MAIN VARIETIES OF HADITHS

Hadees (hadiths), thus, is a comprehensive word. It stands for the creative teaching and the revolutionary activities of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The major varieties of Hadees are as follows: –

(1) The narration of all those affectionate words that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) uttered from time to time;

(2) The collection of specific instructions and advises which he offered for the guidance of mankind;

(3) The statements of all those noble deeds that he performed in the presence of his companions and followers;

(4) Other details of his personal life as witnessed and reported by the members of his noble family, etc.,

FOUNDATION OF WISDOM AND GUIDANCE

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born in 571 AD in Mecca, the renowned city of Saudi Arabia. He died in 632 AD in Medina, another famed town of the same country. Allah Almighty conferred Prophethood on him 13 years before the commencement of the Islamic calendar (A.H.) He was forty then. The period of Prophethood lasted 23 years. It started on 13 before A.H. and ended in 11. AH, the year of his death.

The last 23 years of his life, i.e. from 13 before A.H. to 11 A.H., are counted as a glorious era in the history of mankind. During these memorable years Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) continued spreading Islam, the religion of peace and progress. He uttered a large number of moving words for the guidance of humanity. He also performed a variety of pious deeds. Those words of advice and those deeds of righteousness stand out as a sweet foundation of practical wisdom and constructive guidance for all mankind. Hadees, the recorded version of his wise words and noble deeds, is a stimulating study for all mankind. A child, eager to forge ahead in life, must familiarize himself with the essence and purpose of Hadees.

MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM) INSPIRES ENTIRE MANKIND

Whenever Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) uttered a word of guidance his companions hastened to commit the same to memory. Those who knew the art of writing used to put the same in black and white. Then wherever these good-natured people went they talked about those wise sayings for the benefit of others. The Prophet’s (peace be upon him) wisdom thus kept on spreading far and wide. It went on reforming humanity’s thought and behavior.

After the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him) his companions and followers continued the sacred mission of people’s education and guidance. They carried the torch of wisdom and righteousness to the adjoining lands. Wherever they went they enlightened people on the Islamic way of life. This new way of life has been outlined in the Holy Quran. It was actually practiced by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

The most remarkable point was reached when the Muslims entered Spain. There they established schools, colleges, universities and libraries. Their cultural pursuits and social activities provided nourishing food for thought to entire Europe. The Islamic way of life began to be understood in the West as well. More and more people started to appreciate the meaning and purpose of Prophet’s (peace be upon him) revolutionary message. It began to bring about a constructive changing all sectors off their life. A time soon came when the Islamic way of life became popular with the people of the East as well as the West. The present day world owes much of its beauty and betterment to the teachings of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the humanitarian services of his followers.

EARLIEST HADEES COLLECTIONS

The work of collecting Prophet’s sayings and recording the same systematically had started while the Prophet was alive. Some of his companions had prepared Hadees collections of varying sizes. Of these early collections the one prepared by Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) is very famous. This collection is known as Sadiqah. It contains one thousand sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him)

There are other collections besides the one mentioned above which were also prepared during the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) lifetime. They were complied by his illustrious companions like Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Anas, Hazrat Abdullah bin Masud, Hazrat Abu Hurairah and Hazrat Saad bin Abbad (may Allah be pleased with them).

DEVELOPMENTS DURING EARLY CALIPHATE

After the death of Prophet (peace be upon him) Muhammad the great caliphs kept on popularizing his teachings among the people. The four early caliphs, who are specially known for this valuable service to humanity are: (1) Hazrat Abu Bakar Al-Siddique, (2) Hazrat Umar Al-Farooq, (3) Hazrat Uthman Al-Ghani and (4) Hazrat Ali Al-Murtuza (may Allah be pleased with them). These eminent statesmen are also known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. Their period is referred to as the age of Early Caliphate.

A number of Hadees collections were prepared during the days of the early Caliphs. Of these the one complied by Hazrat Abu Bakar Al-Siddique is very well known. It contains 500 Traditions. Besides, Hazrat Imam Hassan, Hazrat Abu Musa Ashaari and Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) also complied different Hadees collections at different times.

A HISTORIC SERVICE TO HUMANITY

With the end of the Early Caliphate, started the era of the Ummayyads. Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him) was the eighth Umayyad caliph. It was during his rule that the task of collecting all the Traditions in one place and publishing them in the shape of a comprehensive book started on a big scale. His rule began in 99 A.H. and ended in 101 A.H. During this period the Muslim empire expanded enormously. It included countries like Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Tunis, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Asia Minor, Iran, Afghanistan and even northwestern parts of India. Hadees literature was in great demand in all these area. Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz felt that there was a danger of the loss of a number of Traditions in case those were not recorded in writing. He, therefore, issued immediate instructions to all of his governors and scholar that all available Traditions be recorded carefully. They were also ordered to send the same to C, which was the federal capital of the Umayyad Empire at that time.

The enthusiasm, precaution and orderliness, which the Caliph displayed in undertaking this important task, are unparalleled. In one of his royal decrees he ordered: “Whatever Tradition of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) you may come across must be recorded after proper scrutiny, as I fear the loss of knowledge and the death of the scholars. But beware! Never accept any saying other than that of the Holy Prophet nor record the same.”

Damascus was soon flooded with large collections of Prophet’s (peace be upon him) Traditions. The Caliph put them all in writing after further scrutiny .In this manner the different Hadees collection were brought together in one place for the first time in Islamic history. This all-inclusive collection then because a standard source of guidance and reference. The Caliph got several copies of the same prepared under his personal supervision. One copy was placed in the central mosque of each main city of the vast empire. Consequently the recorder accounts of the saying and the deeds of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came within easy masses.

IMAM MALIK’S DECORATED FLOWER VASE

The person next after Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who enjoys the reputation of systematic collection of Prophet’s (peace be upon him) Traditions and their mass circulation, is Abu Abdullah Malik bin Anas (may Allah be pleased with them). His brief name is Imam Malik. He was a great scholar. Born in Medina in 93 A.H., he died in 179 A.H. at the age of 86.

Imam Malik lectured on Hadees for 62 years. His famous book on the subject is known as Muatta, which means the decorated. This great book presents Prophet’s Traditions in a tastefully decorated and carefully arranged manner. Indeed, the style and the presentation are so charming that the book really like a decorated flower vase. The Imam completed it in 140 A.H. Muatta includes 1,720 Traditions. It is the first highly organized collection of Traditions. The book is widely valued all over the world.

THE MUSNAD OF IMAM HAMBAL

After Muatta, eminent scholars produced several other collections. Among these later publications Musnad enjoys the largest reputation. It was prepared by Imam Ahmad bin Hambal (may Allah be pleased with him). He is known as Imam Hambal. The book contains 30,000 Traditions.

