DEFINITION OF HADITH

Now before I discuss importance of hadith, I must clarify

that there is a great difference b/w sunnah and hadith. Most
people consider it synonym of each other or two names one
thing but in reality they are different from each other.
hadith is the narrative of the words,deeds or tacit
approved or disapproved by the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w). It
does not add anything to the the contents of Islam that are
stated in Quran and Sunnah which are two independent
sources.
Muslims scholars employ the term hadith as khabar.
Because in khabar, there might be a possibility of being
right or wrong.
On the other hand Sunnah literally means paths names, as a
term it means the practices of Abraham (sws) to which
Prophet Muhammad (sws) gave religious sanction among his
followers after retrieving reforming and making certain
additions or deductions from them.
Quranic Verse, Then We revealed to you to follow the ways
of Abraham, who was true in faith and was not among the
polytheists. (16:123)
Literal meaning of Hadith
The word Hadith is singular and means Kalaam (speech).
The plural is Ahaadith.
Technical definition of Hadith
The Fuqaha (Jurists) and Muhadditheen (Traditionists and
experts in Hadith) differ in their definitions of
Hadith. This is because the fields of both are different.
According to the Fuqaha, the subject matter of Hadith is to
deduce the laws of Shariah from Hadith and the subject
matter of the Muhadditheen is to merely compile the
Ahaadith.
Hence, according to the Fuqaha, the definition of Hadith is:
The knowledge through which the sayings, the actions, the
conditions and confirmations of Rasulullah[Sallallahu 'alayhi

wa sallam] are known. Conditions here refer to only

voluntary conditions, not involuntary conditions
SUBJECT MATTER OF HADITH
Allamah al-Kirmaaniy [Rahimahullaah] (B.224AH; D.310AH)
states that the subject matter of Hadith is thepersonality of
Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] as a prophet
The Basis of the word Hadith
The word Hadith is mentioned in the Qur'an referring to
the guidance given to Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa
sallam] by Allah. In Surah al-Dhuhaa, Allah Taala describes
the three conditions of Rasulullah [Sallallahu'alayhi wa
sallam], being an orphan, wandering about (in search of
guidance) and being poor. In response to wandering for
guidance, Allah Taala granted guidance to Rasulullah
[Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam]. Upon that

Allah Taala says:

Translation: And as for the bounties of your Lord, make
mention of them
The guidance is referred to as the Nimah (bounty) of Allah
and Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] is
instructed to speak about that.
The word used is . The word is also mentioned in
many Ahaadith, for example,

1) 7 " Translation: Narrate from me and fear no

sin.

Translation: Whoever
narrates such a Hadith from me regarding whose
authenticity he doubts, then he is also from the liars

Hadith is primarily divided

into two aspects:

a)
( " ) al-Riwaayah" refers to narrating
of Ahaadith, writing them and preserving them. and
the meaning of the Hadith


b) " al-Diraayah" refers to understanding the different
aspects of Hadith, the chain of narrators, the authenticity of
the Hadith.



COMPILATION OF AHAADITH
There were three methods used to preserve the Ahaadith of
Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam]:
a) Memory,

b) Practice,

c) Writing

Memory
Hafizh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalaniy [Rahimahullah] (B.773AH
D.852AH) has stated: "once Marwaan wanted to test
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra [Radhiyallahu 'anhu]'s memory
regarding Hadith. He requested Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra
[Radhiyallahu 'anhu] to narrate some Ahaadith. The
following year, he requested Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra
[Radhiyallahu 'anhu] to narrate those same Ahaadith of the
previous year. Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra [Radhiyallahu 'anhu]
repeated all the Ahaadith exactly as he did the previous
year without a single error.
Practice
One of the most efficient ways of preserving knowledge is by
practicing upon it. Almighty Allah Taala and His Rasul
[Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] emphasized the importance of
practicing on knowledge. Thus, practicing on the Ahaadith of
Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] became an effective
method of preserving the Ahaadith of Rasulullah [Sallallahu
'alayhi wa sallam].
One of the most effective methods of preserving knowledge
is writing. The same was done with the Ahaadith of
Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] .The Ahaadith of
Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] were preserved
through writing by the Sahaba [Radhiyallahu 'anhum]. In
fact, Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] permitted and
encouraged the Sahaba [Radhiyallahu 'anhum] to write
down his Ahaadith. This is substantiated by the following:
a) One Sahabi [Radhiyallahu 'anhu] complained to Rasulullah
[Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] that he hears theAhaadith,
likes them but cannot remember them. Rasulullah
[Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said, "Seekassistance through
your right hand and he indicated to writing with his hands.

b) Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn 'Aas [Radhiyallahu 'anhu]

states, I used to write down everything I used to hear from
Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam].My purpose was to
preserve (whatever Ahaadith I hear).
The Quraysh stopped me and said, You write everything you
hear whereas Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] is a
human being. He talks in anger and in happiness. I stopped
writing and mentioned that to Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi
wa sallam]. He [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] indicated with
his finger to his mouth and said, "(Continue) writing. By Him
in whose soul is my life, nothing comes out from it (the
mouth) but Haqq."
c) Sayyiduna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr narrates that Rasulullah
[Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said, Capture knowledge I
said, What is it to capture knowledge? Rasulullah
[Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said: It is writing down
knowledge.
In view of the above mentioned Ahaadith, many Sahaba
[Radhiyallahu 'anhum] had written down Ahaadith and had
their personal compilations. Hereunder are some examples:
Al-Sahifa al-Saadiqah
The background of this compilation is as follows: Sayyiduna
Abu Hurayra [Radhiyallahu 'anhu] narrates that none of the
companions of Rasulullah [Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam]
gathered more Ahaadith than I besides
Sayyiduna 'Abdullah Ibn 'Amr Ibn al-'Aas. That is because he
used to write and I would not write.
The exact number of narrations of Sayyiduna 'Abdullah Ibn
'Amr Ibn al-'Aas [Radhiyallahu 'anhu] are not
known, However, it is certainly more than the narrations of
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra [Radhiyallahu 'anhu]. The
narrations of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra [Radhiyallahu 'anhu]
are approximately 5374. This compilation was
passed over to the grandson of Sayyiduna 'Abdullah Ibn Amr
Ibn al-'Aas whose name is 'Amr Ibn Shuayb and

it is generally narrated as:

an 'amr Ibn shuayb `an abeehi 'an jaddihi.

Typs of hadith
Matn (text),
isnad (chain of reporters), and
taraf (the part, or the beginning sentence, of the text which
refers to the sayings, actions or characteristics of the
Prophet(P), or his concurrence with others action). The
authenticity of the hadith depends on the reliability of its
reporters, and the linkage among them
1.

Qudsi Divine; a revelation from Allah(SWT); relayed

with the words of the Prophet(P).

Marfu` - elevated; a narration from the Prophet(P), e.g., I

heard the Prophet(P) saying ...

Mauquf- stopped: a narration from a companion only,

e.g., we were commanded to ...

Maqtu` - severed: a narration from a successor.

2.
Musnad - supported: a hadith which is reported by a
traditionalist, based on what he learned from his teacher at
a time of life suitable for learning; similarly - in turn - for
each teacher until the isnad reaches a well known
companion, who in turn, reports from the Prophet(P).

Muttasil - continuous: a hadith with an

uninterrupted isnad which goes back only to a companion or
successor.
Mursal - hurried: if the link between the successor and
the Prophet(P) is missing, e.g., when a successor says "The
Prophet said...".

Munqati` - broken: is a hadith whose link anywhere before

the successor (i.e., closer to the traditionalist recording
the hadith) is missing.

Mu`adal - perplexing: is a hadith whose reporter omits

two or more consecutive reporters in the isnad.

Mu`allaq - hanging: is a hadith whose reporter omits the

whole isnad and quotes the Prophet(P) directly (i.e., the link
is missing at the beginning).
3.

Mutawatir - Consecutive: is a hadith which is reported by
such a large number of people that they cannot be expected
to agree upon a lie, all of them together.
Ahad - isolated: is a hadith which is narrated by people
whose number does not reach that of the mutawatir.It is
further classified into:

Mash'hur famous: hadith reported by more than two

reporters.
`Aziz - rare, strong: at any stage in the isnad, only two
reporters are found to narrate the hadith.

Gharib - strange: At some stage of the isnad, only one

reporter is found relating it.
4.
Munkar - denounced: is a hadith which is reported by a
weak narrator, and whose narration goes against another
authentic hadith.
Mudraj - interpolated: an addition by a reporter to the
text of the hadith being narrated.
5.
Sahih sound. Imam al-Shafi`i states the following
requiremetts for a hadith, which is not Mutawatir, to be
acceptable "each reporter should be trustworthy in his
religion; he should be known to be truthtul in his narrating,
to understand what he narrates, to know how a different
expression can alter the meaning, and to report the wording
of the hadith verbatim, not only its meaning".
Hasan good: is the one where its source is known and its
reporters are unambiguous.

Da`if - weak: a hadith which fails to reach the status

of Hasan. Usually, the weakness is: a) one of discontinuity in
the isnad, in which case thehadith could be - according to

the nature of the discontinuity

- Munqati (broken), Mu`allaq (hanging), Mu`adal (perplexing
), or Mursal(hurried), or b) one of the reporters having a
disparaged character, such as due to his telling lies,
excessive mistakes, opposition to the narration of more
reliable sources, involvement in innovation, or ambiguity
surrounding his person.

Maudu` - fabricated or forged: is a hadith whose text

goes against the established norms of the Prophet's sayings,
or its reporters include a liar. Fabricated hadith are also
recognized by external evidence related to a discrepancy
found in the dates or times of a particular incident.