The Definition of Hadith and its Types
In the nomenclature of the majority of the Hadith specialists, a Hadith means:
It is the reported speech of the Messenger of
Allah, whether this is: (a) explicit (sarih) or (b) implicit (hukmi). It is also
the action of the Messenger of Allah, also split into the two categories, and
also what someone did or said in front of the Messenger of Allah, but the
Messenger of Allah did not condemn that action or what was said, but, in fact
remained silent and established it through his action. This is also split into
two categories, as mentioned above.
Sarih means that a companion of the
Messenger of Allah clearly states that, “I heard the Messenger of Allah state
that…” / “I saw the Messenger of Allah doing…” / “such and such a person or a
person did such and such a thing or said such and such a thing, but the
Messenger of Allah never disapproved of that” ; or a companion or their
successor(s) or anyone reports, stating explicitly that: “the Messenger of Allah
has said that…” or states that: “It has been transmitted from the Messenger of
Allah that he said …”
Hukmi means that any companion who
does not transmit anything from the earlier books (such as from the People of
the Book) informs of anything in which there is no room for ijtihad – exercising
personal judgement. For example, the companion informs us about events about the
Prophets; or informs about events that shall happen in the future such as
battles, wars and the trials and tribulations that shall inflict the Ummah;
informing about the fright of the Day of Judgement; or inform about a specific
reward or punishment for an action, as a companion cannot inform about these
things without having heard it from the Messenger of Allah. Hukmi also means
that a companion does something in which there is no room for ijtihad; they must
have seen the Messenger of Allah do it, thus, following the Messenger of Allah
the companions have done it. Moreover, a companion states that, “In the blessed
era of the Messenger of Allah, people used to do such and such..” this is also
Hukmi as it is quite apparent that the Messenger of Allah must have known about
their action, as revelation still continued. If that action was impermissible,
then the Messenger of Allah must certainly have been informed about it through
revelation, and thence, prohibited the companion(s) from doing so.
Hadith can also be defined as to include the reported speech, action or taqreer
(tacit approval - what was said or done in front of a companion, and the latter
did not condemn it). A companion is such a noble personality, who was blessed
with being in the company of the Messenger of Allah, while the companion is in
the state of Iman, and also passed away in that state (of Iman).
Hadith also means the reported speech, action or taqreer of the successors to
the companions of the Messenger of Allah – the Tabi’un. A successor (Tabi’i) is
such a noble personality, who was blessed with being in the company of a
companion of the Messenger of Allah, in the state of Iman, and also passed away
in the state of Iman.
Fundamental Division of a Hadith
After knowing the above definitions as mentioned by Hadrat Shaikh ‘Abd al-Haq
“Muhaddith-e-Dehlwi”, Hadith can be categorised into three types:
1. The chain explicitly or implicitly goes to the
Messenger of Allah. This is called marfu’ – ‘the raised-chain’.
2. The chain explicitly or implicitly goes to a Companion. This is called mawquf
– the ‘halted-chain’.
3. The chain explicitly or implicitly goes to a Successor. This is called maqtu’
– the ‘broken-chain’.
From the point of view of authenticity (proof of genuineness or otherwise) there
are many kinds of aHadith, but we shall confine ourselves to mention and examine
only three kinds of aHadith which are common among the masses, namely
(1) Hadith-e-Sahih or Accurate
(2) Hadith-e-Hasan or good and reliable and
(3) Hadith-e-Daeef or weak and of doubtful origin.
SAHIH is that which contains these
four qualities
(a) The authenticity of which is assured by the contiuance of the chain of
Reporters or Narrators (Ravis) is unbroken or uninterrupted from the Holy
Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) to the Compiler or Last Reporter
(Ravi). This means that there should be no gap in the chain of reporters, one
connected with the following or next reporter till the last reporter.
(b) Each reporter or narrator of the Hadith must be a person of righteous moral
excellence in all his sayings and deeds in all walks of life. No transgressor
(Fasiq) or one whose autecedents or past career is hidden and unknown cannot be
accepted as an authentic or qualified Ravi or Reporter of the Hadith
(c) All the reporters must possess healthy retentive memory, without becoming
weak on account of illness or senility
(d) The Hadith reported by him must not be rare or of an uncommon or peculiar
nature. It must bear the mark of common or natural occurrence or in other words
it must not be against well known Hadith called Hadith-e-Mash'hoorah.
