ABSTRACT
lgnaz Goldziher and Joseph Schacht have both emphasized the element of disagreement that marks the Tradition. Indeed, it was this element of disagreement that enabled them to advance their hypothesis on the nature and origins of the Sunna. Disagreement is not the invariable characteristic of the Tradition. There is also broad agreement on important questions, and this must be taken into account in any true description of the Sunna, and certainly in any enquiry into 'origins'. Their negative conclusions have almost called a halt to Sunna studies, as though scholars today thought there was little more to add. The Sunna would come to be regarded as a body of documents, parallel to, but distinct from, and equally sovereign with the Qur'an.
