A STUDY OF HADITH PAGE : FORWARD
By Dr. Khalid Mahboob Shaikh. 1996
The Qur’an is the last Word of God and the basic source of Islamic teachings and laws. Hadith, the teachings, sayings and actions of Rasulullah pbuh, which were accurately reported and collected by his Sahabah R.A . Explain and interpret the teachings of the Qur’an. The ‘Ahadith and the Sunnah are the second basic sources of Islamic teachings and laws.
I have divided this book into two parts: Part One comprises six chapters which deal with the Science of Hadith and Part Two consists of examples of Hadith. The majority of the ‘Ahadith, I have selected deal with social and moral behavior. In Part Two, I have given Arabic text with transliteration, translation, explanation and information about the narrators.
I am grateful that Dr.’Abdullah Ghazi, Executive Director, Iqra’ Foundation, who asked me to prepare a text book on ‘ILM-UL-HADITH’ for Muslim youth as part of Iqra’ Program of Islamic Studies
I express my heartfelt gratitude to Professor Muhammad Aslam Khan, my close friend, Mr. ‘Ali Asghar Chishti, Asst Professor, for their cooperation and suggestions and Mr. Habib-ur-Rahman for typing manuscript. I would request the readers who benefit from the book not to forget me in their prayers.
Khalid Mahmood.
ISLAMABAD – July 12th, 1995
(Please also don’t forget me and Janab Shujauddin Shaikh sahab in your prayers – Jazakallah)
A STUDY OF HADITH: By Dr. Khalid Mahmood Shaikh – Page: 1/2
CHAPTER 1.
THE HADITH: ITS MEANING CONCEPT AND CLASSIFICATION.
The Hadith in its Literal Sense:
The Arabic word Hadith in its real sense means a tale, speech, chat, conversation or communication. Used as an adjective it means news, modern and recent.
The Hadith in its Technical Sense:
In our Islamic Studies class, Hadith or Tradition means all the sayings, deeds, decisions of Rasulullah, Salla-(A)llahu alai-hi wa-Sallam(a), his silent approval of the behavior of his Sahabah R.A. and descriptions of his personality.
The Hadith and the Sunnah:
These two words are almost always used to describe the same thing by early scholars as well as
The present ones, though there is a slight difference in their meanings. Hadith really means a story or a report and so represents an account of what happened. The word Sunnah means a practice, a way or course, a rule, a mode or manner of life, a precedent, a custom. In technical sense, it implies the doings and practices of Rasulullah pbuh. The Sunnah the actual embodiment of the Will of Allah s.w.t shown in the actions of Rasulullah pbuh.
With the Muslims, these terms came to be applied to matters relating to Rasulullah pbuh and the customs followed by him and his Sunnah. Records regarding Rasulullah’s (pbuh) deeds, sayings and his reactions to things said or done in his presence were collected. When the study of these developed, they came to be known under the title Al-Hadith. The word Hadith which could be applied to any kind of story, was thus given a new meaning when used in connection with information about Rasulullah pbuh. So in summery, the Sunnah is what was practiced by Rasulullah pbuh.
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So, in Summery, the Sunnah is what was practiced by Rasulullah pbuh. And the Ahadith are the records of what was said and practiced by Rasulullah pbuh.
PARTS OF HADITH: AL—‘Isnad and Al-Matan
Soon after the death of Rasulullah pbuh the Sahabah had a special concern to safefuard the teachings and practices of Rasulullah pbuh. The life and the teachings of Rasulullah pbuh were fresh in the memory of his Sahabah r.a., so they were not rushing to record everything they remembered. Still, they wanted to make sure that their memory and narration of the Sunnah be correct and verifiable. Gradually, a whole system for preservation of ‘Ahadith developed, the like of which the world never seen. Several works containing collections of ‘Ahadith were compiled. Each Hadith was prefaced by a chain of narrators called Al-‘Isnad. Al-‘Isnad was the chain of people through whom the Hadith was transmitted. The second part of the Hadith is Al-Matn, the content, which reports the teaching or the incident. In this way, the Hadith compilers provided not only the information they had received from or about Rasullulah pbuh, but also, described its authentic source. Every Hadith or Tradition must have a chain (‘Isnad) as well as the Text (Matn). For instance, there is a Tradition taken from Sahih Al-Bukhari, the most authentic work of Hadith.
