Hadith of the Quran and Sunnah authenticity. The Shi'a claim that this hadith is the most authentic of hadiths, claiming that it has been narrated by over 35 companions of Muhammad. The "Hadith al-Thaqalayn" is used by the Shi'a, among other reasons, to support their belief of Ali's succession to Muhammad. Shi'as view this hadith as a clear indication that Muhammad wished to keep the matter of leadership within his own family, starting with his cousin Ali. They believe that Muhammad was clearly indicating that only the "Ahl al-Bayt" have a right to authority and leadership. It is based on this claim that the Shi'as reject
Criticism of Hadith According to Racha El Omari, early Mutazilites believed that hadith were susceptible to "abuse as a polemical ideological tool"; that the "matn" (content) of the hadith -- not just the "isnad" -- ought to be scrutinized for doctrine and clarity; that hadith "supported by some form of "tawātur"", i.e. by a large number of "isnād" strands, each beginning with a different Companion, were valid. In writing about "mutawatir" (transmitted via numerous chains of narrators) and "ahad" (any ahadith that is not "mutawatir") and its importance from the legal theoretician's point of view, Wael Hallaq notes the medieval scholar Al-Nawawi argued