hadith status and role - Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwiabulhasanalinadwi.org/books/hadith status and role.pdf · HADITH • STATUS AND ROLE An Introduction to the Prophet's Tradition

-HADITH•

STATUS AND ROLEAn Introduction to the Prophet's Tradition

Sayyed Abul al-I:Iasan (All I:Iasani Nadwi

UK ISLAMIC ACADEMY

www.abulhasanalinadwi.org

@ UK Islamic Academy, 2005 C.E. / 1426 A.H.

ISBN 1 872531 75 X (PB)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without the prim permission of the copyright owner.

Translated and Edited hy Adil Salahi

General Editor: Iqbal Ahmad Azami

Published byUK Islamic Academy

147 Mere Road, Highficlds,Leicester, LE5 5GQUnited Kingdom

Website: www.ukiabooks.cornE-mail: [email protected]

British. Library Cataloguing irl Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Design and Typeset by Muhammad al-Madani

:_,.",",, .~.

~. __ 0


CONTENTS

Introduction................................................................. 3

I: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF I:IADITH

Divine Wisdom Reflected by Hadith Sciences ... 10As Prophethood is Sealed............................................ 11Detter than Statues and Legends.................................. 11A Standard Measuring the Community's Worth ..... ..... 12Strong Motive for Reform and Resisting Deviation.... 14Delayed Documentation in the First Generation......... 14Hadith Collection and Documentation....................... 16Early Collection and Documentation. 18The Six Authentic Collections 19

Biographical Notes on the Authors of the SixAuthentic Collections.... 22

Imam al-Bukhari, author of al-jami ( al-~al:l!I:l.............. 23Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjfij al-Qushayii 28Imam Abu Dawud al-Sijistani 30Imam al- Tirmidhi 32Imam Ibn Majah......................................................... 34Imam al-Nasii'I 35Imam Malik ..; 36Other Hadith Collections 39Disciplines Introduced to Serve I:Iadi"th....................... 40The Need for the Sunnah Today 44


II: I:IADfTH AND THE PROMOTION OF

ISLAM[C CUM ATE AND ATTITUDES

Constituent Elements of a New Society 48

Perfect Islamic Life 49Qur' anic Morality....................................................... 51The Right Climate..................................................... 54The History of Earlier Prophets 56Biographies of Prophets.............................................. 58Fair Judgement Criterion 63Motivation for Reform............................................... 64Historical Evidence 65A Permanent Record.................................................. 68A Full Record............................................................ 69J::IaclithRecording..... 71Islamic Sense and Temperament.................................. 72New Motives to Reject the Sunnah..... 73Bound to Fail .'............................................... 74

Bibliography................................................................. 79

4


III the name of Allah, Most Grac;ous, Most Merdfu!

Introduction

HADITH AND THE SHAPING OF ISLAMIC LIFE

Perhaps no discipline has been subject to such attack overthe entire period of Islamic history as has Hadith. Attackshave been mounted from every quarter; some openly hostile,others subtle; some assuming an academic guise, otherspretending to give due importance to the Qur'an. Thefact is that since the early divisions within the Muslimcommunity, leading to momentous changes in the leader-ship and the way the Muslim state was run, the Prophet'sstatements and traditions became a free-for-all, frequentlyraided by people who had no love for Islam or the Muslimcommunity. Several groups of widely differing interestsfahricated statements which they attributed to the Prophet,hoping to win support for their own political ambitions ordeviant ideas. Some even came up with fabricated state-ments encouraging people to be stronger in faith and morediligent in worship. Whcn reproached for their action andreminded of the authentic hadith sternly warning anyonewho knowingly attributes a falsehood to the Prophet, theyabsurdly retorted: "We are fabricating statements for him,not against him."

5


HADlTH: STATUS AND ROLE

Since hadith fabrication was rife during the period ofsplits and divisions, scholars of the highest calibre rose tothe task of verification and authentication of abadtth. Theirefforts produced fine results, developing the Hadith corpus,a highly scholarly discipline that is unique to Islam and theMuslim community. No other nation or civilization hasanything approaching such a thorough and meticulousmethodology to verify the heritage of its founders. This hashelped Muslims throughout history in following and practi-sing their faith. It is particularly important to remember thatmany Islamic practices, including the main types of worship,such as prayer, zakat [i.e. obligatory charity] and pilgrimage,cannot be correctly offered or practised without referenceto the Prophet'S a~ladlthfor guidance.

In more recent history; attacks against the Hadith becamemore frequent, particularly since the second half of thenineteenth century.A number of Orientalists tried hard todiscount the importance of the discipline. Goldziher andSchacht even questioned the most fundamental elementin Hadith study, namely, its reporting. With Orientalismadopting a general stand that is less outwardly critical ofIslam, such attempts are given a distinctly academic tone.Nevertheless, they could not stand up to careful exami-nation, and were shown by Muslim scholars to be basicallyflawed.

Other attacks on Hadith in the twentieth century camefrom people who, as Muslims, professed to have the bestinterests of Islam at heart. There were several such attempts,some with political backing. They all tried to undervaluethe importance of the Hadith, claiming that Muslimswould do much better if they would only rely on theQur'an. Such people struggled hard to show that Islam can

6


INTRODUCTION

be followed and practised in total disregard of the Hadith.All such attempts have come to nothing. How could theydo otherwise, when the importance of following theProphet's example is embodied in the first article of theIslamic faith, and expressed in the very declaration requiredof everyone who wants to be a Muslim. When we declareour belief that 'there is no deity other than God, and thatMuhammad is God's Messenger,' we actually pledge tofollow the Prophet in whatever he tells us as part of God'smessage. To argue that it is not incumbent on Muslims tofollow the Prophet's Sunnah, which is embodied in theHadith, is to undermine Islam altogether by making thesecond part of the declaration devoid of substance.

Contemporary Muslim scholars have shown how hollowsuch arguments are. They have explained that without theSunnah, no one can properly follow the Qur' an. Theydemonstrated the truth of a statement by earlier scholarswho said: 'The Qur'an needs the Sunnah, more than theSunnah needs the Qur'an.'This is perfectly true, because itis through the Sunnah that we learn how to implement theQur'an.

It is by the grace of God tha t we have today a numberof thorough scholarly studies defending the Sunnah asthe second indispensable source of Islamic legislation.Besides, we have nothing to worry about with regard tothe authenticity and reliability of the Sunnah. Attackswill continue to be voiced by suspect writers and aspirantsto fame. But these will always meet the same fate asearlier ones: they will be short-lived whilst the Sunnahwill remain a shining source showing Muslim individualsand communities how to conduct their lives in order toenjoy happiness both in this present life and in the lifeto come.

7


HADITH: STATUS AND ROLE

The present book includes two pamphlets on Hadith,written in fine literary Arabic. The first introduces theHadith discipline and its development in the early periodof Islamic history, up to the production of the six famousanthologies known as the Six Authentic Collections, or al-$i(la~ al-Sittah. The other pamphlet tackles the role ofHadith in shaping the social climate in Muslim societies.Together, the two explain the need for Hadith in anyMuslim community, and the reliability of its sources. Assuch, they are useful to most readers, including those whoare well versed in the discipline. AbuJ-Hasan Nadwi showsthat without Hadith, no Muslim community can have thesort of social environment that Islam always produces. It hasbeen my personal privilege to undertake the translation ofthese pamphlets.

LondonRajab 1426 A.H.August 2005.

Adit Salahi


I

An Introductionto the Study of Haditn

9


~JJ • .:?;J I_.;..I____/I" -1.;1 ,.

In the name ifAllah, Most Gracious, Most ll1crc!fitl

DIVINE WISDOM REFLECTED BY

HADITH SCIENCES

The study of Hadith is a science to which God guidedthe Muslim community in its early periods to pay muchattention to. Thus the Muslim community has worked hardto preserve, document, and disseminate it, as well as tocollect, check and ensure the accuracy of every hadithattributed to the Prophet ~. Indeed it has given muchattention to every discipline and branch of study related toHadith, This dear guidance reflects God's wisdom and thespecial care He attached to the preservation and perfectionof the Islamic faith. It has given the Muslim community aninborn and powerful motivation that it cannot suppress oroverlook. It works like an effective drive, which is apparentlytoo powerful to resist, but inherently too gentle to constituteany burden. On the contrary, the Muslim community derivesmuch pleasure and inspiring gratification from respondingto this powerful motivation. Hence, efforts have always beenexerted, difficulties removed, and journeys undertakenin order to seek and collect a~iidith from their reporters andtransmitters. Great care has been taken to ensure theaccurate reporting and transmission of a~adlth from onelocality to another. To this end, countless scholars, endowedwith great intelligence and scholarship, dedicated them-selves. Indeed no other community or civilization in thehistory of mankind can demonstrate similar care given to adiscipline or branch of study.

10


AN [NTROIJUCTION TO THE STUIJY OF HADITII

As Prophethood is Sealed

All that we have said reflects God's definite purpose. It provesthe great care God has attached to Prophet Muhammad'smessage, which is the final message He has sent to man-kind, outlining the law that He has laid down for humanlife in all generations and communities to the end of time.It was His guidance that spurred the Muslim communityto undertake different types of study at different times, aswas necessary for a clear understanding of His message.Thus, we find the Muslim community paying much atten-tion, at different times, to the preservation of the Hadith,and to the deduction of rulings and their detailed applica-tion; to the pursuit of sciences derived from the Qur'an,such as linguistics, word-derivation and stylistics; to theproduction of dictionaries and the establishment of schoolsto teach the Qur 'an and the Sunnah, as also paying specialattention to character refinement, morality and self puri-fication; to addressing the essence of faith and achieving aspecial degree of excellence in faith; and to paying carefulconsideration to the Prophet's guidance for the well beingof heart and soul. These and other aspects of the guidanceGod has given to a long line of scholars, who combined arefined degree of faith and piety with in-depth knowledgeand dedicated pursuit of learning, provide very clearevidence that, with Muhammad's message which He hasperfected, God has brought the line of prophethood to itsconclusion. It also indicates that divine care and pre-servation of Islam, as well as His support of its advocates,will never fail.

Better than Statues and Legends

Prophet Muhammad ~ occupies a unique position alllongall God's messengers and great men in history. He is the

11



one about whom our knowledge covers all aspects of life,including his habits, manners, inclinations and desires, aswell as his words and deeds, in detail and to an extent thatis unmatched by our knowledge of anyone who diedrecently, or even of those who are our contemporaries. Allthis is due to the study of Hadith which has documentedfor us his blessed life in all its details.

Old civilizations and followers of ancient religions usedto draw images and paintings, or build statues of theirprophets to represent them and to serve as reminders tocontemporary and succeeding generations. This traditiongave birth to idolatry, as such statues came to be seenas idols and objects of worship. Different nations andcommunities continue to suffer from this legacy. God hasbeen very kind to the Muslim community and to humanityat large when He prohibited the drawing of images ofprophets and historical figures or the erecting of statuesfor anyone. He substituted all this by the Hadith whichprovides a great number of speaking images that give usthorough knowledge of the Prophet ~. We feel the happi-ness of his company as though we are with him, listeningto his guidance, witnessing his actions and studying his life.For such a wealth of information to have been lost wouldhave been a disaster of tragic proportions.

A Standard Measuring the Community's Worth

The Hadith also provides an accurate barometer for reformersto evaluate the trends prevailing in their community so asto determine the extent of any deviation in the course itfollows. An appropriate balance in morality, manners andactions can only be achieved through the Qur'an and theHadith combined. This is the only way to fill the vacuumthat occurred when God's Messenger f®; passed away. Sucha vacuum is part of God's law in this life.

12


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF I;IADiTH

"Muhammad is only a Messenocr: all messengers havepassed away bifore him ... " [AI 'Imriin 3: 144].

"You, [Muhammad.] are certainly bound to die, and they,too, are certainly bound to die." [Al-Z umar 39: 30 J.

The Hadith provides an accurate representation of aperfectly balanced life. It outlines detailed directives bythe Prophet ~ that are full of wisdom, and rulings that theProphet ~ applied to Islamic society. Without these, theMuslim community would have erred so as to eitherindulge in excess or be complacent. Thus, imbalance wouldhave prevailed. Furthermore, we would have lost thepractical example God has required us to follow:

"In God's Messenger you certainly have a j!,ood example tofollow ..." [Al-Ahzab 33: 21].

" Say: II you love God,follow me; God will love you andforgive you your sins. " [AI 'Imran 3: 31 J.

Indeed it is from the Prophet's example that we deriveconfidence and strength, as well as reassurance that theimplementation of Islam in life is both easy and practical.

