Rethinking adith (prophetic traditions) as 'natural' narrative: In the framework of fludernik's 'natural' narratology

Abstract

By the concept of 'natural' narrative, Monika Fludernik brought a new perspective for narratology in the late '90s. In her narrative theory, narrativity starts with the human experience rather than the plot. Fludernik's approach may provide an insight into understanding adith. Each adith account is a report of a saying, an event, or an experience about the Prophet Muhammad from the perspective of companion narrators. adith also asserts the Prophet's life experience by telling how he acted in his life and reacted to people's attitudes. adith transmission is also an experience referring to narration of prophetic knowledge from one generation to the next. In this article, I try to discuss to what extent adith can be considered 'natural' narrative in the framework of Fludernik's theory.