History and Importance of Hadith

Hadith and Sunnah

 What are Hadith and Sunnah

 The word 'Hadith' originally means a tale, story, report or news. In the terminology of Islamic
literature, it is defined as "any narration that reports the words, deeds, approval or
disapproval of the Holy Prophet Muhammad
 The word Sunnah literally means 'a trodden path', a practice, or a custom. However, in the
context of Islamic terminology, Sunnah means what has been transmitted on the authority
of the Prophet, and includes his sayings, practices and tacit approvals. According to the
scholars, Taqrir (approval) means that if a certain person had said something or acted
particularly and then this information came to the Holy Prophet he either openly approved it
or remained silent, without disapproving it. This silence implied that the Holy Prophet
approved it. Hence, this indication of approval is also included in the Sunnah.
 Thus Sunnah is the mode of life of the Holy Prophet and the Ahadith are the records or the
documented moments of what he said or practised. Thus a Hadith may or may not contain
any Sunnah.
 For the Muslims, the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad is an important source of knowledge
which helps them translate his teachings into practice. It is next in importance to the Qur'an
and helps in making Islamic laws. This status of the Sunnah has remained undisputed from
the time of the Companions and throughout the centuries.
 In the field of Islamic studies, the terms, Sunnah and Hadith are considered to be one and
same. Therefore, the scholars use them interchangeably.

Q2 a) Write a descriptive account of the terms isnad and matn of a Hadith and the role they play in
establishing the genuineness of a Hadith. [10]

OR

Q2 a) Write an account of the parts that make up a Hadith, and describe the checks made by the
collectors of the Hadiths to ensure the accuracy of their collections. [10]

OR

Q2 a) What rules did the writers of the six authentic books (Sihah Sitta) apply to ensure the
authenticity of Hadiths? [10]

OR
Q2 a) Write about the structure of a Hadith and describe the main methods used by the compilers
of Hadiths to establish their genuineness. [10]

OR

Q2 a) Describe the methods employed by the compilers of the major books of Hadith to ensure
the Hadiths they collected were authentic. [10]

OR

Q2 a) How did the compilers of Hadiths (muhaddithun) judge between acceptable and
unacceptable Hadiths? [10]

OR

Q2 a) What measures were taken in early Islamic times to check the reliability of Hadiths? [10]

OR

Q2 a) Write a detailed account of the parts of a Hadith and say how these parts help in
determining the different categories of Hadiths, namely: sahih; hasan; zaif and mawdu. [10]

MARKSCHEME:

 Brief Intro [reasons/3-4 lines]

 Define Isnad and Matn
 Rules to check Sanad
 Sanad example [chain]
 Rules to check Matn
 Matn example [text]
 How compilers went in to check authenticity
 Conclusion [sahih, hassan, zaif, mawdu]
 In the beginning, the Prophet forbade his companions from recording Hadith: "Omit if you
have written anything from me other than the Quran." When later the companions
developed understanding of how to differ between teachings of Quran and Ahadith, the
Prophet allowed them to record the hadith. During 201-300AH, a climax was witnessed in
the collection of compilation of Ahadith. Ahadith were collected from every nook of corner
of the world & that accuracy was checked through a criterion that prevented hypocrites &
non- Muslims from fabricating this fundamental source of Sharia.
The six imams of the six authentic books set the criteria of Sanad & Matn for ensuring the
authenticity of Hadith. Sanad or Isnad is the chain of narrators who narrated the Hadith, starting
from the last narrator who records the Hadith and ending with the Prophet himself. This chain
consists of Taba Tabi'een, Tabi'een, Sahabah & Prophet Muhammad. For instance, Muhammad ibn
Al Muthanna reported from Abdul Wahab, from Ayyub from Abu Qilaabah, from Malik that the
Prophet said "Pray as you see ne you me praying".

The foremost rule in checking Sanad is ensuring that the more concise the chain of narrators, the
more the chances are of its accuracy. The chain must further be concise and unbroken, linking
directly from Taba Tabi'een to Tabi'een to Sahabah to Prophet. The narrator of the Hadith should be
Adil i.e., sincere, truthful, pious, God-pleasing & modest Muslim. Moreover, his nickname, title,
parentage, and occupation should be known e.g., it is related to the Prophet that he said, "Abu Bakr
is more knowledgeable & stronger, he should be Caliph after me". The Hadith lacks the original
narrator (Sahabah) & therefore it is Zaif & was rejected. Additionally, it must also be checked also
that if a narrator referred his Hadith to another narrator, the two should have lived during the same
period & must have met. Moreover, the narrator must possess a sharp memory and be of the age of
wisdom & profound understanding when hearing the Hadith in order to ensure that the Hadith is
transmitted word to word free from any changes or alterations by the narrator. It is hence also
important for the narrator to understand the Hadith itself and recall the exact chain of transmission.
The narrator must also be beat honest.