13


HADITH: STATUS ANI) ROLE

Strong Motive for Reform and Resisting Deviation

The Prophet's Hadith, which is a name that covers hisverbal statements and practical guidance in general, is fulloflife, at once both powerful and persuasive. It has alwaysstrengthened people's motives to follow the Prophet'sguidance and enhanced their God-fearing sense. It continuesto motivate people to resist corruption and deviation fromthe right path. The Hadith has indeed been the primefactor in the rise of many a reformer calling for eman-cipation that eliminates unwarranted practices, superstitionand un-Islamic traditions, and advocating a full return to

Islam in its pure and original version. Hence, for the Muslimcommunity, the Hadith is essential. It must be collected,documented and disseminated.

Delayed Documentation in the First Generation

Although a few of the Prophet's companions wrote downthe ahadith and had their own collections, 1 many ofthem, particularly 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ~, were highlyreluctant to do so. {Umar ~ was very wise, and endowedwith exceptional foresight in whatever related to the interestsof Islam and Muslims as well as to the future of the Islamicreligion. He, and others among the Prophet's companions,preferred to allow some time to pass before payingattention to the writing down and circulation of ahadith.Dr Mustafa al-Siba'I, an eminent contemporary specialistin I:Iadlth, rightly says:

Added to this was 'Umar's desire that they should notfrequently quote the Prophet's hadith so that people

1 Al-Siba 'I, Mustafi, Al-Sunnali wa lvlakiinatu!Jii fi al- Tashri' al-Islami,Damascus, pp. 58-66.

14


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF f-:lADiTH

were not be preoccupied with hadith in preferenceto the Qur'an.? At the time, the Qur'an was still a newrevelation which the Muslims needed to study,memorize and make sure of its meanings. Al-Sha 'blquotes the following report by Qurazah ibn Ka 'b:"We set out on a journey to Iraq. 'Umar went withus to Sirar, He then stopped, did his ablutions andoffered a two-Yak 'ah prayer before saying to us: 'DoYOll know why I have walked this far with you?'Wesaid: 'Yes.We are the Prophet's companions and youliked to walk with us.' He said: 'You will come llponpeople who recite the Qur'an frequently, making anoise similar to the buzzing of bees. Do not give themthe hadith to divert their attentions. Pay moreattention to the Qur'an and make only infrequentquotations from God's Messenger ~. Set forth and Iam your partner.' When Qurazah arrived in rraq,people asked him to tell them something of theHadith, but he refused, saying, "Umar has ordered usnot to do SO."'3

'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (may God have mercy on him)reports that 'Umar 4& intended to write down the hadith,

2 As happened in earlier religions and communities, when divinerevelations became inextricably mixed with statements by prophets,scholars, and comrncntar ies on scriptures, etc. The best example is theJews' attitude to the Torah and the Talmud. It is often the case thatthe Talmud is more revered and relied upon than the Torah. Indeedthe Jews often recite and study the Talmud, which contains the verballaws and other Jewish traditions, more extensively than the Torah.The Ialmud, which is often found in 12 volumes, contains commentaries,footnotes and quotes from rabbis and other Jewish figures.

3 Al-Siba 'I, op.cit. p. 63, quoting Ibn 'Abd al-Barr,jam;' Bavdn al-'JIm. Vol.2 , p. 120.

15



and he consulted the Prophet's companions. They allsuggested that he should do so. However, he waited for amonth, seeking God's guidance. One morning he felt hehad received such guidance. He said to the people:

"I intended to write the Prophet's Sunnah, but 1remembered a community before you who wrotebooks and became preoccupied with studying them,abandoning God's book. By God, I am not going tolet anything be mixed with God's book."4

Hadith Collection and Documentation

This task, most important as it was for the legislative,practical and scholarly future of the Muslim community,was, by God's will, destined to be undertaken by the laterCaliph, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aziz, who was none otherthan 'Umar ibn al-Khatrabs own grandson. Indeed, thefirst task he addressed after taking over as Caliph was thecollection and preservation of ahadith. In doing so, hedemonstrated his far-sightedness and sharp intelligence.Thus, he emulated his maternal grandfather, 'Umar ibnal-Khattab ~, who had earlier advised and urged Abu-Bakr ~, the first Caliph, to collect the Qur'an into onestandardized version. By 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Azizs time,there was no longer any fear that the ahddith. might bemixed up or confused with the Qur' an. The number ofpeople who knew the Qur'an by heart and the number ofscholars who devoted themselves to the Qur'an in all areasof the Muslim world were too great to allow suchconfusion. This was in full realization of what God hadstated and promised:

4 Ibn 'Abd al-narr,jilmi' Dayan al- '11m.Vol.1 p.7().

16


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Of l:fAuITH

"It is We who have revealed this Reminder; and it is f#who will preserve it." [Al-Hijr 15: 91.

'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aiiz wrote (0 Abu Bakr ibn Muhammadibn 'Arnr ibn Hazm, the Governor of Madinah, who wasa scholar in his own right:

"Collect what you can of the a~liid;:th of God'sMessenger and write them down; for I fear thatknowledge may be lost and scholars may dwindle."

He also directed him to pay particular attention to thetwo collections of Hadith belonging to 'Arnrah bint'Abd al-Rahman, a female An~ari scholar, and Qasim ibnMuhammad ibn Abu Bakr, both of whom had devotedspecial attention to ahadith.

The effort 'Urnar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aziz started was notconfined to Madinah and its governor. He wrote to thegovernors of all provinces instructing them:

"Collect what you can of the a~liid;:th of God'sMessenger."5

Nor did 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aziz limit his efforts to justurging scholars and governors to undertake this task. Hetook further measures to facilitate it, including allocatingsalaries for scholars, so that they could devote all their timeto this pursuit without having to attend to earning theirliving by other means. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Hakamreports:

5 Abu Nu 'ayrn al-Asbahaui, Tarlkh Asbahan.

17



'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Aziz sent Yazid ibn Malik andal-Harith ibn Muhammad to the desert areas toteach the Sunnah to people, and he approved salariesfor both of them, Yazid accepted the salary but al-tlarith refused, saying: 'I would not accept a salaryfor disseminating what God has taught me.' Whenthis was reported to 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Azlz, hesaid: 'To the best of my knowledge, there is no harmin what Yazid has done, but may God gIve ourcommunity many more like al-Harith."

Early Collection and Documentation

What took place during the short reign of 'Umar ibn 'Abdal- 'Aziz, with regard to collecting the Hadith and committingit to "writing, was not an unprecedented development. Interestin writing down the Hadith started during the lifetime of theProphet tiJ. and shortly after his death, but the process wasneither official nor systematic.Works of history and biographymention a number of Hadith collections attributed to thescholars who undertook the task of collecting and writingthem. Hence, we know that 'Abdullah ibn 'Arnr ibn al- 'A~had his collection of Hadith which he named al-Sadiqah,?'Ali ibn Abi Talib 4fo had his $a~l!fah,II while Anas had his owncollection which he took with him when people gathered tolisten to a~iidlth. Hadith collection and writing was alsoreported to have been undertaken by 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, ';l

'Abdullah ibn Mas 'ud1O and jabir ibn 'Abdullah c.~.11

6 Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam, Sirat 'Ultl.1r ibn 'Abd (11- 'AZIZ, p. 167

7 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, op.cit.Vol. 1, p. 72.il Al-Hukhari, .5a~lih, Kitiib al- 'IIm, Bal) Kitiibat al- 'JIm.Y Al- Tirrnidhi, al- "llal.10 Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, op.cit. ,VoL 1, p. 72.11 Muslim, Sahil).

18


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF I:IADiTH

Indeed, the $a~lifahwritten by Harnrnam ibn Munabbih(d. 101 or 102 AH). who was a student of Abii Hurayrah, theProphet's companion, indicates a process of development inHadith documentation. For it was written as dictated byAbu Hurayrah, who died in 58 AH, to Hamrnarn. This isindeed the oldest collection we have in full. 12

By the middle of the second century, scholarship incollecting and documenting Hadith gathered momentum.Its main figures during this century were Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (d. 124 AH), Ibn Jurayj of Makkah (d. 150), IbnIshaq (d. 151), Muamrnar of Yemen (d. 153), Sa Td ibn'Arubah of Madinah (d. 156), al-Rabi ' ibn Subayh (d.160), Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 161), Malik ibn Anas, the authorof al-Muwatta', (d. 179), al-Layth ibn Sa(d (d. 175), Ibn al-Mubarak (d. 181). Numerous other scholars followed intheir footsteps.P

The Six Authentic Collections

Thus, Hadith was the subject of much care and interestby the Muslim community, second only to the Qur'an.

12 Hammarn ibn Munabbih's $a~11fi1l1 was discovered in the manu-script departments of the libraries of al-Zahiriyyah in Damascus,Berlin and the University of Ankara. It was then published in fourinstalments in the magazine of the Arabic Language Academy,Majallat al-Majma' al- "llmi al- 'Arabi, Damascus, 1953. It was laterpublished separately 'Withscholarly editing in a book entitled $a!"fohHammdm ibn Munabbih, by Dr Muhammad Hamidulliih, Haydcrabad,1955. The book, published ill Urdu, includes a Est of the Hadithscrolls and documents written during the Prophet's lifetime.

13 For a detailed discussion of collecting and documenting Hadith inthe first two centuries of the Islamic calendar, please refer to M.M.Azarni, Studies in Hadith 1'vletiwdo/o,,<y and Literature, American TrustPublication, Indianapolis, 1977, and Studies ill Harly Haditn Literature,(the same publisher), 1978.

19



Scholars of high calibre and great integrity and achievementdedicated their efforts to its collection, documentation, andcareful checking for maximum accuracy and authenticity.Their efforts were instrumental in collecting from thenumerous sources scattered all over the Muslim world anumber of accurate and verified anthologies of Hadith.The most important of these are the six agreed by scholarsof Islamic studies, and Hadith in particular, to be ahead ofthe rest in accuracy and authenticity. These are al-jsmi ( al-$ablb by al-Bukhari, al-jam:' al-$abllJ by Muslim, al-J(lmi'by al-Tirrnidhi, al-Sunan by Abu Dawiid, al-Sunan by al-Nasa'I, and al-Sunan by Ibn Majah.14 Scholars refer tothem collectively as the Six Authentic Collections.

Among these six collections, two are even more distin-guished than the rest, and widely more accepted andstudied. These are al-jami' ai-Sahih by Muhammad ibnIsmail ibn Ibrahim al-Ju'afi al-Bukhari (d. 256), and al-jdmi'al-$a~ll~lby Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naisapuri(d. 261). Together they are referred to as al-$abllJiin, or theTwo Authentic Ones. If a hadith is related in both thesetwo collections, it is said to be muttafaq 'alayh, which means'agreed upon'. This gives it an even higher degree ofauthenticity In his book, Iflljjat Allah al-Biilighah, the mostauthoritative Hadith scholar in later generations. ShaykhAhmad ibn 'Abd al-Rahirn al-Dehlawi (d. 1176 AH), states:

"As for the two $abi1.1collections, scholars of Hadithare agreed that any hadith they relate which has acontinuous chain of transmission going up to theProphet ~ and directly quoting him is certainly authentic.Scholars are also agreed that these two collections

14 Imam Malik's al-Muwatta' should be included with these. We willspeak about this later.

20


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STU[)Y OF l:iA[)ITI I

enjoy the grade of mutau/dtir up to the two scholarswho collected and produced them. Anyone whobelittles them is a deviant person who follows a lineother than that followed by true believers."15

The six authentic collections continue to be animportant resource for reform and sound Islamic thoughtin the Muslim community. Scholars and advocates oflslamcontinue to refer to them for a proper understanding ofIslam and for clear thinking on its priorities. They basetheir efforts and arguments on the a~/adlth related in thesecollections, which form the basis of their advocacy ofTslamin its true form and their campaigns against deviation andcorruption. No one who wants his Muslim community toregain a pure Islamic image can do without these sixcollections. How else can he establish a relationship betweenhis community and the life of the Prophet ~ whose examplewe are required to follow? Moreover, they are an indis-pensable resource for scholars who need to deduce rulingsfor contemporary situations.

