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Hadith studies ( ar, علم الحديث ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth'' "science of hadith", also science of hadith, or science of hadith criticism or hadith criticism) consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in the study and evaluation of the
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
—i.e. the record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet,
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
. Determining authenticity of hadith is enormously important in
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
because along with the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
, the ''
Sunnah In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
'' of the Islamic prophet—his words, actions, and the silent approval—are considered the explanation of the divine revelation ('' wahy''), and the record of them (i.e. hadith) provides the basis of Islamic law (
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
). In addition, while the number of verses pertaining to law in the Quran is relatively few, hadith give direction on everything from details of religious obligations (such as ''
Ghusl ( ar, غسل ', ) is an Arabic term to the full-body ritual purification mandatory before the performance of various rituals and prayers, for any adult Muslim after sexual intercourse/ejaculation or completion of the menstrual cycle. The washin ...
'' or ''
Wudu Wuḍūʾ ( ar, الوضوء ' ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The 4 Fardh (Mandatory) acts of ''Wudu'' consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and the fe ...
'', ablutions An-Nawawi, ''Riyadh As-Salihin'', 1975: p.203 for ''
salat (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...
'' prayer), to the correct forms of salutations, An-Nawawi, ''Riyadh As-Salihin'', 1975: p.168 and the importance of benevolence to slaves. An-Nawawi, ''Riyadh As-Salihin'', 1975: p.229 Thus the "great bulk" of the rules of Islamic law are derived from hadith, rather than the Quran. There are three primary ways to determine the authenticity (''sihha'') of a hadith: by attempting to determine whether there are "other identical reports from other transmitters"; determining the reliability of the transmitters of the report; and "the continuity of the chain of transmission" of the hadith. Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.110 Traditional hadith studies has been praised by some as "unrivaled, the ultimate in historical criticism", and heavily criticized for failing to filter out a massive amount of hadith "which cannot possibly be authentic".


Definition

It has been described by one hadith specialist,
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ar, جلال الدين السيوطي, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī) ( 1445–1505 CE),; ( Brill 2nd) or Al-Suyuti, was an Arab Egyptian polymath, Islamic scholar, historian, Sufi, and jurist. From a family of Persian ...
(d. 911 A.H/ 1505 C.E), as the science of the principles by which the conditions of both the ''sanad'', the chain of narration, and the ''matn'', the text of the hadith, are known. This science is concerned with the ''sanad'' and the ''matn'' with its objective being distinguishing the ''sahih'', authentic, from other than it.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī or ''Ibn Ḥajar'' ( ar, ابن حجر العسقلاني, full name: ''Shihābud-Dīn Abul-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Nūrud-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī al-Kināni'') (18 February 1372 – 2 Febru ...
said the preferred definition is: knowledge of the principles by which the condition of the narrator and the narrated are determined.


Types

Some of the disciplines in the science of hadith, according to scholar İsmail Lütfi Çakan, include: *the "study of the circumstances surrounding the genesis of each hadith," i.e. the reasons for why the hadith was uttered; *the study of the ''gharib al-hadith'', whose works provide "a kind of hadith glossary" of uncommon words found in hadith; *the study of ''ilel al-hadith'', which examines deficiencies in the text and/or the chain of a hadith; *study of ''al-hadith al-muhtelif'', which attempts to reconcile the contradictions of hadith; *the study of '' naskh'' or ''nasikh'' and ''mansukh'' in hadith, which also attempts to reconcile contradictions in hadiths, but by determining which of the contradicting hadith abrogates the other; *study of ''sharh al-hadith'', which are commentary on hadith that attempt "to explain the intentions (of) Prophet Muhammad (in uttering it)"; *study of ''ʿilm jarḥ wa taʿdīl'' (wounding and rectifying), which attempts to verify the reliability of transmitters of hadith, their deficiencies and virtues; *study of transmitters of hadith, ''ʿilm al-rijāl'' (science of men) which provides biographies of the narrators and the different categories they fall under.


