HadithandSunnah Idealsandrealities Text

HadIth and Sunnah
—Ideals and Realities—
Contributors
ZUBAYR SIDDIQI ■ MUHAMMAD

ALI ■ MUSTAFA A£ZAMI ■
S.M.YUSUF ■ FAZLUR RAHMAN
■ SHAH SHAHIDULLAH • FAR1D1
■ MUHAMMAD ASAD ■ SEYYED
HOSSEIN NASR ■ SYED ABUL
HASAN ALI NADWI ■
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL ■ ABD
AL-QADIR AL-SUFI ■
Compiled and Edited by

P.K.Koya
NATIONAL BOOK SERVICE

LAHORE - PAKISTAN
CONTENTS
Page Number
Acknowledgements vii
About the Contributors ix
Introduction > xi
Part One
Hadlth: Origin and Development
1 Hadlth — A Subject of Keen Interest
Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi 3
2 Collection and Preservation of Hadlth ^
Muhammad ‘All 23
3 Isndd and its Significance
Muhammad Mustafa A 'zami 58
4 The Sciences and Critique of Hadlth
Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi 12
5 The Sunnah — Its Development and Revision
S. M. Yusuf 103
Part Two
The Place of Hadlth and Sunnah in Islam
6 The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa l-Jamd 4ah
Fazlur Rahman 129
7 The Fallacies of Anti-Hadlth Arguments
Shah Shahidullah Faridi 190
8 Sunnah — The Factual Embodiment of Revelation
S. M. Yusuf 210
^ Social Change and Early Sunnah
Fazlur Rahman 220
^ Social and Cultural Realities of the Sunnah
Muhammad Asad 233
v
vi HadIth and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
Part Three
Spiritual Dimension of the Sunnah
11 The Prophet as the Examplar Par Excellence
Seyyed Hossein Nasr 253
12 HadIth — Its Relevance to the Modern Times
Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi 279
13 The Place of the Prophet of Islam in Iqbal’s Thought
Annemarie Schimmel 290
14 Fit rah and Sunnah
Abd al-Qadir al-Sufi al-Murabit 316
Appendices
Appendix I — Extracts from al-Shafi‘!’s Risalah
On the Obligation of Man to Accept the Authority
of the Prophet 325
Appendix II — Fundamental Ideas of al-ShafiTs RistUah 340
Index 349
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The essays comprising this book were taken from various journals, magazines and
books: 1. Hadlth, a Subject of keen interests is an edited version of a chapter in
Hadlth Literature, Its Origin, Development and Special Features and Criticisms,
published by Calcutta University. 2. Collection and Preservation of Hadlth is a
chapter from The Religion of Islam, volume One. 3. Isnad and its Significance is
based on the author’s two books. Studies in Hadlth Methodology and Studies in
Early Hadlth Literature. And also partly drawn from a talk given by the author at
a seminar on Hadlth organised by the MSA in Chicago in 1975. 4. The Sciences and
Critique of Hadlth is from the author’s book cited above. 5 .The Sunnah — Its
Development and Revision is from the author’s two articles in Islamic Culture,
Hyderabad, India, 6. The Living Sunnah andal-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah is from Islamic
Studies,*Journal of the Islamic Research Institute, Islamabad. 7. The Fallacies of
Anti-Hadith Arguments is from the Sufi Path, a serial publication of the Association
of Spiritual Training (Pakistan). 8. Sunnah — The Factual Embodiment of
Revelation and 9. Social Change and Early Sunnah from Islamic Studies cited
above. 10. Social and Cultural Realities of the Sunnah is a chapter on Sunnah from
the author’s Islam at Crossroads. 11. The Prophet as the Exemplar Par Excellence
is a chapter from the author’s Ideals and Realities of Islam. 12. Hadlth — Its
Relevance to the Modern Times is based on a talk given by the author at the MSA
seminar mentioned above. 13. The Place of Prophet of Islam in Iqbal's Thought
from Islamic Studies cited above. 14. Fitrah and Sunnah is an article first appeared
in Islam, journal of Darqawi Institute, Norwich, England and later reprinted in
Readings in Islam, Kuala Lumpur.
We also acknowledge our indebtedness to Dr. Kaukab Siddique and his
column in the New Trend, a monthly magazine published from U.S.A. from which
we extensively drew materials in preparing the Introduction.
A short biographical sketch of the contributors have been given on pages ix
and x. We are particularly grateful to these scholars and pray Allah s.w.t. reward
ftem all for their servicves to Islam.
Vll
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Sufi al-Murabit is an English Muslim convert. He

is a Shaykh of Darqawi Sufi order which has Êuropean headquarters in
Granada, Spain. He-has authored many,articles ancf books on Islam and Sufism.
His books include The-Way of Muhammad, Jihad — A Groundplan, Letter to
an African Muslim.
Mawlana Muhammad ‘All, also known as Muhammad 4All Lahori, was one
of the pioneer Muslim scholars who took Islam to the West. His works include
a scholarly translation and commentary of The Holy Qur’an, The Religion of
Islam, Introduction to the Study of Hadith, A Manual of Hadlth, Muhammad the
Prophet and many other works in Urdu and English.
Muhammad Asad was born as Leopold Weiss in a Jewish family of Lemberg

(Poland) in 1900. He left his native country Austria to become a leading Near
Eastern corespondent to European newspapers at that time. His interest in Islam
and Muslims took him through an adventerous journey to Egypt, Libya,
Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Persia, Afghanistan and the Arab Peninsula, resulting in
his spiritual autobiography. The Road to Mecca which the Times Literary
Supplement called*" a narrative of great power and beauty*4. Muhammad Asad
died in Spain on February, 1992. His other works include The Message of the
Qur'an, Islam at the Crossroads, Sahih al-Bukhdri: The Early Years of Islam
and The Principles of State and Government in Islam.
Prof. Muhammad Mustafa A‘zami is Professor of Science of Hadlth at

University of Riyadh. He has his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. His
works include On Schacht’s Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, Studies in
Early Hadith Literature and Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature.
Shah Shahidullah Faridi was of an aristocratic Lennard family of England and

embraced Islam in 1937. He joined the Chishtiya spiritual order, completed the
ix
X HadIth and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
course and was commissioned as ‘caliph’ to guide others. He passed away after
twenty-three years of conducting his mission, and left a large number of
followers.
Dr. Fazlur Rahman was founder Director Islamic Research Institute, Pakistan,
and at the time of his death on July 26,1988, was professor of Islamic thought
in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the
University of Chicago. Although considered controversial on certain issues, he
was a scholar of encyclopedic breadth in true tradition of classical Islamic
scholarship. His works include, among others, Islam and Modernity:
Transformation of an Islamic Tradition, Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and
Orthodoxy, Islamic Methodology in History, and Islam.
Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, is Rector of Darul ‘Ulum, Nadwatul ‘Ulama*
(India) and President of the Academy of Islamic Research and Publications. An
eminent Indian Muslim scholar, he has written numerous books in Arabic and
Urdu on subjects ranging from the Islamic faith and literature to Islamic history
and the contemporary problems facing Muslims. Most of his works have been
translated into French, Turkish, Persian and English which include Saviours of
Islamic Spirit, Faith Versus Materialism, Islamic Concept of Prophethood and
Muslims in India.
Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr is Professor of Islamic Studies at George

Washington University, USA. Born in Iran, he has his Ph.D. from Harvard
where he studied the history of science and philosophy. His works include Islam
and the Plight of Modem Man, Traditional Islam in the Modem World, A Young
Muslim’s Guide to the Modem World, Ideals and Realities of Islam, etc. etc..
Prof. Annemarie Schimmel, a native of Germany, has long acquaintance with

Turkey, Iran and Indo-Pakistan. Her published works include Gabriel’s Wing:
A Study of the Religious Ideals of Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Islamic Calligraphy and
Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Her outstanding contribution to East-West
understanding earned her the Friedrich-Ruckert Prize and the 1995 Peace Prize
of the Borsenverein des Deutchen Buchhandels (the Association of German
Publishers and Booksellers).
Dr. S. M. Yusuf holds a Ph.D. in Arabic and an M. A. in Persian. He was the

Head of Department of Arabic, University of Karachi, Pakistan.
Dr. Muhammad Zubayr Siddlqi was Sir Asutosh Professor of Islamic Culture
at Calcutta University, India. He is the author of HadIth Literature and Studies
in Arabic and Persian Medical Literature.
INTRODUCTION
"And if all HadTth is given up, what remains but a yawning chasm
of fourteen centuries between us and the Prophet? And in the vacuity
of this chasm not only must the Qur’an slip from our fingers under
our subjective whims — for the only thing that anchors it is the
Prophetic activity itself — but even the very existence and integrity
of the Qur’an and, indeed, the existence of the Prophet himself
become an unwarranted myth.”
In these words, the late Dr. Fazlur Rahman, one of the most
energetic and productive minds of our time, succinctly put the case
for HadTth. Only a dishonest or insane person will deny the
importance of HadTth in its continuing role to guarantee the social,
political, and cultural integrity of the Ummah.
It is a fact that we have among us a number of groups quite
confused about the true place of HadTth in Islam. The group known
as anti-HadTth argues that all HadTth are fabricated, largely in the
third century of Islam and that the Qur’an alone is the source of
Guidance for Muslims. Without any grounding either in scholarship
or insight, they sometimes tell us that the HadTth is unreliable as
; guide to the Prophetic Sunnah. At other times we are naively told
that HadTth may be history, but it has no SharVah normativeness
. i.e., even if HadTth is genuine, it contains no Sunnah for us.
| Subjectively selecting few HadTths which appear to contradict the
Qur’an, they use them to claim that HadTth is opposed to the Qur’an
and they are obliged to follow only the Qur’an.
The case of another anti-HadTth group, which is of recent
xi
xii HadIth and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
origin, is even more pathetic. In their anxiety to clear the way, they
resort to methods much more questionable than Nero’s method of
rebuilding Rome. They exhibit a singular lack of clarity of issues and
a dismal ignorance of the role of the Prophet s.a.w. himself. In their
anxiety to be accepted by the Ummah, they swear by the Qur’an to
an Iblisian tawhid — as Iqbal put it — and reject the second
,
shahadah 4Muhammadan Rasulullah' on the ground it is shirk to
mention Muhammad together with Allah (sic). This men .! aberration
for which there is no effective cure , *obably re:- .Its from their
frustration with the extreme conservai. attitude of some of the
Muslims who have a tendency to quote even some of the weakest of
HadIth to defend their customs and practices which may have nothing
to do with the Prophet or his practices. The problem is compoundec
also by the illiterate religious functionaries of the Muslim world whc
interpret the HadIth literally, without understanding the purpose 01
context of the HadIth, and as a result distort the religion itself.
To understand the importance of HadIth, we should look at the
Qur’an first. The key to understanding it is the way it was revealed.
It came to a particular human being, Muhammad s.a.w. over a
period of 23 years. Its verses must first be understood in their
particular context in which they were revealed before one can go on
to discover their general and universal significance.
Muhammad s.a.w. lived the verses of the Qur’an. In the words
of Umm al-Mu’minin ‘A’ishah (r.a.), he was the living Qur’an. The
Qur’an itself describes for us the examplte of the Prophet as the
excellent role model for all time to come:
Surely you have in the Messenger of Allah the pattern of

excellence fuswatun hasanah]for anyone whose hope is in Allah
and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much (33:21).
This uswah of pattern Is available to us in the HadIth. Without

the HadIth we would be deprived of that example which, through the
centuries, has guided Muslims towards excellence. All that is best in
the daily life of Muslims today, and which unifies them in one
Islamic culture, from Morocco to Indonesia, comes from the still
Introduction Xlll
visible light of the uswah of Muhammad s.a.w.

The relationship between believers and the Prophet is a very
close, personal one of love, devotion, respect and obedience. "The
Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his
wives are their mothers" (Qur’an, 33:6). Without the Hadith this
close relationship would not exist because it is the Hadith which
gives us a glimpse of the lives of Holy Prophet and his family, and
the material for day-to-day living.
Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent

among them a messenger from among themselves, rehearsing
unto them the Signs of Allah, purifying them and instructing
them in the Book and in Wisdom PiikmahJ, while before that
they had been in error manifest (Qur’an, 3:164)
A key function of the Prophet was not only to pass on the verses
of the Qur’an but also to show Muslims how the Qur’an is to be
applied to human existence. The wisdom (hikmah) spoken above, this
process of purification and this instruction in the meaning of the
Qur’an, are available to us in the Sunnah through the Hadith. Even
the basic forms of worship, like the details of the five daily prayers,
the percentages of zakat and the rules of fasting in their application
would not have been known to us without the Hadith. Without the
hikmah the Qur'an would have been at the mercy of all who wished
to misinterpret it.
The most serious error in understanding Islam is made by those
who believe that the Qur’an alone is the source of Islamic Law.
Undoubtedly the Qur’an is the basis of Islamic Law. But it has to
be interpreted by the one to whom the Qur’an was revealed. About
this role of the Prophet, the Qur’an itself says quite unambiguously:
O ye who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those
charged with authority from among you. If you differ in
anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger
if you believe in Allah and the Last Day; that is best and most
suitable for final determination (4:59).
xiv Hadith and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
Islam obviously is incomplete without obeying the Prophet.

The Messenger received the Qur’an and passed it on to
humanity and, other than the Qur’an, his actions and words
(recorded in the Hadith) were also divinely inspired. His judgements
and teachings were all guided by Allah. All the messengers of God
were sent as the leaders of humanity to be obeyed and this is
especially true of Muhammad s.a.w.
We sent not a Messenger but to be obeyed... But no, by the

Lord, they can have no Faith until they make thee judge in all
disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance
against thy decisions, but accept them with the fullest conviction
(Qur’an, 4:64-65).
The Companions (Sahabah) loved the Prophet more than their

own selves. Each word and action of the Prophet was important for
them and they took great care to remember it. They reflected on it
and passed it on to others who had not heard of it. There were
Sahabah who took turns to earn their living so that one out of two
would be in the presence of the Prophet while the other was away
earning his living. There were others who spent all their time in the
presence of the Prophet and suffered near starvation in doing so.
Reliable evidence is available to show that the Hadith of the
Prophet began to be written down while the Prophet was still alive.
But we should remember that Arabia had a strong verbal tradition,
as attested to by the poetry and genealogical stories of the Arabs
before Islam. The development of retentive memories was part of the
Arab way of life. The prodigious memory-capacities of the Arabs
served the cause of Hadith when it was not written down.
Even now in cultures where the verbal tradition is dominant (for
instance in tribal societies,) very insignificant incidents which
occurred hundreds of years ago are passed on from generation to
generation with remarkably little change in the narration’s content.
It is not easy for people living in a culture where the print and
pictorial tradition are dominant, as in our modern environment, to
understand such a tradition.
Introduction xv
Sense of sacred mission
The motives of Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) in narrating

the Hadlth were mainly to pass on to future generations what they
themselves had seen and experienced of the excellent example
(uswatun hasanah) of the Prophet. These motives were restrained
and put in fine tension by the repeated warning of the Holy Prophet
that "he who deliberately reports lies about me, shall prepare his seat
in the Fire".
These motivation shaped the behaviour of Sahabah in various
ways. Some were over cautious in reporting anything from the
Prophet, while others spent their time telling and talking of the
Prophet. In all cases they acted with a sense of sacred mission as far
as transmission of the words of the Prophet was concerned.
The generation of the Sahabah
The last of the Companions (those who have seen or met the
Prophet) died in the year 110 after the Hijrah. Within that period of
time Islam reached out with a speed unmatched in human history,
westward from Arabia to Morocco and Spain, eastwards to India and
China, northwards into Central Asia and southwards into Central
Africa. People by the millions entered into the fold of Islam as
empires and kingdoms crumbled.
The new Muslims wanted to know everything about the man to
whom the Qur’an had been revealed. They had direct access either
to the Companions who had seen or met the Prophet or to the
tabVun, the second generation of Muslims who had met and learned
from the Companions. Thus knowledge of Hadlth became the key to
the understanding of the new way of life — Islam — and the
Companions were surrounded by young people, both men and
women eager to be their students.
The longer the Companions of the Prophet lived, the more
people they reached; and naturally, the quality of the Hadlth reported
by them would depend on the closeness and depth of the contact they
had with the Prophet.
xvi Hadith and Sunnah;— ideals and Realities
Some of the Companions of the Prophet who were very

prominent but passed-away. .early*Jikp Abu- Bakr (r.a.),- or were
martyred within the first three decides aftefrthe>Prophet, like ‘Umar,
‘Uthman and ‘AIT (r.a.), narrated.few HadTths-.-The reason was that
their energies and time were: taken up in administering and
organising the newly established Islamic governmental system. Their
energies, in the Stases of Abu BakrÛmar^nd ‘Uthman were also
taken up in fighting and destroying the two most powerful empires
of their time, the Persian and the Roman. Thus they did not have the
time to sit relaxed among the surging crowds of new Muslims and
answer their questions about the way of life of the Holy Prophet.
Secondly, within the time of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and the first 10
years of ‘Uthman, the Islamic community was solidly established
according to the model community in Madlnah. There had been no
interruption in the flow of the Islamic way of life. Thus, at that time,
the example of the Prophet was available in its pristine purity in day-
to-day reality but with the resurgence of Arab tribalism, the model
community passed away.
In the new circumstances of fratricide, leading to monarchy and
the establishment of Ummayad, and later, ‘Abbasid, autocracy, the
Muslims sought out the Companions of the Prophet and tabi-ut-
tabi'in (Followers of the Followers), whose numbers were getting
lesser and lesser, and learned from them. That is why the narrations
of the HadTth from Sahabah like Abu Hurayrah, ‘Abdullah b.
‘Umar, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas, ‘A’ishah and ‘Abdullah b. Mas'ud
(Allah be pleased with them) are many more than those from the
khi'lafd V r&shidun.
The fabrication of HadTth: causes and motives
Any good thing will be imitated and faked and the case of HadTth
was not different. But just because fakes are circulated it does not
mean that the genuine ones have altogether disappeared.
The basic cause for the fabrication of HadTth was a paradoxical
one: the strong love of believers for the Holy Prophet was
recognised as unassailable by the forces of evil. The fabricators knew
Introduction xvn
that they could get the Muslims to follow false ideas only if the ideas
were presented in the garb of Hadlth.
Islam has always been the greatest sources of resistance to
tyranny. Hadlth was fabricated to soften this resistance. In this
category come Hadlths which urge Muslims to obey their rulers
unconditionally (or as long as they pray or lead prayers!). Some of
these fabrications were futuristic and purported to report the coming
of the ‘Abbasid. Thus anti-Islamic forces who were unable to fight
Islam openly took to fabrications of Hadlth to sow confusion and
timidity among the Muslims.
Other Hadlths were fabricated to support or condemn sects.
Large numbers of Hadlths were put into circulation to magnify the
personality of ‘All (r.a.) while during the time of Mu‘awiyah order
was issued forbidding Hadlths from Imam ‘All; Hadlths were
circulated to condemn or de-emphasise the role of ‘A’ishah (r.a.)
and also that of women in general.
Tribal and racial loyalties also entered into fabrication of
Hadlth. Reports were concocted and circulated extolling the Arabs,
the Quraysh, the rulers of Damascus, and various tribes.
Attempts at misguided piety also led to fabrication. Hadlth
promising tremendous rewards for minor good deeds fall in this
category. Many of these minor good deeds were given a place even
higher than that given to martyrdom in Islam.
The Islamic response
The ‘ulama ’ (scholars) of Islam (may Allah reward them) answered

the challenge of Hadlth fabrication with a level of study,
investigation and hard work which will be remembered for ever with
pride and thankfulness in the history of Islam. Owing to their efforts
the damage due to Hadlth fabrication was nullified to a very great
degree. Hadlth could still be fabricated and spread but to anyone
who wanted to know the genuine teachings of the Holy Prophet,
there was no longer a serious problem.
The scholars of Hadlth known as muhaddithun spent their lives
in checking the genuineness of Hadlth and in getting rid of the
xviii HadIth and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
fabrications. They studied the chain of narration of each hadith to

check its origin from the Prophet via a Sahabi (Companion) or a
tdbi ‘i (follower) who had met a Sahabi. Great scholars of Hadith like
Imam al-Bukharl visited the narrators of Hadith to get the Hadith
directly from them, even if they had to travel a thousand miles by
the primitive means of travel then available.
The scholars of Hadith were independent people and refused to
become the servants of any government. Imam Malik refused Caliph
Abu JaTar’s suggestion that he (Imam Malik) write a book which
may be promulgated as the law of the state all over the Islamic
world. He was even physically beaten by order of the Governor of
Madlnah, Ja‘far b. Sulayman, because one of his fatwas was
regarded as a move against the authorities. Scholars like al-Bukharl
went through periods of actual starvation in their determination to
remain independent.
A major achievement of these scholars was the compilation of
entire books containing brief biographies of the intermediate and
final* narrators of Hadith. In these books known as Asmd' al-Rijal
(lit. ‘the names of men’), the character of the narrators was summed
up and pointedly mentioned. Hence the Hadlths of those known as
liars, poor of memory, weak in details, given to elaborations of their
own, or subject to other vices of character or integrity or ability, or
those who had never met the ones they narrated from, were rejected.
Owing to the independence and integrity of the muhaddithun the
people implicitly accepted their version of the chain of narration
(Isnad) and the character of the narrators.
One of the peculiarities of Hadith literature is that it is an
uncensored version of the Companions’ understanding and memory
of the Prophet. The scholars of Hadith did not look critically at the
text of the reports they collected. If they were sure of its Isnad and
of the character of its narrators they included it in their compilation.
Sometimes they would show their understanding of the Hadith by the
order or arrangement they used by the headlines they gave to their
chapters (as al-Bukharl has done) or made notes about the quality or
disqualification of a narrator (as TirmidhI has done) but they left the
text largely untouched.
Introduction xix
It was the task of the juqaha’ (scholars of Islamic law) to look
at the HadTths critically and apply them to the needs of their times.
Otherwise, great harm can be done to Islam by picking up HadTths
at random from books of Hadlth and trying to apply them without
proper study and understanding to any situation.
By striking at the HadTths, and by depicting them as quaint
stories or lumping them all with the fabrications which did take
place, the pseudo-intellectuals are actually striking, indirectly, at the
Qur’an itself. Already we find translations of the Qur’an in which
the arrangement of Surahs has been replaced by arrangements
according to chronology of revelation; and also Qur’an in vernacular
translated from another language, for example Qur’an in Malay
translated from English.
Understanding the Qur’an and the Hadlth together
One who wishes to understand Islam must learn to give up random

sampling and out-of-the-context discussions. Islamic studies have
suffered tremendously from the efforts of those who have a limited
ideological vision and a narrow view of the process of understanding
the texts of Islam. They pick up a verse from here, a sentence from
there, and build their entire thesis on it. For instance the kuffar
(unbelievers) pick up a verse about armed struggle (qital) and claim
that Islam teaches its followers to kill all non-Muslims! Others pick
up verses about riba (interest) and concentrate on them totally out of
context. As a result we see ‘Islamic banks’ being set up making a
mockery of even the basic tenets of Islamic economics.
Time span of Revelation
The Qur’an was revealed over period of 23 years of struggle by the

Holy Prophet s.a.w. and the Sahdbah (with whom Allah is well
Pleased). It was during this time the greatest revolution humanity has
ever known took place. Allah, in the Qur’an, has emphasised the
&eat wisdom of this process of Revelation (and revolution). Allah
$ays:
XX HadIth and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
Those who reject faith say: "Why is the Qur’an not revealed to
him all at once?” Thus it is revealed that We may strengthen thy
heart thereby, and We have rehearsed it to thee in slow, well-
arranged stages, gradually (25:32).
By degrees shall We teach thee to declare (the Message), so that

you shall not forget (87:6).
No wonder, the Qur’an is difficult for those who are unaware

of how the Islamic movement proceeds at the grassroots levels of
humanity. A correct understanding of the Qur’an is not possible
without a good understanding of the struggle in which the Prophet
was the key figure. As the Qur’an was revealed and implemented in
real life, a tribal society transformed itself into a model universal
community.
The HadIth relates to the same time span as the Qur’an. If a
HadIth relates to the Makkan period, or to the early stages of Islamic
society in Madlnah, it should not be taken as the final statement on
the subject if there are other Hadlths on the same subject relating to
the final days of the Prophet’s struggle in Madlnah. This
understanding can help clear considerable confusion which is caused
by people who take Hadlths at random or those who take Hadlths
from the early period as final statements.
These in summary are the issues dealt with in this book. The
essays comprising this book were selected to serve a long felt need
for a comprehensive collection of writings on various aspects of
HadIth and Sunnah for the non-academic reader. These essays were
written by eminent Muslim scholars over a period of four decades
and published in various scholarly Islamic journals, many of them
inaccessible now to the ordinary readers. It is our hope that by
bringing them together in one volume, the book will serve the
readers to get a holistic picture of the the true role of HadIth and
Sunnah as an integral part of Islam and the Islamic SharVah. It is
this traditional Muslim view that we have sought to present here.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I deals with the origin
and development of HadIth, a topic the ordinary reader may find too
Introduction xxi
academic. However, we have included in this part only those
writings which have been written in a language fairly simple and
readable and considered essential for a better understanding and
appreciation of the significance of Hadlth in general and its relevance
to modern world. The copious endnotes provided in this part, ve
hope, will help the reader, if he wishes to pursue his studies further
to appreciate the scientific and historical bases of ‘Ulum al-Hadith,
the Sciences of Hadlth.
Part II is the main focus of the book. This part discusses in
some detail the continuing role of Hadlth in maintaining the legal,
social and cultural integrity of the Ummah; in this part we also
examine the methodology to a "recourse to the Qur’an and Sunnah
in order to get from there an understanding of and guidance for
solving our new problems." Dr. Fazlur Rahman, for example, in his
papers suggests some guiding lines from the early history of the
Community when the Qur’anic teaching and the Prophetic Sunnah
were creatively elaborated and interpreted to meet the new factors
and impacts upon Muslim Society into the ‘living Sunnah’. This
should not be confused "with empty liberalism or negative
spiritualism that seeks to drive a wedge between the form and the
essence and says what matters is the essence and that the form is at
best its cumbersome companion." This is further elaborated by Dr.
S.M. Yusuf in his paper in chapter 8. The other papers in this part
will, we believe, collectively answer the dubious arguments advanced
by the orientalists and their disciples in the Muslim world in their
efforts to cast doubts on the genuineness of the entire corpuses of
Hadlth.
The Prophet’s sayings and doings, the minute details of his
everyday life, provide us with the means of realising the inner
reality, the gist and spirit of the Islamic system of beliefs and
observances. The blessed Prophet gave to mankind a new scripture
and bestowed upon it a new knowledge, a new spirit of self
effacement and solitude for the Hereafter, a new ideal of contentment
and contemptuous disregard of worldly goods and glory, a new joy
of worship, repentance and supplication. This spiritual dimension of
Sunnah is very important to the believers who "looketh unto Allah
xxii HadIth and Sunnah — Ideals and Realities
and the last day and remember Allah much”. This aspect of the
Sunnah is the main theme of Part three of this book.
Each part of the book is a complete study in itself. In fact each
chapter of the book is a complete essay and can be read
independently of other chapters. For this reason some repetition was
unavoidable.
The system of transliteration of Arabic words adopted in this
book is generally the same as has been .employed in standard Islamic
publications. However, in international words and names, such as
Islam, Qur’an, Hajj etc., we have used the spelling ordinarily
current in the English language. And also the salutation to the Holy
Prophet in the words sallalla.hu ‘alayhi wasallam after his name, and
the invocation radiyallahu ‘anhu after the names of his companions
are omitted in print in order to accommodate the text to the English
language. They should, nevertheless, be understood as repeated in
each case.
P.K.K.
Kuala Lumpur
March 12, 1996
Shawal 22, 1416 AH.
PART ONE
HADlTH:
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT
1
HADITH — A SUBJECT
OF KEEN INTEREST
MUHAMMAD ZUBAYR SIDDlQl
The significance of Hadfth
The word hadfth primarily means ‘new’. It is used as opposed to

qadfm which means ‘old’. From this followed the use of the term for
a piece of news, a tale, a story or a report — be it historical or
legendary, true or false, relating to the present or to the past
immediate or remote. In this sense the word has been used by the
pre-Islamic poets, and in the Qur’an and the Tradition of the
Prophet. The story-tellers also were called huddath.
This general connotation of the word hadfth has, like that of
many other words (e.g. salat, sujud, ruku zakat, etc.), been
changed under the far-reaching influence of Islam. The Muslims
since the very life-time of the Prophet called the reports with regard
to his sayings and doings the best Hadlth, and by and by its use was
confined to the reports of the Prophet’s words and deeds only.
The Prophet himself as well as his immediate followers have
used it in this sense more than once. When the Prophet said to Abu
Hurayrah that he knew his anxiety about the Hadlth1, he did not
mean but his own Hadlth. ‘Utbah referred to this kind of Hadlth only
3
4 ZUBAYR SlDDlQI
when he said that Ibn 4 Abbas related only two or three Hadiths in a
month.2 ‘Umar I did not mean but the Hadlth3 of the Prophet when
he asked his friends not to relate too many Hadiths.4 When ‘All said:
"If you write the Hadlth write it with the Isnad," he meant the
Hadlth of the Prophet only.5
Hadlth and Sunnah
With this significance of the word Hadlth is very closely connected

the connotation of the word sunnah which originally meant
‘precedent’ and ‘custom’6 and which has been used by the Muslims
for the doings and practices of the Prophet only. Some of the
Muslim writers, as Goldziher says,7 have completely identified the
significance of these two philologically unconnected words; others
have drawn a line of distinction between their connotations. But the
distinction between them is only theoretical, as has been pointed out
by him.
Hadlth — a subject of keen interest
The Hadlth in this sense — i.e., the report of the sayings and the
doings of the Prophet — has been a subject of keen interest among
the Muslims since the very life-time of the Prophet himself. His
remarkable, stirring career could not have failed to draw the serious
attention of his people. Having lived forty years of quiet, almost
uneventful life, he started one of the most stirring and the greatest
movements which influenced all the various aspects of human
thought and life for all times, and he achieved his objective with
astounding success. At the very beginning of his life as a prophet he
struck at the very root of the firm beliefs and the long-established
customs of the pagan Arabs. They hated and boycotted him, insulted
and injured him, and compelled him to leave his home and hearth for
a distant town. But he, by his implicit faith in his cause, his tenacity
of purpose and his never failing zeal for his mission within ten years
from his exile, destroyed the established prestige of the Quraysh of
Makkah, shook the foundations of the pagan customs and the heathen
Hadiih — A Subject of Keen Interest 5
beliefs of the Arabs, humbled down their boastful tribal chiefs,

