the preservation of hadith.pdf

7/25/2019 The Preservation of Hadith.pdf

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%The Preservation ofad!th


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ThePRESERVATION

of

Ibrahim Madani

madania publications


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Copyright "2010 Madania Publications

First Edition June 2010

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States on acid-free paper

This book may not be altered in any way without permission from Madania Publications;

however, it may be reproduced in part or whole with prior permission from the publisher.

Madania Publications is committed to making authentic publications of traditional

Translation: Asim Ahmad

Editing: Mayada Osman & Qudsia Ahmad

Book Design: Jennifer BenaggounArabic Calligraphy: Mohammad Alagha

Cover Photo: Mas'ud Ahmad Khan

Library of Congress: 2010930478

ISBN: 978-1-936157-02-0

Distributed in USA by Al-Rashad Books

[email protected]

Distributed in Canada by Al Zahra Booksellers

[email protected]

Distributed in UK by Azhar Academy Ltd. London

[email protected]

Madania Publications


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[


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!"#$%&'!"&(# *'+( ) #(the hamzais produced by a

sudden stop in the airstreamsimilar to the sound in themiddle of the exclamation,

.)

btth(is pronounced like the thin

and )j

(a heavy hsound produced inthe center of the throat)kh (a guttural sound produced

in the upper throat and sound-ing similar to the in Germanas in .)

(is pronounced like the thinand )

z

(an emphatic )!(an emphatic )"(an emphatic t)#(an emphatic )$, $a, , (produced in thecenter of the throat)

(a guttural sound producedin the upper throat)

fq(a heavy sound)

l m n

h, ,

$ % may Allahbe pleased with her (used

following mention of a femalecompanion of the BlessedProphet )

% may Allah

be pleased with him (usedfollowing mention of a malecompanion of the BlessedProphet )

%mayAllah be pleased with them(used following mention of agroup of companions of theBlessed Prophet )

%

may the peace and blessings beupon him (used following men-tion of the Blessed Prophet )

majesty (used followingmention of Allah )

- may peace beupon him (used following men-

tion of prophets)


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2,"-%' (. /(#'#$

Introduction xi

Introduction to the Study of

Preservation of

Two Types of Revelation: The Spoken and the Unspoken 3

Upholding the Meaning of the Qur&an 7

The Methodologies of Preservation of

Wa'sh!&s Memory 13

Love For Knowledge 14

The Principle of Practice 17Documentation 18

The Book of Anas

The Sa'!' and(a#!fad!th 24

Branches of A'ad!th According to the Chain 26

21

20


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ad!th 26

The Six Books of ad!th and the Objectives of the Imams 31

Brief Biographies of the Greatad!th Masters 34


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Introduction

It is not possible in this day and age to comprehend the great]

each word, in fact each letter of the a')d!th are fully preserved.The rules the hadith masters established to preserve the hadithand by which this branch of knowledge became a distinct scienceare necessary for one to learn and make headway into both the

].

This short booklet is written to introduce the reader to the

knowledge of hadith. It discusses important issues such as howthe hadith were compiled, the preservation of hadith, principlesregardingtheauthenticityandweaknessinahadith,theimportanceof hadith and the various types of hadith books. It ends with shortbiographies of some of the famous hadith masters. This booklet

necessary for advancing in this science. After reading this booklet,

if one feels a renewed connection with the hadith, it is hopedthat it will be a way of salvation for its author. The readers arerequested to pray for the author, his parents and his family and

Ibrahim MadaniJune 2010


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The way our love for our parents is understood by realization of

increase our love and adoration for our predecessors. In addition,

before judging a hadith as weak.

Allah states in the Qur&an:

1

This aya explains one of the most important responsibilities of thebeloved Blessed Prophet : to teach the Book. This responsibilityconsists of not just teaching the pronunciation and reading of

1 3:164


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# &], but more importantly, the meaningof the Qur&an. It would be meaningless for a Muslim to try tounderstand the meaning and message of the Qur&an without theBlessed Prophet as a teacher to explain it to us.

the meaning of the Qur&an. Remember, the *a')ba , who

to understand the deeper meanings of the Qur&an. TheQur&an&s words and its meanings were explained both verballyand practically by the Blessed Prophet . These sayings andexplanations of the Blessed Prophet are called ')d!th andprovide us with the the most authentic commentary of theQur&an. Therefore, Allah&s promise to preserve the Qur&an

meant preservation of the a')d!th as well.

For example, if the Qur&an commands Muslims to establish+al)t, but we are unable to understand what this command

preservation of the Qur&an, by necessity, includes preservation

of the ')d!th. Without ')d!th, the !m)n of a Muslim isincomplete. After all, how do we know that the Qur&an is thebook of Allah

If we know the Qur&an and its place, it is only because theBlessed Prophet said, ,This is the Qur&an; it is the wordof AllahProphet then the whole foundation of Islam collapses. We

would not know that the Qur&an is what it claims to be.