History

After the death of Muhammad, his sayings were transmitted orally. According to Islamic tradition,
Umar ibn al-Khattab ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
, the second
caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
, started the process of collecting all the hadiths together into one unified volume, but gave up the endeavor "for fear the Quran would be neglected by the Muslims" (according to Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi). The
Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
caliph,
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( ar, عمر بن عبد العزيز, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; 2 November 680 – ), commonly known as Umar II (), was the eighth Umayyad caliph. He made various significant contributions and reforms to the society, an ...
(aka Umar II, who reigned from 717-720 CE) also started an effort to collect all the hadiths. Teaching and collecting hadiths was part of a plan of his to renew the moral fiber of the Muslim community. He supported teachers of fiqh, sent educators to ignorant Bedouin tribes, ordered weekly hadith lectures in the
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Prov ...
, and sent out scholars of hadith to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
and
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, (according to Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi). Umar also ordered the great scholar of
Madinah Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
, Abu Bakr ibn Hazm to write down all the hadiths of Muhammad and Umar ibn al-Khattab, particularly those narrated by
Aisha Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al- muʾminīn), referr ...
. He had these hadiths collected in books which were circulated around the Umayyad Empire. Although these books are lost today, commentaries on them by Ibn al-Nadim reveals that they are organized like books of
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
, such as the Muwatta of
Imam Malik Malik ibn Anas ( ar, مَالِك بن أَنَس, ‎ 711–795 CE / 93–179 AH), whose full name is Mālik bin Anas bin Mālik bin Abī ʿĀmir bin ʿAmr bin Al-Ḥārith bin Ghaymān bin Khuthayn bin ʿAmr bin Al-Ḥārith al-Aṣbaḥī ...
, the first large compilation of hadiths. Imam Malik himself probably followed the general plan of the early books of hadith ordered by Umar. Hadith studies developed in part because forgery "took place on a massive scale", Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.93 with perhaps the most famous collector of hadith and practitioner of ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth''—
Muhammad al-Bukhari Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
—sifting through nearly 600,000, over 16 years before eliminating all but approximately 7400 hadith. Traditional accounts describe "the systematic study of hadith" as being motivated by the altruism of "pious scholars" seeking to correct this problem. Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.19 Some scholars (
Daniel W. Brown Daniel W. Brown is the author of the books ''A New Introduction to Islam'' (in its 3rd edition as of 2017), ''Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought'' (1999). As of 2020 is under contract to write ''Muhammad Iqbal'', (Makers of the Muslim ...
, A. Kevin Reinhart) shed doubt on this. Brown believes the theory "fails" to adequately account "for the atmosphere of conflict" of at least early hadith criticism. The "method of choice" of partisans seeking to discredit opposing schools of Islamic law was to discredit the authorities (transmitters) of their opponent's hadith—to "tear apart" their isnads". (To do this required developing biographical evaluations of hadith transmitters—''ʿilm al-rijāl'' and ''ilm jarh wa ta’dil''). Reinhart finds descriptions of famous companions of Muhammad in
Ibn Sa'd Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Sa‘d ibn Manī‘ al-Baṣrī al-Hāshimī or simply Ibn Sa'd ( ar, ابن سعد) and nicknamed ''Scribe of Waqidi'' (''Katib al-Waqidi''), was a scholar and Arabian biographer. Ibn Sa'd was born in 784/785 ...
's ''Kitāb aṭ-ṭabaqāt al-kabīr'' "recording hadith and transmitting it, asking each other about precedents, and reproaching those who disregarded this authentic religious knowledge" in suspicious conformity to the "mythology of the pristine early community". As the criteria for judging authenticity grew into the six major collections of '' ṣaḥīḥ'' (sound) hadith ('' Kutub al-Sittah'') in the third century, the science of hadith was described as having become a "mature system", Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.83 or to have entered its "final stage". Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.94 The classification of Hadith into * ''sahih'', sound or authentic; * ''hasan'', good; * ''da'if'', weak, *(another rating is ''mawḍūʿ'', fabricated). was utilized early in hadith scholarship by Ali ibn al-Madini ( 161–234 AH). Later, al-Madini's student
Muhammad al-Bukhari Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
(810–870) authored a collection, now known as ''
Sahih Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a '' hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. ...
'', commonly accepted by Sunni scholars to be the most authentic collection of hadith, followed by that of his student
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshādh al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī ( ar, أبو الحسين عساكر الدين مسلم بن الحجاج بن مسلم بن وَرْد بن كوشاذ ...
. Al-Bukhari's methods of testing hadiths and ''isnads'' are seen as exemplary of the developing methodology of hadith scholarship.