HASAN: By this kind of Hadith is meant
that its Narrator or reporter may ot possess the qualities required of a Ravi of
Sahih Hadith; his righteousness (Taqva) or memory not be of the execllent level
or which has been imparied on account of sickness, senility or some accident.
DAEEF: The Narrator of such a Hadith
is not righteous or whose memory is not strong and healthy and reliable.
The Status of Hadith in Religion
It does not need us to explain that the first and foremost primary source of the
Sacred Law (Shari’ah) is the Holy Qur’an – the Book of Allah. It is through the
clear and explicit commands and teachings of the Holy Qur’an that we are obliged
to follow the Messenger of Allah. This is because, without the Messenger of
Allah it is merely impossible for anyone to understand the Qur’an; its
explanations and meanings, and it is also impossible to learn the detailed
rulings of each and every obligation in Islam.
Therefore, the Ahadith of the Messenger of Allah certainly form the second
source for the Sacred Islamic Law - the Shari’ah, as these are the one and only
means of gaining information as regards the Messenger of Allah; his commands;
his sayings; his actions; his explanations and commentaries on the verses of the
Holy Qur’an, all of which are necessary for us to know in order for us to
understand the Holy Qur’an.
Now, we quote a few of the many verses from the Holy Qur’an, in which on
innumerable occasions we have been commanded to follow in the footsteps of the
Messenger of Allah. Thus, making it obligatory upon us to follow his teachings.
I. “O believers! Obey Allah and His Messenger and turn not away from him after
hearing him…” [Surah:8 – al-Anfal, Verse:20]
II. “And obey Allah and His Messenger and dispute not with one another,
otherwise you will show timidity…” [Surah:8 –
al-Anfal, Verse:46]
III. “And We did not send any Messenger but that he should be obeyed by Allah’s
will.” [Surah:4 – al-Nisa’, Verse:64]
IV. “O beloved! Say, ‘O people! If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will
love you…” [Surah:3 – Al-e-Imran, Verse:31]
V. “then, O beloved! By your Lord, they shall not be Muslims until they make you
judge in all disputes among themselves…” [Surah:4 –
al-Nisa, Verse:65]
VI. “O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those who have power of
command amongst you, then again if there may arise any difference amongst you,
refer it to Allah and His Messenger…” [Surah:4 –
al-Nisa’, Verse:59]
VII. “O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and let not your
deeds go waste.” [Surah:47 – Muhammad, Verse:33]
VIII. “He who obeys the Messenger, then verily he has obeyed Allah…”
[Surah:4 – al-Nisa’, Verse:80]
IX. “O beloved! Say: ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger.’ then, if they turn away,
surely Allah loves not the infidels.” [Surah:3 –
Al-e-Imran, Verse:32]
X. “And what the Messenger gives you, take it and what he forbids you, and
abstain from it…” [Surah:59 – al-Hashr, Verse:7]
XI. “Surely you have an excellent example for your guidance in (the life of) the
Messenger of Allah…” [Surah:33 – al-Ahzab, Verse:21]
It has been clearly established and proven from the above-quoted verses from the
Holy Qur’an that it is incumbent upon each and every Muslim to follow the
Messenger of Allah, and his teachings.
Therefore, all of the law and orders enforced by the Messenger of Allah are
incumbent upon us to follow in the same way, as it is obligatory upon us to
follow every Divine command that is transmitted to us by the Holy Qur’an, as the
command of the Messenger of Allah is indirectly the command of Allah the Most
Exalted.
One Fundamental Question:
After having understood all of what has just been explained, we should
contemplate and ponder carefully upon a question that is posed: “Is this command
of following the Messenger of Allah as reiterated by many verses of the Holy
Qur’an (as mentioned above) only related to when the Messenger of Allah was
physically alive in this mundane world, or does this apply till the Day of
Judgement?”
