INTRODUCTION

Various sources of Islamic law are used by Islamic

jurisprudence to elucidate the Sharia, the body of Islamic law. The primary
sources, accepted universally by all Muslims, are the Qur'an and Sunnah. The
Qur'an is the holy scripture of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the direct and
unaltered word of Allah. The Sunnah consists of the religious actions and
quotations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and narrated through
his Companions and Imams- (as per the beliefs of the school of Ahle-Sunnah
and Ahle-Shia).

In the eighth century, a difference in legal approach arose amongst Islamic

thinkers in two prevailing schools of legal thought. The traditionalists (ahl al-
hadith) relied solely on the Quran and the sunna (traditions) of the Prophet as
the only valid sources for jurisprudence, such as the prevailing thought
emanating from Medina. The non-traditional approach (ahl al-ra'y) relied on the
free use of reasoning and opinion in the absence of reliable ahadith, which was
heralded in Iraq. The reason for the difference in technique is that in Medina,
there was an abundance of reliable ahadith that scholars could depend on for
forming legislation, since the Prophet lived the last ten years of his life during a
period of legislation in the young Muslim community. In Iraq, the sources that
were available were not as reliable as in Medina and so the jurists had to turn to
analogy because of their circumstances. Therefore, a hadith may have been
accepted by Malik (from Medina) and not by Abu Hanifa (from Iraq) who had
to use analogy in the absence of reliable hadith. A challenge that jurists had to
reconcile was which of the Prophet’s actions and decisions were religiously
binding and which were merely a function of personal discretion of the
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Prophet? In general, ahl al-hadith eventually lent legislative significance to
much of the Prophet’s decisions, whereas other schools tended to distinguish
between the various roles that the Prophet played in his life.

Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (d. 819) was concerned about the variety of
doctrine and sought to limit the sources of law and establish a common
methodology for all schools of Islamic law.3 His efforts resulted in the
systemization of usul al-fiqh, the following four sources of Islamic law:

• 1. The Quran;
• 2. The Sunna or Hadith (tradition of the Prophet) ;
• 3. Qiyas or analogies;
• 4. Ijma or unanimous agreement

1.

Throughout history these sources were used in descending order by Muslim

jurists in determining the legality of an issue. If the legality was not based on an
explicit command in the Quran, then the jurists turned to look for explicit
commands in the hadith, and so on. Unfortunately, as we shall discover, not all
aspects of the methodology were unanimously agreed upon; the Quran could be
interpreted differently, some traditions of the Prophet were questioned for their
authenticity and to what extent they were religiously imperative, the use of
analogies was greatly debated and there was little unanimous agreement among
scholars in Islamic history about inexplicit issues.

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Quran

The Qur'an is the first and most important source of Islamic law. Believed to be
the direct word of God as revealed to Muhammad through angel Gabriel in
Mecca and Medina, the scripture specifies the moral, philosophical, social,
political and economic basis on which a society should be constructed. The
verses revealed in Mecca deal with philosophical and theological issues,
whereas those revealed in Medina are concerned with socio-economic laws.
The Qur'an was written and preserved during the life of Muhammad, and
compiled soon after his death.

God revealed the Quran in Arabic through the Angel Gabriel to Prophet
Muhammad over a period of 23 years. For ten years in Mecca and 13 years in
Medina the Quran taught the oneness of God and guided believers to the path
of morality and justice. As the Muslim community grew and its needs became
more complex, the Quran addressed those issues and tried to replace old tribal
customs with more just reforms. For example, the Quran outlawed prevalent
customs such as idolatry, gambling, liquor, promiscuity, unbridled polygamy,
usury, etc. It also improved the status of women by proclaiming women's
equality to men and providing women with decreed rights in the areas of
marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Muslim jurists agree that the Qur'an in its entirety is not a legal code (used in
the modern sense); rather its purpose is to lay down a way of life which
regulates man's relationship with others and God. The verses of the Qur'an are
categorized into three fields: "science of speculative theology", "ethical
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principles" and "rules of human conduct". The third category is directly
concerned with Islamic legal matters which contains about five hundred verses
or one thirteenth of it. The task of interpreting the Qur'an has led to various
opinions and judgments. The interpretations of the verses by Muhammad's
companions for Sunnis and Imams for Shias are considered the most authentic,
since they knew why, where and on what occasion each verse was revealed.