Evaluating authenticity

An elaborate system was developed by scholars of hadith to determine the authenticity of traditions based on "two premises": #that the authenticity of a hadith report is "best measured by the reliability of the transmitters" (known as ''rāwī'' pl. ''ruwāt'') of the report; #consequently, "carefully scrutinizing" the "individual transmitters" of the hadith (''ilm jarh wa ta’dil''; ''ʿilm al-rijāl'') and "the continuity of their chains of transmission" is the best way to measure hadith reliability. Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.82 A basic element of hadith studies consist of a careful examination of the chain of transmission (''sanad'' , also ''isnād'' , or silsila ), relaying each ''
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
'' from the Prophet to the person who compiles the hadith. The ''isnād'' and the commentary are distinct from the ''matn'' (), which is the main body, or text, of the hadith, These two terms are the primary components of every hadith. According to the person most responsible for elevation of the importance of hadith in Islamic law, Imam Al-Shafi‘i,
"In most cases the truthfulness or lack of truthfulness of a tradition can only be known through the truthfulness or lack of truthfulness of the transmitter, except in a few special cases when he relates what cannot possibly be the case, or what is contradicted by better-authenticated information."Al-Shafi'i, al-Risala, Bulaq, 1321; ed. Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, Cairo, 1940 (ed. Shakir), 55
The first people who received hadith were Muhammad's "Companions" (''
Sahaba The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...
''), who are believed to have understood and preserved it. They conveyed it to those after them as they were commanded; then the generation following them, the "Followers" (''
Tabi‘un The tābi‘ūn ( ar, اَلتَّابِعُونَ, also accusative or genitive tābi‘īn , singular ''tābi‘'' ), "followers" or "successors", are the generation of Muslims who followed the companions (''ṣaḥābah'') of the Islamic proph ...
''), received it and then conveyed it to those after them, and so on. Thus, the Companion would say, “I heard the Prophet say such and such.” The Follower would say, “I heard a Companion say, ‘I heard the Prophet say’” The one after the Follower would say, “I heard a Follower say, ‘I heard a Companion say, ‘I heard the Prophet say’” and so on.


Criteria to be a ''ṣaḥīḥ'' hadith

To be ṣaḥīḥ'' ("sound") hadith, an isolated hadith (''Mutawatir'' hadith were exempt from these tests) "must pass five tests": #"continuity of transmission"; #''ʿadāla'' of transmitters, i.e. transmitters must be of good character; #"accuracy (''ḍabṭ'') of the process of transmission, i.e. narrators must not be prone to carelessness or known to have poor memories"; #absence of "irregularities" (''shadhūdh''), i.e. hadith must not contradict a "more reliable source"; #"absence of corrupting defects(''ʿilla qādiḥa''), i.e. inaccuracies in reporting the actual chain of transmission."


