Authenticity of Hadith

Outline

 Introduction of Hadith and importance of Hadith (in short)

 Compilers and introduction of Sanad and Matan by them

Contribution of Compilers in forming Principles

 Principles of Riwayat (checks made on Sanad)
 Principles of Dirayat (checks made on Matn)
 Importance of these principles in authenticity of hadith

 Conclusion

Note: Both the principles must be well developed and complete points must be mentioned as it is
 “Authenticity of Hadith”
Introduction of Hadith and importance of Hadith
 Hadith are the sayings, actions and tacit approval of Prophet (SAW).
 It is the second most important source of Islamic legal thinking.
 Together with the Quran, it provides complete guidance in all aspects of life.
 It corroborates the teachings of the Quran, explains the Quran and gives a ruling when the
Quran is silent about certain things.
 It also provides an extension of laws through Ijma and Qiyas. For this purpose, it was really
important to have authentic hadith.
 The hadith consists of two parts, the chain of narrators sanad and the text matn
 To authenticate the hadith, sanad and matn is checked.

Compilers and introduction of Sanad and Matan by them

 Though ahadith were written in the time of Prophet (SAW), Companions, and Taba Tabyin, but
the most important period of hadith collection was 100-300 A.H., the era of Tabe Tabyin and
their successors, also known as the Golden Age of Tradition.
 It was during this period, that the writers of the famous six authentic books also compiled their
collections, applying certain criterion for their respective books.

The collectors of authentic Hadith were

1) Imam Muhammad bin Ismail Al Bukhari

2) Imam Muslim bin Al-Hajjaj
3) Abu Dawood – Sulaymna ibn Al-Ash’ath As-Sijistaani
4) Imam Abu Eesa Al-Tirmidhi – Muhammad ibn Eesa Al-Tirmidhi
5) Abu Abdur Rehman Nasa’i – Ahmed ibn Shu’ayb an-Nasa’i
6) Ibn Majah – Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Majah Al-Qazwini
 They divided hadith into two major components; Sanad and Matan to check the authenticity of
hadith.

Sanad

 Sanad is the chain of narrators of sayings or actions of Prophet (SAW). The shorter the sanad
the higher the chances of it being accurate.
 The example of sanad is the first part of hadith which contains the chain of narrators like;
Reported by Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (SAW)
said "Two must not converse secretly to the exclusion of another person."
 Muhammad ibn Al-Muthanna reported from Abdul Wahhab, from Ayyub, from Abu Qilaabah,
from Malik that the Prophet (pbuh) said „Pray as you see me praying.‟ (Agreed).

Matan

 Matan is the text of the hadith or what the Prophet (SAW) said, did or approved, for example,
“Pray as you have seen me praying” (Agreed).
 It is the matn of a Hadith which distinguishes Hadith Qudsi from Hadith Nabawi
 Contribution of Compilers in forming Principles
Imam Shafi, a great scholar, is amongst the first scholars to write down the rules to verify the
authenticity of a hadith.
The rules to verify the authenticity of hadith involve the following two sciences:
1. “Asma ur Rijal” or “Jarh-wa-Tadeel”: In this important science, thousands of biographical
accounts of the narrators of Ahadith have been recorded in detail. We can distinguish the
trustworthy narrators from the weak ones with the help of this science.
2. „Ilm-ul-Hadith‟: In this science, the sanad and matn are scrutinized. It is determined through
this science when a sanad (chain) is acceptable and when it is to be rejected. Critiquing the
text (matn) is also learnt.
 The former is known as „Principles of Riwayaah‟ and the latter is known as „Principles of
Diraayah‟.

Principles of Riwayat (related to narrator i.e., Raawi)

 Under the principles of Riwayat, the compiler of the hadith checks the name, nickname, title,
parentage and occupation of the narrator.
 The original narrator should have stated that he has heard the hadith from Prophet (SAW). If
one narrator referred his Hadith back to a person, they both should be of the same period and
must have met each other. The chain should not be broken and should link back to the
Prophet (SAW).

 The narrators should be honest, pious and trustworthy Muslims and should not be known to
be a liar or have committed any crimes. STORY: Once, Imam Bukhari travelled to learn hadith
from a man. When he had reached, he saw the man call his horse to him by showing it an
empty bag of food. Imam Bukhari left immediately without taking the hadith as he realized that
the man wasn’t honest. He said, “if he couldn‟t even keep his promise to his horse, how
could he be trusted to pass on the words of the Prophet?” This shows how strict and
particular the compilers were.

 The narrators are also required to have sound memory, STORY: for example, Imam
Bukhari’s memory was tested by the people of Baghdad. He was presented with a hundred
ahadith, with changed sequences of reporters as well as Matan. He repeated all the hadith with
absolutely correct Sanad and Matan. This showed his exceptional memory.
 The narrator should be of a sound age at which he was able to understand everything he had
heard.
 Each person in the chain should have command on the Arabic language, Quran, Hadith, and
Fiqh.
 The narrator should not have spoken against other reliable people. Hadith from a child, insane
and non-Muslim was not accepted.
 Principles of Dirayat (related to the text/understanding)

 Under the principle of Dirayat, the text was judged. The text should have pure Arabic style
and should not contain any grammatical error.
 It should not be in conflict with the Quran or hadith that were more reliable and it should
not be against historical facts.

