Chapter 6 – The History and Importance of the Hadith

Hadith –
 The Holy prophet’s sayings, actions and his silent approval to his companions.
 It is the second most important source of guidance.

The History of the compilation of the Hadiths –

 “He does not speak out of his own wish but what it is revealed upon him.”
 Hadith were also preserved by his companions and was given extreme importance.
The First Period of the Compilation–
 During the lifetime of the Holy prophet.
 Age of Taba Tabieen
 Three methods of learning or preserving of the Hadith: Memorization, writing and
practice.
 Companions always tried to observe Holy prophet’s actions, remember his sayings and
then apply in their everyday lives.
 Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar used to write whatever he heard from the Holy prophet.
Some people stopped him from doing this and said that he is a human and can say
something in happiness or anger, which may not be a part of the religion. (He wrote
over 2000 Hadith)
 However, he said: “By God Who owns my life, nothing comes out of my mouth except
the truth.”
 Hazrat Abu Hurairah, Hazrat Anas, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar and Hazrat Ali also had
collections of written Hadith.
 Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr used to write Hadith.
The Second Period of the Compilation–
 During this period, the books of Hadith were compiled under the caliphate of Hazrat
Umar bin Abdul Aziz. (11-100AH)
 After the demise of the holy prophet.
 These compilations in which Hadith were collected by tracing them to each companion
were called Musnad.
 The second category of compilation was by grouping the Hadith into chapters and sub
chapters according to their theme.
 Hazrat Umar set up a committee of great and famous scholars in 99AH to write the
Hadith of the Holy prophet.
 Famous members of the committee were Iman Muhammad bin Muslim, Iman Shubi and
Iman Makhool.
The Third Period of the Compilation–
 Believed to be the Golden Era for compilation.
 Six most authentic books of Ahadith were compiled in this period.
 Third period began with the death of the companions.
 Muslims had to rely on the communications of successors who narrated to the Taba-i-
Tabaeen.
 Collectors of the Hadith included only those Hadith which were considered to be
genuine. Ones suspected to be fabricated were rejected.
 They said text should not be in conflict with Quran. The Isnad must be unbroken, and
narrator must be known for his memory, piety and knowledge.
 Originally Ismail Al Bukhari’s idea to compile the authentic Ahadith.
 Sahi Bukhari was compiled by Iman Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari, included 7,275
Hadith aprox.
 Sahi Muslim was compiled by Iman Muslim bin Hajjaj, included 9,200 Hadith aprox.
 Jam e Tirmidhi was compiled by Iman Abu Isa Tirmidhi, included 3,956 Hadith aprox.
 Sunan-e-Abu Daud was compiled by Iman Abu Daud, included 4,800 Hadith aprox.
 Sunan-e-Nasai was compiled by Iman Abu Abdur Rehman Ahmad Nasai, included 5,270
Hadith aprox.
 Sunan-e-Ibn-e-Majah was compiled by Iman Abu Abdullah Al-Qazwini, included 4,000
Hadith aprox.
 Hadith literature became rich and finally came to the state.

The Earliest Collections –

 Collections of Hadith written by companions during Holy Prophet’s lifetime are reffered
to Sahifa.
 Most important is the Sahifa collected by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al Aas, containing
around a thousand traditions.
Classification of Hadith Collections –
 Hadith books are classified under different names to show the different nature, style,
type and kind of Hadith collection.
Musannaf –
 Arranged by chapters each dealing with a particular topic.
 Traditions related to belief, laws, rulings, piety, jihad, etc.
Sahih –
 Significant class of the books of Hadith in which only sahih Hadith are collected.
 Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are common examples.
Musnad –
 Arranged according to the names of their original narrating authorities, and not in order
of subject matter.
 Collector of a Musnad is known as Musnid.
 In some, the names are arranged in alphabetical order. In some they are arranged
according to their respective merit in Islam.
Mu’jam –
 Subjects arranged in alphabetical order.
 Musnad collections arranged alphabetically under the names of the companions are also
known as Mu’jam.
Jam’e –
 Hadith collection related to eight topics: belief, laws and rulings, piety and simplicity,
manners, Quranic commentary, historical and biographical matters, jihad, goodness and
faults of people & places, etc.
Sunan –
 Only contain legal traditions, and relating history, spiritual and other matters.
Mustadrak –
 Collection in which they accept the conditions laid by the previous compilers, like
Sahihs.
Arba’iniyyat –
 Collection containing 40 Hadith related to one or more subjects, which may have
appeared to be of special interest to the compiler.

Judging the Authenticity of a Hadith –

 Muslims invented two sciences: Asma ur Rijal and Jarahwa Tadeel.
 In Asma ur Rajil thousands to Hadith has been recorded by narrators.
 Under Jarahwah Tadeel are Riwayat and Drayat principles.
Principles of Riwayat –

 It is examining the chain of transmitters. Isnad.