Biographical evaluation

An important discipline within hadith studies is biographical evaluation, the study of transmitters of hadith, ''ʿilm al-rijāl'', (literally "science of men") mentioned above. These are the narrators who make up the ''sanad''. ''Ilm ar-rijal'' is based on certain verses of the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
. Transmitters are studied and rated for their "general capacity" (''ḍābit''; ''itqān'') and their moral character (''ʿadāla''). #General capacity is measured by qualities such as memory, linguistic ability. Transmitters that have good memories and linguistic ability "might be considered competent (''ḍābit'')". #''ʿadāla'' transmitters must be "adult Muslims, fully in control of their mental faculties, aware of their moral responsibilities, free from guilt for major sins, and not prone to minor sins". Examples of ratings of transmitters include "trustworthy" or ''thiqa'' for ones that possess both ''ʿadāla'' and ''ḍābit''. Transmitters that are ''ʿadāla'' but show signs of carelessness are rated honest or ''ṣudūq''. The result of this study were "vast biographical dictionaries" to check against the isnads of individual hadith. Not all transmitters were evaluated for these characteristics and rated. Companions of the prophet (''ṣaḥāba'') were traditionally considered to possess ''collective'' moral turpitude or ''taʿdīl'', by virtue of their exposure to the Prophet, so that they all possessed ''ʿadāla'' without needing to be evaluated. (This quality was similar to that of Prophetic infallibility ('' ʿiṣma'') but of course lower in level.) Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya al-Kandahlawi has mentioned that
Imam Bukhari Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serv ...
(the famous compiler of "sound" hadith) listed the following as criterion for a muhaddith: #The four things which one must write are: ##The hadith of the Prophet and his rulings ##The sayings of the ''Sahaba'' and the status of each ''sahabi'' (companions of the prophet) ##The sayings of the ''Tabieen'' (i.e., the ''Salaf-us Salaheen'' who met the ''Sahaba'', but did not meet the Blessed Prophet). The level of each of the ''Tabieen''. Who amongst them was reliable and who was unreliable ##Knowledge of all the narrators who narrate hadith and their history #The history of the narrators must include four things: ##Their ''Isma-ul-Rijjal'' (biographies) ##Their ''kunniyaat'' (nicknames) ##Their place of settlement ##Their date of birth and date of death (to verify whether this person met the people whom he narrated from)


Traditional importance of the ''sanad''

The second criteria after judging the general ability and moral probity of the transmitters, is the "continuity" of the chain of transmission of the hadith. The transmitters must be shown to have received the accounts of the prophet "''in an acceptable manner'' from the preceding authority in the chain".
Transmitters must have lived during the same period, they must have had the opportunity to meet, and they must have reached sufficient age at the time of transmission to guarantee their capacity to transmit.
Early religious scholars stressed the importance of the ''sanad''. For example, according to an early Quranic exegete, ''Matr al-Warraq'', the verse from the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