The shari'a, foundations of Islamic law, are derived from verses from the
Quran. "The bulk of Quranic matter consists mainly of broad, general moral
directives as to what the aims and aspirations of Muslims should be, the 'ought'
of the Islamic religious ethic." 4 Because many of the directives in the Quran
are so broad, interpretation takes on such a significant role. There have been so
many different interpretations of the Quran, claims widely read and revered
Islamic thinker Abul A'ala Maududi, that "there is hardly to be found any
command with an agreed interpretation." 5 And that doesn't just refer to
modern scholars, but also includes the founding schools of thought and even
the companions of the Prophet, who "did not all agree in every detail in regard
to Commands and Prohibitions."6 Nevertheless, the authenticity of the Quran
has never been questioned by any Muslim scholar or institution.

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Sunnah

The Sunnah is the next important source, and is commonly defined as "the
traditions and customs of Muhammad" or "the words, actions and silent
assertions of him". It includes the everyday sayings and utterances of
Muhammad, his acts, his tacit consent, and acknowledgments of statements and
activities. According to Shi'ite jurists, the sunnah also includes the words, deeds
and acknowledgments of the twelve Imams and Fatimah, Muhammad's
daughter, who are believed to be infallible.

Justification for using the Sunnah as a source of law can be found in the Qur'an.
The Qur'an commands Muslims to follow Muhammad. During his lifetime,
Muhammad made it clear that his traditions (along with the Qur'an) should be
followed after his death. The overwhelming majority of Muslims consider the
sunnah to be essential supplements to and clarifications of the Qur'an. In
Islamic jurisprudence, the Qur'an contains many rules for the behavior expected
of Muslims but there are no specific Qur'anic rules on many religious and
practical matters. Muslims believe that they can look at the way of life,
or sunnah, of Muhammad and his companions to discover what to imitate and
what to avoid.

Much of the sunnah is recorded in the Hadith. Initially, Muhammad had

instructed his followers not to write down his acts, so they may not confuse it
with the Qur'an. However, he did ask his followers to disseminate his sayings
orally. As long as he was alive, any doubtful record could be confirmed as true
or false by simply asking him. His death, however, gave rise to confusion over
Muhammad's conduct. Thus the Hadith were established. Due to problems of
authenticity, the science of Hadith (Arabic: `Ulum al-hadith) is established. It is
a method of textual criticism developed by early Muslim scholars in

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determining the veracity of reports attributed to Muhammad. This is achieved
by analyzing the text of the report, the scale of the report's transmission, the
routes through which the report was transmitted, and the individual narrators
involved in its transmission. On the basis of these criteria, various Hadith
classifications developed.

With regard to validity of sunnah two questions arises :

i. Whether an alleged tradition is genuine?

ii. If so, whether it is obligatory?

The first question is purely a question of fact and should be considered

according to the evidence adduced in its support. An examination of the
evidentiary test used by the great compilers of the tradition will undoubtedly
show how highly developed were the method of criticism was used. The
collectors of the tradition understood of the distinguishing the genuine from the
spurious traditions by employing the external test- the examination of isnad
(chain of narrator), and the internal test- the scrutiny of matan (subject matter
of the traditions), the only object which was to examine the credibility and
authenticity of the traditions.

The second question is a question of law. The obligatory nature of the traditions
is based on many Quranic verses amog which are the following:-

“Obey God, and obey Prophet” (4:59)

“He who obeys the Prophet, obeys God” (4:80)

“Whatever the Prophet gives accept it and whatever he forbids abstain from it”
(59:7)

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“And whatever he (Mohammed) utters, it is not of his own whim and fancy ; it
is not else but a divine revelation revealed onto him” (53:3-4)

To establish the authenticity of a particular Hadith or report, it had to be

checked by following the chain of transmission (isnad). Thus the reporters had
to cite their reference, and their reference's reference all the way back to
Muhammad. All the references in the chain had to have a reputation for honesty
and possessing a good retentive memory. Thus biographical analysis (`ilm al-
rijāl, lit. "science of people"), which contains details about the transmitter are
scrutinized. This includes analyzing their date and place of birth; familial
connections; teachers and students; religiosity; moral behaviour; literary output;
their travels; as well as their date of death. Based upon these criteria, the
reliability (thiqāt) of the transmitter is assessed. Also determined is whether the
individual was actually able to transmit the report, which is deduced from their
contemporaneity and geographical proximity with the other transmitters in the
chain. Examples of biographical dictionaries include Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's
"Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb" or al-Dhahabi's "Tadhkirat al-huffāz."