 Character and personality of the chain of narrators is checked.
 All should be Muslim adults having strong memory. Firm faith.
 They should be pious. Chain should be uninterrupted.
 They should never have told a lie even as a joke or committed a major sin.
  They must be known for their knowledge, truthfulness and trustworthiness.
 They should not have been charged for any crime.
 They should be careful in narrating the Hadith.
 If one narrator referred his Hadith back to another person, they both should be of the
same period and must have met each other.
 Chain of narrators must stretch back to the Holy prophet.
 Hadith from child, insane or a non-Muslim would not be accepted.
 He should not have spoken against the earlier scholars.
 He should have perfect command on Arabic language, the Quran and Hadith studies.
Principles of Riwayat –

 Examining the text of the Hadith. Matn

 Text should not be against any verse of the Holy Quran or the basic teachings of Islam.
 It should not contradict to any authentic Hadith.
 It should not contain any grammatical mistake.
 It should not go against common sense or normal experience of people.
 It should not contain expressions that the Holy prophet could not have been expected
to use.
 Not containing details about incidents that took place after the demise of the Prophet.
 Not describing unusual rewards for ordinary deeds.
 Text is in the Arabic language of the age of the Holy prophet.
 Text is not against the dignity of the Holy prophet.
Classification of Hadith –

 Difference between Divine inspiration and the sayings of the Holy prophet.
 Two major classes of Hadith: Hadith Qudsi (Allah’s words) and Hadith Nabawi (Themes
from Allah but Prophet’s words).
 Hadith Qudsi - *Fewer than 1,000 * Topic regarding man-God relation, hereafter,
Tawhid and worship * They are only sayings
 Hadith Nabawi - *Over 100,000 *Wide range of topics *They can be sayings or actions.
Types of Hadith –
 Four major types of Hadith per narrator: Divine, Elevated, Stopped and severed.
 Four major types of Hadith per authenticity: Authentic, Approved, Weal and Fabricated.
 Sahih – These are absolutely correct, having no weakness in its chain of narrators and
text.
 Hasan – Like sahih hadith, quite reliable. Lower status to sahih hadith because of slight
weakness in its chain as compared to Sahih Hadith.
  Da’eef – Some problem in either chain of narrators (e.g narrator had weak memory,
could have been a liar or had not met the person he was narrating from) or in its
contents (that may differ from the basic Islamic teachings)
 Mau’doo – False hadith, which is made up, has no place in authentic collections of
Hadith.
The Main Compilers of Hadith –
 Iman Bukhari –
 Born in 194AH in Bukhara. Died in 256AH. Intellectual powers. Physically weak. Sharp
memory. Immersed himself in the study of Hadith. Mastered knowledge of all the
Muhadditheen of Bukhara. Travelled to Makkah with mother and brother to perform
pilgrimage. Started journey of hadith. Passing through all the important centres of
Islamic learning. Learning all the hadith they knew. He stayed in Basra for four or five
years and in Hijaz for six. Went to Egypt twice and many times to Kufa and Baghdad.
 Pious Muslim scholar. Strict in religious duties. Earned through trade. Never showed ill
temper. Hadith was an obsession for him. Sahih Al Bukhari is the most important of his
books.
 Iman Muslim –
 Born in 202AH. Died in 261AH. Belonged to Qushayr tribe of Arabs. Focused his
attention on Hadith. Travelled wide, visited all important centres in Persia, Iraq, Syria
and Egypt. Attended lectures of Ishaq ibn Rahwayh and Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Settled
down at Nisabur, living from a small business. Devoted time to the service of the
Sunnah.
 Character was admirable. Refused to speak ill against anyone. Wrote a good number of
books and treaties on Hadith and related subjects.
 Iman Abu Daud –
 Born in 203AH. Died in Basra in 275AH at the age of 73. Descendant of Imran from Azd
tribe who was killed during the battle of Siffain by the side of Hazrat Ali. After
elementary school, he joined a school in Nisabur at the age of 10. Travelled to Basra. In
224AH, visited Kufa, where he began a series of journeys in search of Hadith. Went to
Iraq, Persia, Syria and Egypt. Met the foremost Muhadditheen.
 Had good memory. Great knowledge of Hadiths. Upright character. He was kind.
 Iman Al Tirmidhi –
 Born in Makkah in 209AH. Died in Tirmidh in 279AH. Travelled in search of Hadith,
visiting great centres of Islamic learning in Iraq, Persia and Khurasan where he also met
with other traditionists like Iman Bukhari and Iman Muslim, Iman Abu Daud. Had sharp
memory.
 Iman Al Nasai –
 Iman Abu Abdul Rahman Ahmad ibn Shuayb al-Nasai. Born in 214 or 215AH in Nasa,
town in Khurasan. Died in 303AH. Travelled at the age of 15 to Balkh, where he studied
Hadith for over a year. Settled in Egypt. Went to Damascus in 302AH, where he saw
 people against Hazrat Ali. In order to guide the people, he compiled a book on the
merits of Hazrat Ali and wanted to deliver it in the Masjid.
 Iman Ibn Maja –
 Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid was born at Qazwin in 209AH. Died in 273AH.
Visited the important centres of learning in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. Compiled several
works of Hadith. Most important one was Sunan Ibn e Maja.

