AUTHENTICITY OF HADITH

By Muhammad Hashim
What are Hadith?
The hadith are the sayings of the ProphetPBUH. The Holy Prophet Hazrat
MuhammadPBUH is the founder of Islam and the best interpreter to Allah’s
command, i.e. the Quran. The Hadith is not only the saying of our ProphetPBUH
but also an interpretation of the commands that Allah our Lord send down
upon us in the form of the Holy Quran. Basically Hadith are either explanation
of a task in the Quran or the justification of an action that the ProphetPBUH did.

Categories of Hadith:
There are two categories of Hadith. Hadith-e-Qudsi and Hadith-e-
Nabawi. A Hadith that contains words of Allah, for example, “Allah says,
‘Fasting is for Me and I shall certainly compensate for it.’”, is known as Hadith-
e-Qudsi. Such Hadith do not form part of the Quran, yet they are recognized as
sayings of Allah Himself.
A Hadith-e-Nabawi is spoken by the Prophet Hazrat MuhammadPBUH
without reference to Allah.

How were Hadith collected?

Scribes known as muhaddithun would go on journeys to ensure and
authenticate a Hadith. To be muhaddithun there was a criterion laid by Imam
Shafi:
 He must be of firm faith.
 He must be known for truthfulness in whatever he reports.
 He should understand what he reports and understand how a change in
words can cause the meanings of the ideas in it to change.
 He should report exactly what he learnt from his teacher, and not use
his own words.
 He should have a good memory.
 He should report what agrees with the reports of others who are known
to have good memories.
There were five main contemporary muhaddithun that contributed to the
Hadith literature. There are six works known as the Sihah-e-Sitah( the Six
Round Collections). These are:
-Al Bukhari’s Sahih
-Muslim’s Sahih
-Ibn Maja’s Sunan
-Abu Daud’s Sunan
-Al Tirmizi’s Jami al Shahih
-Al Nasi’s Sunan
Among these Al Bukhari and Muslim’s Sahih are regarded as the most
reliable of sources although there have been some criticisms among some
Muslim traditions. Other collections have also been made although none has
acquired the authority of the six named above.

How were Hadith tested?

A scientific method was acquired in order to insure the authenticity of
Hadith. Every Hadith had to meet the following criteria to be classified as a
proper Hadith. The criterion is:
 It should not be contrary to the teachings of the Quran or the basic
teachings of Islam.
 It should not go against common sense or people’s normal experience.
 It should not be contrary to any Ahadith already accepted as Authentic.
 It should not praise an individual, a tribe or a specific location.
 It should not give precise details of events that took place after the
death of the Holy ProphetPBUH.
 It should contain expressions that the Prophet was expected to use and
be in the Arabic of hisPBUH’s time.

Types of Hadith:
1) Authentic or Sahih Hadith:
Genuine Ahadith that pass all tests can be regarded without question to belong
to the Holy ProphetPBUH.
 2) Hasan:
Strong Hadith but raises doubts about their authenticity.

3) Daef:
Weak Hadith which raises many doubts about their authenticity.