:salam2:
The article posted above is removed on the counts that it's completely opinionated and pretty much baseless.
They begin by their opinion that nowhere in the Qur'aan has it mentioned that Music is Haraam. The fact of the matter is that many of the scholars and pious predecessors did interpret it that way in the ayah:
“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…” [Luqmaan 31:6] (further information is in the link above my post)
Whoever wrote this article has directed themselves to just translations or some other form of simple understanding, and they have then neglected what the scholars of the Qur'aan have said. And it must be noted that the Qu'raan is only in Arabic, and if you look at the Arabic of the Qur'aan, many things are subject or require further explanations. You cannot always just take the direct textual meaning and expect to fathom what it explains; so you have to go back to those with knowledge of the Qur'aan, those who were around the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa sallam, those who asked him, in order to see what the possible real reason or meaning of it is.
Furthermore, they claim that these are innovations of the "scholars". The fact is that our religion would not have been preserved as it was if not for the scholars. They are the inheritors of the Prophets, and are due our most love. And among them are Al-Hasan al-Basri, As-Sa'di, Ibn al-Qayyim and others May Allah have mercy on them all. These people were some of the most dedicated and amazing of Muslims, and to claim that they innovated when they were fore-most in putting them down, and to claim that they followed man-made laws when they were strict adherents to the Qur'aan and Sunnah and condemned the following of man-made laws shows the utter foolishness of the writer.
And most importantly of this article is the authors ignorance concerning Hadith. It is not allowed for a Muslim to reject hadith - this is kufr even, so the fact that he does so should take away all credibility as this is a command from Allah, and also shows disrespect to the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Summary of Hadith Rejecters' Claims
1. A) We, Quranists, do not make a distinction between obeying Allah and obeying His Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Anyone who obeys the Qur'an has no other option but to obey the Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, too. Had we been living with him, we would have no hesitation in blindly following his orders. We do make a distinction but that is between Allah and Hadith collectors like Bukhari, Muslim, Nassai, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud. We accept Allah's Word that He has protected the Quran from corruption, but why should we accept the words of these hadith collectors? Are they as infallible as Allah?
1. B) Qur'an is sufficient and does not need any further explanation.
2. Hadith is the same as the gospels of Christianity. Indeed the time span between death of Messenger Muhammad, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and the compilation of Sahihs was almost the same as that between the departure of Jesus, Alayhis salam, and compilation of the Bible. How can Muslims reject one but accept the other?
3. Dr. Maurice Bucaille finds that Saheeh is as unscientific as the Bible.
4. The Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, may have elaborated on items like mode of salah. Such hadith is probably from the Messenger, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and should be obeyed. But what about the hadith that contradict the Qur'an.
5. The root cause of Muslim decay is their reverence for the hadith.
6. Allah has protected only the Qur'an -- not Islam -- from corruption.
7. Allah expects from His slaves exclusive servitude. When Sunnis talk of Quran and Sunnah, the Qur'an is undermined for its exclusivity is lost.
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"If anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger he is indeed on a clearly wrong path." [Al-Ahzab, 33:36]
"He that obeys Allah and His Messenger has already attained the great victory." [Al-Ahzab, 33:71].
For the past fourteen centuries Qur'an and Sunnah have been the twin undisputed sources of Guidance for Muslims. In every generation, the Muslims devoted the best of their minds and talents to their study. They learned both the words and meanings of the Qur'an through the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and made an unprecedented effort in preserving them for the next generation. The result: The development of the marvelous -- and unparalleled -- science of hadith, one of the brightest aspects of Muslim history.
What does it mean to believe in a Prophet except to pledge to follow him? And so the teachings of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, have always guided this Ummah. No body, in his right mind, could or did question this practice. Then something happened. During the colonial period, when most of the Muslim world came under the subjugation of the West, some "scholars" arose in places like Egypt (Taha Hussein), India (Abdullah Chakralawi and Ghulam Ahmed Pervaiz), and Turkey (Zia Gogelup), who began questioning the authenticity and relevance of hadith. It was not that some genius had found flaws in the hadith study that had eluded the entire ummah for thirteen centuries. It was simply that the pressures from the dominant Western civilization to conform were too strong for them to withstand. They buckled. Prophetic teachings and life example -- Hadith -- was the obstacle in this process and so it became the target.
