Hadith and Its Types
Hadith and Its Types
Hadith and Its Types
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command that is transmitted to us by the Holy Quran, as the command of the Messenger of Allah is indirectly the command of Allah the Most Exalted.
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From this we understand the importance of Ahadith, and its status in Islam. No one would deny its importance, only such a foolish person who denies obedience to the Messenger of Allah Allah forbid!
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compile all the Ahadith of the Messenger of Allah, as he feared (sacred) knowledge becoming extinct, and the demise of the possessors of this knowledge the Ulema. [Introduction to the Alfiyyah Page 5] Not only this, but in fact, Hadrat Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz wrote to all those far and wide to collect and compile any Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, they find. [Tarikh Isfahan Abu Nuaim] Upon the motivation, encouragement, and relentless efforts of Hadrat Umar ibn Abd alAziz, the first book on the science of Hadith was compiled by Hadrat Abu Bakr ibn Hazm. Thereafter, innumerable books were written and compiled on different topics of this precious science of sacred knowledge, by many elite Shuyukh who came from many different places. Among those who compiled and wrote books of Hadith at this very early age of its compilation were ibn Juraij in Makkah al-Mukarramah; ibn Ishaq and Imam Malik in alMadinah al-Munawwarah; Rabi ibn Sabih, Said ibn Urwah and Hammad ibn Salimah in Basra; Imam Sufyan al-Thawri in Kufa; Imam al-Awzai in Syro-Palestine; Hisham in Wasit; Jarir ibn Abdullah in Rai, and ibn al-Mubarak in Khurasan. All of these men of great knowledge, were contemporary and of one category. Most of them were the students of Hadrat Abu Bakr ibn Hazm and Imam ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. Afterwards, the Ahadith were spread far and wide due to the compilation and writing of books on Ahadith; laying down the foundation principles for accepting or rejecting a report; collecting background information of the narrators and their beliefs; writing books on the etiquettes and manners essential for a student pursuing this sacred knowledge of Hadith. All of these were compiled to form a sub-subject of Hadith Usul-e-Hadith or the Principles of Hadith. Ahadith were compiled using the rigorous of all criterions and rules to accept a report, until the Six Authentic Collections of Ahadith became accepted and popular. These are the Sahih of Imams Bukhari and Muslim, the Jami of Imam al-Tirmidhi, the Sunan of Imams Abu Dawud, Nasai and Ibn Majah. We have shed some light upon Ahadith, its History of Compilation, and its status in Islam. Those true and sincere Muslims who love Islam and the Quran, and who recognise themselves as individuals of this Ummah, which is flourishing with its longlasting heritage of over fourteen hundred years of an unbroken chain of transmission to our liege lord the Messenger of Allah, are not in need of any evidence to prove the veracity of Ahadith. Yes, however, for those hypocrites who deny the reliability of Ahadith, yet name themselves People of the Quran, if I had much time, I would make it apparent like the certitude of the sun at midday with irrefutable proofs and evidences that their denial of the Ahadith is in reality the denial of the words of Allah. They are not doing this only to make way for themselves not to follow the Quran. Their main argument is that the translation and meaning of the verses of the Holy Quran should be left to their own will; however they desire they extract the meanings of
Compiled by: HAFIZ ASHFAQ AHMED
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the Holy Quran, so that, even after altering the correct meaning and translation of the Quranic verses, they can falsely claim to be the followers of it. We ask Allah the Most Exalted to protect the Muslim Ummah from the evil of the onslaughts of those who reject Ahadith, and that he gives them guidance to broaden the light of Ahadith to eliminate the darkness that prevails the Ummah today. His choicest blessings and salutation be upon the best of His creation, our Master Muhammad, his progeny, upon his companions and all of his followers.
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At that point, Shaikh Ibn Arabi had already recited the Kaliina Tayyiba 70,000 times, so (in his heart) he passed on the recital of the Kalima Sharif to that young man's mother. The man smiled and said, "I now see my mother in Jannat." Shaikh Ibn Arabi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho later said, "I understood this Hadith's correctness (Sehat) through the inspiration (Kashf) of this Wali." (Sahih-ul-Bihaari) 4. Qaasim Nanautwi has recorded this incident regarding Hadrat Junaid Baghdadi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho in his book, Tahzeer-un-Naas. 5. The weakness of the chains of narration (Isnaad) doesn't necessitate the text of the Hadith to also be weak. Thus, it is possible for a single Hadith to be weak in one chain, Hasan in a second and Sahih in a third. This is why Imam Tirmidhi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho once said regarding a single Hadith, "This Hadith is Hasan, Sahih and Ghareeb as well" This saying of the Imam can only mean that this Hadith is reported through a few chains: Hasan in the first, Sahih in the second and Ghareeb in the third. 6. Also, the weakness doesn't negatively affect the Muhaddith or Mujtahid of former times. Therefore, if Imam Bukhari Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho or Imam Tirmidhi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho attained a Hadith as weak (Daeef) due to a weak narrator being included in it, it is possible for Imam Abu Hanifa Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho to have attained that same Hadith while it had a Sahih chain of narrators (i.e. in his time, that weak narrator was not a part of the chain of Hadith). Thus, it wouldn't be easy for a Wahabi to prove that a Hadith was attained by Imam Abu Hanifa Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho as weak. As a result, our Sunni Ulama should bear this in mind. When any Wahabi calls a Hadith "weak", stop him, request its reason of weakness and then clarify whether this was before or after Imam Abu Hanifa's Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho time. Insha-Allah, this will silence them. Imam Abu Hanifa's Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho time is extremely close to the Holy Prophet 's. At that time, very few Ahadith were weak. Imam Sahib was even a Taba'ee (one who has met at least one Companion of Rasoolullah .) 