Ilm Riwaya or Science of Narration

Abdullah Ibn Mubarak (d. 181 H.) in the book al-Jirah wat Tadeel says “hadith is part of the deen. Thus, when you narrate from someone you should research them thoroughly and examine them strictly” Ibn Abi Hatim also said that “whenever you want to use the narration of anyone you should examine their character, their religious life, prayers and piety.” Ibn Mehdi also said: “the one who reports a hadith without authenticating it does not deserve to hold the position of an Imam.”
The Science of Riwaya or narration focuses on the following.

1.      The narrators must be trustworthy

2.      The chain of narration should be continuous and unbroken from the beginning to end

3.      The complete chain of narrators and the number of narrators in different stages of narration.

4.      The origin of narration

5.      The method of narration

Based on these five principles, the traditionists categorized the ahadith. All ahadith contain the chains of narrators from the Prophet or from a companion or from a follower of the companions down to the last reporter till the end of the third century of the Hijra. The chain of narrators is called Isnad. Isnad are considered an indispensable part of a tradition. Thus, the traditionsts produced volumes of books on the biographies of the narrators and develop the system into a science known as Asma ur Rijal.

Sahih
The highest status in hadith literature belongs to the narration that is described Sahih. This is the hadith whose continuity reaches to the Prophet with a chain of narrators comprise trustworthy and truthful people. Imam Al-Shafi'i  states in his definition of Sahih "Each reporter should be trustworthy in his religion; he should be known to be truthful in his narrating, to understand what he narrates, to know how a different expression can alter the meaning, and report the wording of the hadith verbatim, not only its meaning. This is because if he does not know how a different expression can change the whole meaning, he will not know if he has changed what is lawful into what is prohibited. Hence, if he reports the hadith according to its wording, no change of meaning will be found at all. Moreover, he should be a good memoriser if he happens to report from his memory, or a good preserver of his writings if he happens to report from them. He should agree with the narrations of the huffaz (leading authorities in Hadith), if he reports something which they do also. He should not be a mudallis, who narrates from someone he met something he did not hear, nor should he report from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) contrary to what reliable sources have reported from him. In addition, the one who is above him (in the isnad) should be of the same quality, [and so on,] until the hadith goes back uninterrupted to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) or any authority below him." al-Shafi'i, p. 370f (Ar Risalam, Eng. trans., pp. 239- 240).

Ibn al-Salah, however, defines a sahih hadith more precisely by saying: "A sahih hadith is the one which has a continuous isnad, made up of reporters of trustworthy memory from similar authorities, and which is found to be free from any irregularities (i.e. in the text) or defects (i.e. in the isnad)."

Hasan

Al-Tirmidhi means by hadith hasan: a hadith which is not shadhdh, nor contains a disparaged reporter in its isnad, and which is reported through more than one route of narration.70

Al-Khattabi (d. 388) states a very concise definition, "It is the one where its source is known and its reporters are unambiguous."

Ibn al-Salah classifies hasan into two categories:

1. one with an isnad containing a reporter who is mastur ("screened", i.e. no prominent person reported from him) but is not totally careless in his reporting, provided that a similar text is reported through another isnad as well;

2. one with an isnad containing a reporter who is known to be truthful and reliable, but is a degree less in his preservation/memory of hadith in comparison to the reporters of sahih ahadith.

In both categories, Ibn al-Salah requires that the hadith be free of any shudhudh (irregularities). (al-Nawawi, Muqaddimah, p. 43).

Al-Dhahabi, after giving the various definitions, says, "A hasan hadith is one which excels the da'if but nevertheless does not reach the standard of a sahih hadith." (al-Dhahabi, Al-Muqizah (Maktab al-Matbu'at al- Islamiyyah)

Da'if

A hadith which fails to reach the status of hasan is da'if. Usually, the weakness is one of discontinuity in the isnad, in which case the hadith could be mursal, mu'allaq, mudallas, munqati' or mu'dal, according to the precise nature of the discontinuity, or one of a reporter having a disparaged character, such as due to his telling lies, excessive mistakes, opposition to the narration of more reliable sources, involvement in innovation, or ambiguity surrounding his person.

Maudu'

Al-Dhahabi defines maudu' (fabricated, forged) as the term applied to a hadith, the text of which goes against the established norms of the Prophet's sayings (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or its reporters include a liar. al-Dhahabi, Al-Muqizah, pp 36)

 The traditionists focused on isnad for obvious reasons. They knew that they were relying primarily on human memory as the Prophet had not left any collection of ahadith approved and verified by him. In developing the biographies of narrators, the traditionists had to rely on what they heard from the one reporting to them. There was no source available to them to determine the character and reliability of the narrators from previous generations whom they had not met. Moreover, the traditionists differed in their evaluation of the character of narrators. 

Al-Mustadrak alaa al-Sahihain is a five volume hadith collection written by Hakim al Nishapuri (d. 405 H.). The author states that Imam Bukhari listed Hadiths taken from 434 people who were not accepted by Muslim in his book "Sahih Muslim" as good trustworthy people. On the other hand Muslim accepted in his book 625 people who narrated Hadiths, who were rejected by Bukhari.”

Obviously, for an average reader, it is almost impossible for to critically examine all the hadith literature and reach to a sound conclusion. He has to rely on the knowledge of an expert on the subject. However, if the experts are themselves not critical thinkers, they would repeat what they have heard from their predecessors. It is, thus, imperative for traditionists to critically examine the ahadith on the basis of the ilm riwaya and darayah continuously. To say that that whatever was collected in the six or seven known authentic books of ahadith is final is against the spirit of the fundamentals of the deen. The collection of ahadith is the outcome of human endeavor, unlike the Quran that has divine origin and that was compiled under the supervision of the one who had received it, i.e. Prophet Muhammad.

