The Study of Hadith

In the Name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful

Collected and Compiled

By

Dr. Abdallah Kheir (PhD)

MODULE INSTRUCTOR

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RERS: 323 THE HADITHAims:

The aim of this course is to equip the learner with the definition, composition, developmental stages of Hadith and their relevance.

Objectives:

1. Define Hadith

2. Examine the collection and scholars of Hadith

3. Analyze the development of Hadith

4. Identify and examine the major themes of Hadith

5. Discuss the importance of Hadith and their relevance today

Course Description:

Definition of Hadith, their collection land scholars of Hadith, their developments, major themes of Hadith and their relevance inthe contemporary world.

Assessment:

Continuous Assessment Tests 30%

Final Examination 70%

Total Scores 100%

Topics to be covered

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1. Definition of Hadith, what are the ahadith used for?

2. Collection and scholars of Hadith,

3. The Developments of Hadith

4. Major themes of Hadith and their relevance in the contemporary world.

5. The Authority of Hadith

6. The companions learning from the Prophet (saw)

7. Modes of Transmission

8. Isnaad: The chain of transmission

9. Matn: The Text

10.Application of the methodology: some examples

11.Classfication

12.Major Hadith Collection

The relevance of Hadith in the contemporary world [Student’s Assignment]

What are ahadith used for?

Hadith contains daily practices of the Prophet (pbuh) these havebeen passed down via chains of narrators. Ahadith were collectedby famous Muhaddiths such as Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim intheir Sahih collections. They verified narrators via verystringent rules, i.e. if a narrator who is known to be unreliablethen it would not be taken from that person. It is recorded thatImam Bukhari travelled miles upon miles to hear hadith which hecould collect for his collection, he collected over 100,000ahadith of which only over 7000 can be found in his Sahihcollection.

Ahadith are a source of legislation for the muslims along withthe Quran, Sunnah (pertained within hadith), Consensus (Ijmaa) ofthe Sahaba (companions) and Qiyas (analogical reasoning of thelatter two).

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Categories of hadith

The khabar (report) which is synonymous to the terms hadith andsunnah is divided, in terms of the line of transmission (sanad),into the khabar mutawatir (continuously recurrent report) andkhabar ahad (isolated report).

Mutawatir

The mu tawatir comprises of four issues, and these are:

1. The number of transmitters should be such that they are a groupand not be restricted to any specific number. So whatevernumber proves to be a group, that is considered mutawatir.However, the minimum requirement is five. Four is notenough, because four are in need of another to attest theirintegrity (tazkiyah) if nothing is known about them whenthey give testimony for zina. The group accredited fortawatur (continuous transmission) is that it should not needany attestation (tazkiyah) so as to be definite by the merenotification of the report.

2. It should preclude collusion on a possible lie. It differs according tothe difference between persons and locations. So five peoplelike 'Ali b. Abi Talib are sufficient to consider theirreport as mutawatir. However for other types of people, fivemay not be a sufficient figure. Five transmitters who havenot met from five different countries may be enough for thereport to be considered as mutawatir, for they did not meettogether in one place for collusion to occur. Probably anotification by the same number of people in one country maynot suffice.

3. That they transmit the report from a group like them from thebeginning to the end of the transmission, in a manner thatprecludes collusion on a possible lie, even if they were notof the same number. In other words, the first two conditionsshould be met in every tier of transmitters.

4. The basis of their report should be sensory perception, likehearing and the like, but not what is established by pure

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reason, because the pure reason can make mistakes if notbased on sensory perception, thus not indicating certainty.

The mutawatir report is divided into two categories:

1. The verbal (lafzun) mutawatir like the hadith: 'Whosoever intentionallylies about me, let him reserve his place in the Hellfire.'and the hadith of wiping on the socks (khuff), hadith ofhawdh (river in paradise), hadith of intercession (shafa'ah)and the hadith of raising the hands in prayer.

2. The mutawatir by meaning (ma'nun), such as when the transmittersconcur on a matter occurring in different incidents such asthe sunnah of the morning prayer being two rakats, acategory which does exist. Numerous mutawatir hadiths havebeen reported even though the 'Ulema differ on whatconstitutes mutawatir according to their different viewsabout the mutawatir report.

Khabar ul-ahad

As for the isolated report (khabar ul-ahad). It is the reportwhose narrators have not reached the number required for themuttawatir, whether it was reported by one or four narrators,meaning it is the report which falls short of the preceding fourconditions for the mutawatir report. It is divided, in terms ofthe number of narrators, into three categories:

1. Gharib (Alien) It is the report narrated by a singletransmitter, meaning there is a single narrator throughoutthe narration at any stage in the isnad (line oftransmission). It is divided into: gharib in isnad only, andgharib in isnad and matn (wording of hadith) together. Thereis no such report as gharib only in matn. The gharib in matnand isnad is that whose narration is by a single narrator.For example the hadith prohibiting and donating the sale ofwala'a (patronage). The gharib in isnad and not in matn isthe matn narrated by a group of Sahabah, but a singletransmitter narrated it from another Sahabi, like thehadith: 'Actions are judged according to intentions.'

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2. Aziz (scarce) It is a report transmitted by more than onenarrator but less than four, meaning it is narrated by twoor three narrators, even at one tier. It is called aziz(scarce) due to its rarity.

