- What is hadith?

- Its importance as a source of law

- Its kinds
- And compilation
Kinds of Ahadith

Hadith refers to the sayings or narrations of the Prophet Muhammad

‫’ﷺ‬s speech, his deeds, acts of approval & disapproval (verbal or by
way of action) about something.

Hadith, in general, is made up of three basic components:

ISNAD (Sequence of Reporters) – This is the chain of narrators through
which the Hadith has spread.
TARAF (Introductory Text) – This is the beginning of the text which
refers to the actions or characteristics of the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.
MATN (Content) – This is the main text of the Hadith, or the actual
speech of the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬.

The following are the five basic categorisations of Hadith:

1) According to Reference to a Particular Authority
2) According to the Links of Isnad (Sequence of Reporters)
3) According to the Number of Reporters
4) According to Nature of Matn and Isnad
5) According to Authenticity of Correspondents

1) According to Reference to a Particular Authority

Qudsi: meaning “Divine”. These were sent directly from Allah to the
Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, who then passed it on to his companions
Marfu`: meaning “Elevated”. These were directly heard from the
Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬by His companions.
Mauquf: meaning “Stopped”. It is a kind of command which was
directly given by Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬to his companions who forwarded it.
Maqtu`: meaning “Severed”. It is a form of Instruction which cannot be
traced back to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, but to one of his companions, who
explained it in their own words

2) According to the Links of Isnad (Sequence of Reporters)

Musnad: meaning “Supported”. Reported by a well known companion
of the Holy Prophet ‫ﷺ‬, although the final narrator might not have
been with him at that time.
Muttasil: meaning “Continuous”. The one with undisturbed Isnad
(Sequence of Reporters) which only goes back to a companion or
successor.
Mursal: meaning “Hurried”. A Hadith quoted by one of the following
generations directly in the name of the Prophet without the name of
any of the Companions being mentioned.
Munqati`: meaning “Broken”. Hadiths which have one or more than one
narrators missing, but not consecutively.
Mu`adal: meaning “Perplexing”. Hadiths with two or more narrators
missing successively.
Mu`allaq: meaning “Hanging”. Hadiths in which one or more narrators
are not known at the beginning of the sanad (Sequence of Reporters) or
none of the narrators are known.

3) According to the Number of Reporters

This can be is divided into two groups:
Mutawatir: meaning “Consecutive”. Hadith being reported by such a
large number of rightful companions that it is agreed upon as
authentic.
Ahad: meaning “Isolated”. Hadith which has been narrated by a
countable number of people.

Ahad has been further categorised into three sub-types:

Mash’hur: meaning “Famous”. Hadith which is related by more than
two individuals from each generation.
Aziz: meaning “Rare yet Strong”. Hadith having only two reporters in
its Isnad (Sequence of Reporters).
Gharib: meaning “Strange”. Saying of Holy Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬with only one
narrator in its Isnad (Sequence of Reporters).

4) According to Nature of Matn and Isnad

Munkar: meaning “Denounced”. Hadith which contradicts an authentic
Hadith and belongs to a weak narrator.
Mudraj: meaning “Interpolated”. Hadith with some additional words to
the authentic Hadith by its narrator.

5) According to Authenticity of Correspondents

Sahih: meaning “Sound”. Hadith reported by a trustworthy reporter
known for his truthfulness, knowledge, correct way of narrations etc.
Hasan: meaning “Good”. Hadith whose reporters are known and have
solid character but weak memory.
Da`if: meaning “Weak”. Hadith ranking under Hasan (good) because of
a shortcoming in the Isnad (Sequence of Reporters).
Maudu`: meaning “Fabricated”. Hadith having wording opposite to the
confirmed Prophetic traditions

COMPILATION OF AHADITH

Compilation during Life of Holy

Prophet (pbuh):
Prophet himself would give instructions about the
transmission of what he taught,
“Preach what you hear me say. Also let those who see
and hear me, take upon themselves to communicate my
words to others and preach to their children, relatives
and friends.”