 A hadith that was against reason or normal experience of people or common sense was
rejected, like promise of high reward for a small virtue, or severe punishment for the
slightest fault was rejected, as its generally false.
 Any hadith that levelled accusation at the family of the Prophet (SAW) or his
Companions is generally false.
 A hadith reported by a large number of people in different times whose agreement on a lie
became inconceivable was also accepted.
 It should not contain expressions that the Holy Prophet (SAW) could not have been
expected to use.

Conclusion

By applying these criteria, Muhaddithun were able to gather authentic ahadith in their
compilations. Bukhari learned 600,000 ahadith and only added 7563 in his collection. The care
taken by them to protect ahadith has never been done by any other nation, thereby leaving no
doubt in authentic ahadith.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Checks of biographies of the Hadith transmitters

Outline
 Introduction of Hadith and importance of Hadith
 Contribution of Compilers and Introduction of Sanad and Matan
Contribution of Compilers in Forming Principles
 Principles of Riwayat (checks made on Sanad)
 Role of Imam Bukhari in collection of Biography

 Conclusion
Importance of Biography of the Narrators
Note: Only principle of Riwayat is required with examples, in such question that needs details
about biographies of compilers.
 Checks of biographies of the Hadith transmitters

Introduction of Hadith and importance of Hadith

 Hadith are the sayings, actions and tacit approval of Prophet (SAW).
 It is the second most important source of Islamic legal thinking.
 Together with the Quran, it provides complete guidance in all aspects of life.
 It corroborates the teachings of the Quran, explains the Quran and gives a ruling when the
Quran is silent about certain things.
 It also provides an extension of laws through Ijma and Qiyas. For this purpose, it was really
important to have authentic hadith.
 The hadith consists of two parts, the chain of narrators (sanad) and the text (matn)
 To authenticate the hadith, sanad and matn is checked

Contribution of Compilers and Introduction of Sanad and Matan

 The most important period of hadith collection was 100-300 A.H., the era of Tabe Tabyin
and their successors, also known as the Golden Age of Tradition. It was during this period,
that the writers of the famous six authentic books also compiled their collections, applying
certain criterion for their respective books.
 Imam Shafi, a great scholar, is amongst the first scholars to write down the rules to verify
the authenticity of a hadith.
The rules to verify the chain of the hadith involve the following science:
1. “Asma ur Rijal” or “Jarh-wa-Tadeel”: In this important science, thousands of
biographical accounts of the narrators of Ahadith have been recorded in detail. We can
distinguish the trustworthy narrators from the weak ones with the help of this science.
The science that determines which sand is acceptable and which is to be rejected is studied under the
„Principles of Riwayaah‟

Principles of Riwayat

 Under the principles of Riwayat, the compiler of the hadith checks the name, nickname, title,
parentage and occupation of the narrator.
 The original narrator should have stated that he has heard the hadith from Prophet (SAW). If
one narrator referred his Hadith back to a person, they both should be of the same period and
must have met each other.
 The chain should not be broken and should link back to the Prophet (SAW).
 The narrators should be honest, pious and trustworthy Muslims and should not be known to
be a liar or have committed any crimes.
 Imam Ismail Al Bukhari’s was one of the first scholars to compile the authentic ahadith. In order
for him to consider the hadith authentic, he had to study the lives of all the people in the chain
in depth. He studied where and when the narrators lived, in order to make sure that if
someone narrates from someone else, they must both have been in the same place at the
same time and have actually met and discussed hadith.
Role of Imam Bukhari in collection of Biography

 Other hadith scholars did not all require evidence that two consecutive narrators met
personally, but Imam al-Bukhari’s strict requirements are what makes his compilation unique.
He also studied the lives of narrators, to make sure they were trustworthy and would
not fabricate, or change the wording of a hadith. If he discovered that someone in a
chain openly sinned or was not considered trustworthy, that hadith was immediately
discarded and not included in his book unless a stronger chain for it existed.

 Once, Imam Bukhari travelled to learn hadith from a man. When he had reached, he saw the
man call his horse to him by showing it an empty bag of food. Imam Bukhari left immediately
without taking the hadith as he realized that the man wasn’t honest.

 He said, “if he couldn‟t even keep his promise to his horse, how could he be trusted to
pass on the words of the Prophet?” This shows how strict and particular the compilers were.

 Bukhari authored this work, called al-Tareekh al-Kabeer, when he was 18 years of age. He
compiled the names and biographies of many of those who narrated hadith from the time of the
Companions until his time. The total number of biographies included is close to 40 thousand,
including both men and women, reliable and unreliable narrators.

Conclusion:
The biographies which include parentage and occupation of the narrators were checked to ensure
that the narrator has no wrong influence which may make the hadith doubtful. This criterion was
also very helpful to achieve the most authentic hadith

Reference:
 Islam Beliefs and Practice by Yasmin Malik
 Cambridge O level Islmaiyat by Dr.Saqib Muhammad Khan & Habibur-Rehman