Another factor helped them. Today most Muslims, including the vast majority of the western-educated Muslims, have meager knowledge of hadith, having spent no time in studying even the fundamentals of this vast subject. How many know the difference between Sahih and Hasan, or between Maudau and Dhaif? The certification process used in hadith transmission? Names of any hadith book produced in the first century of Hijrah, or the number of such books? A majority probably would not be able to name even the six principal hadith books (Sihah Sitta) or know anything about the history of their compilation. Obviously such atmosphere provides a fertile ground for sowing suspicions and doubts.
They call themselves as ahle-Qur'an or Quranists. This is misleading. For their distinction is not in affirming the Qur'an, but in rejecting the Hadith. The ideas of munkareen-e-hadith evolve into three mutually contradictory strains. The first holds that the job of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, was only to deliver the Qur'an. We are to follow only the Qur'an and nothing else, as were the Companions. Further, hadith is not needed to understand the Qur'an, which is sufficient for providing guidance. The second group holds that the Companions were required to follow the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, but we are not. The third holds that, in theory, we also have to follow the hadith but we did not receive ahadith through authentic sources and therefore we have to reject all ahadith collections!
Internal contradictions are a hallmark of false ideologies. How can anyone hold the first position yet profess belief in Qur'an while it says: "And We have sent down unto You the Message so that you may explain clearly to men what is sent for them." [An-Nahal, 16:44]. And this: "Allah did confer a great favor on the Believers when He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs (Verses) of Allah, purifying them, instructing them in Scripture, and teaching them Wisdom. While before that they were in manifest error." [A'ale Imran 3:164].
How can anyone hold the second position (limiting the Prophethood to 23 years) yet profess belief in Qur'an, while it says: "We did not send you except as Mercy for all creatures." [Al-Anbia, 21:107] And, "We have not sent you except as a Messenger to all mankind, giving them glad tidings and warning them against sin." [Saba, 34:28]
The third position seems to have avoided these obvious pitfalls, yet in reality it is no different. Consider statements 1, 4, and 7 in the summary of hadith rejecters' claims. So hadith undermines Qur'an's exclusivity, yet would have been followed blindly at the time of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Ahadith cannot be followed because they are not reliable, yet can be followed for ritual prayers.
Salah And Hadith Rejecters
But we don't need a favor for hadith about salah (coming from the same books and the same narrators who are declared as unreliable). We need an answer to this question: If the Qur'an is the only authentic source of Guidance, why did it never explain how to offer salah, although it repeatedly talks about its importance, associating it with eternal success and failure? What would we think of a communication that repeatedly emphasizes a certain act but never explains how to perform it? There are only two possibilities. Either it is a terrible omission (and in that case it cannot be from God) or another source for the how-to information is provided and it is a terrible mistake for any recipient to ignore that.
(Recently some hadith rejecters have realized the difficulty of their position on salah. But they have made a claim that is even more ludicrous, namely that the Qur'an gives details on how to offer salah. "A careful reading of the Koran reveals that we are to get our Salaah from the Masjid-el Haraam [the continuous practice at Mecca since the time of Abraham]," says one proponent, "specifically the 'place of Abraham (moqaam e Ibraheem).'" Let us leave aside all the practical questions about such a fluid answer. Whose Salah? When? Are we to follow anyone and everyone we find praying at Muqame Ibrahim? How are those offering salah there are to determine proper way of offering Salah? How do you resolve their differences? In his enthusiasm in proposing this innovative solution, this proponent even forgot that the Qur'an says the following about the salah of mushrikeen at the Masjid-el Haraam: "Their prayer at the House of Allah is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands. (Its only answer can be), 'Taste the chastisement because you blasphemed.'" [Al-Anfal 8:35] )
The Reliability of Resources
To accept one and reject the other source on the basis of reliability (statement #2) also defies reason, unless we received the Qur'an directly from Allah. But we have received both Qur'an and Hadith through the same channels. Same people transmitted this as the Word of Allah, that as the word of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi was sallam. Even the verse claiming that Qur'an will be protected came to us through the same people. Through what logic can anyone declare that the channels are reliable for Qur'an and unreliable for Hadith? On the contrary the Quranic promise of protection must apply to Hadith as well for there is no point in protecting the words but not the meanings of the Qur'an.