There is another report according to which on the

Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet said,
“He who is present here should carry this message to
him who is absent.”
The companions considered it their duty to preach the
Ahadis to those who had not seen or listened to him A
party of students called Ashab-e-suffah lived in the
mosque itself were entrusted with the teaching of
religion to tribes outside Madinah . From this group most
famous was Abu Hurairah who remained in The Prophet
Company at all the times and store up his memory every
thing that Prophet said or did. Abu Hurairah efforts were
from the very beginning directed towards the
preservation of Ahadis.

It is related from Abu Hurairah that once one of the

companions told the Prophet of his inability to remember
what he heard from him. His reply was:
“Take the help from your right hand” (Tirmizi)

i.e., write it down. Abdullah bin Umar (R) began to write

down whatever he heard from the Holy Prophet (pbuh) .
His collections contained around 10,000 Ahadis.
Abdullah bin Umar himself said: “I used to write
everything that I heard from the Prophet (pbuh)
intending to commit it to memory”. I spoke about it to the
prophet (pbuh) who said:
“Write down, for I only speak the truth” (Abu Daud)

An other report of Abu Hurairah: ‘None of the

companions preserved more traditions than myself , but
Abdullah bin Amr is an exception for he used to write
and I did not’. Hazrat Ali used to write down ahadis
concerning the Orders, Instructions issued from Holy
Prophet (pbuh). Hazrat Aisha also used to preserved the
says of Holy Prophet (pbuh) Abdullah bin umar and
Abdullah bin Abbas were engaged in preserving and
transmitting the ahadis. The Compilation of Abdullah bin
Umar was known as Sadiqa. Process of compilation
started in the Life of Holy Prophet (pbuh)
Collection and Compilation After death
Of Holy Prophet (s):
After the Death of Holy Prophet , Islam was widely
spread , new converts wanted to hear about Prophet
(pbuh) from close companions and associates The
companions were the beat authority for Knowledge of
ahadis and sunnah as they had listened to
Prophet(pbuh) Abu Hurairah , Abudullah bin Abbas ,
Abdullah bin Umar, Anas bin Malik became the centre to
whom people came from different parts of the Islamic
empire to gain Knowledge about the Prophet (pbuh).
Prophet (pbuh) wives were also vital custodians of
Ahadis and were approached for instruction by other
companions. Hazrat Aisha, Hazrat Hafsa, Hazrat umm-
e- Habibah , Hazrat Maimunah and Umme-e-Salamah
are among the earliest and most distinguished
transmitters.

The Age of Companion ( 11-100 AH ) Approximately

During this period Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz wrote to
the governor of Madina to write down all the tradition of
the Holy Prophet(pbuh) During this period the
companions spread far and wide and settled in almost
all the countries conquered by the Muslims. There was
no book of compilation. The only alternative was to go to
companion and hear the tradition from him. Thus,
different centers of learning arose Students were not
satisfied with only one centre, because that particular
companion might have no Knowledge of all the
traditions. It was reported that Jabir bin’ Abdullah
travelled from Makkah to Syria to hear a single hadith.
Similarly there were many companions who undertook
long journeys to verify or hear sayings of Holy Prophet
(pbuh) The important works of that period were: 1 : The
works of Shihab Al Zuheri. 2: Collection of Abu Bakr Al
Hazim

The Age of followers of the Companions (Tabaeens

101-200 AH): This is the age of followers of the
companions of the Prophet (pbuh). The most important
works of this period were carried out by:
 Abudullah bin Mubarik at Khorasan.
 Abu Bakr Rabi Shybah at Kufa
 Sufyan bin’Uyaina at Madina
 Imam Makhul in syria.
 Abu Kilabah.

The out standing works of this period were:

 Al Muwatta by Imam Malek bin Anas Kittab
 Al-Athar by Imam Ahu Hanifa
 Al-Musanaf by Imam Razzak
 Jami Thauri by Imam Sufyan al-Thauri Kitab
 Al-Kharaj by Imama Yousaf
 Masnad Ahmed bin Humbal by Imam Ahmed
Hanbal
 Al-Maghazi by Waqidi
The Hanafi and Maliki School of Legal thoughts were
formulated during this period in the light of the ahadith.
Abu Hanifa founded the school of deduction or Qiyas By
the end of second Century Imam Shafey and Imam
Ahmed bin Hanbal also flourished.

