Definition and usage
Linguistically the word ‘hadith’
means: that which is new from amongst things or a piece of information
conveyed either in a small quantity or large. The Arabic plural is
aḥādīth. In English academic usage, hadith
is often both singular and plural.
And hadith is what is spoken by the speaker. Tahdith is the
infinitive, or verbal noun, of the original verb form. Therefore, hadith
is not the infinitive,[1] rather it is a noun.[2]
In Islamic terminology, the term hadith
refers to reports about the statements or actions of
prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him), or about his
tacit approval of something said or done in his presence.[3] Classical hadith specialist
Ibn Hajar says that the intended meaning of "hadith" in
religious tradition is something attributed to Muhammad (peace be upon
him), as opposed to the Qur'an.[4] Other associated words possess similar
meanings: "khabar" (news, information) often refers to reports
about Muhammad (peace be upon him), but sometimes refers to traditions
about his companions (sahāba) and their successors from the following generation (tābi'īn);
conversely, "athar" (trace, vestige) usually refers to traditions
about the companions and successors, though sometimes connotes
traditions about Muhammad (peace be upon him). The word
Sunnah (custom) is
also used in reference to a normative custom of Muhammad (peace be upon
him) or the early Muslim community.[3]
Format
A hadith consists of two aspects: the text
of the report (matn) containing the actual narrative; and the chain of
narrators (isnad, or sanad), which documents the route by which the report has been
transmitted.[3] The "sanad" is so named due to the reliance of the
hadith specialists upon it in determining the authenticity or weakness
of a hadith.[5] The
sanad consists of a ‘chain’ of the narrators each mentioning the one
from whom they heard the hadith until mentioning the originator of the
matn along with the matn itself. The first people who received
hadith were the companions; so they preserved and understood it, knowing
both its generality and particulars, and then conveyed it to those after
them as they were commanded. Then the generation following them, the
Followers received it thus conveying it to those after them and so on.
So the companion would say, “I heard the Prophet say such and such.” The
Follower would then say, “I heard a companion say, ‘I heard the
Prophet.’” The one after him (after the Follower) would then say, “I
heard someone say, ‘I heard a Companion say, ‘I heard the Prophet …’’”
and so on.[6]
Overview
Hadiths were originally oral traditions of
Muhammad's actions (peace be upon him) and customs. From the
first Fitna of the 7th century people questioned the sources of hadiths. This resulted
in a list of transmitters, for example "A told me that B told him that
Muhammad said."
Hadith were eventually written down,
evaluated and gathered into
large collections mostly during the reign of
Umar II (bin Abdul Aziz, grandson of Umar bin
Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) 2nd Caliph) during 8th century,
and also in the 9th century. These works are referred to in matters of
Islamic law and
History to this day.
Use
Hadiths are considered to be an essential supplements to and clarifications
of the Holy Qur'an. In the Shari’ah (Islamic jurisprudence), the Holy
Qur'an contains many rules for the behavior and way of life, but there
are no specific Qur'anic rules on many religious and practical matters,
such as the practical way for prayer. The way of life, or Sunnah,
of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions are interpreted in
the Hadiths as to understand better what to imitate (or follow) and what
to avoid. Scholars also find it useful to know how Muhammad (peace be
upon him) or his companions explained the revelations, or on what
occasion Muhammad (peace be upon him) received them. Sometimes this will
clarify a passage that otherwise seems obscure or difficult to
understand. Hadith are a source for Islamic history and biography.
Since of Hadiths
The science of Hadith (Arabic: `Ulum al-hadith) is a method of textual
criticism developed by early Muslim scholars in determining the veracity
of reports attributed to Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is achieved
by analyzing the text of the report, the scale of the report's
transmission, the routes through which the report was transmitted, and
the individual narrators involved in its transmission.
Hadith are generally categorized as
sahīh (sound, authentic),
da`īf (weak), or
mawdū` (fabricated). Other classifications used also include:
hasan (good),
which refers to an otherwise sahīh report suffering from minor
deficiency, or a weak report strengthened due to numerous other
corroborating reports; and
munkar (ignored) which is a report that is rejected due to the presence of a
solitary and generally unreliable transmitter.[7] Both sahīh and hasan reports
are considered acceptable for usage in Islamic legal discourse.
Classifications of Hadith may also be based upon the scale of
transmission. Reports that pass through many reliable transmitters at
each point in the isnad up until their collection and
transcription are known as
mutawātir. These
reports are considered the most authoritative as they pass through so
many different routes that collusion between all of the transmitters
becomes an impossibility. Reports not meeting this standard are known as
ahad, and are of
several different types.[3]
Trusted hadith are in most cases the
words of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and not the word of Allah, like
the Holy Qur'an. Hadith Qudsi forms a partial exception; these (few)
hadith are said to recount divine revelations given to Muhammad (peace
be upon him) but not included in the Holy Qur'an.
Ahadith are also used to interpret
parts of the Holy Qur'an when verses are not clear or even when verses
are clear to achieve an in-depth understanding. This process is called
Tafsir.
Six
major Hadith collections
Name
|
Collector
|
Size
|
|
Sahih Bukhari
|
Imam Bukhari (d.
870)
|
7275 hadiths
|
|
Sahih Muslim
|
Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj
(d. 875)
|
included 9200
|
|
Sunan Abu Da'ud
|
Abu Da'ud (d. 888)
|
|
|
Sunan atTirmidhi
|
al-Tirmidhi (d. 892)
|
|
|
Sunan al-Sughra
|
al-Nasa'i (d. 915)
|
|
|
Sunan Al-Muwatta
|
Imam Malik (d. 796)
|
|
Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are
usually considered the most reliable of these collections.
__________________
Notes
-
[1]
Lisan al-Arab, by Ibn Manthour,
vol. 2, pg. 350; Dar al-Hadith edition.
[2]
al-Kuliyat by Abu al-Baqa’ al-Kafawi,
pg. 370; Al-Resalah Publishers. This last phrase is quoted by al-Qasimi
in Qawaid al-Tahdith, pg. 61; Dar al-Nafais.
[3] "Hadith," Encyclopedia of
Islam.
[4] Fath al-Bari, vol. 1, pg. 193 (page
number of the original Maktabah al-Salafiyah edition as appears in
the Dar Taibah printing). Al-Suyuti quotes this in his Tadrib al-Rawi,
vol. 1, pg. 42 (Dar al-Asimah edition).
[5]
Tadrib al-Rawi, vol. 1, pgs. 39-41 with abridgement;
I left out the majority if not the entirety of the etymology of each
term. Suyuti refers this discussion to either both Tibi and Ibn
Jama’ah or one to the exception of the other; for details refer to
the text.
[6]
Ilm al-Rijal wa Ahimiyatih, by
Mualami, pg. 16, Dar al-Rayah. I substituted the word ‘sunnah’ with
the word ‘hadith’ as they are synonymous in this context.
[7]
See:
-
"Hadith,"
Encyclopedia of Islam Online;
-
"Hadith,"
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world.