Introduction to the Science of Hadeeth

Definition

The scholars of Hadeeth defines it as “That which is attributed to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam [1] as regards words, actions or tacit approval, physical features and his character” [2] Brief History The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, is the last and final messenger sent to mankind. He was sent with the Quran and it was for him to elucidate it to the people. His words are the explanation of the Quran and his actions are the practical application of it. Once Aisha (the wife of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was asked about the noble character and manners of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. She answered, “Have you not read the Quran. His character is a complete explanation of the Quran”. Consequently the Sahabah (companions of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam) knew the importance of his actions because he has to be followed and the importance of his words for it is the law. They strive to memorize it and recorded it in whatever recording material available to them at that time. This same enthusiasm of recording whatever came out from the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, in addition to the Quran was also done by the early generation of Muslims. Since then the record of the actions of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and his own words have been collected in a body of literature that has become known as Hadeeth.

Commenting on the beginnings of The Sciences of Hadeeth (Mustalah Hadeeth), Shaykh Ahmad Shakir says: So they memorized the Qur`aan, and they reported from the Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam frequently, sentence by sentence, and word by word, and letter by letter. They preserved it in their chests, and they confirmed it upon pages of their writings, and they authored books about it with exhaustive detail. They also memorized much about their Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam everyone of his statements or actions or conditions. He was a teacher from his Lord, and an explainer of His Revelation, and a commander of the establishment of His Religion. All of his sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam statements and actions and conditions are an explanation of the Qur`aan. He is the infallible Messenger and the good example.

After the era of the Sahabah, the scholars of hadeeth took great care to make sure they collected everything that was narrated from him as a narration, even if it was not authentic. Then they strove to authenticate every hadeeth, and every letter narrated in a narration. So they criticized their conditions and their narrations and they took the most extreme care in quoting. So they would rule a hadeeth to be weak due to a little doubt in the biography of a narrator's character which affected his reliability according to the people of knowledge. So if they doubted his truthfulness and they knew that he had lied about something in his statements, then they would discard his narrations and they would call his hadeeth fabricated (mawdhoo') or lies (makdhoob), even if he was not particularly known for lying in narrating hadeeths and even though they knew the liar could have been telling the truth. Likewise, they used to check the memorization of every narrator and read his narrations with other ones [other narrators of authentic ahadeeth (plural of hadeeth) for comparison]. So if they found many mistakes from him and his memorization was not good, they would declare his narrations weak, even if he had not been disparaged in his character or his truthfulness. It was feared that his memory might be unreliable in his narrations.

Indeed they wrote and compiled the fundamental principles that were required for the acceptance of hadeeth, so these are the fundamental principles of this field of study (fundamentals of Sciences of Hadeeth). So they refined them with as close examination as humanly possible, so as to preserve their Religion. So the fundamentals that they established became the soundest fundamentals for confirming historical accounts and the finest and the most delicate, even though it is despised - in these later times - by most of the people since they do not have adequate knowledge about it or clarification. So the scholars of many different sciences followed them in this. So the scholars of language and the scholars of literature and the scholars of history and other than these imitated them. So they made efforts to relate everything of their sciences with a chain of narrators, as you will see in the older books. So the foundations of this knowledge were used with the intention of authenticating narrations in anything that involved narrating. So this knowledge is the basis for any narration-based science. [3]

The Hadeeth and its related sciences is perhaps the most extensive of all the Islamic Sciences. This short article attempts to answer a simple question: What are the necessary information in Hadeeth Sciences that the general Muslim population has to know? There are basically Six points I wish to include here. First is that perhaps unknown to many the Hadeeth is also a revelation from Allah The Exalted The Majestic. Second, what is the Authority of Hadeeth in Islam? Third, I want to show what constitute a hadeeth and its structure. Fourth, The division of hadeeth into Saheeh(authentic) and Daeef (weak), the former is accepted and the latter is not. Fifth and this is very important is the usage of Daeef Hadeeth in encouraging of doing good deeds. And lastly, the famous scholars of hadeeth and their books and collections. I intend this while seeking Allah The Exalted The Majestic’s help and seeking His pleasure. Anything that is correct is from the guidance of Allah The Exalted The Majestic while the errors are from our efforts.