15 Al-Dehlawi, lfujjat Allah al-BiiliXhah, Vol. 1, p. 106.

21


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON THEAUTHORS OF THE

SIX AUTHENTIC COLLECTIONS

IMAM AL-BurU-lARI,16 AUTHOR OF AL-JAMI< AL-$AljIlj

Abu 'Abdullah, Imam Muhanunad ibn Isma (1ibn Ibrahimibn al-Mughirah ibn Bardazbeh al-Ju 'afj al-Bukhari, theauthor of the $llh-lI:l and other collections and classifications,was born in the month of Shawwal 194 AH, correspondingto 810 CEo He lost his father in his childhood. Mter havinglearnt all the a~liidith related in his hometown, he travelledwith his mother and brother in 210 AH to Balkh, beforegoing on to Makkah, Basrah and Kufah, where he studiedunder the leading scholars of these cities. He then travelledon to Syria where he attended the main scholars in 'Asqalan,Damascus and Hums. He started to teach Hadith and toprepare collections and classifications of Hadith at a youngage, or 'before he had a single hair on his face,' as hisbiographers say. He was without peers in his intelligence,knowledge, worship and dedication. Among his largenumber of students who reported a~1adith learnt from himwas al-Tirrnidhi. He is quoted as saying: "I have writtendown what I heard from more than 1000 men." Muhammadibn Khamaraweih quotes him as saying: "I know by heart100,000 authentic ahiidith. and 200,000 a/:tiidilh which are less

16 OUf main source for all these biographical notes is 'l adhleirat al-r-I~tra?, by Imam Muhammad al-Dhahbi (d. 748)

22


AN INTRODUCTION TO THF. Snmv 01' tlADfTH

than authentic." Ibn Khuzaymah s..1.ys: "No one on the faceof the earth has better knowledge of Hadith than al-Bukhari," He died on the night of 'Id al-Fitr in 256 AH.

A Test of Peers

There are many reports about the excellence of a1-Bukhari's scholarship and his fascinating memory. One ofthe 1110stamazing reports mentions that on his arrival inBaghdad. a number of Hadith scholars thought of puttinghim to a test in order to establish whether his reputationwas deserved or not. After some deliberation, they came upwith a plan, selecting 100 ahiidith, and switching their textsand chains of transmission around, so that the text of eachhadith would have a chain of transmitters belonging to adifferent hadith. They selected ten scholars, giving to eachone ten of these a~Ladlth that had been tampered with. Theywere supposed to put these patched up afliidlth to al-Bukhari in public. They arranged with him a time for astudy circle in the main mosque which they all attended,including the ten scholars with the ahddith. in question, andthey invited a number of people so that the circle was wellattended by both scholars and laymen.

When the circle was in progress, one of the ten scholarsstood up and put to him the first of his ten tampered withahddith, asking him how he graded it, but al-Bukhari said:'1 do not know this one: He then put to him the remainingnine a~iidlth, but each time, al-Bukhari gave the sameanswer: 'I do not know this one.' The scholars who wereaware of what was going on whispered to one another:'The man has discovered the game.' But ordinary peoplefelt that al-Bukhari was a very ordinary scholar. The othernine scholars did the same asking him about each one oftheir falsified ahiidith, and each time he gave exactly the



same answer, giving no further indication of his under-standing. When all had finished, and he realized that therewere no further questions, he looked at the first man andsaid: 'Your first question quoted the following, but this isincorrect and the correct hadith is so and so. Then youasked me about the following and the correct version issuch and such.' He put to him all the ten questions in thewrong way the man had delivered them, and gave to eachthe correct version. He then did the same with the othernine men, quoting each of his ten questions and thenputting them into their correct versions, giving each textits correct chain of transmission and attaching each chainto its correct text. All people attending the mosque wereunanimous that he was a scholar of the highest calibre.

Imam Ibn Hajar, who wrote a voluminous commentaryon al-Bukhari's $a~lh comments:

"With al-Bukhari's high scholarship, it is no wonderthat he could put each hadith correctly.What is mostamazing is that he was able to repeat from memory allthose wrong a~ladlth, in the order they were put tohim, when he had only heard them once."

Distinctive Characteristics of al-Bukhari's $a~;:~

We do not know of any book of a religious nature, by ahuman being, which has been subject to as manycomments, explanations and annotations by scholars insuccessive generations as has this book which is consideredthe second most accurate work after the Qur' an. In earlierperiods, commentaries, interpretations and annotationswere the methods which revealed the extent to whichscholars cared about and were interested in a certain book.The more of these written about a particular book, thehigher its rank among scholarly works and the greater its

24


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HADiTH

fame in academic circles. Conversely, books that receivedlittle such attention were unlikely to receive public interest.As this was the only criterion to assess the success of anywork in earlier generations, we can decisively concludethat al-Bukhari's $abiJ.1 occupies prime position amongIslamic works produced anywhere in the world at any timesince the revelation of the Qur' an and the start of advocacyof the Islamic message up to the present day. No less than131 books by way of commentary and annotation havebeen written about al-Bukhari's authentic collection. Thenumber may be even greater. This total is based only on afew indexes compiled by scholars, such as Kashj al-Zununby al-Halabi, M!fta~ al-Sa (adah by Tash Kubra Zadeh, Itbq_fal-Nubald', al-Dibd] al-Mudhahhab, Nayl al-Ibtihaj, and theintroductions to various commentaries and annotations, aswell as al- Thaqiifah al-Isldmiyah fi al-Hind by 'Abd al-Hayyal-Hasani, the former Director of Nadwat al- 'Ulama' (d.1341 AH) and some of his individual research efforts.There is no doubt that the Muslim world is far wider thangeographers imagine and islamic history extends muchfurther than historians believe. There may be many atreasure hidden in a little corner.

Ibn Hajar's commentary known as Fat~ al-Bdri, in 13very large volumes and an extensive introduction, couldbe treated as a complete library in Hadith disciplines. Itis without equal in the history of any religious faith. TheMuslim community should proudly introduce this greatscholarly work to scholars and researchers in religion,philosophy and human civilization and culture. It providesclear evidence of the Muslim community's exceptionalscholarly efforts and advancement, and the extra care it hasalways taken of the Prophet's heritage, studying it thoroughlyand profoundly.

25



We do not in any way underestimate the value of othercommentaries written on al-Bukhari's $ah0, particularly'Umdat al-Qiirf by Badr al-Din al- 'Ayni in 11 volumes,constituting a complete library of linguistics and literarydisciplines, as well as in the deduction of rulings and otherconclusions. 17

The second important criterion to judge a book is thetime allocated to its study, and the keen interest in copyingand disseminating it, as well as competing in learning ormemorizing it. All this has continued, generation aftergeneration, and by one class of scholars after another, to theextent that the $a~lfl:twas never allowed to be out of keenacademic and scholarly interest during any period of history.Such keen interest has preserved it free of any distortion oralteration. We can say without fear of contradiction that al-Bukhari's ,5ahll.l enjoys such distinction, ranking second onlyto God's book, the Qur'an. No less than 90,000 scholars andreporters received this book from its author in chains oftransmission leading up to its compiler. It has attained therank of mutawiitir18 in its popularity and accurate reportingup to its author. No one will deny this except one whodoubts what is mutawdtir or proven scientific fact. The bookcontinues to receive much interest, study and research mscholarly institutions throughout the Muslim world.

17 We may also add the commentary known as Irshiid al-Sdri by al-Qasralani, in 10 volumes.

18 This describes a statement or a text reported by a number ofscholars or reporters at every stage which is large enough to precludeallY possibility of reporting something they know to be false: Editor'snote.

26


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF I:IADITII

Chapters and Notes of Special Importance

Scholars devoted to the study, teaching, classification andcommentary on Hadith are agreed that the chapter divisions,headings and notes made by al-Bukhari are of the finestquality, reflecting his keen intelligence. Indeed, his notesand headings are a distinctive feature, giving his work aposition of superiority among books of authentic abadtth,great as these may be. Furthermore, scholars are graded intheir excellence, originality and insight on the basis of theirunderstanding of this great book and their ability to unlockits treasures and uncover the author's purpose. No one isawarded a position of excellence in Hadith scholarship orteaching, experienced in such matters as he may be, unlesshe has studied this work in depth and presented it with trueclarity. Hence, scholars of both olden and recent times gavepriority in their attention to tills work and made it thesubject of much of their work. Indeed, no literary critic hasever made an effort into explaining and interpreting eventhe finest poems, rich as they may be in images and figuresof speech, which could approach, let alone exceed, theprofound effort exerted by scholars who wrote commen-taries on al-Bukhari's $a~tb. No other work has received asmuch attention as al-Bukhari's.

The great subtlety encountered in chapter headingsand notes made by al-Bukhiiri reflects his great variety ofpurpose and depth of understanding, as well as his excep-tional intelligence. r t also reflects a keen desire by theauthor to give maximum benefit to others. He may belikened to a bee keen to have its full capacity of finepollen in order to make from it pure honey that is certainto cure illness.

27



IMAM MUSLIM IBN AL-J::IAJJAJ AL-QUSHAYRI

Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-I:Iaiiaj al-Qushayri al-Naisapuriis said to have been born in 204 AH, and that he startedhis study of Hadith in 218. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal '",\TaS

among a large number of scholars from whom Muslimlearnt the Hadith. Many scholars have praised him highly,even during his own time. Ahmad ibn Salamah says:

'I know that Abu Zar 'ah and Abu Hatim put Muslim.ibn al-Haiiaj ahead of the top scholars of theirgeneration in his knowledge of authentic Hadith,

Abu Quraysh is quoted as saying:

. 'The top scholars of Hadith in the world are four.Muslim is one of them.'

Muhammad ibn al-Masarji reports that he heard Muslimsaying:

'I have sorted out this authentic collection fromthree hundred thousand a~1adTth I have reported fromother scholars.'

Ibn al-Sharqi quotes Muslim as saying:

'I have not included anything in this book of minewithout solid proof and I have not omitted anythingunless 1 have solid proof.'

Muslim died in the month of Rajab in 2f>1 AH.Like all great scholarly works produced by those who

have a high level of expertise, commitment and dedication,and who study under the leaders in their field, Muslim's$a/:tr1:~ has its own distinctive characteristics, the most impor-tant of which are:

28


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF J:IADfTH

1. It provides an easy reference tool. Muslim placeseach hadith at its most suitable place where heincludes all the versions and chains of transmissionhe has selected. Thus, students and scholars find iteasier to look at all the different versions, high-lighting the relevant points that appear througheasy comparison. It is also far more reassuring asregards the reliability of a hadith to look at all itsauthentic versions.

2. Moreover, Muslim includes the whole text of ahadith, long as it may be, at the same place. He onlyrarely repeats a hadith under different chapters orheadings.

3. The 8a~l~ by Muslim has only a short prologueafter which it addresses the task of reporting ahad"ith.It does not include anything else apart from highlyauthentic statements by selected people from thegeneration that succeeded the Prophet's companions,and the following generation, as well as some Fiqhtexts. It makes no attempt to deduce rulings.

4. Muslim also takes care to point out differencesof reporting, attributing any' statement to itsparticular reporter. Thus, he may say,'We have beentold by X and Z, but the actual text reproducedhere is the one by X, etc.' If the two reports differin certain wordings in the text of the hadith, or inidentifying a certain reporter, Muslim takes care tomention these differences.

5. It is the second highest ranking book of Hadithdedicated only to what is authentic. It is secondonly to al-Bukharis $a~li~.

29



IMAM ABO DAwLm AL-SIJISTANI

Sulayman ibn aI-Ash 'ath ibn Ishaq ibn Bashir al-Azdi al-Sijistani, who classified the Sunan anthology, was born in202 AH. He studied Hadith, listening to it being reportedby a large number of scholars in Hijaz, Syria, Egypt, Iraq,Persia and other places. He is quoted by top scholars suchas al- Tirrnidhi, al-Nasa'I and many others. His teacher,Ahmad ibn Hanbal, relates a hadith reported by him. AbuDawiid also showed him his own book for peer reviewand Ahmad commended his work. Muhammad ibn Ishaqal-Saghati says:

'The reporting of Hadith was made easy for AbuDawiid just like work with iron was made easy forthe Prophet David.'

Abu Dawiid is quoted as saying:

'1 have included in my book only what is authenticor very dose to being authentic. TfT include a hadiththat is clearly suspect, I make sure to point this out.'

AI-f:lakim Abu (Abdullah says:

'Abu IHwud was, without any doubt, the leadingfigure among Hadith scholars in his own time.'

Abu Dawud died in Basrah on 16 Shawwal 275 AH.Abu Dawiids Sunan is one of the books of Hadith which

have received universal acceptance. It has been the subjectof much care and attention by leading scholars of Hadith,placing it among the top reference books throughout allperiods of Islamic scholarly history. It is considered thethird or fourth pillar supporting the elevated structure of

30


AN iNTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Of l:1A1JiTH

the Sunnah. Shaykh al-Islam Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi,who wrote a commentary on Muslim's .>a~li)l,says:

'Anyone who studies Hadith, and indeed all people,should certainly study the Sunan by Abu Dawud andknow it welL Most ahddith. forming the basis of rulingsarc included in it. Coupled with this are its distinctivequalities of easy reference, and the expertise andattentive care of its author.