The second of the criterion i.e., Matn refers to the actual text of Hadith itself. For instance, on the
above Hadith the saying: "Pray as you see me praying" is the Matn of Hadith.

Similar to Sanad, Matn of the hadith is ensured through its individual criteria. It must be stated in
plain, simple Arabic language & must be free from indecent words that the Prophet would
otherwise never have said. The text must not contradict with teaching of Quran & other
established Hadith. It must further be ensured that the hadith does not cross the parameters of
logic and common sense such as someone related that Prophet said: "In ancient time there was a
man, Auj bin Anaq, so tall he could catch fish from the depth of sea and bake it in front of the
sun." This Hadith was rejected due to its unnatural text. The Hadith should also not oppose
recognised historical facts nor praise any infamous tribe, place or personality. For instant, It must
also be checked if the Hadith threatens of a heavy punishment for ordinary sins & vice versa & such
Ahadith must not be accepted. It must also not hurl accusation at the family of Holy Prophet.

The Sanad and Matn play a pivotal role in checking the authenticity of Hadith. Hence, the Compilers
had a difficult task to travel long miles in order to check the authenticity of Hadith. Once, Imam
Bukhari went to see a man to hear a Hadith 1160 miles away. The man's horse had run away. In
order to catch it, he lifted his shirt acted if he had barley inside and started to tempt the animal in
order to catch him. Imam Bukhari asked if he really had barley, to which the reply was: "No I only
did it to bring the horse back." Imam Bukhari said." How can I take a blessed Hadith of the Prophet
from a man who lies to animals."

Hence, after checking the authenticity of Ahadith though ensuring the perfection of its Sanad &
Matn, the Hadith were categorised into four types: Sahih (excellent) Hassan ( Good), Zaif (Weak) &
Mawdu ( Rejected/ fabricated).

Q2 a) what are the different types of Hadiths? How is each Hadith classified into the different
types? [10]

MARKSCHEME:

 Intro [description of sanad and matn]

 Describe Sahih with reference
 Describe Hassan with reference
 Describe Zaif with reference
 Describe Mawdu with reference
For further development:

 Describe Mutawatir and Ahad

FOCUS: Detailing of the types of hadith on
basis of authenticity, NOT sanad and
matn. Mention different types.
Hadith is the second primary source of Shariah, which is divine in nature. Certain rules were set to
check the authenticity of the Ahadith that were rules for Sanad & Matn.

Sanad is the first part of the hadith which constitutes to its chain of narrators. This chain must be
unbroken, leading back to Prophet. Moreover, the technique of Ilm-e-Isma-ur-Rijal is applied in
which the Rawi is required to be a pious, staunch & honest Muslim with memory of the highest class.
He must not have committed any crime or told a lie for the chain to be unbroken & hadith to be
authentic. After verifying the Sanad, the check on Matan I.e., text of hadith itself containing the
sayings, approvals, disapprovals & silent approvals of Prophet. The text must not contradict, the
Quran, any authentic Hadith, rational reasoning, or true personality of Prophet. Furthermore, the
Matn was required to be in pure Arabic language to confirm is authenticity.

After checking the Sanad and Matn, the Hadith are further classified into groups, depending upon
the reliability & memory of the narrators, namely Sahih, Hassan, Zaif & Mawdu. The first category is
Sahih hadith. They are perfect & authentic hadith as they have fulfilled all the conditions of Sanad
& Matn I.e., both the text and chain of narrators is reliable. The Sanad is pious, brilliant & unbroken
without any fault in the memory of narrators. Similarly, the Matn is also accurate as it is not against
the primary sources I.e., Quran, Sunnah or universal truth. Thus, they are regarded as the genuine
Hadith of the Holy Prophet. For example, Yahya narrated from Malik who narrated from Nafay who
narrated from Abdullah bin Umar who heard the Prophet say "He who misses the Asr Prayer is as
if he lost his family and property."

Ahadith are also categorized Into Hassan. It as a hadith which is considered reliable as it confirms all
the conditions & an authentic hadith except the chain of narrators not considered as strong as
some of the narrates have been found defective in memory in comparison to the narrators of Sahih
hadith. For example, Imam Ahmed reported that Yahya bin Saeed told him saying that Bahz bin
Hateim said that his father informed him on the authority of the grandfather: "I said to Prophet:
'O Messenger of Allah, to who should I be good to?' The Holy Prophet said: 'To your mother'. He
repeated this thrice then he said: 'to your father, then to him who is nearer of kin, one after
another."

Zaeef is the third type of Hadith which is considered weak as it does not meet all the conditions of
reliability of Hadith due to some major faults to the chain of narrators. It is a hadith in which many
doubts are raised regarding the memory or the character of the narrator as he was known to be a
liar or he had not met the person he was narrating from, or the Math may have differed from the
basic teachings of Islam. For example, "My Companions are like stars; whomsoever you follow, you
will be on the right path." This is a weak hadith with a weak chain because of Jafar bin Hashmi,
who as stated by Ibn Hajar was declared a liar."