Imam Hambal was born in 164 A.H. in Baghdad, the famed capital town of Iraq. He died in the same town in 241 A.H. Imam Hambal was unusually intelligent thoroughly pious and a reputed scholar.

THE SIX SOUND BOOKS

After the publication of Muatta and Musnad a number of other Hadees collections also appeared at different times. The six such collections, which gained unusual fame, are known as Sahih Sitta, which means ‘the six sound books.’ These collections are: –

(1) Sahih Bukhari,

(2) Sahih Muslim,

(3) Jame Tirmizi,

(4) Sunan-e-Abu Daud,

(5) Sunan-e-Nasaaee, and

(6) Sunan-e-Ibn-e-Majah.

1. Sahih Bukhari: The compiler of this famous collection is the eminent scholar, Imam Muhammad bin Ismaeel bin Ibrahim bin Muizz. He is popularly known as Imam Bukhari. He was born in 194 A.H. in Bukhari, the famed city of Iran. He died in 256 A.H. at the age of 62.

Sahih Bukhari is also known as Bukhari. Imam Bukhari worked over the book for 16 years continuously. He finally selected 7,275 Traditions for inclusion in is collection. Sahih Bukhari has always been considered as the trust-worthiest book on Hadees.

(2) Sahih Muslim: Next to Sahih Bukhari the authoritative book on Hadees is Sahih Muslim. Its short title is Muslim. Its compiler is Imam Muslim bin Hajjal Al-Qushairi Al-Neishapuri. He is also known as Imam Muslim. He was born round about 204 A.H. in Neishapuri, a famous town in Iran. He died in 261 A.H. His collection was finalized after a prolonged research of 15 years. It includes 12,000 Traditions.

Bukhari and Muslim, combined together, are referred to as ‘Sahihain’, which means ‘two reliable books’. Similarly, Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim are referred together as ‘Shaikhain’, meaning two great religious scholars. A Tradition, which is common in Bukhari and Muslim, is termed as ‘Muttafaqun Alaih’. It means a Hadees which is agreed upon’ by Imam Bukhari as well as Imam Muslim. Such as agreed upon Tradition is considered to be most trustworthy.

(3) Jame Tirmizi: The third famed Hadees book in the Sahih Sitta series is the Jame Tirmizi. Its compiler is Imam Abu Isa Muhammad bin Isa, also known as Imam Tirmizi. He was well- known disciple of Imam Bukhari. He was born in 209 A.H in Tirmizi, a famous town in Iran. He died in the same town in 279 A.H Jame Tirmizi contains 2,028 Traditions. Muslim scholars have great regard for this valuable source of a great a great wisdom.

(4) Sunan-e- Abu Daud: The fourth book in this famous series is known as Sunan-e-Daud. The name of the compiler is Abu Daud Sulaiman bin Abbas. He is also known as Imam Abu Daud. He was born in 202 A.H. in Sajistan, a place near Qandhar in Afghanistan. He died in 275 A.H. at the age of 73. Sunan Abu Daud consists of 4,800 Traditions.

(5) Sunan-e-Nasaaee: This is the fifth famous collection in the same series. Imam Abu Abdur Rahman Ahmad bin Shuaib Nasaaee is its compiler. His short name is Imam Nasaaee. He was born in 215 A.H. in Niasaaee, a famed town of Iran. He died in 303 A.H. His book contains 5,71 Traditions.

(6) Sunan-e-Ibn Majah: The last among the six sound books is the Sunan-e-Ibn Majah. Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Yazeed Ibn-e-Majah compiled it. He is also known as Imam Ibn Majah. He was born in 209 A.H. in Qazveen, a town in Iran. He died in 273 A.H., after attaining the age of 64. His compilation comprises 4,000 Traditions.

OTHER FAMOUS HADEES COMPILATIONS

In addition to these famed Hadees collections a large number of other compilations have also been published from time to time. Of these the three widely known ones, several Traditions out of which have been cited in the present book, are as follows:

(1) Sunan-e-Darimi,

(2) Sunan-e-Baihaqi,

(3) Miskat-ul-Masabih.

(1) Sunan-e-Darimi: Its compiler is Imam Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin Abdur Rehman Al-Darimi. He is also known as Imam Darimi. He was born in 181 A.H. in Samarqand, the famed town of Russia. He died in 225 A.H. He enjoys great reputation for his sound character and vast knowledge. His collection contains 3,550 Traditions.

(2) Sunan-e-Baihaqi: This collection was compiled by Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Al-Hussain Al-Baihaqi. He was born in 384 A.H. in Baihaq, a village near Neishapuri in Iran. He died in 458 A.H. Imam Baihaqi was too fond of producing sound religious literature. He is author of about one thousand standard books and scholarly papers.

(3) Mishkat-ul-Masabih: Its compiler is Imam Walli-ud-Din Abu Abdullah bin Abdullah Al-Khateeb At-Tabrizi, also known as Imam Tirmizi. He ranks as one of the most eminent Hadees scholars of the eighth century A.H. Khateeb Tirmizi was born in 421 A.H. in Tabriz, the well-known town of Iran. The date of his death is 502 A.H.

Mishkat-ul-Masabih contains 5,945 Traditions. The collection is very comprehensive and reliable. At the moment it ranks as the most popular book on Hadees. Of all the works on Hadees this collection has been consulted most frequently in the preparation of the present book.

Short Biography of Imam al- Bukhari(rah)

IMAM Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismaeel bin al-Mughirah al-Bukhari was born on 13th of Shawwal 194 AH in Bukhara. a town in the eastern part of Turkestan.

His father died while he was still in his infancy and his upbringing was left entirely to his mother, who looked after his health and education very carefully and spared nothing in order to provide him with the best education.

Quite early in life, Imam Bukhari’s intellectual qualities became noticeable. He had great piety and an extremely good memory and devotion to learning. It is said that while he was still in his teens he knew by heart seventy thousand Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

At the age of 16, he went to Macca with his mother and enjoyed his stay in the Holy City so much that he decided to prolong his visit in order to benefit from the company of the great Muslim scholars who were always to be found there. At the age of eighteen, he wrote his first book on the subject of the Prophet’s Companions and their immediate successors, and later a book on history called “Al-Tarikh-al-Kabir”.

Imam Bukhari was very interested in history and the Ahadith (sayings of the Prophet). He sought the company of great scholars in order to learn and discuss the Ahadith of the Holy Prophet. He visited various countries, travelling to Damascus, Cairo, Baghdad, Basra. Mecca, Medina etc. During his stay in Baghdad, he frequently held discussions with the Imam Ahmed Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of law.