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Ibrahim Madani

Allah says to the Blessed Prophet in the Qur&an:

.2

This aya proves that the fundamental role of ')d!th is to revealthe meaning of the Qur&an, which means that the Qur&an cannotbe understood without the a')d!th.

two types of revelation: the spoken andthe unspoken

The Blessed Prophet received two types of divine revelations.

] and the second, the unspoken]. The spoken revelation is that which is recited

]. An indicationof the roots of the unspoken revelation can be found in the ayas ofthe Qur&an. Allah

3

To gain a broader understanding of this aya, it is important thatwe look into its historical background.

2

16:443 2:143


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Shortly after the migration to Madina, the Blessed Prophetand the *a')ba were told to pray towards Masjid al-Aq+) in

Jerusalem. Masjid al-Aq+) became the of the Muslims forseventeen months. After seventeen months, the order to praytowards Masjid al-Aq+)was abrogated and Muslims were orderedto pray towards Makka. This order was established through thefollowing aya:

4

This order broke the sanctimonious silence of the hypocrites.They criticized the changing of the qibla and argued, ,Why

did the Qur&an need to make #amends&regarding the direction

purpose behind the change of the qibla was to test the!m)n ofthe Muslims and see whether they would obey or disobey theBlessed Prophet . Read this aya carefully once again:

5

In this aya, Allah

the fact that Allah himself was behind the order to face Masjid

4

2:1435 Ibid


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Ibrahim Madani

in which Allah ordered the Muslims to pray towards Jerusalem.

The fact is that this order came from the Blessed Prophet andnot from any aya of the Qur&an. The aya does NOT say, ,The

the Blessed Prophet .The proof is so self-evident it does not require any further

order given by the Blessed Prophet demonstrates a fundamentalbelief about the a')d!th of the Blessed Prophet : that they are aform of revelation. And this is what is known as the unspoken orunrecited revelation.

The aya mentioned above also reveals some other important points:1. A special type of revelation was sent to the Blessed Prophet

which was not a part of the Qur&an.

2. These revelations were from Allah .

3. Similarly, the rulings that derived from the unspokenrevelations were also the rulings of Allah .

All the *a')baunspoken revelations in the same manner as they were the spoken

the Muslims, particularly those orders that were revealed throughthe unspoken revelation, to see whether they obeyed the orders.Many other examples could be cited, but they have not beenmentioned for the sake of brevity.

While this aforementioned proof highlights the importanceof the a')d!th and their validity as an authority in Islam, it


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also establishes that the preservation of the Qur&an includespreservation of the ')d!th. The Qur&an itself is the essence

Qur&an states:

6

In this aya the Qur&an orders us to adhere to the way of the BlessedProphet , as adherence to the Blessed Prophet is adherenceto Allah . Once, a woman came to the famous *a')b! ,#Abd

All)h ibn Mas#-d . She said, ,I have heard you stop peoplefrom doing certain things even though I have read the Qur&an

from cover to cover and I have never read the Qur&an ordering usreplied,

read this aya of the Qur&an:

7

From this incident we learn that this aya incorporates the a')d!thof the Blessed Prophet and establishes the authority of thea')d!th in Islam.

6

4:807 59:7


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Ibrahim Madani

upholding the meaning of the qur!an

If Allah himself has taken the responsibility to preserve

the a')d!th have been preserved reveal them to be simply awe-inspiring and a miracle in their own right. These methods are

the methodologies of preservation

Generally, three methods were used to preserved')d!th:

their memories, particularly their ability to memorize long poemsalong with the biographies of their authors. They could recollectlong lists of the names of poets& forefathers and their lineages. Notonly that, the Arabs also memorized the lineage of their horses, eventhe horse&s gaits. Thus, thousands of names were at the tip of theirtongues, and through the blessings of the a')d!th Allah added to

especially when eminent personalities like Imam Bukh)r! haverecorded incidents such as that of Marw)n, which illustrate the

eminent *a')b! , to his court. It is said thatthe reason behind this rare invitation of a*a')b! to Marw)n&scourt was that Marw)n doubted the large number of a')d!th Ab-


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had memorized and frequently narrated. Before Ab-entered, Marwan instructed his secretary, Ab-al-Za#za,

,I am going to ask him to narrate some a')d!th; while he narrates,

entered, Marw)n asked him about some

began narrating, Ab- al-Za#za wrotecontinued narratingfor a long time and I saw that I had written a large collection of

had indeed recorded a large collection of a')d!th on his paper.

had no idea he was being tested.

