Intro to Hadeeth

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STUDY OF HADITH
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AHADITH IN THE LIGHT OF THE QURAN
Divine Guidance sent through Rasulullah (saw) consists of two parts:
1) The Quran, The Divinely Revealed Book; it is the actual Word of Allah (swt), both its
language and in the finality and truthfulness of its message.
2) The Sunnah of Rasulullah (swt) or Ahadith are his sayings, precepts, teachings and actions
which explained the Quran and further completed its message.
Rasulullah (saw) not only received the Quran, he was also its most authentic interpreter and
teacher. He received from Allah (swt) both the words of the Message as well as their meanings.
The Quran explains:
It is then We Who must explain It (The Quran) and make it clear.” (Al-Qiyamah 75:19)
The role of Rasulullah (saw) was to explain its meanings to others:
“We revealed to you the Reminder (The Quran), so you may explain to humankind what was sent
to them, so that they may mediate and reflect upon it.” (An-Nahl 16:44)
“Just as when We sent a Messenger to you from among yourself to recite to you Our Signs,
purify your lives, and teach you the Book and al-Hikmah (the Wisdom) and to teach you what
you did not know.” (Al-Baqarah 2:151)
The Quran is very closely associated with the life and teachings of Rasulullah (saw). He was as
the best and highest example for us to follow. The Quran says:
“You have indeed a good example in Allah’s Messenger.” (Al-Ahzab 33:21)
His life and teachings are Divinely Inspired:
“He does not speak from some whim, it is merely inspiration that is revealed (to him).” (An-
Najm 53:3-4)
MEANING of HADITH:
The Hadith in its Literal Sense
The Arabic word Hadith in its real sense means a tale, speech, chat, conversation or
communication. Used as an adjective it means new, modern and recent
The Hadith in its Technical Sense
In our Islamic Studies class, Hadith or Tradition means all the sayings, deeds, decisions of
Rasulullah (saw), his silent approval of the behavior of his Sahabah (raa) and descriptions of his
personality.
Difference b/w Hadith and Sunnah

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These two words are almost always used to describe the same thing by early scholars as well as
present ones, though there is a slight difference in their meanings. Hadith really means a story or
a report and so represents
an account of what happened. The word Sunnah means a practice, a way or course, a rule, a
mode or manner of life, a precedent, a custom. In its technical sense, it implies the doings and
practices of Rasulullah (saw). The Sunnah the actual embodiment of the Will of Allah (swt),
shown in the actions of Rasulullah (saw).
CRITICISM OF THE AHADITH
Hadith has two parts:
CHAIN(Isnad) + TEXT (Matn)
Both parts has been thoroughly researched / investigated by early scholars, who spend their lives
for this responsibility. It is being called criticism (‫ل‬‫ی‬‫دعت‬‫و‬‫)رجح‬.
The following is a summary of the rules and principles of Isnad (chain of transmission) (
‫رواتی‬
)
criticism:
1. All the Ahadith must be traceable to the original reporter through a chain of narrators.
2. In addition to having a good memory, these narrators must be truthful, of excellent
character, and have high qualities of mind and heart.
3. Every Hadith which reported an event or a happening that occurred frequently in the
presence of a large number of people must have been originally reported by several
narrators.
As far as the Matn (text) (
‫دراتی‬
) is concerned, some of the following rules were laid down:
1. The Hadith should not contradict the text of the Quran, the teachings of the Quran and the
accepted basic principles of Islam
2. The Hadith should not contradict the Traditions already deemed reliable and authentic by
the authorities under these rules.
3. The Hadith which sings the praises and excellence of any tribe, place or persons should
sometimes be closely examined.
4. The Hadith that contains some remarks of Rasulullah (saw) which are not in keeping with
the Islamic belief and the position of Rasulullah (saw) or such expressions as may not be
befitting his honor.