During all these travels, Imam Bukhari had one aim: to gather as much knowledge as possible and to make the greatest possible collection of the Traditions of the Holy Prophet. He wrote profusely all the time. He once said that, “l have written about 1800 persons, each of whom had a Saying of the Prophet, and I have written only about those who have passed my test of truthfulness.”

The Imam possessed one of the most amazing memories, and his contribution to the science of the Ahadith remains unequalled. He wrote several books on Ahadith but in his book: “Al-Jami-al-Sahih’: the Imam had recorded all the Sayings of the Prophet which he found to be genuine after thorough examination and scrutiny. He spent sixteen years in research and examined more than sixty thousand Sayings from which he selected some 7,275 Sayings whose genuineness and accuracy he established beyond the slightest doubt. Deducting duplicates, the Imam’s collection contain about four thousand distinct Sayings.

Imam Bukhari was extremely charitable in his remarks and opinions about men and scholars. Seldom did he brand the reporter of a false or inaccurate Hadith as a liar or forger, but simply called him “untrustworthy”.

His popularity inspired jealousy in the hearts of reactionary Ulema of his time and he was banished from the land of his birth by the Governor of Bukhara as a result of intrigues against him.

Writings and Other Compilations

Imam Bukhari wrote many kitaabs besides Bukhari Shareef (Al Jamius Sahih). Hereunder are some books written by Imam Bukhari

1. Al Aadaabul Mufrad
2. Juz – Raf-e-Yadain
3. Juz – Qiraat-Kalful-Imam
4. At-Taareekh-Al Kabeer – Al Awsat-As Sageer
5. Kitabul Ashribah
6. Kitabul Hibah
7. Mabsoot
8. Kitabul Ilal
9. Kitabul Wuhdaan
10. Af’aalul Ibaad
11. Al-Aadabul-Mufrad

Imam Bukhari died on 1 Shawwal 256 AH. at the age of 62 years in a small town near Samarkand, Tadzhikistan

May Allah Have Mercy on his Soul

Motivating factors of compiling Sahih Bukhari

There were many books written on hadith but there were mixtures of Sahih and Daeef ahadith. Imam Bukhari felt that there should be a compilation of only Sahih ahadith. Once while sitting in the gathering of Ishaaq ibn Raahwai he (Ishaq) expressed his wish that a book of Sahih ahadith be compiled, when he heard this, his feeling of compiling such a book was strengthened and this was later consolidated with a dream wherein he (Imam Bukhari) saw a dream that he was waving away flies from Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) with a fan. The dream was interpretated as Imam Bukhari will sift out the fabricated Ahadith form the authentic Ahadith.

The dominant purpose of compiling Bukhari Shareef from the motivating factors was to compile and gather only Sahih ahadith. Apart from that, Imam Bukhari designed and brightened his book with other aspects as well, for eg., he would deduce fiqhi aspects from the hadith, he would express the authenticity of the hadith by presenting another sanad (chain of narrators). He also explains the meaning of many ahadith etc. It is due to the above factors that the hadith in Bukhari Shareef are not in a subject or topic sequence. However, Imam Muslim has arranged and compiled his book according to a topic sequence.

2. Specialities of Bukhari Shareef
3. It is the first book compiled only on sahih ahadith.
4. It took the author 16 years to compile his book. The tarajims (topics) were prepared at the rowda mubarak.
5. Abu Zaid Mirwazi Shafi, who was a very fond shafi was sleeping in the mataaf area when he made ziyarat of Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi waallam) who asked him, why do you not make research and read my book. Abu Zaid asked: “Oh prophet of Allah which is your book?” Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) replied the book of Muhammad ibn Ismail ie. Bukhari Shareef.
6. When read at the time of difficulties and hardships, matters are made easy.

When read in a boat it does not sink.

5. There are 22 Sulusiyyaats in Bukhari Shareef. However Darami has more sulusiyyaats than Bukhari Shareef.
6. Conditions of Choosing a Hadith

Muhammad Maqdasi says that the conditions of choosing a hadith in Bukhari Shareef are not mentioned by the author himself. The muhadditheen have pondered and studied the book and deduced these conditions, presuming they were the criteria set out by the author. Tahir Maqdasi says that the conditions of choosing a hadith in Bukhari Shareef are:

1. The narrator is unanimously realiable. Here a question may arise as to why is there discussions on the reliability and authenticity of many narrators in Bukhari Shareef. Ibn Humam has answered this that certifying a narrator as reliable or unreliable is not absolute (qat’ie). A muhaddith certifies according to his understanding and research.
2. The chain of narrators must be an unbroken one (itti’saal – see page five).
3. If two narrators narrate from every narrator it is better but not a condition.
4. Haakim, author of Mustadrak says it is a condition of Bukhari Shareef that there always be two narrators from a narrator. This is not correct. The first and last hadith indicates that even narrations with one narrator is accepted. In fact, there are about 200 such ahadith in Bukhari Shareef. Ziya Maqdasi has prepared a book Galaaibus Sahihain on this matter.

Hereunder is a more clear explanation as to what type of narrators are chosen by Imam Bukhari.

Imam Zuhri has five categories of students:

1. Very realiable in memory and authenticity and always or for a very long time stayed in the company of Imam Zuhri.
2. Also very realiable but stayed lesser than the first group.
3. Stayed with Zuhri but were criticized by some.
4. Did not stay with Zuhri and were criticized by some.
5. Weak and unknown narrators.

Imam Bukhari took narrators of the first category, seldom would he take from the second category. Imam Muslim would take from the third cateory as well.

Abu Dawood and Nasai would take from the third category.

Tirmizi from the fourth category, Tirmizi is more superior to Abu Dawood because he discusses the reason a hadith is weak, etc.

Imam Abu Dawood uses the fifth category to support and consolidate. (Read after the section on itti’saal.)

A question arises that if according to Imam Bukhari, the chain of narrators must be an unbroken one, why are there ahadith-e-muanan (hadith with an-an).

According to Imam Bukhari for a hadith muanan to be under the category of unbroken chain of narrators, the narrator and from whom he is narrating must be contemporaries and must meet at least once.

In order to clearly understand the above, the following must be understood:

The narrator and from whom he is narrating, if they are not contemporaries, such a narration is named as Irsaale Jali.

If they are contemporaries but they did not meet, this is called Irsaale Khafi.

If they are contemporaries, met but narrates something he did not hear, this is Tadlees.