left. Marw)n preserved the scrolls ofthe secretly recorded')d!th and waited for the following year. A

to honor himwith his presence. Once again, Marwan told Ab-al-Za#za to hidebehind the curtain with the papers on which he had written the

questions I asked last year. Check and see if it coincides with the

. Ab- al-Za#zasays, ,So Marw)n kept the year old a')d!th in his hands. After one

as I sat quietly behind the

8

Though it is not possible to ascertain the exact number of

8 Kit)b al-Kun), pg. 33


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Ibrahim Madani

similar incident occurred with Ibn Shih)b al-Zuhr! during the

to his court. In this incident, it is clearly mentioned that IbnShih)b narrated exactly four hundred a')d!th.

. The story

goes like this:

personally requested Ibn Shih)b to write some a')d!th for hisson, the prince. Ibn Shih)b accepted; a scribe was called in andthe dictation began. Dhahab!writes, ,Ibn Shih)b dictated four

Then Ibn Shih)b left. When Ibn Shih)b returned a month

saddened to tell you that the parchments on which the a')d!th

the scribe to his court. Ibn Shih)b dictated the same a')d!th over

it was only a ploy to test Ibn Shih)b&s memory of a')d!th. When

with the new one and saw that no change had been made to theoriginal copy of a')d!th.9

the claim,not one addition had been made to the original copy

Today one can test a

9 Tadhkirat al-uff). 1/110


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read a chapter of the Qur&an and then asking him to recite it from

admit that neither any addition nor any subtraction was made tothese a')d!th.

The story of Ibn R)hwai, the teacher of Imam Bukh)r!, and his giftof memory is a story that has stuck to his name. The story aboutthe memory of Ibn R)hwai is widely narrated in scholarly circles.Once he was discussing some juridical issues with another scholarin the private chambers of #Abd All)h ibn /)hir. They disagreed

on the text of a certain book. Ibn R)hwai asked #Abd All)h ibn/)hir to have the book checked out from his library. The book wasbrought before the two scholars. Ibn As)kir writes in

that after this disagreement, Ibn R)hwai said to #AbdAll)h ibn /)hir, ,Open to the eleventh page of the book, on the

it exactly as Ibn R)hwai had quoted. At this point, #Abd All)hibn /)hir rose to the occasion and said to Ibn R )hwai, ,Iknew you had a lot of Shari#a rulings put to memory, but thisunprecedented revelation of your sharp memory has indeed left

10

This incident leaves no doubt about the sharpness of Ibn R)hwai&s

city and village who recite ayas of the Qur&an and can instantly

10 Ibid 8/137


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Ibrahim Madani

the only example amongst the scholars who memorized a')d!thof the Blessed Prophet .

]. IbnAb!)tim has narrated this story about him:

Once Ibn War), whose name was Mu'ammud ibn Muslim, andFa0l ibn #Abb)s, whose nickname was Fa0luk al-*)igh, came

the debate continued, Ab-Zur#a quietly listened. Ibn W)ra thenturned to Ab- Zur#a and asked, ,What are the actual words of

Ab- Zur#a avoided answering, but when Ibn W)ra insisted Ab-


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After this incident, we should contemplate the claim of Ab-Zur#a,which has been narrated by Ibn ajar with reference from Ab-Ja#far Tastar! in his book Ab- Zur#a claimed, ,Fiftyyears have passed since I have written a')d!th, and all the booksare in my house. From the time I wrote them, I have never read

11

never wrote a')d!th] and never did I have to request a narrator to12

Imam Bukhari was still a young boy when he came to our class

to learn a ')d!th with us. Generally, students noted down the

notice Imam Bukh)r! sitting quietly, listening to the teacherwithout writing anything down. For some days we observed thiswith silence, but when he continued to behave in this manner,we started to chide him for wasting time in the class and notwriting anything down. Imam Bukh)r! ignored these objectionsand did not rebut them.

One day, people lectured him too much, and he became angry.

here around me and I will, by memory, say everything you have

13

11 al-Tah.!b, 7/3012

Ibn Sa#ad, 6/24913 Tadhkirat al-uff)., 2/556


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There are numerous incidents of this kind, so many in fact that itwould take perhaps another book to attempt to narrate them all.These few incidents which have been mentioned; however, should

wash"!s memory

says:

was also settled in im+; therefore wewent to go and meet him. As soon as he saw #Ubaid All)h, he

#Ubaid All)h replied,,Yes, I am his son. But how do you know

replied,,It is true we have never met before, but whenyou were born I picked you up and gave you to the mid-wife.

When I picked you up, everything was covered except your feet.