, “Or a remnant of knowledge,” refers to the ''isnad'' of a hadith. In addition, Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak said, “The ''isnad'' is from the religion; were it not for the ''isnad'' anyone could say anything they wanted.” According to
Ibn al-Salah Abū ‘Amr ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Abd il-Raḥmān Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Kurdī al-Shahrazūrī () (c. 1181 CE/577 AH – 1245/643), commonly known as Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, was a Kurdish Shafi'i hadith specialist and the author of the seminal '' Intro ...
, the ''sanad'' originated within the Muslim scholastic community and remains unique to it. Ibn Hazm said that the connected, continuous ''sanad'' is particular to the religion of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
: the ''sanad'' was also used by the Jewish community, but they had a break of more than 30 generations between them and
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...
, and the
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...
limited their use of the ''sanad'' to the prohibition of divorce.
Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم � ...
also said that the knowledge of ''isnad'' is particular to the followers of Prophet
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
. The practice of paying particular attention to the ''sanad'' can be traced to the generation following that of the Companions, based upon the statement of Muhammad Ibn Sirin: “They did not previously inquire about the ''sanad''. However, after the turmoil occurred they would say, ‘Name for us your narrators.’ So the people of the
Sunnah In Islam, , also spelled ( ar, سنة), are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed ...
would have their hadith accepted and the people of innovation would not.” Those who were not given to require a ''sanad'' were, in the stronger of two opinions, the Companions of the Prophet, while others, such as
al-Qurtubi Imam Abū ʿAbdullāh Al-Qurṭubī or Abū ʿAbdullāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Anṣārī al-Qurṭubī ( ar, أبو عبدالله القرطبي) (121429 April 1273) was an Andalusian jurist, Islamic scholar and muhaddith. H ...
, include the older of the Followers as well. This is due to the Companions all being considered upright, trustworthy transmitters of hadith, such that a ''mursal'' hadith narrated by a Companion is acceptable.
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Thābit ibn Aḥmad ibn Māhdī al-Shāfiʿī, commonly known as al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī ( ar, الخطيب البغدادي) or "the lecturer from Baghdad" (10 May 1002 – 5 September 1071; 392 AH-463 AH), wa ...
, stating likewise, cited various evidences for this, from them, the Quranic verse, “And you were the best nation brought about to mankind.” The ''fitnah'' referred to is the conflicting ideologies of the
Kharijites The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...
and the
Ghulat The ( ar, غلاة, 'exaggerators', 'extremists', 'transgressors', singular ) were a branch of early Shi'i Muslims thus named by other Shi'i and Sunni Muslims for their purportedly 'exaggerated' veneration of the prophet Muhammad (–632) and Ahl ...
that had emerged at the time of the third Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, his assassination and the social unrest of the Kharijites in opposition to the succeeding rulers, Ali and Muawiyah. The death of Uthman was in the year 35 after the migration.