Age of followers of the followers (Taba Tabaeen 200-

300 AH): This is Golden age of Traditions. The six
authentic books of traditions (al Sahah –al Sitta) were
written. These are the most reliable books of traditions.
1. Sahih Bukhari: Written by Muhammad bin
‘Abdullah’ Ismael al-Bukhari(195-256 AH) Took 40 years
for collection. His Sahih is next to Quran in authenticity.
He selected nearly 7275 out of 600,000 traditions. He
accepted only reliable traditions.
2. Sahih Muslim: written by ‘Abdul Hussain Muslim
bin al Hajaj al-Nishapuri-Qushaieri (304-216 A.H) . He
travelled many places to learn Hadith. His Sahih consist
of 9200 traditions selected out of 300,000. It is
considered next to Bukhari . Any tradition accepted by
both Bukahri and Muslim has been termed as agreed.
3. Sunan of Abu Daud: Abu Daud wrote it during
202-275 AH. He travelled to all important centers of
traditions. It consists of 4800 traditions selected out of
500,000 and it took him 20 years to complete his book.
4. Jami Tirmidhi: written by Abu’Isa-al-Tirmidhi during
209-279 AH. He was first man to determine the names,
surnames and titles of narrators of traditions.
5. Sunan of Nisai: was written by Abu’Abdur Rahman
an Nisai during 214-303 AH . It also contains weak and
doubtful traditions.
6. Sunan of ibn Majah: written by Mohammad bin
Yezid ibn Majah during 209-273.AH.

SHI’A BOOKS:

Authentic books of Shia’s were also compiled during that

period. Important are:
1. Al-Kafi fi ilm al deen (the sufficient in the
science of religion): it was written by Abu J’afar
Muhammed who died in 339 AH.
2. Al-Istibsar (the prespective): written by Abu J’afar
Bin Al Hassan who died in 389AH.
3. Tehzeeb-ul-Ahkam (the revision of judgemens)t:
written by Abu J’afar Mohammed Bin Al Hassan.
4. Man la Yahzoroh ul Fiqh (one who has no legal
expert present): written by Abu J’afar Muhammad’ Ali.

(a)Hadith as source of guidance/Law

Hadith is counted as a second source of islamic law.It
is used in a very wide sense as including not only the
decisions and percepts of the prophet(s) but also His
conduct and practice. It explains and completes the
Quran. The conduct of Prophet(s) formed an important
source of law as they wer accepted as inspired and
binding authority.
There are many verses in the Holy Quran which
justify Hadith as a source of Islamic law.Some of these
are:
 "He who obeys the messenger obeys
Allah"(4:80)
 "You have indeed in the messenger of Allah a
beautiful pattern of conduct"(33:21)
The Prophet(s) declared :
"Behold I have been given the book and a similar
thing (Sunna) along with that"
The Prophet(s) have also said,"My words are not
contarary to the words of God but the words of God
can contradict mine"
The whole superstructure of Hadith is based on
the verses of the Quran revealed gradually over a period
of 22 years, 5 months and 14 days. The following
instances will illustrate how these two parts i.e Quran
and Hadith interplay and function for the purpose of
legislation.
1. The meaning of Quran is general;Hadith makes it
specific and particular
2. The Hadith may add or supplement the legal
provisions of the Quran.
3. Quranic injunctions are implicit Hadith makes them
Explicit by providing ingredients and details.
4. Hadith qualifies the absolute declaration of the
Quran.The Quran says that the hands of the theifs are to
be cut.The Prophet(s) qualified this injunctionwith the
condition that the person should not be a lunatic e.t.c
5. Hadith makes certain exemptions to the general
rules laid by the Quran.The Quran makes a declaration
in general that one may bequeth ones property by willin
the manner one likes.Hadith has created the exception
in the rule the one can't make a will in favour of one's
heirs.
Hadith is very significant and important source of law
without which th Holy Quran couldn't be understood at
all. In words of the Quran the relation ship of that of the
Book and the Light.