Mawdu are considered to be the fabricated Ahadith. These are the hadith which have an
unauthentic text & chain of narrators is declared fake. It is the narration which is definitely not
from the Prophet; rather it was by a narrator who was declared by his contemporaries as a liar &
deceitful person. Certain sayings and doings were attributed to the Prophet which he had neither
said nor done, thus, cannot be used to prove any point of law. For example, "Learn witchcraft but do
not use it." This is false as in Islam it is not permissible to learn witchcraft, or to use it as it is an
evil action and Kufr.

With regards to their acceptance, the Hadith have again been divided into two important classes:
Mutawatir: It is a Hadith reported by a large number of people in different times whose agreement
on a lie became inconceivable, making it authentic.

Ahad (single or isolated): These were the Hadith whose chains of narrators were broken or had
traditions that were less widely accepted. They were therefore less authentic. If their narrators were
truthful and honest, they were accepted, otherwise, they were rejected. Ahad is divided into three
subdivisions: Mashhur (Well known): It is a Hadith which, though known publicly by a great majority
of people, does not possess the character of universality. It was narrated by three narrators at every
stage.Azeez (Strong or Corroborative): It is a Hadith narrated by two narrators in all ages. Ghareeb
(Rare or Unfamiliar): It is a Hadith that rests on the evidence of a single narrator at any particular
time.

TYPES OF HADITH COLLECTIONS

Q2 a) Write a detailed account of the Musannaf and Musnad collections of Hadith. [10]

MARKSCHEME:

 Intro [briefly discuss sanad and matn]

 Define Musannaf
 Description/detailing of Musannaf
 Define Musnad
 Description/detailing of Musnad
 Conclusion
FOCUS: Give a descriptive account of both the
Musannaf and Musnad collections of Hadith.

The most organized work regarding the collection and compilation of hadith started between 200AH
and 300AH. This was the golden period when the hadith material was strictly scrutinized for
authenticity through the criteria of Isnad [chain of narrators] and Matn [text of hadith] leading to
the arranged in two forms Musannaf (based on Matn) and Musnad (based on Isnad).

The literal meaning of Musannaf is, "divided up". The Musannaf collections which are also known as
Sunan are those compilations in which the Ahadith are arranged topic-wise, with respect to Islamic
jurisprudence, into chapters and sub-chapters as per their themes, e.g., purity, prayer, fasting,
Zakat, pilgrimage, marriage or inheritance. So, it is easy for a reader to find out the sayings of the
Holy Prophet on a particular topic. These collections provide a direct approach to the material on
which guidance is sought. Therefore, they play a vital role in the establishment of the religion in the
correct manner and the provide guidance about what would lead to the righteous life.

The Musannaf collections help the Muslim scholars in working out the details of Islamic laws and
Hadith literature. Later scholars referred to Musannaf collections to know legal opinions of the
Companions and Successors and Hadith critics used them as evidence when establishing the
authenticity of a Hadith. They also aim at the ethical training in individual and communal conduct.
The work on Musannaf collections were mainly legal documents that developed during 176 A.H. but
the first compilation was completed in the third century, in the era of the Taba Tabi'een.

Following are the Musannaf collections, which include the As-Sihah As-Sittah:
Al-Muwatta (contains 1720 Ahadith) - Imam Malik bin Anas, Al-Musannaf (contains 11033 Ahadith) -
Imam Abdul Razzaq al Sanani, Sahih Al-Bukhari (contains 7275 Ahadith) - Imam Abdullah
Muhammad bin Ismail Bukhari, Sahih Al-Muslim - Imam Muslim bin Hajjaj, Sunan An-Nasai - Imam
Abdur Rehman bin Ali an Nasai, Sunan Abu Dawood - Imam Abu Dawood Sulaiman, Sunan Ibn Majah
- Imam Abu Abdullah Ibn Majah, Jami-At-Tirmizi- Imam Abu Isa Muhammad bin Tirmizi.

The late second/early third century AH saw a shift towards Musnad collections due to the need of
establishing and transmitting the Sahih hadith. The literal meaning of Musnad is, "supported."
Musnad collections are those compilations of Ahadith that have sound links, traced back without
interruption to one of the Companions who can refer back to the Holy Prophet, so guarantee the
Hadith’s authenticity. Musnad is indiscriminately and regardless of any topic or content of hadiths.
Al-Hakim defines a Musnad Hadith as follows: "A Hadith which a traditionist reports from his
Sheikh from whom he is known to have personally heard (Ahadith), suitable for learning, and
similarly in turn for each Sheikh, until the Sanad reaches a well-known Companion, who in turn
reports from the Holy Prophet."

