Hadeeth

Linguistic: Hadeeth means a communication, piece of

information or a story. Technical prospective: It is the collection of Prophets (s.a.w) deeds, statements and concessions. In addition to this any tradition that carry a description of the Prophet (s.a.w) and his physical appearance and properties.
Singular Hadeeth

Plural Ahadeeth

Sunnah
a) Hadeeth is often referred to Sunnah,

especially when we are talking about the sources of Fiqh. b) Sunnah also means the Prophet (s.a.w) life. c) Sunnah is also a Fiqh rank.

The Importance of Hadeeth

a) The Prophet (s.a.w) was a walking Quran. b) Hadeeth is necessary for the proper

c)
Our Lord! Send amongst them a messenger of their own who shall recite unto them Thy revelations, and shall instruct them in the Scripture and in wisdom and shall make them grow. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, Wise. (Surah Baqarah, 129)

understanding of the Qurang.

The Collection of Hadeeth

The protection & preservation of Ahadeeth came about in three ways: 1. The Ummah acting upon the Ahadeeth. 2. Memorising & writing. 3. Narrating & teaching Ahadeeth.

Using these three methods the gathering, compilation, formation & writing of Ahadeeth over time can be split into four periods:
1)
2) 3) 4)

From the lifetime of the Prophet (s.aw) up until the first century Hijrah. From about half of the second century Hijrah. From about half of the second century Hijrah to the end of the fourth century Hijrah. From the start of the fifth century up until today.

This era extended from the lifetime of the Prophet (s.a.w) up until the first century Hijrah. In this period Ahadeeth were gathered by memorisation, teaching & compilation.

Famous memorisers of Hadeeth

The Sahabah (ra)
The Sahabah who had memorised more than 1000 Ahadeeth are: 1. Abu Hurairah (ra) d.59H aged 78. He narrated 5374 Ahadeeth. The number of his students reaches 800. 2. Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) d.68H aged71. He narrated 2660 Ahadeeth.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Aaishah Siddeqa (ra) d.58H aged 67. She narrated 2210 Ahadeeth. Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) d.73H aged 84. He narrated 1630 Ahadeeth. Jaabir ibn Abdullah (ra) d.78H aged 94. He narrated 1560 Ahadeeth. Anas ibn Malik (ra) d.93H aged 103. He narrated 1286 Ahadeeth. Abu Saeed al-Khudree (ra) d.74H aged 84. He narrated 1170 Ahadeeth.

The Sahabah who had narrated between 500 & 1000 Ahadeeth are:
1. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Aas (ra) d.63H.
2. Ali ibn Abi-Taalib (ra) d40H and 3. Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) d33H.

The Sahabah who had narrated more than 100 but less than 500 Ahadeeth are:
1. Abu Bakr Siddique (ra) d13H. 2. Usman ibn Affan (ra) d36H.

3. Umm Salamah (ra) d59H

4. Abu Musa al-Asharee (ra) d52H 5. Abu Dhar al-Ghaffaree (ra) d32H 6. Abu Ayyoob al-Ansari (ra) d51H 7. Ubayy ibn kaab (ra) d19H and 8. Muaadh ibn Jabal (ra) d81H.

The Taabieen
1. Saeed ibn al-Mussayab (ra) d105H.
2. Urwah ibn Zubair (ra) d94H.

3. Saalim ibn Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) d106H.

4. Naafi (ra) d117H.

The written works of the first period

Saheefa Saadiqaa: Abdullah ibn Amr al-Aas (ra) d63H. This treatise is composed of about 1000 Ahadeeth. All of it can be found in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmed ibn Hamble (ra). 2. Saheefa Saheeh: Hummam ibn Munabbah (ra) d101H. This collection contains 138 narration and is a part of the Ahadeeth narrated from Abu Hurairah (ra), most of its narration are in Bukhari & Muslim. 3. Saheefa Basheer ibn Naheek 4. Musnad Abu Hurairah (ra) 5. Saheefa Ali (ra) 6. The final sermon of the Prophet (s.a.w) 7. Saheefa Jaabir (ra) 8. Narrations of Aaisha (ra) 9. Ahadeeth of ibn Abbas (ra) 10. The Saheefa of Anas ibn Malik (ra)
1.

If research were to continue the number of examples would be too great.

The second period started from about half of the second century Hijrah. During this time a major group of the Taabieen compiled earlier works into book form.

Compilers of Hadeeth
1. Muhammad ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree (ra) d124H.
2. Abdul Maalik ibn Juraij (ra) d150H in Makkah. 3. Imam al-Awzaaee (ra) d157H in Syria.

4. Muammar ibn Raashid (ra) d153H in Yemen.

5. Imam Sufyaan ath-Thawree (ra) d161H in Koofa. 6. Imam Hammad ibn Salamah (ra) d167H in Basra. 7. Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (ra) d181H in Khurasaan and 8. Malik ibn Anas (ra) b.93H/d179H.