7. Jarah-e-Mubham (ambiguous impugnment) is not worthy of acceptance. In other words, the mere statement of one who contests a Hadith, especially Ibn Jauzi, etc. (saying "This Hadith is weak" or "That narrator is weak") is not credible unless they explain the reason of the Hadith's weakness or narrator's defect, because Imams differ in the reasons of weakness. Some deem something to be a defect while others do not. Tadlees, lrsaal, immaturity, being busy in Fiqh, etc. have been accepted as defects for a narrator. However, according to the Hanafi muzhab, none of these reasons qualify. [Noor al-Anwaar. Discussion on Ta'an ala al-Hadith] 8. When there is a clash between impingement (Jarh) and placing in order (Tadeel), Tadeel will be accepted, not Jarh. Meaning, if a Muhaddith (Commentator on Hadith)
Compiled by: HAFIZ ASHFAQ AHMED
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has called a certain narrator weak while another has called him strong (in a case where his transgression is seen in some events yet he is still labeled by some as pious and virtuous), he will be accepted as pious and his narration will not be considered weak, because piety is the original state ofa Mu'min. 9. It should be remembered that if a Hadith is not sound (Sahih), it doesn't mean it's weak. Thus, if a Muhaddith says about a certain Hadith, "It's not Sahih", it doesn't necessarily mean that the Hadith is considered weak (there is a possibility of it being classified as Hasan). There are several categories of Hadith between sound and weak (Sahih & Daeef). 10. The basis of Sahih Ahadith is not Muslim, Bukhari or the rest of the Sihah Sita (Six Famous Books of Hadith). The latter's namesake doesn't mean that all the Ahadith in these books are Sahih whilst every narration in other books aren't. Rather, it means that there are many Sahih Ahadith in them. Our Imaan is on the Prophet, not on Bukhari, Muslim, etc. Wherever the Hadith of the Holy Prophet is found, it is a treasure for us irrespective of whether it is in Bukhari Sharif or not. It's really surprising that Ghair-Muqallids label the Taqleed of Imam Abu Hanifa Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho and other Imams as polytheism (shirk) yet blindly bring Imaan on Bukhari and Muslim as if they were making Taqleed of these books. 11. The accepting of a Hadith without any query by a Faqih Aalim is proof of it being strong. Thus, if any Mujtahid, Faqih Aalim accepts a weak Hadith, it becomes strong. Imam Waliuddin Tabrezi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho the compiler of Mishkaat, states, "When I ascribe the Hadith to these Commentators of Hadith (Muhadditheen), it is as if I have attributed it to the Holy Prophet himself." (Introduction to Mishkaat) From these principles, you have understood that none of the Ahadith which Imam Abu Hanifa Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho has used as proof can be weak because the Ummah acts upon them and the Ulama and Fuqahaa have also accepted them. Every Hadith has been reported by several chains of narration. 12. If a conflict between the Hadith and Quran is seen the Hadith should be interpreted and given a meaning that causes conformity between the two and the clash to be lifted. Similarly, if the Ahadith are seemingly conflicting, it is necessary to give a meaning to them so that the conflict is erased and practice can be made on all. Examples of this follow, Allah states, "Read the amount of the Quran which is easy in namaaz," However, a Hadith states, "The Salaah of he who doesn't read Surah Fatiha in it is not done." Visibly, the Hadith contradicts the ayat. For this reason, the Hadith's meaning is taken that without reciting Surah Fatiha, Salaah is not perfected. Qirat (recitation) is absolutely Fardh in namaaz and reciting Surah Fatiha is Waajib. The conflict is lifted and both the Quran and Hadith have now been acted upon.
Compiled by: HAFIZ ASHFAQ AHMED
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The above Hadith also seems to go against the following ayat, "When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent." [Surah Aaraal, Verse 204] Here, the Quran orders complete silence, while the muqtadi (person following the Imam in namaaz) is told to recite Surah Fatiha. Thus, we shall have to conclude that the Quran's command is absolute while the order of the Hadith concerns someone reading namaaz alone or is addressing the Imam who is leading the Salaah. The recitation of the Imam is sufficient for the muqtadi. This principle is very important. Also, if any Hadith clashes with a Quranic verse or a stronger Hadith than itself and there is no way of conformity occurring, the Quranic ayat or superior Hadith will be given preference and the Hadith will be regarded as unacceptable for practice (being termed as either inapplicable (mansookh) or only for the uniqueness of the Holy Prophet .) There are examples of this. 13. A Hadith being proven to have weak narration is Qiyaamat for Ghair Muqallids because the basis of their muzhab is these narrations alone. If a narration becomes weak, their ruling is revoked. However, this does not affect Hanafis, etc. because our proofs are not these narrations but only the verdict of the Imam (the Hadith corroborates his verdict). Yes, the proof of the Imam is Quran and Hadith, but when Imam Abu Hanifa Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho attained the Ahadith he issued verdicts from. They were all sound (i.e. their chains of narration were not those which are found in Bukhari and Muslim today). Likewise, if the police throw a criminal in jail, their proof is the judgement of the judge, not the articles of the government's law. The articles are the proof of the judge or ruler. This is important to remember. Taqleed (i.e. following the Four Imams) is Allahs mercy and Ghair-Muqallids (i.e. those who reject it) are His punishment. Almighty Allah and His Beloved Rasool knows the best!