14

recognized him immediately.15

The books of history and the books on the biographies of thenarrators are full of such incidents. Firstly Allah blessed them withextraordinary memories, and, secondly, they were so passionate about

means to gain knowledge of it. Their endeavors and hardships in this

14

15 al-I+)ba, 7/441


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love for knowledge

These scholars possessed a type of motivation that is almost

odysseys that were full of hardships and tribulations that areinconceivable today.

once said:

narrates too many a')d!thfrom the Blessed Prophet , but I swear by Allah that I was apoor man who stayed with the Blessed Prophet night and day

while thethe 16

On another occasion he explained how he spent his time with theBlessed Prophet :

I came to the Blessed Prophet at Khaibar. I was then over thirtyyears old and stayed with the Blessed Prophet until he died. I

was always by his side; I was with him when he went to meethis wives. I always helped him and stayed with him during his

journeys on haj and in the path of Allah .

I swear by Allah that sometimes I would be starving. I would17

Sometimes I felt dizzy and would fall between#1isha&s homeand the pulpit of the Blessed Prophet . People thought I had

from hunger.18

#Abd All)h ibn#Abb)s16 Bukh)r!,17

Ibid 7/43518 Bukh)r!,


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I had thirst for the knowledge of a')d!th. Whenever I found outsomeone had heard something from the Blessed Prophet aboutsome matter, I went to his house. If I found that he was takinga nap in the afternoon, I lay down at the threshold of the door,

wrapped my shawl into a roll and used it as a pillow. The windwould blow sand into my face as I lay waiting. I would bear thiscondition until the person came to the door.

When he saw me there he would say, ,What brings you here, Onephew of the Blessed Prophet

I would reply that, ,I have heard you narrate a certain')d!th ofthe Blessed Prophet

The *a')b! would say, ,You could have sent somebody or I

I would say,,I am obligated to come to your house.&19

Ab- Ayy-b An+)r! also heard thousands of a')d!th from theBlessed Prophethe himself had heard from the Blessed Prophet . At the time of

,#Uqba ibn#1mir was alsopresent. Although #Uqba had settled in Egypt by this time, Ab-

Ayy-b An+)r!at Uqba&s house, Ab-Ayy-b An+)r!to me which you heard from the Blessed Prophetfaults in other Muslim brethren. Now none is left except you and I

19


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Allah20

Ab- Ayy-b An+)r!

open his baggage in Egypt.21

can only imagine the dedication and perseverance that was calledfor in order to preserve all the a')d!th. These words have been

should learn the a')d!th of the Blessed Prophet the way we22

] Ibn Khuzaima, ,IbnKhuzaima memorized the a')d!th of Shari#a rulings like recitors

23

Imam Dhahab!quoted in the biography of Isr)&!l ibn Y-nus thathe used to say, ,I used to memorize the a')d!th narrated by my

24

gatherthechildrenwhostudiedincentersformemorizationofQur &an25

20 Musnad A'mad, 28/658|Mu+annaf#Abd al-Razz)q,21J)mi#u Bay)n al-#Ilm, pg.9422 T)r!kh Damishq, 8/43623Tadhkirat al-uff). 2/72324

Tadhkirat al-uff). 19925J)mi#u Bay)n al-#Ilm, pg.102


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Similarly, the *a')ba also stressed this point upon theirstudents by saying, ,The Blessed Prophetto us and we memorized it; therefore, you should also memorize

26

Once #Al! was advising his students, ,Always repeat thea')d!th over and over again. If you do not, then your knowledge

27

#Abd All)h ibn Mas#-d also advised his students when he said,,Repeat the a')d!th regularly because this is the way to keep

28

The Principle of Practice

This is the most powerful system of preservation of a')d!th, and it isboth unprecedented and unrivaled in the annals of history. A non-Muslim could never even imagine how the practices of the*a')banurtured each and every Sunna of the Blessed Prophet . In fact, evenmost of the Muslims of today cannot understand the love of the *a')ba

for the Blessed Prophet , their adherence to his personal habitsor the unique relationship between them and the Blessed Prophet .

Never in history has mankind seen an example as great as the *a')ba .#Urwa ibn Mas-d Thaqaf! had not yet embraced Islam. In the treatyof udaibiya he closely observed the *a')ba

Oh people! I have visited the courts of kings on many occasions.I have come face to face with the emperor of Rome, the king of

26 Ibid, pg. 6427

Ibid, pg. 10128 Ma#rifat#Ul-m al-ad!th, pg 141


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Persia and Negus of Abyssinia, but by Allah I have not seena people revere their king the way I saw the Companions ofMu'ammad revere him. By Allah , if he as much as spits, it isrubbed on the hands, face and body of one of the Companions

compete witheach other to take the dripping water. When he talks, they quell

their voices. They cannot look at him fully out of awe for him.29

Anas relates, ,I saw the Blessed Prophet searching for pieces of30

Anas was a *a')b! of the Blessed Prophet ; his love for the BlessedProphet compelled him to also love squash. If he did not love squashafter knowing that the Blessed Prophet

would remain between the *a')b! and the Blessed Prophet . But

there was no question for the Companions , of their own likes ordislikes once a Sunna was established inany matter.