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, the author of Zad al-lvla{iid says:

'This book has become the final say in any dispute.It is the reference point for scholars of integrity anddiligence. '

The book has received great attention by scholars whocommented on it and annotated it. Perhaps one of its bestand most useful commentaries is Shar~ Ma'iilim al-Sunanby Hamad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Khattabi (d.388 AH). It includes many discussions of profound insightand useful detaiL 19

19 One of the more recent conunentaries on Abu Dawiid's Sunan is'Awn i11-A1'1'bod by Shams al-Haq al- 'Azim'abadi, Tills commentaryhas been published many times, with recent editions in 14 volumesplus 2 volumes of indexes.

31



IMAM AL- TIRMIDHI

Imam Abu 'Isa Muhammad ibn 'Isa ibn Sawrah al-Sularnial- Tirrnidhi, the author of Al-Jiimi' and Al- 'llal, studiedHadith under Qutaybah ibn Sa (id, Abu Mus 'ab, Ibrahimibn 'Abdullah al-Harawi and many others. He acquired hisfine scholarly sense of Hadirh from al-Bukhari, In his bookAl- Thiqiit, Ibn I:Iibban says:

'Abu 'Isa was distinguished among scholars. He madecollections, classified, learnt by heart and comparedhis learning with others.'

Al-Hakim quotes 'Umar ibn 'Alk as saying:

'When al-Bukhari died, he left nobody in Persia whocould excel Abii 'Isa in his knowledge, memory, pietyand dedication.'

Among the numerous scholars who received the Hadithfrom al- Tirmidhi was none other than al-Bukhari, Al-Tirrnidhi died in Tirrnidh, or Termiz as it is often spelled,on 13 Rajab 279 AH.

Al- Tirmidhi is distinguished as being the first scholarever to go into what we call today comparative Fiqh. Weare greatly indebted to him for the preservation of theconclusions of the different schools of Islamic law in hisgeneration. Without him, much of this would have beenlost. This is the main distinctive quality of his book, al-Jamie, which is not shared by any other Hadith anthology.It is one of the most reliable reference books and the oldestthat tackles differences over legal issues. It is particularlyimportant in giving the views of some schools that havenot survived, such as those of al-Awza '1 and al-Thawri and

32


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HADITH

Ishaq ibn Rahaweih. One of its important features is thefact that it has preserved for later generations the views ofImam al-Shafi (1'S old school.

Al- Tirrnidhi's book, al:}iimi', is practically the mainreference in identifying the a~adlth of the hasan or 'acceptable'grade, which is a grade of authenticity that is a little lowerthan "a~lll_1or authentic. This represents a wealth of invaluableinformation that cannot be overlooked. We do not knowof any of the great scholars of Hadith who has given thisaspect similar attention. Imam AbCI 'AIm ibn al-Salah says:

'Al- Tirrnidhi's book is definitive in knowing thehasan a~1iidlth.It is he who has given it its name andgave it frequent mention.v"

AI-Tirmidhi paid particular attention to the study ofreporters' reliability which constitutes the disciplines knownas 'Llm al-RUiil and (11m al:}ar~ u/al- Ta "dil. The first studiesthe personal history of reporters and the second gives arating of the reliability of each reporter, classifying him orher as reliable, acceptable, or rejected. Further classificationslllay be included under these headings. Certain aspects ofthe study of chains of transmission are the exclusive reserveof al-Tirmidhi, and these are only known to people ofhigh achievement in Hadith studies. The book has manyother special features.

20 Ibn al-Salah, 'U[i:i/tl al-hadith, pp. 14-15.

33



IMAM IBN MAJAH

Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Majah al-Qazwini, who classified Al-Sunan anthology and authoredother books on Qur'anic commentary and history, was bornin 209 AH. He attended many of the great authorities onHadith of his age. Abu Ya'li al-Khalili says: 'Ibn Majah is areliable scholar of high standing who has earned wideapproval. He is an authority on Hadith. He travelled to Iraqand Iran as well as to Makkah, Syria and Egypt.' His Sunanincludes some a~adlth that are not at the same level ofauthenticity as those given in other collections of $afllh andSunan. Ibn Majah died in 273 AH.Abu al-Hasan al-Qattan,a close associate of Ibn Majah, says: 'Al-Sunan includes 110

less than 1500 headings, but its mere total is not more thanfour thousand a~adlth.

34


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF J::IADfTH

IMAM AL-NASA'I

Imam Ahmad ibn Shu 'ayb ibn 'All ibn Sinan ibn Bahr al-Nasa'I of Khurasan in Iran, a judge and author of al-Sunan,was born in 215 AH. He studied Hadith listening toscholars such as Qutaybah ibn Sa'id, Isl_J.aqibn Rahaweih,and Hisharn ibn 'Ammar and many others of their calibrein (ran, Iraq, Hijaz, Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. He excelledin this field and was recognized as a leading scholar, and ameticulous Hadith expert who reported ahaditli with shortchains of transmission. He later settled in Egypt.

He authored, in Damascus, a book, Al-Khasii'is, on 'All'Scharacteristics, because he realized that many people didnot appreciate his importance, merit and high standing. Hethen wrote a book on the fine characters and characteristicsof the Prophet's companions. His contemporary scholarsdescribe at length his great devotion and his worship bothduring the night and the day. They also mention that hewas in the Egyptian army on one of its campaigns. AI-Daraqutni says that al-Nasa'i died in 303 AH, but we havedifferent reports concerning the place of his death. He is,however, buried in Makkah between al-$afi and al-Marwah.

35



IMAM MALIK

To complement these notes on the scholars who compiledthe six authentic collections we need to add a note onImam Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik, a scholar of the highestcalibre and the founder of one of the four major schools ofFiqh, or Islamic law. He is the author of Al-Muu/atta', one ofthe most celebrated books in Hadith scholarship. Chrono-logically, it comes before the six collections. Moreover, itled the way in various aspects of Hadith scholarship, andhas received universal acceptance. Nevertheless, the sixauthentic collections have received much care and attention,in scholarly and research circles. Hence, we had to introducethem ahead of al-Muwaita' and its highly respected author,the leading scholar of Madinah. If a scholar is introducedlater than his peers, it does not follow that he is less in rankor estccm.c'

Imam Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik, was a highly re-nowned and unanimously acclaimed scholar of Fiqh andHadith, the Imam of the Prophet's capital, Madinah. Al-Shifi'1 says:

'When scholars are mentioned, Malik is the staramong them,'

and,

'All scholarship in Hijaz would have been lost, had itnot been for Malik and Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah;'

and,

'No book of scholarship on the face of the earth ismore correct and accurate than ai-Muioatta',

21 Some scholars consider al-Muu/aua' as one of the six authenticcollections, in place of Ibn Majah's al-Sunan.

36


AN INT~OVUCTION TO TI IE STUDY OF f:IADiTH

Wahlb says:

'Among scholars of hadith, Malik IS the leadingfigure.'

His circle was characterized by seriousness and scholar-ship. He himself was held in awe, and he allowed no futileargument, idle talk, or loud voices. Strangers might ask himabout a certain hadith, and his answer would consist ofrelating one hadith after another.

In his book, Tadhkirat al-JjujJa~, al-Dhahbi says: 'Malikcombined a number of qualities which, to my knowledge,no other scholar enjoyed:

1. a long life and learning from early scholars;

2. keen intelligence, a penetrative mind and broadknowledge;

3. common acceptance by scholars of his high standingand accurate reporting;

4. universal acknowledgement of his piety, integrityand commitment to the Prophet's Sunnah; and,

5. his leading position in Tiqh, legal rulings and soundbasis'. He lived 86 years, as the most reliable reportputs his birth in 93 and his death in 179 AH.

Malik reported a~ljjdlth he heard directly from Nafi', al-Muqbiri, Na'im al-Mujammar, al-Zuhri, 'Amir ibn 'Abdullahibn al-Zubayr, Ibn al-Munkadir, 'Abdullah ibn Dinar andmany others. A countless number of Hadith transmittersreported what they heard from him. His school of Fiqh, orIslamic law, is followed in North Africa, from Sudan toMorocco, and was followed in the Andalus.

37



His book, Al-Muwatta', in two different versions IS

reported by two of Malik's most distinguished students.The first is that reported by Yahya al-Laythi al-Masmiidi ofthe Andalus. It is this version that comes immediately tomind whenever the book is mentioned. This has receivedgreat care and attention by scholars in the past and inrecent days. The other version is that reported by ImamMuhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, Imam Abu Hanifahsdisciple. Some Hadith experts give this latter versionpreference over the first for a variety of reasons.F"

One of the latest commentaries on this priceless bookis Awjaz al-Masaliie ild Muwatta' Malik by the renownedHadith scholar Muhammad Zakariyfi al-Kandahlawi. It ispublished with two introductions, one by the present authorand the other by Muhammad Yusuf al-Banniiri, a scholarof high standing. This commentary provides a wealth ofknowledge, is rich in material, and puts together muchvaluable information that is scattered across numerous bookson a wide variety of subjects. It can be aptly described as amini-encyclopaedia on Al-Muwatta' and its great author. It

22 The renowned scholar 'Abu al-H.yy ibn 'Abd al-Halim al-Ansaari of Luck now (d.

1304 AH) published a commentary on this version which is full of useful information

and valuable comparisons, entitled AI- Ta'liq ,,1-MII/I1~iiad 'ala ,'\i/'III'<lrra' lv1"hamnwd.

The book has been edited by Dr Taqiy al-Din Nadwi, and published in three volumesin Damascus with two introductions, one by the present author and the other byShaykh 'Abd al-Fartah Abu Ghuddah. It is an invaluable book for students and

scholars.

* Scholars differ in their views on which version is better. In fact, as ShavkhMuhammad Abu Zahrah, a leading scholar of the 20th century mentions in his hookon Imam Malik, "the difference between the two versions is not extensive, whichconfirms that they have the same origin, and their attribution to Malik is undoubtedlycorrect," Muhammad ibn al-Hasans version has a smaller number of ahad'fh in certainchapters. Most scholars prefer Yahya's version. Perhaps those who prefer the otherversion take into account that its reporter, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, mentions hisown views on questions in which h .. differs with Malik.just like he does with his ownteacher, Abu Harnfah. - Editor's note.

38


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF HADITH

also provides much useful information about India andIndian scholars of Hadith, including the author's teachers,as well as many essential principles, concepts and valuablehints and tips.

OTHER I:IADiTH COLLECTIONS

There are numerous other Hadith collections which havereceived wide acceptance, proving to be of great helpto scholars in consolidating the foundation of theirviews and schools of law. These include Al-Athar byImam Abu Hanifah, Al-Musnad by Imam Ahmad ibnHanbal, Al-Musnad by Abu Dawiid al- Tayalisi, SharhMa 'ani al-.Athar by al- Tahawi, the three Mu 'jams by ImamSulayman ibn Ahmad al- Tabarani, Al-Sunan by al-Daraqutni, Al-,'>'ahih by Muhammad ibn Hibban al-Busti,Sa~l~ by Ibn Khuzaymah, and Al-Ma,~ahlh by AbuMuhammad Husayn ibn Masud al-Baghawi who revivedthe Sunnah and repelled deviation.

To this rich list of books may be added Mishkiit al-Ma~abl~lby Muhammad ibn (Abdullah al-Khatib al- Tabrizi(d. 737 AH). This book has also been included in curriculaof J::-I adith studies, and has received good commentariesand annotations particularly in the Indian sub-continent. Ithas been brought to light and received its due attentionthrough books written on the history of Hadith writingand documentation, biographies and encyclopaedias.

39



DISCIPLINES INTRODUCED TO SERVE HADITH

For the preservation of the Prophet's Hadith and to preventdoubts being raised about its status and position, God hasguided the Muslim community to formulate disciplinesand methodologies which could serve only what God lovesto be preserved so that its benefit continues one generationafter another. These include:

1. '11m MU$tala~ al-Hadith (Hadith Terminology)

Scholars have written down the rules and principlesthey have formulated for sorting out authenticahadith. They classify hadith under three mainheadings, leading to the formulation of the HadithTerminology discipline, or '11mMustalan al-hadith. Thisdiscipline lays down methodological rules for theverification and authentication of reports. It is themost accurate methodology ever known in historyfor establishing true reporting.

<11m Mustalalt al-Hadith classifies reports intoauthentic or ~a~0, acceptable or hasan, and poor orda 'ft; and each of these is sub-divided into a number ofcategories. It outlines definite conditions concerningreporters and what is reported, and explains the in-consistencies and defects that affect reports, thereasons for rejecting reports or putting them asideuntil other factors come about to support them. Itprovides details of how the hadith is learnt fromscholars, and how it is transmitted and checked, aswell as the manners to be observed by Hadith scholarsand students. All such matters were previously dealtwith in separate areas, or were merely entertained orpractised by scholars during the first three generations.Subsequently scholars dealt with these in their

40


AN INTROOUCTIONTO TIlE STUDY OF HADiTl1

specialized works, following the same pattern ofdevelopment in other Islamic sciences.

