Hadith and the Making of Traditions (1) PDF

The Prophetic Personality: Prophetic Narration, Biography and Practice (Hadith, Sira and The Prophet in the Qur’an The Prophet had to convey the divine message but it was also his duty to act upon it and to explain it to the people. Therefore, his actions and explanation...

The Prophetic Personality: Prophetic Narration, Biography and Practice (Hadith, Sira and The Prophet in the Qur’an The Prophet had to convey the divine message but it was also his duty to act upon it and to explain it to the people. Therefore, his actions and explanations are a source of guidance in every age. The Prophet in the Qur’an In many places the Qur’an has given its verdict on this issue. The Qur’an says: ﴿‫َي ٰٓـ َأ ُّي َہا ٱ َّل ِذي َن َءا َم ُن ٓو ْا َأ ِطي ُعو ْا ٱل َّل َه َو َأ ِطي ُعو ْا ٱل َّر ُسو َل َو ُأ ْو ِلى ٱۡل َأ ۡم ِر ِمن ُك ۖ‌ۡم َف ِإن َت َن ٰـ َز ۡع ُت ۡم‬ ‫ِفى َش ۡى ٍء َف ُر ُّدو ُه ِإ َلى ٱل َّل ِه َوٱل َّر ُسو ِل ِإن ُكن ُت ۡم ُت ۡؤ ِم ُنو َن ِبٱل َّل ِه َوٱۡل َي ۡو ِم ٱۡل َأ ِخ ِرۚ‌ َذٲ ِل َك‬ ‫﴾ َخۡي ٌر َو َأ ۡح َس ُن َت ۡأ ِويل ًا‬ “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority over you. And if you dispute over some matter then refer it Allah and His messenger if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is better and the best of interpretations.” [Q. 4: 59] The Prophet in the Qur’an Thus in Summary: “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 defence, 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 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.” (Hamidullah, Introduction to Islam, p. 23)  Hadith (Arabic:‫ا لحديث‬, Arabic pl. ahadith) are traditions relating to the sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad. Hadith collections are regarded as important tools for determining the sunna, or Muslim way of life, by all traditional schools of jurisprudence.  Types of Hadith What do Muslim Scholars classify as Hadith? Muslim scholars classify hadith relating to Muhammad as follows: What Muhammad said (qawl) What Muhammad did (fi‘l) What Muhammad approved (taqrir) in others’ actions. There are also hadith relating to the sayings and actions of the companions, but they may not have the same weight as those about Muhammad. Accounts of early Islam are also to be found in: sira (histories, especially biographies of Muhammad) tafsir (Qur’anic commentary/exegesis) fiqh (jurisprudence)  Components of Hadith What are the two components of ḥadīth? A hadith is composed of two parts/components: Hadith Sanad Matn The matn (text), which refers to the sayings, actions or characteristics of the Prophet, or his concurrence with others action and the isnad (chain of reporters). The authenticity of the hadith depends on the reliability of its reporters, and the linkage among them.  Types of hadiths There are two types of hadiths: hadith qudsi, and hadith nabawi. a) hadith qudsi form a partial exception; this small minority of hadith purports to express words spoken by God to Muhammad but not included in the Qur’an, or the sense of them. hadiths qudsi concern the ‘spiritual life,’ but they do not have much relevance to matters of legal and creedal importance. They are also didactic nature. b) hadith nabawi: are the words of Muhammad. Examples of Hadith a)On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said: When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him: My mercy prevails over my wrath. It was related by Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah). ،‫ضى اهَّللُ ْال َخ ْل َق‬ َ ‫ " لَ َّما َق‬:‫صلَّى اهَّللُ َعلَ ْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم‬ ُ ‫ال َر ُس‬ َ ِ‫ول اهَّلل‬ َ ‫ َق‬:‫ال‬ َ ‫َع ْن أَِبي ُه َر ْي َر َة َق‬ ‫ض ِبي‬ َ ‫ِب َغ‬ ُ ‫ إِ َّن َر ْح َمتِي َت ْغل‬:‫وع ِع ْن َد ُه‬ ٌ ‫ض‬ ُ ‫ َف ُه َو َم ْو‬،ِ‫" َك َت َب فِي ِك َتا ِب ِه َعلَى َن ْف ِسه‬ )‫رواه مسلم (وكذلك البخاري والنسائي وابن ماجه‬.  