According to Imam Bukhari, the two must meet at least once. According to Muslim, merely being contemporaries is sufficient. Imam Bukhari views this as a possibility of being Irsaal, hence the narration will not be of an unbroken chain (muttasal).

One may raise an objection that according to Imam Bukhari, meeting once is sufficient, but still there is a possibility of non-narration. The answer is that we are discussing about a narrator who does not practice Tadlees. A mudallis’s narration is not muttasil, hence disqualifies from being accepted.

In the light of the above discussion, it is clear that Bukhari shareef is more superior to Muslim or any other book on hadith. Dare Qutni says:

The statement of Abu Ali Nishapuri: “There is no other kitaab on the surface of this earth more sahih than Muslim Shareef,” is opposed by Nishapuri’s Ustaad, Imam Nasai, who said there is no better book than Bukhari Shareef.

However, it must be noted that the superiority of Bukhari Shareef over Muslim Shareef and other books of ahadith is on a general basis, not that every hadith of Bukhari Shareef is more superior to any hadith in any other book of hadith.

4. The Topics (Taraajim) of Bukhari Shareef
5. Sometimes the purpose of Imam Bukhari is not literal. He says something and means isharatun-nas or dalatun-nas.
6. Imam Bukhari does not repeat a topic, if so the purpose is different.
7. Generally the topic is like a claim and the ahadith follow it as proof, but in many instances, he means to explain the meaning of the following hadith.
8. A tarjuma sometimes has two meanings, clear and unclear. People think and assume the clear meaning, hence they experience difficulty in reconciling the topic with the hadith, whereas the unclear meaning is the purpose of Imam Bukhari.
9. Sometimes there is no link between the topic and hadith quoted under it, but the hadith with that link is nearby, if not further in the kitaab, or maybe it is not in Bukhari Shareef, because it does not conform with the conditions of Bukhari Shareef.
10. Sometimes with the topic, Imam Bukhari quotes sayings of sahaba and tabi’een (radhiallahu anhum), but those sayings have no direct relevance.
11. Sometimes there is a baab but no hadith under the baab. The reason for this is that the hadith is somewhat related to the previous baab, just like the fasal of the fuqaha. Imam Bukhari’s purpose is also probably to sharpen the brain, that one ponders in the hadith and deduce some valid point.
12. Sometimes there is a tarjama but no hadith under it. This is of different types:

Either there are verses of quran after the topic, or the verses are part of the topic. In the above two the verses are sufficient substantiations.

However if there is a topic and no verse or hadith, the reason is either that the hadith is not in conformity with the conditions set out by Imam Bukhari or the hadith is mentioned elsewhere and to avoid exact repetition, he did not mention it or for sharpening the brains, that one ponders over a hadith to substantiate.

9. Sometimes a topic is mentioned twice, the purpose of the second is to elaborate on the first one.
10. Sometimes such a topic is mentioned that does not need any explanation but he brings it to refute an opinion of some muhaddith. This is common in Bukhari Shareef against Musannaf Abdur Razzaak and Ibn Abi Shaiba.
11. Repetitions in Bukhari Shareef

Generally Imam Bukhari repeats a hadith but with a different chain of narrators or different words. However there are about 21 or 22 places in Bukhari Shareef wherein there are exact (sanad or words) repeated. This is indeed a very negligent number in comparison to the vast number of ahadith in Bukhari Shareef. However, where a hadith is repeated but with a different chain of narrators or different words, the benefits of reporting them are:

1. When one sahabi narrates a hadith, that same hadith is narrated by another sahabi, the purpose of quoting the other sahabi’s narration is to remove the misconception of non-familiarity (garaabat).
2. One narrator quotes the hadith short, the other complete, Imam Bukhari quotes both as narrated by the narrators.
3. A hadith is narrated with different words, for every change of word he brings a different topic and repeats it.
4. If there are two posibilities in one narration, of broken and unbroken chain of narrators (muttasil and ghair muttasil) Imam Bukhari quotes the both possibilities to indicate that the irsaal does not prevent the itti’saal’s acceptance.
5. Similarly if there are two possibilities, of dependant (mawkuuf) and complete (marfu) narrations.
6. In some chain of narrators, if there is an addition, Imam Bukhari brings both versions to show that both are correct.
7. One narration is muanan, the other chain expresses meeting, Imam Bukhari brings both to remove doubt.
8. Important Books related to Bukhari Shareef
9. Aini (762-855 A.H.) – He wrote his sharah (commentary) over a period of 27 years. This sharah consists of 25 volumes. In this meanings of the words in the hadith are given and the link between the topic (baab) and hadith and many other aspects.
10. Fathul Baari (Ibn Hajar Asqalani 773 – 852 A.H.) – This sharah was written over a period of 25 years. It consists of 13 volumes. Before this sharah, Ibn Hajar wrote (Alhadyus Saari) an introduction to Bukhari Shareef and Taghleequt-Taaleeq. After Aini wrote his sharah, Ibn Hajar wrote Intiqaasul I’tiraaz to answer Ainis objections. In Aini and Fathul Baari, there are answers of the same objections by one another. This was also due to some students eg. Burhaan ibn Khizar attending both discourses and informing both of them accordingly. However both the sharah have their own beauties and positive features, but Aini is easier to refer to and understood quickly, due to its concise and orderly fashion.
11. Irshaadus Saari (851- 923 A.H. Qastalani) – This sharah is also known as Sharah Qastalani. This sharah is a synopsis of the above two sharahs.
12. Alkawaakibud-daraari (Allama Kirmaani 717-786 A.H.) – The author was sleeping by the kaba and there he was inspired to keep this name for his sharah.
13. Faizul Baari (Allama Badre Aalam) – Has written the main points from Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiris lessons in Bukhari Shareef.
14. Alabwaab Wat-taraajim (Hazrath Sheikh Zakariyya) – This is a must reference for Abwaab as well as other important discussions.
15. Laamiud Daraari – (Moulana Yahya Saheb) noted the points from Hazrath Moulana Rashid Ahmed Gangohi’s discourses of Bukhari Shareef.

AND ALLAH KNOWS BEST

Muqaam-e-Hadith (The Actual Status of Hadith)

The human mind has proved itself effete and tardy. Very careful scrutiny and ransacking of the mind is required to reach the heart of any matter, but it eschews and cuts corners at every possible opportunity. As the world turns, new discoveries and laws are made in social circles and all the more so in the realm of religion, where some incidences have become standard clichés or myths of wisdom over the passage of years. No one deems it necessary to think twice as to how most of these parables or folklore became the criteria of wisdom and faith although, these doctrines of wisdom might have been twisted through the generations.