If – Allah forbid! – this Divine command was specified only to the physical life
of the Messenger of Allah, then this would quite simply, in other words, mean
that acting upon the Qur’an, following the teachings of Islam is also limited
and specified to the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah. This is because to
follow the teachings and sayings of the Messenger of Allah were made incumbent
upon every single Muslim, only for the fact that without this, it is impossible
for anyone to follow the teachings of Islam and the Qur’an. Thus, when it has
been commanded to follow Islam, Qur’an and its teachings till the Day of
Judgement, then it has been proven that to follow the Messenger of Allah and
showing obedience to him is also a command that shall not cease till the Day of
Judgement.
One Great Proof for the Authentication of Ahadith
When it has been clearly understood that to follow Islam and the Qur’an is till
the Day of Resurrection, and that it is impossible for anyone to have knowledge
and thus act upon the laws and rulings of Islam and the Holy Qur’an without
following and imitating the Messenger of Allah, then another fundamental
question arises: According to rational thinking, the language, the common law
and the Sacred Islamic Law it is always the commands and orders that are
followed. Thus, where are those commands and orders enforced by the Messenger of
Allah, whose obedience, imitation and following the Qur’an has made obligatory
upon us? This is because the demand to follow without having any laws, commands
and orders (to follow them) is merely against logic and the Sacred Law itself!
Therefore, when even today the Qur’an demands us to follow, imitate and obey the
Messenger of Allah, it is necessary that the laws, orders and commands of the
Messenger of Allah are present before us (so that we can ‘follow’). It is
apparent that the laws and commands of the Messenger of Allah are not those that
have been given by Allah in His Book – the Qur’an, as it is quite sufficient as
an obligation upon us to follow these Divine commands. So, we must believe after
having stated all of this, that the laws and orders of the Messenger of Allah,
whose following and obeying has been made obligatory upon as, are separate to
those Divine commands that are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.
After this introduction, we need not say that the collection of the commands,
laws, sayings, actions, explanations to the Qur’anic verses and Sacred laws that
have been transmitted to us from the Messenger of Allah are called “Ahadith”.
From this we understand the importance of Ahadith, and its status in Islam. No
one would deny its importance, only such a foolish person who denies obedience
to the Messenger of Allah – Allah forbid!
History on the Compilation of the Ahadith
Before we touch upon the merits and virtues of the science of Hadith and what
relates to it, it is necessary to explain why the Ahadith were compiled from the
blessed era of the Companions till this date and how was the process of
compilation?
A very brief insight into this is that the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah
was the time when the verses of the Holy Qur’an were being revealed. because the
most important task in this era was the collection of these verses and
preserving this Divine trust, this was why the Messenger of Allah emphasised
over and over again that the Companions compile and write only the verses of the
Holy Qur’an – nothing else. This was so that no confusion be made if anything
besides the Holy Qur’an would also be recorded.
However, permission was given to memorise, record, preserve and then transmit
the Ahadith by tongue. Imam Muslim narrates from Hadrat Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, who
reports that the Messenger of Allah has stated, “No one should write my speech.
Whosoever has written anything beside the Qur’an should eliminate it; and
transmit my Ahadith verbally; there is no harm in doing so. Whosoever attributes
a lie to me, then he should prepare for himself an abode in the fire of Hell.”
on top of this, there were some Companions – who had full certainty not to
confuse the Verses of the Holy Qur’an from the reported speech of the Messenger
of Allah – who wrote the Ahadith.
Imam al-Bukhari narrates on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah who states,
“There was none from among the Companions who narrated the most Ahadith except
for Hadrat ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (ibn al-‘As); as he used to record them by writing
them down, and I did not do that.”
When all of the verses of the Holy Qur’an – some that were written on separate
pieces of paper, some on leaves, some on slates, some on deer skin, some that
were memorised in the hearts – were collected and compiled into one book form
during the blessed era of Hadrat ‘Umar al-Faruq and Hadrat ‘Uthman; and all of
the copies of the Holy Qur’an were distributed far and wide to many different
countries, by which there was no concern for the verses of the Holy Qur’an being
confused with the reported speech (Ahadith) of the Messenger of Allah, the
process of collecting, compiling and writing the Ahadith began in the era of the
Righteous Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz upon his suggestion.