The next article will deal with the challenges before Muslims in understanding the hadith literature.

Ashura  and Muharram of Sunni and Shia

At the beginning of each Islamic lunar calendar, in various parts of the Muslim world the first ten days are observed as a commemoration of a most horrific and tragic event. In places like Iran and Iraq, Muslims stage passion plays, in India and Pakistan, the community organizes huge processions full with tazias, (replicas of the tomb of Husain). Shia Muslims relive the story of the first ten days of Muharram that took place in the first century of Islam when the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussein challenged the authority of Yezid, the Umayyad ruler and established the principle that sometimes the goals of life become more important than life itself.

Imam Hussein stood for the Quranic principle of justice and fairness. Imam Hussein spoke on behalf of those who were marginalized by a class of rulers who were laying the foundation of dynastic rules in Islam. Imam Hussein refused to surrender to the forces of oppression knowing fully well that he could perish in the process.

It is a month of serious reflections for the Muslim world. While Shia Muslims observe the first ten days as public mourning, the Sunni Muslims evade any overt display of happiness such as weddings, etc., and focus on the fasting of the 10th day of Muharram in memory of the Prophet Moses exodus from Egypt. By and large, most of the Sunni Muslim community avoids any explicit connection of that day to the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. In fact, in many parts of the world, the month has become a point of conflict between Shia and Sunni. Thus, Imam Hussein and his legacy are seen as a sectarian event.

Imam Hussein is the grandson of the Prophet who lived his life the way he watched his grandfather live it. He embodied the qualities of the prophet in his character and he remained deeply committed to the Quranic values of justice and equality. His struggle was for fairness and Islamic values for common men and women. When the power was usurped by the Ummayd rulers and the people's right to elect their Caliph was turned into a dynastic rule with little regard for human life and human dignity, freedom, and justice, Imam Hussein mobilized first, his family than his supporters to challenge the authority of Yezid, the Umayyad ruler at that time. He was betrayed by many of his supporters who withdrew at the last minute, but his family stood by him in Karbala, modern-day province of Iraq, and faced the brutal might of a well organized, well equipped and well-trained army.

The outcome was known from the beginning. Imam Hussein was aware of the imbalance in power. He had the choice to make a tactical withdrawal. He had the choice of accepting the rule of Umayyad's and give legitimacy to their claim. He had the choice to accept the practices of the court in Damascus. Yet he chose to stand his ground, knowing fully well that he and his followers may not survive at the end of the conflict. He did not run away. He knew why he was there and why he had challenged the authority. He fought bravely and left the world with violent wounds as a testimony of his belief that sometimes in the life of nations come moments when liberty and justice become more important than the life itself.

It was a sacrifice given in support of human rights and human dignity. It is this sacrifice that has held a profound impact on the history of ideas in the world as rooted in the famous line of one of America's great founding father, Patrick Henry: "Give me liberty, or give me death." It is this sacrifice that has inspired millions throughout history to challenge injustice and inhumanity on the part of political powers. Imam Hussein is a living legacy of Muslims. It should and it must not be split into Sunni or Shia conflict. Imam Hussein followed the path of the prophets. If the prophets were alive, they would have not done anything differently.

Shia and Sunni both need to work together to uphold the legacy and sacrifice that the Grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussain gave. Shias need to look at this observance beyond the passion plays and Sunnis should recognize this historical tragedy beyond a sectarian and political divide.  All Muslims need to remember Imam Hussein for his commitment to justice as taught by the Quran "... Enjoin what is just; forbid what is wrong; bear anything that happens to you steadfastly: these are things to be aspired to." (31:17).

Hadith: Ilm Darayah, the Science to Understand the Hadith Text

When we hear someone narrating or quoting a hadith, we often hear terms such as sahih, ahsan, aziz, gharib, dhaeef or mawdhu. Those who are familiar with hadith terminology understand the dimensions of the narration and those who do not usually accept all narrations at the same level without seeking any clarification. In Friday sermons and in everyday discussion, you would hear people quoting hadith to prove a point. Often, they would identify their status in the eyes of traditionists. For instance, during a Friday Khutbah in one of the Masajid in Southern California, a known speaker quoted a hadith saying that Prophet said” anyone who combines two prayers is standing on the gate of hellfire.” He did not quote any source for this hadith, nor mentioned whether it was sahih, ahsan or gharib. Even if he had mentioned that people would not have known the differences. After the prayer, when he was asked to identify his source, he first said it was in Bukhari, well, there was iPhone where q quick search was made for this hadith. It was not there. He then said that he had heard from someone.
This is how even those who claim to be knowledgeable quote ahadith.
Referring to the terminology, interestingly, most of the terms in hadith literature refer to what is known as ilm Riwayah. As explained earlier, it is a science that enables one to study hadith in the context of narration. It enables one to determine the authenticity of the source and accuracy in the transmission and reporting of the hadith
What is known as Ilm al-Darayah is rarely referred to in public discourse on hadith. `Ilm al-Darayah is the science that enables one to critically examine the meaning of the hadith. It deals with the accuracy of the text and pays attention to all of its nuances and any ruling it might contain. It is often used by a jurist. Its branches include `Ilm Gharib al-Hadith, `Ilm Mukhtalif al-Hadith: `Ilm Ziyadat al-Thiqar, `Ilm al-Nasikh wa'l-Mansukh and `Ilm al-Hadith wa al-Tadlis:

Ilm Darayah is an established branch of Ilm hadith and in fact, it opens up possibilities of inquiry and critical examination of the text as well as it influences the rules of ilm riwayah also. For instance, this science enables one to make a distinction among the companions of the prophet as regards their level of narration. The narrations of Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman , and Ali are not placed at the level of the narration of a simpleton especially if they deal with complicated or juristic issues. It also helps resolve the conflict between the two narrations. Two prominent Muslim scholars Ibn Yahya As-Saji and Imam Shafai are credited with books about this branch of Ilm Darayah.