The insurmountable impediment while examining, scrutinizing or giving our serious thought on any religious myth or cliché is the righteous halo we have woven around it. We consider ourselves of a blasphemy, a sin of the highest intensity or committing a blunder of the superlative degree, to question the origins of any religious myth or cliché. No matter how much we make the person realize the importance of cogent rationale on these standard religious clichés, nonetheless, his level of thought hesitates to enter into broader horizons. It is commonly observed that a person is more inclined towards finding a justification of the religious cliché one adheres to, rather than having an open and an unbiased mind. More formidable than the inner turmoil are the fears of wrath from ones religious connoisseurs. The derogatory opinion and threats of being outcaste by these demigods, do not allow an individual to muster courage enough to give ones serious thoughts on these myths or stories attributed towards the bulwarks with unshakable faith.

The Need for Research

On the other hand, if we agree and are of the opinion, that only ‘reality’ must have value, that has been through the process of our rational sifting and only that ‘faith’ carries weight which has been acquired after our thorough speculation and cognitive experiences, then it becomes incumbent upon us to weigh the pros and cons of any religious issue. No matter how many treacherous peaks we may have to climb. At this point, it is advised to refrain from our personal conflicting religious experiences and do away with all external fears. In this connection we shall endeavour to consider a common religious doctrine, that in our subconscious, appears as part and parcel of the core of our religious set of beliefs.

You question any Muslim today as to how would he define the system or ‘DEEN’ of Islam. Without any hesitation we are replied that, ‘Islam is a compound of the Holy Quran and Hadith.’ The indoctrination of this reply is so deep down in our hearts, we do not have the faintest notion of doubt about it when answering, no matter how glaringly self-contradictory the myth may appear to us. The important question is, the myth or story we take so much for granted, the sentence we speak everyday with so much confidence and strong conviction; has it ever been brought to our personal scrutiny and examined by rationale, before being accepted by us? Or do we accept, merely because it has traveled down to us through many, many generations. If that does not happen to be the case, then let us have the courage to face the culmination of the ancestral paths we have chosen.

By rationalizing our belief we are obtaining dual advantage. If the myth or cliché stands the scrutiny of our cognizance, then it shall become more profound and ingrained in our minds and close to our heart beats, otherwise we will know, we relinquished a myth that was nothing else but a rigmarole of someone’s fantasy. Even more so, it will open our eyes to the fact that our belief was based on sheer custom. The process of cogent reasoning when accepting any statement is also reaffirmed by the Holy Quran that characterizes momins as:

And those who do not fall (forsaketh reason) for these ayats (Allah’s words) like the dumb and deaf. 25:73

Reasoning also coincides with one of the postulates of the Holy Quran, wherein is said:

Do not follow that of which you knoweth not; remember, your sense of sight, hearing and cognitive capabilities will be questioned. 17:36

DEEN

It is hoped we are of no two opinions over the fact, that Deen in reality is one that is invincible, in other words which is not based on fantasy or illusion. So it is said in Quran:

Most of these (people) are prone to fantasy and hearsay. In actuality ‘illusion’ will have no benefit in comparison with ‘reality.’ And Allah knoweth everyone as to what they do. 10:36

It becomes mandatory for us, when it is said, ‘Islam is a composition of the Holy Quran and Hadith,’ to determine whether in actuality it happens to be the case or not. Is it in reality true that both of the above mentioned books have been revealed as Deen in Islam through MuhammadPBUH? The Holy Book reiterates numerous times, that this Book is nothing else but the ‘Truth.’

“What we have revealed unto you is truth…………” 35:31

The opening words of this book of wisdom are… . There is absolutely no doubt about this book. In other words, it is factual and not based on fantasy or illusion. This is as far as the spirit of the Book is concerned. Now how was it revealed and compiled and in what capacity is it going to exist, Quran further says:

Verily, unto us is the compilation and transmission of its knowledge. 75:17

It goes beyond compilation and explicitly asserts that we hold its responsibility as far as its preservation is concerned. Till the Day of Judgment not a single letter will be changed. It augurs:

Verily! We have revealed, unto us lies its preservation. 15:9

To give this notion of preservation a practical shape, it further commands:

O Muhammad! Deliver it to the people, what is being revealed unto you. 5:67

QURAN

What did the Messenger MuhammadPBUH do to implement this command of Almighty, we nearly all of us are aware of it. Whatever was revealed unto the Messenger, he had each and every letter of the revelation dictated to his disciples or followers. Thousands were made to memorize the revelations on MuhammadPBUH by heart. Not only that, MuhammadPBUH himself listened to those verses who had learnt them by heart and then cast his seal of approval upon them.

Messenger MuhammadPBUH before taking his last breadth, ascertained and made sure that whatever had been revealed unto him, had been delivered to the humankind in its complete form. In his famous sermon of last Friday of the last Ramadan, before his soul departed from this world he bore Allah as his witness and confirmed from his audience, that he had delivered all revelations to them in its complete form. In the caliphate period, after the unbearable demise of MuhammadPBUH, the four caliphs made it obligatory upon themselves, the sacred duty of preserving the Holy Quran. Henceforth, these holy scriptures, which are in the hearts of myriad of Muslims and also on paper, are coming down through the years in its original and true shape. Even foreign religious scholars do not question its verity.

HADITH

However moved we may be, by the uniformity of our religious liturgy, the case with our Hadith somehow, does not seem to hold water. We must not omit the fact that nowhere has Allah held the responsibility of hadith, as it has done in the case of the Holy Quran. That is of utmost significance, since the hadith consists of parables and sayings of Messenger MuhammadPBUH and nothing else, we must consider Muhammad’s attitude towards hadith. If Hadith is part of Deen, then the procedures Messenger adopted for Quran are not implemented in the case of hadith. Like having it memorized, then listening to his followers for any errors or that he satisfactorily approved what had been dictated and written, that over and above all, it was in its pure and authentic form. Though the mind questions, if hadith is all that significant, why the Messenger did not take the same measures as he did in the case of Holy Quran? On the contrary, we find in that very hadith, Muhammad PBUH clearly says:

Do not have anything else dictated from me, save the Quran. If anyone of you has written any word other than the Quran, erase it!