The Six Authentic Books of Hadith –

 These six books were compiled during the third and fourth century of Islam.
 Sahih Bukhari –
 Sahih of Iman Muhammad bin Ismail Al-Bukhari. Most reliable. Iman Bukhari questioned
more than a thousand masters of Hadith, who lived in places as far apart as Balkh,
Neshapur, the Hijaz, Egypt and Iraq. Devoted more than quarter of his life in this
compilation. Seek aid in prayers. Weighed every word he wrote with absolute accuracy.
There are 9,082 Hadith in this book selected out of 60,000. Many Hadith repeated with
different Isnad. Excluding repetition, 2,602 approx.
 Sahih Muslim –
 Sahih of Iman. Second most superior book. Examined one third of a million and selected
only 9,200 traditions. Reliable authorities. He strictly observed many principles of the
Hadith. He was more strict and more consistent than Iman Bukhari. He deleted
everything which he thought was defective. Claimed as the most authentic collection of
traditions after that of Bukhari. Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are collectively called
The Two Most Authentic Collections.
 Sunan Abu Daud –
 Seen most reliable. Examined 500,000 Hadith and selected 4,800 for this book which
took him 20 years. He arranged Hadith under different topics. Noble book.
 Jam’e Tirmidhi –
 Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa Al Tirmidhi student of Iman Abu Daud improved hadith in his
jam’e. Legal, dogmatic and historical traditions. Accepted by jurists as the basis of
Islamic law. Seen as one of the most important works of hadith literature. Book is
divided into 50 chapters and contains 3,956 hadith. Considered traditions on rituals and
laws of Islam. He attempted to state the degree of their reliability.
 Sunan Nasai –
  Compiled by Abu Abdur Rahman al Nasai. Contains 5,662 hadith divided into chapters.
Iman Nasai is the best evaluator of the narrators of his time. Compiled legal traditions
which he considered to be reliable. Accepted as one of the six authentic collections.
 Sunan Ibn Majah –
 Compiled by Iman Muhammad bin Yazid bin Majih. Contains 4,341 hadith. Spread over
32 books and 1,500 chapters. Less repetition. One of the best in the arrangement of
chapters.

Sunnah as the Source of Shariah Law -

 Sunnah is the second primary source of Islamic law.
 Sunnah explains the laws of the Holy Quran. It is the practical demonstration of the Holy
Quran.
 Without sunnah, Quran cannot be understood.
 Sunnah literally means the way which people regularly and habitually follow.
 In terms of Shariah law sunnah is the sayings, actions and the silent approvals to his
companions by Holy prophet.
 “He does not speak of his own desire. It is save a revelation sent down to him.”
 Sayings and actions of Holy prophet are like the Quran. As it is obligatory to follow the
Quran, similarly, obeying the sunnah of the prophet is compulsory.
 It was prophet’s responsibility to explain the text of the Holy Quran.
 “We have revealed unto you the Remembrance that you may explain to mankind which
has been revealed to them.”
 Number of verses cannot be understood unless we turn to the sunnah of the prophet.
 “O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those of you who are in
authority”.
 “Whosoever obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah”.
 We are told to that we should do whatever the Holy prophet had asked us and refrain
from what he has told us.
 “And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it and whatsoever he forbids, abstain
from it.”
 We must obey and follow Holy prophet and accept the laws brought by him.
 Allah says: “Establish prayer”
 Holy prophet says: “Establish prayer as you see me offering.”
 “Verily in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example.”
 Silence of the Holt prophet on the actions of the companions shows that the action is
lawful.
 For example, He saw Negroes playing in the masjid with swords to practice for jihad and
remained silent.
 Sunnah of the Holy prophet consists of four laws:
 1. Laws which are similar to those of the Holy Quran. These laws approve the laws of the
Quran.
 2. Laws which limits the general commandment of the Holy Quran. For example, Quran
says “Allah permits trading…”. Holy prophet forbids trading of items that are not in sight
and forbade eating dead animals.
 3. Laws which further explain the commandments of the Holy Quran, such as the rate of
zakat, method of Hajj, method of performing prayer, etc.
 4. Commandments that are not found in the Quran. Holy Prophet give these
commandments himself, because the sunnah is the source of shariah law and he has the
authority to make laws.
 “Listen carefully! I have been granted similar thing with the Holy Quran.”
 Holy prophet declared that eating the flesh of a donkey is unlawful. He also said that
flesh of beasts with pointed teeth and bird’s claws are unlawful to eat. He fixed the
share of grandmother in inheritance.
 If we don’t find any law in the Holy Quran, we will turn to the sunnah.