3. Mashur (famous) A report which has been narrated by more thanthree narrators, but still it did not reach the level ofmutawatir. It is called mashur due to it being clear andwidely mentioned on the lips of people, irrespective of asanad (chain) being found for it or not found. It is alsothe mustafid (abundant). It has two categories: mashuraccording to the scholars of hadith and mashur for thegeneral public.

1. The first is like the hadith of Anas, that the Prophet

ه ال�له ص�لى made du'a (qunut) for one month against (the وس�لم ع�ليtribes of) Ra'al and Dhakwan.

2. The second category is like the hadith: 'A Muslim issomeone from whose (sharp) tongue and hands otherMuslims are safe.'

4. Not every mashur report among people is sahih. Some ahadithwhich have no basis or are entirely fabricated may becomefamous and well known. These are many, like the hadith: 'theday of your fast is (identical to) the day of yoursacrifice', which has no basis. The Khabar al-ahad also,whether gharib, aziz or mashur, the isnad has a termination

point, either ending with the Prophet لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� or with a وس��Sahabi or tabi'i. In terms of the end of the chain (isnad)there are three types:

1. Marfu' It is a report which has been specificallyascribed to the Prophet in terms of his actions,sayings, consent or description, whether the one who

attributed it to the Prophet لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� ,was a Sahabi وس��tabi'i or someone who came after them. An example ofthat is when the Sahabi says: 'we used to do or say

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such and such (thing) during the lifetime of the

Messenger لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� or when he was among us', or' , ص��'when he was amongst us', or ' we did not see anythingwrong with such and such thing', or the Sahabah used todo or say such and such (thing); or such and such(thing) was said during the lifetime of the Messenger .

ه ال�ل��ه. ص�ل لم ع�لي�� :Another example is when the Sahabi says وس��'We were ordered to do such and such (thing)', or 'wewere forbidden from doing such and such (thing)' or'such and such (thing) is from the Sunnah'. It is alsoconsidered a marfu' report when the Sahabi says: 'Weused to do or say such and such (thing)' even if they

did not attribute it to the Prophet لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� , وس��because it indicates a consent. Likewise, the saying ofAnas b. Malik is considered as a marfu' report when hesaid: 'The Prophet's doors used to be knocked using thefingernails', and when Anas said; Bilal was ordered todouble the azan and make iqamah one.' Similarly thetafseer of the Sahabah concerning the cause ofrevelation comes under the rule of marfu'. Anythingother than that from the tafseer of the Sahabah is notconsidered part of the hadith. That is because theSahabah performed many ijtihads in explaining theQur'an and they disagreed as a result. We find alsomany of them used to narrate isra'illiyyat from thepeople of the Book. That is why their tafseer is notconsidered part of the hadith, let alone considered asa marfu' hadith.

2. Mawquf It is the narration from the Sahabah in terms oftheir sayings and actions. It is specifically relatedto the Sahabah. Its isnad can be continuous or broken.It is the report many of the Fuqaha and muhaddithunalso call 'athar'. The mawquf does not serve as a

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proof, because Allah ه حان�� ر ّسَ ُول ف� خ�َ ذ�ُ said: س�ب� ت( َاك�' ُم ال�� عالى و َم َا ا+ وت�(And" ُوه و َم َا ن4 َه َاك�' ُم ع ن4َ ْه ف� َان��ت( َه ُوا whatsoever the Messengergave you, take it, and whatsoever he forbade youabstain (from it)." [59:7] This means that whatever

came to us from other than the Messenger لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� do وس��not take it. Therefore, there is no proof in the saying

of anyone except Rasool Allah لى , a is it because ال�ل��ه ص��لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� Allah Rasool to it ascribe to permitted not ص��is It . لم ه وس�� mere possibility and not a prevalent ع�لي��opinion (zann), and possibilities are not recognised.

3. Maqtu' It is not the same as munqati'. It is that whosechain stops at the Tabi'i in terms of sayings andactions. A proof is not established by it, and it isweaker than the mawquf.

Categories of the Khabar al-Ahad

The khabar al-ahad (isolated report) in its three forms: gharib,'aziz or mashur, whether marfu', mawquf or maqtu' is divided bythe scholars of hadith, in terms of its acceptance or rejection,into three categories: sahih, hasan, da'eef. The following is aclarification of each category:

1. The hadith whose isnad continues through transmission of thereliable ('adl) narrator whose retention is accurate(dhabit) from another reliable ('adl) transmitter who has anaccurate retentive ability, and so on until the end of thechain, and is not shadh (irregular) or mu'allal (defective).In other words, the isnad of the hadith continues through bythe transmission of the reliable ('adl) and accurate

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(dhabit) narrator from another of same quality until it endswith Rasool Allah The statement of the scholars of hadiththat the 'the isnad of the hadith continues through thetransmission of the reliable ('adl) and accurate (dhabit)narrator from another same as him', excludes the mursal,munqati' and mu'dhil hadiths, from the category of sahih. The mursal is what the Tabi'un have narrated from the

Prophet لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� without وس�� mentioning the Sahabi.The munqati' is when a single narrator is omitted in one ormore places in the isnad.The mu'dhil has two or more narrators missing from one ormore places in the isnad.These three all have discontinued isnads which takes themout of the sahih category. The statement that "the hadithshould not be shadh" (irregular) excludes from the sahihhadith the shadh report where a trustworthy narrator goesagainst the narration of narrators who are more reliablethan him. Their statement: 'It should not be mu'allal(defective)' excludes from the sahih hadith the mu'allalreport which has a defect. The 'illah (defect) consists of aweakness in the hadith, causing its rejection, a matterwhich appears to the critics when collecting and examiningthe various transmission routes of the hadith.