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Criterion for Division of Ahadith [Principals on which we categories]
The scholars of the Hadith literature divided the Traditions of the Prophet (pbuh) into categories
according to the degree of authenticity and reliability; each category had to meet certain criteria.
. These categories were based on:
(1) The perfection or imperfection of the chain of their transmitters.
(2) The freedom of the texts from any defects.
(3) Acceptance of any Hadith by the Sahabah (raa), their followers (At-Tabiun) and their
successors (At-Taba at-Tabiin)
Division on the basis of Reliability of Narrators:
Another area of research is called Biographical Evaluation (‫ارلاجل‬‫اامسء‬‫)ملع‬
1) As-Sahih: The Authentic Hadith
The True. This name is given to the absolutely correct Hadith in which there is no weakness.
Both its chain of transmission (Al-Isnad) and the text (Al-Matn) are sound and its text does not
contradict any established belief of Islam. According to Definition:
“A Hadith Saheeh is one which has a continuous isnaad(chain), made up of trustworthy
narrators narrating from trustworthy narrators, which is found to be free from any
irregularities or defects.”
[1. Un-broken Chain, 2. Narrator=Righteous Moral Excellence, Not Transgressor,
Authentic (Past Career is not Hidden or Unknown) Healthy Memory]
a) Ittisaal as-Sanad (Continuity of the chain of transmitters)
The chain of narrators or transmitters, who are relating the Matn (text), has to be
unbroken for the hadith to be considered. That is none of the transmitters must be missing
from the chain and each narrator, Raawee, has to have met the transmitter directly
preceding him as well as the one directly following him. Each Raawee has to be a known
individual, otherwise he is classified as majhool (unknown) and the sanad is classified as
broken.
b) ‘Adaalah (integrity)
The integrity of the narrators is the second key condition for a hadith to be considered
valid. By integrity we mean that the narrator was a practicing Muslim and was not known
to have done any of the major (forbidden things) if he was a known liar he is classified
askaththaab and the hadith that he has transmitted is classified as da‘eef. These are the
conditions verified through the references of the biographical science of hadith known
asKutubar-Rijaal.
c) Dabt (accuracy)
The accuracy of the text is determined by two factors either of which is sufficient by
itself.
a. Dabt as-Sadr (Soundness of memory)
Each narrator must be known for his ability to memorize and repeat with a
high degree of accuracy.
b. (b) Dabt al-Kitaabah (Written accuracy)
Each narrator who does not fulfil precondition “a”, must be known for
recording his hadith in books accurately and his narrations only be from his

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books, these two preconditions (a,b) are also verified by Kutubar-
Rijaal (books on Biographies of narrators).
d) GhayrShaathth (conformity)
It is critical that the hadith conform to similar hadiths narrated on the same topic whose
chains are stronger. If the text of a hadith contradicts that of another well-known text
whose chain of narration is stronger, or it is in conflict with a group of other narrators of
a similar status, it is classified as shaathth (errant), which is one of the categories
of hadith da‘eef(weak).
e) Laa ‘Illah (absence of hidden defect)
The hidden defect is one that causes the hadith to appear to be sound and only become
evident after deep investigation. For a hadith to be considered sound (saheeh) it has to be
free of hidden defects. A hadith with hidden defects is called ma‘lool or mu‘allal. Ibn al-
Madeenee (d. 324AH) said that a defect can only be revealed if all the isnaads of
the hadithare collated. In his book, al-Ilal, he listed 34 Successors and the names of the
Companions they heard hadiths directly from. For example, he said that al-Hasan al-
Basree (d. 110AH) did not meet ‘Alee (d. 40AH), although there is a slight possibility
that he may have seen him during his childhood in Madeenah. Such information is very
important as it disproves the many Sufi traditions in which they claim that al-Hasan heard
from ‘Alee. Only a fewhadith scholars compiled books on this topic, among them,
IbnAbeeHaatimar-Raazee (d. 327), al-Khallaal (d. 311) and ad-Daaraqutnee (d. 385)
2) Al-Hasan
The Good. It is like As-Sahih Tradition, except for the fact that some of its narrators have been
found to have a weaker memory in comparison to the narrators of SahihAhadith.
3) Ad-Da’if
The Weak. This refers to that Tradition in which there is some problem in either the chain of
transmission, in the proper understanding of the transmitter or in its content, which may be in
disagreement with Islamic beliefs and practices.
4) Al-Mawdu, The Fabricated
A false Hadith made up by some misguided people. This class of Ahadith has been carefully
uncovered by our learned Islamic scholars in the past. They have no place in true and authentic
Ahadith collections.

