Works devoted to ikhtilaf al-hadith and mushkil al-athar developed methods for examining apparently conflicting evidence. Al-Shafi‘i, Ibn Qutaybah, and al-Tahawi are among the major contributors to this scholarly tradition.
The aim is not to invent remote interpretations merely to defend a preferred text, but to compare the proof and meaning on both sides. Sometimes each report operates in a different circumstance. Sometimes reliable chronology points to abrogation; in other cases preference or suspension is required.
The ordered method prevents confusion between a report's authenticity and the resolution of its apparent opposition.