Kāmil in
al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl, which consists of five large volumes. Ḥamzah
al-Sahmī said: “He died in Jumādā al-Ākhirah in the year 365 A.H.” Abū
al-Walīd al-Bājī said: “Ibn ʿAdī is a ḥāfiẓ; (i.e., he is
acceptable/reliable).”[8] 3- ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ṣaffār . He
narrated the hadith with Ibn Ṣāʿid in the same link of the sanad 4- Ibn
Ṣāʿid Al-Dhahabī
said: He was a widely travelled scholar, constantly journeying,
and knowledgeable in the sciences of hidden defects (ʿilal) and narrator
criticism (rijāl). He said: “I
was born in the year 228 AH, and I began writing ḥadīth from Ibn Mā Sarjis in
the year 239 AH.” Abū Yaʿlā
al-Khalīlī said: “It used to be said: there were three leading imams in one
era — Ibn Abī Dāwūd, Ibn Khuzaymah, and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim.” Al-Khalīlī
added: “And the fourth of them was Abū Muḥammad ibn Ṣāʿid — a trustworthy
Imām who surpassed the people of his time in memorization. He travelled to
Egypt, Syria, the Ḥijāz, and Iraq. Some of them preferred him over his peers
in memorization, among them Abū al-Ḥasan al-Dāraquṭnī. He died in the year
318 AH.”[9] 5- Yūsuf
ibn Mūsā Abū Saʿīd al‑Yashkūrī
said: Yahyā ibn Maʿīn wrote about him, and I also wrote from him. He
was asked about him and said: “Ṣadūq (trustworthy).” Abū Ḥātim said: “Ṣadūq.”
An‑Nasaʾī said: “No harm in him.” Al‑Khaṭīb described him as trustworthy, and
Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him in al‑Thiqāt. Al‑Sirāj said: “He died in Ṣafar in
the year 253.”[10] |
|
1- Abū
Saʿd al-Mālīnī; 2- Abū
Aḥmad ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAdī al-Ḥāfiẓ 3- ʿAbd
Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ṣaffār 4- Ibn
Ṣāʿid 5- Yūsuf
ibn Mūsā were excluded from “The Isnād under Examination” |
|
2 |
Salamah b. al-Faḍl al-Abrash · Imām Aḥmad said: “Weak
in hadith.” · Abū Ḥātim said: “Not
strong.” · Al-Nasāʾī said: “Weak |
Ibn Khalafūn mentioned that · Aḥmad
bn Hanbal was asked about him, and he said: I do not know of him
except good[11] · Abū
Ḥātim said: His position is that of truthfulness, but there is objectionable
material in his ḥadīth; his narrations are written down but not relied upon
as proof. [12] · Al-Nasāʾī
said: He is weak” [13] Ibn Hajar said: Al-Bukhārī
said: He died after the year 190. Ibn Saʿd said: He
died in al-Rayy, having reached one hundred and ten years of age. I
say: I read in al-Dhahabī’s own handwriting that he died in the year
“191,” and it seems that he took this from the statement of al-Bukhārī.[14] |
Al-Nasāʾī is rightly quoted |
1- Aḥmad
and Abū Ḥātim were wrongly quoted. 2- There
is no indication of his date of death by which the continuity of the chain of
transmission can be established. |
|
3 |
He is weak by consensus among
the critics of narrators (Salamah b. al-Faḍl al-Abrash) |
Al-Ḥusayn
ibn al-Ḥasan al-Rāzī reported from Ibn Maʿīn that he said: “He is
trustworthy. We wrote from him his books on the Maghāzī; they are
complete—there is no book among the books more complete than his book.” |
|
The scholars did not reach a
consensus regarding his weakness. |
|
4 |
Al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah · Well-known for
excessive tadlīs (concealment of transmission) · Weak in memorization · Ibn Maʿīn said: “His
hadith is not used as proof.” · Imām Aḥmad said: “Confused
and a mudallis.” |
Abū Ṭālib reported from Aḥmad
that he said: He was among the ḥuffāẓ (memorizers). It was
said, ‘Then why is he not regarded by people as such?’ He replied, ‘Because
in his ḥadīth there are additions beyond the ḥadīth of others; hardly any ḥadīth
of his is without an extra addition[16]. Ibn Maʿīn said: “His
hadith is not used as proof.” Ibn Hajar said: Ibn Ḥibbān
dated his death in (his book) al-Thiqāt to the year “145.” I have seen that
al-Bukhārī has only one narration from him, cited as a supporting report
(mutābaʿah) in a suspended form (taʿlīqan) in the Book of
Manumission (Al-‘Itiq). Ibn Abī Khaythamah reported
from Ibn Maʿīn: He is truthful, but not strong; he practices tadlīs from ʿAmr
ibn Shuʿayb. Abū Zurʿah said: He is
truthful and practices tadlīs.[17] |
Imām Aḥmad and Ibn Maʿīn are
rightly quoted |
There is no indication to his
date of death which can be used to establish the continuity of the isnād |
|
5 |
Qatādah b. Diʿāmah · Reliable and a great
memorizer · However, he was also a
mudallis · His narration here is
with ʿanʿanah (“from Zurārah”) |
Ibn Ḥibbān said in al-Thiqāt: He
was among the scholars of the Qur’an and Jurisprudence, and among the
memorisers (ḥuffāẓ) of his time. He died in Wāsiṭ in the year 171, and he
practiced tadlīs in addition to the Qadar. ʿAmr
ibn ʿAlī said: He was born in the year 61 and died in the year 117[18]. |
|
The absence
of a known date of death precludes establishing the continuity of the chain
of transmission. |
|
6 |
This requires