Protection of Qur'an
To say that Allah promised to protect only Qur'an but not Islam (#6) is being as ridiculous as one can get. Let's ignore the obvious question regarding the point of this Heavenly act. The question is if Islam has been corrupted and its true teachings have been lost, how can anyone claim to be its follower? Moreover, Qur'an says "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost" [A'al-e-Imran, 3:85]. How are we to follow the religion acceptable to Allah if it was not to be protected?
Were Ahadith Written Down for the First Time in the Third Century of Hijra?
The above proves that ahadith must have been protected. Were they? The very existence of a huge library of hadith -- the only one of its kind among the religions of the world -- answers the question in the affirmative. To dismiss all that as later day fabrication (#1A, #2) requires lots of guts -- and equal parts ignorance. Were ahadith written down for the first time in the third century of Hijra? Not at all. Actually hadith recording and collection started at the time of the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Abd-Allah ibn Amr ibn al-'As, Radi-Allahu unhu, sought and was given the permission to write everything he heard from the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa Sallam, who said: "By the One in Whose Hands is my life! Whatever proceeds from here [pointing to his mouth] is the truth." He produced Sahifa Sadiqa, which contained more than six thousand ahadith. Anas ibn Malik, Radi-Allahu unhu, who spent ten years in Prophet's household, not only recorded the ahadith but also presented them to the Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and got corrections. Abu Hurairah, Radi-Allahu unhu, had many volumes of his collections and even produced smaller compilations for his students. Prominent Hadith scholar Dr. Mustafa Azami has shown in his doctoral thesis that in the first century of Hijra many hundred booklets of hadith were in circulation. By the end of the second century, "by the most conservative estimate there were many thousands."
Of course most of these books do not exist today. They were simply absorbed into the encyclopedic collections that emerged in the third century. One manuscript from the first century was discovered in this century and published by Dr. Hamidullah. It is Sahifa Hammam ibn Munabbah, who was a disciple of Abu Hurairah, Radi-Allahu unhu. It contains 138 ahadith. Muhaddithin knew that the ahadith of this Sahifa had been absorbed into Musnad Ahmed and Muslim collections, which have been published continuously since their third century debut. After the discovery of the original manuscript it was naturally compared with the ahadith in Muslim and Musnad Ahmed that were thought to have come from that Sahifa. And what did they find? There was not an iota of difference between the two. Similarly Mussanaf of Abd al-Razzaq is extant and has been published. As has been Mu'ammar ibn Rashid's al-Jami. These recently discovered original manuscripts bear out the Sihah Sitta. The recent appearance of these original manuscripts should bring the most skeptical into the fold of believers.
Saheeh and the Gospels
Regarding comparison of Saheeh with Gospels (#2), let's listen to Dr. Hamidullah. "The compilation of the Gospels, their preservation and transmission from one generation to the other, has not taken place in the way which governed the books of Hadith... We do not know who wrote them, who translated them, and who transmitted them. How were they transferred from the original Aramaic to Greek? Did the scribes make arrangements for a faithful reproduction of the original? The four Gospels are mentioned, for the first time, three hundred years after Christ. Should we rely on such an unauthentic book in preference to that of Bukhari who prefaces every statement of two lines with three to nine references?"
The Comments of Dr. Maurice Bucaille
Dr. Maurice Bucaille earned the admiration of many Muslims because of his study of some scientific phenomena mentioned in the Qur'an and his testimony based on that study that Qur'an must be the Book of Allah. However he is not a hadith scholar and it is unfair to drag him into this discussion. His account of history of hadith compilation contains many errors, for example the claim that the first gathering of hadith was performed roughly forty years after Hijra or that no instructions were given regarding hadith collection. He questions about a dozen or so entries in Bukhari that he thinks deal with scientific matters. Even if all that criticism were valid, would it be sufficient ground to throw away the 9082 total entries (2602 unique ahadith) in Bukhari? He himself does not think so, for he writes: "The truth of hadith, from a religious point of view, is beyond question."