Books written on Mustalan al-lfadith which haveproved vcry useful when they were incorporated inthe curricula of Islamic studies in the Indian sub-continent include Nukhbat al-Fikarfi Mustalah Ahl al-Athay, and its annotation, Nuehat al-Nazar. Bothbooks are by Imam Ahmad ibn (All ibn Hajar al-(Asqalanl (d. 852 AH)

2. 'Ilm alJar~1wal- Ta 'd,l (Grading of Reporters)

Another result of these blessed efforts is '11m al-Jar~1wal-Tit'dll, also known as 'IZ,n Mizan al-Rijiil which is adiscipline concerned with the reporters of hadith, theirintegrity, reliability, acceptability, accuracy of reporting,etc. It is an important branch of study borne out of thescholarly efforts of Hadirh specialists unparalleled in thehistory of any other nation. What gave rise to thisdiscipline was the keen interest of Hadith scholars togive accurate grading to hadith reporters in order toestablish the grade of every reported hadith. Scholarsused to test their own contemporaries and inquireabout earlier reporters, declaring their verdicts abouteach one without hesitation, because, to them, thiswas part of ensuring that only authentic a~ladith areattributed to the Prophet.

3. Fal1nAsmii' al-Rijal (Reporters' Names)

Scholarly efforts to serve the study of Hadith alsogave special attention to the identification of hadithreporters and transmitters. Scholars wanted to knowthe names of each reporter, their ancestry, the mainevents in their lives, their characters, truthfulness and

41



how good their memories were. Thus, while Godpromised His Messenger that he would continueto be remembered with great respect by futuregenerations, people who had a direct link with theProphet's heritage became themselves subject to studyby later scholars. They are now remembered withaffection and respect, which is a blessing they havereceived through the service they gave to Hadith.

So, a new discipline with the name Asma' al-Rijiilcame into being as a unique branch of study, one whichthe Muslim community is right to feel very proud of.It is indeed unique to Islam. In his English introductionto AI-Isiibah ft A~IWiil al-~a~iibah by Ibn J:fajar, DrSprenger writes: 'No community has ever beensuccessful in establishing a discipline similar to that ofAsma' al-Rijiil, which has given us the biography of noless than five hundred thousand people.'

Hadith scholars were not only interested ingrading the hadith reporters. They were committedto establish the truth about them and to state it inall honesty. Therefore, they collected whateverinformation they could about the character, habits,morality and manners of each reporter, and whateveris relevant to assigning to each of them their grades ofreliability, such as how accurate and meticulous theywere in their reporting, piety, knowledge and memory,etc. They also collected what the contemporaries ofeach reporter said about him, fearing no one andmaking no allowances for anyone, even though hemay be a powerful prince or an eminent scholar.There are numerous anecdotes that testify to theaccuracy of these scholars and their painstakingefforts in this regard, as well as their commitment to

42


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Of' J:fADfTH

the truth. In this, their work was a practical imple-mentation of the divine order:

'Believers! Be ever steadjast in upholding equity, bearingwitness to the truth for the sake of God, even thauJ?h itbe against yourselves, or your parents and kin.' [AI-Nisa' 4: 135].

Comparative Fiqh

Legal or Fiqh differences and different rulings and viewsled to a need to compare approaches and rulings advancedby schools and scholars in the light of the Qur'an and theSunnah generally, and in the light of ahddith. of differentgrades in particular, so as to give more weight to a particularschool or view. This task was undertaken by scholars ofdifferent schools, particularly the four main schools of law,and by specialized Hadith scholars. They wrote books oncomparative Fiqh, showing how to weigh up differentrulings and views on the same issue. These books reflecttheir authors' broad vision, profound knowledge and accuratequotations. We make no claim that all such books are freeof bias or favouritism, which may be unintentional. It isnot to be expected that any scholarly endeavour can befree of such bias. But such books on comparative Fiqh arevery useful.

Hadith Dictionaries and Glossaries

Hadith scholars across different periods produced dictio-naries and glossaries to explain terms and individual words

43


HADITH: STATUS AN]) ROLE

that occur in the text of different ahddith. Scholars havetaken care to explain such words in their books of commen-tary on hadith collections. For example, a1-'Ayni's 'Umdatal-Qarl, a voluminous commentary on al-Bukharis $a~1~tand al-Nawawi's commentary on Muslim's $a~ll~!.Hut thescholar who achieved special eminence in this area, whichis highly important in understanding the Hadith andimplementing it, was Muhammad Tahir al-Fattani (d. 986AH), an Indian scholar from the state of Gujurat. He wroteMajma ( Bi~ulr al-Anu/dr fi Ghra'ib al- Tanzi! wa Latd'i] al-Akhbiir, a 5-volume work which is indispensable for anyteacher and student of Hadith.

To make the value and importance of this book clear,we need only to quote a couple of sentences of its evaluationby an eminent Hadith scholar, the historian 'Abd al-Hayyal-Hasani (d. 1341 AH) in his 8-volume work, Nuzhat al-Khau/dtir wa Bahjat al-Masiimi' wal-Nawdzir, which is a bio-graphical encyclopaedia on Indian personalities. When hespeaks about Muhammad Tahir al-Fattani in Volume 4, hesays:

'He included in his book all the unfamiliar things inHadith and what has been written about it. It servesas a commentary on the six authentic collections. Ithas been universally accepted by scholars ever sinceits publication. Indeed, all scholars are indebted tohim for this priceless work.'

The Need for the Sunnah Today

We have spoken at length on the fact that the Hadith is anaccurate standard to evaluate the practical life of the Muslimcommunity at any time. Indeed the Hadith is a powerfultool to pinpoint the weaknesses of any Muslim community.

44


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STlIDY OF I.IADITH

It provides the education necessary for reformers. We havealso mentioned how history provides a clear testimony ofthe effectiveness of Hadith and the Sunnah in encouragingrevival and reform. 23

It clearly appears that those who advocate that we shouldfollow in the footsteps of Western civilization (sometimespartly, but far more often completely) have realized, byintelligence and experience, that the Hadith is the mostdifficult obstacle in their way. It is the Hadith that directlyruns contrary to their desires and ideas, as well as to theirway of life. It undermines their efforts or makes themcompletely useless, putting up the most difficult ofchallenges for them to overcome. Hence, they regard theHadith as their most important opponent. It is the one forcethat blocks their attempts to move the present Muslimgeneration from one civilization to another. They want theMuslim community to abandon its way of life based onIslamic teachings, and the Prophet'S example and guidancewhich God urges us in the Qur'an to follow.

@; .!~~t.::\MJ_;~~~5f~"Surely, in Cod's Messenger you have a good example foreveryone who looks forward to God and the Last Day, andremembers Godfrequently." [Al-Ahzab 33: 21].

"Say: !fyou love God,follow me; God will love you andforgive you your sins." rAl 'Irnran 3: 31].

23 Further discussion will be provided in the second pamphlet in thepresent volume.

45



In the Hadith and the Sunnah we have confirmation ofthe commendation of certain manners, values and practiceswhich the Prophet invites us to adopt, as well as unworthymatters the Prophet denounces, considering them part ofpagan life or as imitation of un-Islamic values and practices.Hence, such people target the Hadith with all their might,trying to make Muslims turn away from the Sunnah.They have used their undoubted intelligence and insideknowledge of the mentality of the Muslim community toturn the Muslims away from following the Sunnah andimplementing Islamic law as the Prophet did, They want astate of unrestrained licence, indulgence, the fulfilment ofall desire and the imitation of Western ways to prevail allover the Muslim world. Hence, it is important for theMuslim community in general and the advocates of Islamicrevival in particular to be fully aware of the role of Hadithin the promotion of an Islamic social climate and theadoption of an Islamic attitude to all life problems. This isbriefly outlined in the next pamphlet in this volume.

46


II

Hadtth•and the Promotion

of Islamic Climate andAttitudes

47


CONSTITUENT ELEMENTS OFA NEW SOCIETY

The mission of Prophet Muhammad ~ has been the sourceof every good thing and the origin of all that brings hurnanhappiness. Through it, a unique religious climate came intoexistence, giving rise to a similarly unique Muslim com-munity. Careful consideration of the practical methods andthe means used to bring this about is bound to reveal thatthe key to this amazing transformation lies in the threeconstituent elements of the new society. These are:

1) the Qur' an;

2) the Prophet's personality, how he conducted hislife and the moral values he laid down; and

3) the Prophet's teachings, directives and actionswhich are collectively called The Sunnah, includingthe Hadith,

These three clements were central to the fulfilment ofthe objectives of the Prophet's mission, shaping a newcommunity In fact, without these three elements no idealsociety could come into being, and no practical modelcould have taken shape. All three arc necessary in mouldinga social order which reflects Islamic beliefs, morality, practices,feelings, inclinations, common-sense, and social bonds. Apractical model is necessary for a faith to come alive, for inour world one lamp is lit by another.

48


l:IADITH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CUMA1'E AND ATTITUDES

The Prophet's companions, and their worthy successors,have provided a shining example for us, with their profoundfaith, commitment to Islamic moral standards, and practicaldedication to the cause of Islam. All this did not comeabout as a result of only reciting God's book and under-standing it. An equally important factor was the splendidideal they saw in their midst, giving directives, settingstandards of morality and behaviour, and providing practicalguidance that ensured a life of peace and happiness for all.All this was characteristic of Islamic life during the time ofthe Prophet (peace be upon him).

Perfect Islamic Life

These factors formulated a refined Islamic sense which isnot confined to observing the rules set and workingwithin specified controls. These were complemented withsound motivation and practical modalities, enhanced by aspirit of pure devotion, and strengthened by a keen desireto fulfil duties and give everyone their rights. Indeed theywere cultivated with a refined sense of purity and morality.

The standard-setting generation of early Muslims readthe Qur'anic orders to attend to prayers, and appreciatedthe praise the Qur'an gave to believers

"f;Vho humble themselves in their prayer." [AI-Mu'miniin 23: 2).

But they did not truly understand the proper way ofpraying until they offered their prayers with the Prophet ~and saw how he conducted himself when he bowed and

49



prostrated himself in prayer. They described his weepingwhen he prayed: it was as though

"his inside gave a sound similar to that of a boilingpan." (Related by Abu Dawfid and al-Tirrnidhi).

They learnt from the Qur' an that prayer was a believer'sfavourite preoccupation, but they could not appreciatehow a true believer longs for the time of prayer until theyheard God's Messenger say:

"Prayer is the apple of my eye."

He expresses his dear love of prayer as he addresses Bilal,his main caller to prayer:

"Call the prayer, Bilal, so that we may have ourcomforting solace."

They recognized the deep relation between the mosqueand a believer's heart as they contemplated the Prophet'sstatement enumerating seven categories of good believerswho will enjoy God's protection on the Day of Judgement.One of these is

"a person whose heart always inclines to mosques."

They knew how much the Qur'an encouraged suppli-cation, inviting people to be insistent in their praycr, timeafter time, and criticising those who felt too proud to prayto God to grant their requests. They certainly knew themeaning of prayer and supplication, but they did notappreciate it fully until they saw the Prophet ~ placing hisforehead on the ground in Badr and repeating an earnestsupplication, saying:

50


f:'!AniTH AND TIlE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

"My Lord! I appeal to You for the fulfilment ofYourpromise. My Lord! If it is Your wish.You would notbe worshipped on earth." (Related by al-Bukhari).

They also witnessed his anxiety that perturbed Abu-Bakr ¢;;, so much as to say to the Prophet that he had prayedenough, and that God was sure to answer his prayers.

The Prophet's companions were aware that the funda-mental thing about prayer and supplication is to say it inearnest, acknowledging one's complete submission to Godand total inability to benefit oneself without God's help.When supplication is manifestly characterized by suchacknowledgement, it is more valuable and more likely tobe answered. But they did not fully appreciate the truesense of submission to God and acknowledging one's weak-ness and lack of resources, making a passionate appeal toGod, until they heard the Prophet ~ pray in Arafat:

"My Lord! You hear my words and see me in myposition. You know my secret and what I do inpublic. Nothing of what I say, do or feel is hiddenfrom You. I am only a poor, helpless, afraid sinner whoappeals to You for help. I pray as a helpless, humblesinner, and appeal to You like a forlorn, sorrow-stricken servant of Yours. I hang down my headbefore You; let my tears flow in awe of You; andhumble myself before You. Let not my prayers gounheard. Be gracious to me.Yours is the best succourto be sought, and You are the most bountiful,"(Related in Kans: al- 'Ummiil on Ibn 'Abbas's authority).