explicit confirmation of hearing, which is absent in this chain. |
|
|
An explicit statement of
hearing is reported in a narration recorded by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ,
as follows: … Jaʿfar narrated to us, he said: Shuba narrated to us, from
Qatada, who said: I heard Zurarah ibn Awfa narrating from ʿImran
ibn Ḥusayn that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed
the ẓuhr prayer, and a man was reciting behind him…[19] |
|
7 |
Zurārah b. Awfā Trustworthy, among the senior
Successors (tābiʿūn). |
Al-ʿIjlī
said: He was from Baṣra, trustworthy, and a righteous man[20]. Ibn Saʿd
said: He died suddenly in the year 93[21]. |
It is accurate. However, its
finding is not attributed to any authority in Ilm al-Rijal |
There is no
indication to his date of death by which the continuity of the chain of
transmission can be established |
|
8 |
ʿImrān b. Ḥuṣayn (RA) A noble Companion. |
Ibn Hajar
said: He died in the year 52, it was said 53[22] |
It is accurate |
There is no
indication of his date of death by which the continuity of the chain of
transmission can be established. |
|
9 |
Critical Defects (ʿIlal) of
the Hadith This hadith contains three
decisive defects: 1. The weakness of Salamah b.
al-Faḍl 2. The weakness and tadlīs of
al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah 3. The ʿanʿanah of Qatādah, who
was a mudallis |
Ibn Ṣāʿid
through whom Baihaq narrated the hadith said: “Al-Ḥajjāj was alone in
narrating the additional sentence; “So he forbade recitation behind the imam”
from Qatādah . It has also been narrated from Qatādah by 1- Shuʿbah, 2- Ibn
Abī ʿArūbah, 3- Maʿmar, 4- Ismāʿīl
ibn Muslim, 5- Al-Ḥajjāj, 6- Ayyūb
ibn Abī Maskīn, 7- Hammām, 8- Abān, 9- and
Saʿīd ibn Bashīr, Yet
none of them stated what al-Ḥajjāj alone reported. Shuʿbah said: I asked
Qatādah about it, and it was as though he disliked it. He
said: Had he disliked it, he would have forbidden it[23]. Al-Zaylaʿī
said: “”Muslim also narrated it in his Ṣaḥīḥ from the ḥadīth
of Shuʿbah, from Qatādah, from Zurārah, with the same wording: that the
Prophet ﷺ prayed ẓuhr with his Companions and said, ‘Which of
you recited Sabbih isma rabbika al-aʿlā?’ A man replied, ‘I did.’
Thereupon he ﷺ said, ‘I realized that someone
was contending with me over it.’ Shuʿbah said: I said to Qatādah, ‘It seems
as though he disliked it?’ He replied, ‘Had he disliked it, he would have
forbidden it.’ Al-Bayhaqī said: In Shuʿbah’s question and Qatādah’s answer in
this authentic narration there is a refutation of the one who inverted the ḥadīth
and added to it the statement, ‘So he forbade recitation behind the imām.[24] |
|
The critical
defect (ʿIlal) of the Hadith according classical hadith critics is the
narration of additional statement “So he forbade recitation behind the imam”
which was narrated by al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah alone out of nine students of
Qatādah who narrated the hadith from Qatādah. The weakness
of Salamah b. al-Faḍl is not enough to render the hadith with supporting
narrations weak. It failed to
take into consideration other narrations al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah’s peers that
can be used to upgrade his tadlīs assuming there was no contradiction in his
narration. ʿAnʿanah
of Qatādah has be elevated with his explicit narration is Sahih Muslim as
follows: Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna and
Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated: They said, Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to
us, he said: Shuba narrated to us, from Qatada, who said: I heard
Zurarah ibn Awfa narrating from ʿImran ibn Ḥusayn that the Messenger
of Allah ﷺ prayed the ẓuhr prayer, and a man was reciting
behind him “Subḥi Isma Rabbika al-Aʿlā” (Glorify the name of
your Lord, the Most High). When the prayer ended, the Prophet ﷺ said,
“Which one of you recited?” — or “Which one is the reciter?” — and a man
replied, “I did.” He ﷺ said, “I thought that one of
you had whispered it to me.”[25] |
|
10 |
It was declared weak by: Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr al-Nawawī Ibn Ḥajar (due to its chain of
transmission) |
I did not
find any place where Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr or al-Nawawī explicitly declared the
specific ḥadīth of Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāh to be weak. Rather, I found that Ibn ʿAbd
al-Barr cited the authentic narration when he said: “They (the
scholars) used as evidence the ḥadīth of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn: that the Prophet
(peace be upon him) led the ẓuhr prayer, and when he finished, he said:
‘Which of you recited Sabbih isma rabbika al-aʿlā?’ One of them
said: ‘I did.’ He replied: ‘I knew that some of you were competing with me in
it (i.e., reciting along with me).’” This ḥadīth
was narrated by Shuʿbah and others from Qatādah, from Zurārah ibn Awfā, from
ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn. Shuʿbah