Scholars have developed extensive rules to determine the validity of a statement or narration attributed to the Prophet and they have concluded that if following conditions are found in any narration, they would be rejected on the basis of Ilm Darayah. These rules are not divinely revealed as the products of human intellect. They are influenced by the level of scholarship of the scholars, therefore, they cannot be perceived as the final word on the subject. Some of the rules are:

1. If the narration is against facts, it should be rejected. For instance, if there is a narration that says that Abdullah bin Masood participated in the battle of Siffin, it would be rejected because he died during the time of the third Caliph, Uthman bin Affan or the narration that asserts that Muawiya ran away from the battle of Jamal as Muawiya is not reported to be present during the battle.
2. Any narration that uses cussing and cursing against the family of the Prophet or against the companions whose character was well established and well known.
3. If the narration is against the known criterion of wisdom and understanding.
4. If the narration is against any established rule. For instance, if the narration says that earth is flat, then it would be questioned in its authenticity because of the fact that it is against the known principles of Allah’s law of creation.
5. The narration conflicts the Quran and its guidance.
6. The narration is in conflict with the character of the Prophet.
7. The narration is in conflict with a hadith that is considered mutawatir (continuous) hadith.
8. The narration is about an event that may have been witnessed by many but reported by only one. For instance, Asma bint Amees reports that once the sun returned from the course of setting in the West for Caliph Ali or that the dawn delayed its appearance because Bilal did not give azan (call to prayer).
9. The narration that uses offensive or grammatically wrong language with meaningless statements.
10. Narrations that promise bigger rewards or punishment for smaller acts. For instance the narration that says that anyone who offers two units of prayer will get 70,000 homes with 70,000 rooms in every home, 70,000 platforms in each room and 70,000 maidens on each of the platforms
11. Narrations that equate even a minor virtuous act with the reward of Hajj and Umra.
12. Narrations that promise the status of prophets or the reward given to the prophets for minor acts of virtue. For instance one Noah  bin Abi Aasma was exposed for concocting statements attributed to the prophet. When asked why he did that, he admitted that the purpose of concocting these narrations was noble because “when I realized that people had forsaken the Quran and I concocted ahadith to motivate people to focus on the divine guidance and to earn the supposed reward by starting to read the Quran.” Similarly, there are narrations that refer to prohibiting smoking tobacco or hookah or coffee.
13. Narrations that relied on dreams to attribute statements to the Prophet without mentioning their dreams
14. Narrations reported by the courtiers of kings and rulers supporting their behavior and actions.
15. Narrations that include meaningful proverbs popular in other cultures that were attributed to the prophet to enhance his effectiveness.

Scholars such as Imam Abul Faraj ibn al-Jawzi, Hafiz ibn al-Qayyam, Hafiz Sakhawi and others have compiled a list of rules used in the science of Darayat

1. Narrations that describe the Prophet in a manner that demeans his nobility such as 70,000 maidens or 70,000 servants in heaven.
2. Narrations that defy logic and experience. For instance, eggplant is the cure of all illness or the one who eats squash is blessed. It is neither proven through experience nor logic.
3. Narrations repeated to attract the people to one, for instance, if rice were a human, it would have acted in a very graceful manner.
4. Narrations promising the greatest reward for the smallest acts of virtue.
5. Narrations promising worst punishment for smallest sins.
6. Narrations describing the superiority of flowers such as saying that the rose was created from the perspiration of Prophet Muhammad.
7. Narrations that describe the superiority of pigeons or chickens.
8. Narrations about the superiority of Berry trees.
9. Narrations describing the superiority of Hina.
10. Narrations describing that the prophet used the public bathroom to take a bath.
11. Narrations that go against the clear sunnah, for instance, the narration that says that anyone with the name of Ahmad and Muhammad would not go to hellfire.
12. Narrations that go against the Quran. For instance, the night journey began at the home of Umm Hani.
13. Narrations that are clearly against the intellect.
14. Narrations that have no resemblance to the saying of Prophets.
15. Narrations that establish a rule in religion but reported only by one person.
16. Narrations that specify a date or year for a specific event.
17. Narrations that describe the superiority of any city other than Makkah, Medina, and Jerusalem.
18. Narrations that describe the superiority of a mausoleum.
19. Narrations that describe the medical principles.
20. Narrations that describe the superiority of Rajab fasting.
21. Narrations that prescribe certain specific prayers during the night of power.
22.  Narrations that use words below the dignity of the Prophet.
23. Narrations that condemn blacks, Turks, Sudanese or Ethiopians.
24. Narrations that describe the dates for the doomsday.
25. Narrations that describe particular days of the week bringing bad omen.
26. Narrations that condemn castrated people.
27. Narrations that describe the superiority of a precious stone.
28. Narrations that condemn the nurturing of children.
29. Narrations that describe the virtue of visiting the grave of the Prophet.
30. Narrations that describe war with Jinns.
31. Narrations that describe the events surrounding the birth of the Prophet.
32. Narrations that describe the virtue of each and every sura of the Quran.
33. Narrations about the superiority or inferiority of the four Imams.
34. Narrations that condemn the companions of the Prophet.
35. Narrations that describe the virtue of virginity.
36. Narrations that condemn a child born without the identification of his or her father.
37. Narrations that describe the forgiveness for people belonging to a specific race, or family.
38. Narrations that say that on the Day of Judgment people would be identified with their mother's name.
39. Narrations about the virtue of wheat or any bean or lentils
40. Narrations about the virtue of any oil
41. Narrations about the rulership of Banu Abbas.
42. Narrations against the known fact of history.
43. Narrations giving the superiority of certain mountains.
44. Narrations giving news about the birth of the parents of the Prophet.
45. Narrations praising physical beauty or ugliness of certain individuals.
46. Narrations describing the virtue of salat ul awwabeen (the supplementary prayers at the sunset prayers)
47. Narrations that support oppression, injustice, and violence
48. Narrations that describe the virtue of praying with caps or turban on the head.
49. Narrations describing Isaac as the one who was sacrificed by Prophet Ibrahim
50. Narrations condemning the wives of the Prophet.
51. Narrations prescribing shade for somebody on the Day of Judgment.
52. Narrations that attribute actions to the companions they might have not done.
53. Narrations that prescribe the worldly reward for reciting Ism Azam (the greatest sacred name)
54. Narrations that describe the virtue of poverty and starvation.
55. Narration describing that intellect was created first.
56. Narration describing that Prophet Muhammad was the first creation of Allah.
57. Narration describing human beings were first created from the light.
58. Narrations that contradict the consensus.
59. Narrations that give stories about Khidhr.