Using this criteria, Hadith are classified into three categories:

Undubitable (mutawatir), which are very widely known, and backed up by

numerous references.

Widespread (mashhur), which are widely known, but backed up with few
original references.

Isolated or Single (wahid), which are backed up by too few and often
discontinuous references

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Hadith

These works are narrations concerning the words and deeds of the Islamic
prophet Muhammad. Hadith are regarded by traditional Islamic schools of
jurisprudence as important tools for understanding theQur'an and in matters
of jurisprudence. Hadith were evaluated and gathered into large collections
mostly during the reign of Umar ibn AbdulAziz during the 8th and 9th
centuries. These works are referred to in matters of Islamic law and history to this
day. The two main denominations of Islam, Shi`ism and Sunnism, have different
sets of Hadith collections

Definition

In Arabic the word hadith means that which is new from amongst things or a piece
of information conveyed either in a small quantity or large. The Arabic plural
is aḥādīth. Hadith also refers to the speech of a person. As tahdith is the infinitive,
or verbal noun, of the original verb form;hadith is, therefore, not the
infinitive, rather it is a noun.

In Islamic terminology, the term hadith refers to reports of statements or actions of

Muhammad, or of his tacit approval of something said or done in his
presence. Classical hadith specialist Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani says that the intended
meaning of hadith in religious tradition is something attributed to Muhammad, as
opposed to the Qur'an. Other associated words possess similar meanings
including: khabar (news, information) often refers to reports about Muhammad,
but sometimes refers to traditions about his companions and their successors from
the following generation; conversely, athar (trace, vestige) usually refers to
traditions about the companions and successors, though sometimes connotes

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traditions about Muhammad. The word sunnah (custom) is also used in reference
to a normative custom of Muhammad or the early Muslim community.

Sacred hadith

Hadith Qudsi' (or Sacred Hadith) are a sub-category of hadith, which are sayings
of Muhammad. Muslims regard the Hadith Qudsi as the words
of God (Arabic:Allah), repeated by Muhammad and recorded on the condition of
an isnad. According to as-Sayyid ash-Sharif al-Jurjani, the Hadith Qudsi differ
from the Qur'an in that the former were revealed in a dream or through revelation
and are "expressed in Muhammad's words", whereas the latter are the "direct
words of God".

An example of a Hadith Qudsi is the hadith of Abu Hurairah who said that
Muhammad said:

"When God decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His

book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over My wrath."

are referred to in matters of Islamic law and history to this day. The two main
denominations of Islam, Shi`ism and Sunnism, have different sets of Hadith
collections.

Literally, Hadith means a narrative, communication or news consisting of the

factual account of an event. The word occurs frequently in the Qur'an (23 times
to be precise) and in all cases it carries the meaning of a narrative or
communication.

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Components of a hadith

The two major aspects of a hadith are the text of the report (the matn), which
contains the actual narrative, and the chain of narrators (the isnad), which
documents the route by which the report has been transmitted. The sanad, literally
'support', is so named due to the reliance of the hadith specialists upon it in
determining the authenticity or weakness of a hadith. The isnad consists of a
chronological list of the narrators, each mentioning the one from whom they heard
the hadith, until mentioning the originator of the matn along with the matn itself.

The first people to hear hadith were the companions who preserved it and then
conveyed it to those after them. Then the generation following them received it,
thus conveying it to those after them and so on. So a companion would say, "I
heard the Prophet say such and such." The Follower would then say, "I heard a
companion say, 'I heard the Prophet.'" The one after him would then say, "I heard
someone say, 'I heard a Companion say, 'I heard the Prophet..." and so on.

Shia and Sunni hadith differences

The Sunni canon of hadith took its final form more than 230 years after the death
of Muhammad (632 AD). Later scholars may have debated the authenticity of
particular hadith but the authority of the canon as a whole was not questioned.
This canon, called the six major Hadith collections, includes: Sahih al-
Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Al-Sunan al-Sughra, Sunan al-
Tirmidhi and Sunan ibn Majah. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are
considered the most reliable of these collections.

In Shia hadith you will often find sermons attributed to Ali in The Four Books or
in the Nahj al-Balagha. Shi'a Muslims do not use the six major Hadith collections

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followed by the Sunni, instead, their primary hadith collections are written by
three authors who are known as the 'Three Muhammads'. They are: Kitab al-
Kafi byMuhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni al-Razi (329 AH), Man la yahduruhu
al-Faqih by Muhammad ibn Babuyaand Al-Tahdhib and Al-Istibsar both
by Shaykh Muhammad Tusi. Unlike Akhbari Twelver Shi'a, Usuli Twelver Shi'a
scholars do not believe that everything in the four major books is authentic.