The ''matn''

According to scholar Daniel Brown, in traditional hadith studies, "the possibility" of criticizing the ''matn'' as well as the isnad "was recognized in theory, but the option was seldom systematically exercised". Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.157, note 5
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
n hadith scholar Dr. Salah al-Din al-Idlibi is expert in the relatively new field of ''matn'' criticism. Whereas traditional criticism has focused on verifying the trustworthiness of the people transmitting the hadith, ''matn'' criticism studies the contents of the hadith and compares this with the contents of other hadiths and any other available
historical evidence Historical method is the collection of techniques and guidelines that historians use to research and write histories of the past. Secondary sources, primary sources and material evidence such as that derived from archaeology may all be drawn o ...
with the aim of arriving at an objective historical reality of the event described by the hadith.


''Muhaddith'': scholar of ''hadith''

The term ''muḥaddith'' (plural ''muḥaddithūn'' often translated as "traditionist") refers to a specialist who profoundly knows and narrates
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
, the chains of their narration '' isnad'', and the original and famous narrators. According to the 8th century Imam, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Idris ash- Shafi`i, a ''muhaddith'' is someone who has memorised at least 400,000 narrations along with the chain of narrators for each narration. The female equivalent is a ''muhadditha''. In describing the ''muhaddith'',
Al-Dhahabi Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī (), also known as Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ ibn ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī (5 October 1274 – 3 February 1348) was an Islamic historia ...
raised the question, "Where is the knowledge of hadith, and where are its people?" Answering his own question, he said, "I am on the verge of not seeing them except engrossed in a book or under the soil." Both men and women can serve as ''muhaddithin'' (traditionists). The requirements for a muhaddith are the same requirements that apply to the reception and transmission of reports (riwayah) in the Islamic tradition more generally: truthfulness, integrity, a competent and accurate memory, being free of prejudice or compulsion that might be presumed to distort the reporting. There are numerous women who have served as muhaddithat in the history of Islam. Nadwi counts more than 8000 based on the biographical dictionaries of the classical and medieval period. Many of these women belonged to the most outstanding scholars and traditionists of their time and men were proud to receive narration from them. One must also note that muhaddithat transmitted the same body of knowledge as their male counterparts – there were and are no restrictions on what could be transmitted by women. The pursuit of knowledge was held above all else and was given even more importance if one travelled to seek that knowledge. Many muhaddithats were born into a prominent family that had connection with the upper class or had a male relative who had a vested interest and/or connections that enhanced the career of these muhaddithats. In many cases, muhaddithats were the last living link between older scholars and the younger generations as they tended to live longer. Their isnads were held with greater value due to this. Below are some of the most prominent muhaddithats of their times. Shuhda al-Katiba (482-574CE) Shuhda al-Katiba was born in Baghdad during a time of turmoil. There were refugees fleeing and the city was being attacked. Despite this, Shuhda was able to find success. Her father played a big role in her education and she has credited him to her success in the field. She began her education at the age of eight when her father began introducing her to some of the most prominent and sought after muhaddiths and scholars of their time. Her husband also gave her access to the upper class of Baghdad. She gained fame later in her career and was known to be the last living link between prominent scholars and the younger generations. This made her isnad a particularly sought after one. Fatimah Bint Sa’d al-Khayr (525-600CE) Fatimah Bint Sa’d al-Khayr was born in China but later dwelled in Isfahan and Baghdad. Her father was a scholar who felt it was very important for his children to be immersed in religious studies, particularly Hadith studies. He had traveled to many places in pursuit of this knowledge and even taught some of his children himself. Fatimah was brought up fully immersed in Hadith studies. Her sister also became a prominent muhaddithat. Her husband was very wealthy, held a high position in society, and a scholar himself, though not at the same level as Fatimah. She lived in Damascus with him for some time then moved to Cairo. Fatimah’s career prospered in these two cities towards the end of her life. She had many students who traveled far and wide to recite to her and learn from her. She died when she was 78 years old. There is some mystery surrounding her life. When her husband died, he had not a penny to his name despite being very wealthy in his life. No one is aware of how this occurred. Zaynab Bint al-Kamal (646-740CE) Zaynab Bint al-Kamal started her career at the age of one in Damascus. It is thought that the credit for that goes to her uncle rather than her father, as seen with other muhaddithats, who took her to prominent scholars at a very young age. Damascus was prospering during her life which gave her career extra stability. She never married, which could have contributed to her extensive education as she had more time to devote to it. Her students went on to become very prominent scholars with their impressive isnads thanks to her. As mentioned with the above muhaddithats, since Zaynab started so young, she had hadiths from scholars who had died when she was teaching which made her highly sought after. People were willing to travel great distances to meet her. She died in her late 90s which is an impressive age for her time period. A’isha Bint Muhammad (723-816CE) A’isha Bint Muhammad came from a very prominent religious family. She started her career at four years old while Damascus was still prospering. Similar to the scholars mentioned above, she was the last link to many muhaddithats who had died which made her the last living link. Her students became prominent scholars as well. She died at the age of 93. By the time of her death, she had the reputation of a very highly regarded muhadditha. Reporting or narrating (riwayah) must be differentiated from giving testimony (shahadah). While women are entirely equal in riwayah, many Islamic jurists place restrictions on women in shahadah – thus in several schools of law the testimony of two women is equal to that of a man. A ''muḥaddith'' or "traditionist" is not the same as one of the ''Ahl al-Hadith'' or a "traditionalist", a member of a movement of
hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
scholars who considered the Quran and authentic hadith to be the only authority in matters of law and creed.