The Hadith Regarding the Sun
But even his criticism is of questionable value. Consider the hadith about the sun: "At sunset the sun prostrates itself underneath the Throne and takes permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then a time will come when it will be about to prostrate itself... it will seek permission to go on its course... it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the West." His criticism: "This implies the notion of a course the sun runs in relation to the Earth." Bucaille fails to understand the real message of this hadith. It was not meant to teach astronomy. Its clear message is that sun is a slave of Allah, moving always through His Will. The hadith brings out that message very powerfully so that even the most illiterate bedouin would understand it fully. Moreover Bucaille should know better than to criticize the implied notion of sun's rotation around earth. Even today the astronomers, when calculating the time of sunrise and sunset, use a mathematical model in which the sun revolves around the earth. If that is acceptable for scientific work as it makes calculations easier, why is it questionable, when it makes communication easier?
Also there are other ahadith which clearly demonstrate a scientific fact beyond the knowledge of the times but Bucaille has failed to take notice. For example the hadith about solar eclipse: "The sun and moon are two signs of Allah. They are not eclipsed on account of anyone's death or on account of anyone's birth." (Muslim, hadith #1966]. The eclipse had coincided with the death of Prophet's son. A false prophet would have tried to exploit the occasion. A fabricated hadith would require scientific knowledge that did not exist then.
The munkareen-e-hadith think that their beliefs are built on solid rock. Well, it is as solid as wax: The religion based on this idea can be fitted into any mold. For some hadith rejecters that was the motivation. For everyone, that is the inevitable result. But the good news is that their arguments are the same way. On the surface they appear to be solid. But faced with the light of truth, they melt away like wax.
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I fear if I continue further with this it will make me angry and waste undue time. So I'll just end saying that this whole article is utterly wrong and thus you should flush it, and it's confused wrong ideas down the drain insha'Allah.
Narrated AbuRafi':
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regarding me which I have commanded or forbidden [i.e. from the Sunnah -ed.] and saying: 'We do not know. What we found in Allah's Book [i.e. the Qur'an] we have followed.'" Book 40, Number 4588 of Sunan Abu-Dawud
The following links should clarify the position of ahadeeth in Islaam:
Please read:
Following/Believing the Hadith
Links from there:
What Are the Quran And Sunnah? Why Do Muslims Have To Follow This?
Important: The Science of Hadith, What Are Hadith?
Former threads:
Question regarding Hadith
Following Hadith question
The Qur'aan needs hadith, and we Muslims need it as well. Those who dont follow it dont know how to make Salaah, or Hajj or many of the other aspects of Islaam, so they must be muslims just up in there heads.
Forgive me for sounding harsh, but I detest the rejection of Hadith when it's command has been given so clearly! And I detest when people put down the scholars or the Companions of the Prophet
when they assuredly knew and understood him and his religion best!
They can rationalize their views all they want, but May Allah guide them!
------------- Just to read -----------------
The Science of Hadith
Bismillahi wal hamdulillah wassalatu wassalamu ala Rasoolillah,
Ilmul Hadith is the science of the study of hadith. What defines “Hadith” will be mentioned later, but to begin with I would like to emphasize that the science of Hadith is one of many religious sciences. Just looking at the fundamental sciences there is Usul-Al-Quran (fundamentals of Quran), Usul Al-Hadith (fundamentals of Hadith), Lughah (language, including balaghah, Fasahah) and Usul al-Fiqh (the fundamentals of Fiqh).
The science of Hadith is one that is dependent on the science of Quran but also one that is necessary for the proper understanding of Quran.
A point I would like to make now is that there are people out there who question the necessity of hadith, in fact, the Qura’niyoon claim that hadith is irrelevant and that they will only study Quran. This is a ludicrous claim.