Qur'anic Morality

The Prophet's companions read in the Qur' an that thispresent life provides only fleeting comforts, and that it is

51



the life to com.e that should be sought after. They under-stood the Qur'anic statement:

"The life of this world is nothino but a passing deliJ?htanda play; whereas the life in the hereaiter is indeed the onlytrue life, if they hut knew it." [Al-'Ankabut 29: 64].

But they only witnessed how this applied in practicewhen they saw the way the Prophet i3 conducted hisown life. They were able then to appreciate how thosewho set higher store by the life to come should conducttheir life in this world, and how their families should live.They not only saw the Prophet's practical example, butthey also listened to him as he described the terri hiesuffering endured by people whose actions incur for thempunishment in hell and, by contrast, the great happinessenjoyed by those whose actions earn them admittanceinto heaven. Thus they felt a mixture of fear and aspiration,as though they actually saw both heaven and hell withtheir very own eyes.

Similarly, they knew the meaning of words like mercy,humility, kindness, morality and similar ones used indivine instructions and directives. These were words oftheir own language. They fully understood the Qur'an.But they did not appreciate the broad scope of these andsimilar words and how they are properly applied in practicallife until they saw how the Prophet ~ treated the weak,handicapped, women, children, orphans, the poor and theelderly, as well as his own friends, companions, servants andmembers of his own household, and listened to his

52


l:IADITH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMlC CLIMATE ANI) ATTITUDES

admonition and his directives. They understood Qur'anicinstructions about the fulfilment of duties towards theMuslim community in general, but there are forms andpractices that relate to such fulfilment which are rarelyconsidered by people and, even if considered, are rarelyappreciated. These include practices like visiting the sick,taking part in funerals and blessing a person after he sneezes.

In the Qur'an we read firm instructions about certainvalues including perfecting one's behaviour, dealing kindlywith those who are entitled to certain rights, and beingkindly and dutiful to parents. I wonder whether, whenconsidering dutifulness to parents and kindness to relations,any professors of ethics, educationalists or psychologistscould have set their sights as high as the summit indicatedby the following hadith:

"It is one of the best types of dutifulness to parentsthat a person should extend a favour to the friendsand relations of his father after he has passed away."(Related by Muslim).

What ingenious mind could have attained the sublimelevel of devoted loyalty that the following report suggests:

"Sometimes the Prophet might have a sheep slaugh-tered, and then he would cut it into pieces and senda piece each to the old friends of his late wife,Khadijah,"

These are only a few of the great many examples citedin the ethical and social sections of anthologies of Hadith.They suggest the importance the Prophet attached todifferent aspects of life and his new teachings concerningsuch aspects. In all this, the Prophet's ahddith' provide aninvaluable treasure house of knowledge for all humanity.

S3



The Right Climate

Injunctions and commandments, regardless of religion orcommunity, are not sufficient to impart to any activity ahealthy atmosphere and sound form so as to make themeffective and influential. Thus, an order to attend regularlyto prayers will not, on its own, create the appropriate mentalattitude to prayers, nor will it generate the necessaryenvironment to establish and maintain prayers. Nor is itsufficient to help produce the spiritual, psychological,social, moral and religious effects of prayer. To achievethis a host of principles, rules, directives and teachings areneeded to add to the value of prayer and make it moreinspiring and effective. Hence, the Qur'an made ablutionand cleanliness prerequisites for prayer, and emphasized theneed for full awareness, humility, calmness and sincerityduring prayer and recommended that it should be offeredin congregation.

Needless to say, the more carefully and meticulouslythese external formalities are observed the better willprayer generate its spiritual, social and moral effects. Thosewho study the Hadith and the Prophet's life recognize thatthe Prophet's practical example, guidance and teachingshave made a priceless contribution which makes prayeran even better and more effective instrument in self-purification, moral and spiritual perfection and sinceredevotion. In addition, the Prophet's guidance enhances theeffectiveness of prayer in providing people with the rightperspective that attaches proper value to the life hereafterin relation to the life of this world. Furthermore, with theProphet's guidance prayer plays a greater role in educatingthe Muslim community and strengthening its sense ofunity and solidarity.

54


l:fADITH AND THE. PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

Take for example the emphasis placed on properlyformulating one's intention to perform the ablutions, andhow one should be conscious of this before starting. Takealso the reward promised for walking to the mosque; thesupplication one says on the way; the manners to beobserved on entering the n1.osque;the recommended prayerin greeting to the mosque; the voluntary prayers recom-mended to be offered regularly; and the reward for waitingin the mosque till the prayer is called; the multiple rewardgiven for congregational prayers; the reward earned bycalling for prayer and the call to start it; and the greatemphasis attached to leading congregational prayer; andthe set of rules that apply to it; the emphatic requirementto follow the Imam in every action throughout the prayer;ensuring that all rows are straight; the special positionaccorded to educational circles in the mosque; the circlesengaged in God's glorification; the manners to be observedwhen leaving the mosque and the supplication said at thetime, etc. Needless to say, when such good manners andrecommendations are observed, prayers become far moreeffective in purifying people's hearts and souls, cultivatingsound morality and good manners, and strengtheningpeople's relationship with God.

Add to all this the exceptional importance the Hadithattaches to relating how the Prophet offered his prayers;how fond he was of offering voluntary prayers; and howabsorbed he was when he recited the Qur'an. Reflect nowon how far observing all such values improves the prayersof the Muslim community and what sort of psychologicaland spiritual climate they create. The same may be saidabout fasting, zakat, pilgrimage and the manners that shouldbe observed when offering these obligatory acts of worship.What is most important is to learn what the Prophet said

55



about them and how he approached them practically. Weneed also to reflect a little on how effective and beneficialthese duties would be if they were stripped of the mannersand complements the ahddith. detail, removing them fromthe climate generated by the Prophet's statements con-cerning them. How far would they then be effective inraising people's spirits, enhancing their determination andconsolidating their moral attitude to strengthen theircommunity which is refined by the values of devotion andpure worship of God?

The fact remains that the practical example given bythe Prophet and his directives generate the climate inwhich the tree of faith could grow and yield its fruits.Religion is not a hard set of restraints and controls. Itdoes not come alive without passion, the right spirit anda practical example. The best and most reliable collectionof these is what is outlined in Hadith anthologies, whichform a unique feature of the Muslim community. Noother community or group of followers of any prophet,nor the followers of any divine religion, of whatever raceor place, have anything akin to the authentic Hadithcollections.

The History of Earlier Prophets

Earlier religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Zoro-astrianism, Buddhism and Brahmanism lost their vigourand spirit over a short period of time and were no longerable to retain their purity and survive, let alone grow andflourish. The main reason for this is that none of thesereligions managed to retain reliable accounts of the life oftheir prophets. It is such accurate and reliable accounts thatgive the impetus to renewing faith and reviving spiritualstrength. None of these faiths managed to retain the sort

56


f:lADiTH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLAN1le CLlM.I\TE AND ATTITUDES

of spiritual climate that helps their adherents' spiritualgrowth and ability to resist material temptation.

Yet they felt the need for such reliable accounts, whichis only natural. Having no reliable sources, they could onlyfill the vacuum with stories of the life of some prominentfigures among the followers of their religions, such as priests.These provide accounts of what they said on differentoccasions, and what sort of teachings they emphasized.

This was the reason behind the compilation of TalmudicIiterature-! which caught the fancy of the Jews who gavemuch attention to studying and explaining the Talmud,which was soon to relegate the Pentateuch to a position ofsecondary importance. Indeed, a number of prominentJewish religious figures have stated that the Talmud takesprecedence over the Old Testament. The Talmud, however,reflects a fragile Jewish mentality that is easily influencedby external factors. Hence, it contains much that has nosound basis, and some insupportable legends and super-stitions. These remind us of the Qur'anic verse that states:

"IVo true understanding of God have they." [AI-An'am6: 91].

24 The Talmud is the standard collection of texts and commentarieson jewish religious law, developed from the Pentateuch. It consists oftwo parts: the Mishnah and Gernara. The former is a commentary onthe matters dealt with in Mosaic legislation, and the latter acommentary on the Mishnah itself Among Orthodox Jewry theauthority of the Talmud is held second only to that of the OldTestament, but according to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, (VoL 11 p. 569& Vol. 12, p. 690) the Talmud shows that polytheism held greatattraction for the Jewish people.

57



In turn, the Christians made additions to the NewTestament, such as the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles ofPaul, Peter and John, and also the Revelations of St. John.

Hindus have long revered the Gita, which contains thesayings and sermons of Sri Krishna. Added to this are twomore religious books, namely the Ramayana; a record ofthe life history of Sri Ram Chandra, and the Mahabharatawhich is an epic of ancient India. The same is true of theZoroastrians who rever the Avesta, and it'>priestly com-mentaries known as the Vendidah and the Bundahish.

None of these scriptures were able to bring back theseold religions to the teachings of their original advocates, orto provide a model of their lives, practices and directiveswhich would encourage people to follow their lead. Norcould they foster any keen desire to safeguard the beliefsand traditions of the founders of these faiths. Indeed theydid more harm than good. These books distorted thereligious thinking of their followers, encouraged excessiveadoration of different beings, elevating them to the rank ofdeities, and promoted superstitious beliefs. Furthermore,they have had a profound influence on the language,literature, culture and social traditions of their followers.They gradually turned these religions into a mixture ofsuperstition, mythical lore, deceptive reasoning and newextremist interpretations in which the original teachingsconstitute no more than a drop in the ocean.

Biographies of Prophets

The dire lack of correct biographies of the prophets whofounded the religions of old is an indisputable fact. Acomparative study of Prophet Muhammad's biography andHadith anthologies containing his authentic statements onthe one hand and the chronicles of earlier prophets on the

58


l:IA[)jTH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLA/vue CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

other, is bound to give amazing results. Most of the latterhave been lost due to ignorance, carelessness or natural andman-made catastrophes. These religions fulfilled their rolesover a short period of time, with the early generationsfollowing the guidance of their prophets. But they felt noneed to preserve such heritage for posterity.

Take for example the life of Jesus Christ (peace be uponhim), God's messenger, who preceded Prophet Muhammad &;i.,the last of all God's messengers. In him believes a greatcommunity with marvellous achievements in research andscholarship. Their love of their prophet has been so greatthat they raised him to the level of Lordship. Nevertheless,they have been able to provide only a sketchy picture ofJesus that cannot offer a complete model, providing completelife guidance for the individual or the community. Untilrecently, the general Christian thinking maintained thatthe New Testament provides a chronicle of the last threeyears of the Christ's life. Christian researchers and expertshave more recently concluded that the total span of eventspertaining to the life of Jesus Christ narrated in the Gospelsadd up to no more than fifty days of his life.

A contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Rev. DrCharles Anderson Scott, writes in his article on Jesus:

The attempt to write a 'life of Jesus' should franklybe abandoned. The material for it certainly does notexist. It has been calculated that the total number ofdays of his lite regarding which we have any recorddoes not exceed 50.25

23 Encyclopaedia Britannica, 14th edition, Vol. XIII, pp. 16-17. Anotherscholar, Albert Schweitzer, who has surveyed the whole enterprisefrom the earliest to modern times about the life of'jesus Christ in hismonumental work TIle Quest r:if Historical Jesus begins the first chapterwith the words: 'There is nothing more negative than the result ofthe critical study of the life of Jesus.'

59



As for other prophets and leading figures of earlier religions,it can be safely said that their life accounts are buriedunder the huge heap of forgotten history. Major episodesof their lives that are fundamentally essential to give aproper picture that could serve as a role model have beenirrevocably lost. TIns is both logical and consistent withdivine will. Historical figures provide shining examples forothers over a limited period of time. When such a periodis over, there is little benefit in preserving them over futuregenerations. By contrast, what continues to be needed willsurvive unaltered, yielding its benefit generation aftergeneration.