A Revelation from Allah

The Messenger of Allah, , Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam, was chosen to be the one who will deliver the final revelation from Allah. He (meaning prophet) said: I have bequathed to you two things; if you hold fast to them you will never go astray. They are the Qur’an and my Sunnah (The Ways of the Prophet). Both of them are considered revelation form Allah The Exalted The Majestic.

One of the important differences between them is the Quran is the word of Allah The Exalted The Majestic. The Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, was merely its mouthpiece, receiving the text and delivering it as he learned it, word by word. The Hadeeth on the other hand, is the word or deed or the approval of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. The contents of the authentic hadeeth are believed to be from Allah The Exalted The Majestic, but the words belongs to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam who was indeed endowed with a noble and exceptionally eloquent style. [4]

Allah The Exalted The Majestic says in the Quran: “By the star when it goes down (or vanishes). Your companion (Muhammad) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.” [5]

Al-Hafidh Ibn Katheer says in his commentary [6] regarding this Ayah (verse): Allah The Exalted The Majestic said, “Nor does he speak of desire”, asserting that nothing the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, utters is of his own desire or wish, “It is only a revelation revealed” means he only conveys to the people what he was commanded to convey, in its entirety without addition or deletions.

Imam Ahmad recorded that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al Aas said: ‘I used to record everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam so it would be preserved. The Quraish discouraged me from this saying, ‘You record everything you hear from the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, even though he is human and sometimes speaks when he is angry? I stopped recording the Ahadeeth for a while, but later mentioned what they said to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, who said, “Write! By He in Whose Hand is my soul, every word that comes out of me is the truth”’ [7]

Authority of Hadeeth

The authority of the hadeeth comes from the authority of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam himself in Islam because the hadeeth, by definition, consists of his sayings and actions and tacit approvals. Therefore, explaining the authority of hadeeth is like explaining the authority of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

The Prophet as an expounder of the Qur’an

“And we also have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the Dhikr [reminder and the advise (i.e. the Qur’an)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought” [8]

“Indeed Allah conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves, reciting unto then His verses, and purifying them (from sins by their following him) and instructing them the book (the Qur’an) and Al-Hikmah (the wisdom and the Sunnah), while before they had been in manifest error”. [9]

The Ultimate Authority is Allah

“It is for us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad) the ability to recite the Qur’an. And when we have recited it to you [O Muhammad through Angel Jibril (Gabriel)], then follow its recitation. Then it is for Us (Allah) to make it clear to you”. [10]

The Prophet as a legislator

“…he commands them for Al-Ma’ruf [11] and forbids them Al-Munkar [12] , he allows them as lawful At-Tayyibat [13] , he releases them form their heavy burdens (of Allah Covenant with the Children of Israel) and from the fetters (binding) that were upon them”. [14]

The Prophet as a model behavior for the Muslim Society

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much”. [15]

Total Obedience to the Prophet

“We sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed by Allah’s leave”. [16]

“The only saying of the faithful believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say: ‘We hear and we obey.’ And such are the successful”. [17]

“But no by your Lord, they can have no faith until they make you judge in all disputes between them and find in themselves no resistance against you decision and accept with full submission”. [18]

“Say: ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger’. But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the Disbelievers”. [19]

“And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy”. [20]

“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) If you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination”. [21]

“It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed stayed into a plain error”. [22]

“And whosoever contends with the Messenger after guidance has been made clear to him, and follows a way other than the way of the believers, We shall leave in the path he has chosen, and land him in Hell, what an evil destination!" [23]

The preceeding verses explain the different roles of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, in Islam. He was the vehicle by which the Quran was revealed and he was the one who explained it to people. The Quran contains guidance and laws from Allah The Exalted The Majestic, and the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, explain these to people and showed them in real life how to follow this guidance and how to implement these laws. He is the model to be emulated in his lifetime until the Day of Judgment. Finally he is to be obeyed with full submission and without which belief is not complete. All these things about the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, has been recorded in his hadeeth. This explains the place of hadeeth in Islam.

WHAT CONSTITUTE A HADEETH?