Allah says in Quran: “[2:129] Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom, and sanctify them: for Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
They keyword here being that the messenger is to teach them the book AND impart wisdom upon them. Even the Sahabah had problems understand some of the language of Quran.
In sourat Al-Hashr Allah tells us: “[59:7] So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you.”
He also says: “[4:65] But no, by thy Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction.”
Finally, Allah says: “[4:59] O ye who believe! obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is best, and most suitable for final determination.”
Overall, I believe it is blasphemy on Allah subhanahu wa taala to believe that he sent an irrelevant or faulty messenger. If the messenger was irrelevant and added nothing to the religion, then why didn’t Allah send down the book in one piece? Why pass it to us through a messenger?
Now a look at some of the terminology used in conjunction with this science:
1-Hadith:
a) In a linguistic sense, “hadith” means a communication or a story.
b) From a technical perspective (relative to the science of hadith): It is the collection prophet’s deeds, statements and concessions. In addition to this, any traditions that carry a description of the Prophet (PBUH) and his physical appearance and properties are considered hadith, such as “Ash-Shama’il Al-Muhammadiyah.”
In Quran, the word hadith is used. Allah refers to Quran as being “Ahsan Al-Hadith” (39:23) which means the best of messages or the best of words. He also warns “[68:44] Then leave Me alone with such as reject this Message (hadith): by degrees shall We punish them from directions they perceive not.”
2-Sunnah:
a) Hadith is often referred to as “As-Sunnah.” The word “Sunnah” is used interchangeably with the word “Hadith” especially when we are talking about the sources of Islamic Jurisprudence (First is Quran, second is Hadith or Sunnah).
b) Sunnah also means the Prophet’s way of life.
c) Sunnah is also a Fiqh Rank when discerning the rulings of the different issues. Such deed is sunnah means that it is recommended or emphasized.
The importance of hadith:
The Prophet (saaw) was a walking Quran. He was the manifestation of Quran on earth. And the companions were very aware of this. This is why they accompanied him. This is why they have the title “Companions of the Prophet (saaw).” The term “Companion” is not used loosely. Not everyone who became a believer at the time of the Prophet (saaw) is a companion, only those who got to to meet him (except for one man whom the Prophet saaw referred to him as a companion even though he could not come and meet the prophet saaw).
The Companions of the Prophet (saaw) realized his value and so they put an unbelievable amount of effort to be with him and to record and cherish everything he said and did. Omar (raa) had a deal with another companion that they would alternate, one would go out and work to provide for his family while the other would stay with the prophet and record all that he said and did. At the end of the day they would share what they learned.
Abu Hurairah is another example. Though he became a Muslim fairly late in the Prophet’s years of Prophethood, yet he has the most narrations of all the Prophet’s companions. It is because as soon as he became a Muslim, he became one of Ahlu-Suffah (poor companions who stayed at the mosque of the Prophet saaw) and he dedicated his life to accompanying the Prophet (saaw) and learning from him. So much so that some companions have tested him because of his many narrations and he passed their tests..
This tradition was kept so closely that if the Prophet (saaw) did something in the original tradition, the narrators through out time have did the exact same thing. There is a whole category of hadith called “Al-Musalsalat” in which the narrator would say “and then the prophet (saaw) did this..” and he would the exact same thing the prophet (saaw) did. For example, smile, or shake hands or entwine ones fingers with another’s fingers (tashbeek). This is how precise these people maintained that tradition, that even if the Prophet (saaw) would do a gesture they would be sure to mention it and repeat it.
The need for the science of hadith:
The science of Hadith is a very specific and exact science. The science of “Jarh wa Ta’deel” (examination of the narrators), is one that has very specific and clear laws and fundamentals that we will touch upon.
The ahadith (plural of hadith) of the Prophet (SAAW) went far and wide. The Companions of the Prophet (SAAW) went far away from Madinah. Just consider that the army that conquered Mecca was 10,000 strong and there were only a few thousand companions in Madinah during the time of Omar (RAA). When you consider that each companion probably did not narrate the hadith or tradition to just one person but a group of students, then you can imagine the tree getting wider and wider.. And so the necessity of collecting this tradition becomes apparent.