Musnad collections are generally acknowledged as those books of Ahadith in which each and every
narration of a Companion are gathered at one place with complete details of the narrators also
enclosed. In these collections it could be said Hadiths were compiled under the name of the
narrator. However, in early third century, careful study of checking the validity came to the surface.
Here no compiler relied upon the work of the other, rather scrutinized the chain on their own.
Thus, a hadith “Sahih” for one may not be as reliable for the other. The Musnad collections are
helpful in the study of Isnad (chains of transmission) by tracing particular Hadith to a particular
narrator. The examples are the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Musnad Abi Hanifa and Musnad Ash-
Shaaf'i.

Prominent compilations were regardless of any issue or topic and revolved around the primary
sources. Female companions are also listed in Musnad. Following are the four Musnad collections:
Musnad of Abu Bakr (6000), Musnad of Abu Hurairah (5374), Musnad of Ayesha Siddiqua (2210),
Musnad of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (30000 out of 750000).

Both the arrangements have their own purpose to serve and both hold unprecedented importance
in a Muslim’s conduct.

Q2 a): Why did it become important to compile the prophetic Hadiths after the time of the Rightly
Guided Caliphs? [10]

MARKSCHEME:

 Intro [1 paragraph]
 Reasons of compilation [4-5 paragraphs]

It was important to compile the Hadiths of the Prophet and this need became urgent after the end
of the caliphates of the Rightly Guided Caliphs [in the time of Tabi'een] in 661 AD. The Islamic
governments that followed the Khulfa-e-Rashidun were more political and divisive, hence, the
Umayyad Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz realized that the notes of Sahaba would be lost with the
lapse, of time as they were not in the custody of government. Therefore, he distributed circulars to
the Muslim cities, in which he requested theologians to collect and compile Ahadith in big volumes
from wherever they could find them. In addition to the Ahadith, the verdicts and sayings of the
companions and the Tabi'een and religious opinions of the Prophet's family were to collected.
Other compelling reasons also intensified the demand for the compilation of Prophetic Hadiths.
Firstly, the four Rightly Guided Caliphs were close Companions of the Prophet. They followed his
Sunna closely and after the end of their caliphate it became important to compile the Prophetic
Hadiths so that future generations could use the Prophet’s example to clarify and resolve
questions and disputes. Secondly, some people fabricated Hadiths. Overzealous teachers, perhaps
with the best of intentions, made up Hadiths to advance the teachings of Islam. Yet some heretics
attributed Hadiths to the Prophet that were false. Hence, it was necessary to compile the Hadith so
the authentic could be separated from the fabricated ones.

Thirdly, the increasing number of people accepting Islam needed guidance on the Islamic way of life
and wanted to follow the pattern of conduct set by the Prophet, henceforth, Hadith were compiled
to easily refer to Prophet's sunnah for guidance while being efficient. Moreover, the close
Companions of the Prophet were also passing away due to age or wars, and a need was felt to
preserve the Hadiths of the Prophet even more with their demise, so Ahadith could be preserved
for future generations, otherwise they would be permanently lost, creating a climax in the Muslim
Ummah.

Furthermore, Islamic jurisprudence was developing rapidly and needed a compiled collection of
authentic Hadiths as source material for the fundamental Law of Shariah. In addition, to eliminate
genuine errors in Hadiths on account of verbal narrations, faulty memories, forgetfulness, etc.,
Hadiths needed to be compiled, so a correct and reliable source of guidance could be formulated
for the entirety of the Ummah.

Finally, the command to follow the Prophet is given in the Qur’an as Allah says: "Follow Allah and
follow the messenger of Allah." This means Quran is the way to follow Allah, but to follow the
messenger of Allah, we need to implement on his Ahadith as a way of practical and complete
guidance. Hence, it was with the help of the Hadith movement that the Prophet’s Hadiths were
preserved and spread for all time., so they needed to be compiled.

For all these reasons, it was felt that it was crucial to preserve and compile the Hadiths of the
Prophet for all generations to follow.

Compilation of Hadith
(1AH-300AH)
 Stage 1: compilation in time of Holy Prophet and his Companions.

 Stage 2: Compilation in time of successors of Companions

 Stage 3: Compilation by Imam Bukhari and his contemporaries

 Stage 1: (1AH-100AH)
 In The Prophet‟s (SAWW) Time

 The Prophet (SAW) who was the leader of the companions, laid great stress in teachings
regarding the islamic injunctions i.e Quran and hadith. During his lifetime, the Messenger of
Allah would teach in the following 3 ways:
 Al-Qaul (Verbal Teachings)
 Al-Fi’l (Practical Demonstration) and
 Al-Taqrir (Silent Approvals)
 The Holy Quran elaborates upon major issues but often deals with subjects briefly,
thus leaving the details to be explained by the ahadith of Prophet saw.

 The prophet’s companions were fond of compiling his sayings, actions and
silent approvals as the hadith was the second source of shariah and divine in
nature, and has to be obeyed by Muslims

 The Quran says: “O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey His
Messenger.”