persuaded the Christians of Najran to come to terms with him,
demolished the strongholds of the Jews in Arabia, and founded a
theocracy which was destined to measure sword simultaneously and
successfully with the tremendous, well-equipped and trained armies
of Persia and Byzantium, and to influence the thought and life of
mankind for ever.
Such a career was bound to attract the attention of the people
who witnessed it. The Prophet, with his many-sided activities and
revolutionary utterances, could not have passed unobserved and
unnoticed by the people among whom he lived and moved. At least,
since the time he began to preach his mission, both his deadly foes
and his faithful and devoted friends must have been equally
interested in him as well as in his sayings and doings.
To his enemies he had been a revolutionary bent upon
destroying the whole fabric of their society whose activities they
keenly watched in order to stop the progress of his mission. His
utterances must have served them as an important topic for
reflection, conversation and sometimes even heated discussions. They
watched his movements so closely and carefully that many of his
secretly conceived plans could not escape their watchful eyes. Their
leader, Abu Lahab, kept close to him when he preached his faith to
the Arabian tribes, and dissuaded them from paying any attention to
his peaceful preachings.8 They discovered his plans when his
followers were migrating from Arabia to Abyssinia. They followed
their footsteps in order to try to stop them from getting out of their
clutches.9 They found out that he talked with the people of Madlnah
when he conversed with them in secret, and threatened the Madlnites
with open hostility if they continued their friendship with him.10
The interest of the followers of the Prophet in him and in his
sayings and doings was naturally greater than that of his foes. They
had accepted him as their sole guide and prophet. They had
completely identified themselves with him in his struggle against the
Quraysh and the other tribes. With his future and with the future of
the faith revealed to him was bound up their own future. On his
success depended their own success. All his actions served them as
6 Zt’BAYR SlDDIQI
a precedent (Sunnah), every word falling from his lips was a law to
them, and all his actions were virtuous in their eyes, which they
wanted to follow as faithfully as they could. When he chose a gold
ring for himself, his friends also put it on; and when he put it off,
threw it away, and put on a silver ring instead, they also followed
his example.11 If he offered prayers at midnight, all his friends
wanted to do the same, and he himself had to stop them from so
doing.12 If he fasted continuously for more than a day, his followers
also desired to do the same, and he had to explain to them his special
privileges.13 Zayd b. Khalid spent one whole night at his door in
order to see him offer his night prayers.14 Nawwas b. Sam‘an stayed
at MadTnah for one whole year in order to enquire from the Prophet
what was virtue and what was vice.15 Abfl Sa‘Td al-Khudrl observed
keenly how long he kept standing in his afternoon prayers.16 Ibn
‘Umar counted how many times he asked pardon of God in one
sitting.17
The HadTth in this sense of the reports of the sayings and doings
of the Prophet has been a subject of keen pursuit and constant study
by the Muslims throughout the Muslim world since the very
beginning of the history of Islam up to the present times. During the
life-time of the Prophet many of his Companions tried to get by heart
whatever he said, and observed keenly whatever he did; and they
reported these things to one another. Some of them wrote down what
he said in sahifahs which were later on read by them to their
students, and which were preserved in their families and also by the
Followers (TabVuri). After .the death of the Prophet, when his
Companions spread in various countries, some of them as well as
their Followers undertook long arduous journeys, courted poverty
and penury in order to collect them together. They founded
independent branches of literature which would help them in
understanding the HadTths of their prophet and in testing its
reliability and genuineness. They deduced various theological
sciences from them. Their remarkable activity with regard to the
preservation and propagation of HadTth is unique in the literary
history of the world. The stage of perfection upto which they
developed the system of Isnad in HadTth, the vast literature on the
Hadith — A Subject of Keen Interest 1
Asmd * al-Rijdl which they created as an aid to the formal criticism

of Traditions, the literature on the Usui al-Hadith which serves as an
aid to their material criticism, and the literature on the Mawdu'at
which deals with what has been forged and fabricated in the name of
the Prophet, remain unparalleled in the literary history of the world
even today.
The Companions of the Prophet had so much respect and
reverence for him that one of them collected his perspiration, and
made a will that it should be sprinkled on his dead body before it
was put into the grave.18 Some of them vied and sometimes even
quarrelled with one another in order to get the water left by him
after performing his ablution, and considered it a privilege to drink
it or to apply it to their bodies.19 Some of them preserved carefully
what was touched by him and used it as a cure for diseases.20 Some
of them presented to him their children for his blessings. Some of
them considered it a privilege if their sons were accepted by him as
his attendants.21
The writing of Hadiths
Many of these devoted Companions of the Prophet, if not all of

them, naturally hankered after the knowledge of what he said or did.
Abu Hurayrah kept his constant company for three years at the
sacrifice of all worldly pursuits in order to see and hear what he did
and said,22 and regularly devoted a considerable time to getting by
heart what he had heard from him.23 ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As
wrote down all that he heard from the Prophet.24 Abu Shihab, Zayd
and Ziyad also did the same. ‘Azib, when asked by Abu Bakr to
deliver his message to al-Bara\ did not leave his company until he
had related to him what he and the Prophet had done when they
came out of Makkah and were followed by the Quraysh.25 ‘Umar b.
al-Khattab, who was living at a distance from Madlnah and was
unable to attend to the Prophet everyday, made an agreement with
one of the Ansar that they would attend him every alternate day and
report to each other whatever they saw or heard from him.26 Such
others of his followers as failed to notice any of his sayings or
8 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
doings (on account of being away from him) learnt the same from
those who had heard them, taking great care about the veracity of
their reporters. As a matter of fact, it is said to have been a common
practice among the friends of the Prophet that whenever any two of
them met, one of them enquired from the other whether there was
any Hadlth (the news of the sayings and the doings of the Prophet),
and the other in his reply reported some sayings and doings of the
Prophet.27 This practice seems to have been in vogue at least among
some Muslim scholars even so late as the end of the eighth century
A.H., when lsma‘11 ‘Aqull of Baghdad on meeting Ibrahim of
Aleppo asked him, after the customary salutations, whether he knew
any Hadlth. The latter in his answer recited some Hadlths from the
Sahih al-Bukhdrl with their Isnads.28
The Prophet himself attached a good deal of importance to the
knowledge of his own Hadlth. He asked his friends and followers to
make them as widely known as possible, taking care that they should
not attribute to him anything falsely.29 He asked his followers to
acquire knowledge and teach it to others;30 and while explaining
knowledge, he included in it the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The course
of study prescribed by him to the Ashab al-Sujfah included the
Qur’an, the Sunnah and the art of writing.31 In the appointment of
the state officials also he gave preference to those who combined the
knowledge of the Sunnah with that of the Qur’an. Such was the case
with the appointment of the Imams32 and the Qadis, and is likely to
have been the case with other appointments also. He asked Mu’adh
when the latter was going out as governor of Yemen on what basis
he would govern. "On the basis of the Qur’an", Mu’adh replied.
"Suppose", said the Prophet, "that you do not find it in the Qur’an".
"Then on the basis of the Sunnah" answered Mu’adh.33
After the death of the Prophet the importance of Hadlth grew
greater and greater. Von Kremer rightly says:
The life of the Prophet, his discourses and utterances, his actions, his
silent approval and even his passive conduct, constituted next to the
Qur’an the second most important source of law for the young Muslim
empire.34
fiadith — A Subject of Keen Interest 9
Von Kremer has correctly pointed out the importance of the HadTth
as a source of Muhammadan law. But actually the part played by it
in the development of Arabic literature is much greater than this. It
is the HadTth and the Qur’an that have been the main cause of the
origin of many branches of Arabic literature, e.g., History,
Geography, the collection of the ancient Arabian poetry,
Lexicography, etc. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the
HadTth and the Qur’an had been the basis of all the scientific
activities, of the Arabs.
Thus, the HadTth originated in the early life of the Prophet of
Islam, developed largely throughout his life, and spread
simultaneously with the spread of Islam throughout the vast Muslim
dominions. The Muslim armies which conquered Syria, Palestine,
Persia and Egypt included a large number of the Companions of
Prophet Muhammad, who carried his HadTth wherever they went.
Even the distant lands of North Africa and Spainj5 received the
reports of Prophet’s sayings and doings before the end of the first
century. Similarly, the message of the Sunnah and the Qur’an had
been received by India before its conquest by Muslims before the
end of the first century A.H.36
The collection of Hadfths
HadTth which thus spread throughout the vast Muslim dominions had
been preserved for about a century partly in writing (in the form of
laws and letters dictated by the Prophet himself, and in the forrp of
various sahifahs ascribed to many of his Companions), and partly in
the memory of those who had associated with him and watched
carefully his words and deeds. After the death of the Prophet, ‘Umar
I intended to collect the HadTths. He gave the matter his careful
consideration for one whole month, invoking the help of God in his
decision, and seeking the advice of his friends. But he had to give up
the great project for the fear of the Qur’an being neglected by the
Muslims.37
‘Umar II (61-101 A.H.), the saintly Caliph of the dynasty of the
worldly Umayyads, initiated and partly carried out the tremendous
10 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
task which was only thought of by his great predecessor whom he

tried to follow in many respects. This saintly Caliph had a great zeal
for his religion which he tried to purify from the evils that had crept
into it by the time he came to power.38 The teaching and the
collection of HadTth naturally formed an important part of his plan.
He appointed paid teachers to teach the Qur’an to the ignorant
Bedouins*39 supported and helped the teachers and students of Fiqh,40
sent instructions to the governor of the Hijaz that weekly lectures
should be delivered on HadTth,41 and sent out men well-versed in the
subject to Egypt and North Africa as instructors to the Muslims
living in those countries.42
Fearing the loss of Hadith, he took steps towards their
collection. To a great traditionist, Abu Bakr b. Muhammad b. Hazm
(d, 100 A.H./719 A.D.) who lived in MadTnah, he wrote to ask him
to write down all the HadTth of the Prophet and of 'Umar —
particularly those he could learn from * Amrah, the daughter of ‘ Abd
al-Rahman, who was at that time the best custodian of such HadTth
as were related by ‘A’ishah.43 ‘Umar 11 is also reported to have
asked Sa‘d b. Ibrahim44 and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri45 to collect HadTth
in the form of books in order to have them circulated throughout his
dominion. According to Abu Nu‘aym’s History of Isfahan (cited by
Ibn Hajar),46 ‘Umar even wrote a circular letter asking the
traditionists living in the various parts of his dominion to collect in
the form of books as many HadTth as were available.47
The fact that these works have not been mentioned by any of the
later writers on the subject, and that there appear to be some
contradictions in later references to the persons concerned, has led
an eminent orientalist to hold that what has been attributed to ‘Umar
b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz in connection with the collection of HadTth is only
an expression of what the Muslims would expect from the Pious
Caliph.48 But another eminent orientalist, Dr. Sprenger, had already
shown49 that the early Muslim writers used to refer to the authors
instead of referring to the books. As regards the contradictions, they
are only apparent, and can be easily explained. Therefore, it is not
merely an expression of what later Muslims expected from the Pious
Caliph, but as a matter of fact all the attending circumstances point
Hadfth — A Subject of Keen Interest 11
to the probability of what is attributed to him.

The great work initiated by ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘AzJz was helped
by the spirit of the age, and the result was extensive. Abu Qalabah
(d. 104 or 107 A.H.) is stated to have made a will of his books.50
Makhul (d. 116 A.H./734 A.D.), who had travelled through Egypt
and Syria and had lived for some time in MadTnah in order to
acquire knowledge at all these places,51 wrote a book on the Sunnah
which has been mentioned by Ibn al-Nadlm in his Fihrist.52 Al-ZuhrT
(d. 124 A.H./742 A.D.) is stated by Ibn Sa‘d to have collected so
many Hadlth that after his death his manuscripts needed beasts of
burden for their removal.53
The early students and workers on the Hadlth were followed by
various Muhaddithun who carried on the work begun by their
predecessors almost simultaneously in various provinces of the vast
Muslim empire. Of these collectors of Hadlths, ‘Abd al-Malik b.
‘Abd al-‘AzTz b. Jurayj (d. 150 A.H./760 A.D.) worked at Makkah,
Sa‘d b. ‘Arubah (d. 157 A.H.) at Mesopotamia, al-Awza‘T (d. 159
A.H.) in Syria, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman (d. 159 A.H.) at
Madinah, Za’idah b. Qudamah (d. 160 A.H.) and Sufyan al-Thawri
(d. 160 A.H.) at Kufah, and Hammad b. Salamah (d. 165 A.H.) at
Basrah.54
As almost all these works are entirely lost, no opinion can be
expressed on their plan, method or merit. But Ibn al-Nadlm who has
mentioned these works has also given a short criticism in each case.
He calls the works of Ibn Jurayj, Ibn ‘Arubah, al-Awza‘T, Ibn ‘Abd
al-Rahman and Za’idah b. Qudamah works on the Sunnah, and says
that they are arranged like books of Fiqh — in chapters devoted to
its problems. They were probably works of the same type as the
Muwatta ’ of Imam Malik who might have followed in the general
plan of it the system adopted by some of these earlier writers. Two
of the books of Sufyan al-Thawri, however, which were related by
various scholars, were works of a different type. About one of them
Ibn al-Nadlm says that it is similar to Hadlth works.55 But this also
has been lost.
12 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
The Muwatta9
The earliest work connected with our subject which has been
received by us is the Muwatta7 of Imam Malik which has been fully
described and criticised by Goldziher.56 He is of the opinion that the
Muwatta * is not a work on Hadlth in the same sense in which the
Sahlh al-Bukhdrl and other later works are:
It is a corpus juris, and not a corpus traditionum. Its object was not to
sift the Hadlths current in the Muslim world and to collect them
together, but to demonstrate the religious laws, rituals and practices
which were in keeping with the Sunnah prevalent in Madlnah, and
which were in agreement with the Ijmd' accepted by the Muslims of
Madlnah, and to produce on the basis of the Ijma' and the Sunnah a
theoretical standard for doubtful cases.
In order to prove his theory, Goldziher has quoted the fact that Imam
Malik has included in his work a large number of fatwas and
customs in vogue in Madlnah, without trying to prove them by
Hadlth; that even in quoting the Hadlths he has not given the Isndd
in all cases, and that he has not made any mention of such Hadlths
as are of purely historical character.
These facts certainly show that the Muwatta # was not intended
to serve as a collection of Hadlths. But it may be said with equal
justice that it is not a book of Fiqh in the same sense in which later
books on Fiqh are said to be works on the subject. It contains a very
large number of Hadith al-Ahkam (legal traditions). According to al-
Zarqaril, as Goldziher has pointed out, there are in it 1,720 Hadlths,
of which 600 contain Isnads, 222 are mursal, 613 are mawquf and
285 stop either at a Sahabi or at a Tabi'i (i.e. are either mawquf ox
maqtuf)51. According to al-Ghafiql, the total number of Hadlths in
the twelve versions of the Muwatta' is 666, out of which 97 differ
in the different versions of the book, and the rest are common in all
the various recensions.-58 The great difference between al-Zarqani’s
and al-Ghafiql’s estimates seems to be due to the latter's not taking
into account the versions of the Muwatta7 by al-Shayban! and
others.59 Originally, however, the number of Hadlths in the
ffadtth — A Subject of Keen Interest 13
Muwatta’ is reported to have been between 4,000 and 10,000 which

were reduced by the author himself to about 1,000.60
The Muwatta ’ may be treated as a good collection of Hadlths in
the sense of the legal traditions. Some Muslim authorities like ‘Izz
al-DTn b. al-Athlr, Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr and ‘Abd al-Haq of Delhi
include it instead of the Sunan of Ibn Majah in the six canonical
collections. Of course the majority of them do not count it as one of
the six books because almost all the important traditions contained in
it are included in the Sahihs of al-Bukharl and Muslim.
On the analogy of the Muwatta', however, we may reasonably
assume that the other Sunan works compiled before or
simultaneously with it also contained a fair proportion of the Hadith
al-Ahkdm, and might therefore be treated like the Muwatta ’ as HadTth
works.
The legal and historical traditions
Since the earliest times the Muslims have made a distinction between
the legal traditions (Hadith al-Ahkdm) and the purely historical
traditions (the Maghdzt). In the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa‘d some
Companions are described as being well versed in the Fiqh (Law)
and others are stated to be authorities on the Maghazi (the historical
traditions). In the treatment of the legal traditions they had been
careful and critical; whereas in relating the historical traditions they
were rather free. Suhayb, a Companion, used to say: "Come along,
I will tell you the tales of our battles (Maghazi), but I will not relate
to you that the Prophet has said such and such things."61 Sa’ib b.
Yazld heard Talhah relate the tales of the battle of Uhud, whereas he
did not hear other Companions relate any Hadlths of the Prophet.62
from these and other similar reports it appears that the Maghazi
served the early Muslims as topics for their general conversations,
frit with the legal traditions they had been careful and scrupulous.
The word Fiqh itself had been used sometimes in the sense of
HadTth. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, after relating a HadTth, points out that here
14 ZUBAYR SlDDlQI
the word Fiqh is used in the sense of HadTth.63 As a matter of fact,

the Islamic law in its earliest period consisted of little else than the
legal traditions (Hadith al-Ahkam). It is therefore that all such
Companions as are reported to have related the largest number of
Hadiths e.g. ‘A’ishah, Ibn Mas‘ud, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas are
described as Faqihs.
The number of the legal traditions appears to be rather small.
Muhibb al-DTn al-Tabari has mentioned only 1,029 of them in his al-
Ahkdm al-Sughrah which is devoted to the legal traditions only.64
Hafiz ‘ Abd al-Ghanl in his ‘ Umdat al-Ahkam has mentioned only 500
of them.65 Ibn Hajar in his Bulugh al-Maram has quoted about 1,338
of them.66 Ibn TaymTyah (Majd al-DTn) in his Muntaqa has of course
quoted a much larger number. But he has often treated the sayings
and the doings of the Companions also as Hadiths, and sometimes he
treats the various versions of the same Hadiths as independent
ones.67
Classification of books of Hadith
Books of Hadith have been classified into the following groups:

1. Sahifahs.
2. Ajza\
3. Rasa’il or Kutub.
4. Musannafs.
5. Musnads.
6. Mu jams.
7. Jami's.
8. Sunans.
9. Mustadraks.
10. Mustakhrajs.
11. Arba Iniyat.
1. The Sahifahs are such collections of the sayings of the

Prophet as were written down by some of his Companions during his
life-time or by their followers in the next generation. Several of these

Sahifahs have been mentioned by Goldziher according to whom some
of them are also described as Rasa’il and as Kutub.6% One of them
which was collected by Abu Hurayrah and taught and handed down
by him to his student, Hammam b. Munabbih, has been edited by
Dr. Hamldullah.69 But the most important of them is the Sahifah
which was collected by ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As, who gave it the
title of al-Sadiqah.70
2. The Ajza’ are such collections of the Traditions as have been
handed down on the authority of one single individual — be he a
Companion or of any generation after him. The term Juz’ is also
applied to such collections of HadTths as have been compiled on a
particular subject-matter — e.g. ‘Intention’, the ‘Vision of God’,
etc.71
3. The Rasa ’il are such collections of HadTths that deal with one
particular topic out of eight topics into which the contents of the
Jam' books of Hadlths may be generally classified.
These topics are:
i. Beliefs or Dogma.
ii. Laws or Ahkam which are also known as Sunan and include all
the subjects of Fiqh from Taharat or Purity to Wasaya or
Exhortations.
iii. Ruqaq, i.e.. Piety, Asceticism, Mysticism.
iv. Etiquette in eating, drinking, travelling, etc.
v. Tafslr or commentary on the Qur’an.
vi. Ta’rikh and Siyar, i.e., historical and biographical matters
which include (a) Cosmology, Ancient History, etc. and (b) the
life of the Prophet, of his Companions and Successors.
v». Fitan, i.e.. Crises.
viii. Appreciation (Manaqib) and denunciation (Mathalib) of persons,
places, etc.
The Rasa ’il are also called Books (Kutub). To this class belong many
°f the works of Ibn Hajar, al-Suyutl, and others.72
4. Musannafs are those large collections of HadTths in which the
haditions relating to most or all the various topics mentioned above
16 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
are put together and arranged in various books or chapters, each

dealing with a particular topic. To this class belong the Muwatta' of
Imam Malik, the Sahih of Muslim, etc.
5. The term Musnad (supported) was originally used for such
traditions as were supported by a complete uninterrupted chain of
authorities (IsnM) going back to a Companion who related it from
the Prophet himself.73 But later on the term came to be used in the
general sense of a reliable and authoritative tradition. In this sense
the term is also used for all reliable works in the Hadlth literature,
and works like the Sunan of al-Dariml and the Sahih of al-BukharT
are called Musnads. But technically it is used only for those
collections of HadTths in which they are arranged according to the
names of the final authorities by whom they are related, irrespective
of their subject-matter. Such are the Musnads of Abu Dawud TayalisT
(d. 204 A.H./819 A.D.), Ahmad b. Hanbal (d. 233 A.H./847 A.D.),
‘Abdullah b. Muhammad b. AbT Shaybah (d. 235 A.H./849 A.D.),
‘Uthman b. AbT Shaybah (d. 237 A.H./851 A.D.), Abu Khaythamah
(d. 234 A.H./844 A.D.) and others.74 He who collected HadTths in
the form of a Musnad is called a Musnid or a Musnidl,75 The Musnad
works themselves, however, differ in detail in the arrangement of the
authorities who originally related them. In some of them they are
arranged in the alphabetical order of their names. In some of them
they are arranged according to their relative merit in the acceptance
of Islam and in taking part in the early important events of the
Prophet’s mission. In some of them they are arranged according to
the affinity of their tribe to the Prophet.76
There are, however, certain Musnad works which are divided
into chapters devoted to various subjects, and in each chapter the
HadTths are arranged according to the original authorities,
Companions, by whom they are related. This plan is followed by
Abu Ya‘la77 (d. 276 A.H./889 A.D.) and Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman in
their Musnad works.78 These works combine the characteristics of
the Musnad and of the Musannaf works.
Some of the Mitr/zarf-compilers, however, tried to collect
together all the available traditions reported by the various
Companions.79 The Musnad of Ibn al-Najjar is said to have contained
tfadfth — A Subject of Keen Interest 17
the traditions related by all the Companions. The Musnad of Ahmad

b. Hanbal contains more than 30,000 traditions reported by about
700 Companions.80 The Musnad of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman is reported
by HajT KhalTfah on the authority of Ibn Hazm to have contained
traditions related by 1,300 Companions.81 There are, however, many
Musnad works which are devoted to traditions related either by
special group of Companions or by one single Companion only.
6. The term Mu jam is generally applied to such works on
various subjects as are arranged in alphabetical order. The
geographical and the biographical dictionaries of Yaqut are called
Mu jam al-Buldan and Mu jam al-Udaba, because they are arranged
alphabetically. Such Musnad collections of Hadlths as are arranged
under the names of the Companions in their alphabetical order are
also known as Mu jam al-Sahabah. But according to the authorities
on the science of Tradition, the term is used technically for such
collections of Hadlths only as are arranged not according to the
Companions who reported them, but according to the traditionists
from whom the compiler himself received them. The names of such
traditionists (shuyukh) are arranged alphabetically,82 and all* the
traditions received from each shaykh are then collected together
irrespective of their contents and subject-matter. To this class belong
two of the collections of al-Tabaranl (260 A.H./870 A.D.-360/970)
and the collections of Ibrahim b. Isma‘11 (d. 371 A.H./981 A.D.)
and Ibn al-Qani‘ (d. 350 A.H./960 A.D.).83 The largest collection by
al-Tabaranl is in reality a Musnad work, not a Mu jam work; for it
is a Mu jam al-Sahabah, not a Mu jam al-Shuyukh.
7. J&mV are those collections of Hadlths which contain
traditions relating to all the various subject-matters mentioned under
the Rasa'il. Thus, the Sahlh of al-Bukhar! as well as the book of
Tirmidhl is called Jami'. But the Sahih of Muslim is not described
as Jami', because (unlike al-Bukharl) it does not contain traditions
relating to all the chapters of the Qur’an.
8. Sunan are such collections of the traditions as contain Hadith
al-Ahkam (legal traditions) only, and leave out those traditions which
relate to historical and other matters. Thus the collections of
Editions made by Abu Dawud, Nasa’T and many other traditionists
18 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
are known as Sunan works.

9. Mustadraks are such collections of Hadlths in which the
compiler, having accepted the conditions laid down by any previous
compiler, collects together such other traditions as fulfil those
conditions and were missed by the previous compiler. To this class
belongs the Mustadrak of al-Hakim who collected together such
Hadlths as fulfilled the conditions laid down by al-Bukharl and
Muslim and were not included by them in their Sahlhs.
10. Mustakhrajs are those collections of Hadlths in which a later
compiler of them collects together fresh Isnads for such traditions as
were collected by a previous compiler on the basis of different chains
of Isnad. To this class belongs the Mustakhraj of Abu Nu‘aym
Isfahan! on the Sahihs of al-Bukharl and of Muslim. In this book
Abu Nu‘aym has given fresh chains of Isnad for some of the
traditions which were already included by al-Bukharl and Muslim in
their Sahihs with different Isnads.
11. The Arba'Myat, as the name shows, are the collections of
forty Hadlths relating to one or more subjects which may have
appeared to be of special interest to the compiler. An example of this
class is the Arba ‘In of al-Nawaw!.
Of all these eleven classes of the collections of Hadlths, the
Sahifahs**as their description shows, were the earliest in origin. The
Mu'jams, the Mustadraks, the Mustakhrajs and the Arba ‘inlyat must
have been the latest. The A]za' and the Rasa'il in their technical
sense described above also must have been later in origin and
development than the Musannaf and the Musnad works. The Sunan
and the Jami ‘ being only subdivisions of the Musannaf works, the
problem of the priority of origin of the remaining classes of the
Hadlth works rests between the Musannafs and the Musnads which
is difficult to decide. Goldziher is of the opinion that the Musnads
are earlier in origin than the Musannafs which originated under the
influence of the legal system of the Ashdb aIHadith.u But as the
collection of Hadlths was greatly due to their legal importance, it is
not unlikely that some of the very early collections of them were
arranged according to their subject-matter connected with the Islamic
legal, ritual or religious problems, as is also suggested by the title
Kitab al-Sunan given to them.

The Hadith thus collected by the continuous, hard and honest
work of many generations of the Muslims of various countries
belonging to different schools of thought, has been a subject of study
of the Muslim scholars and a source of inspiration to the Muslim
world upto the present time. The Hadith together with the Qur’an
served the Muslims as the main basis of their social structure. On
this twofold basis originated and developed the various Islamic
sciences. To these two turns an average Muslim for inspiration and
guidance. On them can be properly based the reconstruction of the
Islamic thought according to the requirements of modern times. The
efforts of many modern reformers have so far failed because they
ignored the Qur’an and the Hadith, just as some Medieval Islamic
sects could not flourish because they had ignored their importance.
NOTES
1. Sahih al-Bukhdri (Egypt 1309 A.H.), i, 20.

2. Abu Muhammad al-Dariml, Sunan (Kanpur 1292-93 A.H.), ed. ‘Abd al-
RashTd al-KashmfrT, p.46.
3. Al-DhahabT, Tadkhiratal-Hujfdz(Hyderabad 1330 A.H.), ed. SayyidMustafa
‘All, vol.i, p.6.
4. Ibid., vol.i, p.7.
5. Ahmad b. Muhammad al-QastallanT, al-Mawdhib al-Ladunniyah (Egypt 1291
A.H.), vol.v, p.454.
6. Mufaddaliydt(Oxford 1918-21), ed. C.J. Lyall, vol.lxvi p.5; vol.cxxiii, p. 16.
7. I. Goldziher, Muhammedanische Studien (Haile 1889), vol.ii, pp.11-13.
8. Ibn Sa'd, Kitdb al-Tabaqdt al-Kabir (Leiden 1904-18), ed. Edward Sachau,
et.al., vol.i, pt.I, p.145.
9. Ibid., p. 136.
10. Ibid.
11. Sahih al-Bukhdri, kitab al-I'tisdm, bab ai-iqtidd’ bi afdl al-nabi, vol.iv,
p. 166.
12. Ibid., k. al-tahajjud, b. saldt al-layl, vol.i, p. 136.
13. Ibid.
20 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
14. Ibid., k. al-VtisQm, b. al-ta'ammuq, vol.iv, p.166.

15. Sahih Muslim (Delhi 1309 A.H.), k. al-Birr, b. tafsir al-Birr, vol.ii, p.314.
16. Abu Dawud, Sunan (Delhi 1346 A.H.), ed. ‘Abd al-Ahad, "Istighfar", vol.i,
p.119.
17. Ibid., "Takhfif al-Ukhrayayn*, vol.i, p.124.
18. Sahih al-Bukhari, iv, 62.
19. Ibid., k. al-Wadub. Isti‘mdl Fadl al-Waduvol.i, pp.32-33.
20. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.viii, p.234.
21. Ibid., p.73.
22. Ibid., vol.iv, pt.2, p.56.
23. Al-DarimT, op. cit., p.45.
24. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.ii, pt.2, p.125.
25. Ibid., vol.iv, pt.2, p.80.
26. Sahih al-Bukhdri, k. 7/m, b. al-Tandwub, vol.i, p.19.
27. Zeitschriftderdeutsch'tnmoregenlandischen Gesellschafi (Leipzig), vol.x, p.2.
28. Ibid.
29. Waliy al-Dfn Muhammad b. ‘Abdullah ai-Khatlb aI-‘Umarf al-TibnzT, Mishkdt
al-Masdbih (Lucknow 1326 A.H.), p.32.
30. Ibid., p.35.
31. Hammam b. Munabbih, Sahifah (Paris 1380 A.H.), ed. HamTdultah, p.9.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.ii, pt.2, p.107.
34. Von Kremer, Orient under the Caliphs (Calcutta 1920), trl. S. Khuda Bakhsh,
p.260.
35. Al-Munaydhir, a Companion, had visited Spain. See Ahmad al-Maghribf al-
Maqqafi, Nafh al-Tib (Cairo 1302 A.H.), vol.i, p. 130.
36. See ch.I in India’s Contribution to the Study of Hadlth Literature (Dacca
1955).
37. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.iii, pt.I, p.206. However, ‘Umar spread in various
other ways the knowledge of Hadlth among Muslims living in various parts
of the Caliphate.
38. Goldziher, op. cit., vol.2, p.34.
39. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. al-JawzI, Strat Vmarb. 'Abd al-Aztz(Egypt 1331 A.H.).
40. Ibid.
41. Ibid.
42. Al-Maqqari, op. cit., vol.i, p. 130.
43. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.ii, pt.2, p. 134; Sahlh al-Bukhdrl, k. 7/m, b. kitabat.
44. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, Jdmi‘ Baydn al-Ilm wa Fadlihi (Cairo), pt.I, p.76.
45. Shams al-Dfn Muhammad al-Sakha wl, Fath al-Mughfth (commentary on Zayn
ai-Dfn ‘Iraqi’s Alffyah) (Lucknow), p.239.
46. Ibn Hajar ‘AsqalanI, Fath al-Barl (commentary to Sahlh al-Bukhari), (Egypt
1319 A.H.), vol.i, p.174.
47. Ibid.
48. Goldziher, op. cit., vol.ii, pp.210-211.
49. A. Sprenger, "On the origin and progress of writing down historical facts
among the Musulmans", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta),
vol.xxv, pp. 103 If., 1856.
50. Al-Dhahabf, op. cit., vol.i, p.82.
51. Ibid., p.95.
52. Ibn al-Nadfm, al-Fihrist (Leipzig 1871-72), ed. Gustav Flligel, pp.225-27.
53. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.ii, pt.2, p. 136.
54. Ibn al-Nadfm, loc. cit.
55. Ibid., p.225.

57. Ibid., p.213.
58. Shah ‘Abd al-‘Azfz Dihlawl, Bustan al-Muhaddithin (Delhi 1898), p.25.
59. viz. Yahya al-TamTml, Abu Hudhayfah and Suwayd b. Sa‘fd.
60. Muhammad b. *Abd al-Baql al-Zarqanl, commentary on Imam Malik’s al~

Muwatta' (Egypt 1310 A.H.), i, 8.
61. Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., vol.iii, pt.I, p.164.
62. Sahlh al-Bukhdrl, k. al-Jihad, b. man haddatha bf mashdhidihi, vol.ii, p.97.
63. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, op. cit., pt.ii, p.27. ,
64. See Mustafa b. ‘Abdullah HajT Khalifah, Kashf al-Zunun (Leipzig 1835^42),
ed. Gustav Fliigel, vol.i, pp. 174-75.
65. Ibid., vol.iv, p.254 ff.
66. Ibid., vol.ii, p.68.
67. Ibid., vol.vi, p. 167. This number is based on my own calculation.

22 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
69. Hammam, op. cit.