The Collection of Hadith:
The earliest collections of hadith were done by the Companions themselves. Some Companions kept scrolls of hadith. We know that Abu Bakr (RAA) kept a collection of hadith.
Yet, most of the tradition of hadith was transferred in spoken form. The first collection of hadith was done by Abu Bakr ibn Hazm and was commissioned by Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz. Following that, many famous collections were made, the first and most prominent is the Muwatta’ of Imam Malik, this was followed by many others such as Musnad Imam Ahmed, Sahih Al-Bukhari, Mustadrak Al-Hakim and so forth.
Transmission of Hadith:
There are eight ways in which hadith can be transmitted from one person to another as the scholars of hadith have discerned:
a) Listening: The recipient of the hadith listened to the transmitter of the hadith and memorized it from him/her.
b) Presenting: The recipient of the hadith retold it in the presence of the transmitter and he approved of that narration. This is particularly important in our time. We live in the information age. There is an abundance of information, but there is a lack of Ilm. Because information is being transferred carelessly. It is important to note that those who reported hadith as transmitted from others without their permission were known as the “Thieves of Hadith.”
c) Permission: The transmitter of the hadith has given the recipient permission to narrate ahadith from him.
d) Handing down: A book of hadith was given by the transmitter to the recipient and he was allowed to narrate from it.
e) Written: A written message was sent from the transmitter to the recipient that contained the hadith.
f) Made known (I’lam): To inform about ahadith. This means that the informer informs someone that the he the [informer has the permission to transmit a certain book of hadith on a certain scholar’s authority. Some scholars permit this while others reject it.
g) Bequest: The transmitter stated the hadith in his bequest to the recipient.
h) Found: The recipient came upon a work by the transmitter that contained this hadith.
This was noted down by the scholars of hadith, and how the hadith was transmitted adds value to the authenticity of the hadith. For example, when relating ahadith, often you will see the authors of the books of hadith write “Hadathana” or “Akhbarana” or sometimes they would just write “’an folan ‘an ilan” (word “’an” means this hadith was reported “by” so and so). These are not random words and are not used without consequence. For example, “Hadathana” denotes that the teacher read to the student and the student is reporting that, while “akhbarana” means that the student himself read it to the teacher and was approved of the way he memorized it.
The study of hadith:
Scholars have given the study of hadith a great weight. They argued over how early one can start studying it and how one can perfect it. Some said as early as 10 years, others said 12, 15 or 20. Incidentally, one scholar said a child can start learning hadith as soon as he can tell the difference between a cow and a donkey. J
As an example of how early you can begin, Imam Shafii memorized all of Imam Malik’s Muwata’ when he was only 10.
Authentication of Hadith:
Why Authenticate hadith? Why go through all the different ranks and levels and scrutiny of each narrator?
The main reason was to preserve hadith from being corrupted and altered by ideological and political influence. That is, to protect hadith from fabrication. Fabrication had many reasons, some were political, some were simply personal interest. Still, once the fear of people making up ahadith and attributing them to the prophet became a real one, scholars of religion began to dedicate themselves to preservation of the prophetic traditions.
Hadith Ranking:
The ranks of hadith were devised by scholars of hadith to evaluate the chain and the body of the hadith and give it a rank that helps weed out fabricated ahadith. It should be noted that even these rankings are not absolute. Some scholars of hadith were more strict than others. The scholars of hadith themselves are ranked as “Mo’tadel” (moderate) such as Al-Zhahabi, “Motashaddid” (strict) such as Ibn Al-Jawzi and Ad-Daraqutani and “Mutasahil” (Lenient) such as Al-Hakim.
When determining the authenticity of a hadith, the scholars examine the body of the hadith and the chain of narrators. The chain is examined for two things, frequency of narration and continuity to the prophet. In addition to this, each narrator in the chain is evaluated for his honesty and strength of memory.
Frequency of narration:
a) Mutawatir: A mutawatir hadith is one that is narrated by a group of people in each level of its chain. An example of “tawatur” is the fact that Antarctica exists. It is something that a large group of people saw (either in real life or satellite photos) and then reported to a greater host of people who then wrote it in books to the rest of us. Mutawatir comes in two types:
1. Literally: Meaning that we have many copies of the hadith narrated by different people but all the exact same words. Those are very few among the collection of prophetic tradition.