Because of their deep love for the Blessed Prophet , the*a')bapreserved every aspect of the Blessed Prophet&s life; his worship, the

way heate, slept,worked,etc. Inthe time of the *a')ba , there wasnoother way of doing anything except the way of the Sunna. Thousandsof such examples of the devotion of the*a')ba for the Sunna of

the Blessed Prophet are narrated in a')d!th. In fact, all a')d!th area manifestation of the love of the *a')ba for the Blessed Prophet .

documentation

The third method of preservation is the written documentation of

29

Bukh)r!,30 Bukh)r!,


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in the third century, while other more reliable scholars hold the view

written during the time of the Blessed Prophet and his*a')ba .

Blessed Prophet and those written after he passed away was that not

everyone was allowed to note down the a')d!th in his lifetime. Theones who were allowed wrote the a')d!th with the permission of theBlessed ProphetBlessed Prophet abrogated this restriction and gave permission for

31

32

#Abd All)h ibn #Amr ibn al-#1+ said that the Blessed Prophet

33

This is why many collections of a')d!th were compiled duringthe lifetime of the Blessed Prophet . For example, there is the

] in which#Abd All)h ibn#Amr ibn al-#1+ wrote all the a')d!th of the Blessed Prophet .

I wrote whatever I heard from the Blessed Prophet andmemorized it. Some members of Quraish discouraged me fromrecording the a')d!th. They said, ,Do you write whatever you hear

31 Tadr!b al-R)w!, pg.28632

J)mi#a Bay)n al-#Ilm, pg.7233 Mustadrak)kim, 1/106


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What they meant was that the Blessed Prophet may get angryor joke and say what he did not mean to say, therefore one shouldnot write down everything he says. #Abd All)h ibn #Amr ibn al-#1+

brought this to the Blessed Prophet&s attention. The BlessedProphet pointed to his lips and said, ,I swear in the name of Allah

] comes34

This was clear proof that every word of the Blessed Prophet was

#Abd All)h ibn #Amr ibn al-#1+ compiled a large selection of a')d!thinto a book which he appropriately titled .

the collection of ab huraira

recorded the largest collectionof a')d!th, which was also documented. Imam Ibn #Abd al-Barrnarrates on the authority of asan ibn #Amr, who says:

but he rejected it. I said, ,I

narrations from the Blessed Prophetsaid to me,

35

34

Ab- D)w-d,35 Mustadrak)kim, 3/584


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Ibrahim Madani

did not document only a few a')d!th, but in fact all the a')d!th

his students wrote the a')d!th they heard from him. One studentnamed Bash!r ibn Nu'aiq wrote:

. When

I decided to leave, I read all the a')d!th he narrated to me by his side.

36

the book of anas

Anas

says in the of )kim:When we asked a lot of questions, Anas pulled out a big bag,opened it and would say, ,These are the a')d!th that I have heardfrom the Blessed Prophet . I wrote them down and have alreadyshown them to the Blessed Prophet 37

The summary of this introduction is that Allah created certain tools,like the photographic memories of the Arabs, to help preserve the

lives of the *a')ba to protect it from becoming another philosophy.

produced the scholars and their students, who dedicated their livesto documenting these a')d!th. Then a time came when hundreds ofscholars compiled all of the a')d!th and put them in book form. We

will discuss this last stage in the later sections of this book.

36

37 Mustadrak)kim, 3/664


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the different types of ad"th books

of books on a')d!th. Below, we will mention some of them:

al-Jaw)mi#: a is the plural of . J)mi# denotes

],(5) Signs of the Day of Judgment, (6) Rulings of the Shari#a,(7) Virtues of the *a')bathe Qur&an.

. Mu#ammar ibn Rashid was a close student of Imam

unavailable. The second J)mi# was written by Sufy)n al-Thaur!; his book is also unavailable. The third J)mi#was titled

though it is better known by the name. Then, of course, the other well-

known J)mi# are and .

about . Many say it is amongst the J)mi#, while others say

it is not, as its section on the exegesis of the Qur&an is too short tobe labeled a J)mi#.

al-Sunan:arranged in the order upon which the chapters of the booksof

. , ,

and all belong in this category.