For example, the chain of a narrator being continuous whilea group has transmitted it as mawquf. Their statement: 'Bythe transmission of the reliable ('adl) narrator', itexcludes the report narrated by a transmitter whose apparentand hidden condition is not known, majhul al-'ayn (not knownpersonally), or he is known to be weak. Such a hadith is notconsidered as sahih. Their statement: 'by the transmissionof a narrator who has accurate retentive ability (dhabit)'excludes what has been narrated by someone who is notretentive and aware, that is his transmission is negligentand he commits many mistakes. This report is not considereda sahih hadith, rather, all the conditions which have been

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clarified should be met in the sahih ahadith. If onecondition is missing then the hadith is not sahih.

2. Hasan It is a report whose collector is known and itstransmitters are well known. It is the most regular hadith,and most scholars accept it, and it is used by the fuqahagenerally, meaning that in its isnad there are no narratorsthat have been charged with lying, nor it is a shadh(irregular). It is of two types:

1. First: a hadith whose isnad is not free from atransmitter who is mastur (of hidden condition) andwhose capacity is not realized, but not negligent norprone to make many mistakes or charged with mendacity.However, a hadith of similar matn might have beennarrated from another way, and it is thus excluded frombeing shadh or munkar (rejected).

2. Second: The narrators must be known for theirtrustworthiness and honesty, but they do not attain thelevel of the transmitters of the sahih category inretention and percesion; and what he narrates ofreports singularly is not considered as munkar(rejected), nor is the matn irregular (shadh)ordefective (mu'allal). So the hasan ahadith is thereport transmitted by a reliable ('adl) narrator who isof lesser retentive capacity, but its isnad iscontinuous and not irregular (shadh) or defective(mu'allal). The hasan hadith is used as proof exactlyas the sahih hadith.

3. Da'eef It is the hadith which does not have thequalifications of the sahih or hasan hadiths. The weakhadith is not used as evidence at all. It is a mistake tosay that when a da'eef hadith comes via numerous lines oftransmission then it rises to the level of hasan or sahih.For when the hadith is weak because its narrator hasactually committed transgression or has been accused of

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actual lying, and the hadith came through other lines oftransmission which are of this type, then it has increasedin iweakness. As for when the meaning contained in theda'eef hadith is also contained in the sahih ahadith, thenthe sahih hadith is cited and the da'eef hadith is rejected.Therefore, the da'eef hadith is not used as proof in any waywhatsoever.

The accepted hadith (maqbul) and the rejected hadith (mardud)

It becomes clear from dividing the hadith into sahih, hasan andda'eef, that the hasan and sahih hadiths are both advanced asproof and the da'eef hadith is not. What makes the hadithacceptable or rejectable is the examination of the sanad (chain),transmitter and matn. If a narrator is not omitted from the sanadand whose omission would not lead to the inability of attestingto the reliability of the omitted narrator; and the narrator'sintegrity is not questioned; and the matn is not weak nor it doescontradict certain parts of the Qur'an or Sunnah mutawatir ordefinite ijma'a, in this case the hadith is accepted, acted uponand advanced as a shar'ai.

As for when the hadith is contrary to these qualifications, it isrejected and not educed as proof. Therefore, the rejected hadithis the hadith rejected due to omission from the sanad of anarrator which results in the inability to attest the reliabilityof this narrator, or due to a narrator's integrity beingquestioned, or due to the weakness of the (matn) of the hadith orits contradiction to the Qur'an, hadith and Ijma'a which aredefinite.

Various types of hadith come under the hadith mardud (rejected)which do not exceed the following descriptions:

1. Mu'allaq When there is one or more narrators areconsecutively missing from the beginning of the sanad in ablatantly obvious manner. The term 'more' is more general toinclude the whole or part of the isnad. Also included, isthe omission of the whole chain such as when the muhaddith

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or hadith compiler, says: Rasool Allah (saw) said so or didsuch and such thing.

2. Mu'dil Is a chain in which two or more narrators are missingfrom one or more places, such as when the tabi ut-tabi'iomits a tabi'i and sahabi from the isnad. But it does notinclude the statement of authors from the fuqaha when theysay: 'Rasool Allah (saw) said ' Or their statement 'fromRasool Allah '(saw). This is not (mu'dil), because that isnot transmission, rather it is quoting and educing a proofwhich is valid.

3. Munqati' When a single narrator is missing before the Sahabiin any one place wherever it is, even if they are many, suchthat the missing narrator is not more than one from eachplace, so it will be munqati' in these places. Alsoconsidered to be munqati' is the chain in which there is anobscure narrator (mubham).

An example of a transmitter being omitted is what has beennarrated by 'Abdur Razzaq > ath-Thawri > Abu Ishaq > Zayd b.

Yathi' > Hudhayfa, which goes back to the Prophet لى is he ص��indeed ,Bakr Abu to (authority) it assigned you If" :said he

that لم ه وس�� powerful ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� and honest."

The isnad has breaks in two places. First, 'Abdur Razzaq didnot hear from ath-Thawri but rather narrated it from al-Nu'man Ibn Abi Shaybah al-Jundi who narrated it from ath-Thawri. The second, ath-Thawri did not hear it from AbuIshaq but rather narrated it from Shurayk who narrated itfrom Abu Ishaq. The hadith, therefore, is rejected. An

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example of a transmitter being obscure is what is narratedby Abu al-'Ala b. 'Abdullah b. Shukhayr > two men > Shaddadb. Aws the hadith of: 'O Lord! I ask you to make mesteadfast in the matter.' Therefore, the hadith is rejecteddue to the presence of an unknown (majhul) narrator in thetransmission.