The written works of the second period:

1. Muwatta Imaam Malik: it was written between 130H

and 141H. It has approximately 1720 Ahadeeth. 2. Jaami Sufaay ath-Thawree (ra) 3. Jaami Abdullah ibn Muabarak (ra) 4. Jaami Imam al-Awzaaee (ra) During this time the Ahadeeth, Athaar of the Sahabah and verdicts of the Taabieen were gathered.

The third period extended from about half of the second century Hijrah to the end of the fourth century Hijrah.

Specificity of this Period

1. Ahadeeth, Athaar of the Companions and statements of

the Tabieen were categorised and a distinction made between them. 2. Narrations that were accepted were gathered separately and the books of the second century were checked and authenticated. 3. During this period not only were the narrations gathered but to preserve Ahaadeeth, the scholars formulated sciences, (more than 10023) on which thousands of books have been written.

1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

Asma ar-Rijaal: In this science the condition, births, deaths, teachers and students of narrators were gathered in detail and from these details judgments on the position of the narrators, as to whether they were truthful, trustworthy or unreliable, were made. Ilm Masatalah al-Hadeeth (Usool of Hadeeth): The standard and rules of Ahadeeth, their authenticity and weakness were established. Ilm Ghareeb al-Hadeeth: The meaning of difficult words (in Arabic) have been investigated and researched. Ilm Takhreej al-Hadeeth: Where a particular Hadeeth pertaining to a particular science can be found from the well known books of Tafseer and Fiqh. Ilm al-Hadeeth al-Mawdooah: Written books in which they separated the Mawdoo (fabricated, forged) narrations from the authentic ones. Ilm Naaskh wal-Mansookh. Ilm at-Tawfeeq Bayn al-Hadeeth. Ilm Mukhtalif wal-Maatalaf. Ilm Atraaf al-Hadeeth Fiqh al Hadeeth

Apart from these books, many others have been written concerning other subjects and topics, such as on the issue of wealth

Compilers of Hadeeth in the Third Period

1. Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (ra): b.164H d.241H. His most important work is Musnad Ahmad; it is the composition of 30,000 Ahadeeth in 24 volumes.

2. Imaam Muhammad Ibn Ismaaeel Bukhaari (ra): b.194H d.246H Saheeh

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

al-Bukhaaree is the most important work of Imaam Bukhaaree. Its full name is Al-Jaami as-Saheeh al-Musnad al-Mukhtasar man Amoor Rasoolullaah sal-Allaahu alayhe wa Alihi wa sallam wa Ayameh Imaam Muslim Ibn Hajaaj al-Qushairee (ra) b.202H d.261H Abu Daawood Ishaat Ibn Sulaimaan as-Sijastaanee (ra) b.204H d.275H Imaam Abu Eesaa at-Tirmidhee (ra) b.209H d.279H Imaam Ahmad Ibn Shuayb an-Nasaaee (ra) d.303H Imaam Muhammad Ibn Yazeed Ibn Maajah al-Qazdiaanee (ra) d.273H

Sahee Sittah
(The 6 Authentic Books)
Bukhaaree, Muslim and Tirmidhee are called Jaami, i.e. they contain Ahadeeth on Aqaid, Worship, Manners, Information and other issues.
Abu Daawood, an-Nasaaee and Ibn Maajah are called Sunan i.e. they contain Ahadeeth pertaining to life.

Specific terminology for naming books of Hadeeth:

1. 2.

3.

4.

5.

Sahih: The book only contains Sahih Ahadeeth. Eg Sahih Bukhari. Sunan: The book is ordered in the ordering of the books of Fiqh (it begins with Taharah purity and then Prayer, Fasting, Charity). Al-Jami: The book contains eight specific chapters in its index. Those include Seerah and Tafseer. Musnad: The book is indexed by the Sahabah (i.e. one chapter for Ahadeeth narrated by Aysha, then one for Ahadeeth narrated by Omar and so forth). Mustadrak: A continuation of a work by a previous scholar. An example would be a scholar who would try to collect all the Sahih Hadeeth on Seerah. And then a later scholar would write a book that would append Ahadeeth he believes the original author omitted or did not know about.

Tabaqaat of Books of Hadeeth

On the basis and in terms of Hadeeth and the reliability of its narrations,
1. Muwatta Imaam Maalik, Saheeh al-Bukhaari and

Saheeh Muslim have a high ranking position. 2. Abu Daawood, at-Tirmidhee and an-Nasaaee. The reliability of narrators in these books does not reach the level of the first category but they are considered and confided in. This category also contains Musnad Ahmad.

3.

Ad-Daarimee (d.225H), Ibn Maajah, Baihaqee, Daraqutnee (d.385H), the books of at-Tabaraanee (d.360H), writings of at-Tahaawee (d.321H), Musnad Imaam ash-Shaafiee and Mustadarak Haakim (d.405H). These books contain all types of Hadeeth, authentic and weak. Writings of Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree (d.310H), the books of Khateeb al-Baghdaadee (d.463H), Abu Nuaym (d.403H), Ibn Asaakir (d.571H), ad-Daylaamee (d.509H) the author of Firdaus, Kaamil of Ibn Adiyy (d.365H), the writings of Ibn Maroodiyyah (d.410H), Waaqidee (d.207H) and books by other authors are in this category.