Sunni and Shia hadith collections differ because scholars from the two traditions
differ as to the reliability of the narrators and transmitters. Narrators who took the
side of Abu Bakr and Umar rather than Ali, in the disputes over leadership that
followed the death of Muhammad, are seen as unreliable by the Shia; narrations
sourced to Ali and the family of Muhammad, and to their supporters, are preferred.
Sunni scholars put trust in narrators, such as Aisha, whom Shia reject. Differences
in hadith collections have contributed to differences in worship practices and
shari'a law and have hardened the dividing line between the two traditions.

Hadith as a source of LAW

In the early days of Islam following the demise of the Prophet, stories relating
to the life and activities of the Prophet dominated all other kinds of narratives,
so the word began to be used almost exclusively to a narrative from, or a saying
of, the Prophet. [Azami, Studies, pp. 1-3 ]

Hadith differs from Sunnah in the sense that Hadith is a narration of the
conduct of the Prophet whereasSunnah is the example or the law that is
deduced from it. Hadith in this sense is the vehicle or the carrier
of Sunnah, although Sunnah is a wider concept and used to be so especially
before its literal meaning gave way to its juristic usage. Sunnah thus preferred
not only to the Hadith of the Prophet but also to the established practice of the

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community. But once the literal meanings of Hadith and Sunnah gave way to
their technical usages and were both exclusively used in reference to the
conduct of the Prophet, the two became synonymous.

Sunnah coming direct from the Prophet in the form of Hadith through a reliable
chain of narrators is a source of law.

The primary source of Islamic law is Divine Revelation. It has been given to
humankind by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in 2 kinds. One is the Quran,
the direct word of Allah (SWT), and the other is the Sunnah or the teachings of
the Prophet (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) always acted according to the
instructions of Allah (SWT). Hadith which is usually applied also for Sunnah,
is oral custom relating to the words and deeds of the Muslim prophet
Muhammad saw. Lingually the word hadith means that which is fresh from
amongst things or some informations communicated either in a micro amount
or large. In Islamic nomenclature, the term hadith refers to report about the
statements or actions of Muhammad, or about his implied approval of
something stated or done in his presence.
The Quran and the Sunnah are complimentary. The meaningful of the Quran is
in general in nature. The Sunnah gets it specified and particular. The Sunnah
explains the instruction manual of the Quran. The Quranic injunction is
sometimes implicit and the Sunnah gets in explicit by providing necessary
components and items. According to Islamic jurists, the Sunnah is second to
fard. Fard means something is obligatory and it must be done; to neglect it
without any excuse is a sin. The Sunnah is divided into confirmed (Sunnah
muakkadah) and optional (Sunnah ghair muakkadah). A hadith consists of two
aspects: the text of the report (matn) containing the actual narrative; and the
chain of narrators (isnad, or sanad), which documents the route by which the
report has been transmitted.

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Hadith are generally categorized as sahīh (sound, authentic), da'īf (weak), or
mawdū' (fabricated). Other classifications used also include: hasan (good),
which refers to an otherwise sahīh report suffering from minor deficiency, or a
weak report strengthened due to numerous other corroborating reports; and
munkar (ignored) which is a report that is rejected due to the presence of a
solitary and generally unreliable transmitter. Both sahīh and hasan reports are
considered acceptable for usage in Islamic legal discourse. Classifications of
hadith may also be based upon the scale of transmission. Reports that pass
through many reliable transmitters at each point in the isnad up until their
collection and transcription are known as mutawātir.

Muslims who accept hadith believe that trusted hadith are in most cases the
words of Muhammad and not the word of God. Hadith Qudsi forms a partial
exception; these (few) hadith are said to recount divine revelations given to
Muhammad but not included in the Qur'an. However, the words (as opposed to
the substance) are believed to be Muhammad's own, and not divine. Muslims
also use the Ahadith to interpret parts of the Qur'an when verses are not clear or
even when verses are clear to achieve an in-depth understanding.

Sunnah or Hadith is the second source from which the teachings of Islam are
drawn. Hadith literally means a saying conveyed to man, but in Muhaditheen's
terminology Hadith means sayings of the Prophet, his action or practice of his
silent approval of the action or practice. Hadith and Sunnah are used
interchangeably, but sometimes these are used for different meanings.