This is a full description of a hadeeth: Imaam Bukhari reported that Musaddad told us that Yahya informed him from Shu’bah, from Qatadah from Anas, from the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam that he said: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” [24]

This means that the Hadeeth scholar Muhammad Ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari collected in his book of ahadeeth called Saheeh al-Bukhari the statement: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” which he heard from his teacher Musaddad, who heard it from his teacher Yahya, who was informed by his teacher Shu’bah that he heard it from his teacher Qatadah, a student of the Prophet’s, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, companion, who heard it quoted by the companions Anas ibn Malik from the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. [25]

THE STRUCTURE OF HADEETH

Hadeeth consists of two main parts: the Sanad and the Matn. The Sanad or Isnaad is the list of narrators of the saying or action of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. For example, the above hadeeth the sanad is : “Musaddad told us that Yahya informed him from Shu’bah from Qatadah from Anas from the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam that he said:” The Matn is the text of the Hadeeth or what the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam actually said or did is called the Matn. For example, in the above hadeeth the Matn is: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” [26]

DIVISIONS OF HADEETH

The Hadeeth Saheeh Allah The Exalted The Majestic said: “O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it,…” [27] “The Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, said: May Allah make a person happy who hears something from us and transmit it as he heard it, since perhaps the one whom it reaches comprehends it better than the one who heard it” [28]

The Messenger of Allah said: "Whoever lies upon me deliberately, then let him take his seat in the Fire." [29] He also said: "Whoever relates a hadeeth from me and thinks that it is a lie, then he is one of the liars." [30]

Not all hadeeth are accepted as proof and statement of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam. The scholars of Islam have listed five factors in accepting the hadeeth as Saheeh or authentic. Being authentic means it is obligatory to act upon it and it can be used as a proof in the Shariah (Islamic Law).

1. Continuity of the chain of transmission (Ittisal as-Sanad).

That its isnaad is connected. None of the transmitters must be missing form the chain of narrators. That everyone of its narrators heard it directly from the person he is narrating from, from the start of the isnaad to the end. Like the above example of hadeeth, Imam bukhari is a student of Musaddad who is a student of Yahya, who in turn is a student of Shu’bah, a student of Qatadah, a student of Anas the companion of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. The student and the teacher must have met each other and not only that, the students must heard directly from his teacher for a particular narration (hadeeth) without a second person for the hadeeth be considered ‘Muttasil’ (Continuous Chain).

2.The integrity of the narrators (al-‘Adalah).

The integrity of transmitters is established in terms of their outward observance of Islam. In other words, it is ascertained that they practice what is required of them by Islam and they are not known to engage in doing things which are forbidden. [31]

The narrators must meet these conditions: Muslim, of Age (baaligh), Sane (‘aaqil), not an open sinner (faasiq), and not having bad manners and habits. [32] All of the above narrators of hadeeth (bukhari etc.) have been found to be reliable men of narrators as regard to their memory and integrity as recorded in another science of hadeeth called Ilm al-Rijaal. The science of giving accreditation or disparagement to the hadeeth and its narrators is called Jarh wa Ta’deel.

3. Precision of the narrator (Dabt) which is of two kinds.

First is precision of the heart (memory). This means that he memorises it correctly and transmit it as he heard it and that he understands it if he is reporting its meaning.

Second, he also must be precised in writing that he correctly writes it down, preserves it and makes sure that it is passed correctly.

The way the scholars of Islam determined the preciseness of the memory of a narrator of hadeeth is really an amazing thing. One example was the testing of memory of Imam Bukhari.

Ibn ‘Adiyy said, “I heard a number of Shaykhs relating that when Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel (al-Bukhari) came to Baghdaad and the companions of hadeeth heard of him, they gathered together and (as a test) they took a hundred hadeeth and they mixed up their chains of narrations and texts, giving the text of one the chain of narration of another, and the chain of narration of one a different text. Then they divided them between ten people for them to ask al-Bukhaaree about them in the gathering.

So the people gathered, and one of them began by asking al- Bukhaaree about one of his ten hadeeth, so he replied, ‘I do not know it,’ and he asked him about another and he said, ‘I do not know it,’ this continued until he completed the ten. So, the people of knowledge began looking at one another and saying, ‘The man understands well.’ But the people who did not know thought that al-Bukhaaree was incapable. Then the second began and did the same as the first and al-Bukhaaree kept saying, ‘I do not know it.’ Then the third and so on until all ten had asked him, and he did not say anything more than, ‘I do not know it.’ Then when he knew that they had finished he turned to the first of them and said, ‘As for your first hadeeth then it should be like this, and the second like this, and the third like this...’ right up to the tenth, restoring each text to its true chain of narration. He did the same with all of the others, so the people attested to his memorization.”