 At another place, the Quran says: “He (the Holy Prophet) doesn’t say
anything on his own but whatever has been revealed upon him (by
Allah).”

 This also means that hadith is divine in nature, hence, perfect.

 At first, the Prophet did not allow his Companions to write the Ahadith as he
feared that they might mix his traditions with the Quranic verses.

 However, when he was sure that his Companions could distinguish between
Quran and Ahadith, he allowed them to write his traditions e.g. Abdullah bin
Amir used to write the Prophet’s traditions but some companions tried to stop
him saying that the Prophet was a human and could say anything out of
anger or happiness. When Abdullah mentioned this to the Prophet he replied
“„by God nothing comes out of my mouth except for the truth so you
can write without any hesitance”.

 In fact, the Prophet saw himself would give instructions about the transmission of
what he taught: “Preach what you hear me say. Also let those who see and hear
me, take upon themselves to communicate my words to others and preach
their children, relatives and friends” there is another report according to which, on
the occasion of the farewell pilgrimage, the Prophet saw said: “He who is present
here should carry this message to him who is absent” The companions,
therefore, considered it their duty to preach the ahadith to those who had not seen or
listened to him.


 The companions used three ways to memorize the Ahadith: by writing them
down, by acting upon them, by memorizing.

 There are many of Prophet’s Companions which used to memorize his

traditions but the following are significant ones:
 i. Hazrat Ayesha, daughter of Abu Bakar and a wife of the Holy
Prophet. She narrated 2210 Hadith. She was also a critic to poorly
memorized Hadith.

ii. Hazrat Abu Hureira, who was a late convert to Islam, who
became Muslims after the Madni migration of the Prophet. He used to
sit in the Prophet’s company and hence, narrated about 5300 Ahadith,
the most Ahadith narrated by any of the Prophet’s companions.
iii. Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar, the son the second caliph Umar. He
was a close/amiable companion of Muhammad. He was able to
narrate more than 2000 hadith.
iv. Hazrat Ali used to write down ahadith mainly concerned with
the orders and instructions issued from time to time by the Prophet
SAW

 There were many books on Ahadith compiled in the Prophet’s time and
amongst them Sahifae-Sadiqa is well known, which was compiled Hazrat
Abdullah bin Amr and contains around 1000 Hadith. Another compilation was
the diary of Hazrat Ali where he would write down Ahadith for his own use.

 Stage 2:
 During the time of Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Islamic empire spread far and
wide

 Many areas of Roman and Persian empires were captured by the Muslims
like Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, etc.

 The companions went to different parts of the empire and initiated the
religious centre in order to school Quran and Hadith to the new converts.

 The successors of the companions joined such centres.

 Some of them memorized the Hadith and some of them wrote them down.

 Many books were compiled including:

i. H. Basher compiled the traditions narrated by his teacher
Hazrat Abu Hureira

ii. H. Urwa and H. Nafil compiled the traditions narrated by

Ayesha.

iii. H. Oban compiled traditions narrated by Hazrat Anas bin Malik

(a close companion of the prophet)

iv. Student of Hazrat Abbas, uncle of Prophet, compiled a book of

Ahadith that he narrated.

 The books compiled according to the narrators were known as the Masnad
collections such as Masnad of Hazrat Abu Bakr, Masnad of Ayesha, Masnad
of Imam ibn Al-Hambal, who was the founder of the Hambale school of
thought. About 30’000 traditions of the Prophet narrated by various
companions / people are mentioned in this book.
  The books which were compiled according to their themes are called the
Musanad Collectuion, for example: Mauta of Imam Malik, who was the
founder of the Maleki school of thought. Mauta contains about 2000 traditions
and its legal text.

 During the caliphate of Omar II many more compilations were made as he

urged scholars to do so. Imam Zohri did so much work of Ahadith in the time
of Omar II that he required camels to carry his work from one place to
another. Omar II also established a committee of senior Muslims for research
on Ahadith which included Imam Mohamed bin Muslem, Imam Shahabi and
Imam Makhul. Other important books in the time of successors of
Companions include: Jamey by Sufyan Suli and Kitab-ul-Asaar by Imam Abu
Hanifa (founder of Hanifi school of thought).

 Stage 3:
 Then came the climax/pinnacle of Imam Bukhari and his contemporaries
Imam Muslim, Imam Tirmiz, Imam Nisai, Abu Daud and Maja started to
collect the Hadiths, 200 years after the Prophet’s demise.

 When they started to collect the Ahadith, they soon realized that there were
many texts in circulation and it was difficult to distinguish between the correct
and incorrect traditions.

 They made some rules to check the Ahadith’s authenticity divided the rules in
two:
i. Rules of Matn (text)
ii. Rules of Sanud (chain of narrators)

 For Matn, they made sure that the Hadith did not defy the Holy Quran or any
other genuine Hadith.

 For Sanad, they decided that the whole chain must be complete and
unbroken. Every member of the chain must be an honest upright Muslim.