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Ibrahim Madani

al-Mas)n!d: is the plural of . The a')d!thin these books are arranged in the order of the names of the*a')ba . The arrangement of these a')d!th can be on many

of the greatest of the *a')ba downwards or in alphabeticalorder of the names of the *a')ba .

al-Mu#jam:arranged in order of the names of the teachers from whom the

Al-Mustadrak:

of)

kim, for example, compiles

al-Mustakhraj: This compilation takes a')d!th of another

the same person.

al-#Ilal:

al-Arba#!n: A compilation of forty a')d!th.

al-Ta#)l!q:out mention of the chain of transmission, such as

.


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Shar' al-1th)r:

contradiction. If the contradiction between the a')d!th cannotbe removed, then it provides the proofs and reasons for giving

al-Jam#a:

al-Adhk)r:

al-Mau0-#)t:

being mentioned here, both for the sake of brevity and becauseunderstanding the various other types of compilations requires an

the sa"and (

]

]. Many people understand authentic to be theopposite of weak, and when this word does not appear after a

because the words authentic and weak are actually nomenclatures

may not necessarily be weak.


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Ibrahim Madani

okay to actupon. There aremany reasons behind this. For example, it

supported by the practice of the *a')ba .

Marf-#: .

he says, ,the Blessed Prophetremained quiet on this

#Abb)s

is a

Mauq-f: A narration attributed to a *a')b! . Anarration is recognized by the words of the narrator when hesays,,Ibn#Abb)s did such and such

Maqt-#:

of the *a')banarrationfrom thenarrations

of the *a')baBlessed Prophetof the*a')baof athar], though the word athar is frequently used for thea')d!th of the Blessed Prophet also.


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branches of ad"th according to the chain

Mutta+il:is complete and no missing link is found between the narrators.

Munqa2i#:

Mu#0al:missing from one area of the chain.

Mu#allaq:beginning of the chain.

Mursal:] and the Blessed Prophet

if every narrator in a chain of transmission].

Probity means that the narrator is a person ofhe is not a liar and does not commit major sins. If by any chancea major sin is committed, he repents immediately. Such a personalso avoids minor sins as much as possible and if he does, he is

]] of any kind and has a clear sense


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Ibrahim Madani

disgraceful or disreputable in Islamic society. For example, he willnot urinate or eat and drink while standing in public.

] means that thenarrator is extremely intelligent. This person must possess a strong

important that the words are memorized accurately, leaving no room

for doubt about it being authentic.

*a')b!

]. If a narrator is lacking insharpness of memory or is reported to be of bad character but

]If the narrator is lacking in some character, which calls for

].

isnotfoundinone

the narrator does not possess probity or is not thoroughly accurate,

1. ]

from one generation to the next in such large numbers, that

one could not imagine that they conspired to forge it.


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2. ]

3. ]

4. ]

Other terminologies are also used:

]

a')d!th that are more authentic than itself.

]

a')d!th that are less authentic than itself.

]

a')d!th that are authentic.

]

This is a summary of some of the terminologies used by the


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Ibrahim Madani

few will understand it.

authentic aad"th?

and . Some even insist that the wholeIslam is to be found only in .

Once, a bedouin came to the Blessed Prophetand prayed +al)t. Once he completed his +al)t, he prayed, ,O Allah

, have mercy on me and the Blessed Prophet

Allah

The Blessed Prophet 38

The mercy of Allah is vast and so is the knowledge of our

According to this view, twenty three years of the BlessedProphet&s prophethood is limited to the a')d!th of ,and everything he every said or did in twenty three years is in

to follow the whole Qur&an; let&s just follow the twenty fourth

it is in the twenty-fourth chapter. If he is told, ,No, it is in the

38 Ibn M)ja, |Ibnabb)n,


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masters and scholars are unanimous that there are many authentica')d!th besides the a')d!th of and . Even ImamBukh)r!and Imam Muslim never made any such claim.

If anything, they opposed such radical claims. Imam Bukh)r!

39

Imam Muslim writes, ,I have not put the whole collection40

writes in , ,Imam Bukh)r!and Imam Muslim did

41

Not only that, Imam Bukh)r!named his book,

of a')

d!th)

The word is

chosen over the other because one is in or and the

39

40

Muslim,41 Tadr!b al-R)w! 1/217


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Ibrahim Madani

42

the six books of ad"th and the objectivesof the imams

The following six books of a')d!th are better known as the

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

and as to whether it should be

eventually became famous and established its place amongst the

Many people think that must mean that the authentic

assumption is also incorrect. In fact, many of the a')d!th not

admitted in the are equal to, if not stronger than,many of the a')d!th in the . For example, thea')d!thofthe ofImamM)lik were compiled long beforethe a')d!th of and it was considered the most authenticbook after the book of Allah . Even then, Ibnazam was of theopinion that the of Imam /a')w! wasmore reliable than the of Imam M)lik.