Abul-Azhar said, “There were four hundred students of hadeeth in Samarqand and they came together for a week and hoped to find Muhammad ibn Ismaa‘eel (al-Bukhari) make a mistake. So they entered the chains of narration of Shaam (Present day Syria, Jordan and Palestine) upon those of ‘Iraaq, and chains of Yemen upon those of Makkah and al-Madeenah, but they could not find a single mistake from him in any chain of narration or any text.” [33]

4. Conformity of the hadeeth: It is important that the hadeeth conform with similar ahadeeth on the same topics which are stronger than it. This conformity should be both in the chain of transmitters and the text. Non-conformity in the chain of transmitters for example might be if one of the transmitters in the chain is different than in a stronger version of the same hadeeth. Non-conformity in text would imply divergence in the meaning of this hadeeth with one which is stronger that it.

5. The absence of hidden defects in the hadeeth (‘Illah)

The ‘Illah is a non apparent factor which affects the authenticity of the hadeeth, whilst the isnaad appears to be free from it. For example, a hidden gap in the isnaad. If any of these five conditions are not fulfilled then the isnaad will not be Saheeh. Later, scholars graded the memories of narrators into excellent and acceptable. If all had excellent memories the hadeeth was rated saheeh, and if some were acceptable it was rated hasan. However, both categories are considered authentic. Such a hadeeth can be used to prove a point of Islamic Law which should be followed.

The Hadeeth Da’eef

Da’eef literally means weak as opposed to saheeh which means sound or healthy. The analogy is akin to the health of the body. The body is said to be saheeh if it is healthy and da’eef if it is ill. If any of the narrators in the Sanad were known to have had any of the following faults, the hadeeth is then classified as being inaccurate and referred as Da’eef.

1. If any were known to have been liars.

2. If any to have known to have bad memories. (Or he lost his memory when he got old, or lost his books or his books got burned)

3. If any were known to have not met the one he was supposed to be narrating from.

The hadeeth da’eef is not a true saying or action of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and cannot be used to prove any point of Islamic Law. Any law based on such hadeeth is considered to be incorrect.

For example, Hadeeth scholars Abu Daawud and Ahmad collected a narration from Hafs ibn Ghayyaath who reported from ‘Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Ishaaq from Ziyaad ibn Zayd from Abu Juhayfah that ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib was supposed to have said, ‘The Sunnah position of hands in salaah is to place one hand in the other hand, below the navel.” However, this hadeeth is classified da’eef because ‘Abdur-Rahmaan was a known liar. Therefore, it can not be used to support the practice of placing one’s hand below the navel in Salaah (Prayer). [34]

About using Da’eef Hadeeth in Fadhaa’il ‘Amal

The overwhelming majority of the scholars are agreed upon that hadeeth da'eef cannot be used as a proof in Aqeedah (beliefs) and Amal (actions). However, there are a number of scholars who allowed the usage of da’eef hadeeth only in encouraging in doing good deeds (Fadhail Amal) [35] .

But this opinion is not the opinion of the majority of the scholars. Great scholars such as al-Bukhari, Yahya Ibn Ma'een and others are amongst them who opposed this. It has been reasoned out that hadeeth Saheeh is enough and sufficient for the Muslims. Those who allowed it have set strict conditions such as by Al Hafidh Ibn Hajr al Asqalani [36] .

The conditions are as follows:

1) Upon that which they all agree, that it should not be very weak so that it excludes that only narrated by a liar, one accused of lying and one who makes serious mistakes.

2) That (the action) falls under a general proof already present - which excludes that which is invented having no basis.

3) That acting upon it the person does not think that it is something established - in order that he does not attribute to the Prophet what he did not say [37]

According to these conditions, if one were to use a hadeeth da’eef in encouragement of doing good deeds then it must not have a serious weakness. Meaning, the cause of the weakness of the hadeeth shouldn’t be because one of the narrators were accused of lying. Lying here both include lying in dealings with ordinary lives as well as lying against the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alaihi wasallam.