4. Shadh When a reliable transmitter narrates a hadith whichcontradicts what others have narrated. It is not shadh if areliable narrator transmits something no one else hasnarrated, because the narration of a reliable transmitter isaccepted even if others have not narrated it, and it is usedas proof. That is like the hadith: 'Actions are judgedaccording to intentions'. Only 'Umar narrated it and fromhim only 'Alqama narrated it. A single narrator, Muhammad b.Ibrahim al-Tamimi narrated from him, and from him only Yahyab. Said al-Ansari narrated and from him Yahya b. Said, thenthere was a proliferation of transmission routes. Therefore,the shadh is only when a reliable narrator transmitssomething which contradicts what has been narrated byothers, meaning the accepted narrator transmits a reportthat goes against the report which is more stronger than it.

5. Mu'allal A hadith which is found to have a defect ('illah)and impairs its authenticity through it appears to be sound.This applied to the isnad whose transmitters are reliableand which apparently includes the conditions ofauthenticity.

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6. Munkar What a single unreliable transmitter narrates alone.The munkar is the narration of a weak narrator whichcontradicts the report of a transmitter who is less weak.

7. Mawdu'u The hadith mawdu'u is the fabricated hadith. Thefabricated hadith is the worst among the weak ahadith. Thenarration of such hadith is not allowed if its condition isknown except when it is linked to clarifying its fabricatedstatus.

A hadith is known to be fabricated when the forgeracknowledges its fabrication or something which takes theposition of a confession. The fabrication can be understoodfrom the condition of the transmitter, such as the narratorfollowing the whims of certain leaders in his lies. Or whilehe is attributing the hadith he is caught out as aconsummate liar, where the report is not narrated from anyway other than him, nobody supported him and he has nowitness. It could be also understood from the condition ofwhat has been narrated, meaning the state of the matn, if itis deficient in its wording or meaning or it contradictsparts of the Qur'an, mutawatir sunnah and definite Ijma'a.

There are different types of hadith fabricators. The onescausing most harm are those associated with zuhd (piousascetics), who fabricated Hadiths hoping to get reward forwhat they alleged. The danger is that people accept theirfabrications, trusting and depending on them. Then, maybe aforger fabricated a saying coming from himself so henarrated it. Probably, he took a saying from the sages or

others and falsely ascribed it to Rasool Allah لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� .ص��From the fabricated ahadith are the ahadith about the meritsof the Qur'an, surah by surah, especially narrations on the

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authority of 'Ubay b. Ka'b and those from Abu 'Ismah >'Ikrimah > Ibn 'Abbas. Their fabrication has beenestablished from the study (cross refrences) of scholars andthrough the confession of Abu 'Ismah. It has been narratedthat he said: 'I saw that the people had turned away fromthe Qur'an and occupied themselves with the fiqh of AbuHanifah and the maghazi of Muhammad b. Ishaq, so I forgedthese ahadith seeking reward in the Hereafter.'

This is a selection of the types of rejected ahadith, butthey are not all the possible types that could be mentioned.There are many types of rejected ahadith for whichmentioning a part is sufficient as an example for thecriterion by which the acceptable hadith is identified fromthe rejected hadith.

A hadith is not rejected because it does not meet theconditions for the category of sahih as long as its sanad,transmitters and matn are acceptable, meaning it is hasanbecause its narrators are of lesser reliability than thenarrators of the sahih hadith. Or if there was a mustur, (atransmitter whose record is unknown) or he had a bad memory,but he has been strengthened by a qarinah (indication) thatweighs up its acceptance, such as when it is strengthened byanother narrator agreeing with it or by a witness, meaning,strengthened by a narrator thought to be alone (innarration) or by another hadith. One should not be overstrict in rejecting a hadith as long as it is possible toaccept it according to the requirements of the sanad,transmitter and matn. Especially when the majority of the‘ulema have accepted it and the fuqaha have generally usedit. It is then worth to be accepted, even if it does notmeet the conditions of the sahih, because it comes underhasan. Just as one should not be over strict in rejecting ahadith, at the same time it is not allowed to be complacentwith respect to the hadith, thus accepting the hadith whichis rejected due to the sanad, transmitter or matn.

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The Mursal Hadith

The mursal hadith is the hadith from which a Sahabi has been

omitted. For example, when the Tabi'i says that Rasool Allah وس�لملى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� said or did such and such thing, or such and such thing ع�لي��was done in his presence. A representative example would be thehadith of a tabi'i who has met a number of companions and has satdown to learn from them like 'Ubaydullah b. 'Adiy b. al-Khiyar,then Sa'id b. al-Musayyab and their likes when they say

(directly) that: Rasool Allah لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� .'said وس��It is well known that all of the Tabi'un are treated equally, ie

what the tabi'i narrated from the Prophet لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� without وس��mentioning the Sahabah, without a difference between the older oryounger tabi'I, because it is well known that they are treatedequally.The muhaddithun, scholars of usul (usuliyyoon) and the imams havediffered over the use of the mursal hadith as proof. There werethose who did not use it, and considered it to be rejected likethe munqati' hadith; and there were those who did accept its use.Those who do not accept it reject it for a defect (illah), whichis a transmitter, who is not known, has been omitted form theisnad, and who might be unreliable. The consideration innarration is reliability and certainty, so there is no proof inthe unknown transmitter. This is the reason for rejecting themursal ahadith. The reason is correct and the rejection of ahadith according to it is correct, but this does not apply to themursal hadith, because the transmitter who has been omitted is aSahabi. Even though he is not known in terms of his identity, heis known as a Sahabi. As stated previously the Sahabah are alltrustworthy ('udul). They cannot be unreliable. They are ratherdefinitely trustworthy. The reason for which they would rejectthe hadith does not apply to the mursal, nor is there any otherreason to reject it.