The case of Islam and the life of the Prophet ~ whodelivered the Islamic message provide a totally differentexample. The clarity and reliability of its details cannot begreater. It is so unlike the chronicles of great historicalfigures, including prophets. A glance at Hadith anthologies,accounts of the Prophet's character, and also the Prophet'Sbiographies and books devoted to his military expeditions,will confirm what we have just said.Anyone who examinesthe a~iidlth recorded in the authentic anthologies on theProphet's pilgrimage will learn, for example, how ProphetMuhammad ~ used perfume before entering into the stateof consecration, or ihram, who gave hi111_this perfume, andwhat type of perfume it was. He will also know in accuratedetail how the Prophet marked his sacrificial animals.P>what the marks were like, on which side of these animalsthey were placed, and how he wiped off their blood. He

26 One of the duties of pilgrimage is to sacrifice OTIc sheep or more.A pilgrim who brings his sacrifice 'With him may mark it with asuperficial snatch, so that no one will harm the animal until its timefor sacrifice in Mina. - Editor's note

60


BADITH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

will also learn how the Prophet was cupped on the way, onwhat part of his body, and the location on the way wherethis was done. He can also determine the places where herested en route from Madinah to Makkah, and count thedays of his journey. Needless to say, all this took place at atime when people kept no diaries and made no record" ofevents. Nevertheless, we have a detailed record of suchevents, to the extent that we know of a snake passingnearby and how it managed to escape. We learn the namesof everyone who rode behind the Prophet on his camel onthis joumey.-" We know the name of the person whoshaved the Prophet's head at the end of his consecration,or ihrdm, how he divided his hair, who shaved his right sideand who his left side. Needless to say, a detailed record hasbeen preserved of his speeches at Arafat and in Mina, aswell as all that he enjoined. This was done in fulfilment ofhis directive:

'Those who arc present should convey what theyhave heard me say to those who are absent. A personlearning in this way may be better aware of its importthan one who has heard it directly."

Western writers have acknowledged this fact. In hisbiography of the Prophet entitled An Apology for Mohammadand the Qur' an, John Davenport writes:

"Of all law-makers and conquerors there is not onethe events of whose life arc more true and moredetailed than those of the Prophet Muhammad."2H

27 The author of Nasim al-Riyiir./ mentions by name 38 of theProphet's companions who rode behind him on his camel ondifferent occasions. Ibn Mandah mentions a higher figure.28 Cited by Syed Sulaiman Nadwi, Muhammad: the Ideal Prophet, p. 9H[Arabic edition].

61



R. Bosworth Smith, former fellow oITrinity College ofOxford delivered a series oflectures on "Muhammad andMuhammadanism" under the allspices of the Royal Institutionof Great Britain in February and March 1874. He says inhis lectures, which were later enlarged and published underthe same title:

What is true of religions, generally, is also true,unfortunately, of those three religions which I havecalled, for want of a better name, historical, and theirfounders. We know all too little of the first andearliest labourers; too much, perhaps, of those whohave entered into their labours. We know less ofZoroaster and Confucius than we do of Solon andSocrates; less of Moses and Buddha than we do ofAmbrose and Augustine. We know indeed of somefragments of Christ's lite: who can lift the veil ofthirty years that prepared the way for the three? Whatwe do know indeed has renovated a third of theworld, and may yet renovate much more; an ideal oflife at once remote and near; possible and impossible,but how much we do not know! What do we knowof his mother, of his home life, of his early friends, ofhis relation to them, of the gradual dawning, or, itmay be, the sudden revelation, of his divine message?How many questions about him occur to each of liS

which must always remain questions?But in Muhammadanism everything is different;

here instead of the shadowy and the mysterious wehave history. We know as much of Muhammad as wedo even of Luther and Milton. The mythical, thelegendary, the supernatural is almost wanting in theoriginal Arab authorities, or at all events can easily bedistinguished from what is historical. Nobody here is

62


I:IADITH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

in doubt of himself or of others; there is the full lightof day upon that that light can ever reach at alP'I

Fair Judgement Criterion

The Hadith constitutes an accurate scale and a perfectcriterion by which reformers can evaluate people's practicesand identify any deviation from the proper norms in publiclife. Maintaining a proper standard of morality and fairpractice can only be achieved through the Qur' an whensupplemented by the Hadith. It is the Hadith that fills thevacuum caused by the Prophet passing away.Such a vacuumis perfectly normal:

"Muhammad is only a messenger: all messengers havepassed away bejore him ... " [AI 'Imran 3: 144].

" You shall certainly die; arid they shall certainly die." lAJ-Zumar 39: 30J.

Had it not been for the a~iidith which represent a wellbalanced way of life, the Prophet's sound directives and hisrulings on questions faced by the Muslim community, thebalance would have tilted. Should it lose the practicalexample of the Prophet, which God has commanded us tofollow, the Muslim community would suffer an imbalanceresulting from either a too strict or a too liberal approach.God says in the Qur'an:

2'1 Cited in Nadwi, ibid, English edition, Lucknow, 1976, pp. 66-67.

63



"In God's Messenger. you have a good example tofollow."[Al-Ahzfib 33: 21].

"Say: .if you 101)eGod,follow me; God will love yotl andfo~ive you your sins." [AI 'Imran 3: 31].

It is indeed the Prophet who is the perfect example for usto emulate. Following his example provides us with strengthand confidence, and facilitates our \\Tayto implement Islamicrules in an easy and relaxed way.

Motivation for Reform

The Prophet's ahadith. constitute a source of strength that isfull of life, motivating reform and renewal. It has alwaysurged the need to fight corruption and deviation, providingsocial checks and balances in all Muslim generations andcommunities. It is the standard by which all deviation,superstition and un-Islamic customs are rejected. It showsthe way to maintaining the true way of Islam. Hence, theProphet's a~lildlthrepresent a basic need of the Muslim COI11-

munity, and they must be verified, recorded and published.Hadith anthologies have always been, and still are, the

guiding light that formulates correct Islamic thinking with-in the Muslim community. Through Hadith, reformers indifferent generations received proper Islamic education anddear Islamic thought. It provided them with the rightarguments to pursue their efforts for reforming their

64


f:lADITH AND TH.E PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND A:lTITUDES

communities and eradicating deviation and corruption.Anyone who strives to return his community to the trueand pure model of Islam finds the a~adlth indispensablebecause they provide the link between any Muslim COIll-

munity and the model of life provided by the Prophet.Similarly indispensable is the Hadith for anyone who needsto deduce rulings on new questions and life problems.

Historical Evidence

Islamic history provides strong evidence confirming allthis. Whenever Muslims lost sight of the importance ofahdditl: and neglected their links with Hadith anthologiesand with the Sunnah in general, there crept into their lifesome alien practices and foreign traditions. This is truedespite the presence of a good number of advocates whocall on people to follow divine guidance, urge spiritualpurification and sound morality, as well as great Islamicscholars in all specializations. Indeed it is true even whenMuslims live in powerful and affluent states.The introductionof such alien practices could gradually lead the Muslimcommunity to a situation whereby it is not much differentfrom ajiihiliyyah society.This confirms the Prophet's warning:

"You shall follow in the footsteps of communitiesthat have gone by, copying their example in detail."(Related by al-Hakim).

Take for instance the religious and social conditions ofthe Indian Muslims during the tenth century of the Islamicera when religious and intellectual circles in the sub-continent had almost severed themselves from the Hadithand its authentic sources. In that period, they had no contactwith the centres of religious learning in Hijaz,Yemen, Egypt

65



and Syria where the study of Hadith was still pursued.Institutions of religious education in India at the timeconcentrated on learning the school of Islamic law thatprevailed in that country, putting much effort into studyingits books, commentaries, methodologies, etc. Soon deviationcrept in with unsound practices and alien usages gainingpopularity. New forms of worship were invented, such as acomplimentary prostration before mystic Shaykhs or at theirgraves, lighting candles at sepulchral monuments, offeringprayers before graves as though they were mosques, fastingand offering sacrifices to propitiate saints, and holding fairs tocommemorate their birth and death anniversaries.

Such were the prevailing conditions when Godbrought forth reformers and well versed scholars, such asAhmad ibn (Abd al-Ahad Sirhindi (d. 1034 AH 1625 CE)who denounced all un-Islamic practices in clear terms. Herefuted the notion of virtuous deviation, or bid 'at hasanah,showing that it is totally unacceptable. He also denouncedin the strongest of terms the creed of pantheism, or wahdatal-wujad, calling on people to follow only the Prophet'sexample and shun all alien practices. In one of his memorableremarks he said:

What we require is the testirnorry of Muhammad ofArabia (peace be upon him), not that of Muhiyuddinibn Arabi or Sadr al-Din Qunawi or Abd al-Razzaqal-Kashi.We need the authentic texts and the practicalexample of Madinah, not the words Ibn Arabi wrotein his books.>"

30 Muleatabat Imam Rabbani, Vol. II, Letter No. 100. This is a freetranslation as the original text makes contextual references that willnot be easily understood except by a reader with the rightbackground. - Editor's note.

66


J:lADITH AND THE PROMOTTON OF ISLAMIC CLlMA1'.I:: AND ArIlTUDES

Sirhindis contemporary, Shaykh 'Abd al-Haqq ibn SayfaI-DIn al-Bukhari of Delhi (d. 1052 AHI 1642 CE) spenthis whole life in the teaching and propagation of Hadithin India. Following in their footsteps, Shah Waliyull5h (d.1176 AHI 1762 CE) and his worthy sons and students tookup the cause of teaching and preaching the Qur'an andthe Hadith, They explained the true concepts of Islam,advocating a return to the pure Islamic faith. They taughtthe six authentic Hadith anthologies, known as al-$i~la~ al-Sittah, giving them a prominent place in their curriculumwhich helped to make India, remote as it is from the culturalcentres of rslam, a seat of learning attracting students ofHadith from all over the Muslim world.

One of the most extensive and powerful revivalistmovements in the Muslim world in the thirteenth centuryof the Islamic calendar sprang up in India. One need on Iyread the history of the two martyrs Sayyid Ahmad ibn'Irfm and Muhammad Isma(n (d. 1246AH) to learn aboutthis great reformist movement that changed the verycharacter of the land and its people, giving new life to theMuslims of the subcontinent and bringing back imagesfrom the life of early Muslim generations. This reformistmovement was able to revive many of the practices of theProphet which had long been abandoned. It uprootedmallY deviant practices, superstitions and pagan traditionswhich had previously taken hold in Indian society.

I am absolutely certain that without the authentic Hadithanthologies, Muslims would have never been able to revivethe Sunnah of the Prophet, distinguishing it from deviantpractices. None of the great scholars that adorned Islamichistory with their revivalist and reformist efforts from withIbn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AHI 1328 CE) to Muhammad ibn'Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1206 AHI 1792 CE), would have beenable to play any significant role without them. Nor would

67



their contemporaries and followers of revivalist scholarssuch as Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Shawkani (d. 1255 AHI1839 CE), Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San \ini (d. 1182 AHI1768 CE),Ahmad ibn 'Abdullah ibn Idris al-Hasani (d. 1293AHI 1876 CE) (Abdullah Ghaznavi of Amritsar, MuhammadA (?All1. of Kabul (d. 1298 AHI 1872 CE), Husayn 'Ali al-Wanl (d. 1363 AHI 1(35), Ghulam Rasul (d. 1291 AHI1865 CE) and many others.

The same story can be told of many Arab and Muslimcountries, such as Iraq, Syria, Egypt,Tunisia,Algeria, Morocco,Afghanistan and Turkistan, However, I have limited myself toIndia for brevity and because I know it at first hand.

A Permanent Record

A phenomenon that attests to the truth of Islam as the finaldivine message for all mankind is that, unlike the followersof old religions, Muslims were never intellectually isolatedfrom their faith and its practical implementation. TheProphet's ahadith have given them a permanent record ofthe spiritual and religious climate enjoyed by the Prophet'scompanions, and how Islam moulded their spiritual andpractical life. This enables every Muslim generation toinstantly recall that climate enlightened by the presence ofthe Prophet, seeing how he addressed his companions andhow they listened attentively to him and took immediateaction to implement his teachings. Not only so, but we canalso learn what feelings and emotions they experienced.Thus, we are able today to identify the pattern of actionsand manners faith produces and the type of life generatedby firm belief in the life to come.

Thus, this permanent record gives us a complete pictureoflife in the Prophet's family home: what he did at nightand how his family lived. We see him in front of us, pros-

68



trating himself in complete devotion, sending his earnestprayers and addressing God with sincere humility. Whenwe look at him in his night worship, his eyes tearful, hisfect swollen from long standing in prayer, and then hear hisanswer to his wife who wonders why he worships so muchwhen God has granted him forgiveness of any sin he mightever commit:

"Should I not be, then, a grateful servant of God?"(Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Looking at him in this way, how could we allow ourselvesto slacken or he heedless? When we realize that monthafter month passes by with no fire for cooking lit in hishome, and when we see him wrapping two stones over hisabdomen to reduce the pangs of hunger; or lying on a hardmat that leaves its mark on his hack; or refusing to go tobed at night until he has distributed among his poorcompanions the amount of gold and silver he received thatday; or in his final illness when his family had to borrowoil to light the lamp for him; - when we see all thesepictures and many more, how can we overlook the factthat no material luxury in this life is of any importance?Moreover, when we see how he attended to his family'sneeds, cared for the young, overlooked the faults ofservants, and how he treated his companions with kindness,and his enemies with forbearance, what humanitarianlesson can we learn from anyone else?