The later one is the worst form of hadeeth called Maudu’ or fabricated and some scholars even refuse to call it a hadeeth. Both of them could cause a hadeeth not to be accepted. The ‘not serious weakness’ occurs when the narrator’s memory is not excellent, or his mistake is equal to his being right or if he is an innovator in the religion. The Hadeeth of the innovator will be accepted as long as it does not support his innovation and his innovation doesnot constitute disbelief.

Moreover, the points that can be derived from such da’eef hadeeth should be already established in the religion. A rough example (a theoretical hadeeth) is like that if somebody prays two short rak’as (unit of prayer) in such and such time then he will have a reward of such and such amount.

In this example of a (theoretical) hadeeth, the recommended act is praying the voluntary prayer and it has been established (through the Quran or some other authentic ahadeeth) in Islam that praying the voluntary prayers has great rewards. But this ‘particular’ da’eef hadeeth added an extra information by mentioning the ‘extra’ amount of reward.

Therefore this might encourage an individual who is otherwise uninspired or undecided to pray the voluntary prayer. In addition, the person shouldn’t think that this prayer at such and such time with such and such reward is something established in the religion or else he will be attributing to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam which he did not say. Rather, he only aspires that this particular weak hadeeth with minor weakness might be a true statement of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, for example the reason why the hadeeth is deemed da’eef because one of its narrators had weak memory.

Although this person had a weak memory it doesn’t mean that he errs all the time. It is just that the probability of his errors is greater than the probability of him being correct. And because of this, the hadeeth scholars in their stringent conditions for safeguarding and preservation of Islam has rejected such narrators and transmitters of hadeeth even though they may be actually good muslims who practice Islam.

Further, one has to declare to everyone listening or reading that such hadeeth quoted is da’eef or just like the past scholars have done that they would mention not only the Matn (Text of the hadeeth) but as well as the Isnaad (the individuals who narrated and passed on the hadeeth from the one who heard the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam until the one who collected and recorded the hadeeth. This could span from generation to generation). In this way the people listening can verify whether such hadeeth is authentic or not. There was a time that this was the standard practice, hence, mentioning the isnaad or chain of narrations wouldn’t be as strange as it is when it is done today.

Lastly, when quoting such hadeeth, one should not attribute it to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam by saying: ‘The Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said’. Rather one should say, ‘it has been said, or it has been reported that such and such…’ One wonders that if such hadeeth are only accepted in enjoining good deeds with conditions, then what about those group of Muslims who accepted hadeeth that has major weakness or fabricated hadeeth or even accept hadeeth that has no known Isnaad! They use these ahadeeth in their belief system (Aqeedah) and make these ahadeeth as one of the foundations of their beliefs. All these strictness of accepting narrations attributed to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, revolves around his warning in telling lies against him as mentioned in the previous ahadeeth: "Whoever lies upon me deliberately, then let him take his seat in the Fire”..

A Comparison

Comparatively, if such rigorous conditions be applied in accepting narrations, in this case from the Prophets, then how would the present day bible appear to the scholars of hadeeth in accepting narrations from Prophet Eesa (Jesus) peace be upon him? It is known that the four ‘narrators’ of gospel neither heard nor seen Jesus peace be upon him. None of them are his desciples. In hadeeth terminology, these narrations (in the bible) could be deemed as Muallaq. It means that one or more narrators are deleted from the chain. In this case the narrator from the one who heard it from Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, until the one from whom the collector heard it are unknown (See Encyclepdia Britannica for the authorship of the synoptic gospels). Not only that, even the so-called four canonical gospels, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, John and Luke cannot be truly attributed to them. Meaning, with perhaps the exception of Luke, the gospel according to Mark was not written or compiled by a person named Mark, the gospel according to Matthew was not written and compiled by a person named Matthew and so on.

If this is the case, how can we really be certained that there was no error in transmitting these gospels if we cannot criticize the individuals who carried these narrations. The scholars of Islam refuse to accept narrations attributed to the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, even though the chain might be complete, just because one of the narrators who carried this narration does not have an excellent or good memory. And those who accept such narrations with minor weakness restrict its usage only in encouraging doing good deeds with stringent conditions and these kind of ahadeeth are not accepted to support the Muslims’ beliefs and practices.