70. Goldziher, op. c/7., vol.ii, pp. 10-11.
71. Shah ‘Abd al-'Azfz DihlawT, Risalah dar Fann-i-Usui-i-Hadith (‘Uj&lah-i-
Ndfl'ah) (Delhi 1255 A.H.), P-22.
72. /£«/., pp.19-20, 22-23.
73. For the difference of opinion about the definition of the musnad Hadlth, Tahir
b. Salih al-Jaza’iri, Tawjfh al-Nazar ild Usui al-Athar (Egypt 1328 A.H.),
p.66.
74. A large number of Musnad works are mentioned by HajT KhalTfah, op. cit.,
vol.v, pp.532-43.
75. Goldziher, op. cit., vol.ii, p.227.
76. DihlawT, op. cit., p.2i.
77. DihlawT, Bustdn al-Muhaddithin, p.37,
78. HajT KhalTfah, op. cit., vol.v, p.534.
79. Goldziher, op. cit., vol.ii, p.229.
$0. Taj al-DTn Abu Nasr 'Abd al-Wahhab al-SubkT, Tabaqdt al-ShdfiTyah al~
Kubrd, vol.i, p.202.
11. HajT KhalTfah, op. cit., vol.v, p.534.
12. Should they be arranged in the chronological order, the work would be called
Mashikhat. See Catalogue of the Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in the
Oriental Public Library at Bankipore (Patna 1920), vol.v, pt.2 (1927), p.41
fn.
3. DihlawT, op. cit., pp.56, 95.
4. Goldziher, op. cit., vol.ii, pp.232 ff.
2
COLLECTION AND
PRESERVATION
OF HADITH
MUHAMMAD ‘ALI
Sunnah and Hadith
Sunnah or Hadith is the second and undoubtedly secondary source

from which the teachings of Islam are drawn. Sunnah literally means
a way or rule or manner of acting or mode of life, and Hadith, a
saying conveyed to man either through hearing or through
revelation.1 In its original sense, therefore Sunnah indicate the doings
and HadTth the sayings of the Holy Prophet; but in effect both cover
the same ground and are. applicable to his actions, practices, and
sayings, HadTth being the narration and record of the Sunnah but
containing, in addition, various prophetical and historical elements.
There are three kinds of Sunnah. It may be a qaul — a saying of the
Holy Prophet which has a bearing on a religious question, a_/T7 —
an action or a practice of his, or a taqrlr — his silent approval of the
action or practice of another. We have now to consider to what
extent can teachings of Islam, its principles and its law, be drawn
from this source. Any student of the Qur’an will see that the Holy
23
24 Muhammad ‘AlI
Book generally deals with the broad principles or essential of

religion, going into detail in very rare cases. The detail were
generally supplied by the Holy Prophet himself, either by showing
in his practice how an injunction shall be carried out, or by giving
an explanation 4n words.
The Sunnah or Hadlth of the Holy Prophet was not, as is
generally supposed, a thing whereof the need may have been felt
after his death, for it was as much needed in his lifetime. The two
most important religious institutions of Islam, for instance, are
prayer and zakat; yet when the injunctions relating to prayer and
zakat' were delivered, and they are repeatedly met with both in
Makkah and Madlnah revelations, no details were supplied. Aqxmu
al-saldta (keep up prayer) is the Qur'anic injunction, and it was the
Prophet himself who by his own actions gave the details of the
service. Atu al-zakata (pay the alms) is again an injunction frequently
repeated in the Holy Qur'an, yet it was the Holy Prophet who gave
the rules and regulations for its payment and collection. These are
but two examples; but since Islam covered the whole sphere of
human activities, hundreds of points had to be explained by the Holy
Prophet by his example in action and word, while on the moral side,
his was the pattern which every Muslim was required to follow
(33:21). The man, therefore, who embraced Islam stood in need of
both the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Transmission of Hadlth in Prophet’s lifetime
The transmission of the practices and sayings of the Holy Prophet

from one person to another, thus became necessary during the
Prophet’s lifetime. In fact, the Holy Prophet himself used to give
instructions with regard to the transmission of what he taught. Thus
when a deputation of the tribe of Rabl‘ah came to wait upon him in
the early days of Madlnah, the Prophet concluded his instructions to
them with the words: "Remember this and report it to those whom
you have left behind".2 Similar were his instructions in another case:
"Go back to your people and teach them these things".3 There is
another report according to which on the occasion of a pilgrimage.
Collection and Preservation of Hadtth 25
the Holy Prophet, after enjoining on the Muslims the duty of holding
sacred each other’s life, property and honour, added: "He who is
present here should carry this message to him who is absent”.4
Again, there is ample historical evidence that whenever a people
embraced Islam, the Holy Prophet used to send to them one or more
of his missionaries who not only taught them the Holy Qur’an but
also explained to them how the injunctions of the Holy Book were
to be carried out in practice. It is also on record that people came to
the Holy Prophet and demanded teachers who could teach them the
Qur’an and the Sunnah: "Send us men to teach us the Qur’an and the
Sunnah." And the Companions of the Holy Prophet knew full well
that his actions and practices were to be followed, should no express
direction be met with in the Holy Qur’an. It is related that when
Mu’adh b. Jabal, on being appointed Governor of Yemen by the
Holy Prophet, was asked how he would judge cases, his reply was,
"by the Book of Allah." Asked what he would do if he did not find
a direction in the Book of Allah, he replied, "by the Sunnah of the
Apostle of Allah".5 The Sunnah was, therefore, recognized in the
lifetime of the Holy Prophet as affording guidance in religious
matters.
Writing of HadTth in Prophet’s lifetime
The popular idea in the West that the need for Sunnah was felt and
the force of law given to Hadlth after the death of the Holy Prophet
is falsified by the above facts. Nor was the preservation of what the
Prophet did or said an after-thought on the part of the Muslims, for
the Companions of the Holy Prophet6 while translating into practice
most of his sayings endeavoured also to preserve them in memory as
well as on paper. The need of the Sunnah, its force as law, and its
preservation are all traceable to the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. A
special importance was, from the first, attached to his sayings and
deeds which were looked upon as a source of guidance by his
followers. They were conscious of the fact that these things must be
preserved for future generations; hence they not only kept them in
fteir memory but even resorted to pen and ink for their preservation.
26 Muhammad ‘Alj
AbO Hurayrah tells us that when one of the Ansdr (Helpers)

complained to the Holy Prophet of his inability to remember what he
heard from him, the Prophet’s reply was that he should seek the help
of his right hand (referring to the use of pen).7 This Hadlth exists in
many forms. Another well-known report is from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr:
I used to write everything that I heard from the Holy Prophet,

intending to commit it to memory. (On some people taking objection
to this) 1 spoke about it to the Prophet who said, ‘Write down, for I
only speak the truth’.8
This Hadlth is very well-known and exists in thirty different forms

with small difference. Yet again, there is another report from Abu
Hurayrah: "None of the Companions preserved more Hadlth than
myself, but ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr is an exception, for he used to write
and I did not write."9 Anas b. Malik states that Abu Bakr wrote
down for him the laws regarding alms.10 ‘AIT had also a saying of
the Prophet with him in writing.11 In the year of the conquest of
Makkah, the Holy Prophet delivered a sermon on the occasion of a
man being killed by way of retaliation for some old grievance. When
the sermon was finished, one from among the people of Yemen came
forward and requested the Holy Prophet to have it written down for
him, and the Prophet gave orders to that effect.12 These reports show
that while generally Hadlth was committed to memory, it was
occasionally, when there was need for it, reduced to writing. The
last-mentioned incident affords the clearest testimony that, whatever
the Companions heard from the lips of the Holy Prophet, they tried
to keep in their memory, for how else could an order be given for
the writing of a sermon which had been delivered orally.
Why Hadlth was not generally written
It is, however, a fact that the sayings of the Holy Prophet were not
generally written, and memory was the chief means of their
preservation. The Holy Prophet sometimes objected to the writing
down of Hadlth. Abu Hurayrah is reported to have said:
Collection and Preservation of Hadith 27
The Prophet of God came to' us while we were writing Hadith and
said, ‘What is this that you are writing?’ We said, ‘Hadith which we
hear from thee.’ He said,‘What! a book other than the Book of Allah?’
Now the disapproval in this case clearly shows fear lest Hadith be
mixed up with the Holy Qur’an, though there was nothing essentially
wrong in writing down Hadith, nor did the Holy Prophet ever forbid
its being done. On the other hand, as late as the conquest of
Makkah, we find him giving orders himself for the writing down of
a certain Hadith at the request of a hearer. He also wrote letters, and
treaties were also put down in writing, which shows that he never
meant that the writing of anything besides the Qur’an was illegal.
What he feared, as the report clearly shows, was that if his sayings
were written down generally like the Qur’an, the two might get
confused together, and the purity of the text of the Holy Qur’an be
affected.
Memory could be trusted for preservation of knowledge
Nor was memory an unreliable means for the preservation of Hadith,

for the Holy Qur’an itself was safely preserved in the memory of the
Companions of the Holy Prophet in addition to being committed to
writing. In fact, had the Holy Qur’an been simply preserved in
writing, it could not have been handed down intact to future
generations. The aid of memory was invoked to make the purity of
the text of the Qur’an doubly sure. The Arab had a wonderfully
retentive memory, and he had to store up his knowledge of countless
things in his memory. It was in this safe custody that the beautiful
poetry of the pre-Islamic days had been kept alive and intact. Indeed,
before Islam, writing was but rarely resorted to, and memory was
chiefly relied upon in all important matters. Hundreds and even
thousands of verses could be recited from memory by one man, and
the reciters would also remember the names of the persons through
whom those verses had been transmitted to them. Asma‘1, a later
transmitter, says that he learned twelve thousand verses by heart
before he reached his majority; of Abu Zamzam, Asma‘I says that
be recited verses from a hundred poets in a single sitting; Sha'bl says
28 Muhammad ‘Au
that he knew so many verses by heart that he could continue

repeating them for a month; and these verses were the basis of the
Arabic vocabulary and even of Arabic grammar. Among the
Companions of the Holy Prophet were many who knew by heart
thousands of the verses of pre-Islamic poetry, and of these one was
‘A’ishah, the Prophet’s wife. The famous al-Bukhart trusted to
memory alone for the retention of as many as six hundred thousand
Hadlths, and many students corrected their manuscripts by
comparing them with what he had only retained in his memory.
Collection of Hadlth: First stage
The first steps for the preservation of Hadlth were thus taken in the
lifetime of the Holy Prophet,13 but all his followers were not equally
interested in the matter, nor had all equal chances of being so.
Everyone had to work for his living, while on most of them the
defence of the Muslim community against overwhelming odds had
placed an additional burden. There was, however, a party of students
called the Ashdb al-Suffdh who lived in the mosque itself, and who
were specially equipped for the teaching of religion to the tribes
outside Madlnah. Some of these would go to the market and do a
little work to earn livelihood; others would not care to do even that.
Of this little band, the most famous was Abu Hurayrah, who would
remain in the Prophet’s company at all costs, and store up in his
memory everything which the Holy Prophet said or did. His efforts
were, from the first, directed towards the preservation of Hadlth. He
himself is reported to have said once:
You say, Abu Hurayrah is profuse in narrating Hadlth from the Holy
Prophet; and you say, how is it that the Muhajirln (Refugees) and the
Ansar (Helpers) do not narrate Hadlth from the Prophet like Abu
Hurayrah? The truth is that our brethren from among the Refugees
were occupied in transacting business in the market and I used to
remain with the Holy Prophet having filled my belly, so I was present
when they were absent and I remembered what they forgot; and our
brethren from among the Helpers were occupied with work on their
lands, and I was a poor man from among the poor inmaies of the
Collection and Preservation of Hadtth 29
Suffah, so I retained what they forgot.14
Another Companion, Talhah, son of ‘Ubaydullah, is reported to

have said of Abu Hurayrah:
There is no doubt that he heard from the Holy Prophet what we did
not hear. The reason was that he was a poor man who possessed
nothing and was, therefore, a guest of the Prophet.15
Here is another report from Muhammad b. ‘Amarah:
He sat in a company of the older Companions of the Holy Prophet in

which there were over ten men. Abu Hurayrah began to relate a
certain saying of the Holy Prophet, which some of them did not know,
so they questioned him over and over again until they were satisfied.
Again, he related to them a saying in the same manner and he did this
over and over again, and I was convinced that Abu Hurayrah had the
best memory.16
According to another report, people used to say in the life time of

the Holy Prophet that Abu Hurayrah narrated many sayings of the
Holy Prophet. So Abu Hurayrah enquired of one of them as to which
Surahs the Holy Prophet had recited in his night prayers the day
before. The man being unable to answer the question, Abu Hurayrah
himself named the Surahs,17 which shows not only that he had a
wonderful memory, but also that he tried his utmost to remember
everything.
‘A’ishah, the Prophet’s wife, was also one of those who sought
to preserve the Sunnah of the Prophet. She too had a marvellous
memory, and was, in addition, gifted with a clear understanding, by
virtue of which she refused to accept anything which she did not
understand. There is a report about her, according to which "she
never heard anything she did not recognize but she questioned about
*t again and again."18 In other words, she accepted nothing, even
from the lips of the Holy Prophet himself, until she was fully
satisfied as to its meaning. ‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar and ‘Abdullah b.
‘Abbas are two other Companions who were specially engaged in the
30 Muhammad ‘AlI
work of preserving and transmitting the knowledge of the Qur’an and

the Hadlth; as also was ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr who used to write down
the sayings of the Holy Prophet. And in addition to these, every
Companion the Holy Prophet did his utmost to preserve such of his
words and deeds as came to his knowledge. ‘Umar, who resided
about three miles from Madlnah, had made arrangements with a
neighbour of his that they should be in the company of the Holy
Prophet on alternate days, so that each might report to the other what
happened in his absence.19 And, most important of all, the Holy
Prophet had repeatedly laid an obligation on every one of his
followers to transmit his words to others: "Let him who is present
deliver to him who is absent,"20 is die concluding sentence of many
of his most important utterances; all of which affords a clear proof
that the work of the preservation and transmission of the Sunnah had
begun in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet. This was the first stage in
the collection of Hadlth.
Collection of Hadlth: Second stage
With the Holy Prophet’s death, the work of the collection of Hadlth
entered on a second stage. Every case that came up for decision had
now to be referred either to the Holy Qur’an or to some judgment or
saying of the Holy Prophet, which judgments or sayings, therefore,
obtained a wide reputation. There are numerous cases on record in
which a right was claimed on the.basis of a judgment or saying of
the Holy Prophet, and evidence was demanded as to the authenticity
of that saying.21 Thus there was a double process at work; not only
was the trustworthiness of the particular Hadlth established beyond
all doubt, but the Hadlth also obtained a wide circulation, and from
being the knowledge of one man only passed to that of many. The
particular judgment might not be on all fours with the circumstances
of the case to which it was applied, and an analogy might then be
sought from one or more sayings. Thus the multiple needs of a
rapidly growing and widely spreading community whose necessities
had increased tenfold on account of its onward march to civilization,
brought into prominence a large number of Hadlth, knowledge of
Collection and Preservation of Hadfth 31
which had been limited to one or a few only, with the seal of
confirmation on their truth, because at that time direct evidence of
that truth was available.
Yet this was not the only factor that gave an impetus to a
dissemination of the knowledge of HadTth. The influx into Islam of
large numbers of people who had never seen the Holy Prophet
himself, but who could behold for themselves the astounding
transformation brought about by him, and to whom, therefore, his
memory was, in the highest degree, sacred, formed in itself an
important factor in the general eagerness to discover everything
which the great man had said or done. It was natural that each new
convert should be anxious to know all there was to know about the
Great Prophet who had given quite a new life to a dead world.
Everyone who had seen him would thus be a centre to whom
hundreds of enquirers would resort, and since the incidents were
fresh in their memories, they would be conveyed with fair accuracy
to the new generation. It must not be forgotten that the wonderful
success which Islam achieved within so short a time, and the rapidity
with which the reputation of the Holy Prophet advanced, were the
very reasons which led to the preservation of the true facts
concerning him. Not only had he and his religion assumed an
unparalleled importance in Arabia, within twenty years of the day on
which he began the work of a reformer, but within ten years of his
death they had already become the most important of world factors,
and everything relating to him was a matter of discussion among
Arabs and non-Arabs, friends and foes. Had he remained in oblivion
for a century or so, and then risen to fame, probably much of what
he had said or done would have been lost to the world, and the
exaggerations of a later generation would have been handed down to
posterity instead of facts. But with him the case was quite different.
From the humblest position he had risen to the highest eminence to
which man can rise, and that in less than a quarter of a century, and,
therefore, not an incident of his life but had become public property
before it could be forgotten. Such were the needs of the new times
uPon which Islam had entered after the death of the Holy Prophet.
There was another factor of the utmost importance which gave
32 Muhammad ‘Ali
impetus to the knowledge of HadTth at this stage. To the Companions

of the Holy Prophet, the religion which he had brought was a
priceless jewel; a thing which they valued above all else the world
contained. For its sake they had given up their business, their
kinsfolk, nay, their very homes; to defend it they had laid down their
lies, To carry this Divine blessing, this greatest gift of God, to other
people, had become the supreme object of their lives; hence a
dissemination of its knowledge was their first and foremost concern.
In addition to this, the Great Master had laid on those who were
present, on those who saw him and listened to his words, the duty
of carrying what they saw and heard, to those who were absent, to
those who came after him. Li-yuballigh al-shahid al-gha’ib was the
phrase which on account of the frequency of its repetition rang
continually in their ears: Let him who is present carry this to him
who is absent. And they were faithful to the great charge which was
laid on them. They went eastward and westward and northward, and
in whichever direction they went, and to whichever country they
went, they carried with them the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Everyone
of them who had but the knowledge of one incident relating to the
Prophet’s life deemed it his duty to deliver it to another. And
individuals like Abu Hurayrah, ‘A’ishah, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas,
‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr, Anas b. Malik and many
others who had made the preservation of Sunnah the first object of
their lives, had become, as it were, centres, to whom people resorted
from different quarters of the kingdom of Islam to gain knowledge
of the Prophet and of his religion. Their places of residence became
in fact so many colleges for the dissemination of the knowledge of
HadTth. Abu Hurayrah alone had eight hundred disciples. ‘A’ishah’s
house, too, was resorted to by hundreds of ardent pupils. The
reputation of ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas was equally great, and,
notwithstanding his youth, he had a foremost place among the
counsellors of ‘Umar, on account of his knowledge of the Qur’an
and the Sunnah. The zeal of the new generation for the acquisition
of religious knowledge was so great that students were wont to travel
from one place to another to complete their knowledge of the
Sunnah, and some would journey long distances to obtain first-hand
Collection'and Preservation of Hadlth 33
information about one Hadlth only.22 Thus arrangements existed both

for the collection of the knowledge of Hadlth in different centres of
learning, and for the spread'of if far and wide through the disciples
who gained their knowledge*at such centres.
Colle&fon of Hadlth: Third stage
With the passing of the generation that had seen and heard the Holy
Prophet directly, the work of the collection of Hadlth entered upon
a third stage, There were no more reports to be investigated from
differenf persons, and the whole of Hadlth_ was now the property of
the different teachers who taught at different centres. There is no
doubt that there was no single centre at which the whole store of the
knowledge of Hadlth could be obtained, for the Companions of the
Holy Prophet had spread far and wide. But in the second stage
Hadlth had undoubtedly passed from individual into public
possession, and, therefore, in the third stage the whole of Hadlth
could be learned by repairing to the different centres instead of
enquiring Sbout it from individuals. At this stage, moreover, the
writing of Hadlth became more common. The large number of the
students of Hadlth at the different centres, having abundance of
material to digest, to which was also added the further difficulty of
remembering the names of the transmitters, sought aid from the pen,
so that the work might be easier. By this time writing had become
general and writing material abundant. Moreover, there was now no
fear of the Hadlth being confused with the Qur’an. It must, however,
be remembered that at this stage Hadlth was written merely as an aid
to memory; the mere fact that a written Hadlth was found among the
manuscripts of a person was no evidence of its authenticity, which
could only be established by tracing it to a reliable transmitter.
‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Az!z, commonly known as ‘Umar II, the
Umayyad Caliph, who ruled towards the close of the first century of
Hijrah, was the first man who issued definite orders to the effect that
Written collections of Hadlth should be made. He is reported to have
Written to Abu Bakr b. Hazm:
34 Muhammad ‘AlI
See whatever saying of the Holy Prophet can be found, and write it
down, for I fear the loss of knowledge and the disappearance of the
learned men; and do not accept anything but the Hadlth of the Holy
Prophet; and people should make knowledge public and should sit in
companies, so that he who does not know should come to know, for
knowledge does not disappear until it is concealed from the public.23
The importance of this incident lies in the fact that the Caliph
himself took an interest in the collection of Hadlth, the Umayyads
generally having stood aloof from the great work up to this time.
Abu Bakr b. Hazm was the Caliph’s Governor at Madlnah, and there
is evidence that similar letters were written to other centres.24 But
‘Umar II died after a short reign of two and a half years, and his
successor does not seem to have interested himself at all in the
matter. Even if a collection had been made in pursuance of these
orders, which is very doubtful, no copy has reached us.25 But the
work was taken up independently of government patronage in the
next century, and this brings us down to the fourth stage in the
collection of Hadlth.
Collection of Hadlth: Fourth stage
Before the middle of the second century, Hadlth began to assume a

more permanent shape, and written collections to see the light of
day. Hundreds of the students of Hadlth were engaged in the work
of learning it in the various centres, but with every new teacher and
student the work of preserving the name of the transmitter along with
the Hadlth itself was becoming more difficult. Written collections of
Hadlth had thus become indispensable. The first known work on the
subject is that of Imam ‘Abd al-Maiik b. ‘Abd al-‘AzIz b. Jurayj,
commonly known as Ibn Jurayj. According to some, however, SaTd
b. AbT ‘Arubah or Rabf b. Suhayb has precedence in this matter.
All these authors died about the middle of the second century. Ibn
Jurayj lived at Makkah, while other authors who wrote books on
Hadlth in the second century are Imam Malik b. Anas and Sufyan b.
‘Uyainah in Madlnah, ‘Abdullah b. Wahb in Egypt, Ma‘mar and
‘Abd al-Razaq in Yemen, Sufyan ThawrI and Muhammad b. Fuzayl
Collection and Preservation of Hadlth 35
in Kufah, Hammad b. Salmah and Rauh b. ‘Ubadah in Basrah,

Hushaym in Wasit and ‘Abdullah b. Mubarak in Khurasan, by far
the most important of the collections of these authors being the
Muwatta’ of Imam Malik. All these books, however, were far from
being exhaustive writings on Hadlth. In the first place, the object of
their compilation was simply the collection of such reports as
touched on the daily life of the Muslims. Reports relating to a large
number of topics, such as faith, or knowledge, or the life of the
Prophet, or wars, or comments on the Qur’an, were outside their
scope. And secondly, every author collected only such reports as
were taught at the centre at which he worked. Even the Muwatta’
which, as far as reliability is concerned, stands in the first rank with
al-Bukharl and Muslim, contains only the Hadlth which came
through the people of Hijaz. All these works on Hadlth were,
therefore, incomplete, but they were a great advance on oral
transmission in the work of collecting Hadlth.
Collection of Hadlth: Fifth stage
This great work was brought to completion in the third century of

Hijrah. It was then that two kinds of collections of Hadlth were
made, the Musnad and the Jami' or the Musannaf. The Musnad was
the earlier type and the Jami' the later. Musnad is derived from
sanad meaning authority, and the Isnad of a Hadlth meant the tracing
of it back through various transmitters to the Companion of the Holy
Prophet on whose authority it rested. The collections of Hadlth
known as Musnads were arranged, not according to the subject-
matter of the Hadlth, but under the name of the Companion on
whose final authority the Hadlth rested. The most important of the
works of this class is the Musnad of Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal, which
contains about thirty thousand reports. Ahmad was bom in 164 A.H.
and died in 241 A.H., and is one of the four recognized Imams. His
collection, however, contains reports of all sorts. It is to the Jami‘
(lit. one that gathers together) or the Musannaf (lit. compiled
36 Muhammad ‘Au
together) that the honour is due of bringing the knowledge of HadTth

to perfection. The Jami* not only arranges reports according to their
subject-matter, but is also of a more critical tone. Six books are
recognized by the Aht al-Sunnah generally under the heading, being
the collections made by Muhammad b. IsmaTl,26 commonly known
as al-Bukharl, (d. 256 A.H.), Muslim (d. 261 A.H.), Abu Dawud
(d. 275 A.H.), TirmidhT (d. 279 A.H.), Ibn Majah (d. 283 A.H.)
and Nasa’T (d. 303 A.H.). The works of the third and the last two
are more generally known by the name of Sunan (pi. of Sunnah).
These books classified reports under various heads and thus made
HadTth easy for reference, not only for the judge and the lawyer but
also or the ordinary and the research student, thus giving a further
impetus to the study of HadTth. The Shi‘ahs recognize the following
five collections of HadTth:
1. The Kdfi by AbO Ja'far Muhammad b. Ya‘qub (329 A.H.);
2. Man la yastihzau-hu al-Faqih by Shaykh 'AIT (381 A.H.);
3. The Tahdhfb by Shaykh Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. ‘AIT b,
Husayn (466 A.H.);
4. The Istibsar by the same author;
5. The Nahj al-Balaghah by Sayyid al-RazT (406 A.H.).
It will be seen that all these collections are of a much later date.
Al-Bukhari
It may be noted here that among the six collections of HadTth

mentioned above, which are known as the Sihah Sittah or the six
reliable collections, al-Bukhari holds the first place in several
respects while Muslim comes second, and the two together are
known as the Sahihayn or the two reliable books. In the first place,
al-BukharT has the unquestioned distinction of being first, all the
others modelling their writings on his. Secondly, he is the most
critical of all.27 He did not accept any HadTth unless all its
transmitters were reliable and until there was proof that the later
transmitter had actually met the first, the mere fact that the two were
contemporaries (which is Muslim's test) did not satisfy him. Thirdly,
Collection and Preservation of Hadfth 37
in his fiqaha, or acumen, he surpasses all. Fourthly, he heads the

more important of his chapters with a text from the Holy Qur’an,
and thus shows that Hadlth is only an explanation of the Qur’an, and
as such a secondary source of the teachings of Islam.
Method of counting different reports
European critics of Hadlth are generally under the impression that

when the authors of the Musannafat set to work, there was a vast
mass of spurious Hadlth, that the collectors did not credit more than
one or two per cent of the prevailing mass as being genuine, and that
these were taken to be genuine on the slender authority of the
reliability of transmitters without any regard to the subject-matter of
the Hadlth. The impression that the vast mass of reports taught at the
different centres in the third century was fabricated is based on a
misconception. It is true that it is related of al-Bukharl that he took
cognizance of 600,000 reports and knew some 200,000 of these by
heart. It is also, tfue'that his book contains no more than 9,000
Hadlths. But it is not true that he found the other 591,000 reports to
be false or fabricated.?8 It must be clearly understood that those who
were engaged in the dissemination and study of Hadlth looked upon
every report as a different Hadlth when even a single transmitter of
the Hadlth was changed. Let us, for instance, take a Hadlth for
which the original authority is Abu Hurayrah. Now Abu Hurayrah
had 800 disciples in Hadlth, and the same Hadlth may have been
reported by ten of his disciples with or without any variation. Each
of these reports would, according to the collectors of Hadlth, form
a separate Hadlth. Again, suppose each of the transmitters of AbO
Huraira’s Hadlth had two reporters, and the same Hadlth will count
say 20 different reports, and the number would thus go on increasing
as the number of reporters increased. Now at the time when al-
Bukhaff applied himself to Hadlth in the first decade of the third
century of Hijrah, there were schools of Hadlth at different centres,
and hundreds of students learned Hadlth at these schools and
reported them to others. In a chain of ordinarily four or five
transmitters, consider the number of reports that would arise from
38 Muhammad ‘AlI
the same Hadlth on account of the variation of transmitters, and it is

easy to understand that 600,000 did not mean so many reports
relating to various subjects, but so many reports coming through
different transmitters, many of them referring to the same incident
or conveying the same subject-matter with or without variation of
words. That this was the method of ai-Bukharl’s counting of reports
is clear from his book, the Sahih al-Bukhari, which with the change
of even one transmitter in a chain of, say, four or five, considers the
report to be distinct.29 What is called repetition in al-Bukhdri is due
to this circumstance.
Report in biographies and commentaries
European criticism of Hadlth has often mixed up Hadlth with the

reports met within in the biographies of the Holy Prophet and in the
commentaries on the Holy Qur’an. No Muslim scholar has ever
attached the same value to the biographical reports as Hadlth
narrated in the above-mentioned collections. On the other hand, all
Muslim critics recognize that the biographers never made much
effort to sift truth from error. Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal sums up the
Muslim point of view as regards the trustworthiness of the
biographical reports when he declares that the biographies "are not
based on any principle",30 and Hafiz Zayn al-DTn al-Traql says that
"they contain what is true and what is false." In fact, much of the
adverse European criticism of Hadlth would have been more suitably
levelled at the biographical reports, and the same is true of the
reports met with in the commentaries which are still more unreliable.
Many careless commentators confounded Hadlth with Jewish and
Christian stories, and made free use of the latter as if they were so
many reports. As Ibn Khaldun, speaking of the commentaries, says:
Their books and their reports contain what is bad and what is good
and what may be accepted and what should be rejected, and the reason
of this is that the Arabs were an ignorant race without literature and
without knowledge, and desert life and ignorance were their chief
characteristics, and whenever they desired as mortals do desire to
obtain knowledge of the cause of existence and the origin of creation
and the mysteries of the universe, they turned for information to the
followers of the Book, the Jews and such of the Christians as practised
their faith. But these people of the Book were like themselves, and
their knowledge of these things went no further than the knowledge of
the ignorant masses... So when these people embraced Islam, they
retained their stories which had no connection with the commandments
of the Islamic law, such as the stories of the origin of creation, and
things relating to the future and the wars etc. These people were like
Ka‘b Ahbar, and Wahb b. Munabbah and ‘Abdullah b. Salam and
others. Commentaries on the Holy Qur'an were soon filled with these
stories of theirs. And in such like matters, the reports do not go
beyond them, and as these do not deal with commandments, so their
correctness is not sought after to the extent of acting upon them, and
the commentators take them rather carelessly, and they have thus filled
up their commentaries with them.31
Shah Wallyullah writes in a similar strain:
And it is necessary to know that most of the Israelite stories that have
found their way into the commentaries and histories are copied from
the stories of the Jews and the Christians, and no commandment or
belief can be based upon them.32
In fact, in some of the commentaries, the reports cited are

puerile nonsense. Even the commentary of Ibn Jarir, with all its
value as a literary production, cannot be relied upon. Ibn Kathlr’s
commentary is, however, an exception, as it contains chiefly the
Hadith taken from reliable collections.
Story-tellers
Yet another thing to beware of in a discussion on Hadith is the

fixing up of Hadith with stories related by story-tellers. As in every
other nation, there had grown up among the Muslims a class of
fable-mongers whose business it was to tickle the fancies of the
Masses by false stories. These were either taken up from the Jews,
Christians and Persians, with whom the Muslims came in contact, or
they were simply concocted. The professional story-tellers were
40 Muhammad *Au
called the qussds (pi. of qdss, and derived from qassa, meaning he
related a story), and they seem to have sprang up early, for as al-
RazI says, the Caliph ‘AIT ordered that whosoever should relate the
story of David as the story-tellers (qussas) relate it (the reference
being to the story taken from the Bible as to David having committed
adultery with Uriah’s wife), should be given 160 stripes, that being
double the punishment of the ordinary slanderer.33 This shows that
thd story-teller had begun his work even at that early date, but then
it must be remembered that the story-teller was never confounded
with the reporter of Hadlth, even by the ignorant masses. His
vocation, being of a lower status, was necessarily quite distinct.
Hadlth was regularly taught in schools in the different centres, as I
have already shown, and its teachers were in the first instance well-
known Companions of the Holy Prophet, such as Abu Hurayrah, Ibn
‘Umar, ‘A’ishah, whose place was later on taken by equally well-
known masters of Hadlth from among the Tdbi ‘in (the successors of
the Companions). No story teller, whose sphere of action was limited
to some street comer, where he might attract the attention of passers-
by and perhaps gather round him a few loiterers, could aspire even
to approach a school of Hadlth. As a writer quoted by Guillaume (on
p.82 of his book) says:
They collect a great crowd of people round them: one Qdss stations
himself at one end of the street and narrates traditions about the merits
of ‘AH, while his fellow stands at the other end of the street exalting
the virtues of Abu Bakr. Thus they secure the pence of the Nasibi as
well as the Shi‘ah, and divide their gains equally afterwards.
It is difficult to believe that such beggars and braggarts could be

mistaken for reporters of Hadlth by any sensible person; yet even
scholars like Sir William Muir and other famous Orientalists often
try to confound the two, and speak of these stories as though they
had some connection with Hadlth. Even if it be true that some of
them have found a place in certain commentaries, whose authors had
a love for the carious and gave but scant heed to the sifting of truth
from error the Muhaddithun, that is, the collectors of Hadlth, would
never dream of accepting a story from such a source. They knew the
story-tellers and their absurdities well enough, and indeed so

scrupulous were they in making their selections that they would not
accept a report if one of the reporters was known ever to have told
a lie or fabricated a report34 in a single instance. This much every
European critic of Hadith must needs admit; how then could such
people accept the puerile inventions of the street story-teller who, it
was well-known, followed his vocation merely and openly for the
few coins it might bring. That there are some incredible stories even
in the collections of Hadith is perfectly true, but they are so rare that
not the least discredit can justly be thrown on the collections
themselves on that account, the reason for their existence being
something quite differed!.
European criticism of Hadith
Among all European critics, almost without exception, there is a

prevalent idea that Muslim critics of Hadith have never gone beyond
the transmission line, and that the Subject-matter of Hadith has been
left quite untouched. Suggestions have also been made that even the
Companions of the Holy Prophet were at times so unscrupulous as
to fabricate Hadith, while it should be common knowledge that the
strictest Muslim critics of the transmitters are all agreed that when
a Hadith is traced back to a Companion of the Holy Prophet, its
authenticity has been placed beyond all question. In the chapter on
‘Criticism of Hadith by Muslims,’ Guillaume makes the suggestion
that Abu Hurayrah was in the habit of fabricating Hadith:
A most significant recognition within Hadith itself of the

untrustworthiness of guarantors is to be found in al-Bukhari. Ibn
‘Umar reports that Muhammad ordered all dogs to be killed save
sheep-dogs and hounds. Abu Hurayrah added the word au zar'in\
whereupon Ibn ‘Umar makes the remark, ‘Abu Hurayrah owned
cultivated land!’ A better illustration of the underlying motive of some
Hadith can hardly be found.35
The word zar'in in the above, quotation means cultivated land,

aild the suggestion is that Abu Hurayrah added this word for
42 Muhammad ‘Ali
personal motives. In the first place, Abu Hurayrah is not alone in

reporting that dogs may be kept for hunting as well as for keeping
watch over sheep or tillage (zar *). Al-Bukharl reports a Hadlth from
Sufyan b. Abl Zubayr in the following words:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah
be upon him, saying, ‘Whoever keeps a dog which does not serve him
in keeping watch over cultivated land or goats, one qirat of his reward
is diminished everyday.’ The man who reported from him said, ‘Hast
thou heard this from the Messenger of Allah?’ He said, ‘Yea, by the
Lord of this Mosque,’36
Now this report clearly mentions watch dogs kept for sheep as well
as those kept for tillage, but not dogs kept for hunting, which the
Holy Qur’an explicitly allows (5:4). Abu Hurayrah’s report in the
same chapter, preceding that cited above, expressly mentions all
these kinds, watch dogs for sheep or tillage and dogs for hunting,
which only shows that Abu Hurayrah had the more retentive
memory. And as for Ibn ‘Umar’s remark, there is not the least
evidence that it contained any insinuation against Abu Hurayrah’s
integrity. It may be just an explanatory remark, or a suggestion that
Abu Hurayrah took care to preserve that part of the saying, because
he himself had to keep watch dogs for his cultivated land. With all
the mistakes that AbO Hurayrah may have made in reporting so
many HadTths, no critic has ever yet questioned his integrity; in fact,
critics are unanimous in maintaining that no Companion of the Holy
Prophet ever told a lie. Thus Ibn Hajar says: "The Ahl al-Sunnah are
unanimous that all (the Companions) are 'adul, i.e., truthful."37 The
word ‘adala, as used regarding transmitters of reports, means that
there has been no intentional deviation from the truth, and this is not
due merely to the respect in which the Companions are held, for the
critics of the transmitters of, Hadlth never spared any one simply
because he held a place of honour in their hearts.
Further on in the same chapter Guillaume asserts that
independent thinkers in the second and third century not only
questioned the authority of Hadlth altogether, but derided the very
system:
However, there was still a large circle outside the orthodox thinkers
who rejected the whole system of Hadlth. They were not concerned to
adopt those which happened to fit in with the views and doctrines of
the doctors, or even with those which might fairly be held to support
their own view of life. So far from being impressed by the earnestness
of the traditionists who scrupulously examined the Isnad, or by the
halo of sanctity which had gathered round the early guarantors of
tradition, the independent thinkers of the second and third centuries
openly mocked and derided the system as a whole and the persons and
matters named therein.38
And as evidence in support of these sweeping statements, he

adds:
Some of the most flagrant examples of these lampoons will be found

in the Book of Songs, where indecent stories are cast into the form in
which tradition was customarily handed down to posterity.39
Thus the "independent thinkers" who rejected the system of