We are also told that this was a temporary mandate from the Messenger. That at another time, it is observed, upon the request of Hazrat Abdullah bin OmarR, the Messenger permitted them to write down his sayings. As is noticed, the Messenger only permitted his followers, he did not make it mandatory for them to write, as we find he did, in the compilation of the Holy Quran. Moreover, he did not at anytime, ask as to what they had written or heard or question the verity of their writings. Neither we find MuhammadPBUH adopting measures to safeguard or preserve those hadiths as he had done with Quran. It is usually said and believed that in those days the Arabs had stupendous memory and also those sayings were very dear to the hearts of the disciples. Now the mind again questions, if memory was enough of a viable resource to be depended upon, why then was the need felt to have the Holy Quran dictated and written on paper, then recited again to remove any possibility of errors or mistakes during the process of its dictation. If any disciple of the Messenger had learnt those hadiths or sayings of the Messenger by heart, we still are not in a position to vouch for it. Until and unless those sayings were not verified, and the seal of approval cast on them by the Messenger Muhammad PBUH himself, we cannot depend on them. We also have no knowledge of the Messenger ever giving to the Muslims the Hadith in the form of a book and coming down to us through the generations. We observe the Messenger MuhammadPBUH did not take any of the precautions in the case of hadith, as he did for the Holy Quran.

What we have gathered from the historical resources, is that we do find documents other than the Quran, that were written under the orders of MuhammadPBUH. For example, contracts, treatises and letters that he sent to other tribes. What in this matter, has come to our knowledge and what we have been able to gather, at the time of Messenger’s demise, are the following:

• A register containing the list of names of 1500 holy disciples or followers of Muhammad PBUH.
• The letters MuhammadPBUH wrote to various kings and rulers of that age or time.
• Documents of treatise and other obligatory rules.
• Hadiths from Hazrat Abdullah bin Omar, Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Uuns who wrote them on their own.

No one knows if these sayings written down were ever verified by the Messenger himself or not and whether they have come down to us in its original version. We have no knowledge of any collected works or hadith that Messenger himself gave to the Muslims before his departure from this world. We do in fact find in the Hadith of Bukhari, that someone asked Hazrat Ibn e AbbassR as to what MuhammadPBUH had left behind for the Muslims. He said, ‘The Messenger left behind nothing, save the Quran.’ (Bukhari, Vol. III, Fuzail ul Quran.) (Sahih Bukhari: Virtues of the Quran)

The Deeds of Disciples

As we glance through the names of Islam’s historic personalities, we notice that after Muhammad’s lifetime, the caliphate period is also worthy of being looked into. In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad we find the disciples saying,

“Whatever utterances we heard from MuhammadPBUH we noted them down in writing. One day it so happened the Messenger appeared and asked us about the subject of our writings. We replied that whatsoever we hear from his Majesty’s lips we transform it into writing. To which he said,

“What! Are you compiling another book along with the book of Allah?”

Meaning in other words that this cannot be made possible. He then insisted and commanded us that we ought to keep Allah’s words pure and that we must not amalgamate them with any kind of ambiguities. So we made a bonfire of our notes and parables in an open field.” (Quoted from Tudween e Hadith, page 249)

At another instance we find Imam Zuhbi mentioning Hazrat Abu Bakr who gathering the disciples of the Messenger, after his passing away said,

‘You people have so much self-contradictory gossip about MuhammadPBUH that you squabble among yourselves. The future generations will become more rigid than you all and quarrel more. You must not feign sayings of Holy Messenger that are fallacious. If anyone inquires you can always say that we have the Holy Quran between us. Whatsoever has been granted must be made permissible and whatsoever has been prohibited must be relinquished.’ (Quoted in Tazkara tul Hifaaz e Zuhby, page 321)

Then Imam Zuhbi quotes another parable of the Messenger’s wife Hazrat Aisha and writes:

“The wife of the Messenger mentions that her father (Hazrat Abu Bakr) had collected the Hadiths of the Messenger which were five hundred in number. She says,

‘One night I noticed that my father was restless in his bed and was very perturbed. I asked him if he was in some bodily pain or was this condition due to any bad news that he might have heard? He did not answer my question. In the morning he asked me to bring him the collection of Hadiths and then he made a bonfire of them all.” (Quoted in Tudween e Hadith, page 285-88)

As far as Hazrat Omar’s caliphate is concerned, Allama Ibne Abdulbur has mentioned him in his famous book Jama e Biyaan ul ilm, wherein he says:

“OmarR wanted to compile the sayings and parables of the Messenger. He asked from the companions of Messenger MuhammadPBUH to grant him a decree, to which they faithfully conceded.

Inspite of the companions consent Hazrat OmarR was not convinced. For complete one month Hazrat OmarR performed Istekhara. Then one morning when Allah calmed his body and mind and he was able to concentrate on the issue at hand in serenity, he talked to his people about his decision to compile the hadiths. But then he said I thought about the generations that have passed before us, who wrote books and adhered to those books so strongly that they forgot the Book of Allah. I swear upon Allah, I will not let the word of Allah be amalgamated with other words.” (Quoted in Tadween e Hadith, page 394)

This was decided because the Messenger had ordered every companion not to ask him to dictate anything else besides the Quran. Whosoever has written anything else besides Quran must erase it. Omar did not finish the matter here. He not only prohibited and banned the collection of ahadith, he went a step ahead and as is written in Tubqaat ibn Sa’ad:

“During Hazrat Omar’s caliphate the ahadith were in abundance. He made sure by putting the people under oath that whatever hadith the people had in their possession ought to be brought before him. As ordered, the public submitted whatever they possessed. He then ordered to make a public bonfire of those hadiths.” (vol.5, page 141)

This was the third incident of igniting the hadith collection. The first ignition took place when the Messenger commanded. The second instance was when Hazrat Abu BakrR did the same with his own collection and the third time Hazrat OmarR took all the collections from the people under oath and publicly ignited them. All this took place in the capital city. As to what happened afterwards we get a glimpse of it in Hafiz Ibne Abdulbur’s Jama e Biyaan wherein he states:

“Hazrat Omar ibn KhattaabR first expressed his desire to compile the ahadith, it dawned upon him later that it will not be appropriate. So he sent a circular in the districts and cantonments to destroy whichever hadith anybody was in possession of.” (Tadween e Hadith,Vol.1, page 400)

He writes further and gives us a detailed account, of how elaborate and precautionary measures were taken for the compilation of the Holy Quran. If the government wanted, what possibly could have come in the way of adopting the same policy towards the compilation of the Hadith. He states that the government of that time did not adopt the same policy towards the Hadith with a specific purpose. This was the situation at the time of the Messenger and his companions, of hadith.

Recapitulation:

1. The Messenger ordered his companions not to ask him to dictate anything else besides the Quran.
2. Whatever Hadith collection was present among the companions, it was ordered to be ignited.
3. Hazrat Abu Bakr made a bonfire of his own collection and banned others from quoting any hadith.
4. Hazrat Omar after giving his best thought for one month, reached the conclusion to ban the compilation and collection of ahadith.
5. Hazrat Omar also asked to submit all ahadith in possession of the public who were under oath and then ignited them all.
6. He also sent a circular in all cities to destroy any evidence of hadith.