2. Contextually: This means that the hadith is narrated by many people in each level of the chain but not in the exact same words. There are many such ahadith and most of them form the fundamental of Islamic beliefs and jurisprudence.
b) Ahaad: This type constitutes the majority of the prophetic traditions. It is the hadith that only has a few concurrent narrators at each level in its chain of narration. This in turn is divided into a few subgroups. It is important to understand that in the categories below, the number listed represent the fewest number of concurrent narrators at any level in the chain. So, for example if a hadith has 6 companion narrators (that is level 1) and then 8 tabieen narrators (level 2) and then 2 level 3 narrators and then 12 level 4 narrators, then the width of this hadith’s chain is “2” which is the width of the chain at level 3 because that is the narrowest that the chain got to. So, this hadith would be Aziz (chain width of 2) even though it is narrated by 6 Companions and ultimately 10 people. Here are the types of Ahaad hadith:
1. Mashhoor (famous): It does not mean famous among people, but frequently seen. This is the hadith that has a minimum chain width of three.
2. Aziz (precious/rare): It is the hadith that has a minimum chain width of two.
3. Gharib (stranger): It is the hadith that has a minimal chain width of one.
4. al-Fard (single): This is of two types: (fard mutlaq): where this particular hadith was transmitted by that particular person only. Or (fard nisbi) this has different meanings (1) none of the trustworthy narrators transmitted this hadith except this person, or (we can say) others narrated it as well but they were not trustworthy. (2) none of the scholars from any other region transmitted it except scholars from one region.
Continuity of Narration:
a) Marfoo’: Connected to the Prophet (SAAW). Means the Companion narrator specifically stated that the Prophet (SAAW) said this.
b) Hokm Al-Marfoo’: Connected by reasoning. When the Companion did not mention it is a saying of the Prophet (SAAW) yet it is a matter that could have only come from the Prophet (PBUH).
c) Musnad/Mutassil: Fully connected, this means there are no missing gaps in the chain, everyone in the chain heard it from the person directly before him in the chain.
d) Mawqoof (stopped): the hadith is the saying of the Companion.
e) Maqtoo’ (cut): the hadith is the saying or teaching of a tabi’ee (generation after the Companions).
f) Mursal: The Tabi’ee narrates that the Prophet (SAAW) said without mentioning the Companion who told him this.
g) Mu’alaq (hanging): There is a discontinuity in the chain at the beginning.
h) Munqati: There is a discontinuity in the chain in the middle.
i) Mo’dal: There is a gap of two narrators in the chain.
j) Mo’an’an: Narrated through the use of “’an” as explained before.
k) Musalsal: Narrated including a gesture or act by the Prophet (SAAW) that is included in the tradition.
Ranks of Hadith:
Now we examine the different rankings of hadith which as we said is a function of examining the hadith’s chain as well as its body.
a) Maqbool (accepted): This means the hadith is accepted as proof in Islamic Jurisprudence. So that a scholar of Islamic Law can hold this hadith to his peers as proof of his point of view. This is divided into:
1. Sahih (correct/proper form): This is the highest rank of authenticity and it has two sub ranks:
i. Intrinsic Sahih: Sahih because its chain and body have passed all the necessary bars.
ii. Sahih through other means: This means the hadith has slight flaws in its chain that should rank it as Hassan (see below) but because of other ahadith that may resonate the meaning the hadith is elevated to the ranks of Sahih.
2. Hassan (good/well): Like wise it can also be divided into intrinsic Hassan and Hassan through other means which may be a weak hadith originally.
b) Mardood (rejected): This denotes the ahadith that have serious flaws in their chain or body that prevent them from being a proof in Jurisprudence and law. They are divided into two types:
1. Da’eef (weak): This is ahadith that has flaws in its chain that cannot be reconciled. This does not necessarily mean the hadith is not true or that it is fabricated. It basically means that this hadith through this chain cannot be taken reliably to be the words of the Prophet (SAAW).