Hadlth and "openly mocked and derided the system as a whole" are
only the lampooners mentioned in the concluding portion of the
paragraph. The Aghani,40 the Book of Songs, which is referred to as
if it were a collection of lampoons directed against Hadlth, is an
important collection of ballads by the famous Arabian historian, Abu
al-Faraj ‘All b. Husayn, commonly known as al-Isfahanl (born in
284 A.H.). I am at a loss to understand why the learned author of
the Traditions of Islam should look upon it as an attempt to mock
and deride the system of Hadlth. There may be some indecent stories
connected with these songs, but the presence of such stories does not
alter the essential character of the work which is in the nature of an
historical collection.41 Neither in the book itself nor in any earlier
writing is there a word to show that the collection was made in a
spirit of mockery; and as to the fact that with the songs collected are
given the names of those through whom the songs were handed
down, that was the common method adopted in all historical writings
and collections of the time, as may be readily seen by reference to
the historical writings of Ibn Sa‘d, or Ibn Jarir; and it was chosen
44 Muhammad ‘AlI
not to insult the method of transmission of HadTth but simply on

account of its historical value. Guillaume has also mentioned the
names of two great Muslim thinkers, Ibn Qutaybah and Ibn Khaldun
in this connection, but they neither rejected the HadTth system as a
whole, nor ever mocked or derided that system or the persons and
matters mentioned therein. Ibn Qutaybah rather defended the Qur’an
and Hadith against scepticism, and Guillaume has himself quoted
with approval Dr. Nicholson’s remarks that "every impartial student
will admit the justice of Ibn Qutaybah’s claim that no religion has
such historical attestations as Islam — "laysa li-ummatin mina'l-
umami asnaditn ka~asnadihim. ”42 The Arabic word asnad used in the
original, and translated as historical attestations, is the plural of
sanad which means an authority, and refers especially to the
reporters on whose authority HadTth is accepted. Thus Ibn Qutaybah
claims for Hadith a higher authority than any other history of the
time, and the claim is admitted by both Nicholson and Guillaume. In
the Encydopcedia of Islam it is plainly stated that Ibn Qutaybah
"defended the Qur’an and Tradition against the attacks of philosophic
scepticism." Ibn Khaldun, too, never attacked Hadith itself, and his
strictures are applicable only to stories which have generally been
rejected by the Muhaddithin.
Canons of criticism of Hadith as accepted by Muslims
There is no doubt that the collectors of Hadith attached the utmost

importance to the trustworthiness of the narrators. As Guillaume
says:
Inquiries were made as to the character of the guarantors, whether

they were morally and religiously satisfactory, whether they were
tainted with heretical doctrines, whether they had a reputation for
truthfulness, and had the ability to transmit what they had themselves
heard. Finally, it was necessary that they should, be competent
witnesses whose testimony would be accepted in a court of civil law.43
More than this, they tried their best to find out that the report was
traceable to the Holy Prophet through the various necessary stages.
Even the Companions of the Holy Prophet did not accept any Hadith
which was brought to their notice until they were fully satisfied that
it came from the Holy Prophet. But the Muhaddithun went beyond
the narrators, and they had rules of criticism which were applied to
the subject-matter of Hadith. In judging whether a certain Hadith was
spurious or genuine, the collectors not only made a thorough
investigation regarding the trustworthiness of the transmitters but
also applied other rules of criticism which are in no way inferior to
modern methods. Shah ‘Abd al-‘Az!z has summarized these rules in
the 'Ujalah Nd.fi‘ah, and according to them a report was not accepted
under any of the following circumstances:
1. If it was opposed to recognized historical facts.

2. If the reporter was a Shi'ah and the Hadith was of the nature of
an accusation against the Companions of the Holy Prophet, or
if the reporter was a KharijI and the Hadith was of the nature of
an accusation against a member of the Prophet’s family. If,
however, such a report was corroborated by independent
testimony, it was accepted.
3. If it was of such a nature that to know it and act upon it was
incumbent upon all, and it was reported oy a single man.
4. If the time and the circumstances of its narration contained
evidence of its forgery.44
5. If it was against reason45 or against the plain teachings of
Islam.46
6. If it mentioned an incident, which, had it happened, would have
been known to and reported by large numbers, while as a matter
of fact that incident was not reported by any one except the
particular reporter.
7. If its subject-matter or words were raklk (i.e., unsound or
incorrect); for instance, the words were not in accordance with
Arabic idiom, or the subject-matter was unbecoming the
Prophet’s dignity.
8- If it contained threatenings of heavy punishment for ordinary
sins or promises of mighty reward for slight good deeds.
9- If it spoke of the reward of prophets and messengers to the doer
46 Muhammad ‘AlI
of good.
10. If the narrator confessed that he fabricated the report.
Similar rules of criticism are laid down by Mullah ‘AIT Qarl in

his work entitled Mawdu'at, and by Ibn al-JawzT for which see the
Fath al-Mughith, as well as by Ibn Hajar for which see Nuzhat
al-Nazar.
The Qur’an as the greatest test for judging HadTth
In addition to these rules of criticism, which I think leave little to be

desired, there is another very important test whereby the
trustworthiness of Hadlth may be judged, and it is a test the
application whereof was commanded by the Holy Prophet himself.
He is reported to have said:
There will be narrators reporting HadTth from me, so judge by the

Qur’an; if a report agrees with the Qur’an, accept it; otherwise, reject
it.
The genuineness of this HadTth is beyond all question, as it stands on

the soundest basis.47
That HadTth was in vogue in the time of the Holy Prophet is a
fact admitted by even European critics, as I have already shown, and
that the authority of the Qur'an was higher than that of HadTth
appears from numerous circumstances, the Prophet is reported to
have said according to a very reliable HadTth:
I am no more than a man. When I order you anything respecting

religion receive it, and when I order anything about the affairs of the
world, I am no more than a man.48
There is another saying of his:
My sayings do not abrogate the word of Allah, but the word of Allah
can abrogate my sayings.49
The Hadith relating to Mu'adh which has been quoted elsewhere,50

places the Holy Qur’an first, and after that Hadith. ‘A’ishah used to
repeat a verse of the Holy Qur’an on hearing words from the mouth
of the Holy Prophet when she thought that the purport of what the
Prophet said did not agree with the Holy Qur’an. The great Imam al-
Bukharl quotes a verse of the Holy Qur’an whenever he finds one
suiting his text, before citing a Hadith, thus showing that the Qur’an
holds precedence over Hadith, and by common consent of the
Muslim community, al-Bukharl, which is considered to be the most
trustworthy of all collections of Hadith, is looked upon as asahh al-
kutubi ba'da Kitab-Allah, or the most reliable of books after the
Book of God. This verdict of the community as a whole is proof
enough that even if al-Bukharl disagrees with the Qur’an, it is al-
Bukharl that must be rejected and not the Book of God. And as has
already been stated at the commencement of this chapter, Hadith is
only an explanation of the Qur’an, and hence also the Qur’an must
have precedence over the Hadith. And last of all, both Muslim and
non-Muslim historians are agreed that the Holy Qur’an has been
handed down intact, every word and every letter of it, while Hadith
cannot claim that purity, as it was chiefly the substance of sayings
that was reported.
All these considerations show that the saying that Hadith must
be judged by the Holy Qur’an is quite in accordance with the
teachings of the Holy Prophet, and there is really no ground for
doubting its genuineness. Even if there were no such Hadith, the test
therein suggested would still have been the right test, because the
Holy Qur’an deals with the principles of the Islamic law while
Hadith deals with its details, and it is just and reasonable that only
such details should be'accepted as are in consonance with the
principles. Again, as the Prophet is plainly represented in the Holy
Qur’an as not following "aught save that which is revealed" to him
(6:50; 7:203; 46:9), and as not disobeying a word of that which was
revealed to him (6:15; 10:15), it follows clearly that if there is
anything in Hadith which is not in consonance with the Holy
Qur’an, it could not have proceeded from the Prophet and hence
must be rejected.
I
48 Muhammad 'AlI
How far the Muhaddithun apply these tests
But the question arises: did all the collectors of the Hadlth pay equal
regard to the above canons of criticism? It is pretty clear that they
did not. The earliest of them, al-Bukharl is, by a happy coincidence,
also the soundest of them. He was not only most careful in accepting
the trustworthiness of the narrators of Hadlth, but he also paid the
utmost attention to the last of the critical tests enumerated above,
namely, the test of judging Hadlth by the Qur’an. Many of his books
and chapters are headed by Qur’anic verses, and occasionally he has
contented himself with a verse of the Qur’an in support of his text.
This shows that his criticism of Hadlth was not limited to a mere
examination of the guarantors as every European critic seems to
think, but that he also applied other tests. The act of criticism was,
of course, applied mentally and one should not expect a record of the
processes of that criticism in the book itself. So with the other
collectors of Hadlth. They followed the necessary rules of criticism
but were not all equally careful, nor did they all possess equal
critical acumen or experience. Indeed, they sometimes intentionally
relaxed the rules of criticism, both as regards the examination of the
narrators and the critical tests. They also made a distinction between
HadTth relating to matters of jurisprudence and other Hadlth, such as
those having to do with past history or with prophecies, or with
other material which had no bearing on the practical life of man.
We are clearly told that they were stricter in matters of
jurisprudence than in other HadTth. Thus BaihaqI says in the Kitab
al-Madkhal:
When we narrate from the Holy Prophet in what is allowed and what
is prohibited, we are strict in the chain of transmission and in the
criticism of the narrators, but when we relate reports on the merits of
people, and about reward and punishment, we are lax in the line of
transmission and overlook the defects of the narrators.
And Ahmad b. Hanbal says;
Ibn Ishaq is a man from whom such reports may be taken, i.e., those
which relate to sfrah (life of the Prophet), but when the question is
about what is allowed and what is forbidden, we have recourse to a
(strong) people like this,
and he inserted the fingers of one hand amid those of the other,
conjoining the hands, and thus pointing to the strength of character
of the transmitters.
It must, however, be admitted that most of the collectors of
Hadith paid more attention to the investigation of the narrators than
to the other critical tests, and they were justified in this, for their
object was to produce reliable collections of Hadith, and, therefore,
their first concern was to see that the Hadith could be authentically
traced back to the Holy Prophet through a trustworthy chain of
narrators. This part of the criticism was the more essential, as the
longer the chain of narrators, the more difficult would it have been
to test their reliability. Other tests could be applied to any Hadith at
any time, and the lapse of a thousand years could in no way affect
the value of these tests, but the passing away of another century
would have rendered the task of the examination of the chain of
narrators so-difficult as to be for all practical purposes impossible.
Hence the collectors of Hadith rightly focussed their attention on this
test.
Nor did the work of collecting the Hadith close the door to
further criticism. The Muhaddithun contented themselves with
producing collections reliable in the main, and left the rest of the
work of criticism to future generations. They never claimed
faultlessness for their works; even al-Bukharl did not do that. They
exercised their judgments to the best of their ability, but they never
claimed, nor.does any Muslim claim on their behalf, infallibility of
judgment. In fact, they had started a work which was to continue for
generation after generation of the Muslims. If possible, a hundred
wore canons of criticism might be laid down, but it would still be
the judgment of one man as to whether a certain Hadith must be
accepted or rejected. Every collection is the work of one Muhaddith,
and even if ninety-nine per cent of his judgments are correct, there
ls still room for the exercise of judgment by others. The Western
critic errs in thinking that infallibility is claimed for any of the
50 Muhammad 1Al1
collections of HadTth, and that the exercise of judgment by a certain

Muhaddith precludes the exercise of judgment by others as to the
reliability of a report.
We must also remember that however much the collectors of
HadTth might have differed in their judgments as to the necessity fccr
rigour in the rules of criticism, they set to work with minds
absolutely free from bias or external influence. They would lay down
their lives rather than swerve a hair’s breadth from what they
deemed to be the truth. Many of the famous Imams preferred
punishment or jail to uttering a word against their convictions, Th&
fact is generally admitted as regards the Umayyad rule. As
Guillaume says:
They laboured to establish the Sunnah of the community as it was, or

as it was thought to have been, under the Prophet’s rule, and so they
found their bitterest enemies in the ruling house.51
The independence of thought of the great Muslim divines under

the ‘Abbasid rule had not deteriorated *in the least. They would not
even accept office under a Muslim ruler; says Th. W. Juynboll in the
Encyclopedia of Islam,
It is well-known that many pious, independent men in those days

deemed it wrong and refused to enter the service of the Government
or to accept an office dependent on it (p.91).
Different classes of Hadith
Ibn Hajar has dealt with different classes of HadTth in the Shark
Nukhbat al-Fikr at great length. The most important division of
HadTth is into mutawatir (continuous) and ahdd (isolated). A HadTth
is said to be mutawatir (lit. repeated successively or by one after
another) when it is reported by such a large number that it is
impossible that they should have agreed upon falsehood, so that the
very fact that it is commonly accepted makes its authority i
unquestionable. To this category belong HadTth that have been j
accepted by every Muslim generation down from the time of the ]
Holy Prophet.52 The mutawatir Hadlth are accepted without

criticizing their narrators. All other Hadlth are called ahad (pi. of
ahad or wahid meaning one, i.e., isolated). The ahad are divided
into three classes, mashhur (lit. well-known), technically Hadlth
which are reported through more than two channels at every stage;
‘aziz (lit. strong), that is, Hadlth that are not reported through less
than two channels; and gharlb (lit. strange or unfamiliar), namely
Hadlth in whose link of narrators there is only a single person at any
stage. It should be noted that in this classification the condition as to
the Hadlth being narrated by more than two or two or less than two
persons at any stage applies only to the three generations following
the Companions of the Holy Prophet, i.e., the Tabi'un or atba' al-
tdbi'in, or atba'u atba ‘i i-tabi ‘in.
Of the two chief classes of Hadlth, the mutawatir and the ahad,
the first are all accepted so far as the line of transmission is
concerned, but the latter are further sub-divided into two classes,
maqbul or those which may be accepted, and mardud, or those
which may be rejected. Those that are maqbul, or acceptable, are
again sub-divided into two classes, sahth (lit. sound), and hasan (lit.
fair). The condition for a Hadlth being sahih or sound is that its
narrators are ‘adl (men whose sayings and decisions are approved or
whom desire does not deviate from the right course), and tamm al-
zabt (guarding or taking care of Hadlth effectually); that it is muttasil
al-sanad, i.e., that the authorities narrating it should be in contact
with each other, so that there is no break in the transmission; that it
is ghairu mu'allal i.e., that there is no ‘illah or defect in it; and that
I it is not shadhdh. (lit. a thing apart from the general mass, i.e.,
I against the general trend of Hadlth or at variance with the
overwhelming evidence of other Hadlth). A Hadlth that falls short of
this high standard, and fulfils the other conditions but does not fulfil
the condition of its narrators being tamm al-zabt (guarding or taking
care of Hadlth effectually), is called hasan or fair. Such a Hadlth is
regarded as sahth or sound when the deficiency of effectual guarding
! ‘s made up for by the large number of its transmitters. A sahth
Hadlth is accepted unless there is stronger testimony to rebut what
*s stated therein.
I
52 Muhammad ‘AlI
I have already said that it is recognized by the Muhaddithin that

a Hadlth may be unacceptable either because of some defect in its
transmitters, or because its subject-matter is unacceptable. Thus Ibn
Hajar says that among the reasons for which a Hadlth may be
rejected is its subject-matter. For example, if a Hadlth contradicts the
Holy Qur’an or recognized Sunnah or the unanimous verdict of the
Muslim community or common-sense, it is not accepted. As regards
defects in transmission, a Hadlth is said to be marfu' when it is
traced back to the Holy Prophet without any defect in transmission,
muttasal when its Isnad is uninterrupted, mawquf when it does not
go back to the Prophet, mu‘an‘an (from 'an meaning from) when it
is linked by a word which does not'show personal contact between
two narrators, and mu'allaq (suspended) when the name of one or
more transmitters is missing (being munqata' if the name is missing
from the middle, and mursal if it is from the end).
NOTES
1. . Hence the Holy Qur’an is also spoken of as hadfth (18:6; 39:23). The word
sunnah is used in the Holy Qur’an in a general sense, meaningufWay or rule.
Thus sunnat al-awwaltn (8:38; 15:13; 18:55; 35:43) means the way or
example of the former people, and is frequently used in the Holy Qur’an as
signifying God’s way of dealing with people, which is also spoken of as
sunnat-Allah or God’s way. Once, however, the plural sunan is used as
indicating the ways in which men ought to walk: "Allah desires to explain to
you, and to guide you into the ways (sunan) of those before you." (4:26).
2. Shaykh Wall al-DTn Muhammad b. ‘Abdullah, al-Mishkdt al-Mas&bih, kitdb
1, bab Ufasl (sec.) i.
3. Sahih al-Bukhdrl, k.3, b.25.
4. Ibidk.3, b.37.
5. Abu Dawud, Sunan, k.23, b.ll.
6. Thus Muir writes in his introductionvtQ the Life of Mahomet: "The Arabs, a
simple and unsophisticated race, found in the Coran ample provisions for the
regulation of their affairs, religious, social and political. But this aspect of
Islam soon underwent a mighty change. Scarcely was the Prophet buried when
his followers issued forth from their barren Peninsula resolved to impose the
faith of Islam upon all the nations of the earth... Crowded cities, like Cufa,
Cairo and Damascus required elaborate laws for the guidance of their courts
of justice: widening political relations demanded a system of international
equity... All called loudly for the enlargement of the scanty and naked dogmas
of the Revelation... The difficulty was resolved by adopting the custom
(‘Sunnat’) of Mahomet; that is, his sayings and his practice as supplementary
of the Coran... Tradition was thus invested with the force of law and with
something of the authority of inspiration" (p. xxix). And even a recent writer
Guillaume writes in the Traditions of Islam: "While the prophet was alive he
was the sole guide in all matters whether spiritual or secular. Hadith, or
tradition in the technical sense may be said to have begun at his death" (p. 13).
7. Al-Tirmidhi, al-Jami*, k.39, b.12.
8. Abu Dawud, op. cit., k.24, b.3.
9. Sahlh al-Bukhdrf, k.3, b.39.
10. Ibid., k.24, b.39.
11. Ibid., k.3, b.39.
12. Ibid., k.3, b.39.
13. Thus Guillaume writes in the Traditions of Islam: "The hadith last quoted do
not invalidate the statements that traditions were written down from the mouth
of the prophet; the extraordinary importance attached to every utterance of his
would naturally lead his followers who were able to write to recortl his words
in order to repeat them to those who clamoured to know what he had said;
and there is nothing at all in any demonstrably early writing to suggest that
such a practice would be distasteful to Muhammad" (p. 17).
14. Sahlh al-Bukhari, k.34, b.l.
15. Abu-I-Fadzl Shahab al-Dfn Ahmad b. ‘AIT, Fath al-Bari(Cairo), vol.I, p. 191.
16. BaihaqT, Kitdb al-Sunan; and Ibid.
17. Sahlh al-Bukhdri, k.21, b. 18.
18. Ibid., k.3, b.35.
19. Ibid., k.3, b.27.
20. Ibid., k.3, b.37.
21. A Companion, Qablsah by name, reports that the grandmother of a deceased
person came to Abu Bakr and claimed a right in inheritance. Abu Bakr said
that he could not find either in the Book of God or the Sunnah of the Prophet
that she was entitled to any share, but that he would make enquiries about it
from others. In this enquiry, MughTrah gave evidence that the Prophet gave
the grandmother one-sixth of the property. Abu Bakr asked him to bring
another witness in support of it, and Muhammad b. Maslamah appeared
before Abu Bakr corroborating the evidence of MughTrah. Judgment was
54 Muhammad ‘AU
accordingly given in favour of the grandmother (see al-Tirmidhi, op.cir

k.27, b.9: and Abu Dawud, op.citk.18, b.5). Again, Fatimah, the Prophet’s
daughter, claimed that she was entitled to an inheritance from the Holy
Prophet. As against this Abu Bakr cited a saying of the Holy Prophet: "We
prophets do not leave an inheritance; whatever we leave is a charity," The
truth of this HadTth was not questioned by any one, and Fatimah's claim was
rejected (see al-Bukharl, op.citk.85, b.2). Such incidents happened daily
and became the occasion of establishing or otherwise the truth of many
sayings of the Holy Prophet.
22. It is reported that Jabir b. ‘Abdullah travelled from MadTnah to Syria for the
sake of a single HadTth (see Ahmad b. ‘AIT, op.cit, vol.I, p.158). It was a
month’s journey as Jabir himself states (al-BukharT, op.citk.3. b,19). Al-
Bukharfs famous commentary, Fath al~Bdri relates several incidents of the
same type. Abu AyyQb AnsarT, for instance, is related to have undertaken a
long journey to hear a saying of the Holy Prophet from ‘Aqabah b. ‘Amir,
SaTd b. Musaiyab is reported to have said that he used to travel for days and
nights in search of a single HadTth. Another Companion of the Holy Prophet
is said to have undertaken a journey to Egypt for the sake of one HadTth. The
zeal of the next generation was equally great. Abu al-‘Aliyah is reported to
have said; "We heard of a HadTth of the Holy Prophet but we were not
satisfied until we went to the Companion concerned in person and heard it
from him direct" (see Ahmad b. *A1T, op.citvol.I, p. 159). Abu Dawud
reports that Abu al-Darda’ was sitting in a mosque in Damascus when a man
came to him and questioned him about a HadTth, saying at the same time that
he had come for no other object but the verification of a HadTth which he
(Abu al-Darda') related (Abu Dawud, op.citk.24, b.l).
23. Sahih al-Bukhari, k.3, b.34.
24. Ahmad b. ‘AIT, op.cit, vol.I, p.174.
25. Guillaume thinks that the issuing of orders by ‘Umar II for the collection of
HadTth is a later invention. The reason given by him is that no such collection
has come down to us, nor is there any mention of it in any other work. But
as I have pointed out, the reason for any such collection not being made, if
really it has not disappeared, was the shortness of ‘Umar’s reign and the
indifference of the other Umayyad Caliphs. Another reason given is that the
name of Ibn Shahab al-Zuhn is, according to one report, connected with this
order. But this rather confirms the authenticity of ‘Umar’s orders, because,
as I have said before, the orders were circular. Muir is right when he says:
"About a hundred years after Mahomet, the Caliph Omar II issued circular
orders for the formal collection of all extant tradition. The task, thus begun,
continued to be rigorously prosecuted" (Life of Mahomet, intro, p.xxx).
26. Muhammad b. Isma‘11 al-Bukhari was born at Bukhara in 194 A.H. He began
the study of Hadith when only 11 years of age, and by the time that he was
16 had acquired a high reputation for his knowledge thereof. He had a
wonderful memory, and the students of Hadith used to correct their
manuscripts by comparing them with what he recited from memory.
27. A modern writer, and one who has made a special study of Hadith, expresses
the following opinion about al-Bukhari: "So far as one is able to judge, al-
Bukharl published the result of his researches into the content of what he
believed to be genuine tradition with all the painstaking accuracy of a modern
editor. Thus he records even trifling variants in the Hadith, and wherever he
feels that an explanatory gloss is necessary either in Isnad or main it is clearly
marked as his own" [Alfred Guillaume, Traditions of Islam (Oxford 1924),
P-29].
28. Writing of al-Bukhan, Guillaume says: "Tradition reports that this remarkable
man took cognizance of 600,000 hadith, and himself memorized more than
200,000. Of these he has preserved to us 7,397, or, according to other
authorities, 7,295. If one adds to these the fragmentary traditions embodied
in the tarjama, the total is 9,082... When one reflects from these figures
furnished by a Muslim historian that hardly more than one percent of the
hadith said to be openly circulating with the authority of the prophet behind
them were accounted genuine by the pious Bukhari, one’s confidence in the
authenticity of the residue is sorely tried. Where such an enormous
preponderance of material is judged false, nothing but the successful
application of modem canons of evidence can restore faith in the credibility
of the remainder" (Guillaume, op.at.* pp.28-29). And Muir says: "It is
proved by the testimony of the Collectors themselves, that thousands and tens
of thousands of traditions were current in their times which possessed not even
the shadow of authority... Bokhary... came to the conclusion, after many
years* sifting, that out of 600,000 traditions, ascertained by him to be then
current, only 4,000 were authentic" (Life of Mahomet* intro, p.cxxxvii).
29. "On the other hand, the same tradition is often repeated more than once under
different chapters (Abwdb), so that if repetitions are disregarded the number
of distinct hadith is reduced to 2,762" (Guillaume, op.cit., p.28).
30. Mullah ‘All Qari, Mawdu'&t (Delhi 1315 A.H.), p.85.

31. Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddamah (Cairo 1329 A.H.), vol.l, p.481, ch. ‘Ulum al-
Qur’an.
*2. Shah Wallyullah, Hujjat-AUdh al-Bdlighah (Brailey 1286 A.H.), p.I76, ch.
Vtis&m bi'l-Kitdb.
^3- Muhammad Fakhr al-Din RazI, ai-Tafstr al-Kabfr (1307 A.H.), vol.VII,
p. 187, 38:21-25.
56 Muhammad ‘AlI
34. In the Shark Nukhbat al~Fikr, Ibn Hajar, while speaking of ta'n (i.e.,
accusation against a transmitter), says that if a transmitter is shown to have
told a lie in transmitting a Hadith, or even if he is accused of having told a
lie, he is discredited (p.66).
35. Guillaume, op.cit., p.78.
36. Sahih al-Bukhari, k.41, b.3.
37. Ahmad b. ‘AIT, lsdbah ft Tamyiz al~Sahabah (Cairo 1323 A.H.), vol.I, p.6.
39. Ibid.
40. The Encyclopedia of Islam speaks of the Aghani in the following words: "His
chief work, which alone has been preserved, is the great Kitab al-Aghdni; in
this he collected the songs which were popular in his time, adding the
accounts of their authors and their origin which appeared of interest to him...
With every song there is indicated, besides the text, the air according to the
musical terminology... to these are added very detailed accounts concerning
the poet, often also concerning composers and singers of both sexes. In spite
of its unsystematic order this book is our most important authority not only
for literary history till into the third century of the Hidjra, but Ulso for the
history of civilization" (Abu’t-Faradj).
41. There are indecent stories in some of the books of the Bible, but still the Bible
does not cease to have a sacred character.
43. Ibid., p.83.
44. An example of this is met with in the following incident related in Haydt al-
Hayawdn. Ha run al-Rashtd loved pigeons. A pigeon was sent to him as a
present, Qddt Abu al-BakhtarT was sitting by him at the time, and to please
the monarch he narrated a Hadith to the effect that there should be no betting
except in racing or archery or flying of birds. Now the concluding words
were a forgery and the Caliph knew this. So when the Qadi was gone, he
ordered the pigeon to be slaughtered, adding that the fabrication of this
portion of the Hadith was due to that pigeon. The collectors of Hadith on that
account did not accept any Hadith of Abu al-Bakhtan.
45. "Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 463) and al-NawawT (d. 676) do not hesitate to assail
traditions which seem to them to be contrary to reason or derogatory to the
dignity of the prophet" (Guillaume, op.cit., p.94).
46. Examples of this are the Hadith relating to Qadd ‘Umrl, i.e., going through
the performance of the rakfahs of daily prayers on the last Friday in the
month of Ramadan as an atonement for not saying prayers regularly, or the
Hadith which says, "Do not eat melon until you slaughter it."
47. A Hadith, however sound the statement it contains and however great the
authority on which it is based, is readily condemned as a fabrication by
European critics when it does not suit their canons of criticism. Thus
Guillaume, after quoting the well-known Hadith, which is reported by a very
large number of Companions — so large that not the least doubt can be
entertained as to its genuineness — "Whoever shall repeat of me that which
I have not said, his resting-place shall be in hell," — remarks: "A study of the
theological systems of the world would hardly reveal a more naive attempt to
tread the sirat al-mustaqfm" (Guillaume, op.cit., p.79). Referring to the same
Hadith, the same author remarks: "In order to combat false traditions they
invented others equally destitute of prophetic authority" (Ibid., p.78). Such
irresponsible remarks will befit a work of criticism. The genuineness of this
Hadith is beyond all doubt, and it has been accepted as such by collectors of
reports. It cannot be denied that there are theological systems whose basic
principles are the concoctions of pious men, but in Islam the very details are
matters of history, and "pious lies" could not find here any ground whereon
to prosper.
48. Shaykh Wall al-DIn, op. c/>., k:l, b.6. f.i.
49. Ibid., k.l, b.6, f.iii.
50. On being appointed Governor of Yemen, Mu'adh was asked by the Holy
Prophet as to the rule by which he would abide. "By the law of the Qur’an,"
he replied. "Butif you do not find any direction therein," asked the Prophet.
"Then I will act according to the Sunnah of the Prophet," was the reply. And
the Holy Prophet approved of it (Abu Dawud, op.cit., k.23, b.ll). -
51. Guillaume, op. cit.y p.42.
52. There is a difference of opinion as to the number of reporters of the mutawdtir
Hadith, some considering four to be the minimum required, others five or
seven or ten, others still raising it still further to forty or even seventy. But
the commonly accepted opinion is that it is only the extensive acceptance of
a Hadith which raises it to the rank of mutawdtir.
3
ISNAD AND ITS
__SIGNIFICANCE
MUHAMMAD MUSTAFA A(ZAMl
The Beginning of Is nod
It appears that Isnad was used casually in some literatures in the pre-
Isiamic period, in a vague manner, without attaching any importance
to it. The Isnad system was also used — to some extent — in
transmitting pre-Islamic poetry.1 But it was in the Hadlth literature
that its importance culminated till it was counted a part of the
religion.2 The advantage of the system was utilized to the full, and
in some .cases to extravagant limits, for documenting the Hadlth
literature, the store room for the Sunnah. The Sunnah of the Prophet
being the basic legal source, it was natural to deal with these
documents with utmost care. Thus with the introduction of Isnad, a
unique science, 'Ilm al-Jarh wa al-Tadfl came into existence for the
valuation of Isnad and Hadlth,
It was the common practice among Companions even during the
lifetime of the Prophet s.a.w. to transmit the HadTths of the Prophet
when they saw each other. Some of them had even made special
arrangements to attend the Prophet’s circle in shifts and to inform
each other of what they had heard and seen in the presence of the
58
Isnad and its Significance 59
Prophet.
Naturally in informing their fellows they would have used
sentences like ‘the Prophet did so and so’ or ‘the Prophet said so and
so’. It is also natural that one of them who had gained knowledge at
second hand, while reporting the incident to a third man, might have
disclosed his sources of information and might have given the full
account of the incident. There are references of this kind in the
Hadlth literature. I may quote here only one:
When Dimam b. Tha‘labah came to the Prophet and said to him,

"Muhammad, your messenger came to us and told us.",
These methods, which were used in the early days for the diffusion
of the Sunnah of the Prophet, gave birth to Isnad, and this was the
rudimentary beginning of this system.
In this regard Ibn Sirin’s statement would be very helpful. He
says:
They did not ask about the Isnad, but when civil war — Fitnah —
arose they said ‘Name to us your men’; those who belong to Ahl al-
Sunnah, their traditions were accepted and those who were innovators
their traditions were neglected.3
It gives the impression that the Isnad was used even before the
Fitnah, but the narrators were not so perfect in applying it. Some
times they employed it and at others neglected it, but after civil war
they became more cautious and began to enquire about the sources
of information and to scrutinize them. At the end of the first century
the science of the Isnad was fully developed. Shu’bah used to watch
the lips of Qatadah, in the lecture, to discriminate between his first
and second-hand information. There are ample references to asking
and enquiring about the Isnad in the first century of the Hijrah.
flourishing of Isnad in the later part
It is the common phenomenon of Isnad system that as we go further

number of transmitters increases. Sometimes a tradition
60 Mustafa A'zamI
transmitted by one companion acquires ten students in the next

generation, in the class of Successors, and in turn these ten students
have in some cases twenty or thirty students belonging to different
countries and provinces.
I give here two examples of the spread of Isriad.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said when anyone amongst
you wakes up from sleep, he must not put his hand in the utensil till
he has washed it three times, for he does not know where his hand
was during the sleeping.
At least thirteen students of Abu Hurayrah transmitted this

from him.
8 out of 13 belong to Madlnah.
1 out of 13 belongs to Kufah.
2 out of 13 belong to Basrah.
1 out of 13 belongs to Yemen.
1 out of 13 belongs to Syria.
There are sixteen scholars who transmitted this tradition from the
students of Abu Hurayrah.
6 out of 16 belong to Madlnah.
4 out of 16 belong to Basrah.
2 out of 16 belong to Kufah, Iraq.
1 out of 16 belongs to Makkah.
1 out of 16 belongs to Yemen.
1 out of 16 belongs to Khurasan.
1 out of 16 belongs to Hims, Syria.
The common feature of a good many traditions in the early part

of the second century A.H. is the great number of transmitters who
belong to different provinces and countries as we have seen just now.
It was hardly possible for ail these persons to consult each other so
as to give a similar form and sense in transmitting a particular
tradition. So if a particular tradition is transmitted by so many
persons with a similar form and sense, then its genuineness cannot
be questioned, while the trustworthiness of the individuals has been
confirmed by their contemporaries. It is general practice that if a

man’s honesty is proved by his dealing with the people, then his
words are accepted as a true statement unless it is proved otherwise
by facts. For the past generation with whom personal contact is
impossible one needs to rely to a large extent on the testimony of
contemporary sources. The standard fixed by the Muhaddithin from
the very early days was that if someone tells a lie in his personal
life, though he was honest in the transmitting of Hadlth, his Hadlths
would not be accepted.4 They criticised their fathers, brothers,
friends and close relatives. And, perhaps, it was the highest possible
standard that could be set for documentation of. any source.
Therefore, there is no good reason to reject the testimony of the
contemporaries.
Furthermore, the Hadlth literature still offers an opportunity to
satisfy one. The other method to test their trustworthiness and
honesty in certain cases is by cross references to the statements of
scholars. The method was employed by Muhaddithin in early days.
The same method can be utilized to compare the statements of
later authorities; then going one step back to compare their teachers’
statements till we reach the Prophet. If in a number of cases this
method works and gives satisfactory results, it will provide
confidence as a whole in the Hadlth literature. In my work, Studies
in Early Hadlth Literature, it has been shown positively, that there
is more than sufficient grounds to accept the Hadlth literature as a
whole. The study also indicates the early beginning of the Isnad
system in Hadlth. Abu Hurayrah died in 58 A.H. or thereabouts, but
there are other Companions who died earlier than Abu Hurayrah and
their traditions are also transmitted through Isnad. As it is found in
many cases that 5, 6, 10 or more students belonging to different
countries transmit a tradition from one Companion and they provide
Isnod going back to the Prophet, their statement should be accepted
^ authentic. We even find that some early Companions, e.g., ‘Umar
and ‘Uthman, etc., transmitted traditions giving as their immediate
authorities not the Prophet but some other Companions. Had the
tystem of Isnad not existed, it would not have been possible for them
to transmit in this way.
62 Mustafa A‘zamI
Orientalists and Isnad
Among the orientalists there have been differences of opinion about

the beginning of Isnad and its value. According to Caetani, Urwah
(d. 94 A.H.), the oldest systematic collector of traditions, as quoted
by al-Tabari, used no Isnad and quoted no authority but the Qur’an.
He therefore, holds that in the time of ‘Abd al-Malik (cr. 70-80
A.H.), more than sixty years after the Prophet’s death, the
practice of giving Isnad did not exist. So he concludes that the
beginning of the Isnad system may be placed in the period between
Urwah and Ibn Ishaq (d. 151 A.H.). In his opinion the greater part
of the Isnad was put together and created by traditionists of the end
of the second century (A.H.), and perhaps also of the third.5
Sprenger has also pointed out that the writing of Urwah to * Abd
al-Malik does not contain Isnad and only later on he was credited
with it.6 The quotations from the writing of Urwah to ‘Abd ai-Malik
are not only preserved in Tabari but in many classical collections of
Hadlth as well7 which are earlier than Tabari. In one of the
quotations, through the same Isndd which are utilized by al-Tabari,
we find Urwah quoting his authority ‘A’ishah.8 In other places he
quotes other Companions and Successors. The main difficulty which
arises in searching for the sources of Urwah is the lack of original
work existing in a separate form. The available material is only in
the form of quotations. It was left to the later scholars to quote from
the work certain lines or passages as they required. As Urwah had
personal contact with most of the Companions his authority must
have been a single name or the very person who was present at the
incident, hence the Isnad consisted of a single name. And it is easy
to omit or overlook a single man's name in quoting. In certain cases
they might have quoted from the middle of a very lengthy passage,
overlooking Isnad. The other versions of Urwah’s work, especially
the one transmitted by al-Zuhrl, have Isnad . Urwah even uses
composite Isnad* in the writing, as well as the single one.
Horovitz, who has studied the problem of Isnad, has answered
the arguments of Caetani and other scholars thoroughly in his article
"Alter und Ursprund des Isnad”.10 He points out that those
Isnad and iis Significance 63
denied the use of Isnad by Urwah did not notice all his Isnad.
Furthermore he argues that there is a difference between what one
writes when one is asked questions and what one does within learned
circles. His conclusion is that the first entry of the Isnad into the
literature of tradition was in the last third of the first century.
A Scottish scholar, J. Robson, who has studied the subject at
some length, says;
It is during the middle years of the first century of Islam that one
would first expect anything like an Isnad. By then many of the
Companions were dead, and people who had not seen the Prophet
would be telling stories about him. It might therefore naturally occur
to some to ask these men for their authority. The growth of a hard and
fast system must have been very gradual.11
He concludes;
We know that Ibn Ishaq, in first half of the second century, could give
much of his information without an Isnad, and much of the remainder
without a perfect one. His predecessors would almost certainly be even
less particular than he in documenting their information. But we are
not justified in assuming that the Isnad is a development of ZuhrT’s
period and was unknown to Urwah. While the developed system had
a slow growth, some element of Isnad would be present from as early
a period as people could demand it.12
Professor Schacht and Isnad
Schacht has dealt with the legal traditions and their development. In
his opinions Isnad are the most arbitrary part of traditions. They
were developed within certain groups who traced back their doctrines
to early authorities.13 Commenting on Schacht’s criticism, Professor
Dobson says:
The criticism levelled at the Isnad is very thoroughgoing, and some

strong arguments are brought forward to suggest that the use of IsnOd
is a late development; but one hesitates to accept it to the full extent...
Schacht is dealing primarily with legal traditions, a sphere where his
64 Mustafa A'zami
argument may apply more closely than elsewhere, as changing

conditions and the development of legal thought must have demanded
new regulations; but one wonders whether the argument is not too
sweeping.14
We have just seen the statement of Ibn Sirin about hnad.

Schacht thinks that this statement was falsely attributed to Ibn Sirin.
He says:
It is stated on the authority of the Successor Ibn STrTn that the demand
for and the interest in IsnQds started from the civil war (Fitnah), when
people could no longer be presumed to be reliable without scrutiny;
we shall see later that the civil war which began with the killing of
the Umayyad Caliph Walld b. Yazld (126 A.H.), towards the end of
the Umayyad dynasty, was a conventional date for the end of the good
old time during which the Sunnah of the Prophet was still prevailing;
as the usual date for the death of Ibn Sirin is 110 A.H., we must
conclude that the attribution of this statement to him is spurious. In
any case, there is no reason to suppose that the regular practice of
using Isnads is older than the beginning of the second century A.H.55
But his whole argument is based on his arbitrary interpretation of the

word fitnah. The assassination date of Walld b. Yazld has never been
a conventional date in Islamic history and was never reckoned as the
end of the "good old time". This title is given only to the period of
four Righteous Caliphs. Furthermore, there were many Fitnahs
before this date. There was the civil war between Ibn al-Zubayr and
‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan about 70 A.H. But the biggest of all was
the civil war between ‘AIT and Mu‘awiyah, which produced a breach
among Muslims which exists to the present day. Taha Husayn has
described it. rightly as the most Fierce quarrel known in Islamic
History.1*
So, on what grounds does the word fitnah need to be interpreted
in the sense of the civil war after the killing of Walld b. Yazld? To
take the word arbitrarily in this sense is equal to interpreting it as the
Fitnah of Tatar and Haiaku. Schacht takes this word in the sense
which suits him, without any historical justification, to prove his own
theory, which is absurd.
IsnQd and its Significance 65
Prof. Robson inclines to take the word in the sense of the Fitnah
of Ibn al-Zubayr, considering the birth date of Ibn Sirin, as well as
the occurrence of the word fitnah, in the text of al-Muwatta’ of
Malik which refers to this period.17 The present research indicates
that it should be taken back to the first and the most dangerous civil
war in the history of Islam. For this suggestion, there are the
following reasons:
1. Professor Robson has pointed out that at the middle of the
first century, when many of the Companions were dead and people
who had not seen the Prophet would be telling the story of the
Prophet, someone naturally had asked them to name the authority.
If we accept the status of the Prophet as it is shown in Robson’s
statement — which is quite unfair — this is possibly what might have
occurred.
Yet before reaching this stage, there was a great upheaval in the
fourth decade. Most likely the first fabrication of Hadlth began in the
political sphere, crediting and discrediting the parties concerned. In
the well-known work of al-Shawkanl, concerning spurious and
similar traditions we find:
42 spurious Hadlth about the Prophet
38 spurious Hadlth about the first three Caliphs
96 spurious Hadlth about ‘All and his wife Fatimah
14 spurious Hadlth about Mu‘awiyah18
This large number of spurious Hadlth about ‘All and Fatimah shows
that the large number of Hadlth was fabricated for political purpose.
We have other evidence which shows that the spurious traditions
began to originate at and about the period of the war between ‘All
and Mu‘awiyah, and continued later on as a counter-attack on the
Umayyad Dynasty. Muhaddithun and other scholars found it
necessary from that time onwards to be more cautious in selecting
their authorities.
2. The second reason for this assumption is the statement of Ibn
Sirin itself. There is no reason whatsoever to discredit it and
chalienge its authenticity. Ibn Sirin’s wording suggests that he relates
8 Practice earlier than his own period. He uses the words "They did
66 Mustafa A‘zamI
not ask/' "they said ‘Name to us your men'" "were accepted", etc.
He does not use the first person of the personal pronoun in a period
when its usage was common. So it seems that he points to a practice
in very early days. Furthermore, he says "they did not ask", which
implies that the practice of Isnad was in existence, but people did not
usually inquire, and it was left to the transmitter whether or not to
disclose his sources.
3. The third reason is that the chart of the flourishing of Isnad,
proves beyond doubt that if theLsystem of Isnad had not been in use
from the very beginning, it would have been impossible to fabricate
the system of Isnad in those days of poor communication, and to
produce all the minute details. Thus to claim that all these were
fabricated is a revolt against reason.
Prof. Schacht has tried to prove his theory of ‘back projection'
of Isnad and its artificial creation in the second and third century, by
providing some examples from the early work of Hadith-Fiqh
literature, such as the Muwatta ’ of Malik and of al-Shaybanl and al-
Umm of aI-Shafi‘1, and al-Khiraj of Abu Yusuf. He brings a few
Hadlth from these books with imperfect Isnad and traces them later
in the classical books with full Isnad, consequently he shows the
improvement in Isnad. The theory might seem very convincing to a
layman.
But actually it involves a kind of forgery. Because, as it has
been known to Schacht himself, these authors have described their
method, saying that, had they not been afraid of the volume of the
book they would have given all the Hadlth with full Isnad.
Al-Shafi‘1 says:
I lost some of my books but have verified what I remembered from

what is known to scholars; I have aimed at conciseness, so as not to
make my work too long, and have given only what will be sufficient,
without exhausting all that can be known of the subject.
The same kind of statement has been made by Abu Yusuf. But there
is another more fundamental fact which goes against Schachfs
theory, that is the very nature of the books he referred to.
It seems quite clear that Tie has not paid any attention to the
IsnOd and its Significance 67
nature of a legal work. A lawyer, a judge or a mufti, whenever he

gave his verdict, was not bound to give the full documents to support
his verdict. When a scholar writes to another scholar, he may make
only slight allusions to his references, so his colleague can recall the
necessary items to his mind.
These were the methods used by the prominent lawyers of the
early centuries of Islam. Though most of the writings of that period
are not available in separate form, yet still we have a few legal
books which belong to the second century A.H. A glance at their
methods of quoting traditions would reveal this very fact. Al-Shafi‘i
has utilized the material from al-Muwatta’ of Malik, and Abu Yusuf
has utilized the work of Ibn Ishaq and others.
The above evidence and its implications
In the writings of early scholars, mostly in non-Hadlth literature, the

following features are very common:
1. The cutting of Isnads and retaining the least possible quotations
to serve the purpose, as the complete Isnad and ample
references would make the work bulky.
2. The omission of the complete Isnad and quotation direct from
the highest authority.
3. The use of Isnad by Abu Yusuf reveals that he uses the
complete Isnad, cuts it off, puts the anonymous word rajI,
while he himself has mentioned a few pages earlier the exact
name.
4. To use the word al-Sunnah and other words derived from it to
mention the practice of the Prophet, without giving the text or
Isnad, as the Hadlth in question was well-known to the scholars.
Let us summarise what has been said until now about Isnad. For
the passing of information about the Prophet, Isnad was used. The
first fact is that the system of Isnad began from the time of the
Prophet and within the quarter century from the death of the
Prophet, I mean from the beginning of the Fitnah, scholars became
more cautious in the matter of Isnad.
68 Mustafa A'zami
The system as a whole is genuine, while any single Isnod's

authority can be challenged if there is sufficient ground for it.
A fabricated Isnad was almost impossible to pass off as genuine
without being detected. The Hadith-F/^/t and Sirah literatures are not
proper material for Isndd study. The researches of the orientalists are
based on the investigation of the wrong materials, consequently
producing wrong result.
Isnad has been utilized until now for the criticism of HadTth.
But beside this fundamental task, now we may utilize this system for
the reconstruction of early works which have lost their identity as
independent works. To understand the procedure for this sort of
research, we have to grasp meanings of the terms employed by
Muhaddithin in transmitting the records.
Isnad usually goes like this:
Qj ^ J->* * ^ .Jj: jl>. $ til I J ]}
The words like ftaddathand, akhbarana etc., are vehicles for

transporting the documents. It was understood by some scholars that
these terms mean only oral recitation. Mingana says that in his
opinion the terms rawa and haddatha mean only oral transmission.
He further says that to the best of his knowledge neither expression
has ever referred to a written document lying before the narrator.
To refute this false assumption, I cite only two or three
examples. Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal says:
J ^ ^ O"? ^ ^ J 1 i-L- JL>-
Cy 1
Yahya b. Adam informs us that * Abdullah b. Idas transmitted the

HadTth through dictation from his book.
t
lsn&d and its Significance 69
Here the book is employed for the teaching of the Hadlth, by way of
dictation yet the same word haddathana is used.
\ 6 4* l^ y* ^ ^ 6 4«U 1
'a-.3js' o? ^ i>r *V*—
Ibn Hanbal says that Rauh transmitted Hadlth to us from his book.
j
\ _st y ] Ur J-^>- J U \ y, U^vj>- 1
4uai>- ^ ^5 JLt y* I Ur • * • 4^ y+
Here Nasai gives an example of a Hadlth which was read to students

twice by the teacher, once from memory and once from the book.
There are hundreds of clear examples for this but I confine
myself to only three examples.
Now it has been clarified that the Mukaddithun used these terms
even in the existence of the written documents.
If we find a scholar ’ through whom HadTths have been
transmitted by different students, we may trace the existence of
written records very easily. To be on the safe side, we have to
compare the materials transmitted by his different students. In the
case of agreement in contents and form we can bring out the early
text. But if there is no agreement in form, and they tally in meaning
only, here it means that either oral transmission has been applied, or
some of the narrators or all of them have expressed the meaning in
their own words. This can be clarified by an example. Al-Zuhrl
compiled the biography of the Prophet. His material has been utilized
by his students, such as Ibn Ishaq, Ma’mar, Yunus, etc. Ibn Ishaq’s
work has been printed several times. Going through their works it
becomes clear that Ma’mar, Yunus and Muhammad b. ‘Abdullah are
three scholars whose versions go together with very little variations
which are usually found in the different manuscript of any work,
70 Mustafa a4zami
while the version of Ibn Ishaq is in marked difference in its form and
even in some of its contents. Here we may say that either Ibn Ishaq
has expressed the meaning Tn his own words, or al-Zuhri himself
revised his work, but what we can say with certainty is that these
three versions or the version of these three students presents the
work of al-ZuhrT in its original written form. I have carried out some
research on the Sirah of al-Zuhrl, and a specimen page testifying to
the result is available. Unfortunately I was not able to print it.
One of the outstanding historians of Islamic literature, Fuad
Sezgin, has over-stressed written documents. Even the journeys of
the scholars for collecting the Hadlth have been described by him as
false tales. In the light of the written documents we cannot discard
the journeys of Muhaddithun to collect the materials. His argument
is that there were eight kinds of learning certificate, almost all of
which involved written documents except two, in which sometimes
written and sometimes oral transmission was carried out. Thus the
whole system of learning Hadlth rested on written documents. But
the problem is that not all of those methods were in operation
equally. No doubt there have been eight different ways to accumulate
the knowledge, but the most important ones were to read to the
teacher or to listen to him while the teacher was reading, and these
were the most common features.
Furthermore, even in the case of written documents a scholar
has no right to utilize the contents without the permission of the
teacher, otherwise he would be counted unreliable and would be
blamed of stealing Hadlth (sariq al-hadith). Therefore, even in the
case of written documents one had to obtain the permission of the
Shaykh, to avoid the title of sariq al-hadith, and thus losing
credibility. In early days even to obtain permission to transmit a
written record, without reading, was not encouraged. They used to
say that one should not learn from al-SuhuJT, meaning one who has
collected the knowledge through the books without reading it to
Shuyukh though he had permission to transmit them, as it was bound
to produce many mistakes. Meanwhile it is a fact that many
Muhaddithun, having books, transmitted orally, as it gave them a
kind of prestige.
NOTES
1. Nasir al-Asad, Musadir al-Sh *r al-Jahilf, 2nd. ed., (Cairo 1962), pp.255-267.
2. Sahih Muslim (Cairo 1374 A.H.), ed. M.F. ‘Abdul BaqT, intro, pp.14-16.
3. Ibid., intro, p. 15.
4. ‘Abd al-Rahman SuyutT, Tadrib al-Rdwf (Cairo 1379 A.H.), ed. A.R. Latif,
pp.220-21.
5. J. Robson, Oriental Society Transaction (Glasgow Univ. 1955), ch. "The
Isnad in Muslim Traditions", vol.xv, p.18, quoting Annali dell* Islam.
6. Ibid., p. 19.
7. Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol.iv, pp.323-6, 328-331.
8. Ibid., vol.vi, p.212.
9. Ibid., vol.iv, pp.323-6, 328-331.
10. Der Islam (1918), vol.viii, pp.39-47.
11. Robson, op. cit., p.21.
12. Ibid.
13. This is a well summarised theory of Schacht by Robson, p.20.
14. Ibid., p.20.
15. Joseph Schacht, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (London 1950),
pp.36-37.
16. Taha Husayn, Uthmdn (Cairo 1951), p.5; See also Nicholson, Literary
History of the Arabs, p.193.
,17. Robson, op.cit., vol.xv, p.22.
j,18. Al-ShawkanT, at~Fawd*id al-Majmu ‘ah ft Bay an al-Ahddith al-Mawdu4ah,
pp. 320-408.
4
THE SCIENCES AND
CRITIQUE OF HADlTH
_('ULUM AL-HADiTH)
MUHAMMAD ZUBAYR SIDDIQl
We have seen that every Hadlth consists of two parts: the Isnad (the
chain of transmitters) and the Matn (text). Each of these two-parts is
of equal importance to a traditionist. The latter as a report of the
sayings or doings of the Prophet, forms a basis of the-Islamic rituals
and laws; and the former constitutes the credentials of the latter. The
traditionists, therefore, treat and consider the traditions with one and
the same Isnad and different texts, as well as the traditions with one
and the same text and different Isnads, as entirely independent
traditions. A critical study of traditions, therefore, likewise consists
(according to the traditionists) of two parts: that of the Isnad, and
that of the text.
In order to check the Isnad it is necessary to know the life and
the career as well as the character of the various persons who
constitute the various links in the chains of the different Isnads. And
in order to understand the exact significance of the text, and to test
its genuineness, it is necessary to know the meaning of the various
expressions used (some of which are rare and out of common use),
72
•jjtam al-Hadlth 73
and also to learn its relation to the text of the other traditions (some
of which may be either corroborated or contradicted by it).
In connection with Hadlth literature, therefore, there have been
developed by the Muslims various other branches of literature which
are summarized in the various works on the ‘Ulum al-Ijadith — like
those of Abu Muhammad al-Ramhurmuzi (d. 360 A.H./970 A.D.),
Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani (d. 430 A.H./1038 A.D.), al-Khatib al-
Baghdadl (d. 403 A.H./1012 A.D.), al-Hakim (321-405 A.H./933-
1014 A.D.), Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 A.H./1245 A.D.) and many others.
These are 100 in number, and each of them is said to be important
enough to be treated as an independent branch of knowledge.1
Some of them are connected only with the Isnad of the
traditions and its criticism; some relate to their text; and some relate
to both the Isnad as well as the text. We will deal here with only two
of them, and discuss their evolution and influence on Hadlth
literature.
Asmd * al-Rijdl (Biography and criticism of

the narrators of Hadith)
One of the most important and richest branches of literature, which

originated and developed in connection with the Isnad in Hadlth, is
that relating to the biography of the narrators of traditions. It is
commonly known asAsmA’ al-Rijal. In it are included all the various
works which deal with (i) the chronology; (ii) the biography; and
(iii) the criticism of the narrators of traditions or of any class of the
narrators, or with any such aspect of their life as may be helpful in
determining their identity, veracity and reliability.
(i) Chronology. The consideration of chronology commenced and

developed among the Muslims at an early period in the history-of
Islam. There is a difference of opinion as to the exact time when it
Was first used by the Muslims. According to some authorities, dates
^we introduced into official correspondence by the Prophet himself
*n the fifth year of the Hijrah, when a treaty was concluded between
”lrtl and the people of Najran.2 But it is generally held that this was
74 ZUBAYR SlDDlQI
done by ‘Umar b. al-Khattab — with the unanimous advice of a

congregation of important Muslims — in the sixteenth or the
seventeeth year of the Hijrah.3 The same farsighted Caliph followed
a chronological principle in the award of pensions to the various
groups of Muslims of his time according to their priority in the
acceptance of Islam, which (principle) was already accepted by the
Community as a point of great distinction. Its use assumed greater
importance on account of the necessity of an explanation of the
historical verses in the Qur'an, and of the determination of the dates
of revelation of the legal verses in order that it might be decided
which of them had been cancelled and which of them were still in
force.
They followed in their chronology the lunar calendar, which had
been adopted by the Arabs long before the advent of Islam. But
originally, at least the Makkans among the Arabs followed the solar
calendar, which is evident from their division of the year according
to the seasons, and also from the significance of the names of the
various months, and is proved conclusively by J. Wellhausen in his
scholarly book, Reste arabischen Heidentums .4
(ii) Biography. The composition of the biographical works with a

perfect chronological order of the events, however, was commenced
by the Muslims before the end of the first century of the Hijrah.
Horovitz has shown that Aban (d. between 86 and 105 A.H.),
the son of the Caliph ‘Uthman; ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr (26-94
A.H./646-712 A.D.); and Shurayh (who is said to have been born
in 20 A.H. and lived more than 100 years) had collected a good deal
of material relating to the biography of the Prophet. Soon after them,
Wahb ivrote a book on the Maghaii — a fragment of which is
preserved at Heidelberg in Germany.5 Wahb was followed by
numerous biographers of the Prophet during the second and third
centuries. The fragment and the text of such of these biographies as
are still extant reveal a thorough use of the chronological system by
their authors.
(iii) Criticism of the Narrators. A general critical estimate of the

