THE TRADITIONISTS 255

from the Prophet, to the Koran and to traditions from Companions as auxiliary arguments. It was natural for them to avail themselves of recognized arguments whenever they happened to be in favour of their own doctrine.¹ But this did not make them any less opposed to the 'living tradition' of the ancient schools of law and to all kinds of human reasoning and personal opinion which were closely connected with it.² The traditions directed against the exercise of ra'y in law which are found in Iraq and in Hijaz, some of them attributed to Successors, were put into circulation by the traditionists.³ The traditionists were also responsible for the arguments adduced in favour of traditions from the Prophet, and particularly the statements that Companions and other authorities revised their own decisions on hearing that the Prophet had decided differently.⁴

We have seen that the traditionists were connected with the opposition to the ancient school of Medina.⁵ A group of Medinese Nāfi'—Ibn 'Umar traditions which express an effort, sometimes successful and sometimes unsuccessful, to modify the doctrine of the Medinese school, can be traced to the activity of the traditionists.⁶ A close relationship exists between their opposition in Medina and an Iraqian opposition group which expressed its doctrines in a particular body of traditions from 'Alī.⁷ In contrast to many Medinese Nāfi'—Ibn 'Umar traditions, however, these Iraqian traditions from 'Alī are not carried back to the Prophet and cannot be connected directly with the traditionists: As reference to Companions, which was the usual procedure in the ancient schools of law, preceded, generally speaking, consistent reference to the Prophet as practised by the traditionists, the body of traditions in question seems to represent a stage at which the opposition to the established local schools had not yet adopted the form of traditions from the Prophet.

The traditionists were presumably responsible for some of the traditions directed against Umaiyad popular and administrative practice,⁸ although it is not always possible to determine whether a particular doctrine originated in traditionist circles or within the ancient schools of law. The 'Islamicizing' which