A Full Record

It is not only the Prophet's personality that we look upto in order to capture the climate that prevailed in thatunique period of history. The doors of his companions are

69



open wide for us to have a panoramic view of life in amodel Islamic society. We see them spending much of theirnights in worship, while during the day they are fullydedicated soldiers serving the cause of Islam. We see themattending to their businesses, but mindful of their religiousduties, frequenting mosques. We note their humility,dedication, ability to resist temptation, and completeobedience in most situations, but we also note that theymade a few slips since they were only human. We see infront of our eyes how Abu Talhah provided a fine exampleof self-denial in order to please the Prophet. We see Ka 'bibn Malik staying behind at the time of the TabukExpedition, and how he patiently went through a hard testto prove his love of the Prophet; how he was fullycommitted to the cause of Islam, testifying against himselfand enduring all the hardship until he won God's forgive-ness. God's acceptance of his repentance is shown inconjunction with His acceptance of the Prophet's and hiscompanions' repentance who joined him on that vcryexpedition, so that Ka 'b would not fecl left out.

We also see the unfolding of the story of falsehood thatengulfed 'A'ishah, the mother of believers, and witnessher exceedingly delicate position, unshakable faith andmodel integrity before her innocence was confirmed byGod Himself. We see Abu Bakr and his difficult position,his self control during this highly infuriating episode, hisun-wavering trust, and resumption of extending materialkindness to a man who took part in the episode that hurthim and his family so badly.

As we see all this we realize that this was a normalclimate in which all sorts of events took place, leading to awhole spectrum of human attitudes, reactions, feelingsand interactions. The Prophet's a~adlth recorded all these,

70


f:-L-\DITHA~D THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

providing a dear model for successive generations toemulate.

That such a record oflife at the time of the Prophet ~remains preserved alongside the Qur'an and the statementsof the Messenger who delivered God's message is indeedone of the unique and remarkable characteristics of Islam.No other religion benefits by such a full and permanentrecord. The faith that is meant to remain intact till the endof time, providing all human generations with practicalexamples to follow, motivating people to action, andproviding nourishment for mind and heart alike must havea model social order and social climate on show. Such amodel has been preserved through the Prophet's a~iidlth.

l:Iadith Recording

Careful study of the recording of a~1iidlth will show thatthis did not come about by coincidence. Nor was it aninnovation of later generations. Indeed, the Prophet'scompanions took care to record the Hadith during theProphet's lifetime, when a significant number of a~1iidtthwere committed to writing. The next generation of tabi'in,or successors of the Prophet's companions, began to recordand arrange a~liidTth towards the end of the Prophet'scompanions' generation. Scholars of Hadith from Khurasanand Turkistan began to travel everywhere to learn,memorize and classify the ahadith, demonstrating exemplarydedication to the task in hand and benefiting by pheno-menal memories. Later, scholars specialized in learning thebiographies of Hadith narrators, and excelled in Hadithtransmission. They dedicated all their time and effort tothis pursuit. As a result, the whole Muslim communityattached great value to Hadith study in a way that has noparallel in human history. All this goes to show that it was

71



God's will that this practical model of Islamic life shouldbe preserved, to serve as a guiding light for futuregenerations. Thus, the Muslim community will continueto benefit by this spiritual, practical, and religious heritagewhich moulded the first Muslim generation of theProphet's companions.

Islamic Sense and Temperament

The Muslim community not only inherited rulings andlegislation, given by one generation to the next, but it alsoinherited the right sense, temperament, character andmentality. Thanks to the ahadlth, the sense and temperamentthat prevailed among the Prophet's companions continuedto be passed on to the next generation. Throughout Islamichistory, there was no period of any considerable lengthwhen such sense and temperament were totally rnissing. Inevery generation, there were individuals who belonged insense and personality to the Prophet's companions'generation, demonstrating similar dedication in worship,exemplary God-consciousness, straightforwardness, resolve,humility, sacrifice, giving little care to material life, lookingahead to the hereafter, fulfilling the duty of enjoining rightand forbidding wrong, feeling a strong dislike of deviationand demonstrating a keen desire to follow the Prophet'sSunnah. Nothing of this could have come about withoutpaying much attention to the study of Hadith: learning,recording and teaching it, as well as writing commentarieson, and explanations of its texts, or without assigning duerespect to those scholars who had a full measure of thisgreat heritage. Indeed the Muslim community continuedto pass over this legacy, with the sense and temperament itgenerates, from the first generation up to the presentfifteenth century of the Islamic calendar, despite the strong

72


}:IADITH AND THE PROMOTION Ot' ISLAMIC CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES

materialistic outlook that prevails in the present generation.This great legacy continues to yield its healthy fruits.

New Motives to Reject the Sunnah

Muhammad Asad, a Western scholar who embraced Islam,explains the new trend of rejecting the Sunnah on the basisof his first hand knowledge ofWestern civilization and thementality of the younger Muslim generation. He concludesthat the values, standards, practices and trends of theWestern civilization that is predominant in our world arebasically incompatible with the Sunnah. To entertain truelove of the Prophet who delivered God's message is essentiallyincompatible with looking up to Western civilization asthe highest standard of human knowledge. This may be thereason that motivates some rulers and political figures inArab and Muslim countries to reject the Sunnah alto-gether. Asad writes:

In these days, when the influence of Westerncivilization makes itself more and more felt in Muslimcountries, still another motive is added to the negativeattitude of the so-called 'Muslim intelligentsia' in thismatter. It is impossible to live according to the Sunnahof our Prophet ~ and to follow the Western modeoflife at one and the same time. But many among thepresent generation of Muslims are ready to adoreeverything that is Western, to worship the foreigncivilization simply because it is foreign, powerful andmaterially imposing. This 'Westernization' is thestrongest reason why the Traditions of our Prophetand, along with them, the whole structure of theSunnah have become so unpopular today. The Sunnahis so obviously opposed to the fundamental ideas

73



underlying Western civilization that those who arefascinated by the latter see no way out of the tanglebut to describe the Sunnah as an irrelevant, andtherefore not compulsory, aspect of Islam - becauseit is 'based on unreliable Traditions'. After that, itbecomes easier to twist the teachings of the Qur'anin such a way that they might appear to suit the spiritof Western civilization.U

Bound to Fail

Those who try to deprive the Muslim community of thisgreat source of life, guidance and strength, raising doubtsabout the Hadith and its value as a source of legislation donot seem. to realize the extent of the harm they arecausing. They cannot be aware that their attempts deprivetheir Muslim community of its great legacy, leaving itwithout roots, lost, miserable. They stand in the sameposition towards their Muslim community as the enemiesof Christianity and Judaism adopt towards these two religions.Should they be doing this, aware of its sig-nificance, thenthey would be the worst enemies of Islam and the Muslimcommunity. Without the Hadith and the Sunnah, there isno way to regenerate the Islamic sense and temperamentwhich characterized the Prophet's com-panions. Suchsense and temperament can only be brought aboutthrough direct companionship with the Prophet or throughthe a~ladlth which represent a perfect model of the firstIslamic community and a vivid picture showing all thedistinctive characteristics of the social set up established

31 Muhammad Asad, Islam at the Crossroads, Dar al-Andalus Ltd,Gibraltar, 1982, pp. lJ2-3.

74



by the Prophet~. MuharrunadAsad correctly describes suchhostility to Islam as a conspiracy aiming to deprive theMuslim community of its indispensable source of strength:

The Sunnah is the iron framework of the House ofIslam; and if you remove the framework of a building,can you be surprised if it breaks down like a houseof cards?32

Asad also draws attention to the inevitable conse-quences of denying the authority of ahaditn and decryingthe need to follow the Prophet in all aspects of life:

In this way [i.e. by rejecting the Sunnah and denyingthe duty to follow it] the exceptional position ofIslam as a moral and practical, individual and socialcode would be utterly destroyed.P

Attempts to cast doubt on the authority and authenticityof Hadith as well as calls to reject the Sunnah altogetherhave been mooted at different levels. Different religious,political and personal motives encouraged such calls andattempts at different times. Some people may support suchefforts in order to justify their negligence of Islamic duties.Yet despite all such efforts, the Sunnah maintained its placeat the heart of the Islamic faith. Indeed it goes deep intothe very fabric of every Muslim corrununity and mixeswith its soul. Indeed it is practically impossible to separateit from any Muslim community worthy of the name, or toestablish a new Muslim community based on the Qur'anonly, to the exclusion of the Sunnah. Indeed, implemen-

32Asad, ibid, p. 82.33 Asad, ibid, p. 92.

75



tation of the Qur' an relies to a great extent on the practicalexample set by the Prophet, his explanations of the Qur' anand his outlining the details of what the Qur' an states ingeneral terms.

"~ have now bestowed 011 yOH the Reminder that youmay elucidate to mankind all that has been bestowed onthem from on high." [Al-Na~116: 44].

The Hadith continues to enjoy in-depth scholarlyattention, with its treasures being thoroughly checked andold manuscripts being published. It provides the guidinglight with which to judge social norms and practices in theMuslim community. It motivates Muslims to attend to theirduty of enjoining right and preventing wrong, refutingdeviation in religious matters and rejecting the blindimitation of the values and practices ofWestern civilization.Indeed it is only through the Sunnah that the Muslimcommunity can preserve its identity. It can resist beingintellectually and culturally swallowed up by the Westernway oflife. It can refuse to adopt such a way oflife in totalitywithout examining its details and rejecting its elements thatare contrary to Islamic values. This may be cited as confir-mation of the following two ahadith:

"A group of my community will continue to everadvocate God's message, undisturbed by those whooppose them." [Related by Ibn Majah].

"A group of Illy community will remain in supportof the truth until the Day of Judgement." [Relatedby al-Hakim].

76


I:IADITH AND THE PROMOTION OF ISLAMIC CUMATF. AND ATTITUDES

Those who continue to cast doubt on the authority ofthe Hadith and reject the Sunnah fit the image drawn byan old Arab poet, in which a deer tries to remove a solidrock by repeatedly hitting it with his horns. The rockremains solidly in place, but all that the deer achieves is toinjure himself.

77



BIBLIOGRAPHY

Asad, Muhammad: Islam at the Crossroads, (Dar al-Andalus Ltd,Gibraltar, 1982).

al-Asbahani, Abu Nu 'aym: Tarikh Asbahan.Azarni, M. M.: Studies in Haditk Methodology and Literature, (American

Trust Publication, Indianapolis, 1977)--: Studies in Early Hadith Literature, (the same publisher, 197R).al- (A~IJl1abadr, Shams al-Haq: 'Allin al-A,fa'bad (commentaries on

Abu Dawud's Stman).al-Bukhiiri, Imam: Al:fami' al-Sahil«.al-Dehlawi, Shah Waliyullah: ifl!ijat Allah al-Biilighah,Vol. 1, p. 106.al-Dhahbi, Imam Shamsuddin Muhammad (d. 748): Tadhhirat al-

J!u.1fiiz.Encyclopaedia Britannica: 14th edition, Vol. XIII, pp. 16-17.Ibn Anas, Imam Malik: al-Muwaua',Ibn (Abd al-Barr.Abii 'UrnarYiisufb.Abdullah:Jami' Bayan al- '11m.

Vol.l p.76.Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam: Sirat 'Umar ibn 'Abd al- 'Azlz, p. 167.Ibn Munabbih, Hammam: $d~lifa!t.Ibn al-Salah, Imam Abu (Arm: 'U1am al-Hadith, pp. 14-15.Jewish Encyclopaedia: (Vol. 11 p. 569 &- Vol. 12, p. 690).Muslim, Imam: AIJam;' aJ-~a!1~1.al-Luckhnawi, 'Abd al-Hayy ibn 'Abd al-Halirn (d. 1304 AH): Al-

Ta'llq al-Mumajjad 'ala Muwatta' Muhammad.Nadwi, Sycd Sulaiman: Muhammad: the Ideal Prophet, (Arabic ed. p98).al-Qastalani, Imam Shihabuddin: Irshdd at-Sari.Schweitzer, Albert: The Quest ifHistorical Jesus.al-Siba '1, Mustafi: Al-SII1'1l'wh wa Afakijrlatuiza ji al- Tashri" al-lslami,

(Damascus, pp. 58-66).Sirhindi, Shaikh Ahmad: Mukatabat Imam Rabbani, Vol. II, Letter

No.100.al- Tirrnidhi, Imam: al- (Ilal.

79



Documents

hadith status and role - Abul Hasan Ali Hasani Nadwiabulhasanalinadwi.org/books/hadith status and role.pdf · HADITH • STATUS AND ROLE An Introduction to the Prophet's Tradition