To deal with the topic it is necessary to know the position of the Prophet in
Islam, because the indispensibility of Hadith depends upon the position of the
Prophet.

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Analyzing the problem we can visualize three possibilities:

1. The duty of the Prophet was only to convey the message and nothing more
was required from him.

2. He had not only to convey the message but also to act upon it and to explain
it. But all that was for the specified period and after his death Qur'an is
sufficient to guide humanity.

3. No doubt he had to convey the Divine Message but it was also his duty to act
upon it and to explain it to the people. His actions and explanations are a source
of guidance forever. His sayings, actions, practices and explanations are a
source of light for every Muslim in every age.

The learned men of the Muslim Millat are of the unanimous view that only the
third point is the correct assessment of the Prophet's position in Islam. The
Qur'an contains dozens of reminders of the important position of the Prophet.
For instance the Qur'an says:

"And verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who
looketh unto Allah and the last day and remembereth Allah much." [Al-Ahzab
31]

According to this verse, every Muslim is bound to have the good example of
the Prophet as an ideal in life. In another verse he has been made a 'Hakam' for
the Muslims by Allah Almighty. No one remains Muslim if he does not accept
the Prophet's decisions and judgements:

"But no, by thy Lord, they can have no real faith until they make thee judge in
all disputes between them and find in their souls no resistance against thy
decisions but accept them with the fullest conviction."[An-Nisa: 65]

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While explaining the qualities of Muslims the Qur'an says:

"The answer of the believers, when summoned to Allah and His apostle, in
order that He may judge between them, is no other than this: They say: we hear
and we obey." [An-Nur: 51]

In many places the Qur'an has given its verdict on this issue. The Qur'an says:

"Obey Allah and obey the Messenger." [An-Nisa 59]

and

"Whatever the Messenger giveth you take it and whatever he forbiddeth abstain
from it." [Al-Hashr: 7]

Qur'an is very clear in expressing its view on the position of the Prophet.
According to the Qur'an the Prophet has four capacities and he must be obeyed
in every capacity. He is Mu`allim wa Murabbee he is Shaari` one who explains
the Book, he is a law-giver and judge, and he is a ruler. In all these capacities
he is an ideal example for the Muslims. I am quoting a few verses of the Holy
Book just to give a hint of this topic.

"Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sentamong them an
apostle from among themselves rehearsing untothem the signs of Allah,
sanctifying them in scripture andwisdom while, before that, they had been in
manifest error." [Al-Imran: 164]

"And We have sent down unto thee the Message that thou mayest explain
clearly to men what is sent for them."[An-Nahl: 44]

"For he commands them what is just and forbids them what isevil; he allows
them as lawful what is good and pure andprohibits them from what is bad and

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impure. He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are
upon them." [Al-Araf: 157]

"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the apostle, and those charged with
authority among you. If ye differ in anything amonst yourselves refer it to
Allah and His Apostle, if you believe in Allah and the last day." [An-Nisa: 59]

"It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman when a matterhas been decided
by Allah and His apostle to have any optionabout their decision. If any one
disobeys Allah and His apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path." [Al-
Ahzab: 36]

In all these verses, the Qur'an has explained various aspects of the Prophets
personality. One can judge the importance of the Prophet from these verses. I
am reminded of another important verse of the Qur'an, which is actually a
verdict against those who do not believe in Hadith as an authentic source of
law:

"If any one contends with the Prophet even after guidance hasbeen plainly
conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that becoming to men of faith,
We shall leave him in the path he has chosen and land him in Hell, what an evil
refuge." [An-Nisa: 110]

The Qur'an while pressing the Muslims to obey the Prophet, goes a step further
when it announces that the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is
above all the limitations of time and space. He is the last Prophet and is a
Messenger of Allah for the whole of humanity for all time to come.

Hadith is nothing but a reflection of the personality of the Prophet, who is to be

obeyed at every cost.

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Any student of the Qur'an will see that the Holy Book generally deals with the
broad principles or essentials of religion, going into details in very rare cases.
The details were generously supplied by the Prophet himself, either by showing
in his practice how an injunction shall be carried out, or by giving an
explanation in words. The Sunnah or Hadith of the Holy Prophet was not, as is
generally supposed, a thing of which the need may have been felt only after his
death, for it was very much needed in his lifetime. The two most important
religious institutions of Islam are prayer and zakat; yet when the injunction
relating to prayer and zakat were delivered, and they were repeatedly revealed
in both Mecca and Madina, no details were supplied. Keep up prayers (aqimoo
as-salaah the Qur'anic injunction and it was the

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Prophet himself who by his own actions gave details of the prayer and said:
(Salloo kamaa ra'aytamoonee usaallee) "Pray as you see me praying."