At this point, it is clear that Islam has been preserved to the utmost while the authenticity of the bible as a whole or in part has been challenged seriously even by the bible scholars themselves. [38] Famous Books of Hadeeth There are six famous books of Hadeeth called the Kutub as Sittah (The Six Books). They are collected by famous scholars of Hadeeth: Bukhari [39] , Muslim [40] , At-Tirmidhee [41] , An Nasaa’i [42] , Abu Dawud [43] , and Ibn Maja [44] . The Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim alone enjoy the distinction of having only saheeh hadeeth while others need verification of the Scholars. However, these six are not the only sources of hadeeth. There are also the collection of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal [45] called Musnad, the Muwatta of Imam Malik [46] , The Sahih of Ibn Khuzaima [47] , The Mustadrak of Al Hakim [48] and so many others that some of them are until now not published but remained in manuscript forms.

In closing, The Hadeeth has a unique status in Islam because in reality, its authority is the authority of the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam himself. It has been preserved with such precision that no other sciences in the world during the past and even up until the present as far as authenticating narrations is concerned has reached. What we have presented here is just a tip of the iceberg and indeed there is so much that can be told about this subject.

There are available english books such as Studies in Early Hadith literature, Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature both of them by M.M. Azami [49] , On Schacht’s Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence [50] also by M.M. Azami, Hadith Literature Its Origin, Development and Special Features by Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi [51] and other smaller books and booklets. Indeed the real treasure of Hadeeth and its sciences can only be unearthed if one knows both the Arabic Language and the Sciences of Hadeeth. And Allah the Exalted the Mighty is the One Who grants success.