This did not happen by chance, according to Maulana Munazar Ahsin Gilani this policy was adopted with a definite purpose in mind.

More Strict Measures:

Day after day Hazrat OmarR became more strict on this issue of transmission of hadith. According to Qaza bin Qa’ab, ” When Caliph Omar sent us to Iraq he emphatically drummed it into our heads, that Iraq was a place where sounds of Quran echo like wild bees and we must exercise extreme precaution as not to distract their minds with all kinds of ahadith.” It was asked from Abu HurairaR if during Hazrat Omar’s caliphate he ever remembered stating the hadith in the same way as he was doing now. To that he replied, if he had done so Hazrat OmarR would have physically scolded him. It has also come down to us that Hazrat OmarR had imprisoned Hazrat Abdullah bin Ma’soodR, Abu DurdaR and Abu Ma’sood AnsariR for illegally in possession of ahadith.

It is quite possible these ahadith may have been weeded out because of ambiguity, although according to the author of this book they are closer to being true, as they were according to the principles of Quran and also parallel to the desire of MuhammadPBUH. We however, are not interested in debating on this point. Even if we do not have the above quoted hadiths, we still are in possession of another historical fact that cannot be denied. We observe that by the end of the caliphate period, there isn’t a single copy of Hadith that was compiled and completed under the supervision of any Caliph of that period. From these historical facts it can easily be determined, if those Caliphs or the Holy Messenger had ever considered the hadith to be a part of the Deen of Islam, they would have adopted the same measures as were taken towards the Holy Quran. Hence after the demise of the Messenger no steps were taken towards collection of Hadith.

Hamam Ibn Mamba’s Manuscript

What the religious scholars of hadith, after much struggle, have succeeded in discovering, has come down to us under the title of Hamam ibne Mamba’s manuscript. This was published by Dr. Hameed ullah several years ago from Hyderabad (India). It is believed that Hamam ibne Mamba was the student of Abu HurairaR who died in hijra 131. In this manuscript there are 138 ahadith in total, which its author states were compiled before his teacher Abu Huraira. His teacher is believed to have departed from us in hijra 58. By other means we can say that this manuscript was compiled before hijra 58. We also notice that Imam Mamba writes these hadiths before hijra 58 in Medina and is able to obtain only 138 ahadith. Whereas in hijra 300 when Imam Bokhari decides to collect ahadith he gathers six hundred thousand. (Imam Humbal found 1,000,000 ahadith and Imam Yahya bin Moeen found 1,200,000 hadiths) Another fact we observe that those ahadith that have been confered upon Abu HurairaR amount to thousands, though his student was able to write only 138 ahadith. However, in the first century of the Islamic calendar, the sum total of all individual collection is Imam Mamba’s 138 ahadith. There are no other written records of Holy Messenger’s gospel belonging to that period of Islamic history.

Imam Zuhri

At the close of hijra100 we notice that Caliph Omar bin Abdul AzizR on his own, had some work done on Hadith. After him was Imam Ibne Shahab ZuhryR who at the order of Caliph Bannu Umayya compiled a concise edition of Hadith and that also according to its author was against his desire. At present we neither have any copy or manuscript of hadith of Hazrat Omar bin Abdul AzizR nor the concise edition of Shahab Zuhry. Although ahadith confered in their names are mentioned at a later period, when the need was felt to bring into record the historical events of Holy Messenger’s life. The material for the historical records was a conglomerate of all that had been coming down to them through the generations. Some writers narrowed their research to only those records that refer to the parables, gospels or sayings of the Messenger MuhammadR. This collection is titled Hadith (the very word hadith means conversations).

The first compilation of Hadith that is present today belongs to Imam Malik (died hijra179) and is called Muta. In it we find three to five hundred various ahadith, it further informs us about the activities of Messenger’s companions in Medina. After Imam Malik we find various other scholars venturing on this subject and compiling several different editions of Hadith.

During the Abbasids period we observe spectacular progress in the field of Islamic arts and sciences and along with that the number of hadith compilations also increased. The most famous of all compilations that has come down to us is known as the ‘Sahiheen,’ these books are authored by Imam BokhariR and Imam MuslimR. Imam BukhariR who died in hijra 256 had made a collection of 600,000 ahadith. After sifting through various ahadith he finally decided to retain 2,630 and produced them in book form under the title of ‘Us’hal Kitab baaduz Kitab e Allah’ (The most pure book after the book of Allah).

This Hadith is now being pronounced as inseparable part of the Deen of Islam. Six different editions of Hadith are considered to be the most authentic by the Sunniites and are called ‘Sahaa Sitaa.’ The Shiites have their own collections that are different from Sunniites. Those six editions come under the following titles:

Sahih Bukhari / Sahih Muslim / Trimzi / Abu Dawood / Ibne Maja / Nisaayee

The introduction to the authors of the above listed collections is as follows:

• IMAM BUKHARI: He was born in Bukhari in hijra 256 and some believe the date to be hijra 260 but we all know that he died in Samarkand. It is said that after wandering through different cities and villages he collected close to six hundred thousand hadiths and after sifting through he found 7,300 ahadith that he considered close to being authentic. Some have been repeated in various chapters. If we do not count the repetitions, the total figures we get are 2,630 or 2,762.
• IMAM MUSLIM: Muslim bin Hajaj belonged to a city in Iran called Nishapur. He was born in hijra 204 and died in hijra 261.
• TRIMZI: Imam Abu Isa Muhammad Trimzi was from the city called Trimz in Iran. He was born in hijra 209 and died in hijra 279.
• ABU DAWOOD: He comes from Seestan in Iran. He was born in hijra 202 and died in hijra 275.
• IBNE MAJA: Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Zaid ibne Maja came from northern Iran, a city that goes by the name of Kazdin. His year of birth is hijra 209 and he died in hijra 273.
• IMAM NISAAYEE: Imam Abdur Rahman Nisaayee came from a city called Nisa in Iran’s eastern province of Khorasan. He died in hijra 303.

After a brief introduction of these religious scholars one can easily infer that (a) they all came from Iran. (b) None of these scholars was from Arab descent. We also notice that none of the Arabs were prepared to do what these scholars have done. (c) All of them were born in the third century. (d) Whatever ahadith were collected, were all hearsay, (e) there were no written records of hadith before their collections.