 They applied these rules on their collected texts and mentioned only the
genuine ahadith. Imam Bukhari collected 600’000 but after the process, only
7397 were added in his book, Sahih Al-Bukhari, out of which 4000 are
repeated which means less than 3000 were separately mentioned. Imam
Muslem went from 300’000 to 9000 too. This shows how careful these people
were in compiling the Hadith as they knew that this a work of higher
responsibility for which they will be held accountable to the Day of
Judgement. Because of their authenticity, these books have been given a
common name of the ‘Six Authentics’ or Sihah Al-Sittah. Their individual
names are:
 Sahih by Imam Bukhari
 Sahih by Imam Muslem
 Sunand by Nisai
 Sunand by Abu Daud
 Sunand by Ibn-e-Maja
 Jamey by Tirmidhi
  All of these are Musannaf collections as they are arranged into chapters
according to their themes for e.g. a separate chapter for prayer and a
separate one for fasting. These books are so authentic that most of the
collections of Ahadith compiled later, were actually derived from these books.
Q2 a): Write an account of the compilation of Hadiths during the period of the Successors of the
Successors (tabi’ altabi’in). *10+

MARKSCHEME:
 Compilation during Prophet and Companions (1-100 AH)
 Compilation during Tabi'eens [Successors] (101-200 AH)
(Very briefly mention about it)
 Compilation during Taba Tabi'eens [Successors of successors] (201-300 AH/4
paragraphs)detail account
FOCUS: Detailing of the period of Taba
Tabi'eens. Brief the first two stages.

Hadith are saying, actions or silent approval of Prophet. In the first stage (1-11AH) the companions
started writing, memorizing, practicing and discussing the Hadith. After the Prophets death in
Muslim 11AH the Muslim empire spread far and wide. The companions opened learning centres in
far off regions. After this, during 101AH and 200AH the successors of companions started to collect
Hadith. The Tabi'eens had collected and compiled the Hadith as it was called for in the Omayyad
Caliph [Omar ii] time. They divided collections into Musnad and Musannaf

Then came the pinnacle of compilation of Hadith known as the era of Taba Tabi'een. Imam Bukhari
and his contemporaries Imam Muslim, Imam Tirmizi, Imam Nasai, Abu Dawood and Ibn Maja
started to collect the Hadith from 200AH-300AH. They soon realised that it was difficult to
distinguish the Ahadith between correct and incorrect. They made rules to check the Authenticity of
the hadith known as the rules of Matn and Rules of Sanad.

Firstly, they formulated rules to check the Isnad or chain of transmitters. The Transmitter had to be
sane Muslim adult. His faith, memory and character had to be of the highest degree. He must have
never told a lie. The chain must have never been broken and each of transmitter must have
physically met the previous transmitter. Only then would the Hadith be accepted as truthful.
Similarly, there were files for the Matn or text. The text could not have been contradicting the Quran
and other Sahih Hadith. It could not contradict the basic teachings of the Quran. The Hadith couldn't
be against common sense or contain expressions which were inappropriate to the personality of the
Holy Prophet. The matn also had to be in Arabic language in a simple and easily comprehensible
expression. If all of these conditions have met the Hadith was declared correct.

Each compile applied these rules and came up with their own compilations of Hadith. The most
authentic and highly regarded book of a compiler was the Sahih Bukhari was compiled by Imam
Bukhari (194-256AH). Sahih Bukhari contained 7397 out of the 600,000 that he collected. 4000 of
these were repeated. So, only 3000 were mentioned separately. It is said that Imam Bukhari had
memorized 70,000 Ahadith when he was a young boy. Imam Muslim or Muslim bin Hajjaj was the
compiler of Sahih Muslim. He has the student of Imam Bukhari and Sahih Bukhari and Sahih
Muslim are considered to be the 2 most authentic compilations. Imam Muslim had Collected
350,000 Ahadith and only selected 12,000 as Sahih. Abu Dawood formed the Sunan Abu Dawood
after examining 500,000. He only selected 4800. He collected Ahadith which no one else had thus it
is taken as standard by many scholars across the world. Imam Tirmizi was the student of Abu
Dawood. He further improved upon the criteria of Abu Dawood. He travelled a lot so he also learned
from other compilers like Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim. Jami at Tirmizi had 3956 Ahadith. Imam
Ahmed bin Shuaib formed the Sunan of Nasai. He travelled to various places and collected 5662
Ahadith. Muhammad bin Yazid formed Sunan of Ibn Majah. He lived from 209-274 AH and
collected 4000 Ahadith. These book together are known as the "Sahih Sitta" or "Six Authentic
Books"

Categories of Hadith

Ahadith are divided into two categories

1 Hadith-e-Qudsi

2: Hadith Nahwi

1. Hadith-e-Qudsi

Hadith-e-Qudsi (Sacred Hadith) is a Divine Hadith or inspiration in which the sayings of Allah are
expressed by the Holy Prophet in his own words. Thus, is not a part of the Qur'an. For example, in
Sahih Bukhari, it is stated on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Holy Prophet said:

"When Allah decreed the creation, he pledged Himself by writing in His book (Lauh-e-Mahfuz) which
is preserved with Him: Truly, My mercy overcomes My wrath."