3.

The fourth period extends from the start of the fifth century up until today.

The works done in this time are:

1. Explanations, footnotes and translations of important

books of Hadeeth into other languages. 2. More books on the sciences that have been mentioned and explanations and summaries of them. 3. The people of knowledge, due to their keenness and necessity for them, compiled books of Hadeeth taken from those books written or compiled in the 3rd Century.

From them are:

Mishkaat al-Masabeeh of Walee-ud-Deen Khateeb: In it are narrations compiled on creed, worship, dealings/transactions and manners. 2. Riyadh us-Saaliheen of Imaam Abu Zakariyyah Yahyaa Ibn Sharf an- Nawawee: the explainer of Saheeh Muslim. This has hadeeth compiled on akhlaaq and adaab in general. And according to each subject the start of each chapter is began by a using corresponding verse from the Quraan. This is an important feature of this book and this is also the manner in which Saheeh al-Bukhaaree was compiled.
1.

Muntaqa al-Akhbaar of the Mujaddid of the Deen Abul Barakaat Abdus- Salaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.652H). He was the grandfather of Shaykh- ul-Islaam Taqee-ud-Deen Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728H). Qaadhi ash-Shawkaanee authored an explanation of this book, in 8 volumes, called Nayl al-Awtaar. 4. Buloogh al-Maraam of Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee (d.852H), the explainer of Bukhaaree. It is composed mainly of hadeeth pertaining to worship and transactions. An explanation of it was done by Muhammad Ismaaeel Sanaanee (d.1182H) called Subl as-Salaam Sharh Buloogh al-Maraam and another by the name of Masak al-Khataam Sharh Buloogh alMaraam, in Faarsee (Persian), by Shaykh Nawaab Siddeeque Hasan Khaan al-Bhopaalee (d.1307H). It has been translated into Urdu.
3.

There are eight ways in which Hadeeth can be transmitted from one person to another:

1. Listening: The recipient of the Hadeeth listened to the

transmitter of the Hadeeth and memorized it from him/her. 2. Presenting: The recipient of the Hadeeth retold it in the presence 3. Permission: The transmitter of the Hadeeth has given the recipient permission to narrate Ahadeeth from him. 4. Handing down: A book of Hadeeth was given by the transmitter to the recipient and he was allowed to narrate from it.

5. Written: A written message was sent from the

transmitter to the recipient that contained the Hadeeth. 6. Made known: To inform about Ahadeeth. This means that the informer informs someone that he has the permission to transmit a certain book of Hadeeth on a certain scholars authority. Some scholars permit this while others reject it. 7. Bequest: The transmitter stated the Hadeeth in his bequest to the recipient. 8. Found: The recipient came upon a work by the transmitter that contained this Hadeeth.

Hadathana and Akhbarana

Hadathana: denotes that the teacher read to the student

and the student is reporting that. Akhbarana: means that the student himself read it to the teacher and was approved of the way he memorized it. An folan: means this Hadeeth was reported by so and so.

Authentication of Hadith:
Why Authenticate Hadeeth?
Why go through all the different ranks and levels and

scrutiny of each narrator?

Hadeeth Ranking:
The scholars of Hadeeth themselves are ranked as

Motadel (moderate) such as Al-Zhahabi, Motashaddid (strict) such as Ibn Al-Jawzi and Ad-Daraqutani and Mutasahil (Lenient) such as Al-Hakim. frequency of narration and continuity to the prophet.

Chain of narration is examined for two things:

In addition to this, each narrator in the chain is evaluated for his honesty and strength of memory.

Criteria for qualifying a Hadeeth as Sahih:

No contradictions with Quran or other well established Sahih Hadeeth. 2. Continuity of the chain of narrators. 3. No defects. And there has been many works on the Defects of Hadeeth by prominent scholars like Tirmizi and Daraqutani. 4. Every narrator in the chain had to be Adil (righteous), truthful and of strong memory.
1.

If a Sahih Hadeeth fails some of these conditions, it is degraded into the rank of Hassan. Some flaws though would bring the Hadeeth down to the rank of Daeef.

Terminology of the scholars of Hadeeth:

Hujjahof Hadeeth is a scholar who has memorizes at

least 300,000 Ahadeeth.

Hafiz is one who memorizes 100,000. Hakim is one who memorizes all of the known Ahadeeth.

How Hadeeth came to Indo-Pak

Shaykh Abdul Haqq Muhaddith Dehlawee Ibn Saif Turki (d.1052H) spread the teachings of Hadeeth in India. After him it was spread by Shah Waleeullaah Dehlawee (d.1176H) and by his offspring and students. After this translation started explanations, printing and distribution and this is continuous up until today.