'Ulam al-Hadtth 75
reliability of the narrators, based on their life and character, in order

to determine the veracity of their reports, appears to have been taken
into consideration earlier than the period when the Isnad became
long enough to admit the application of the chronological method.
Ibn ‘Adi (d. 365 A.H./975 A.D.), in the introduction to his book,
Kdmil, has given a general survey of the development of the
criticism of the narrators since its beginning till his own time.
According to him, narrators had been criticised by ‘Abdullah b.
‘Abbas, ‘Ubadah b. al-Samit and Anas, among the Companions; by
al-Sha‘bi, Ibn Sirin and Sa‘Id b. al-Musaiyib, among the Followers.
But it did not become common till the next generation, because most
of the narrators till then had been reliable. In the next generation,
when the narrators of doubtful reliability grew in number, their
criticism also assumed greater importance. About the middle of the
second century, therefore, A‘mash, Shu‘bah and Malik criticised a
large number of the narrators, and declared some of them as weak,
and some as unreliable. About the same time flourished two of the
greatest critics of Rijdl — Yahya b. Sa‘Id al-Qattan (d. 198 A.H./813
A.D.) and ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Mahdl (d.198 A.H./813 A.D.) whose
verdict on the narrators’ reliability or unreliability was accepted as
final. Where they differed in their opinion about the reliability of a
narrator, the traditionists used their own discretion in the matter.
They were followed by another class of critics which included Yazld
b. Harun and others.6
Chronology, biography and criticism, having developed among
the Muslims at an early period in the history of Islam, were applied
by them to the Isnad in traditions — in order to check their
genuineness and determine the reliability of their narrators.
Chronology was taken by the traditionists as an important expedient
to determine the genuineness of the Isndd. "Whenever you have a
doubt about the veracity of a narrator", remarks Hafs b. Ghiyath (d.
160 A.H./776 A.D.), "test him by means of the years" (i.e., the
dates of birth and death). Sufyan al-Thawrl is said to have declared:
When the narrators forged traditions, we used the Ta’rlkh
(chronology) against them".7 Hassan b. Zayd observed: "We never
against the forgers any device more effective than the Ta ’rikh. "8
76 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
Chronology had been, therefore, used as early as the second

century by the traditionists in order to test the truth of the statement
of the narrators. Some examples of it are cited by Muslim in the
introduction to his Sahih; and a good many of them are found in the
works on Asmaf al-RijdL
The traditionists, however, having realized the importance of
chronology, biography and criticism, compiled independent works
dealing with the narrators of traditions in chronological order before
the end of the second century. "Such registers of the narrators of
traditions," says Otto Loth, "as had been chronologically arranged
and in which every Muslim traditionist in general received a definite
place, had been already in common use among the traditionists as
indispensable hand-books in the second century."9
The beginning of the compilation of the works on Asma' al-Rijal
is difficult to determine. But Ibn Nadlm has mentioned two books as
Kitdb al-Ta 'rlkh in his Fihrist, in the discourse dealing with the
works on the jurists and the traditionists. One of these books is by
the great traditionist, ‘Abdullah b. al-Mubarak; and the other, by
Layth b. Sa‘d (d. 165-175 A.H./781-791 A.D.), an important
traditionist of the Malik! school.10 These authors had little interest in
history; and their works are not included in that section of the Fihrist
in which historical works are dealt with. We may, therefore, count
them among the earliest works on our subject. Horovitz is correct in
his opinion that the earliest work on the subject was composed about.
the middle of the second century.11 Among the products of the
second century of Islam, however, must be included such works on
our subject as the Kitdb al-Tabaqat, Kitdb Td 'rlkh al-Fuqahd \ Kitdb
Tabaqdt al-Fuqahd' wa 1-Muhaddithin, Kitdb Tasmiyat al-Fuqaha'
wa'l-Muhaddithin, Kitdb Tabaqdt man rawa ‘an al-Nabf by al-
WaqidT and Haytham b. ‘Adi — both of whom died in the beginning
of the third century, and whose works served as important sources
to the later writers on the subject — e.g. Ibn Sa‘d (d. 230 A.H./844
A.D.), Ibn al-Khayyat (d. 240 A.H./854 A.D.) and others.12
As all the early works on our subject have been lost, it is
impossible to determine definitely their general plan and the nature
of their contents. But from the later works which are based on them
'Ulum al-Hadlth 77
and which we have received, and from the general tendencies of the
traditionists of the time, it may be inferred that their contents mainly
consisted of: (a) short descriptions of the genealogies and the dates
of their birth and death, (b) some biographical matters relating to the
narrators; and (c) a short criticism of their reliability together with
the opinions of the important authorities about them. These are the
main features of the contents of the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa‘d which will
be described later; and these matters, as we have seen, had received
serious attention of the traditionists before the end of the second
century of the Hijrah.
The compilation of the biographies of the narrators of traditions,
being begun in the second century of the Hijrah, was continued with
zeal and vigour in the following centuries. In the third century, not
only various specialists in the subject — e.g. Ibn Sa‘d', Khallfah b.
al-Khayyat, Ibn Abl Khaythamah (d. 279 A.H./892 A.D.) and others
— but also almost every traditionist of reputation compiled
simultaneously with his collection of traditions, some biographies of
their narrators also. The compiler of each of the six standard works
in Hadlth literature has to his credit one or more important books on
the biography of the narrators of traditions.13
During the fourth and the succeeding centuries, the compilation
of the biographies of traditionists appears to have become a fashion
of the time throughout the vast Islamic dominions. Arabia, Syria,
Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Africa, Spain and India all produced
numerous biographers of the traditionists, who compiled huge works
on the subject.
The works on the Asma ’ al-Rijal helped the growth of general
biographical literature in the Arabic language. There were compiled
in Arabic the biographies of poets, grammarians, physicians, saints,
jurists, judges, calligraphers, lovers, misers, idiots, apd of other
classes of people. The biographical literature in Arabic is, therefore,
extremely rich. "The glory of the Muhammadan literature", says Dr.
Sprenger, "is its literary biographies... There is no nation, nor has
there been any, which like them, has during twelve centuries
narrated the life of every man of letters”.14 Margoliouth remarks:
The biographical literature of the Arabs was exceedingly rich;
78 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
indeed it would appear that in Baghdad when an eminent man died,

there was a market for biographies of him, as is the case in the
capitals of Europe in our time... The literature which consists in
collected biographies is abnormally large, and it is in consequence
easier for the student of the history of the caliphate, to find out
something about the persons mentioned in the chronicles, than in any
analogous case".15
The magnitude of these biographical dictionaries may be
ascertained from the large number of men whose biographies they
contain. Ibn Sard’s Tabaqat contains the biographies of more than
4,000 traditionists. A1-Bukhari’s Ta ’rikh deals with more than 42,000
traditionists. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadl in his History of Baghdad, gives
short biographies of 7,831 persons. Ibn ‘Asakir in the eighty
volumes of his History of Damascus, collected together the
biographies of a much larger number of people. Ibn Hajar in his
Tahdhlb al-Tahdhlb and Mizdn al-Vtidal, summarized the
biographical notices on 12,415 and 14,343 narrators of traditions
respectively. These figures which may be easily collected from
numerous other works on our subject, are sufficient to show the
magnitude of biographical literature in Arabic.
The works on the Asmd’ al-Rijdl, however, differ from one
another in their scope, their general plan, and the detailed nature of
their contents, according to the main object of their compilers and
authors. Some of them contain extremely short notices on a
particular class of narrators of traditions. Such is the Tabaqat al-
Huffdz of DhahabI,16 and various other works on weak or unreliable
narrators. Some of them deal with only their names, their kunyas and
their titles or nisbahs. To this class belong the various works on
Asmd ’ wa ’l-Kunar and the well-known Kitdb al-Ansdb of al-Sam‘an!.
Some of them contain biographical details of ail such narrators as
lived in or visited any particular town — e.g. Aleppo, Baghdad,
Damascus, etc. To this class belong the works of al-Khatlb af
Baghdadi, Ibn al-‘Asakir and others. Some of them deal with only
the reliable or unreliable narrators — e.g., the Kitdb al-Thiqat and
the Kitdb aUDu 'afd ’ of Ibn Hibban and others. Some of them contain
the biographies of only such narrators as find a place in any
‘Ulum al-Hadtth 79
particular collection of traditions or in a group of them. To this class

belong a large number of works which deal with the lives of the
narrators on whom al-Bukhari or Muslim or the authors of all the six
standard works on Hadith have relied.
The works on the Asnul ’ al-Rijal may, therefore, be classified
into two main groups: (1) the general works, and (2) the special
works.
General works
By the general works on the Asma ’ al-Rijal are meant such of them
as contain the biographies of all the narrators, or at least of all the
important ones among them, who had been known to their
compilers. To this class belong most of the early works on the
subject. The Tabaqat of Muhammad b. Sa‘d, the three Histories of
al-BukharT, the History Of Ahmad b. Abl Khaythamah, and many
other works on the Asma' al-Rijal, which were compiled during the
third century of the Hijrah, and which contain the biographies of all
the narrators, or at least of all the important ones among them, who
had been known to their authors. The earliest of these works
received by us is the Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir by Ibn Sa‘d.
Ibn Sa‘d, who possessed great learning and equally great love
for it, also possessed a great love of books the possession and
collection of which had already become a fashion among the
Muslims. Al-Khatlb al-Baghdadlsays:17 "He possessed vast learning,
knew a large number of traditions, had great thirst for them, narrated
a good many of them, and had collected a large number of books,
particularly the rare ones, and those on Hadith and Fiqh". "Of the
collections of the works of al-Waqidi", adds al-Khatlb al-Baghdadl,
' which were in the possession of four persons during the time of Ibn
Sa‘d, his was the largest".
Ibn Sa‘d made the best use of his vast learning and rich library
‘n compiling his own works. Two of them — the Tabaqat and the
Kitab Akhbar al-Nabf — have been mentioned by Ibn Nadlm,18 and
a third, a smaller edition of the Tabaqat, is mentioned by al-
âwawl19 and others, but is not known to exist.
80 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
As Prof. Sachau says, Ibn Sa‘d has shown in his work

impartiality and honesty, thoroughness and minuteness, and
objectivity and originality.20 His impartiality and honesty have been
generally acknowledged. Just as in spite of being a Mawla’ of the
Hashimites, he took no part in their party politics, so in his articles
on the various persons he gave no expression to his personal relation
to or prejudice for or against any one, and recorded in simple,
unvarnished style all that he knew and considered of importance
about them. His thoroughness and minuteness is abundantly shown
by his constant reference to the various versions of an event as well
as to the differences among his authorities. His objectivity is
illustrated by the want of the least irrelevant material in his work.
His originality is shown by his sub-classification of the narrators
according to the various provinces in which they lived, and the
general statement of the Isnads of the various versions of an event
before describing them and the entire absence of them in certain
parts, all of which are ascribed to his own ingenuity. He has been
compared by Sachau with Plutarch — the difference in their works
being due to the fact that Plutarch formed the last link in a long
chain of biographers whose contributions to the art he had inherited,
whereas Ibn Sa‘d had been one of the pioneers in the field.
Be it as it may, the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa*d is one of the earliest
extant works on Asmd * al-Rijal, containing biographical notices of
most of the important narrators of the most important period in the
history of traditions. It is a rich mine of many-sided, valuable
information about the early history of Islam. It may be described not
only as" the most important extant work dn the subject, but also as
one of the most important works in Arabic literature in general.
Since the beginning of the fourth century A.H., it has been used as
a source by a large number of authors on Arabian history and
biography. Al-Baladhurl,21 al-Tabari, al-Khatlb al-Baghdadl, Ibn al-
Athlr, al-NawawI and Ibn Hajar used it as an important source for
their works, and al-SuyutT prepared an epitome of it. As a general
biographical dictionary of the narrators it appears to have always
occupied a unique position in the Asma*aURijal. The other works of
the Tabaqat class dealt only with particular classes of the narrators.
‘UlUm al-Hadlth 81
Kitdb al-Ta’rikh of al-Bukhari
Ibn Sa‘d’s Tabaqat was soon followed by the works of al-Bukhari

who claimed to have possessed some biographical knowledge about
every narrator of traditions. He compiled three books on the history
of the narrators in general. The largest of these is said to have
contained the biographical notices of more than 40,000 narrators. But
no complete manuscript of the book is known to exist Only various
parts of it are preserved in certain libraries on the basis of which the
Da’irat al-Ma‘arif, Hyderabad (India) has prepared a text of the
book, and published it.
Biographical dictionaries of particular classes of narrators
Almost simultaneously with the biographical dictionaries of the

narrators in general, was begun the compilation of those of particular
classes of them. The most important of them are:
i. those containing the biographies of the Companions;
ii. those containing the biographies of the narrators who lived in or
visited any particular town or province; and
iii. those containing the biographies of the narrators belonging to
the various schools of the jurists.
The biographical dictionaries of the companions constitute the

vital part of the Asma’ al-Rijal. But no independent book on the
subject appears to have been written before the third century of the
Hijrah, when the great traditionist, al-Bukhari, compiled the first
independent biographical dictionary of the Companions22 which must
have been mainly based on:
(a) the Slrat literature:
(b) the numerous monographs relating to the various important
events during the early period of the history of Islam;
(c) a large number of traditions containing biographical
material relating to the Companions; and
(d) and the earlier general works on the Asma' al-Rijal.
82 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
Al-Bukharl was followed by numerous authors during the

different periods in the history' of Islam, who produced a vast
literature on the subject. Abu Ya‘]a Ahmad b. ‘AIT (201-307
A.H./816-919 A.D.), Abu al-Qasim ‘Abdullah al-BaghawT (213-317
A.H./828-929 A.D.), the great traditionist and copyist, Abu Hafs
‘Umar b. Ahmad (commonly known as Ibn Shahln (297-385
A.H./909-995 A.D.), one of the most prolific writers of his time
(who spent more than 700 dirhams on ink only), Abu ‘Abdullah
Muhammad b. Yahya b. Manda (d. 301 A.H./913 A.D.), Abu
Nu‘aym Ahmad b.‘Abdullah (336-403 A.H./947-1012 A.D.), who
has been described as one of the best traditionists, Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr
(368-463 A.H./978-1070 A.D,) of Cordova, a contemporary of al-
KhatTb al-Baghdadl, and the greatest traditionist of his time in the
West, Abu Musa Muhammad b. Abl Bakr (501-581 A.H./l 107-1185
A.D.), and many others produced an extensive literature on the
biographies of the Companions.
The results of the researches of all these scholars were collected
together in the seventh century A.H. by the well-known historian and
traditionist, ‘Izz al-DIn b. al-Athlr (555-630 A.H./l 160-1230 A.D.)
in his book, Usd al-Ghdbak, which was based mainly on the works
of Ibn Manda, Abu Nu‘aym, Abu Musa and Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (whose
IstUab contained the biographies of only 300 Companions, and to
which a supplement was written by Ibn Fathun, which contained the
biographical notices of about the same number of Companions). Ibn
al-Athlr, however, does not follow his sources blindly.
The Usd al-Ghdbah was followed in the ninth century of the
Hijrah by a more comprehensive work on the subject — viz. the
Isdbah ft Tamyiz al-Sahabah. Its author, Shihab al-DIn Abu al-Fadl
b. ‘All b. Hajar al-‘AsqalanT (773-852 A.H./1371-1448 A.D.) was
the greatest literary figure of his time.
He left about 150 of his incomplete and complete compositions
and compilations which show his versatile genius, The Fath al-Bdrl,
a commentary on Sahih al-Bukharl, is described as a work by which
was paid the great debt which the literary world of Islam owed to the
work of al-Bukhar! for six centuries.
In the Isdbah, Ibn Hajar has put together the results of the
‘UlSm al-Hadith 83
labours of all his predecessors in the field of the biographies of the

Companions, criticising them in certain cases, and adding to them
the results of his own researches.
Another huge set of biographical dictionaries of narrators had
been completed according to places or provinces where they lived or
which they visited. The number of such dictionaries is large. Not
only almost all the provinces, but almost every important town, had
not only one or two but several biographers who collected together
the biographies of every important traditionist or man of letters who
either lived in it or visited it. Makkah, Madlnah, Basrah, Kufah,
Wasit, Damascus, Antioch, Alexandria, Qayrawan, Cordova,
Mausil, Aleppo, Baghdad, Isfahan, Bukhara, Merv, etc. all had their
historians and biographers of their men of letters.23
Many of these provincial historians dealt with the political
history of these provinces. Many of them dealt mainly with the
biographies of their men of letters in general and those of the
narrators and the traditionists in particular. Many of the early
biographical dictionaries, which contained the biographies of the
important Muslim scholars of particular places (since their conquest
by the Muslims till the time of the compilers), are supplemented by
their successors with those of the eminent men of the later periods
down to almost modern times. .
One of the most important works of this type is al-Khatlb al-
BaghdadT’s Ta’rikh Baghdad which is the earliest biographical
dictionary of the men of letters —principally, traditionists — who
either belonged to, or delivered lectures in, the great metropolis.24
Al-Khatib compiled 56 large and small books and treatises a list
of which is given by Yaqut in his Mu'jam al-Udaba\25 The most
important of these works is his Ta ’rlkh Baghdad. In this monumental
work (which he read out to his students in the year 461 A.H.),
having given the topography of Baghdad, Rusafah and al-Mada’in
(Ptesiphon), which has been fully utilised by Le Strange in his
learned book on Baghdad, al-Khatib compiled together the
biographies of 7,831 eminent men and women (chiefly, traditionists)
who were either born in Baghdad, or who came to it from other
Places and delivered lectures (on traditions). He has also described
84 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
some important visitors to the city. He gives their names, kunya,

dates of death, and certain other biographical matters, and the
opinions of important traditionists about their reliability.
In the arrangement of the various articles, al-Khatlb gave the
pride of place to the Companions. They are followed by those having
the name Muhammad. In the other articles alphabetical order has
been followed. The articles on those who are known by their kunya,
and on women, are put at the end.
In this book al-Khatlb has shown his vast knowledge of Hadlth
and of the Asma ’ al-Rijal, and has also demonstrated his impartiality
and critical acumen. He always gives the source of his information,
and very often discusses (in his notes) the reliability of the traditions
quoted, and of the reports received by him; he tries to determine the
facts without prejudice or partiality.
Al-Khatlb had brought his dictionary down to 450 A.H. His
successors continued the work after him. Al-Sam‘anT (506-562
A.H./l 113-1167 A.D.), al-Dubaythl (558-637 A.H./1163-1239
A.D.), Ibn al-Najjar (578-643 A.H./l 183-1245 A.D.) and others
wrote supplements to his book compiling biographies of eminent men
of Baghdad till their own times.26
History of Damascus by Ibn al-‘Asakir
The entire plan of the History of Baghdad was followed by Ibn al-
‘Asakir in his huge biographical dictionary of the eminent men of
Damascus in 80 volumes which excited the wonder and admiration
of the later writer.
He compiled a large number of important works; a long list of
his works is given by Yaqut in the Mu ‘jam al-Udaba Many of these
are still preserved in the various libraries in the East and in the
West.
The most important and most voluminous of his works is the
History of Damascus. In this book, after giving a short history of
Syria in general and of. Damascus in particular, and after stating
•Ulum al-Hadith 85
briefly the superiority of Syria to other places on the basis of certain

traditions extolling Syria in general and Damascus in particular, and
after describing its prophets and monasteries, Ibn al-‘Asakir collected
together the biographies of the eminent men and women of various
classes (chiefly traditionists) who either lived in or visited Damascus.
Like al-Khatib al-Baghdadl and Ibn al-‘Asakir, various other
traditionists and historians collected together the biographies of men
of letters in general, and of the narrators in particular, of various
other towns. Ibn Manda and Abu Nu’aym of Isfahan collected
together the biographies of the narrators who belonged to their
town,27 and the work of the latter is preserved in the libraries of
Rampur, Constantinople and Leiden. Al-Hakim compiled those of the
narrators who belonged to Nishapur, which has been admired by al-
SubkT.28 Abu al-Qasim ‘Umar b. Ahmad al-‘UqaylT, generally known
as Ibn al-‘AdIm (588-660 A.H./l 191-1262 A.D.) collected together
the biographies of eminent men, including a large number of
traditionists, of Aleppo in about 30 volumes. It was supplemented by
his different successors.29 Abu Sa‘d al-Sam‘am (506-562 A.H./l 113-
1167 A.D.) compiled a biographical dictionary mainly of the
traditionists of Merv in 20 volumes.30 The traditionists of Wash, of
Kufah, of Basrah, of Hirat, and Qazwln and of many other towns
found their biographers in Ibn al-Dubaythl,31 Ibn al-Najjar,32 Ibn
Shabbah33 (173-263 A.H./789-876 A.D.), Ibn al-Bazzaz,34 and in al-
Rafi‘35 respectively.
Over and above the biographical dictionaries of the traditionists
and narrators living in particular towns, there were also collected
together the biographies of the narrators living in certain provinces
— e.g. Andalusia, Africa, San'a, Egypt, Khurasan, etc. — by Ibn al-
Fardl, Ibn Bashkwal, al-Humaydl and others.
Criticism and techniques of Hadith
Side by side with the Hadith literature, there also developed the
methods of criticism and the techniques of Hadith. It is natural for
a reasonable person who may receive the report of an event in which
he may be interested, to inquire about the character and reliability of
86 ZUBAYR SlDDIQI
the reporter as well as into the likelihood of the event which has
been reported to him. In the Qur’an, at any rate, we find clear
indication of the criticism of the reporters of an event as well as of
the likelihood of it. It emphasised the principle of the criticism of the
reporters of an event in the verse 6 of Surah al-Hujurat:
O you who believe! If an unrighteous person comes to you with

U report, look carefully into it.
The principle of the plausibility of a statement has also been

indicated in the Qur’an in several places. The accusation against
‘A’ishah has been described as an evident falsehood,36 because her
character was above all suspicion. The Qur’an has also rejected as
unreasonable and unfounded, the theory of the sonship of Ezra and
of Jesus, which was asserted by the Jews and the Christians.37
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also
criticised many of the reporters, and made fun of superstitious beliefs
of the Jews and of the pagan Arabs as unreasonable and foolish.
After the Prophet’s death, when his Hadlths were sought after
and were reported by many of his Companions, several Companions
criticised some of the reporters and rejected some of their reports.
‘All said about the report of a HadTth by Mu‘qil b. Sinan that he
could not accept the report of an uncultured, solvenly Bedouin.38
‘Umar b. al-Khattab said in the presence of many Companions that
he could not give up the Book of God and the practice of His
Prophet because of the report of a woman (Fatimah bt. Qays), for no
one could tell whether she was right or wrong, and whether she
remembered (what she reported) or had forgotten.39 ‘Ammar b.
Yasir once reported a HadTth of the Prophet with regard to
tayammum in an assembly of the Companions in which ‘Umar was
also present. On hearing the HadTth, ‘Umar said to ‘Ammar: "Fear
God”.40 This shows that ‘Umar did not accept what ‘Ammar had
reported. The Sahih of Muslim contains a report in which Ibn
‘Abbas criticised numerous ‘judgments’ of‘AIT b. AbTTalib.41 When
Mahmud b. al-RabT‘ reported in an assembly of the Companions that
the Prophet had said that he who professed that there was no God
‘Ulum al-Hadlth 87
but Allah would not be put into hell-fire, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari
remarked that he did not think that the Prophet ever had said any
such thing.42 Many other instances of the criticism of the reporters
of HadTth by their fellow-Companions (e.g. ‘A’ishah, ‘Umar, Ibn
‘Abbas and others) may be easily gathered from works on HadTth
and the Asma' al-Rijal. These criticisms of the Companions against
one another show that they are not above criticism. As a matter of
fact, according to the principles accepted by most of the Sunni
Muslim scholars, no one except the Prophets is infallible. And even
the Prophets are liable to commit mistakes in matters which do not
concern the religions revealed to them.
The practice of criticising the HadTths of the Prophet and their
reporters (by the Companions) was followed by the traditionists of
the later generations. Shu‘bah b. al-Hajjaj, Yahya b. Sa‘Td al-Qattan,
‘All b. al-Madlm, Ahmad b. Hanbal and many other traditionists
criticised the reporters of the HadTth, pointed out their character, and
fixed up the degree of their reliability. Thus there developed in
Arabic two important branches of literature: (1) 7/m Riwdyat
al-Hadith which is also called Mustalah al-Hadlth (the science of
narration or techniques of HadTth); (2) 7/m al-Jarh wa’l-Ta‘dll (the
science of criticism of the reporters).
1.7/m Riwdyat al-Hadlth

The earliest treatise received by us containing matters connected
with the Riwdyat or transmission of HadTth is the al-Risdlah of al-
Shafi‘T (767-820 A.D.), which deals mainly with the jurisprudence
of the Shafi‘T system of Islamic law. It was followed by the works
of Abu Muhammad al-Ramhurmuzf (d. cr. 350 A.H./961 A.D.), al-
Hakim (d. 403 A.H./1012 A.D.), Abu Nu‘aym (745 A.H./1038
A.D.) and of al-Khatib al-BaghdadT (1002-1071 A.D.) who
systematized the matter described by his predecessors, in his Kitdb
ol-Kifayah. He was followed by QadT ‘Iyad (d. 1139 A.D.) and Abu
Hafs, each of whom wrote a treatise on the subject. After them, Ibn
al-Salah (d. 643 A.H./1245 A.D.) compiled together the results of
the works of all the previous writers on the subject, adding to them
some of his own observations in his book known as Kitab ‘Ulum al-
88 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
Hadith. He was followed by numerous writers on the subject, like

Ibn Kathlr (1302-1372 A.D.), aPIraql and others.43 The Fath al-
Mughithy which is al-Sakhawfs commentary on the Alfiyah of ai-
‘ Iraqi, and the Tadrib at-Rawf, which is a commentary on the Taqrib
of al-Nawawi, contain exhaustive treatment of ‘Ilm Riwayat al-
Hadith.
Al-ShafiT and others have described the qualifications necessary
for a transmitter of Hadith as follows:
He (the transmitter) must be of firm faith, well known for his

truthfulness in what he reported. He should understand its contents,
should know well how the change in expression affects the ideas
expressed therein. He should report verbatim what he learnt from his
teachers, and not narrate in his own words the sense of what he had
learnt. He must possess a retentive memory and should remember his
book well, if he reported from it. He should be free from making a
report on the authority of those whom he met, what he did not learn
from them. His report must be in agreement with what has been
reported by those who are recognized to have good memory, if they
also have transmitted these reports.44
All the authorities on the subject (the traditionists as well as the

jurists) are unanimously of the opinion that a transmitter of a
tradition, in order to be acceptable, must be of firm faith, mature age
and proved integrity, and have good memory. He must be well-
versed in the method of learning, preserving and transmitting the
traditions. He must be thoroughly conversant with the names, careers
and characters of the earlier reporters of traditions, as well as with
the various classes of them and their defects and special
characteristics.
The writers on the subject have divided the traditions, into three
classes, according to the degree of their reliability on account of the
perfection or imperfection of the chain of their transmitters, the
freedom of their texts from hidden defects, and their acceptance or
rejection by the Companions, the Followers and their Successors.
These three classes are:

‘Ulum al-Hadith 89
(i) the SahlH45 or Genuine;

(ii) the Hasan or the Fair; and
(iii) the Da‘if or the Weak.
The Weak traditions have been sub-divided according to the

degree of defects in their reporters or in the texts of the reports
themselves. These sub-divisions fall into several categories, e.g. the
mu'allaq (the suspended), the maqtu* (interrupted), the munqati*
(broken), the mursal (incomplete), the musahhaf {a tradition having
a mistake in Isnad or in the text), the shadh (a tradition with a
reliable Isnad but contrary to another simlarly attested tradition), the
mawdu‘ (the forged) etc. These and other techniques of Hadlth have
been fully explained and discussed in the works on ‘Ulum al-Hadith.
But the authorities on the subject differ from one another in their
interpretation of some of these technical terms. Some of these
different interpretations have been explained by al-Sakhaw! and al-
SuyutT in their works which have been already mentioned.
The writers on 'Ulum al-Hadith have also described the methods
of learning, preserving, teaching and writing down the traditions in
book form. They have also described the methods of collating the
manuscripts with their original copies as well as other matters
connected with the subject.
2. ‘llm al-Jarh wa'l-Ta dll

This science forms a very important part of'Asmd' al-Rijdl
which has been already dealt with, in some detail. A short but
complete description of its origin and development has been given by
al-Jaza’irl.
The traditionists as well as the jurists, however, have also
divided the traditions according to the number of their transmitters
during the first three generations of the Muslims, into:
(i) the Mutawdtir\
(ii) the Mashhur; and
(iii) the Ahad.
The Mutawatir are the tradition^ which have been transmitted

90 ZUBAYR SlDDIQl
throughout the first three generations of the Muslims by such a large

number of transmitters as cannot be reasonably expected to agree on
a falsehood. There is a difference of opinion about the number of the
transmitters necessary for it during each of the first three generations
of the Muslims. Some authorities fix it at seven, some at forty, some
at seventy, and some at a much higher number. Very few of the
traditions received by us belong to the category of the Mutawatir.
They have been collected together by al-Suyutl in his al-Azhar al~
Mutandthirah ft al-Akhbdr al-Mutawdtirah.
The Mashhur are the traditions which being transmitted
originally in the first generation by two, three or four transmitters,
were later on transmitted on their authority, by a large number of
transmitters in the next two generations. Such traditions are also
called the Mustaftd. To this class belong a large number of traditions
which are included in all the collections of HadTths and constitute the
main foundations of the Islamic law.
The Ahad are the traditions which were transmitted during the
first three generations of the Muslims by one to four transmitters
only.
The traditions have been also subdivided into two classes:
(i) those that have been narrated by all their transmitters verbatim,
the expressions used by all of them being identical, and
(ii) those traditions the contents of which have been reported by
their transmitters in their own words.
TheTegal importance of traditions
The legal importance of all these three classes of traditions has been
discussed in the works on Islamic Jurisprudence. The first-two
classes are recognized by all the important Sunni jurists as the second
important source of Islamic law since the life-time of the Prophet.
The last of them, i.e. the Ahad, has been accepted as superior to
Qiyds (Analogy) by all the important Sunni schools of Islamic law
except that of Imam Malik, who gives superiority to Qiyds in face of
the Ahad traditions.
As a matter of fact, the acceptance of Hadlth as a source of
‘Ulum al-Hadfth 91
Islamic law has been advocated in the Qur’an which says:
Whatever the Apostle gives to you, take it; and whatever he

forbids, abstain from it.46
The Prophet also very often emphasised the importance of his Hadlth
for his followers.47 He as well as his immediate successors took the
knowledge of Hadlth into consideration while appointing the state
officials. According to al-Dariml, whenever any legal case came to
Abu Bakr, he looked into the Qur’an and decided the case according
to it, if he found it there. But if he did not find it in the Qur’an, he
referred to the practice of the Prophet and decided the case
accordingly. If he failed to find it there also, he inquired from the
other Companions about it; and if they informed him of any decision
of the Prophet in the matter, he thanked God and decided the case
accordingly. But if the Companions failed to cite any decision of the
Prophet, Abu Bakr collected the leaders of the people, and sought
their advice; and after they arrived at an agreed decision, he ordered
according to it.48
The same was the practice of ‘Umar also. Whenever any
question of law came to him for decision and he failed to find any
authority for it in the Qur’an, he inquired from his fellow
Companions whether they knew any Hadlth on the subject. If they
reported any relevant tradition and also produced sufficient evidence
in their support, he accepted the tradition and gave his judgment
according to it. He asked an assembly of the Companions (when the
problem of the delivery of a dead child by a woman on account of
being attacked by another woman arose) to relate to him any Hadlth
on the subject, which they might know. MughTrah related a Hadlth
on the subject. ‘Umar asked him to bring a witness to support him
in his narration. Muhammad b. Maslamah supported MughTrah.
‘Umar then accepted the Hadlth and decided the case accordingly.49
Many similar cases are mentioned in the Hadlth works e.g. the
fixation of the number of takbir in the Jinazah prayer, the imposition
of the poll-tax on the Zoroastrians,50 and the use of tayammum in the
case of night-pollution.51 In all these cases, HadTths were sought out
92 ZUBAYR SlDDIQI
and laws were laid down according to them.