Some scholars have included rules that reflect the nature of conflicts in their societies. For instance, Mulla Ali Qari in his work on the fabrication of ahadith includes the following rules. The ahadith according to him would be rejected if it comes from the following sources or if it deals with the following subject. Obviously, they are the product of a political culture with no authenticity from either the Prophet of his early companions.

1. Narrations reported by Rafdhi (Shia).
2. Narrations critical to Banu Ummayya.
3. Narrations supportive of Caliph Ali’s claim to Imamat or wilayat.
4. Narrations about Khawrij or Nusibi.
5. Narrations about Bidati or innovators.
6. Narrations attributed to story-tellers.
7. Narrations praising Banu Abbas.
8. Narrations about glorifying Caliph Ali and elevating him to a status higher than Prophets.

Obviously, these rules emerged after the departure of the rightly guided Caliphs as they reflect the political division that the Muslim community was faced with. They revolve around Banu Ummaya, Banu Hashim, and Banu Abbas.

According to the scholars whose name mentioned above, narrations that have any of the above-mentioned weakness would be rejected. Interestingly, in books of ahadith one comes across several narrations that show weaknesses mentioned above. It is almost impossible for an average person to memorize all these principles and then develop his own personal critique of each hadith. Those who hear these ahadith assume that the criteria used to determine the accuracy of the narration have been applied and what they are getting is solid. However, one of the main issues to determine the validity of narration depends on how the Quran is understood and how the other ahadith are related to the one under examination. It is a subjective criterion given the fact that scholars have differences of opinions on several Quranic verses. For instance, some scholars believe that certain verses of the Quran stand canceled while others do not accept this position. Obviously, their outlook to the validity of a particular hadith from a Quranic perspective would depend on how they interrupt a particular verse of the Quran. For instance, those who say the Quranic aya of writing a will is canceled would not approve of any hadith that give details of the virtue of writing a will, while those who believe that the ayah is not canceled would accept ahadith that deal with the subject.

One would never know what was rejected by traditionists on the basis of these criteria.

These were the issues hadith scholars and jurists dealt in applying the rules of Daryat in their work. Those who argue that the task of filtering the narration is complete and over perhaps need to review their position based on the changing dynamics of the scope of knowledge that we are fast gaining. Similarly, those who believe that the scholars of the past did not do their job properly should also realize that what the scholars did was superb within the means they had access to. Imagine, they were living in a world, where paper, pen, computers, printing machines, etc. were not available. The human mind was the only machine available to them. They did their job as best as they could. Interestingly, none of them asserted that their work is the final word on the subject. They admitted that the work they compiled would be reviewed, critically examined and based on new research that would emerge later, more strict guidelines would be developed.

Yet, their expectations have not yet been met fully. Instead, the issue of ahadith has become a battle cry between two groups of people, one who refuses to critically view the hadith literature and the other that rejects the presumptions that the books of ahadith cannot be touched.

The purpose of the scholars was to ensure that the divine message should be understood within the context of what was being attributed to the Prophet. None of them diminished the importance of the Quran. Yet discussion on the issue has reduced both the Quran and the Sunna to a level of factional fight, something that both the Quran and authentic ahadith of the Prophet prohibit. It is this polemics that is preventing Muslims from reaching some conclusive decisions on issues at hand.

Early Hadith Literature: II

1. There were efforts on the part of some companions to write down whatever they had heard personally from the prophet. But they did not write everything that the Prophet said as they were not in his company 24 hours.

1. The prophet initially discouraged his companions to write down words coming from him other than the Quran. Later on, the permission and not the command was given to write down his words in addition to the divine revelation. The early caliphs discouraged the writing of ahadith and did not leave any collection of hadith that could have been described as an officially approved collection of ahadith.