On the authority of Abu Dharr Jundub ibn Junadah, and Abu Abdur-Rahman Muadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Have taqwa (fear) of Allah wherever you may be and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people. Hadith 18, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi ‫ول اهَّللِ صلى‬ ِ ‫ َع ْن َر ُس‬،‫ض َي اهَّللُ َع ْن ُه َما‬ ِ ‫الر ْح َم ِن ُم َعا ِذ ْب ِن َج َب ٍل َر‬ َّ ‫ َوأَِبي َع ْب ِد‬،‫َع ْن أَِبي َذ ٍّر ُج ْن َد ِب ْب ِن ُج َنا َد َة‬ ‫اس ِب ُخلُ ٍق َح َس ٍن‬ َ َّ‫ِق الن‬ َّ ‫ َوأَ ْت ِب ْع‬،‫"ات ِق اهَّللَ َح ْيثُ َما ُك ْنت‬ ْ ‫ َو َخال‬،‫السيِّ َئ َة ْال َح َس َن َة َت ْم ُح َها‬ َ ‫ "اهلل عليه و سلم َق‬. َّ :‫ال‬ What is khabar/ and what is athar? In the traditions, there are: kh̲ abar (news, information) is sometimes used of traditions from the Prophet, sometimes from Companions or Successors. At̲h̲ar, pl. āt̲h̲ār (trace, vestige), usually refers to traditions from Companions or Successors, but is sometimes used of traditions from the Prophet.  How are Hadith collections viewed? The overwhelming majority of Muslims consider hadith to be essential supplements to and clarifications of the Qur’an. The sunna and hadith are a second sources for fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, after the Qur’an. Muslims believe that they can look at the way of life, or sunna, of Muhammad and his companions to discover what to imitate and what to avoid. In the matter of what is called tafsir, or exposition of the meaning of the Qur’an, Muslim scholars believe that it is useful to know how Muhammad or his companions explained the revelations, or upon what occasion Muhammad received them. Sometimes this will clarify a passage that otherwise seems obscure. For the vast majority of devout Muslims, authentic hadith are also a source of religious inspiration.  How Hadith were collected Early Muslims and collectors of hadith travelled to learn traditions from authorities in different countries. The annual Pilgrimage would also provide an opportunity for people of different regions to meet and to disseminate traditions during this occasion. Towards the end of the second/eighth and early third/ninth century, the collection of hadith became established without opposition. With time, there were certain people who became known as authorities in this field, including Mālik b. Anas (d. 179/795) who composed al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, Ṣaḥīḥs of al-Buk̲ h̲ārī and Muslim, followed in importance by the Sunan works of Abū Dāʾūd, al-Tirmid̲ h̲ ī (d. 279/892), al- Nasāʾī(d. 303/915) and Ibn Mād̲ j̲a (d. 273/886). Hadith accepted by Sunni Islam The Sunni canon of hadith took its final form two to three centuries after the death of Muhammad. Later scholars may have debated the authenticity of particular hadith but the authority of the canon as a whole was not questioned. This canon includes: Al-Jami‘ al-Sahih of Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma‘il al-Bukhari (d. 256/870). Al-Musnad al-Sahih of Abu ’l-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri (d. 261/875). The Sunan of Abu Dawud Sulayman b. al-Ash‘ath al- Sijistani (d. 275/888) Al-Jami‘ of Abu ‘Isa Muhammad b. ‘Isa al-Tirmidhi (d. 279/892) The Sunan of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Ahmad b. Shu‘ayb al- Nasa’i (d. 303/915) The Sunan of Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Yazid al- Qazwini [Ibn Majah] (d. 273/886). The collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim are usually considered the most reliable of of such works. In addition the Muwatta of Malik b. Anas (d. 179/795) is the earliest hadith canon and acts as precursor for the methodology developed by the classic hadith scholars. How Hadith were collected and evaluated Traditions regarding the life of Muhammad and the early history of Islam were passed down orally for more than a hundred years after the death of Muhammad in 10/632. Much of the activity of collecting hadith was of oral transmission from early Muslims to later collectors, or from teachers to students. Later scholars were faced with a huge corpus of miscellaneous traditions, some of which seemingly contradicted each other. Many of these traditions supported differing views on a variety of controversial matters. Scholars had to decide which hadith were to be trusted as authentic narrations and which had been invented for various political or theological purposes. For this purpose, they used a number of techniques which Muslims now call the “science of hadith.” Components of Hadith cont… Authenticity of Hadith Prophetic Biography (sira) Prophetic Practice (sunna)