The vast majority of controversial issues that Muslims encounter come from Hadith tradition. It is controversial because it is an important source of Islamic law and belief that if not properly studied/analyzed, will be very confusing. Dr. Brown discusses a few pointers to keep in mind when reading/studying hadith. Dr. Jonathan Brown is the Director of Hadith Research at Yaqeen Institute. Dr. Brown is Associate Professor and Chair of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown University. He is the editor in chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law, and the author of several books including Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy. View full youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heitI0S9BCo

1. How to Approach
Hadith
Dr. Jonathan
Brown

2. Hadiths are Pieces of a Puzzle
1) They have to be authenticated
–Ex. ‘Child born of zina…’
–Ex. Oceans of fire & fire under ocean
–Beware what you read/hear!
2) Narrations vs. Traditions

3. Prophet
Abdallah bin Amr
Bashir bin Muslim
Bishr bin Abi Abdallah
Mutarrif bin Tarif
Ismail bin Zakariyya
Said bin Mansur
Sunan Abu Dawud
unknown
Layth bin Abi
Sulaym
Mujahid bin Jabr
Al-Tahqiq of Ibn al-
Jawzi
No one should travel by sea except
those going for hajj, for umra or to
fight in God’s path. For beneath
the sea is a fire, and beneath that
fire is a sea
No one should travel by sea
except those going for hajj,
for umra, or to fight in the
path of God
Ibn Umar
Nafi’
Umar bin Abd al-
Rahman al-Abbar
Hasan bin ‘Arafa
Akhbar Makka of al-Fakihi
Khalid bin
Abi Muslim
M. Bin
Salih

4. ʿAlī b. ʿAbdallāh narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b.
Mahdī narrated to us, from Mālik b. Anas, from Makhrama b.
Sulaymān, from Kurayb, from Ibn ʿAbbās (r_), who said, “I
slept at the home of my aunt Maymūna. I said, ‘I want to
watch the prayer of the Messenger of God (s).’ So a
cushion was laid out for him, and the Messenger of God (s)
slept on it lengthwise. And [he awoke at night, and] he
started to wipe the sleep from his face and then read the
last ten verses from Surat Al ʿImrān until he finished the
chapter. Then he went to a water skin that was hung up and
started performing his ablutions. Then he went to pray, so I
got up and did as he did. Then I went and stood at his side.
But the Messenger of God (s) placed his hand on my head
and took my ear and started twisting it. Then he prayed two
prayer units, then two more, then two more, then two more,
then two more, then two more, and then he prayed just one
unit.”
- Sahih al-Bukhari: kitab al-tafsir, #4613

5. ʿAlī b. ʿAbdallāh narrated to us, saying: Ibn Mahdī narrated to us, from
Sufyān, from Salama, from Kurayb, from Ibn ʿAbbās (r_), who said: I
slept at the home of [my aunt] Maymūna, [a wife of the Prophet], and
the Prophet (s) rose to relieve himself and then washed his face and
hands and then went to sleep again. Then he rose and went to the
water skin, untying it and performing his ablution a bit more than
usual but not like doing it twice. Then he prayed, and I rushed over
not wanting him to think that I was hesitant [to pray and was just
watching him]. And I performed my ablutions. Then he stood up in
his prayer, so I went and stood at his left, but he took me by the ear
and turned me around to his right and then completed his prayers,
thirteen cycles in all. Then he went back to sleep until he snored.
And he snored when he slept. Then Bilāl called him to [the dawn]
prayer, and he prayed without performing his ablutions. And he used
to say in his invocations [at night], “O God, make there light in my
heart and in my sight and in my hearing, light to my right and to my
left, above me and below me, light before me and behind me. Make
there light for me.”
– Sahih al-Bukhari: kitab al-da’awat, bab al-du’a idha intabaha bi’l-layl

6. 3) They have to be fit into a system
–Ex. ‘I have been commanded to fight
the people until they say…’
• Sahih Hadith
• But the Quran’s verse on jizya…
• … and the Prophet’s precedent
• Other narrations?
–Ex. Women as bad omens?

8. Nature of Prophetic Speech
• Hyperbolic
• ‘Filters’ for interpreting Hadiths:
1) Severity means discouragement
• Ex. Passing in front of you in
prayer…
• Ex. Burning down the house…

9. Ismāʿīl narrated to us, saying: Mālik narrated to
me, from Abū al-Zinād, from al-Aʿraj, from Abū
Hurayra (r_) that the Messenger of God (s) said,
“By the one who holds my soul in His hand,
indeed I would like to order firewood gathered
and then issue the command of prayer and then
command a man to lead the people in prayer.
Then I would follow up on those men [who were
not present] and burn down their houses on top
of them. By the one who holds my soul in His
hand, if any of you knew that he would find a
fatty bone or two tender legs he would be
present at dinner.”
- Sahih al-Bukhari: kitab al-Ahkam, bab 53

10. 2) Laysa minna…. It’s not what Muslims
should do:
• Ex. Cheaters as kuffar?
3) There’s Kufr and then there’s KUFR
4) No one believes… completely
5) No one enters Heaven… immediately

11. • Not a science teacher!
–Ex. Prostration of the sun

12. Questions?