Since the mursal fulfils the conditions of the matn, sanad and

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narrator, no harm is there from omitting the Sahabi as long as itis known that he is a Sahabi, and thus by definition istrustworthy. Thus mursal hadith is a proof and should be used asevidence.

It might be said that the reason is that there is a possibilitythat a tabi'i narrated from a tabi'i like himself who narratedfrom the Sahabah. The ommision of a Sahabi does not mean theommision of only one narrator, but the break in the chain meansthat it is possible that two narrators have been omitted, one ofthem satisfying the conditions of integrity, which is the Sahabi,while the other narrator is dubious, who is a tabi'i. Therefore,there is a possibility in the hadith of a jarh (invalidation) orabsence of accuracy (dhabt), so it is rejected. The response tothis is that the definition of the mursal hadith is that: it is a

report narrated by a tabi'i from the Prophet لى ه ال�ل��ه ص�� لم ع�لي�� without وس��mentioning the Sahabi'. The narration of a Tabi'i from a Tabi'iwho is not known does not come under this definition. Even if weaccept this possibility, that a Tabi'i is omitted and the Sahabiis not mentioned, this possibility of omission is by way ofsuspicion, which does not reach the level of possibility. This isbecause it is suspected the tabi'i narrated it from anothertabi'i whom he did not mention nor mention the Sahabi i.e. heassumes that a Tabi'i has been ommited. There is no evidence forthis hypothetical assumption. It is merely suspicion, which hasno value and the judgement on the hadith is not based on it. Itshould not be said that an unknown narrator (majhul) hastransmitted it, because there is no one to whom a narration hasbeen ascribed so as to say that one is a majhul (unknown).Therefore, the mursal hadith is not cosidered to be from therejected ahadith, rather it is accepted and used as proof.

The hadith Qudsi

The hadith qudsi is what has been transmitted to us as isolated

reports from Rasool Allah لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� with its isnad going back ,ص��Page 17 of 30

to his Lord. It is from His ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� speech, for it is attributed س��to Him, which is present in the majority of cases. Theattribution to Him, is an attributiuon of composition, because Heis the One Who spoke it first. It could be attributed to the

Prophet لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� because he is the one informing about Allah ,ص��ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� This is different to the Qur'an which is attributed to .س��no one except to Him ع�الى ه وت�( حان�� ع�الى so it is said: Allah ,س�ب� ه وت�( حان�� ب� .'said س��On the other hand, in the hadith qudsi, it is said: Rasool Allah

ه وس��لم لى ال�ل�ه ع�لي� said in what he narrates from his Lord'. The narrator ص��of the hadith qudsi has two characteristics, firstly, he may say:

‘Rasool Allah لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� said about in (what) he narrates from ص��his Lord'. Secondly, he may say: ‘Allah ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� said concerning س��that which Rasool Allah لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� narrated from Him'. They have ص��the same meaning.

The difference between the Qur'an and the hadith qudsi is that

the wording and the meaning in the Qu'ran are from Allah ع�الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� س��and through clear revelation. As for the hadith qudsi, the

wording is from the Messenger لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� and the meaning is ,ص��from Allah ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� through س�� ilham (inspiration) or sleep. TheQur'an's wording is a miracle, revealed through the medium ofJibreel. The hadith qudsi is not a miracle and without anymedium. The difference between the Qur'an, hadith qudsi and allother ahadith is that the Qur'an is the wording that is brought

down by Jibreel to the Prophet لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� The hadith qudsi is .ص��the notification of its meaning by Allah ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� through ilham س��

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(inspiration) or sleep, so the Prophet ه وس�لم informed people ص�لى ال�له ع�ليof it with his own words. As for the rest of the ahadith they are

like the hadith qudsi in that their meaning is from Allah عالى ه وت�( حان�� س�ب�and their wording is from the Messenger لم ه وس�� لى ال�ل��ه ع�لي�� and without ص��attributing them to Allah ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� The designation of the hadith .س��attributed to Allah ع��الى ه وت�( حان�� ب� as س�� the hadith qudsi is aterminological designation.

The inability to prove the authenticity of a hadith from itssanad does not indicate that it is a weak hadithThe strength of the sanad is considered a condition for acceptinga hadith. However, it should be known that judging the sanad of aspecific hadith as weak does not necessarily mean the hadith isweak in itself. For example, it might have another isnad, unlessan imam stated that it has not been narrated except from thisline of transmission. So, whoever finds a hadith with a weakisnad, it is more inclusive to say that it is weak through thisisnad, but the text cannot be judged as weak unrestrictedlywithout qualification. Therefore, the rejection of the isnad doesnot necessitate the rejection of the hadith. However, there areahadith which are not proved from the perspective of the isnad,but when passed from people to people they accepted theirauthenticity, so did not need to ask for the isnad. There aremany example of this such as the hadith: 'There shall be nobequest (wasiyyah) to an heir' and the hadith: ‘the blood money(diyyah) is due on the immediate blood relatives ('aaqilah)', andmany others.