Payment of zakah is again an injunction frequently repeated in the Qur'an yet it

was the Prophet (peace be upon him) who gave the rules and regulations for its
payment and collection. These are but two example; but since Islam covers the
entire sphere of human activities, hundreds of points had to be explained by the
Prophet (peace be upon him) by his example in action and in words.

The Ulama have discussed the question of Hadith in detail as a "wahyun

khafee" and prophetic wisdom. I do not want to go into the details, but one
thing must be stated clearly that there were cases when the Prophet, not having
received a revelation, made a personal effort to formulate opinion through his
own wisdom. Either it was corrected by revelation or it was approved. The
importance of the Sunnah even as a second source of Islam was a settled issue
for the Companions of the Prophet. I quote only one of the many examples: that
of Mu`az ibn Jabal who said to the Prophet that he would decide according to
the Sunnah if he did not find the solution of a problem in the Book. To quote
Dr. Hamidullah:

"The importance of Hadith is increased for the Muslim by the fact that the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not only taught, but took the
opportunity of putting his teachings into practice in all the important affairs of
life. He lived for twenty three years after his appointment as the Messenger of
Allah. He endowed his community with a religion, which he scrupulously
practiced himself. He founded a state, which he administered as the supreme
head, maintaining internal peace and order, heading armies for external
defense, judging and deciding the litigations of his subjects, punishing the
criminals and legislating in all walks of life. He married and left a model of

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family life. Another important fact is that he did not declare himself to be
above the ordinary law which he imposed on others. His practice was not mere
private conduct, but a detailed interpretation and application of his teachings."
(Introduction to Islam page 23)

The man, therefore, who embraced Islam stood in need of both the Qur'an and
the Sunnah. Actually Hadith is so important that without it one cannot fully
understand the Holy Book and Islam or be able to apply it to one's life and
practice

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Difference between sunna and hadith

"The majority of the contents of the hadith corpus is, in fact, nothing but the
Sunna-Ijtihad of the first generations of Muslims, an ijtihad which had its
source in individual opinion but which in course of time and after tremendous
struggles and conflicts against heresies and extreme sectarian opinion received
the sanction of Ijma, i.e. the adherence of the majority of the Community. In
other words, the earlier living Sunnah was reflected in the mirror of the Hadith
with the necessary addition of chains of narrators. There is, however, one major
difference: whereas Sunnah was largely and primarily a practical phenomenon,
geared as it was to behavioral norms, Hadith became the vehicle not only of
legal norms abut of religious beliefs and principles as well." (Rahman, p. 45)

The hadith constitute the recording in writing everything that Prophet

Muhammad was to have said, such as his opinions or decisions on issues, his
responses to Muslims’ questions or requests, as well as his silent or tacit
approval of acts he had knowledge of. "The hadith sayings are in fact a
veritable panorama of daily life in the seventh century, a vivid panorama,
extremely varied because there are various versions of the same event. Finally,
one also finds side by side subjects as different as 'how to perform one's
ablutions,' 'how to behave on one's wedding night,' and 'what is to be done in
case of civil war.'" (Mernissi, 35)

Just as during his life, Muslims could go the Prophet for answers; after his
death, they looked to the hadith for Prophetic guidance, a means of searching
out what was or not acceptable in areas where the Quran had not left specific
rulings. However, many scholars believe that ahadith were not compiled in
authoritative collections until the middle of the ninth century, "by which time a
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great mass of diverse ahadith reflected the variety of legal opinion developed
over the past two centuries of juristic reasoning in the legal schools.
Recognition that the hadith literature included many fabrications led to a
concerted effort to distinguish more clearly authentic traditions." (Esposito, 6)

The sunna of the Prophet differs from the hadith in that

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Syed Khalid Rashid’s Muslim Law, V.P. Bhartiya, 5th Edition, Reprinted 2010,
Eastern Book Company

Muslim Law, S.M.A. Habibi, Allahabad Law Agency

http://www.mwlusa.org/topics/sources/sources.html

http://islam.about.com/od/law/a/sources.htm

http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l302-Sources-of-Islamic-Law.html

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