There were also cases which were decided by the Companions
according to their own opinion52 (Ra ’y) on account of the want of-
knowledge of any HadTth on the subject. But they changed their
decisions as soon as they came to know of it. There are reported
cases in which the Companions like Abu al-Darda’ and Abu SaTd al-
KhudrT migrated away from a place because some of the people
living there preferred their own personal opinions to the traditions
which were related to them.53
Of course, there were cases in which 'Umar and some other
Companions, on being told of a HadTth on any subject, did not
follow it and gave their judgment against its obvious sense and
according to their own opinion. During the caliphate of ‘Umar, there
arose the important problem of the right to the fifth part of the booty
for the relatives of the Prophet. The Prophet’s practice was in its
favour. It was discussed for several days in an assembly of the
Companions, and after a long discussion ‘Umar decided against the
practice of the Prophet and what was considered to be the command
of the Qur’an.54 For he held that the verses of the Qur’an and the
basic Islamic principle did not justify the continuance of the practice
of the Prophet after his death. There are mentioned several other
cases of this type in HadTth works. But a close scrutiny of all these
cases shows that the HadTth of the Prophet was not rejected
altogether. It was either differently interpreted, or the memory and
the understanding of the reporters were questioned.
The Muslim doctors, however, have discussed the basic problem
of the nature and character of the words and deeds of the Prophet.
Many of them are of the opinion that every word and action of the
Prophet is of religious character and must be literally followed by
every Muslim. Others differentiate between what he said or did as
a Prophet and what he said and did as an ordinary man. Some of the
Muslim doctors are of the opinion that what he said or did as an
ordinary man has no religious character and, therefore, need not be
followed by all the Muslims. For the Prophet himself said: "I am a
human being. When I command you to do any thing concerning your
religion, then accept it; and when I recommend to you to do any
‘Ul&m al-Hadtth 93
thing on account of my personal opinion, then you should know that

I am also a human being".55 This means that the latter
recommendation may or may not be accepted. These personal actions
and likes and dislikes of the Prophet also are of two classes: (i) those
which are restricted to him only on account of his being in a
privileged position as a prophet; (ii) and those which may be
followed by other Muslims also.
All the orthodox Muslim jurists, however, are unanimously of
the opinion that every tradition of the Prophet which is proved to be
reliable according to the canons laid down by them and is of
religious character, is of great legal importance, second only to that
of the Qur’an. In this there is no difference of opinion between the
traditionists and those who" are known as Ashab al-Ra’y (the people
of opinion). All the important Muslim jurists belonging to the first
three generations of the Muslims preferred the traditions to Qiyas.
As a matter of fact, many of them refused to express their own
opinion on legal matters in cases in which no tradition was known to
them.56 The practices followed by the Companions were also
accepted as legal authority by the Muslims of the next two
generations, because they reasonably presumed that they must have
been based on the traditions and the practices of the Prophet which
were followed by the Companions scrupulously after due
consideration. This was the basis of the principle followed by Imam
Malik in accepting the practices of the Companions as an important
legal authority.
But the important Muslim jurists differed among themselves
about the legal significance of those traditions about the reliability of
which they were not certain. To this class of traditions belong the
Ahad category of them. Imam Abu Hanlfah and Imam Malik did not
consider all the traditions belonging to this category as superior to
Qiyas. Imam Malik preferred Qiyas to all Ahad traditions which
were not backed by the practices of the Companions and the
Followers. Imam Abu Hanlfah accepted some of them and rejected
others, as was the practice of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab.57 He accepted
them in connection with ordinary matters, if he was satisfied about
the legal acumen and instinct of the reporter. But in cases of intricate
94 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
legal problems, he rejected them unless they were supported by

circumstantial evidence and basic Islamic principles.
But Imam ai-Shafi‘7 preferred the Ahdd traditions to Qiyas in all
cases. He has tried to prove it in all his works by quoting a large
number of cases in which the reports of single individuals were
accepted by the Prophet himself and, after him, by many of the
Companions also.
It may thus be seen that the difference of opinion between the
various orthodox Sunni schools of Muslim law is not with regard to
the acceptance of Hadlth in general (as an important source of
Islamic law), but about a particular class of it. It has been already
shown that the first three generations of the Muslims treated those
Hadlths and Sunan of the Prophet, which, they considered to be
reliable and of religions importance, to be the second important
source of Islamic laws. It is, therefore, unwarranted to assert that the
Hadlths were not considered as an important source of Islamic law
during the classical period (as a modem European orientalist has
tried to prove.58
The principles of criticism of Etadith
The traditionists and the jurists have developed some sound

principles for the criticism of H&oith. These principles are described
in the works on Usui al-Hadith and Jurisprudence, and some of them
may also be gathered from the works on the Mawdu'&t and the
Asmd’al-Rijal.
As every Hadlth consists of two parts — (i) the Isnad (the chain
of narrators) and (ii) the Matn (the text) — the principles of the
criticism of Hadlth may also be classified into two categories: (i)
those relating to the Isnad, and (ii) those relating to the text.
(i) The criticism of the Isnad, its origin and earliest application to
Hadlth, and its development, and the origin and development of
biographical literature in connection with it, and other connected
matters (including the necessary qualifications of the narrators) have
been already discussed in detail. The principles of its criticism,
‘Ulum al-Hadlth 95
which are based on them, may be summarized as follows:

(a) Every HadTth must be traced back to its original reporter
through a continuous chain of transmitters, whose identity,
unquestionable character and high qualities of head and heart
must have been established.
(b) Every Hadith reporting an event which took place every
now and then in the presence of a large number of people, must
have been originally reported by several narrators.
It is on account of these principles that a large number of traditions,

which do not follow them, have been rejected by all the important
tradilionists, and are included in the works on the Mawdu'at. An
example of this class is the HadTth reported by Abu Hurayrah alone
that the Prophet used to recite Bismillah loudly in all his prayers.
Another example is the HadTth (said to have been reported by Abu
Bakr alone) which says that at the time of the Call for the prayers,
the Muslims kissed their thumbs when the Prophet’s name was
recited. Each of these traditions is rejected by the traditionists
because it is reported by a single Companion, whereas the events
reported took place several times everyday in the presence of a large
number of Muslims.
(ii) The genuineness of the Isnads, however, is no proof of the

actual genuineness of the text of the traditions to which they are
attached.59 According to the traditionists, even if the Isnad is
faultless, the text may be a forgery. Ibn al-JawzT has appreciated and
quoted the remark:
. If you find a Hadith contrary to reason, or to what has been

established to be correctly reported, or against the accepted principles,
then you should know that it is forged.60
Abu Bakr b. al-Taiyib is reported to have remarked that it is a proof

of the forged character of a tradition that it be against reason and
common experience; or that it be contrary to the explicit text of the
Qur’an or the Mutawdtir traditions or the Consensus (Ijma"); or that
‘t contains the report of an important event taking place in the
96 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
presence of a large number of people, whereas it be reported by a

single individual; or that it lays down severe punishment for minor
faults, or promises high rewards for insignificant good deeds.61 Al-
Hakim has given several examples of forged and weak traditions
having sound Isnads,62 Al-SuyutI has remarked that very often, there
are found weak or forged traditions with sound Isnads\ and he has
given several examples of them.63 As a matter of fact, the only sure
guidance to the determination of the genuineness of a tradition is (as
remarked by Ibn al-Mahdl and Abu Zar‘ah) a faculty that is
developed by a traditionist through long, continuous study of the
traditions, and as a result of constant discussions about them with
other traditionists.64
On the basis of the above-mentioned and other similar remarks
by important traditionists, the following general principles for the
criticism of the texts of the traditions may be laid down:
(a) A tradition must not be contrary to the other traditions
which have been already accepted by the authorities on the
subject as authentic and reliable. Nor should it be contrary to
the text of the Qur’an or the accepted basic principles of Islam;
(b) a tradition should not be against the dictates of reason and
natural laws and common experience;
(c) the traditions containing disproportionately high rewards for
insignificant good deeds or disproportionately severe
punishments for ordinary sins must be rejected;
(d) the traditions containing the excellent virtues of the various
chapters of the Qur’an should not be generally accepted as
reliable;
(e) the traditions containing the excellence and praises of
persons, tribes and particular places should be generally
rejected;
(f) the traditions which contain detailed prophecies of the future
events with dates must be rejected;
(g) and the traditions containing such remarks of the Prophet as
may not be in keeping with his prophetical position, or such
expressions as may not be suitable to him, should be rejected.
*UlUm al-Hadtth 97
It is on account of these, principles that a large number of

traditions which are include^ in such collections of them as are
commonly thought to be reliable, have been rejected by the
compilers of the standard HadTth-collections; and they are included
in the collections,of forged traditions (like those of Ibn al-JawzI,65
Mullah AIT al-Q|ri,“ al-Shawkanl67 and others).
Among them al-ShawkanT has collected together in his book the
results -of the researches of the previous writers on the subject. He
has also given the names of the Hadlth works in which the forged
traditions are to be found. Moreover, in many cases, he has fixed up
the narrators who forged these traditions.
In the standard collections of the traditions also (in spite of the
great care of their compilers), there are still found some weak or
forged traditions, which have been discussed and criticised by their
commentators and some other authorities on traditions. The
following are some examples of them:
(a) The Hadlthrreported by al-Bukharl, that Adam’s height was
sixty yards, has been criticised by Ibn Hajar on the basis of the
measurement of the homesteads of some of the ancient nations
which do not show that their inhabitants were of an enormous
height.68
(b) The Hadlth reported by al-Bukharl, that the verse of the
Qur’an (49:9): And if two parties of believers fall to figthing,
then make peace between them, refers to the quarrel between the
party of ‘Abdullah b. Ubaiy and that of the Companions of the
Prophet, has been criticised by Ibn Battal, who has pointed out
that the verse refers to a quarrel between two parties of the
Muslims, whereas ‘Abdullah b. Ubaiy had not accepted Islam
even outwardly at the time when the verse was revealed.69
(c) The Hadlth, that if Ibrahim (the son of the Prophet) had
lived, he would have been a prophet, has been severely
criticised by al-Nawawi, Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr and Ibn al-Athlr; and
al'Shawkaiu has included it among the forged traditions.70
, (d) The Hadiths reported by Ibn Majah on the excellence of
Qazwln (his own hometown) have been declared by the
traditionists as forged ones.
98 ZUBAYR SlDDlQl
(e) The Hadlth reported by some traditionists, that "he who

loved, kept dean and died, is a martyr" has been declared by
Ibn al-Qaiyim as forged and baseless. He says that even if the
Isnad of this Hadlth were as bright as the sun, it would not
cease to be wrong and fictitious.71
(f) The Hadlth reported by al-Bukhar! that Abraham will pray
to God on the Day of Judgment (saying: "O Lord Thou hast
promised that Thou wouldst not humiliate me on the Day of
Judgment") has been criticised and rejected by aMsma‘flT (cited
by Ibn Hajar).72
(g) Most of the traditions concerning the coming of al-Dajjal
and of the MahdT, and those concerning Khadir, are declared by
the traditionists as forged ones, and are included in the works
on the Mawdu'at.
Many other similar instances of the criticism of the text of

traditions included in their collections by even standard, authoritative
compilers may be gathered from the commentaries on those
compilations and the works on the Asma al-Rijal and the Mawdu'at.
It is thus clear that the Muslim doctors criticised not only the Isnad
of each tradition but also its text, and did not fail to point out its
defect, weakness and its unreliability or its forged character
(determined in accordance with the principles which have been
mentioned above).
At the end, I may add that there is enough material available for
the compilation of a standard collection of completely authentic
traditions out of the already generally accepted compilations of them,
after examining each tradition contained in them, accordtng'to the
principles already laid down by the Muslim traditionists, as well as
according to those which may be prescribed by the modern literary
critics. It is, of course, a tremendous task; but, certainly, it can be
achieved with the combined efforts of such Muslim scholars and
modern Orientalists as may be interested in the subject.
‘Ulum al-Hadith 99
NOTES
1. Jalal al-DTn al-Suyutl, Tadrib al-Rawt (Egypt 1307 A.H.), p.9.

2. Ibid., p.256.
3. Ibid. loc. cit.
4. Pp. 94-101. Also see J.H. Kramers, H.A.R. Gibb(ed.), Shorter Encyclopaedia
of Islam (Leiden 1953), article "Ta’rUth", W. Hartner.
5. Islamic Culture, (Hyderabad) vol.i, pp.550, 558; Muhammad Ibn Sa‘d, Kitab
al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Leiden 1904-18), ed. Edward Sachau, et.ai, vol.v,
p. 133.
6. ‘Adf’s Kamil has been quoted by Jaza’irf in his Taujfh al-Nazar ila Usui al~
Athar (Egypt 1328 A.H.), p. 114.
7. ‘Uthman b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. al-Salah, ‘ Ulum al-Hadith (Egypt 1326 A.H.),
p.154.
8. Al-SuyutT, op. cit., p.254.
9. Zeitschrift der deutschen moregenlandischen Gesellschaft (Leipzig), xxiii,
p.600.
10. Ibn NadTm, al-Fihrist (Leipzig 1871-72), pp.228, 199.
11. Der Islam, viii, p.47.
12. Ibn NadTm, op. cit., p.99 ff.
13. Ibid., pp.230, 231,233; Mustofa b. ‘Abdullah Haj!KhalTfah, Kashfal-Zunun
(Leipzig 1835-42), vol.ii, p.141.
14. Ibn Hajar ‘AsqalanT, al-Isabah ft Tamylz al-Sahabah (Calcutta 1856-88), ed.
A. Sprenger, Muhammad Wajlh, et.ai vol.i, intro, p.i.
15. D. S. Margoliouth, Lectures on Arabic Historians (Calcutta 1930), p.7 ff.
16. In Suyutfs abridgement.
17. Abu Bakr Ahmad b. ‘Air al-Khatlb al-Baghdadl, Ta’rikh Baghdad, vol.v,
p.321 ff.
18. Ibn NadTm, op.cit., p.171.
19. Abu ZakarTya Yahya al-NawawT, Tahdhib al-Asma' (Gottingen 1842-47), ed
F. Wiistenfeld, p.7; Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-A4ydn (Gottingen 1835), ed.
F. Wiistenfeld, No.656.
20- Ibn Sa‘d, op. cit., editor’s intro., pp. xxx et seq.
^1* Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad al-Baladhurl, The Origins of the Islamic State (tr> of
Futuh al-Buldan) (Columbia Univ. 1924), tr. Phillip Hitti, F.C. Murgiên
vol.i, intro, p.9.
100 ZUBAYR SlDDlQ]
22. Ibn Hajar, op. cit., vol.i, p.l.

23. for the importance of ‘theological local historiography* reference may be
made to the following passage (attributed to Salih b. Ahmad, the author of
Tabaq&t al-Hamadhdniyfn):
"When religious scholarship has been cultivated in a place and scholars lived
there in ancient and modern times, the students of traditions there and all >
those interested in traditions should begin with a thorough study of the Hadhh
of their hometown... After the student knows what is sound and what is
unsound in their traditions, and is completely aquainted with the Hadlth
scholars in his city and their conditions, he may occupy himself with the tra*
ditions of other places and with travelling in search of traditions". (al-Khatlb,
op.cit., vol.i, p.214: cited in A History of Muslim Historiography by Franz
Rosenthall, p.144).
On this question, also see ‘Uthman b. ‘Abd al-Rahman, op.cit., p.100 ff.
24. The only earlier history of the city by Tayfur Ahmad b. AbT Tahir (204-280
A.H./819-983 A.D.) of which only the sixth volume has been known,
lithographed and translated into German by H. Keller, deals with the history
of the Caliphs.
25. Abu ‘Abdullah Yaqut b. ‘Abdullah, Mu 'jam al-Udabd ’ (London 1923-25), ed.
D.S. Margoliouth, vol.i, pp.248-249.
26. HajTKhalffah, op. cit., vol.ii, p.l 19 ff,
27. Ibn Khallikan, op. cit. Nos. 32, 631.
28. Ibid., No. 626.
29. HajT Khalffah, op. cit., vol.ii, p.125 ff.
30. Ibn Khallikan, op. cit.. No. 406.
31. Ibid., No. 672.
32. Yaqut, op. cit., vol.i, p.410; HajT Khalffah, op. cit., vol.ii, p.143.
33. Ibn Khallikan, op. cit.. No. 502.
34. HajT Khalffah, op. cit., vol.ii, p.157.
35. Ibid., pp.I4G ff.
36. Qur’an, 24:12.
37. Ibid., 9:30.
38. Mulla JTwan, Nur al-Anwdr (commentary on al-Manar) (Calcutta 1359
A.H./1940 A.D,), p.l80; ‘Abd al-Rahman MubarakpurT, Jdmi‘ al-Tirmidhi
(Tuhfat aMhwadht)(pt\hi 1346-1354 A.H.), vol.ii, p.197.
39. Al-Tirmidhi, J&mi* (Delhi 1315 A.H.), vol.i, p.141.
40. Sahfh Muslim (Delhi 1309 A.H.), vol.i, p.61: Bab al-Tayammum.
‘Warn al-Hadlth 101
41. Ibid., vol.i, p.10.

42. Sahfy al-Bukhdrt (Egypt 1309 A.H.), ed. Muhammad al-ZuhrT vol.i, p. 141.
43. Jalal al-DTn al-Suyutl, Tadrib al-Rdwl (commentary on al-Nawawf s al-Taqrib
wa'l-Taysfr) (Egypt 1307 A.H.), p.9.
44. AI-ShafiT, al-Risdlah (Cairo 1312 A.H.) p.99.
45. According to the traditionists, the term al-Sahih does not mean that the
tradition is actually true and genuine, but that it fulfils the conditions laid
down by them for a reliable tradition.
46. Qur’an, 59:7.
47. Al-Dariml, Simon (Kanpur 1292-93 A.H.), ed. ‘Abd al-Rashfd al-Kashmm,
p.26.
48. Ibid., pp.32-33.
49. Sahih al-Bukhdri, vol.ii, p.124.
50. Ibid., p.137; al-ShafiT, op. cit., p.114.
51. Abu Dawud, Sunan (Delhi 1346 A.H.), ed. ‘Abd ^-Ahad, vol.i, p,52.
52. On Ra’y and Qiyds see Sahih al-BukMrl, book ’Ttis&m”, ch. dhamm al-rd *y
et. el., and ‘AsqalanT’s commentary on the same.
53. Al-Shafi‘f, op. cit., pp. 118-120.
54. See ‘AsqalanT’s commentary on Sahih al-Bukh&rl, book Fard al-khumus, ch.
Qismat al-Imdm, and various other places.
55. Sahih Muslim, vol.ii, p.264; Shah Waliyullah Dihlawi, Hujjat Alldh al~
Bdlighah (Lahore 1351 A.H.), vol.i, pp.249-50.
56. Al-DarimT, op. cit., p.26 ff.; al-Shafi’i, op. cit., pp. 117-19; and Abu ‘Umar
Yusuf b. ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abd al-Barr, Jdmi ‘ Baydn al-llm wa Fadlihf (Cairo),
vol.ii, pp.31-33.
57. Shibli Nu*manT, al-Faruq (Lucknow 1898), vol.ii, p.196.
58. Joseph Schacht, Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence.
59. As has been pointed out by Robson. See pp.25-26 in his article on *Isndd\
op. cit.
60. Al-Suyutl, op. cit., p.100.
61. Ibid., p.99.
62. Al-Nishapuri, Ma ‘rifat 4Ulum al-Hadlth. p.58 ff. These traditions have been
quoted by Robson (op. cit.).
65. Al-Suyutl, op. cit., p.48.
64 Ibid., p.89.
102 ZlJBAYR SlDDlQl
65. Kitab al-Mawdu ‘at.

66. Al-La'ali al-Masnu ah fi'l-Ahodith al-Mawdu‘ah.
67. Al-Shawkanl. al-Fawa ’id al-Majmu ‘ah fi Baydn al-Ah&dith al-Mawdu ‘ah
(Lahore 1223/1323? A.H.).
68. Sahih al-Bukhari, kitabal-Anbiya, babkhalqAdam; Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, Fath
alBdri (commentary on Sahih al Bukharf) (Egypt 1319 A.H.). ed. Mahmud
Tahtawl vol.vi, p.230.
69. Sahih al-Bukharir it. al-Sulh, ch. I; also see Fath al-Bdri, ad. loc.
70. See "Ibrahim" (the son of the Prophet) in Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr. al-Istf‘db fi
Ma ‘rifal al-Ashab (Hyderabad 1318 A.H.) and Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghdbah
]T Ma ‘rifal al-Sahdbah (Egypt 1280 A.H.). For another version of this Hadlth,
see Sahih al-Bukhari^ vol.ii, p.434.
71. Ibn Qayyim Jawziyyah, Zdd al-Ma‘dd (Kanpur 1298 A.H.). p.97.
72. AI-Hajar, op. c/7., vol.viii, p.354.
5
THE SUNNAH — ITS
DEVELOPMENT
AND REVISION
S. M. YUSUF
The root Sin~Nun-Nun% from which the word sunnah is derived, has
the basic sense of clarity, straightness, continuity and extension
forward.* 1 Most helpful in this connection is the co-derivative sarum,
meaning the clear pathway unfolding itself in a line in front of the
traveller. The parallel is true in respect of original connotation as
well as secondary usage, i.e., the distinctive mode of behaviour. Yet
whenever ‘Sunnah’ in particular is spoken of, the thought is
invariably moved to the point of its origination in the past, which,
of course, determines the essential character of it. The traveller —
I mean the purposeful traveller — may stand at any point on the
pathway, but he will always carry the extension of it backwards in
his wakeful mind, while the extension forward is set clear before his
eyes.2 That is why Sunnah is for the sake of distinction always
ascribed to its originator and caretaker, e.g., sunnat al-Rasul wa
sunnat Allah? The ascription may sometimes be only understood, but
« is always there as a pointer to the character of the Sunnah and,
what is more important, to the. direction of its extension and
103
104 S. M. Yusuf
development.
The antithesis of Sunnah is bid"ah, the root from Ba'-Ddl-'Ayn
‘being characterised by lack of previous model and discontinuity with
the past.4 Even technically bid'ah is but the deviation from the
direction of future advance as set down and indicated in the past. It
is like an artificial canal diverting the waters of a stream from the
natural course followed by it up to the point of diversion.
Of crucial importance is the fact that Sunnah refers in the main
to practice as distinct from any documentation of it (HadTth). That is
to say, the act is played without a script; the action is in itself
normative, forming the basis of legal codification afterwards and not
vice versa. It never occurred to the immediate followers to seek
sanction from the conduct of the Prophet beyond itself. The Prophet
himself made it clear in so many words that he was following the
direct method of instituting and perpetuating practice by personal
example rather than by enunciation of statutory provisions of law.
To cite just a few instances, let us remember "Pray as you see
me pray" and "Didn't you tell her that I do that myself".5 Similarly,
he never expounded in so many words how to perform ablution;
instead, he only demonstrated the act which was almost
simultaneously copied by the entire community and later on recalled
and recorded by the learned few among them for academic
purposes.6
Thus the focus of attention is the actual practice and not
provisions of the law or the terms of the statute. That is not to say
that there were no legal pronouncements, but the point is that they
were only made to help characterise the practice and not to cover the
same in all its details comprehensively and exclusively. In other
words, the practice is the very embodiment of the law; it is
coefficient with the terms of the law. The Qur'an only looks like a
list of items, Salat, Sawm, Zakat etc., the exact connotation of which
is hot defined in legal terms but presented in the definitive form of
model practice. To a true believer, therefore, salat is mere label for
the practice witnessed and emulated by him; he understands and
fulfils the words of the Qur'an and the HadTth with reference to the
pertinent practice (Sunnah) and not independently of it.7 Even in the
pjg Sunnah — Its Development and Revision 105
rare cases of somewhat detailed laws, such as the Qur’anic verse on

inheritance and the Prophet’s instructions on Zakdt practice remains
the final arbiter on points of interpretation and amplification. The
vital concern is the conformity of act to act, the act of a believer to
the act of the Prophet — not the mere compliance of the act with the
express terms of the law. It is quite natural that, while demonstrating
a practice, the Prophet should have dropped a hint or given certain
directions here and there, but obviously such words are only a
support to the practice which establishes the precise intent of the
words. This is amply borne out by the agreed principle that the mere
performance of an act within the sight or the knowledge of the
Prophet without any verbal pronouncement on his part is a valid
source of law.
When it came to the formulation of the doctrine of Islamic
jurisprudence, a good deal of confusion and not a little of
controversy were caused by tearing the Sunnah from the Qur’an,
confronting the one with the other and invoking the awkward
question as to which abrogates or prevails over the other. One cannot
help being struck by the fact that all shades of opinion were agreed
on the validity of the Sunnah in principle; they differed only in
regard to their ability or inability to view the Qur’an and the Sunnah
as an integral whole. As we shall see later, the disintegration of the
Qur’an and the Sunnah was brought about only as a consequence of
the weakening of the binding force of ljma‘ during the period of
political strife and religious indifference. However, once doubts were
cast on the continuity and the purity of the Sunnah, the extremists on
either side were kept fully engaged in disowning and rehabilitating
its individual position, while the original unity and integrity of the
Qur’an and the Sunnah was lost in the heat of controversy. It goes
t0 the high credit of al-Shafi‘1 that he perceived the utter futility of
the pleadings for the Sunnah as a separate entity, in which case it
Was bound to clash with the express words of the Qur’an here and
there and thus provide the opponents with an argument against itself.
^1-Shafi‘T insisted on taking the Qur’an and the Sunnah together and
01 Par so as to eliminate the very prospect of having the one set
a8ainst the other. Most significant is his denial that Qur’an
106 S. M. Yusuf
constitutes the test of the veracity of the Sunnah.8 If it were so then

it would be quite easy to brush aside a good deal of the Sunnah. It
was the cleverest ruse resorted to by the antagonists of the Sunnah
working on the assumption on the duality of the Qur’an and the
Sunnah. To cancel the Sunnah with the Qur’an was very safe and
sure method indeed. Al-ShafiT countered this by asserting and
working out the unquestionable basic theory that there could not
possibly be any inherent contradiction or discrepancy between the
Qur’an and the Sunnah, both owing their origin to the divine
source,9 This theory was best formulated by him in the famous
dictum: The Qur’an can be repealed only by the Qur’an and the
Sunnah can be repealed only by another Sunnah. The net result is the
integration of "the Kitab and the Sunnah" into one single unit — the
Kit&b-Sunnah — so as to make room for the application of the
accepted modes of exposition, wujuhul baydn, to the unit as a whole,
instead of limiting the process to any one constituent separately. The
Sunnah then becomes complementary with the Qur’an particularising j
the common, and explaining and amplifying the general statements
in it.10 An illustrative example of such reconciliation (ta Vt7) between |
the Qur’an and the Sunnah is provided by the words of the Qur’an |
and the practice of the Prophet in regard to the punishment for i
adultery and fornication.11 Most logical is the proposition that a K
Sunnah, even though repealed by the Qur’an, must of necessity be
replaced by another Sunnah if the Prophet could not but put the new
directive into practice.12 As a matter of fact, al-Awza’T (d. 157/9
A.H.) had declared long before al-ShafiT (d. 204 A.H.) that "the j
Kitab need the Sunnah more than the Sunnah needed the Kitab",13 ;
The Sunnah can even initiate, without reference to the Qur’an, a
permission or prohibition.14 The organic relationship between the
Qur’an and the Sunnah is best expressed by al-Shatibl, who
compares the SharTah to a complete human body — it is the whole *
body that speaks and not any particular part of it. Some
controversialists did not mind asserting rather impudently that "the
Sunnah prevails over the Qur’an". Ahmad b. Hanbal, however, knew
full well that it meant no more than that the Sunnah explains and
amplifies the Book.15
The Sunnah — Its Development and Revision 107
To turn to the transmission of the Sunnah, let us remember the

difference between Sunnah (practice) and its documentation, the
Hadlth. Practice is best transmitted through practice. So long as the
practice is unbroken and untainted, it constitutes a proof of itself by
itself; it does not depend for its validity on any documentation of it.
And because the practice is normative in itself no documentary proof
or statutory sanction behind it is called for. All that is needed is an
assurance about the continuity and the purity of the practice, which
is ipso facto grounded in the Divine will. That is exactly the way the
early Muslims looked at it in the period immediately following the
death of the Prophet. Naturally the Sahabah (Companions) were the
custodians of the Sunnah of the Prophet. Whatever the Sahabah
practised was presupposed to be continuation of the practice of the
Prophet.16 Again the main concern of the faithful was the conformity
of act to act, the graceful devotion to the practice of the living
models of the Sunnah A further development was that the various
Sahabah dispersed and took up residence in the different parts of the
newly-conquered empire, thus becoming the model of the Sunnah,
each in his own sphere of influence. These living models were the
purveyors of a living tradition which was accepted on living faith by
the collective will of the community.
But apart from practice, the Sahabah were also preceptors,
narrators and teachers. It was but natural that wherever the Sahabah
went the people would throng around them and eagerly expect them
to talk (haddatha) about the Prophet and his ways. Now this free
talk, designed to cater to religious fervour, was fraught with great
danger for the unity of the thought and uniformity of action among
the nascent community. The first two Caliphs, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar,
therefore adopted a positive and firm policy in this regard. The
Hadlths fall into two broad categories: (1) the legal traditions bearing
on the practical laws of Fiqh and (2) the non-legal traditions
concerning matters of belief, dogma, etc. The second category of
non-legal traditions is a great danger to the unity of thought and
belief. Further, it is the kind of Hadlth most liable- to
misunderstanding, misreporting and distortion in the course- ®f
transmission, not to speak of the temptation to outright forgery.
108 S. M. Yusuf
Lastly, it is this particular kind of Hadlth which can safely be

dispensed with in view of the fact that all that concerns the belief and
the dogma is exhausted in the Book.17 And let us not forget that this
is the kind of rapturous, emotional Hadlth that was bound to be very
popular among the masses, so much so that it could and did
undoubtedly turn the attention away from the Book. The first two
Caliphs were far sighted enough to ban indulgence in this kind of
Hadlth. Though the ban is couched in general terms, yet all
evidence, contextual and historical, goes to prove that it was limited
to the particular circumstances indicated above.18 It had a very
salutary effect which is only set off by the evils that arose as soon as
the ban was violated,
As for the legal traditions, the two Caliphs invariably issued a
general call to come forward with such practice or ruling of the
Prophet as might be known to anyone on issues that confronted the
community in its onward march from time to time.19 Here again we
have to note that the two Caliphs asked for traditions only when
there was a real concrete problem for practical decision. In keeping
with the manners taught by the Prophet himself, the two Caliphs
would just debunk all theorising based on mere hypothesis.20
Secondly, they would subject every tradition proffered to scrutiny in
the manner of a statement made in a court of law,21 Their judgment
as to adoption or rejection of a particular tradition was accepted by
the entire community and assimilated as part of the Sunnah. In this
way, it is most important to note, there was no gap between Sunnah
or actual practice on the one hand and the traditions known to be in
circulation on a point of law on the other. The force of the
consensus was so strong as to eschew once for ail isolated traditions
at variance with the actual practice, the continuity and purity of
which was still beyond ail doubt. There was a clear division of the
traditions into "recognised’5 and "unrecognised". The recognition
was accorded by the consensus to traditions which were either (1)
generally known to the people, or (2) related by trustworthy persons
and accepted as true and worthy of practice by the jurists in the first
instance and the general body of believers on trust from the jurists.
It is also in the fitness of things that the traditions from the Prophet
pie Sunnah — Its Development and Revision 109
be of two kinds (1) khabr ‘ammah i.e., of common interest to all

the people in the normal way of life and (2) khabr khdssah, i.e.,
special directives on matters of rare occurrence.22 These latter
directives were furnished to those who asked for them or who were
concerned with them in the first instance. They were recalled only
when an occasion arose in due course for standardising a common
practice on the points involved. It is up to the jurists to scrutinise
such statements and to recognise or reject them. In fact this
constitutes the main source of difference so far as the bases of Fiqh
are concerned apart from manners of understanding and
interpretation.23 However, the jurists were too honest to suppress the
traditions which they preferred to ignore. These existed throughout
side by side with the contrary practice until they became the main
weapon which was hurled by al-ShafiT against the followers of all
the ancient schools of the Hijaz, Iraq and Syria alike,24
Both the Caliphs Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, also entertained for
quite a long time the idea of compiling an authentic corpus of
traditions and ultimately gave it up lest it should prove a distraction
from the Qur’an.25 At first sight it appears rather incongruous that
the two Caliphs, and the early Muslims for the matter of that, should
be so eager to collect and assimilate all traditions in their actual life
and yet be wary of their potentiality in written book form for
distraction from the Qur’an. This can only be reasonably explained
by the fact that it is well-nigh impossible to guarantee the text of the
traditions even though their gist and directive content may be
established beyond reasonable doubt. No wonder that the transmitters
trembled m fear while ascribing any words in the direct form of
narration to the Prophet. And yet a written record of the traditions
^ most likely to create the impression that it represents the actual
words of the Prophet in the same way as the Book is the word of
Allah. This is evidenced by the tendency to dilate upon the rhetorical
and the grammatical points in the traditions as if they were the actual
Words of the Prophet. It has been aptly noted that most of the
Editions only convey the purport without transmitting the actual
words of the Prophet; hence the early grammarians were loath to
relV on traditions in linguistic studies. The view was pushed to the
110 S. M. Yusuf
extreme by Ibn al-Da‘i and Abu Hayyan, who criticised Ibn Malik
for the opposite view and the unprecedented practice of citing
traditions in points of grammar. AI-ShatibT takes up a very
reasonable moderate position by making an exception in favour of a
particular class of traditions which, according to the wont of the
Arabs, were preserved verbatim, specially for the sake of their
eloquence and literary beauty. To this class belong a few carefully
written texts, passages from sermons, proverbs and short, pithy
sayings which were often quoted and diligently studied in literary
circles.26 This is fully acknowledged by men of letters such as al-
Jahiz, who confidently asserts that no corruption has even crept into
the text of the sermons of the Prophet.27
Anyway, the documentation of the Sunnah went on from the
very early times through oral tradition as well as written record as
a mere aid to memory according to the characteristic outlook of the
Arabs.28 The scruples on the point of committing to writing achieved
just the result that was desired, namely, the maintenance of the
unimpeachable purity of the Book and the driving home of the true
worth of the traditions, particularly in so far as the personal factor
of the transmitters was involved. But, as pointed out at the very
outset, the Sunnah (practice) is preserved and transmitted through
practice independently of documentation. And so far as the Sunnah
fortified by the consensus of the community is concerned, it never
stood in any doubt until the solidarity of the jamd'ah was rent
asunder by fitnah and bid1ah. Only certain features of the
transmission and development of the Sunnah are to be noted:
After the death of the Prophet it was the privilege of the
Sahabah individually and collectively to maintain the Sunnah of the
Prophet as they knew it and as they came to know of it from time to
time on evidence to their satisfaction. With evident justification the
Sunnah of the Caliphs was taken ipso facto to be the same as the
Sunnah of the Prophet.29 Even their rulings and judgments based on
deduction were immediately passed into the practice of the
Community, while the documentation of them followed the same
lines as the traditions of the Prophet. In common usage it was
deemed enough to ascribe a practice to the custodians of the Sunnah
The Surmah — Its Development and Revision 111
without going further into the testimony on which it was based.