Collection of Hadith

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SOME DEFINITIONS Al-Qur’an:The book that consists entirely of the words claimed by theProphet to be the words of God as revealed to him. (When we justsay The Prophet, we mean The Prophet Muhammad, peace be uponhim.) The Qur’an comes to us through multiple independent sourcesand its entire text is fully and rigorously authenticated. AllMuslims, and most orientalists, agree on the text of the Qur’an.The Qur’an is the undisputed primary source of Islamic teachingsand Guidance.

Hadith:The word Hadith means news, story, communication, conversation,report. In the Islamic religious context, it means an individualreport of an action, instruction or saying, of the Prophet, orhis approval, disapproval, or silence (tacit approval) regardingsome matter or action. By its very nature, the reliability ofHadith reports is dependant on the understanding by the reporterof the context and of the words and their applicability.Regardless of the complexity, however, Hadith is the secondprimary source of Islamic guidance.

Sunnah:is the word used for the normative teachings of the Prophet, asshown by his practiceas a Prophet, or his specific instructionsand guidance on an issue or a situation. One finds the Sunnahthrough the study and analysis of the Hadith literature.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE HADITH As indicated above, the Hadith is the second primary source ofguidance in Islam. It is unanimously agreed by Muslims that theauthority of the Hadith is second only to that of the Qur’an.

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Since the Hadith relates things on the authority of the Prophet,and the Prophet is commissioned by God to promulgate theteachings that came through him, its authority derives from thatof the Prophet himself. Professor Jackson described this verysuccinctly, in a lecture at one of these Dar al Islam Teachers’Institutes: The Prophet, being the recipient and therefore theguardian of the Revelation, was therefore guided. It was hischarge to clarify the Revelation through his conduct, his words,and his tacit approval. In terms of his authority, the two typesof revelation are equal, though ontologically they are distinct.If you were to go to the prophet and ask him, “O Messenger ofAllah, is it permissible for me to do X”, he might answer byreciting verses of Qur’an that apply to your question, or hemight simply say yes it is permissible or no, it is not. Eitherway the answer you receive is equally authoritative.

The Qur’an itself confers this authority on the Prophet and allother prophets before him. •And we have not sent a messenger but to be obeyed, with theleave of God. (Surah 4, Ayah 64) •Say “obey Allah and the Messenger”; then if you turn away,indeed Allah does not love those who reject faith. (Surah 3, Ayah32) •And obey God and the Messenger so that you may have Mercy onyou. (Syrah 3 Ayah 132) •O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger and thoseamong you with authority;butif you have a dispute concerning somematter, refer it to God and the Messenger if you are (truly)believers in God and the Day of Judgment. This is best and themost suitable of the alternatives. (Syrah 4, Ayah 59). There aremany other similar Ayahs. The Prophet’s practice and normativeinstructions are crucial for being a Muslim and living Islam. Itis the Prophet’s example that teaches the Muslims how to performeven the most basic duty of Salat (the ritual Prayer, requiredfive times a day). The Qur’an mentions standing, bowing, andprostrating, but it is the Prophet’s consistent practice andteachings that provide the details.

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THE COMPANIONS LEARNING FROM THE PROPHET The Prophet was a very patient and considerate teacher. God hadsaid that He does not want matters to be difficult but to beeasy. The Companions were very watchful of every move and word ofthe Prophet; even his most private life was observed and reportedby his wives. People observed his actions and practices; theywould memorize what he said and some would write down what theysaw and heard. Everyone would practice what they learned, andthey would teach each other and correct each other. The Prophetwas careful to vary many of his practices so they would notbecome normative; he would emphasize the difference between hisrole as a Messenger of God and his thoughts and actions as anordinary human being. The companions were not passive learnerseither. It was not uncommon for a Companion to say: “O Messengerof God, may my mother and father be sacrificed for you, is thisfrom God or from your opinion”? If he said it is from God, thatwould end the dialogue; but if he said it is his opinion, theCompanion might say, “I have a different opinion”-- notice, not abetter opinion, but a different one. And it was not uncommon forthe Prophet to go along with the opinions of others, sometimesagainst his own better judgment. The battle of the ditch, forexample, was fought within the confines of the city because theyouth felt that leaving the city would be seen by the enemy as asign of weakness. The Prophet did not prefer this option but wentalong with it. A Persian Companion told them about digging aditch to defend the city.

God held the Prophet to a very high standard to assure that nomisinterpretations of his actions or word occur. Sometimes arevelation would come to contradict the Prophet or even rebukehim, sometimes on a seemingly minor matter. For example: a poorman came to the Prophet when he was talking to, and seeking thesupport of, some rich and powerful men. The Prophet did notacknowledge the presence of the poor man. A revelation camerebuking him on this lack of paying more attention to thepowerful when the poor man was trying to get his attention. TheCompanions were so keen on learning all about the Prophet that

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the very busy ones had formed cooperative groups so at least onemember would be in daily attendance in the Prophet’s company;those who attended would then meet others to fill them in.

