Islam has 2 Primary sources |
One is the Holy Quran & the other is the Hadeeth.
In this article we will look at Hadeeth.
Argubly the first person to assign a methodology to attain Authenticity of a Hadith is Imam Shuʿba ibn al-Ḥajjāj (“King of Hadith”) – from Iraq. He is renowned for establishing the credibility and reliability of a Hadeeth.
Something to Keep in Mind…
Every Sunnah, will be also a Hadeeth….. BUT Every Hadeeth will NOT be a Sunnah….. Something to keep in mind, when speaking to Salafi’s / Ahle Hadeeth.
The Meaning of the word Hadeeth is Sayings, News, Report or Naration.
Hadiths are recorded narrations, reports, or accounts of the words, actions, silent approvals, or physical characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad صلي الله عليه وسلم (pbuh).
The Science of Hadeeth is unique to Islam, no other religion, society, culture, has been exposed to this precise step-by-step methodology of scrutinising of text, in order to come to a well-reasoned conclusions.
| Key Concepts & Terms |
Mustalah al-Hadith – Comprehensive study of principles used to identify the authenticity, strength, or weakness of the SANAD and MATN.
Rijal al-Hadith (Ilm al Rijal) – Muhaddiseen, will study each every Narrator in the chain, to ensure the hadeeth reliabilty and Authenticity.
Sanad – Verification system for the full chain of the Hadeeth, Listing the Narators ie Who Passed it to us.. ie linking from Sahabah to the Muhadith (Scholors)
Matn – Actual Text of Hadeeth ie What was Said
Classification – Sahih, Hasan, Zaeeef, Modzu
- Sahih (Authentic): The Strongest Level
- Hasan (Good, Sound) – Acceptable but not the Strongest – Scholor’s still act on it, still use it
- Da’if (Weak) but not Fake – Narrator in the chain is unknown, Chain Linkage is Incorrect, or Narrator had weak memory – therefore Da’if (Weak) can be used for Motivation but not for core beliefs
- Mawdu’ (Fabricated) – Fake, Fabricated, a Lie therefore its actually not a Hadeeth.
Sihah Sitta – The Six Authentic Hadith Books
- Imam Bukhari (d. 256 AH) – Author of Sahih al-Bukhari.
- Imam Muslim (d. 261 AH) – Author of Sahih Muslim.
- Imam Abu Dawood (d. 275 AH) – Author of Sunan Abu Dawood.
- Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH) – Author of Jami’ at-Tirmidhi.
- Imam al-Nasa’i (d. 303 AH) – Author of Sunan al-Nasa’i.
- Imam Ibn Majah (d. 273 AH) – Author of Sunan Ibn Majah
Hadeeth e Qudsi
| Hadeeth e Qudsi – Chain (Isnad) is Narrator (Sanad) to Sahabah to Prophet Muhammad مُحَمَّد ﷺ to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala |
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Marfu Hadeeth
| Marfu Hadeeth – (Meaning Elevated) Chain (Isnad) is Narrator (Sanad) to Sahabah to Prophet Muhammad مُحَمَّد ﷺ |
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Mowkuf Hadeeth
| Mowkuf Hadeeth – (Meaning Stopped) Chain (Isnad) is Narrator (Sanad) to Sahabah |
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Maqtu Hadeeth
| Maqtu – Chain (Isnad) is Narrator (Sanad) to Tabi’in |
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| Hadeeths are important to Understanding Islam |
Example..
Quran says Prayer (Salaa’h)—->Hadeeth will explain HOW TO PRAYER.
Quran says Pay Zakaa’t—->Hadeeth will explain HOW TO etc.
| A Hadeeth has 2 Parts to it |
Sanad- the whole chain of Narrator’s
It Begins from the actions of the Prophet (pbuh), recorded by the Sahabah (RAD), then passed on generation by generation, till that hadeeth reaches the Muhaddith who recorded it
Example of a Sanad
“Person A narrated from Person B, who narrated from Person C, who narrated from the Prophet ﷺ.”
Example of Sanad Hadith:
حدثنا عبد الله بن يوسف، قال: أخبرنا مالك، عن نافع، عن عبد الله بن عمر رضي الله عنهما
The chain here is:
Abdullah ibn Yusuf → Mālik → Nāfi‘ → Ibn ‘Umar (RA)
This is the sanad, not the actual message of the hadith.
&
Matn – the text of the Hadeeth.
Example of Matn Hadith:
أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: “إنما الأعمال بالنيات”
“Actions are judged by intentions”
This short statement is the Matn, the content and meaning of the hadith.
| Authenticity of a Hadeeth |
Muhaddiseen, expert scholars of Hadith in Islam, classify hadeeth according to its Authenticity.
Authenticity is based on the Narrator’s of Hadeeth, ie
- Reliabilty of the Narrator
- Trustworthiness of the Narrator
- Accuracy of the Narrator
- Their place in the Chain Continuity (Ittisal al-Sanad)
- and Consistency of the Narrator
In addition the Narrator’s MUST BE
- a muslim
- Islamic Maturity
- Sane
- Good Memory &
- A’dil
A’dil is someone with
- integrity
- not sinful
- not a liar
| Upgrading of a Hadeeth |
The below hadeeth is Hasan, but because one of the Narrator is considered weak in his memory BUT in light of other supporting hadeeths, the hadeeth gets raised to level of Sahih.
If I had not found it hard for my followers or the people, I would have ordered them to clean their teeth with Siwak for every prayer.
Another hadeeth is Zaeef,
Paradise lies under the mother’s feet
but the meaning of the hadeeth is contained in another hadeeth that is sahih, so this Zaeef Hadeeth gets upgraded by 1 Level.
“O Messenger of Allah! I want to go out and fight (in Jihad) and I have come to ask your advice.” He said: “Do you have a mother?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Then stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet.”
Validation of a Hadeeth |
- According to the last person in the chain
- According to the quantity of the narrator’s
- Mutawatir is mass Narration at each stage – Meaning the Hadeeth will be strong. Example with 70 Narrator’s from Sahih al-Bukhari 106
- Ahad (or khabar al-wahid) – does not reach the level of Mutawatir (mass-transmitted, absolute certainty).
- Mash-hur – Meaning Famous – 3 or more Narrator’s at each stage, Example Sunan an-Nasa’i 4995
- Aziz – 2 Narrator’s at each stage, Example from Sahih Muslim 44b
- Ghareeb, Meaning scarce, meaning 1 Narrators at any stage, Example from Sahih al-Bukhari 5429
- According to the quality of the narrator’s
| Famous Hadeeth Scholor’s (Collectors of Hadeeth) |
There are 1000’s of prominent hadith scholars.
But the Famous ones are
- Imam Bukhari (d. 256 AH) – Author of Sahih al-Bukhari.
- Imam Muslim (d. 261 AH) – Author of Sahih Muslim.
- Imam Abu Dawood (d. 275 AH) – Author of Sunan Abu Dawood.
- Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH) – Author of Jami’ at-Tirmidhi.
- Imam al-Nasa’i (d. 303 AH) – Author of Sunan al-Nasa’i.
- Imam Ibn Majah (d. 273 AH) – Author of Sunan Ibn Majah.
- Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) – Author of Al-Muwatta.
- Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