The editor of Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti’s commentary on the Alfiyyah states in
the introduction that, “when Hadrat ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz was given the
responsibility of being a Caliph in the year 99 A.H. he wrote to Hadrat Abu Bakr
ibn Hazm – the Shaikh of the Imams Ma’mar, Laith, Awza’i, Malik, ibn Ishaq and
Ibn Abi Dhi’b and also the vice of the Caliph in the Court of Justice of
al-Madinah al-Munawwarah – to collect and compile all the Ahadith of the
Messenger of Allah, as he feared (sacred) knowledge becoming extinct, and the
demise of the possessors of this knowledge – the ‘Ulema.”
[Introduction to the Alfiyyah – Page 5]
Not only this, but in fact, Hadrat ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz wrote to all those
far and wide to collect and compile any Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, they
find. [Tarikh Isfahan – Abu Nu’aim]
Upon the motivation, encouragement, and relentless efforts of Hadrat ‘Umar ibn
‘Abd al-‘Aziz, the first book on the science of Hadith was compiled by Hadrat
Abu Bakr ibn Hazm. Thereafter, innumerable books were written and compiled on
different topics of this precious science of sacred knowledge, by many elite
Shuyukh who came from many different places.
Among those who compiled and wrote books of Hadith at this very early age of its
compilation were ibn Juraij in Makkah al-Mukarramah; ibn Ishaq and Imam Malik in
al-Madinah al-Munawwarah; Rabi’ ibn Sabih, Sa’id ibn ‘Urwah and Hammad ibn
Salimah in Basra; Imam Sufyan al-Thawri in Kufa; Imam al-Awza’i in
Syro-Palestine; Hisham in Wasit; Jarir ibn ‘Abdullah in Rai, and ibn al-Mubarak
in Khurasan. All of these men of great knowledge, were contemporary and of one
category. Most of them were the students of Hadrat Abu Bakr ibn Hazm and Imam
ibn Shihab al-Zuhri.
Afterwards, the Ahadith were spread far and wide due to the compilation and
writing of books on Ahadith; laying down the foundation principles for accepting
or rejecting a report; collecting background information of the narrators and
their beliefs; writing books on the etiquettes and manners essential for a
student pursuing this sacred knowledge of Hadith. All of these were compiled to
form a sub-subject of Hadith – Usul-e-Hadith or the Principles of Hadith.
Ahadith were compiled using the rigorous of all criterions and rules to accept a
report, until the Six Authentic Collections of Ahadith became accepted and
popular. These are the Sahih of Imams Bukhari and Muslim, the Jami’ of Imam
al-Tirmidhi, the Sunan of Imams Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Ibn Majah.
We have shed some light upon Ahadith, its History of Compilation, and its status
in Islam. Those true and sincere Muslims who love Islam and the Qur’an, and who
recognise themselves as individuals of this Ummah, which is flourishing with its
long-lasting heritage of over fourteen hundred years of an unbroken chain of
transmission to our liege lord the Messenger of Allah, are not in need of any
evidence to prove the veracity of Ahadith.
Yes, however, for those hypocrites who deny the reliability of Ahadith, yet name
themselves People of the Qur’an, if I had much time, I would make it apparent
like the certitude of the sun at midday with irrefutable proofs and evidences
that their denial of the Ahadith is in reality the denial of the words of Allah.
They are not doing this only to make way for themselves not to follow the
Qur’an.
Their main argument is that the translation and meaning of the verses of the
Holy Qur’an should be left to their own will; however they desire they extract
the meanings of the Holy Qur’an, so that, even after altering the correct
meaning and translation of the Qur’anic verses, they can falsely claim to be the
followers of it.
We ask Allah the Most Exalted to protect the Muslim Ummah from the evil of the
onslaughts of those who reject Ahadith, and that he gives them guidance to
broaden the light of Ahadith to eliminate the darkness that prevails the Ummah
today.
His choicest blessings and salutation be upon the best of His creation, our
Master Muhammad, his progeny, upon his companions and all of his followers.
— — —
Excerpted from
Introduction on Anwar al-Hadith
by Allama Arshadul Qadiri Alayhir Rahmah