42


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The question then remains, if other books contain more authentica')d!th than , then why are only the six famous booksof a')d!th called

widespread fame and acceptance in the umma, it is still unknown asto how the six books of a')d!th came to be called .

Ultimately, what matters is that all the authors of these great

those conditions are kept in mind when studying their books, wegain a deeper understanding of the a')d!th and the knowledgederived from them. For example, we learn the reason behind the

to deduce rulings from the a')d!th. This is possibly why they arecalled .

introduction, but if anyone wishes to learn more, they may always

summarize the objectives of each author of the andwhat they had in mind when compiling a')d!th for their book.

Bukh)r!

Imam Bukh)r!&s objective was to teach the method of how todeduce rulings from the authentic a')d!th. Every sub-chapter is

given a heading that indicates a ruling deduced from the a')d!th

].

Muslim

than it is in .


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Ibrahim Madani

Nis)&!

Imam Nis)&!concentrated on deducing rulings of the Shari#a fromthe a')d!th, like Imam Bukh)r!. For this reason, the heading ofeach new sub-chapter is similar to that of a sub-chapter in .But Imam Nis)&! also aimed to compile the a')d!th that carry

the most authentic in that sub-chapter.

Ab-D)w-d

Imam Ab- D)w-d compiled all the a ')d!th that the juristsbring in support of their rulings; he also includes multiple

Tirmidh!

of the Shari#a under one sub-chapter. Another method employed

Shari#aissue] by saying,,more a')d!th are narrated on this subject by so and

also frequently quotes the opinions of the jurists on certain issues.


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Ibn M)ja

follows the same pattern asexcept that the arrangement of a')d!th insurpasses . contains the mostnumber of weak a')d!th in the .

brief biographies of the great ad"th masters

In our times, the dearth of Islamic knowledge is so severe that even

]

Imam Bukh)r!

the 13th or 16th of Shaww)l, 194/c81043

father died before he was born. Imam Bukh)r! became blind inchildhood but his mothers ardent prayers and bore their fruit

and his eyesight was returned. After this, he sought knowledgeuntil the end of his life.

Imam Bukh)r! wrote many books including the renownedcollection . The original name given to

was,.

43

is an abbrevia-tion of circa.


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Ibrahim Madani

is regarded as the most authentic book after theQur&an, academically and historically. Imam Bukh)r!was known tobathe and perform 44

book. If he felt positively after the ,into his book; otherwise, he rejected it. The compilation of

was the fruit of sixteen years of meticulous research.

What praise can we bestow on Imam Bukh)r! when Allah

generations. So without mentioning another word, we lay thesubject of his excellence and piety to rest.

Unfortunately, one of the saddest facts in the history of Islamis that the true scholars of Islam and sincere servants of Allah

Bukh)r!

harassed him until he was forced to pray,,

O Allah ,this earth has become narrow for me despite its vastness. Take

eve of in 256/c870 at the age of sixty two.

Imam Muslim

Ab- al-asan. Imam Muslim was born in Naish)b-r, Iran,

in either 204/c820 or 206/c822. Though he authored manybooks, he is most recognized for his . It is saidthat Imam Muslim would never backbite, nor did he speakill of anyone throughout his life. became so popular

it abovebelow . It is worth mentioning that the headings of the

44

A two-unit voluntary+al)t in which one seeks guidance from Allah in a par-ticular matter.


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sub-chapters in are not written by Imam Muslim butby Imam Nawaw!.

Imam Muslim died in 261/c875. Many say that the cause of death

home. During his research, he became hungry and kept a basketful of

dates next to him. Every little while he picked a date from the basket

ate so many dates that it became the cause of his death.

Imam M)lik

was Ab- #Abd All)h

birth as his mother bore him after carrying him in her womb for

accept Islam. At the time, his great-grandfather lived in Yemenand later migrated to Madina.

family was so poor that that they were once forced to tear

open the ceiling of their house, collect the wooden beams

intelligent and was gifted with a photographic memory. It is

for the Blessed Prophet was also exemplary. Once, while he

he continued teaching and did not move from his spot out of


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Ibrahim Madani

th

buried in in Madina.

in approximately 209/c825, he was from the city of Tirmidh

In fact, it is amazing that he quotes all the other jurists in his book, but never quotes or even mentions his teacher

,Whosoever has this book in his house has the prophet who speaks

Imr)n ibn #All)n says, ,Imam Bukh)r! died leaving no better

Imam Ab- D)w-d

of Khur)s)n. A devoted student of Imam A'mad ibn anbal,


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Imam Ab-D)w-d followed theImam Ab-D)w-d was known for his humility and simplicity.