MODES OF TRANSMISSION OF HADITH Things were relatively simple during the Prophet’s lifetime. Ifsomeone wanted guidance concerning an issue, for which noguidance was known to him, he would go to the Prophet and ask.(It was not uncommon to ask others who had the reputation forknowledge or were known for the acuity of their thought). TheProphet may provide an answer, or refer them to someone else, inorder to establish the habit and practice of mutual consultation.After the Prophet’s death, this avenue had to be replaced byreferring to his Hadith. As the community grew out of Madinah,and the time span increased, more information had to be provided.How did the Hadith get to the person quoting it? An elaborateScience was created to authenticate the Hadith and establish alevel of authenticity for each report. It should be noted thatthere were recordings of the Hadith in the Prophet’s time. Peoplewho reported large numbers of Hadith were more likely to havewritten down things and also to have been in the company of theProphet more frequently.

For example, the most prolific Companion is a person named AbuHuraira. Abu Huraira lived to a ripe old age so many nextgeneration people met him and spoke with him. It is said that hereported 5,374 Hadith. (A single issue reported through multiplechains of reporters would be counted as different Hadith by mostcounters. If such reports are unduplicated, Abu Huraira’s reportsare still about 1236.) The second most quoted Companion isAbdullah ibn Ùmar with 2,630 Hadith. They are followed by Anasibn Malik with 2,286 and ‘A’isha (the Prophet’s wife) with 2,210.Interestingly, the first four Khalifa reported relatively fewHadith: a very small number from the first Khalifa, Abu Bakr; 537from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab; a tiny number from Ùthman ibn Àffan,and only 536 from the fourth Khalifa, ‘Ali Ibn Abu Talib. Whenthe chains got longer, and reporters further removed, thecollectors and compilers used careful words to describe the mode

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of transmission.For example, distinct words are used to describethe following situations: •Sima`: Readings by teachers to students. •Àrad: Readings by students to teachers.

‘Ijiazah: Permit someone to transmit a Hadith (or book); report“on the authority of” the scholar.

•Munadalah: To hand someone written material.

•Kitabah: To write Hadith for someone

•I`laam: To inform someone that informer has the permission totransmit certain material.

•Wasiyyah: To entrust someone his books

•Wajada: To discover some book or written records

As can be seen, the Hadith methodology and the system became veryelaborate as the times became further removed from the Prophet.The Muslims never took this task lightly. The Qur’an has beentaken so seriously that no spelling mistakes, or even punctuationmistakes, are accepted in the text; every letter is counted andno additions or subtractions would go undetected. The Hadith, byits very nature cannot be as protected as the Qur’an, but it isstill a very rigorous discipline. When you are thinking oftransmission, think of the chain first.

SILSILAH: THE CHAIN OF TRANSMISSION The Muslims in general and the experts of the science of Hadithin particular, insisted on knowing the source of information. Whowere the individuals in the chain of reporting whatever it isthey were recording? As the years go by, the number of people inthe chain of reporting an event or a statement increasesgeometrically. In addition, the diversity of the first generationof reporters becomes more diverse.

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Among the first generation itself, some reporters would have goodmemories, others won’t. Some would have better understanding andcomprehension than others and some would better understand thecontext than others. Each of these people in the chain interactswith a diverse group of the next generation. By the thirdgeneration, we have tens of thousands of people in the process.

The possibility of fabricators increases. Political and tribalagendas come into play. The scholars had to devise methodologiesto deal with the challenge of discovering the variouscapabilities of reporters, and of identifying fabricators andpeople with special tribal, ethnic, or sectarian agendas. Thuswas born the next element of authenticating Hadith; the Isnad.

ISNAD: THE LEVEL OF AUTHORITY OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE CHAIN Muslim scholars developed the most rigorous testing techniquesfor dealing with the level of authenticity of recording what wewould call history. They were engaged in what is textualcriticism in the modern sense. When a given Hadithis looked at, alist of all the reporters in the chains through which it has beentransmitted is made; then the chains are compared. A new scienceof Asma Al-Rijal, was developed which documented a biography ofeach individual involved in the chains. Such biographies weredeveloped for tens of thousands of people. The informationincluded the place and time of birth and death of each reporter.

They recorded information on their education, their teachers,their truthfulness, the people they had met and the level oftheir interaction. How was their level of comprehension? Did theyhave a tendency to be unnecessarily talkative? How meticulouswere they in their reporting? What and when did they transmittheir Hadith, and how does that relate to their characteristics?This information was available to all scholars engaged in the

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science of Hadith. Having reliable people in the chain was notenough.

It was required that Hadith on matters of importance come througha number of independent chains. If all the chains of a particularHadith go through a single individual somewhere in the middle ofthe chain, it is called “’ahad”, a singular Hadith, and is notacceptable for important purposes by all schools of law. For‘ahad, the text itself becomes much more significant. Thescholars also pay attention to the site and situation of anincident. If something occurred in public, then one would expectmany people to report it. Report of a miraculous event required,in nearly all cases, that it be reported by a crowd--which isdefined as a minimum of twelve people. The collectors anddocumenters of Hadith went through this process of classifyingeach Hadith and scores of other reviewers later went throughindependent analyses of each Hadith in each of the collections.

MATAN: THE TEXT After the isnad work is done and the Hadith falls within acertain level of classification, its text is run through varioustests. The first is to see if the text in any way contradicts theQur’an. If so, the Hadith is rejected. That does not mean it isfalse--perhaps the reporter misunderstood the situation. If it isnot against Qur’an, does it contradict other Hadith that arereliable? If so, at what level are the differences? Are theredifferent shades of application? Or, should one or the other orboth be rejected? These types of tests are followed by testsagainst logic rules. Does it really make sense? Tests of appliedlogic and reasonableness based in spirituality and religion maybe needed. Some schools of Hadith methodology apply as many assixteen separate tests.

