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Introduction
to Ahadith
It goes without saying that Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) has left us with two powerful sources for the
improvement of the individual, the society and for the nations, those are: the
Holy Quran and ahadith. The Quran was revealed to the Last Messenger (peace be
upon him) through the angel Gabriel. The ahadith show us the diversities a
single person can have, and the ways these diversities may be used to produce
an optimal performance, where the performance is exemplary for future
generations. This was one of the main tasks of the Last Messenger (peace be
upon him), to guide humanity on the right path.
Muhammad (peace
be upon him) was a son, a husband, a father, an advisor, a warrior, a leader, a
judge and most important of all, he was the Seal of the Prophets - the last messenger
of Allah. A man with such a character and such a vast field of responsibility
is indeed deserving of biographical study, and through the ages, biographical
researches have been carried out. The collection of ahadith is the result of
these researchers. The study of ahadith is a science itself. To mention some
branches within the study of ahadith, there is the science of Asma'ul Rijal (the science of study of
the life-history of 500,000 narrators), the science of Mustalih al-Hadith (the science of classifying a hadith as
authentic or weak), the science of Gharib
al-hadith (the study of the linguistic origins of the difficult words used
in ahadith). I have mentioned only three different sciences though this list
can extend to over 100. This again indicates the immense importance of ahadith
and the importance of understanding them.
The main source of ahadith can be found in
six sahihs C). These six sahihs are:
A.H. = After Hegira A.D. = Anno Domini
"In
preparing their collections, these Traditions obviously used a critical
technique to decide what they would include and what they should reject.
Bukhari, for example, examined 600,000 traditions of which he accepted only
7,397. There purpose was to assemble a body of traditions which would serve as
a rule of life for practising Muslims, so their primary interest was in
selecting such traditions as would give clear guidance concerning what Muslims
belief and practice should be, what things were permissible and approved, and
what were not permissible and disapproved."
(Shariah: The Islamic Law. by Abdur Rahman I. Doi: 54)
It should be quite evident from the
above-cited paragraph that the task of compiling ahadith was by no means
simple. Although the most painstaking techniques had been employed to decide
which ahadith should be included and which should be rejected there were found
grounds for classification of ahadith. The ahadith are therefore classified in
the following manner:
1.Sahih:
These are the genuine Traditions so declared after applying all tests.
2.Hasan: These are the fair
Traditions although inferior in the matter of authenticity to the Sahih.
3. Daif: These are the weak
traditions, which are not so very reliable."
(Ibid: 57).
Before I proceed,
I wish to explain the meanings of isnad and
matn, as the understanding of these
words is considered profitable for the reader. A hadith consists of two parts.
The chain of transmitters comprises one part while the message within the
hadith completes it. The former is known as isnad
while the latter is matn.
Continuing with the classification of ahadith, the daif ahadith are divided further:
a The Mu'allaq Traditions: These are those
Traditions in which one or two transmitters are omitted in the beginning of the
Isnad.
b. The Maqtu Traditions: These are
those Traditions which are reported by a Tabi'i, a man of second category after
the Prophet.
c. The Munqati Traditions: These are
the broken Traditions.
d. The Mursal Traditions: These are
the incomplete Traditions in the Isnad of which a companion (Sahabi) is
omitted, e.g. A Tabi'i says, the Prophet said....
e. The Musahhaf Traditions: These are
the traditions, which have a mistake in words, or letters of the Isnad or the
Matn e.g. Hasan is written as Hashan.
f. The Shadh Traditions: These are
the traditions with a reliable chain of reporters but their meanings are
contrary to other similarly attested Traditions narrated by the majority of the
contemporary transmitters.
g. The Maudu Traditions: These are
the fabricated and untrue Traditions."
(Ibid: 57).
I have now presented a very short
introduction to the background of ahadith. I would most strongly recommend the
interested reader to read the book "Shariah: The Islamic Law" by
Abdur Rahman I. Doi. It is a book, which I have used extensively and found most
interesting and informative. The same author has also published a book which is
titled "Non-Muslims under Shariah", another informative book which I
would recommend.
Lastly I would like to thank the people
concerned in providing me with the facility for distributing this collection.
Without their help, time, and effort, I am quite certain that this work would
not have come to the notice of so many people in so many places. May Allah give
them peace and bless them all. Amen.
Comments or
questions/queries can be forwarded to this email address tayyabriazz@yahoo.com.
Include the word "HADITHS" in the "Subject: " field of your
email when using the above-mentioned address. Thank you.
A Muslim student
Oslo, Norway
Wa akhiro dawaana unilhamdolillah Rabb-i-il
alaamin.
Ramdhan 1414
January 1994.
Last updated 7th
February 2000
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