The difference between the Qur'an and Hadith-e-Qudsi is that the words of the Qur'an were
revealed by Allah dg directly from the Lauh-e-Mahfuz (the Preserved Tablet), whereas Hadith-e-
Qudsi comprises only the inspirations which were revealed by Allah and were put into words by the
Prophet himself. So Hadith-e-Qudsi is not of the same status as the Qur'an.

Generally the Ahadith are traced back to the Holy Prophet with regard to their authority. In Hadith-
e-Qudsi, the Matn (Text) contains Allah's direct speech, so unlike all the other traditions, their
authenticity is traced by way of the Prophet to Allah Himself, since the Prophet is the main Rawi
(Narrator) here. For example, in the following Hadith-e-Qudsi, the Prophetquotes Allah as saying:

"Fasting is for Me and it is I who will give reward for it."

Though Ahadith-e-Qudsi are very few in number, they are extremely helpful in understanding the
fundamentals of Islam since their main theme is Allah's relationship with mankind. In the following
Hadith-e-Qudsi

"Truly, My mercy overcomes My wrath."

'My emphasises Allah's love for His creation. Ahadith-e-Qudsi found in the As-Sihah As-Sittah, and
are ranked on top among the Sahih (authoritative Ahadith)

2. Hadith-e-Nabwi It is that Hadith which contains the actual statement and teaching of the Prophet
in the form of his sayings, actions and tacit approvals. In Hadith-e-Nabwi the ultimate Rawi is the
Companion of the Holy Prophet. For example, it recorded in Sahih Bukhari that Umar(R.A) reported
that the Holy Prophet said: "Actions judged by intentions, and every person will get the rewards
according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrates for worldly benefits or for a woman to
marry, his emigration will be what he emigrated for."

Ahadith-e-Nabwi are innumerable in number and guide the Muslims in almost each and every aspect
of their life. They not only help us in understanding more about our beliefs, and how to practise the
teachings of Islam, they also help us to seek guidance in legal, political, social and economic aspects
of life. In the absence of Hadith and Sunnah, the Qur'an would have remained unexplored and not
fully understood to the depth of its meanings.

Classification of Ahadith on the Basis of Authority

The Ahadith are classified into four groups, depending upon where they are traced from

1. Qudsi (Sacred)

2. Marfu' (Elevated)

3. Mawquf (Stopped)

4. Maqtu' (Severed)

1. Qudsi (Sacred)

It is that Hadith which the Holy Prophet quoted from Allah . In other words, it is an inspiration from
Allah and quoted by the Holy Prophet in his own words. The ultimate Rawi of such a Hadith is the
Holy Prophet himself.

2. Marfu' (Elevated)

It is a Hadith which is traced back directly to the Holy Prophet. In this type, the Sanad (chain of
transmission) reaches right up to the Holy Prophet. Marfu Ahadith are further classified into:

a) Marfu' Qawli

It is that Hadith which contains a statement of the Holy Prophet

b) Marfu' Fi'li

It is that Hadith which describes some act or deed of the Holy Prophete.g the Holy Prophet
performed such and such act in such and such way at such and such time.

c) Marfu' Taqriri

It is that Hadith which includes some statements or acts of some of the Companions of the Holy
Prophet which were said or done in his presence and he did not object to them,

3. Mawquf (Stopped)
It is that Hadith in which the chain of transmission stops at the Companion and does not reach the
Holy Prophet In such a Hadith, the Companion's words are quoted as, "We were commanded to..."

4. Maqtu' (Severed)

It is that statement or deed which is attributed to some Tabi'ee. In this Hadith, the chain of
transmission stops at two steps down i.e., at the level of Tabi'ee, and does not reach the Companion
or the Holy Prophet.

Q (b) Why is it important for Muslims to have collections of authentic hadith?(4)

Firstly, Ahadith are the words of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the teachings of our religion
which often extend Quran. Thus, Muslims need to know the exact teachings which the
Prophet (PBUH) gave for which the Hadith provided to them should be authentic.
Secondly, checking the authenticity of hadith is felt important due to the fear of
alteration in the sayings of Prophet (PBUH) which could result in loss of the true
essence of Islamic theology.
Thirdly, Ahadith are a primary source when the Quran is silent and a secondary
source after Quran which makes it a prominent source of legal thinking, its
authenticity is very vital so that Muslims get the wrong idea about Islam and starts
improper practice.

What the Quran stated in brief it was further elaborated by the hadith so hadith
therefore play a very important part in the understanding of the Quran due to which their
authenticity is very important.