Sunni literature for hadith studies

As in any Islamic discipline, there is a rich history of literature describing the principles and fine points of hadith studies.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī or ''Ibn Ḥajar'' ( ar, ابن حجر العسقلاني, full name: ''Shihābud-Dīn Abul-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Nūrud-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī al-Kināni'') (18 February 1372 – 2 Febru ...
provides a summation of this development with the following: “Works authored in the terminology of the people of hadith have become plentiful from the Imaams both old and contemporary: # From the first of those who authored a work on this subject is the Judge, Abū Muḥammad al-Rāmahurmuzī in his book, ‘al-Muhaddith al-Faasil,’ however, it was not comprehensive. # And al-Hakim, Abu Abd Allah an-Naysaburi, however, it was neither refined nor well arranged. # And following him, Abu Nu’aym al-Asbahani, who wrote a ''mustakhraj'' upon the book of the later, (compiling the same narrations al-Hakim cited using his own ''sanads''.) However, some things remain in need of correction. # And then came al-Khatib Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi, authoring works in the various disciplines of hadith studies a book entitled ''al-Kifaayah'' and in its etiquettes a book entitled ''al-Jami’ Li Adab ash-Sheikh wa as-Saami''. Scarce is the discipline from the disciplines of the science of hadeeth that he has not written an individual book regarding, as al-Hafith Abu Bakr ibn Nuqtah said: 'Every objective person knows that the scholars of hadeeth coming after al-Khatib are indebted to his works.' After them came others, following al-Khatib, taking their share from this science." # al-Qadi ‘Eyaad compiled a concise book naming it ''al-Ilmaa’''. # Abu Hafs al-Mayanajiy a work giving it the title ''Ma Laa yasu al-Muhaddith Jahluhu'' or ''That Which a Hadith Scholar is Not Allowed Ignorance Of''. There are numerous examples of this which have gained popularity and were expanded upon seeking to make plentiful the knowledge relating to these books and others abridged making easy their understanding. # This was prior to the coming of the memorizer and jurist Taqiyy ad-Deen Aboo ‘Amrin ‘Uthmaan
ibn al-Salah Abū ‘Amr ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Abd il-Raḥmān Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Kurdī al-Shahrazūrī () (c. 1181 CE/577 AH – 1245/643), commonly known as Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, was a Kurdish Shafi'i hadith specialist and the author of the seminal '' Intro ...
‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ash-Shahruzuuree, who settled in
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
. He gathered, at the time he had become a teacher of hadith at the Ashrafiyyah school, his well known book, editing the various disciplines mentioned in it. He dictated it piecemeal and, as a result, did not succeed in providing it with an appropriate order. He occupied himself with the various works of al-Khatib, gathering his assorted studies, adding to them from other sources the essence of their benefits. So he combined in his book what had been spread throughout books other than it. It is due to this that people have focused their attention upon it, following its example. Innumerable are those who rendered his book into poetry, abridged it, sought to complete what had been left out of it or left out any extraneous information; as well as those who opposed him in some aspect of his work or supported him.


