THE ANALYSIS AND THE CRmCISM OF WATT'S ARTlCLE NAMED 'CREATED IN HIS IMAGE" IN THE CONTEXT OF HIS PERCEPTION ON ISLAM AND HADITH

Most of the orientaHsts believe that the Muslim's thought structure developed and took shape in the first two centurlesı especially after the conquest of Syria an Iraq. These two counbies were the center of sdences and cultures betare Islam. After the Islamir conquests, $ome of andent dwellers in these countries preserved their beliet when some of them adopted Islam in time. There is no doubt that, who adopted Islam transmitted andent believes in their new lives. Thus, Muslims began to live side by side varied cultures. According to the Orientalists these men who were more cultivated and cultured than Muslims, had greatest share in development and taking shape through basic areas such as lslamic philosophy, mysticism, jurisprudence, theology and hadith. One of the studies that indude similar evaluations is W. Montgomery Watt's artıele named "Created in His Image: A Study in Islamie Theology" in whieh he has interpreted the hadith known as "hadith of Surah". Here, the author in the exampility of the "hadith of Surah", assumes that some of hadiths were affected by foreign cultures, and even that they originated from that souree. While establishing his thesis, he has taken the textual differenees of hadith's various narrations as basic, and has tried to relate between differences in the narrators and in the textual differenees. In this artiele, we will try to analyze and erititise Watt's mentioned opinions, the baekground of these opinions and his evaluatlons eoneerning the "hadith of Surah".