Q (b) ‘Truly my mercy overcomes My wrath”. This is a Hadith e Qudsi. What is so special
about Ahadith of this kind? (4)

The saying of Prophet (PBUH) in his own words is called Hadith-e-Nabwi – A Prophetic
hadith. For example “Paradise lies under the feet of your mother”.
The saying of Prophet (PBUH) in the words Allah is called Hadith-e-Qudsi – A Divine
Hadith. For example “If My servant likes to meet Me, I like to meet him; if he dislikes to
meet Me, I dislike to meet him” and “Fasting is for Me and I shall certainly
compensate it”.
As the speaker in these Ahadith is Allah Himself therefore in words of these Ahadith the
pronouns I, Me, My and Mine etc represent the personality of Allah instead of Prophet
Mohammad (PBUH).
Though these are the words of Allah but such Ahadith did not form the part of Quran as
Prophet (PBUH) was instructed to keep them separate from Quranic revelations. Thus,
they are recognized as the sayings which Mohammad (PBUH) related from Allah
Himself.

Q (b) What are the advantages of having different categories of Ahadith. (4)
Ahadith are classified into four categories; Sahih, Hasan, Dhaif and Mauzu.
As per the authenticity, Sahih Ahadith are the most authentic as they pass all the rules of
Isnad and matn, Hasan Ahadith are next to Sahih in terms of authenticity only with minor
doubts related to it. Whereas Dhaif Ahadith are the least authentic with major doubts to it
while Mauzu Ahadith are falsely attributed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
enables us to finalize how much to rely on a particular hadith. Sahih Ahadith are to
be trusted blindly, Hasan can also be followed likewise but Dhaif has to be dealt
cautiously depending on the sort of doubt related to it while Mauzu has to be avoided.

accepted and which are to be rejected. Now we know Sahih and Hasan Ahadith are to
be accepted and practiced without hesitation, Dhaif Ahadith are to be checked for their
weakness and Mauzu Ahadith are to be rejected as they are not traced back to Prophet
(PBUH). A couple of examples of Mauzu hadith that has been rejected are: "Seek
knowledge even as far as China” and “The ink of the scholar is more holy than the
blood of the Martyr".

Ahadith, it would have harmed our faith, would have damaged our correct religious
practices and would have broken our bond to Allah.

Q (b) Giving one example, explain how the Sunnah is important in a Muslim’s life today.
(4)
An example of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) Sunnah is the use of Miswak. It is a
teeth cleaning stick made from a branch/stem of a tree. The stick is softened from any
One side and the softened bristles are used to clean the teeth. The Prophet (PBUH) often
recommended the use of Miswak. He once mentioned it to be the common practice of all
the Prophets of Allah.
It is used on various occasions. It is recommended to be used before religious practices,
before entering one's house, before and after going on a journey, on Fridays and Eid days,
before sleeping and after waking up, when experiencing hunger and thirst and before
entering any good gathering. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Were it not that I might-over-
burden the Believers I would have ordered them to use Siwak (Miswak) at the time of
every Prayer."
One of the greatest benefits of Miswak is that it is the act of Ibadah. Prophet (PBUH)
mentioned that regular use of Miswak is a mean of pleasure of the Lord. It is also
reported that the use of Miswak before Salah multiplies the reward of Salah (prayer) 70
times.
Another benefit of the use of Miswak is the cleaning of the mouth. It prevents tooth
decay and eliminates toothaches. It also halts tooth decay from further increase.
Furthermore, it eliminates the bad breath and creates fragrance in mouth.

Q (b) What was the significance of the Prophet (PBUH) not allowing the writing down of
Ahadith in the early days of his prophet hood? (4)

There were various significances of the Prophet (PBUH) not allowing the writing down
Firstly, his primary focus was to establish Islam. In the early days of his prophethood,
the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was more concerned about the flourishing of Islam. He
(PBUH) first intended to take the Islamic mission into the hearts of many and then to
work on preservation of Islamic teachings in memories and writings both.
Secondly, it was to give more priority to the writing down of Quranic revelations. He
(PBUH) wanted his companions to focus more on the writing down of Quranic
revelations as Quran is the foundation of all Sharia laws and guidance.
Thirdly, he wanted to ensure the clear discrimination of his sayings and the words
of Allah. He (PBUH) didn't want his companions to be confused between the words of
Allah and his sayings. Therefore, he initially asked them write down only Quranic
revelations and simultaneously he (PBUH) guided and trained them to differ between his
sayings and the sayings of Allah.
Lastly, once he was confident that companions were fully able to discriminate
between Quran and Hadith, he (PBUH) encouraged them to write down Ahadith.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (RZ)'s attempt to seek permission to write down Ahadith is
evident to this where he showed his complete understanding of discriminating the
revelations and Ahadith. Once Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (RZ) went to Prophet (PBUH)
and said: O messenger of Allah! I wish to narrate some of your traditions so I intend
to write these with my hand along with my heart. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “If they
are my Hadith have them written along with your heart.”