said: I said to Qatādah, “Do you not say to Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib: ‘Listen
attentively to the Qurʾān’?” He said: “That is when it is recited aloud.” I
said: “But here he disliked it.” He replied: “If he had truly disliked it, he
would have forbidden it.”[26] Likewise,
al-Nawawī did not specifically weaken the ḥadīth of Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāh. Rather,
after mentioning the ḥadīths used as evidence by those who argue for dropping
recitation (behind the imām), including the ḥadīth of Ḥajjāj[27], he said: “The
response to the ḥadīths used by those who hold that recitation is to be
omitted is that all of them are weak, and none of them is authentically
established from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Some of them are mawqūf
(stopped at a Companion), some are mursal, and some have weak narrators or
multiple weak narrators. Al-Bayhaqī (may Allah have mercy on him) clarified
the defects of all of them and explained their weakness.”[28] As for Ibn Ḥajar,
he did weaken the narration of Ḥajjāj ibn Arṭāh due to his contradiction of
those who are more reliable than him and more numerous than him. [29] |
|
|
|
11 |
Conflict with Authentic Hadiths This narration contradicts
rigorously authentic hadiths, including: “There is no prayer for the one
who does not recite Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.” This hadith is far stronger in
authenticity and is given precedence by the majority of hadith scholars. |
|
|
|
|
12 |
Final Hadith Ruling 🔴 The
hadith is weak in its chain and is not authentically attributed to the
Prophet ﷺ. |
|
It is accurate. |
|
Evaluation of ChatGPT Findings on Ḥajjāj
ibn Arṭāʾah Narration
1- No indication to the date of death of each narrator. Knowing the
date of death assists to establish the continuity of the chain of narration.
2- Inconsistency in quoting authorities:
ChatGPT wrongly cited Aḥmad and Abū Ḥātim while evaluating Salamah b. al-Faḍl.
3- Al-Nasāʾī is rightly quoted while
evaluating Salamah b. al-Faḍl and Imām Aḥmad and Ibn
Maʿīn are rightly quoted while evaluating al-Ḥajjāj b.
Arṭāʾah
4- ChatGPT often treats an isnād at face value. It does not
inherently check for common pitfalls For instance, it failed to notice the
critical defect (ʿIlal) of which the hadith is mainly considered weak i.e the
narration of additional statement “So he forbade recitation behind the imam”
which was narrated by al-Ḥajjāj b. Arṭāʾah alone out of nine students of
Qatādah who narrated the hadith from Qatādah
5- ChatGPT’s strengths lie in fast text
processing and broad recall, but its limitations in detailed hadith criticism
are clear. It did not reliably identify the defects that experts detected.
In view of the above, ChatGPT should supplement human expertise,
not replace it. It can swiftly gather information and suggest possibilities,
but a hadith scholar’s trained insight is still needed to detect the hidden
ʿillah.
Implications for Hadith Sciences
The foregoing suggests both promise and peril in
using LLMs for ḥadīth work. On the positive side, ChatGPT can greatly aid
researchers and students. It can automate tasks such as segmenting the
matn/isnād, extracting themes, clustering similar narrations, and even
pre-filtering suspect narrations. However, caution is imperative. The mistakes
we observed (failure to detect hidden defects) highlight that LLMs can give a
false sense of reliability. ChatGPT may present information that conflicts with
Islamic principles or mislead researchers,” especially if it hallucinates
citations. This underlines the need for human mediation: instructors and
students should verify AI-generated analyses against reliable sources. In
practical terms, this means using ChatGPT as an assistant –
for example, to list possible issues or summarize opinions – but always
cross-checking with classical texts. Moreover, implementing
LLMs in hadith contexts requires good data. The AI models must be trained on
verified isnād/riwāyah data. Ongoing projects like “IslamGPT1.0” aim to build
such specialized Arabic models. With high-quality training and careful prompt
design, future LLMs may improve. But even so, current results suggest they
remain tools, not authorities.
Conclusion
ChatGPT generally fell short of the classical
scholars: its strengths in fast analysis and explanation were evident, but its
inability to unearth hidden flaws underscores its limitations. For ḥadīth
sciences, LLMs like ChatGPT can be valuable tools – for
summarization, teaching, or initial cross-referencing – but they cannot replace
expert scrutiny. Ongoing project research (e.g. IslamGPT 1.0) may improve
automated hadith criticism. However, scholars and students must use Artificial
Intelligence judiciously and always verify with classical sources, keeping the
human “ḥadīth sense” at the helm.
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