When we read the Quran, we never say before an aya, from Abu Bakr, or Umar, or Usman, or Ali, or Ayesha or Khadeeja (May Allah be pleased with them all) who heard it from the Prophet. Even though all of them heard the Quran directly from Prophet Muhammad, yet no one mentions their names for a very simple reason. The Prophet verified each and every letter of the Quran and ensured that every single aya is written down in the format as we see today. The evidence is so strong that there is no need for the chain of narrators to prove the authenticity of an aya. Even though some of the anecdotes mentioned in some books of ahadith would argue the contrary, but the verdict of the Quran that Allah revealed it and he would ensure its protection is final and supreme. The duties of the prophethood included the preservation of the Quran during his lifetime as was revealed to him and Prophet Muhammad fulfilled his duties. Those who argue that that the Quran was compiled during the lifetime of Abu Bakr or Uthman by a commission of six companions or more are simply contradicting the Quran and accusing the Prophet of not fulfilling his responsibilities of preserving the Quran in his lifetime. No Muslim can ever claim to be a Muslim if he denies the fact that the Quran, as we see it, was compiled during the lifetime of the Prophet.

However, when we read the hadith, we see a long chain of narrators before the expression that “thus said the prophet, or as we believe was said by the Prophet.” This is due to the fact that the prophet did not leave any collection of his sayings like the one we see in the compilation of Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Bukhari, Muslim, Nasai, etc.

Some of the companions often wrote what they heard the Prophet saying in several situations.  Yet, so far there is no concrete and conclusive empirical evidence that the companions asked the prophet to verify what they had attributed to him. In the initial stages of prophethood, the formative years of Islam, the Prophet is said to prohibit his companions from writing anything other than the Quran. Obviously, a substantial part of what the Prophet had said in those early days was not written down. Many of the early companions had passed away when this restriction was removed by the prophet in later days. Thus we would never know their narrations of the prophetic teachings.

Masnad Imam Ahmed, a book of ahadith is considered authentic by many and it includes the following passage in its contents, “The companions said that we used to write down whatever we would hear from the Prophet. Then, one day the Prophet came and asked us what is it that you are writing; we told him that whatever we hear from you, we write that down. He exclaimed, any other book beside the book of Allah! Keep the book of Allah clean, keep it purified; keep it away from all skepticism. We then brought out in an open space everything that we had written and burned it.” (Masnad Ahmed as quoted by Manazar Ahsan Gilani in his work Tadween Hadith, page #249, also reported in Tazkiratul Huffaz by Zahabi) So whatever was compiled by the companions until then was burned. How many ahadith were there and on what subject, no one can even guess.

In Zahabi’s Tazkiratul Huffaz it is mentioned that during his Caliphate, first Caliph Abu Bakr assembled people after the death of the Prophet and addressed them by saying that you attribute statements to the Prophet and you have differences among yourself about them, the people who would come after you would have differences much wider than yours; so you should not attribute any statement to the prophet and if anyone questions you about that tell him that we have the book of Allah amongst us. Thus, you should consider halal what this book has declared halal and consider haram what the book has declared haram.”

Zahabi also notes that Umm ul Momineen (the mother of the believers) Aisha said that “once my father, Caliph Abu Bakr, collected some 500 ahadith of the Prophet and I noticed that he was restless during his sleep, I asked him the reasons for this condition and he did not respond.  In the morning, he asked me to bring all those ahadith that he had collected and instructed me to burn them all.” So a substantial number of ahadith as remembered by the Prophet were burned by none other than the one who assumed the leadership of Muslims after the Prophet. No one can even guess what those ahadith were all about.

Ibn Abdul Birr in his book Bayanul Ilm says that the second Caliph Umar bin Khattab consulted the companions of the prophet about compiling the ahadith but he was not certain about their advice that the ahadith should be written down. So after a month of reflection, he told people to abandon the idea of compiling ahadith as it would confuse people between the importance of the Quran and hadith.

In Tabaqat ibn Sa’d it is mentioned that Imar bin Khattab instructed the people to bring to him all that they had written down as far as ahadith were concerned and he burned them all. (Tabaqat ibn Sa’d, volume V P# 141)

Ibn Abdul Bir further narrates that the second Caliph then sent the instructions in districts and other towns asking people to destroy whatever they had collected in the name of ahadith. (Jami Bayanul Ilm, Vol. I, P# 65)

If the intent of the Prophet was the preservation of his words, he would have ensured that whatever he was instructing the people besides the Quran should be written down, his closest companions should have ensured that each and every word coming out of his mouth is preserved and they would have left a collection of his instructions to save the succeeding generation from compiling books of ahadith.

Writing had become popular at the time of the Prophet. As mentioned by Ibn Hazm in his book Kitabul Fisl, there were about 100,000 copies of the Quran at the time of Caliph Umar, yet Caliph Abu Bakr and Umar bin Khattab prevented the people from compiling book of ahadith. The second Caliph went a step forward as he put in prison companions such as Abdullah ibn Masood, Abu Darda and Abu Masood Ansar for narrating ahadith in abundance (Tazkiratul Huffaz)

As is reported in the above-mentioned books, the compilation of the ahadith in written form was not the hallmark of the earliest period of Islam during the lifetime of the prophet or his immediate successors. If the earlier companions had preserved the sayings of the prophet, we would certainly be in a better position to understand the full extent of what the Prophet said and did. This lack of early written material gives an indication to the monumental efforts that many later day scholars had to do to compile the ahadith through a very vigorous and rigorous method of scrutiny. Whatever criterion they applied, it was to determine the accuracy of the statement that could alone be determined in definite terms by none other than the Prophet who was not there to verify them. It is this reality that differentiates the authenticity of the Quran with the ahadith. From the methodological perspective, the two cannot be the same and equal. One is verified by the Prophet and the other is built around the narrations attributed to him through a chain of narrators who repeated whatever they could remember was reportedly said by the prophet.