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[1] It means ‘Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him”
[2] Notes on the Science of Hadeeth extracted from “Tayseer Mustalahil Hadeeth” by Dr. Mahmood at-Tahhaan. Pg. 2. Downloaded from www.fatwa-online.com.
[3] This is a small part of the introduction taken from 'al-Baa'ithul Hatheeth Sharh Ikhtisaar 'Uloomul Hadeeth' - shaykh Ahmad Shaakir's commentary on 'Ikhtisaar 'Uloomul Hadeeth' by al-Haafidh Ibn Katheer Translation by Maaz Qureshi. www.troid.org
[4] Muhammad Abdur Rauf, Ph D. Al-Hadith, Introduction and SampleTexts. The Islamic Center 2551 Massachusetts. Pg. 14.
[5] Qur’an. Surah An-Najm (53):31-5
[6] Tafsir Ibn Katheer (English Translation), Abridged, Vol. 9 Pp. 306-307
[7] Ahmad 2:162, Abu Dawud 4:60
[8] Qur’an. Surah An-Nahl (16):44
[9] Ibid. Surah Al-Imraan (3):164
[10] Ibid. Surah Al-Qiyamah Chapter 75:17-19
[11] Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained
[12] Disbelief, Polytheism of all kinds, and all Islam has forbidden
[13] All good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods
[14] Qur’an. Surah Al-A’raf. 7:157
[15] . Ibid. Surah Al-Ahzab. 33:21
[16] Ibid. Surah An-Nisa’. 4:64
[17] Ibid. Surah An-Nur 24:51
[18] Ibid Surah An-Nisa’. 4:65
[19] Ibid. Surah Al-Imran. 3:32
[20] Ibid. Surah Al-Imran. 3:132
[21] Ibid. Surah an-Nisa’. 4:59
[22] Qur’an. Surah Al-Ahzab 33:36
[23] Ibid. Surah An-Nisa’ 4:115
[24] Saheeh Al-Bukhari (Arabic-English), vol. 1, p. 19. no. 12). Saheeh Muslim (Engl Trans.) vol. 1, p. 31, p. 72.0
[25] Islamic Studies Book 1. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. International Islamic Publishing House. Pg. 73
[26] Ibid. page 74.
[27] Surah al-Hujuraat 49:6
[28] Saheeh (Authentic): Ahmad, at-Tirmidhee and Ibn Hibban from Ibn Mas’ood.
[29] Shaykh al-Albaanee has declared it to be an authentic concurrent (mutawaatir) hadeeth (that has come through numerous chain of narrators), he records 63 different routes for it. See: Mukhtasar Saheeh Muslim (no. 1861-1862), Rawdhun Nadheer (no. 707), and Saheehul Jaami' (no. 6519).
[30] Related by Abu Dardaa', reported by Ahmad, Muslim, and Ibn Maajah. Shaykh al-Albaanee has declared it authentic in Saheehul Jaami' (no. 6199), and from Samoorah and Mugheerah (no. 1863), also see ad-Da'eefah (1/12).
[31] Professor Mustafa Azami, Title of the book. Pg. 19
[32] Notes on the Science of Hadeeth extracted from “Tayseer Mustalahil Hadeeth” by Dr. Mahmood at-Tahhaan. Pg. 6. Downloaded from www.fatwa-online.com.
[33] The Creed of the Imam of Hadeeth Abu Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Isma’eel al-Bukhari. Published as an E-book by www.al-manhaj.com. Pages 6-7.
[34] Islamic Studies Book 1. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. International Islamic Publishing House. Pg 76.
[35] There is a book bearing the same title by Shaykh Zakaria Khandalvi. The book not only contains da’eef hadeeth with minor weakness as stipulated by the conditions set by Ibn Hajr al Asqalaani but even fabricated ahadeeth and other incredible stories with untraceable references as well. See this link: www.salafipublications.com
[36] In fact, Shaykh Al albaani pointed out that Al Hafidh Ibn Hajr al Asqalaani hinted that al Hafidh didn’t really agreed on using da’eef hadeeth but he just set the conditions for those who might use such ahadeeth. See Tamam al Manna his commentary and checkings of the hadeeth on the famous book Fiqhus Sunnah.
[37] On the Da'eef (Weak) Ahaadeeth and Passing Rulings Based on Them. www.troid.org
[38] see this link: www.muslim-answers.org
[39] He is the Amirul Mu’minin (Leader of the Believers) in the knowledge of Hadeeth and his full name is Abu Abdullah, Muhammad ibn Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Al Mughira bin Bardizbah Al Ju’fi al Bukhari. He was born in Shawwal 194 H, in Bukhara in what is now Uzbekistan.
[40] He is Muslim bin Al Hajjaj Al Qushairi An Nishapuri. He was born in 204 H in the city of Nishapur near the city of Nashhad in present Iran. Muslim is considered second only to Bukhari in the science of the methodology of Hadeeth.
[41] His full name is Abu ‘Eesa Muhammad bin Eesa bin Sura. At Tirmidhi was born in 209 H. in a town called Tirmidh in Uzbekistan near the northern border of Afghanistan.
[42] He is Abu Abdur Rahman Ahmad bin Ali bin Shuaib bin Ali Al Hafiz who was born in 215 H in Nisa’ a city in Khurasan. His book known as Sunan An Nasa’i is third to Sahih al Bukhari in terms of containing the least weak hadeeth.
[43] He is Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin Al Ash’ath bin Ishaq Al Azdi As Sijistani who was one of the eminent Imam of Hadeeth was born in 202H.
[44] He is Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Yazeed Bin Majah Al Qizwini who was born in 207 H. He was one of the eminent scholars of Hadeeth but his book (The Sunan) contains many weak and even Munkar (Rejected) Hadeeths.
[45] He is Abu Abdullah Ahmad ibn Muhammad bin Hanbal Ash Shaibani known by the name Ibn Hanbal. He was a celebrated theologian, jurist and a Hadeeth scholar. HE is also one of the four famous Imams and the founder of what later came to the Hanbali Madhhab.
[46] He is Abu Abdullah Malik bin Anas bin Abu Amir Al Asbahi who was born in 93 H. and is one of the four Imam.
[47] He is Muhammad bin Ishaq who was born in 223 H in Nishapur. He was considered as a sheikh al Islam and one of the eminent and senior Hafidh (Memorized a large number of Hadeeth)
[48] He is Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Abdullah in Nishapuri Al Hakim who was born in 321 H.
[49] Published by American Trust Publications Indiana USA, 1977 and 1992 respectively.
[50] Published by Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, UK, 1993.
[51] Published by Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, UK, 1993.