Al-Bukhari said that Sulaiman told him saying that ‘Isma’il b. Ja’far said that Malik informed him on the authority of his father that ‘Abu Hurairah related Rasulullah pbuh saying:
“The signs of a hypocrite are three: whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; whenever entrusted with something he proves to be dishonest”
In this Hadith or Tradition, the chain of narration is “Al-Bukhari said that Sulaiman informed him saying that’Isma’il b. Ja’far said that Malik informed him on the authority of his father that ‘Abu Hurairah related Rasulullah pbuh saying…”
And the text of the Hadith is: “The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he makes a promise, he breaks it; whenever trusted with something he proves to be dishonest.”
The Hadith first contains a series of names and then the actual subject relating to Rasulullah pbuh. The first part is called ‘Al-‘Isnad, while the actual statement or information relating to Rasulullah pbuh is called Al-Matn.
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MAIN DIVISIONS OF THE HADITH:
The scholars of the Hadith literature have divided the Traditions into three categories according to the degree of their reliability. These categories were based on:
1 The perfection or imperfection of the chain of their transmitters.
2 The freedom of the texts from any defects.
3 Acceptance of any Hadith by the Sahabah r.a., their followers (At-Ta’bi’un) and their sucessors (At-Tab’ baat-Ta’bi’ un)
1) As-Sahih: The Authentic Hadit:
The True: This name is given to the absolutely correct Hadith, in which there is no weakness. Both, its chain of transmission (‘Al-Isnad) and the text (Al-Matn) are sound and its text does not contradict any established belief of Islam. Thus, there are four characteristics of Al-Hadith As-Sahih:
1) Its chain of transmitters is continuous i.e., there is no missing person anywhere in the chain.
2) Every transmitter possessed the quilities of ‘Adl (righteous conduct) and Dabt (strong memory)
3) It should not be an isolated one.
4) It has no hidden defect.
2. Al-Hasan:
The Good. It is like As-sahih Traditon, except for the fact that some of its narrators have been found to have a weaker memory in comparison to the narrators of Sahih ‘Ahadith.
3. Ad-Da’if:
The weak. This refers to that Tradition in which there is some problem in either the chain of transmission, in proper understanding of the transmitter or in contents, which may be in disagreement with Islamic beliefs and practices.
Ad-Da’if Traditions are further divided according to the degree of problems with their reporters (ruwait) or in the text (Al-Matn) of the reporters.
A few of these divisions are as follows:
i) Al-Mursal: A Hadith in which a Tabi i transmits from Rasulullah pbuh directly, dropping the Sahabi from the Isnad
ii)
A Hadith in which a Tabi’i transmits from Rasulullah pbuh directly, dropping the Sahabi from Isnad.
iii) Al-Munqati’:
A Hadith going back to the Tabi’I only.
iv) Al-Mu’dal:
A Hadith in which two continuous narrators are missing in one or more places in the Isnad.
v) Al-Mu’allaq:
A Hadith in which one or two transmitters are omitted in the beginning of the Isnad.
Ahadith were also divided according to Al-Isnad, the number of narrators:
a) Al-Mutwatir: The Continuous:
A Hadith reported by large number of people at different times, that makes it impossible for any falsehood to enter it. This would make agreement upon a lie unthinkable. This condition must be met in the entire chain from its source to its end.
b) Al-Mashhur: Popular:
These are the ‘Ahadith which were originally narrated in the first generation by two to four narrators. Later, on their authority, these were narrated by several narrators.
c) Al-‘Ahad: One Chain of Isnad:
A Hadith which is narrated in first three generations by one to four narrators.
d) Al-Mawdu: The Fabricated:
A false Hadith, made up by some misguided people. This calss of ‘Ahadith hace been carefully uncovered by our learned Islamic scholars in the past. They have no place in true and authentic ‘Ahadith collections.