This does not mean that nothing of what the Prophet said or did was preserved initially. The companions preserved his Sunna of prayers, almsgiving, fasting, charity, Hajj, relations with non-Muslims, etc., etc.

There are many narrations in books such as Tirmidhi, Tabarani and Hakeem that quote many companions of the Prophet saying that they had the permission of the prophet to write down whatever they heard him saying. Rafey bin Khadeej is reported to have said the prophet told him to write down his words or Abdullah bin Umar bin Aas is reported to have said that “Whatever I heard from the Prophet, I would write down and then the Quraysh prohibited me from writing it saying that the Prophet is a human and often says words when he is in a state of anger or happiness so I stopped writing, then I mentioned this to the Prophet, and he pointed his finger towards his mouth and said, you should write down, I swear by the one who has my life in his control, nothing but the truth comes out from it.” (Abu Dawood and Masnad Darmee)

How much of what was written by the companions survived at the time of Caliph Abu Bakr and Umar bin Khattab who often prevented people from writing the ahadith is not known. Were the ahadith written down by Abdullah bin Umar bin Aas or Rafey bin Khadeej were used by the two Caliphs in their governing decisions is not known.

Today, there are several written decrees and letters attributed to the prophet that exist in their original form in books of ahadith. The book Letters and Treaties by the Prophet, (published by the Islamic Society of Nevada, Las Vegas in cooperation with Iqra International Trust) gives a list of those letters and treaties.

In Sahih Bukhari and Sunan Tirmidhi it is reported from Abu Hurayrah that during the opening of Makkah, the people of the tribe of Khaza killed a person from Bani Laith. When the prophet learned about it he addressed the people on the sanctity of the Kaaba and the reparation for murder. After the khutbah one Yemeni companion Abu shah asked the Prophet to make the sermon available to him in writing so the prophet asked his companions to write it down for Abu Shah.

HafizIb Abul Bir in his Jame Bayan writes that the Prophet dictated instructions to be written down about charity, obligations, the prophetic traditions and other matters for Umr bin Hazm in the 10^th hijra when he was sent to Najran as a governor. This writing is included in Sunan Nasai and other books of ahadith.

Sunan Dar Qatni mentions that according to Abdullah Ibn Umar the Prophet sent a decree to the people of Yemen that explained the rules of zakat on agricultural production.

Imam Shaabi also mentions of a written decree on zakat by the Prophet in his book Az Zakat

Sunan Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi mention that the Abdullah bin Umar narrated that the Prophet dictated a book called Kitab us Sadaqat that was to be sent to his governors when the death overtook him. Both Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi have included many ahadith from this book in their compilations.

6. Abdullah bin Hakeem is reported to have said that the prophet sent a set of instructions about the hide of dead animals to the tribe of Juhaina. (Sunan Abi Dawood, Jame Tirmidhi, Sunan Nasai, Sunan Ibn Maja)

Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Ali reported that in the sword case of the Prophet we found a saheefa that had many ahadith of the prophet written down. (Jame Bayanul Ilm)

The Prophet is said to have written some 379 letters to different tribes besides treaties and invitation to Islam to several rulers. There is also written account of a census conducted by the Prophet in Medina.

The Prophet is said to have given a promissory note to the Suraqa bin Malik Mudalji who had followed him during his migration to Medina. Similar promissory notes were also issued to a few tribes

Among the companions, Abdullah bin Umar bin AlAas is said to have compiled a book of the ahadith of the Prophet known as Sadiqah and he is reported to have said: “There are two things that give me inspiration in life, As Sadiqa and al-Wahat. Sadiqa is the book that is based on what I heard from the Prophet and Wahat is the land that my father donated in the cause of Allah.”

His compilation was passed on to his grandson Shuayb bin Muhammad bin Abdullah and from him, it passed on to his son Umar. Thus all the ahdaith from Umar bin Shuayb quoted in the books of ahadith are from Sahifa Sadiqa. However, it is not certain how many ahadith were included in Sahifa Sadiqa and how many of them made into the current books of ahadith.

In Sahih Bukhari there is a  reference to a statement of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Talib who himself had compiled a sahifa: “We did not write anything else from the Prophet except the Quran and that is in this sahifa.” It is said that this sahifa had ahadith of the prophet about Zakat, sanctity of life, boundaries of the Medina, release of prisoners, breaking of pledges and erasings the marks on land, etc. In several books of ahadith including the Bukhari, there are ahadith quoted from this sahifa.

Rafey bin Khadeej is said to have written several ahadith from the prophet. Additionally, in the books of ahadith, there are several letters written by the Caliphs to their governor that contain the sayings of the Prophet.

Thus we see two patterns distinct in the early hadith literature.

This situation led to methodological innovation and expansion on the part of latter-day scholars including the Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik whose books kitab ul Athar and Muwatta are earliest attempts to compiled ahadith. They asked questions such as who heard it directly or indirectly from the prophet. How did they transmit it to others? How did the others preserve it and pass that on to their succeeding generation? What was the character of people who preserved the sayings or actions of the Prophet in their memory? Did all of them have the same level of memory? These any many others were the questions the scholars dealt with. They did not outright reject everything they heard and they did not approvingly accept everything they were passed on. Each one of them developed his or her own methodology to reduce the probability of mistakes. Yet, they all knew that they were still dealing with a body of knowledge that was not verified by the Prophet himself with the exception of those written records that history had preserved. But the literature was vast compared to what was preserved in writing.  Imam Bukhari found 600,000 ahadith, Imam Muslim 300,000, Imam Tirmidhi, e00,000, Imam Abdu Dawood, 500,000, Imam ibn Maja, 300,000 and Imam Nasai 200,000.