Discussion of validity

The science of hadith has not been without critics. According to Muhammad Husayn Haykal, "despite the great care and precision of the Hadith scholars, much of what they regarded as true was later proved to be spurious." He goes on to quote Al-Nawawi (1233–1277), who stated that "a number of scholars discovered many hadiths" in the two most authentic hadith collection
Sahih al-Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. A ...
and
Sahih Muslim Sahih Muslim ( ar, صحيح مسلم, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), group=note is a 9th-century '' hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (815–875). It is one of the most valued b ...
"which do not fulfill the conditions of verification assumed by these men" (i.e. by the hadith collectors
Muhammad al-Bukhari Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
and
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj Abū al-Ḥusayn ‘Asākir ad-Dīn Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ibn Muslim ibn Ward ibn Kawshādh al-Qushayrī an-Naysābūrī ( ar, أبو الحسين عساكر الدين مسلم بن الحجاج بن مسلم بن وَرْد بن كوشاذ ...
). Among the criticisms made (of non-sahih as well as sahih hadith) of is that there was a suspiciously large growth in their number with each generation in the early years of Islam; Ibn Rawandi, "Origins of Islam", 2000: p.117 that large numbers of hadith contradicted each other; and that the genre's status as a primary source of Islamic law motivated the creation of fraudulent hadith. Modern Western scholars in particular have "seriously questioned the historicity and authenticity of the ''hadith''", according to
John Esposito John Louis Esposito (born May 19, 1940) is an Italian-American academic, professor of Middle Eastern and religious studies, and scholar of Islamic studies, who serves as Professor of Religion, International Affairs, and Islamic Studies at Ge ...
, maintaining that "the bulk of traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad were actually written much later." According to Esposito, Schacht "found no evidence of legal traditions before 722," from which Schacht concluded that "the Sunna of the Prophet is not the words and deeds of the Prophet, but apocryphal material" dating from later.
Henry Preserved Smith Henry Preserved Smith (October 12, 1847 – February 26, 1927) was an American biblical scholar. Smith was born in Troy, Ohio. He graduated at Amherst College in 1869 and studied theology in Lane Theological Seminary in 1869–1872, in Berlin ...
and Ignác Goldziher also challenged the reliability of the ''hadith'', Smith stating that "forgery or invention of traditions began very early" and "many traditions, even if well authenticated to external appearance, bear internal evidence of forgery." Goldziher writes that "European critics hold that only a very small part of the ḥadith can be regarded as an actual record of Islam during the time of Mohammed and his immediate followers." In his ''Mohammedan Studies'', Goldziher states: "it is not surprising that, among the hotly debated controversial issues of Islam, whether political or doctrinal, there is not one in which the champions of the various views are unable to cite a number of traditions, all equipped with imposing ''isnads''". Patricia Crone noted that early traditionalists were still developing conventions of examining the chain of narration (''isnads'') that by later standards were sketchy/deficient, even though they were closer to the historical material. Later though they possessed impeccable chains, but were more likely to be fabricated. Reza Aslan quotes Schacht's maxim: `the more perfect the isnad, the later the tradition`, which he (Aslan) calls "whimsical but accurate".
Bernard Lewis Bernard Lewis, (31 May 1916 – 19 May 2018) was a British American historian specialized in Oriental studies. He was also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis was the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near ...
writes that "the creation of new hadiths designed to serve some political purpose has continued even to our own time." In the buildup to the first
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
a "tradition" was published in the Palestinian daily newspaper ''Al-Nahar'' on December 15, 1990, "and described as `currently in wide circulation`" It "quotes the Prophet as predicting that "the Greeks and Franks will join with Egypt in the desert against a man named Sadim, and not one of them will return". Others have praised the tradition for its ingenuity: Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a Senior Lecturer and an Islamic Scholar at the
Islamic Institute of Toronto The Islamic Institute of Toronto (IIT) is a non-profit, federally registered, educational institute. The IIT was established in 1996 to strengthen access to Islamic universities and colleges, promote scholarly research, facilitate community outr ...
,islam.ca
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Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, clarifies what he feels supports the validity of hadith studies: :There is a basic distinction between Islam and other religions in this regard: Islam is singularly unique among the world religions in the fact that in order to preserve the sources of their religion, the Muslims invented a scientific methodology based on precise rules for gathering data and verifying them. As it has been said, 'Isnad or documentation is part of Islamic religion, and if it had not been for isnad, everybody would have said whatever he wanted.


See also

* Hadith history * Hadith types * Hadith terminology * Kutub al-Sittah * Criticism of Hadith


References


Notes


Citations


Books and journal articles

* *
Jonathan A.C. Brown Jonathan Andrew Cleveland Brown is an American Muslim scholar of Islamic studies. Since 2012, he has served as an associate professor at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He holds the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of ...
(2009), ''Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World''.
Oneworld Publications Oneworld Publications is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Novin Doostdar and Juliet Mabey originally to publish accessible non-fiction by experts and academics for the general market.Jonathan A.C. Brown Jonathan Andrew Cleveland Brown is an American Muslim scholar of Islamic studies. Since 2012, he has served as an associate professor at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He holds the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of ...
(2007), ''The Canonization of al-Bukhārī and Muslim: The Formation and Function of the Sunnī Ḥadīth Canon''.
Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 2 ...
. .


External links


A brief introduction to hadith studiesHadith Science Magazine
{{Sunni hadith literature , collapsed Hadith