From these thousands of ahadith that were gathered, they chose some and discarded others. The criterion of selection was their personal judgment. For these gospels, their authors had no decree of any kind from God (revealing to them as to which hadith to choose and which ones to discard). Nor we find they had the consent or approval of the Holy Messenger (proving that the selected ahadith were the true parables or sayings of the Messenger). Again, there were no previous records that they could have borrowed the material for their collections. All the sayings were just word of the mouth they gathered from various cities and villages. After giving their own judgment or approval these religious scholars selected some and discredited others on their own. Hence the denounement of Hadith.

(After having assessed the long chase of the departed Messenger MuhammadPBUH, it appears as though Allah was no more an important Being in the life of Muslims. Which was quite contrary to what Muhammad was trying to teach.)

How can anyone vouch for these kinds of ahadith based on hearsay or prove, that in actuality these were the original words of the Messenger? Keeping in mind that, after two or two and a half centuries, not a single word could be guaranteed that it belonged to the Messenger, or has been conveyed from father to son or teacher to student by memorizing. These were garbled words of previous centuries.

(In as much as I would want to hear the exact words of the last of the Great Messengers; at the same time to accept a version that is not first hand, second hand or even third, forth or fifth hand, does not make any sense at all. On the contrary, we are defeating our very purpose for which the Ahadith were written i.e., to seek the Truth. And by accepting a clone, we are corroding our own system of thought.)

Discredited Ahadith

It would not be futile to know the number of ahadith that have been discredited.

Ahadith Compiler Found Ahadith Selected Ahadith for the book

Imam Bukhari 600,000 2,762 (after repetitions)

Imam Muslim 300,000 4,348

Imam Trimzi 300,000 3,115

Imam Abu Dawood 500,000 4,800

Imam Ibn Maja 400,000 4,000

Imam Nisai 200,000 4,321

What comes to mind again, after the sifting was done by the authors of hadith, who can say for sure the authors did not relegate the actual sayings or parables of the Messenger. Many of those ahadith that these authors have included in their collection, also go against the Messenger. This discussion will be taken later on in this book.

From the above research, it is determined, the collection of parables and teachings of the Messenger was an individual effort without any warranty from Allah or any kind of consent from the Messenger. These findings also invite one to ponder as to what would have been the condition of the DEEN (Quran), if it was thrown at the mercy of humankind.

It is widely discussed, we were fortunate that Imam BukhariR and various other religious scholars were able to make a collection, otherwise we would have been (God forbid) robbed of our Islamic treasure. Some scholars go so far as to exclaim that only one tenth of the knowledge is in the Quran and the rest of nine tenths of the treasure is in the Hadiths. (No wonder nine tenths of the time the world is at war with each other). Please give your serious attention to this. A God who explicitly proclaims in the Quran that ‘the system of DEEN is now complete,’ and after hearing that can we even for a moment imagine, that the last of the Messengers will leave so gargantuan amount of other knowledge about it at the mercy of fate? I have grave doubts if that will make any sense!

INTERPRETED HADITH

It could have been possible, as we had seen with the preserving of the Holy Quran, that the words of the Messenger be made to travel from heart to heart until they were compiled in the form of a book. Their authenticity could have been, to quite an extent vouched for. As we all know now, even this was not the story. The Hadith books that are present today, do not contain the original sayings of the MuhammadPBUH. These are interpretations of his gospel or sayings. As in common conversation and literature we find sentences with ‘in other words……….’ For example the Messenger’s companion heard him say or utter something and reached his own conclusion and delivered it to another companion in a different tone, then the second one tried to understand and conveyed it to another companion. Now imagine this going on, not for one day or two days, one or two months, not even one year or two years, this went on for a crucial period of two or two and a half centuries. And these centuries, mind you, were full of conspiracies and intrigues against the Islamic ideology. How much truth is left, when sentences have been moving from one mind to another for this prolonged period of time, I shall leave it for you to imagine?

BENEFIT OF DOUBT

It would be worthwhile to mention Maulana Abul A. Maudoodi’s criticism here. In order to thoroughly understand the genius of the Messenger, (what to talk about the late comers in Hadith writing) he gives his critique on the pioneer Abu Huraira as follows:

“Apparently, it seems that either Abu HurairaR was unable to comprehend Muhammad’s statement or he did not hear him completely………..These kinds of misinterpretations are not uncommon in our Hadith literature, sometimes a saying has been clarified by another saying while there are others that are still more ambiguous.” (Quoted from Tasneem, Ahadith number, Oct. 14, 1959)

This was his viewpoint on the interpretation of the first compiler on Hadith. As far as transfering these interpretations to others is concerned, the same author narrates in his book (Tafheemaat, volume, 1) as follows:

“Let us say for example, I am giving a speech today and many thousands are listening to me. Few hours later, after I have finished my speech (not months or years, but only a few hours later), just ask the people as to what I was saying. It will be observed that all translations will be different from each other. Everyone will emphasize a different portion of the speech. Somebody will take down word for word whereas another will interpret that sentence according to his own understanding. One person will have a better mind and will give the correct meaning of it, whereas another with limited intellectual capacity, may garble the true meanings. One person maybe having a good memory and may give you a word for word translation, whereas another with a weak memory will make mistakes conveying the meaning to others.”

SAYINGS ATTRIBUTED TO THE MESSENGER

This was in fact the way in which the statements and parables of the Messenger traveled through two or two and a half centuries. That is absolutely the reason when one reads the Quran we say it in all belief, (qalallahwatallah ) “which Allah promulgates.” When we begin to narrate any statement of Hadith we say ‘The Messenger of Allah said…’ And at the end we say (oqamaqala’rasoolallah ) meaning ‘otherwise or as the Messenger might have said.’ That is also why the statements in Hadith are not considered the original words of the Messenger. The statements in hadith are believed to be those that are referenced to Messenger’s statements. And are not his exact words.

Narrators of Ahadith

It is obvious, in the conventional parables, we come across numerous names of writers, on a single statement of the Messenger. After the compilation of Hadith, question arose as to the moral health and conduct of those who have refered these statements. For that we must take each and every hadith and check for the morals and character of its author. This is one of those arts, of which we can proudly boast and which is little known anywhere else. We do not have the faintest bit of doubt on the intention of narrators. Again the important question is, can we by this approach arrive at Truth? You can vouch for the individual’s character who is saying the hadith to you, how can you say with authority that all the people who carried the words of Messenger were sincere at heart or could be depended on. It is not the question of having confidence in those writers, the most important aspect is, were they capable of thoroughly understanding a statement and giving the correct interpretation of it. If we can prove, that in two or two and a half centuries the words are capable of remaining in their original form, then I think we have solved the greatest mystery of our times……….. It is impossible!