Each one of them made their individual efforts to develop their own criterion to choose what they considered authentic. Their efforts must be lauded for their monumental task, yet they were aware that they had to undertake the task because like the Quran, there were no huffaz of ahadith who had transmitted the hadith through memory from one generation to another.

Syed Mawdudi in his book Tafheemat sums up the situation candidly: “Suppose I give a speech today heard by thousands. Now ask those present at the meeting a few hours, not a few days or weeks or years later to repeat what I said in my speech, you would notice each narrating it in different style, tones, and words. They would not be the same in their narration. Someone would quote a full sentence, some a few words, some the gist of what I said etc., some would paraphrase it, some would conceptualize it, some who might not be clear in his understanding might misrepresent facts, and those whose memory is sound might repeat what I said and those who lack a good memory might repeat portion of it in their own words.” (Tafheemat, Vol 1)

The compilers of the hadith were aware of their limitations and each of them acknowledged it. They knew that their work can never be equal in authenticity or veracity to the Quran, the book that was received by the Prophet alone and verified by him alone. It is this limitation that makes the development of hadith sciences part of human sciences, not the divine sciences. Thus the science of hadith is a human effort to determine the probability of the accuracy of the statement or action attributed to the prophet. It is not the science of what the prophet said or did, rather a science of what the scholars based on their methodologies believe the Prophet said or did. Thus anyone who is raising any question about the authenticity of the hadith is not questioning the Prophet, rather he or she is questioning the methodologies and accuracy used by the compilers.

Imams, such as Malik, Abu Hanifa, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi. Ibn Maja, Abu Dawood, and Nasaid selected the statements or actions attributed to the prophet based on their methodology. Each one of them rejected the bulk of what they heard. For instance, Imam Malik gave preference to those narrations that came from the people living in Medina, Imam Abu Hanifa included narrations from people from different region and Imam Bukhari rejected some 95 percent of what he had collected.

Science of the Compilation of Ahadith

An Introduction

(Note: This is not a series on Ahadith. Muhaditheen or traditionists do that. This is not an attempt to redefine Ahadith or re-categorize them. Traditionists do that. This is not about evaluating ahadith. Traditionists and jurists do that. This is a series about the history of the compilation of ahadith. How did our previous scholars compile the books of ahadith. What methodologies they adopted and how did they select what they selected and reject what they rejected. Of course, based on my readings of this vast literature, I also developed certain understanding and at the end of the series, I would submit that to readers. I am not a traditionist nor a jurist. I have studied all the seven known books of ahadith as well as many others in their original language. I have also studied the methodologies adopted by their compilers. I am a simple student of Islam with a keen interest in research to make things clearer to me. My only purpose is to share what I have learned with others as I feel that it is an obligation upon those who read and who try to acquire knowledge. Whatever, I will present here is based on research with references. I will separate my opinions with facts as reported by earlier scholars. If I am dishonest in my research, Allah will expose my weaknesses and take away the knowledge that He alone gives. If I am honest, but not proficient in all aspects of knowledge, He will guide me as he has guided many others. If I promote a particular point of view, the readers will discover it. If I make mistakes, the people of knowledge will expose me. My sincere purpose is to inform the readers in simple language the history of Hadith without any biases or favors. Please do not question my right to write what I am writing about. It is a right that my creator has given me and I will exercise it urging everyone that each one of us is gifted with the divine to acquire knowledge that He alone has created.) 

Abd al-Rahman ibn Sakhr Al-Azdi, Abu Hurayrah or Abu Huraira (603 – 681) was a companion of Prophet Muhammad and is the narrator of hadith most quoted in isnad by Sunni Muslim scholars. Shia scholars seldom accept his narrated ahadith and when they do, they do only when they are narrated by companions considered authentic by them and the members of the family of the Prophet considered reliable, by the Prophet and his cousin and the fourth Caliph Ali bin Abu talib (Radhi Allahu Anhu).

He had many disciples and one of them was Wahb ibn Munabbih later came to be known as a traditionist. He died at the age of 90 in the year 731 C.E., some 50 years after the death of his teacher. It is narrated that Abu Hurayrah compiled a collection of ahadith for his student Wahab, which came to be known as As Sahifatus Sahih, later named as Sahifa Hammam bin Munabbih.
After Wahab, this sahifa was transferred to Muammar bin Rashid Yemeni and passed it on to Abdur Razzaq bin Hammam bin Naefy Al-Humeiri. He wrote a book on the Science of Hadith known as Al Musannif. His manuscripts are available in Istanbul, Yemen, and India. He had two students Imam Ahmed Hanbal and Abdulhasan bin Yusuf Al-Silmi.

Imam Hanbal included it in his Masnad under the chapter of Abu Hurayrah.