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Division on the basis of number of narrators in chain (isnad)
In hadith terminology, a hadith is divided based upon the number of narrators mentioned at each level in a
particular isnād
Mutawatir [Continuous]
The first category is mutawatir, (‫وارِت‬ َ
‫ت‬
ُ
‫)م‬, or a 'successive' narration. A successive narration is one
conveyed by narrators so numerous that it is not conceivable that they have agreed upon an
untruth thus being accepted as unquestionable in its veracity.
Types of mutawatir
Hadiths can be mutawatir in both actual text and meaning:
1. Mutawatir in wording: It is a hadith whose words are narrated by such a large number as is
required for a mutawatir, in a manner that all the narrators are unanimous in reporting it with the
same words without any substantial discrepancy.
2. Mutwatir in meaning: It is a mutawatir hadith, which is not reported by the narrators in the
same words. The words of the narrators are different. Sometimes even the reported events are not
the same. But all the narrators are unanimous in reporting a basic concept, which is common in
all reports. This common concept is also ranked as a mutawatir concept.
Ahaad [Singular]
The second category, ahaad, (‫)آاحد‬, or singular narration, refers to any hadith not classified as
mutawatir. Linguistically, hadith ahad refers to a hadith narrated by only one narrator. In hadith
terminology, it refers to a hadith not fulfilling all of the conditions necessary to be deemed
mutawatir
Hadith ahad consists of three sub-classifications also relating to the number of narrators in the
chain or chains of narration
Mashhur [Famous, Popular] The first category is mashhur, (‫ر‬ْ‫و‬‫و‬ُ‫ه‬ْ‫ش‬َ‫م‬
), and refers to a
hadith conveyed by three or more narrators but is not considered mutawatir
`Aziz`[Rare]Aziz, (‫ْز‬‫ي‬ ِ
‫ز‬َ‫ع‬), is any hadith conveyed by two narrators in any given level of a
hadith's isnād.
Gharib[Poor] A gharib, (‫ْب‬‫ي‬ ِ
‫َر‬‫غ‬), hadith is one conveyed by only one narrator. Al-
Tirmidhi's understanding of a gharib hadith, concurs to a certain extent with that of the
other traditionists.

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Compilation stages of HADITH
The Sahabah (raa) had three methods of learning:
1) Memorization
2) Recording
3) Practice
1. Memorization
In the early Muslim society, everyone’s major goal was to learn Islam directly from Rasulullah
(saw). Most Arabs of that time had excellent memories and they were known to learn by heart
many verses of their poets and their tribal histories. Similarly, the Sahabah (raa) always tried to
observe the actions of Rasulullah (saw), remember his sayings and follow them in their everyday
lives. By doing so, they developed a close connection to Rasulullah (saw), no matter how distant
in space or time he was.
2. Recording
In the beginning, the Ahadith were not written but were memorized because the Sahabah (raa)
feared that people would confuse the Hadith with the Quran. However, when the written text of
the Quran became widespread, many Sahabah (raa) started taking notes on Ahadith. We know
the names of many Sahabah (raa) who used to write down Ahadith during the life of Rasulullah
(saw). In several instances, Rasulullah (saw) himself dictated to them.
The name of those Sahabah (raa) who transmitted Ahadith in large numbers are as follows:
1. Abu Hurairah (raa): 5,374
2. Ibn Umar (raa): 2,630
3. AnasIbn Malik (raa): 2,286
4. Umm al-MumininAishah (raa): 2,210
5. Ibn Abbas (raa): 1,660
6. Abu Saeed al-Khudri (raa): 1,170
7. IbnMasud (raa): 748
8. Abdullah Ibn Amar Ibn Al-Aas (raa): 700
9. Umar Ibn al-Khattab (raa): 537
10. Ali IbnAbiTalib (raa): 536
11. Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (raa): 360
12. Al-BaraIbnAzib (raa) 305
3) Practical Demonstration
Learning by practice is the most effective way to acquire any kind of knowledge. If we go
through the Hadith literature, we find that a great many Ahadith pertain to our practical life. The
knowledge of religion is something to be practiced and not simply discussed. The Sahabah (raa)
learned by observing the ways of Rasulullah (saw) and then applying what they saw to their own
practices.

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MAJOR WORKS OF AHADITH AND THEIR COMPILERS
1. The Muwatta’ of Imam Malik (93-179 A.H.) 1,720
2. The Musnad of Imam Ahmad (164-246 A.H.) 28,000
As-SihahAs-Sittah (The Six Authentic Books on Hadith):
1. Sahih Al-Bukhari (194-256 A.H.) 2,360
2. Sahih Muslim (204-264 A.H.) 3,033
3. Sunan At-Tirmidhi (209-279 A.H.) 3,963
4. Sunan Abu Dawud (202-275 A.H.) 4,800
5. Sunan An-Nisai (210-303 A.H.) 5,758
6. Sunan of IbnMajah (209-273 A.H.) 4,341