For example, the rules would reject a report about the importanceof an individual (or individuals) which is transmitted onlythrough their supporters or family, and which is not supported byreports from other independent channels. Similarly rejected would

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be a report that seems to be an exaggeration, unless stronglycorroborated by multiple reliable sources.

APPLICATION OF THE METHODOLOGY: SOME EXAMPLES •There is a report from a very strong source, “Reported byÙmar”. This is Ùmar Ibn al Khattab, the one about whom theProphet said that if there was going to be a prophet after me, itwould be Ùmar. The same Ùmar who became the second Caliph andwho is considered, by the Hanafi scholars, to be one of the fourmost profound thinkers of the Muslim world community.

His son, Abdullah (considered being a great scholar in his ownright), reports his father saying that he heard the Prophet saythat “the dead person is punished if his family mourns loudly andcries (in the manner of the time of ignorance) at his grave.”Upon hearing this report, the much younger ‘A’isha, the widow ofthe Prophet, flatly rejects it out of hand. The basis she gives for her rejection is that the report goesagainst the Ayah of the Qur’an: “and no bearer of burdens shallbear the burden of another” (Syrah 35, beginning of Ayah 18).(Translation Note: The bearer in the Ayah is feminine and refersto the Nafs which means a person but translated by some as soul.)

•The husband of Fatima bint Qais had pronounced three concurrentdivorces on her, a practice discouraged by the Qur’an. Sheclaimed that her ex-husband then refused to give her maintenanceprovisions. She reported, during the time of the second Caliph,that she came to the Prophet and he refused to award hermaintenance from her husband. When the Caliph Ùmar heard this,he rejected it on the authority of the Qur’an, quoting parts oftwo Ayahs. The translation of the first quote (part of Ayah 236of Surah 2) is as follows: “...but bestow upon them allowances,the wealthy according to their means and the poor according totheir means, as commonly known to be reasonable...“. Translation

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of the second quote (part of Ayah 1 of Surah 65) is: “...do notexpel them from their houses...”

The first quote, therefore, indicating that the divorced womenwas entitled to expenses and the second indicating that she wasentitled to staying in the house, until the end of the prescribedperiod of finalizing the divorce.

CLASSIFICATION After analysis and critiques, each Hadith is classified into oneof several categories. Some are Classified as sahih (rigorously authentic); others are classifiedas hasan (good), gharib (acceptable but poor), maudu` (partiallymanufactured), batil (invalid), etc. A Hadith that has comethrough many reliable chains and accepted by scholars at thehighest level of authenticity may be called Mutawatir, (successively fully authenticated), andconsidered unassailably applicable. Different scholars mayclassify the same Hadith differently based on their analyses and critique. A Hadith is classified differently by differentexperts mainly because of the reliability ratings they assign tothe reporters in the chain. Scholars classify each reporter inthe chain in to one of twelve different levels of reliability.Bukhari accepts reports from only the top two levels; some acceptreports from the top three levels, others use reports fromvarious other levels. The science of Hadith is thus not a simplematter of quoting a Hadith but is one that requires knowing andunderstanding the details of the text, the context, and thecharacteristics of each person in all the chains of narration.The Sciences of Jurisprudence require even a greater level ofscrutiny and analysis.

MAJOR HADITH COLLECTIONS Many early collections were fragmentary and were undertaken forspecial purposes. Most survived as parts of legal and spiritualarguments or were incorporated in the more comprehensivecollections. Major, systematic collections were made toward the

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end of the second and the beginning of the third Hijricenturies:-

a) The Mu’watta of Malik is the earliest. He was born inMadinah: B. 93H D 179H

b) The Musnad of Ahmad is next. He was born in Basra:B. 164H D241H

But the “Sihah Sittah” (literally, “the most rigorouslyauthenticated six”) are:

1. The Sahih of Bukhari. He was born in Bukhara: B. 194H D 256H

2. The Sahih of Muslim. He was born in Nishapur: B. 204H D 261H

3. The Sunan of Abu Dawud. He was born in Sajistan: B. 202H D275H 4. The Sunan of Tirmidhi. He was born in Khurasan: B.209H D 279H 5. The Sunan of An-Nisa’i. He was born in Khurasan: B.214H D 303H

6. The Sunan of Ibn Majah: B. 209H D 273H

These above six are accepted by scholars as the six most reliablecollections, the Sihah Sittah (the fully authenticated sixcollections). Without getting into technical details, it shouldbe

References:-

1. Al-Sibaai, Mustafa (2003). Al-Sunnah wa Makantuha fi al-Shari’i al-islamy, Daarussalam, Cairo

2. Al-Swaleh, Subhi (1986). Uloom al-Hadith wa Mustwalahuhu,Daarul Ilmu, Lebanon

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3. Doi, Abdurahman (1981). Introduction to the Hadith, ArewaBooks, Nigeria

4. Kayo, P.K. (1997). (ed) Hadith and Sunnah Ideals andRealities, National Book Service, Pakistan

5. Ibnu Swalah, (d.642 AH). Muqadimatu Ibnu Swalah fi Uloom al-Hadith, Daarul fikri, Lebanon

6. Kheir, A. And Yahya Atai (2008). Essential Islamic StudiesBook One, IRET Kenya

7. Kheir, A. And Yahya Atai (2007). Essential Islamic StudiesBook four, Umma Foundation Kenya

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The Study of Hadith

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