Silmi also passed on this sahifa to his students. From his students, it reached to Muhammad bin Abdur Rehman al Masoudi and Ismail bin Jama. The Masoodi's manuscript is in the library of Istanbul and Ibn Jama's manuscript is in Berlin. It was the Berlin manuscript that was copied by Professor Muhammad Hamidullah who published it in 1953 in Arabic with translations in English, French and Urdu in later years.  Even though some people have questioned the authenticity of this manuscript claiming that Dr. Hamidullah admitted in later years that he had forged it to prove the authenticity of the hadith literature. (http://mubashirnazir.org/QA/000300/Q0232-Sahifa.htm) But it is more an accusation than an assertion as the original manuscripts are available in the libraries of Istanbul and Berlin.
The Sahifa, written by Abu Hurayrah is one of the earliest collections of hadith written before 681 C.E. preserved in its original manuscript.  It has 138 ahadith mostly on ethics. The Kitab al-Athar was the other book composed in Islam after the generation of the Companions. Al-Imam al-A’zam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Thabit (699-767 CE) wrote it. It comprises Ahadith that connect directly back to the Messenger of Allah (marfu’), those which stop short at a Companion or one of the followers (mawquf) and those which are attributed to the Messenger, directly by one of the followers or the followers of the followers without attribution to a Companion (mursal). His companions Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Zufar, Imam Muhammad, Imam al-Hasan ibn Ziyad, Imam Hammad ibn Abi Hanifah the Imam’s son, Hafs ibn Ghiyath and others narrated it from him. It comprises some 40,000 ahdith. However, the authenticity of the narration has been questioned by some scholars.

The Muwatta of Imam Malik is the other the earliest extant collections of hadith covering rituals, rites, customs, traditions, norms, and laws of the time of Prophet Muhammad. Imam Malik (711-795) was born some 30 years Abu Hurayrah  and he selected only about one percent of Ahadith for inclusion into the Muwatta, from the corpus of 100,000 narrations available to him. In later years, he removed many from the one percent he had included in the original.  He compiled the collection after great hesitation  over a period of forty years to represent the "well-trodden path" of the people of Medina. Its name means that it is a book that is much agreed upon about whose contents the people of Medina were unanimously agreed. The Muslim jurist Imam Muhammad ibn Idris Ash Shafai famously said, "There is not on the face of the earth a book – after the Book of Allah which is more authentic than the book of Malik. It is interesting to note that in the Muwatta is not included in the popular six collections of Sahih ahadith that include the books by Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Tirmidhi, Imam Abu Dawood, Imam ibn Maja and Imam Abdur Rahman Nasai.
The six major collections of ahadith were compiled in the 11th century C.E. , some 250 years after the death of Abu Hurayrah.  It is interesting that scholars in later centuries found more ahadith then the ones written down by Abu Hurayrah.  For instance, Imam Bukhari is said to have found 600,000 ahadith (some say 300,000), Imam Muslim found some 400,000, Imam Hanbal over a million and Imam Yahya Ibn Moeen 1.2 million.
It is worthy to note that Abu Hurayrah gives only 138 ahadith to his student and Imam Malik finds 100,000 ahadith while the later day traditionists found over a million ahadith.
Obviously, scholars developed methodologies to scrutinize statements and actions attributed to the prophet as narrated by the successive generation of people. They sorted, sifted, categorized, evaluated, checked their authenticity and even rejected the bulk of the collections.
They developed the science of `Ilm al-Riwayah and ilm Diraya.

`Ilm al-Riwayh is the science in which we study hadith through narrations. It looks into the authenticity at the source and accuracy in the transmission and reporting of the hadith so as to prevent distortion and error, deliberate or otherwise. `Ilm tarikh al-ruwat, `Ilm Jarh wal-ta`dil:, `Ilm Mutabi wa'l-Ishhad are the sub branches of this science.

`Ilm al-Dirayah is the science in which we study hadith through its meaning. It is concerned with ensuring the accuracy of the text of the hadith by paying attention to all the nuances of the text as well as any ruling it might contain. `Ilm Gharib al-Hadith, `Ilm Mukhtalif al-Hadith, `Ilm Ziyadat al-Thiqar: `Ilm al-nasikh wa'l-Mansukh  and `Ilm al-Hadith wa al-Tadlis are its subcategories.:

The emergence of the science of the compilation of ahadith was necessitated because the Prophet had not left any collection of his sayings that was checked, verified and approved by him. When Ibn Abbas was asked what did the Prophet leave, he replied: "what is between the two dafateen (i.e. the Quran)" (Bukhari)
The task of the scholars to develop methodologies to determine the accuracy of the statements and actions of the Prophet was immense and huge. They were only humans and they relied on what either they had heard or found in some scattered manuscripts. They did not have anything like the Quran that was approved, compiled, and memorized by the Prophet in his own lifetime. So everything that was attributed to him had to be dealt with in this context.
That is the reason that the traditionsts were very careful in reminding the readers that what they were presenting what is attributed to the prophet as they understand or the narrators understand implying that the probability that the fact may be different may not be ruled out.  
The Ilm riwayah led them to determine the accuracy of the chains of narrations and lm diraya led them to determine the accuracy of the statement. The emergence of these sciences is a testimony that the Prophet did not leave any collection of his words approved by him at the time of his departure from the world.
The devotion and sincerity of scholars were beyond question, as they realize themselves that they were still dealing with a body of literature that did not have the approval of the prophet even though the actions and statements were attributed to him. It was an expression of the highest responsibility and the greatest scholarship that they showed in developing the principles of the science of the compilation of ahadith with the full understanding that their efforts were human and the subject they were dealing with was a serious one as the only one who was qualified to verify what was attributed to him was not amongst them.
In the forthcoming articles, writings will focus on the two branches of ilm tadween hadith, with articles on the history of hadith collections, traditionists, statements or actions attributed to the prophet with a conclusion about how to do I personally study the hadith. I hope you will have the patience to go through this series without jumping to the conclusion unless you have read all the articles.
Each one of us is responsible for our own understanding. No one would be held accountable for other's actions and understanding. I am presenting my understanding hoping that a greater discussion will take place and help us move forward in our understanding of the sources of our faith.