2. Mawdoo’ (fabricated): This is a hadith that has an obvious taint of fabrication into its chain or body.
Here is a list of the criteria for qualifying a hadith as Sahih:
a) No contradictions with Quran or other well established Sahih hadith.
b) Continuity of the chain of narrators.
c) No Ellah (defects). And there has been many works on the “Defects of hadith” by prominent scholars like At-Termizhi and Ad-Daraqutani.
d) And every narrator in the chain had to be Adil (Righteous), Truthful and Dabit (of strong memory).
If a sahih hadith fails some of these conditions, it is degraded into the rank of Hassan. Some flaws though would bring the hadith down to the rank of Da’eef.
I would like to interject here a note on the usage of Da’eef hadith. Some people treat Da’eef hadith nowadays as if it is useless. When someone says a hadith they say “Oh, I heard it is Da’eef” as if that somehow makes the hadith void. This is an incorrect approach, if hadith da’eef was useless, then why did all those scholars of hadith maintain it for 1400 hundred years? Why not just take it out? Da’eef has many uses in our life and it is well established that you can follow weak hadith in Fadha’il (moral encouragement/spirituality). There are works by great scholars of hadith on how and when to use Da’eef hadith. In fact, sometimes a Da’eef hadith can be used in Jurisprudence and taken as text. An example of this is the Prophet’s hadith that “there is no bequest for an heir” meaning that you cannot bequest part of your estate to someone who will inherit you naturally. This is a Da’eef hadith yet one that has been used by scholars of inheritance because it has been so widely accepted and practiced.
Terminology of the scholars of hadith:
Just so that can get a picture of the amount of work and dedication these scholars put into their work, let us look at the titles and ranks they hold:
A scholar who is called a “Hujjah” of hadith is one who memorizes at least 300,000 ahadith. A Hafiz is one who memorizes 100,000. A Hakim is one who memorizes all of the known ahadith.
If you find these numbers amazing. Consider this.. Imam Ahmad memorized one thousand thousand ahadith (not a type, that is one million). He said of them he knew 700,000+ that were Sahih. Abu Zar’a Ar-Razi memorized 700,00 ahadith. Muslim memorized 140,000 on Tafseer (explanation of Quran) and 300,000 ahadith in total. Imam Bukhari memorized 100,000 Sahih hadith and 200,000 that were not Sahih.
A final point to think about is that despite all their work, the scholars of hadith are still scholars of hadith. Being a scholar of hadith does not automatically make one a scholar of Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence). An obvious example of this is Al-Amash who was one of the greatest scholars of hadith in the time of Imam Abu Hanifah. And when he was asked on a certain matter he said he knew no hadith on this matter. Yet Abu Hanifah gave a fatwah on this matter based on a hadith that he proclaimed that he heard from al-Amash. When Al-Amash inquired from Imam Abu Hanifah, the Imam explained to him how he used one of the ahadith that Al-Amash told him to view this and Al-Amash said “We (the scholars of hadith) are like the Pharmacists and you (the scholars of Fiqh) are like the Doctors.”
Question: Is there a certain science behind the naming of the books of hadith as Sahih Bukhari or Musnad Ahmad and so forth?
Answer: Yes, there is actually very specific terminology for naming books of hadith:
a) Sahih: Means the book only contains Sahih ahadith. Examples of this would be Sahih Al-Bukhari.
b) Sunan: Means the book is ordered in the ordering of the books of fiqh (that is, it begins with Taharah “purity” and then Prayer, fasting, charity…).
c) Al-Jami’: Means the book contains eight specific chapters in its index. Those include Seerah (life of the Prophet SAAW) and Tafseer (explanation of Quran).
d) Musnad: Means the book is indexed by the Sahabah (i.e. one chapter for ahadith narrated by Aysha, then one for ahadith narrated by Omar and so forth).
e) Mustadrak: A continuation of a work by a previous scholar. An example would be a scholar who would try to collect all the sahih hadith on Seerah. And then a later scholar would write a book that would append ahadith he believes the original author omitted or did not know about.
wasalam