Imam Ab- )tim says, ,Imam Ab- D)w-d was the imam ofthe world in his knowledge, preservation and memorization,

acceptanceof his book is evidenced by its acceptance in the umma. Imam

Ab-D)w-d died in 275/c888.

#Al!

]. It is said that he fasted every other daythroughout his life as D)w-d of

of Imam

Imam Ibn M)ja

#AbdAll)h

in and also that it is devoid of repetitiveness in a')d!th.

, many of thea')d!th in are exclusive to and cannot be

Imam A'mad ibnanbal

was A'mad ibn Mu'ammad ibn anbal and his agnomen wasAb- #Abd All)h. Born in Baghdad in 164/c780, he is given the

title of,imam of the


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Ibrahim Madani

was pious and austere; one who had nothing to do with the

of the #Abb)sid king at the time] on the doctrine of whether

the persecutions of the #Abb)sid king patiently. Through hissaved the umma from a dangerous threat.

, is a fascinating collection of a')d!thin which he compiled over 40,000 a')d!th. Imam A'mad ibnanbal passed away in 241/c855.

#Abd All)hagnomen was Ab- Mu'ammad. Born in 181/c797 in Samarqand,

the most acclaimed being

#Al! and his agnomen was Ab- al-

penetrating intellect. Amongst his famous works is his collectionof fabricated a')d!th, though he was harsh in his judgment of the


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a')d!th.volumes while the famous, is a collection of a')d!thfrom , , , and which

consists of twelve volumesministers for his decision-making capabilities and for his vast storeof knowledge, he was often consulted by them on important matters.

ministers oversaw his treatment, but nothing helped. One mancame to him and said, ,My treatment always works; you can pay

began showing signs of recovery.

by him. If I recuperate, I will have to pay visits to the courts

of the king and his subjects. Right now, I can at least sit and

his treatment was cut short and he passed away in 606/c1209 atthe age of sixty-two.

#Al! ibn Mu'ammad and his agnomen was

nd

of Sha#b)n, 773/c1372


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Ibrahim Madani

in Egypt, though his family was originally from#Asqal)n, a townin Palestine. Orphaned at a young age, after memorization of

needs no introduction.

became known as in the umma

in two and a half

th of Dhu al-ijja, 852/c1449 in

Cairo at the age of seventy-nine.

#AbdAll)hmigrated from Syria, but he was born in 581/c1186 in Egypt.

. Though renowned for his piety and integrity,he was most famous for his abstinence. In his book,

he devoted a whole chapter to the importance of


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], wecould easily produce a few volumes, but this is not the objective

passed away in 657/c1259 in Egypt.

were sold as slaves in Arabia, but were later freed. Imam Ab-

times, Basra and Kufa were centers of learning and so he became

memory was a major asset in the study of a')d!th. A favorite

203/c819 or 204/c820.

c1041. People knew him as

When he wrote the BlessedProphet appeared in his dream and said,,May Allah keep

book is , which is the main text of

is


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Ibrahim Madani

Mull)#Al!

#Al!

#Al!

]of Qur&an and quickly mastered the discipline until he became anexpert in recitation of Qur&an. Soon after, he began studying the

] of the 10th

#Al!Makka in Shawwal 1114/c1702, and was buried in

the main cemetery of Makka, .

c843. Two of his most renowned books areand . According to Ibn azm, these two books are


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more authentic than the

signs of abstinence early on in life and had little interest in play

and games, preferring to spend his time reciting Qur&an. Shaikh

urged him to come and play with them, but he ran from them and

].

during the day and once at night, and spent most of his nights inworship. Many of his books were instant successes and proved to

was acclaimed for its inspired selection of a')d!th, and

other books, and also werehailed by the umma

#Abd All)h ibn Mub)rak

blessedhim with guidance. When he came towards d!n, he became the


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Ibrahim Madani

Mub)rak had memorized all the a ')d!th and is thus ranked

be like #Abd All)h ibn Mub)rak&s. I strive to be like him, but I,

was staying at and #Abd All)h ibn Mub)rak happened to#Abd All)hibn Mub)rak. One of the King&s slave girls came by the balconyof the palace.

,Abd All)h

#Abd All)h ibn Mub)rak always sat in the gatherings of Imam Ab-of

#Abd All)h ibn Mub)rak died in 181/c797.

also famous for his piety and taqw), reciting one whole Qur&anevery night. Imam A'mad ibn anbal prided himself on being


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A'mad and #Al!

th of Ramadan, 762/c1361 at a place called#Ain Tab which is close toalb

known for his commentary of , Thisth of

Dhu al-ijja, 855/c1451 at the age of ninety three.

#Abd All)h

is the , which is distinctive in many ways. It compilesa')d!th on every Shari#a ruling and incorporates all the narrations ofthe *a')ba

the preservation of hadith.pdf

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