It will be borne in mind that the living tradition of a rising
community must of necessity be susceptible to growth and
development so as to fulfil the demands of a progressive life.
Actually the Sunnah of the Prophet was growing according to its own
nature in the course of its transmission onwards. To take an
illustrative example, a drunkard was only meted out some indefinite
form of humiliation during the lifetime of the Prophet, and this was
deemed enough to reinforce the strong general opprobrium. Later on
as the incidence of the crime increased, the punishment was given
the standardised form of 40 to 80 stripes.30 Thus the Sunnah of the
Prophet needed, like all living organisms, continuous feeding for its
vigorous health and natural growth. The inexhaustible source of such
feeding was no other than Ijtihad i.e. the effort in a spirit of
dedication to the will of Allah to discover the line of advancement
of the Sunnah in conformity with its own nature as established in the
past. The instrument of Ijtihad is the ra’y or personal judgment, of
which a particular form is the Qiyds or analogy.31 The varying
judgments of the individual jurists are mellowed down through the
process of Ijmd‘ which assures the final assimilation of the new
advance into the body of the Sunnah.32
Thus by the end of the period of the Righteous Caliphs the body
of the Sunnah was composed of the following strands: (a) the Kitab ,/
(b) the Sunnah of the Prophet and (c) the accumulated growth of the/
Sunnah through the judgments of the Sahabah jurists. All the three1
strands, however, were twisted intd a single rope and, so far as
practice was concerned, the entire body of the Sunnah constituted an
indivisible, integrated whole. The hands and the feet may not be vital
like the heart and the liver, but there can be no question of maiming
the body on that account. An enquiry into the various components
and the testimony for each of them was merely of an academic
interest — among the learned ones a good deal of it was common
knowledge, obviating the need for any systematic record. The
legalistic differentiation between fard (compulsory), mustahab
(commendable), mubah (permissible), makruh (reprehensible) and
harQm (forbidden) was still unknown.33 Even if one knew, for
112 S. M. Yusuf
example, that gargling was not mentioned in the Qur’an, the thought
of quibbling over the degree of obligation in this regard never
crossed the mind of anyone performing the ablution in the traditional
way.
Not more than a few persons among the Sahabah distinguished
themselves by their capacity for hukm or ‘iftd, the prerequisite for
which was a knowledge of the Sunnah together with juristic
acumen.34 They sometimes met in groups to discuss and thrash out
differences of ra'y?s Their judgments, known as ‘dthar (sing.
lathar) constitute the authoritative version of the Qur'an and the
Sunnah. The opportunities for personal contact and visual experience
of the act accompanying an edict do invest the collective body of the
Sahabah with a privileged position of receptivity and the reverence
shown to them and their words are more rational than emotional.36
Hence it is said that the tafsir (interpretation) of the Sahabah is a
good as tafsir emanating from the Prophet himself.37 Of course, the
isolated view of an individual sahabi is taken with the utmost reserve
proportionate to the possibility of human error, which is only
eliminated through corroboration or acceptance by the rest. But even
the element of ra'y, specified in the 'athar of a sahabi, has every
claim to unrivalled authority, representing as it does an expert
opinion, based on First-hand knowledge, as to the best way of
maintaining the closest affinity with the existing body of the Sunnah
in an unprecedented situation. Well has it been said by Ibn al-
Qayyim al-Jawziyyah that the sahabi is distinguished by special
senses in addition to the senses shared by us all.38 The schools, built
largely on trust rather than dogmatic finesse, did accord to the ‘athat
a position akin to the Sunnah of the Prophet. Al-ShafiTs insistence
on the express authority of the Prophet in each cased signifies only
an extreme reaction to the intrusion of lay administrators in the
development of the Sunrah.
After the death of ‘Umar I the situation changed in several
respects. The Sahabah migrated to the provinces and established
themselves there as living models of the Sunnah and as teachers and ^
founders of schools of religious learning. Particular mention must he
made of ‘Abdullah b. Mas‘ud and ‘All, who shifted their resident
to Kufah. There they had to give rulings on such questions of law as

were addressed to them from time to time. Their rulings were, of
course, based on the same knowledge of the Sunnah that they had
imbibed in Madlnah but were bound gradually to assume an
individuality of their own in the new milieu.
Another important development was the violation of ‘Umar’s
ban on the non-legal traditions and the unrestricted circulation of the
legal traditions on the narrator’s own responsibility. The result was
that the Qussds, who had previously been turned out of the mosques
by ‘Umar, had a heyday with their hair-raising, blood-curdling
statements on sins and their retribution, all ascribed to the Prophet.
At times they would even confess that the liberties which they took
with the authority of religion were justified by the end, which was
to bolster up the general spirit of virtue without in anyway touching
the legal structure of the SharVah,39
This free flow of the non-legal traditions coincided with the
opening of the gate of Fitnah. The murder of ‘Uthman was the signal
for the secession (khuruj) of various sects warring against one
another and against the general body {jama*ah) of believers. Let us
not forget that though the struggle may have originally been of a
political character, the structure of Islamic polity was such that each
sect had to prove its raison d'etre by variations in religious belief
and ideology. But variations in religious belief and ideology were
only possible in the first instance by isolating the Qur’an from the
Sunnah, which isolation was a prerequisite of foisting one’s own
wishful interpretation on the former.40 The point was clearly
understood by ‘AIT when he advised ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas ”to avoid
confining the argument with the Khawarij to the Qur’an alone
inasmuch as the Qur’an was capable of various possible
interpretations until reference was made to the Sunnah, which would
place them in a tight corner."41 As the upholders of al-Sunnah wa'l-
Jama'ah retaliated by hurling traditions specifically and pointedly
directed at the secessionists, the latter only became outspoken and
stubborn in their denial of the whole lot of traditions. Such was the
case with the Khawarij; the Shi‘ites also followed the same path, but,
with the resources of the House of ‘AIT at their command, were able
114 S. M. Yusuf
to set up a rival structure of traditions of their own.

It will, however, be seen that none of these secessionists was
eager to alter the legal structure as built up in the previous age
except in so far as it was demanded by the implications of the
ideology which they were determined to uphold. The main points of
departure so far as the Khawarij were concerned, were only those
resulting directly from the radical doctrine of ostracism of the
perpetrators of major sins. The Shi‘ites differed mainly on the
Sunnah relating to the bequest of the Prophet, which had a direct
bearing on their ideology.42 It is said that there are altogether
seventeen points of difference between the Sunni and the Shi‘ah
Fiqh.43 Further, it will be observed that excepting the mut'ah which
is of significance for the social pattern all the points are just trivial
and merely symbolic of dissidence. Typical of them all is the
problem of mash'alal-khuffayn (that is the wiping of one's shoes
instead of the washing of one’s feet as part of the lesser ritual
ablution under certain conditions), the denial of which is regarded as
the acid test of Shi‘ism on the one hand, and a sufficient cause for
renegation in the view of the Sunnis (specifically Abu HanTfah) on
the other hand.44 It is also not difficult to see that the acrimony over
the issues of mut 'ah and mash ‘ala-khuffayn is only due to the part
played by ‘Umar I in finalising the practice in regard to them.45 And
it is of the utmost significance in this connection that modem
research has been able to discover a very close link between Abu
HanTfah, Sufyan al-Thawri and their associates on the one hand, and
Zayd b. ‘ All (d. 122 A. H.), the founder Imam of the moderate wing
of Shi‘ism (the Zaydiyyah) on the other hand. It is not surprising that
the House of ‘AIT should have taken a very creative part in the initial
formulation and development of Sunni Fiqh.46
In short, while the Fitnah was on, right from the last days of I
‘Uthman, the structure of the legal Sunnah survived more or less
intact except in so far as the political and dogmatic tenets of the j
secessionists impinged upon it. Perhaps it could not be otherwise if ,
only for the fact that no substitute could be found for the entire body I
of practical Sunnah within the pale of Islam. All the extreme anti-
traditionists, the ah! al-ra'y, the ahl al-kalam (mu'tazilah) and the
Shi‘ah, show themselves equally anxious not to fall into a vacuum by

the displacement or any unnecessary disturbance of the common legal
practice. It is this anxiety which forces the Mu'tazilah to take shelter
behind the overriding authority of the consensus (Ijma“), thus
exasperating al-Shafi‘1 and eliciting from him the taunt that they
would make use of one part of the Hadlth while nullifying the other
part.47 Even the Umayyads, who flouted many a provision of the law
in their daily life and who introduced innovations in support of their
own ideology, such as the cursing of ‘AIT from the pulpit, made no
overt attempt to question the validity of, or to tamper with, the legal
practice as handed down from the past. Nevertheless, it would be
wrong to assume that all was fair for the development of the Sunnah.
The situation was deteriorating in several respects so as to culminate,
as we shall see later, in the call for a reappraisal, i.e., a revision of
the actual practice in the light of the ideal normative practice of the
Prophet in so far as the latter could be ascertained from documentary
proof of the same.
Firstly, the.bursting of the dam set by ‘Umar brought in a
deluge of traditions freely circulated for what they were worth. We
are here concerned with the legal traditions only . In regard to these
traditions, the system followed by ‘Umar was such that every
tradition was tested and either rejected or assimilated into actual
practice. The two essential features of this system were: (i) a strong
predilection in ‘Umar for general consultation, his eagerness to
examine with an open mind the merits of every piece of evidence or
suggestion submitted to him and his preparedness to revise his own
views in the light of it, and (ii) his preeminent position as a jurist,
Sahabl and Caliph, which ensured for his decisions the willing
acceptance of the specialists as well as the common people.48 Perhaps
it would be true to describe it as a system of official registration of
traditions.49 This system, like many other conventions and
institutions, broke down under ‘Uthman. Well has it been noted that
the decisions of ‘AIT commanded no wide acceptance because he was
by nature averse to consultation and his authority and influence were
limited to his immediate surroundings.50 Thereafter the jurists were
free to proceed on their own without the co-ordinating authority of
116 S. M. Yusuf
the Caliph and the state. Thus in the new situation everyone felt free
to relate whatever he thought he could quite informally and h
immediately went into circulation without a clear verdict as to its
practical worth. Soon it became inevitable that there was a widening
gap between actual practice and the growing mass of indeterminate
traditions bearing on the practice, making it doubtful whether the
actual practice was the same as the ideal normative practice.
Secondly, bid'ah crept into the growth of the Sunnah. It will be
appreciated that the living practice of a community must of necessity
grow if not on the right, then on the wrong lines. It cannot simply
wait and remain at a standstill if the community loses the vigour to
move consciously and confidently on the right course. The difference
between bid'ah and Sunnah hangs by a thread only. As stated above,
the element of growth in the Sunnah is the ra’y of the competent
jurists51 embedded deep into the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the past.
It must be a natural growth from, and no grafting upon, the stem of
the Qur’an and the Sunnah, even though it is called for where the
two sources fail to provide guidance expressly and specifically. Al-
ShafiTs patent example illustrating the essential difference between
well-founded and unfounded Ijtihad or ra'y is the situation of a
person who is out of the range of sight from the Ka‘bah and who
does not know for certain the direction of it. Such a person is
obliged to make an effort based upon such pointers as may be at
hand; he is not free to turn to any direction according to his liking
{istihsdn) or unreasoned preference.52 It follows that if at any time
the competent jurists were not allowed to assert their ra'y as
characterised above, the incompetent laymen would naturally step in
and influence the growth of the living practice by their own non¬
conformist leanings through ignorance, misunderstanding, sheer
indifference or even deliberate preference for selfish ends. This
unfettered ra*y springing from non-religious, if not irreligious
cunning, as opposed to dedicated learning and religious conscience,
is the source of bid'ah — the contamination of the growth of
Sunnah.53 As we have seen just now, al-ShafiT would also make
istihsdn (a favourite of Abu Hanlfah and not so repugnant to MaliK)
converge with the bid'ah on lack of a foundation in the shar\
same charge to which Malik has laid himself open because of his
excessive attention to al-masalih al-mursalah (transmission).54
Anyway it is well known that the Umayyad rulers, of course, with
honourable exceptions,55 were little concerned with the maintenance
of the purity and the continuity of the Sunnah; the competent jurists
were allowed no active and decisive role in the growth of the living
tradition. It therefore grew under the aegis of the licentious cunning
of the all-powerful administrative officials in the secular interests of
the ruling dynasty. The revenue policy in general, and that of al-
Hajjaj in particular, is the most glaring example in question.
One hears complaints about the infiltration of the bid‘ah quite
early; the Shi'ites and the Kharijites are particularly charged with the
introduction of it. The process went on slowly throughout56 until it
grew in suffeient volume to have its full impact on the religious
conscience of the community towards the end of the Umayyad
period. The civil war beginning with the killing of the Umayyad
Caliph, WalTd b. Yazld (126 A.H.), indicates ortly the culminating
point, which is evidenced by the vociferous cry for the restoration of
the Sunnah at the time.57 By this time the erstwhile confidence of the
community in the purity and the continuity of the living tradition was
rudely shaken. The revulsion against the contamination of the Sunnah
through the influence of unscrupulous administrators finds its most
vehement expression in the clear words of Abu Yusuf that the
Sunnah as asserted by the HijazTs "may possibly be only the decision
of a market inspector or some provincial agent"58. Similarly, al-
AwzaT’s assertion of the Sunnah may only be based on the practice
of "those who are ignorant of the correct ways of wudu’ (ablution)
and tashahhud, far less than the canons of jurisprudence."59 The
Sunnah, insists Abu Yusuf, has to come down from the Prophet and
the forebears from among his Companions and lawyers.60 Though
the same argumenMnay be turned against the Iraqis in the course of
polemics, this common scepticism of the current practice is quite
characteristic of the time; al-ShafiT only seized upon this old ferment
and carried it to the extreme.
In due course of time the whole method of juristic thought
underwent a revolutionary change. Previously it was reasonably safe
118 S. M. Yusuf
to argue from existing practice as proof positive of the sanction

behind it in the sources of religion i.e., the Kitdb md the Sunnah
fortified by the Ijma\ Both the schools of the Hijaz and Iraq shared
this feature in common, not to speak of the Syrian al-Awza‘I.
Similarly, it was deemed quite enough to refer to the local purveyors
of the Sunnah from among the Sahdbah, the purity and the continuity
of the Sunnah backwards being merely taken on trust. It will be seen
that the method of Irsal in the narration of Hadith is only an offshoot
of this implied trust.61 The loss of trust caused by the rampancy of
fitnah and bid*ah prompted the demand for full testimony (Isnod), a
demand which appeared to be an innovation for Ibn Sirin (d. 110
A.H.).62 There was now a common insistence on a thorough probe
into the documentary evidence of the Sunnah apart from the Sunnah
itself. This gave an unexpected fillip to the Hadith narration, which
had hitherto played a merely subsdiary role to the practice of the
Sunnah. It now appeared quite logical to challenge the authority of
the purveyors of the Sunnah with the authority of the Prophet for a
relevant isolated Hadith in case of discrepancy. Al-Shafi‘I contended
with the adherents of the old school in Baghdad on the same lines.63
It also became problematic to adhere to Qiyas or reason in the face
of isolated traditions. Ultimately the partisans of Hadith were paid
back in their own coin when a rigorous probe was instituted into the
veracity of the traditions themselves with reference to the personal
character of the transmitters and several other circumstances
attending upon the transmission.
Let us now turn to sifting the whore mass of legal traditions (not
more than three thousand ) into three broad categories:
1. Traditions which formed the common knowledge of the

community, i.e., were known to, and handed down by, a vast
(indeterminate) number of people throughout the ages. Such I
traditions ê in any case unquestionable. No particular !
testimony is called for in regard to them. This is an agreed
principle even in so far as literature is concerned.64 The
unimpeachability of the Qur’an also rests, though, of course, in
an incomparable degree, on the certainty of uninterrupted
pie Sunnah — Its Development and Revision 119
transmission through the collective knowledge of the

community. Quite reasonably the Sunnah (practice) has the same
force of validity provided only that it be unadulterated and
uninterrupted.
2. Traditions which reinforce the actual practice. As a matter of

fact, a knowledge of such traditions is often implied in the
practice aud the rulings of the Sahabah even though there be no
express mention of them, as pointed out by Shah WalTyuIIah,
the mawqaf of many a Sahabi is as good as marfh\65
3. There only remains one particular category of traditions

about the value of which the jurists hold different views. They
are the isolated traditions, divergent from the beaten track of
common practice, termed the ‘ahad. Such traditions,
representing the individual knowledge of the transmitters but
conforming to conditions for reliability, were often ignored by
the old schools of the Hijaz and Iraq in favour of Qiyas or the
rulings of the Sahabah, to which the practice was often traced.
The traditjons were not denied expressly but were yet eliminated
from practice.66 Al-Shafi‘I was insistent that knowledge be
acquired from the highest source, namely, the Prophet, even
though it be in the form of an isolated tradition. After all, be
argued, the traditions were statements solemnly affirmed and the
jurists were bound to accept them as true while67 the lower
sources, particularly the Sahdbah, cannot just be assumed to
have derived everything from above. There must be
documentary proof about it in each case, ‘practice’ having been
discredited as a proof of itself by itself.
Al-Shafi‘T was very anxious to bring about an agreement among

the jurists of the various regions on the principles governing the
recognition of the Sunnah, which was bound up with the vexed
Problem of the isolated traditions. It will be remembered that initially
there was a sort of regionalism in Fiqh, a remnant of the influence
°f the various Sahabah in the localities around them. This
120 S. M. Yusuf
regionalism is to be distinguished from schools of Fiqh founded on

differences of doctrine and transcending geographical limits. The
colours that marked the different regions were only shades of a
mixture of practice and traditions. Differences of Ijtihdd and ra’y,
understanding, interpretation and deduction — were also there but
they stood on a different plane altogether. ‘Umar I, by his
characteristic insight, instituted a system which ensured agreement
on the Sunnah but at the same time guaranteed full freedom of
Ijtihdd. He expressly made it clear that there was no question of a
veto by the ruling authority on differences of ra’y among the
competent jurists.68 Ibn al-Muqaffa‘’s caustic remarks on the loose
thinking about the Sunnah are amply confirmed by the words of Abu
Yusuf mentioned above. But perhaps he would not mind if the
authority of the Caliph usurped the functions of Ijmd‘ altogether.69
Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur was wiser, rather more diplomatic, in not
depending on his own authority but seeking to invoke the prestige of
Malik to make the Iraqis fall in line with the Madinese by force.
Malik was conscientious enough to specify in the Miiwatta’ the basis
of the best judgments of the Madinese in the Sunnah or Ijtihdd10 AI-
ShafiT was only reiterating the position of ‘Umar I when he pleaded
for final agreement on the Sunnah with freedom to differ in matters
of Ijtihdd11 It is really unfortunate that a collective verdict on
isolated traditions still remains a desideratum. The efforts of al-
ShafiT had only the effect of supplanting regionalism with allegiance
to personalities and the principles which characterised their
thought.72
Originally Fiqh denoted particularly the acumen of forming legal
judgments on points untouched by the Qur’an and the Sunnah while
77m referred to the memorised knowledge of the texts of the Qur’an
and the Hadlth.73 When developments under the Umayyads shook the
complacency over the growth of the Sunnah, the scope of Fiqh
widened to cover the whole corpus of law as traced to its sources in
the canonical texts as well as ra y.74 The task which the zealous and
industrious fitqaha' now set before them was to pass the X’ray of
critical enquiry through the law in practice so as to detect
malformations and insidious cancerous growth. In the course of the
jjie Sunnah — Its Development and Revision 121
searching examination, the bones, the sinews and the tissues all
coveted up with the outer skin of the Living Practice were carefully
dissected and faithfully noted so as to present what we may call an
Anatomy of Law. This is what it looks like when a single act of the
Sunnah, such as the wudu ’ and the salat is split up into various parts
and each part termed differently ifard, sunnah, rukn, short, etc.)
according to the documentary authority for it. Naturally it was at this
stage that Hadlth narration assumed its full importance.
There is little doubt that the first generation of Muslims was
preoccupied with the practice of the Sunnah, most of which was
known and transmitted in a practical way to most of the people.
There was no emphasis yet on the documentation of it. Nevertheless,
it would be wrong to assume that the practice grew without reference
to the Prophet. On the other hand, the older the Sunnah the more it
was under the aegis of the Prophet. It is essential to the very
conception of the Sunnah that its origin or confirmed existence
should be traceable to the model behaviour with or without reference
to the text of the law. It was the warp and woof of the fabric of early
Islamic society. This is only confirmed by the fact that, when it came
to the expansion and development of the Sunnah in the new situations
of a progressive life, the demand for khabr khassah was the first
resort of everyone, the specialist (including the Caliph) as well as the
common man. No time was lost in establishing the method of
reporting and. the test of reliability and acceptance after the clear
example of ‘Umar I. A little later it became a main cultural interest
to carry the Hadlths from those who were expected , to possess a
knowledge of them' There should be no surprise if the element of
trust played its part in the early days of Hadlth narration. Every
listener does not always ask for testimony from one occupying the
Position of a Sahabi or tabi‘1. It is only the academician who cares
for it for purposes of record and argument. The rampancy offitnah
2nd bid'ah induced a more critical attitude towards the whole
circumstance of narration and reporting.
Anyway the point is that the narration of Hadlth had been going
°n closely parallel to the development of the Sunnah and the
emergence of the regional schools of Fiqh. The Sahabah would leave
122 S. M. Yusuf
no stone unturned to collect all the relevant Hadlths before giving

their verdict on any problem. A little later during the period of the
younger Sahdbah one finds a clear distinction between ahl al-hadlth
and ahl al-ra*y, both existing side by side.75 Even the latter would
concern themselves equally with the Hadlths though it be for
purposes of ra’y and deduction. It is only in such circumstances that
al-ShafiT could lay his hands on the traditions which were known to
the old schools and yet eliminated from practice. The dominant mood
during the late Umayyad period was not to accept and sanctify, but
to doubt and purify, the actual practice of those days. The main point
of interest, arid, let us say, of controversy, was the Hadlths that went
against the practice and not those which agreed with it. Al-ShafiTs
preference for isolated traditions going up to the Prophet only meant
revision of the actual practice. Why such adverse testimony should
be fabricated is beyond understanding. It is simply preposterous to
insinuate that the whole mass of Hadlth together with the Isnad is
only a faked attempt to put the practice of the late Umayyad period
under the aegis of the Prophet. No people of any age can be gullible
as to accept a fraud of this magnitude nor can the idea be entertained
for a moment that a whole clever lot conspired just to take in upon
the posterity.
NOTES
1. Sanna in other quite distinct sense of whetting, sharpening is in al! probability

of foreign (Indian) provenance. Cf. Sanskrit s'ana whetstone [Williams,
Sanskrite-English Dictionary (Oxford)].
2. ‘Abd al-Nabey al-Ahmadnagri, JamV at-'Utum (Da'irat al-Ma‘arif,
Hyderabad).
3. See also the curse of an old woman on al-Hajjaj in al-Baydn (Cairo 1949), ed.
‘A. Salam Harun, vol.IH, p.271.
4. Al-Shatibi, al-Vtis&m (Cairo), voi.I, pp.18-19. Also the verses of Hassan b.
Thabit, Diw&n (GMS 1910), vol.XXIII, pp.l and 4.
5. The words of the Prophet to Umm Salamah, who was asked about kissing
during a fast — Musnad al-Shafi'f (Cairo 1951) vol.l, p.257.
6. Shah Waliyullah, Hujjat (AI-Munfriyah 1352 A,H.), voi.I, pp.140-41.
7. Al-ShafiT, Kitdb al-Umm (Cairo 1321 A.H.), vol.VII, p.252, lines 19-20.
8. Ikhtildf on the margin of al-Umm, (Bulaq 1325 A.H.), p.45.
9. The following three modes of exposition as between the Kitdb and the Sunnah
may be noted:
i. Tawdfh al-mujmal
ii. Takhsis al-‘am
iii. Taqyid ai-mutlaq
Further, there is a fourth general principle, which is an essential safeguard
against the usual attempt of the non-conformists to play with words in
isolation from this factual context and foist their own meaning upon them.
This is termed "ta'fn al-murad min muhtamil", i.e., determining the desired
meaning out of the several possibilities.
10. Musnad al-ShafiT: Kitdb al-Ttisdm bi’l Kitdb wa'l Sunnah, pp. 19-21.
11. Al-ShafiT makes ”al-yamfn ma‘a’l shahid" a test case of this kind and gives
several other examples under the same. See Al-Umm, vol.VII, p.79; also see
Al-Risdlch (Cairo 1940), p.64.
12. Ikhtildf, p.48.

13. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, JdmV Baydn al-Tlm (al-Munmyah), voLII, p.191.
14. Al-Risalah, p.92.
15. Ibn 4Abd al-Barr, op. cit., p. 191. In any case, one who tries to hold by the
Book alone is bound to lose both the Sunnah and the Book. See the words of
al-ShatibT, op. cit., p.54.
16. Al-ShatibT, op. cit., vol.I, p.62.
17. Mustafa ‘A. Raziq, Tamhid li Tdrtkh al-Falsafah al-Islamfyah (Cairo 1944),
p. 12*1.
18. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, op. cit., vol.II, p. 121.
19. Shah Waliyullah, op. cit., vol.I, p.149.
20. Ibid., p.141.; Ibn 4Abd al-Barr, op.cit., pp. 140-42; al-Umm, vol.V, III
(quoted in al-Risdlah, p.150, note 1).
21. Vide the words of ‘Umar to Abu Musa at ‘Ash'an, al-Tirmidhi - Bab al-
Mdjd%
22. Al-Ikhtildf, pp.6-7.
23. Of the eight causes of differences among the jurists as enumerated by Ibn al-
STd al-BatalyusT, 1-4 concern the manners of understanding and interpretation,
5 the establishment and acceptance of Hadlth, 6 and 7 deduction through
Ijtihad, Qiyds and Naskh, and 8, variety which is expressly permitted. Al-
Insdf, Cairo 1319 A.H.
124 S. M. Yusuf
24. The words of ai-ShafiT quoted by Schacht, Origins of Muhammadan

Jurisprudence, p.21: "...I do not know why you transmit traditions: if you
transmit them in order to show that you know them and diverge from them in
full knowledge, you have achieved your purpose..." But Schacht would also
disregard what he quotes in the pursuit of systematic conclusions or the
opinions of Goldziher.
25. Al'DhahabT, Tadhkirah (Abu Bakr); and Ibn Sa‘d, Tabaqdt (‘Umar).
26. For a full discussion on the point, see al-Baghdadl, Khizanah, vol.I, pp.5-7;
al-Salafiyyah, vol.I, pp.23-28
27. Al-Bayan, p.3L
28. The conclusion is arrived at after a threadbare discussionof the conflicting
views by al-BaghdadT, Taqyid al-'Itm, Damascus 1949, p.8. It is important to
remember that the writing of HadTth resorted to quite early, passed through
the following stages:
a. Al-Taqyfd — simple, occasional reading,
b. Al-Tadwfn — collection of scattered piecemeal recordings, and
c. Al-Tasntf — classification of collected material.
29. Al-ShatibT, op. citvol.I, p.62.
30. Hasan Ahmad al-Khatib, Fiqh al-lsldm (Cairo 1952), p.94; and Mustafa ‘Abd
al-Raziq, op. cit., pp. 158-163.
31. Qiyds is of two kinds: (i) That which is comprised in the connotation of the
canonical text {ma*qul al-lafz). This is tantamount to a mere exposition {bayan
al-‘ishdrah). There is little room for any difference about it. (ii) That which
only bears a likeness to the original cases. Here the jurists differ as to which
of the original cases is more akin to the case in point. Vide Risdlah, p.479,
No. 1334 and al-ShawkanT quoted by Mustafa ‘A. Raziq, op. at., p.240.
32. Ijtnd * is the ultimate mainstay of the sources and the methods of jurisprudence
as well as of positive law. Apart from religious sanction, it is based on the
rational assumption that though the knowledge of an individual — even the
greatest individual — it may fail; the collective knowledge of the whole
community is unfailing and absolutely dependable. It is the instrument of
consolidating the ground of law step by step so as to be free of old
engagements before entering into new ones. It is through Ijmd ‘ that the dust
of controversy settles down behind the line of legal advance. Without the
retrospective guarantee furnished by the consensus, one would have nothing
but a haze of dust hanging perpetually over all the problems that ever arose
in the past and that may ever arise in the future.
33. "The five categories as such are as yet unknown to al-Shafff and his
predecessors." — Schacht, op. cit., p.133.
34. Shah WalTyullah, op. cit., vol.I, p. 132.
35. Six of the Prophet’s Sahdbah who discuss matters of fiqh among them are
‘AIT, Abu Bakr, Abu Musa, ‘Umar, Zayd and Ibn Mas‘ud (al-'Athdr al-
Shaybant).
36. Ibn al-Qayyim al-JawzTyah, 77am, vol.IV, p.133.
37. Ibid.
38. Ibid., p. 128.
39. Al-Bayan, vol.I, p.291.
40. The dissidents such as the Khawarij are called ahl al-ra’y in this very
disparaging sense. Vide a’ ShatibT, op. cit., vol.I, p.72.
41. Nahj al-Baldghah (Beirut 1307 A.H.), vol.II, p.75 (quoted by Goldziher).
42. Ibn al-Qayyim al-JawzTyah, al-Turuq al-Hikmtyah (Cairo 1953), p.87.
43. Goldziher, al-Aqfdah wa’l-SharTah fi’l-Is lam (Cairo 1946), Pt.V, para. 14.
44. Ibid., p.201, note No. 110.

45. Schacht, op. cit., pt. HI, ch.9.
46. The view has received a very favourable consideration from Musuta A
Raziq, op. cit., p.201.
47. ATIkhtilaf, p.47.
48. Ibid., pp.17, 19-22.
49. Cf. Shah WalTyultah, Izalat al-Khifa\
50. Shah Wallyullah, Hujjat, vol.I, p.132.
51. Al-Shafrf asserts (al-Umm, VII, p.86) that Shura (‘consultation’ enjoined in
the Qur’an, 42:38) is to be confined to the knowledgeable and righteous.
52. Al-Umm, vol.VII, p.251. See also Ibid., pp.253 and 272. The best argument
in the subject is the Qur’anic verse (75:36) cited on p.271. Also see al-
Risdlah, pp.24-75.
53. Al-ShatibT, op. cit., ch. "al-Ra’y al-Madhmum", vol.I, p.72.
54. Al-Juwaynl quoted by Mustafa ‘A. Raziq, op. cit., p.227.
55. Al-ShatibT, op. cit., vol.I, p.61.
56. The words of al-Hasan in al-Baydn, voI.III, p.133.

57. Revival of the Sunnah was the main plank of YazTd b. al-Walfd, the foremost
. opponent of WalFd b. YazTd. See al-Tabari, Tartkh ul-Rusul wa'l-Muluk.
S?- Kitdb al-Umm, vol.VII, pp.303-4.

59- Ibid., p.306.
®°- Ibid., p.320.
126 S. M. Yusuf
61. Even al-ShafFF shows full cognizance of the point — al-Risalah, p.462.
62 Ai-TirmidhF, Sunan K. al-'Ilal. Here 'fitnah’ is used in the general sense
(together with its concomitant bid'ch), it does not refer specifically to the civil
war of 126 A.H., as supposed by Schacht, op. cit., p.37.
63. Mustafa ‘A. Raziq, op. citp.225.
64. Al-Bayan, vol.III, p.95.
65. Shah Waliyullah, 7zalat al-Khifa’.
66. Al-Risalak, p.446, para. 1227, quoted by Schacht, op. cit., p.63.
67. Al-Ikhtildf, p.7. See also al-Risdlc'i, p.373 where the appropriate conditions
for the acceptance of tradition and legal evidence are compared.
68. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, op. cit., vol.II, p.59. See also al-Shatibl, op. cit., vol.I,
p.74. It is also important in this connection to bear in mind the difference
between the essentials of the SharT'ah and the purely administrative measures.
There can be no Ijmd' on the latter. See the very useful discussion on al-
shara’i' al-kuliyah and ai-siyasat al-jazTyah in Ibn Qayyim at-Jawzfyah, op.
cit., pp.30-31. It is on the same lines as al-ShafiT$ thinking in regard to khds
al-ahkam (al~lkhtilaf, pp. 141-43),
69. Risalat al-Sahabah (Rasa’il al-Bulaghd’) (1954), p.126.
70. May be Abu HanTfah preceded Malik in this respect.
71. Al~Umm, vol.VII, p.85.
72. Schacht, op. cit., pp.7 and 10.
73. Mustafa *A. Raziq, op. cit., p.193.
74. Ibid., p.205.
75. The ahl al-hadith were the pharmacists, the ahl al-ra ’y the physicians — Ibn
'Abd al-Barr, op. cit.r vol.II, p.131.
PART TWO
THE PLACE OF HADlTH
AND SUNNAH IN ISLAM
6
THE LIVING SUNNAH
AND AL-SUNNAH
WA ’L JAMA ‘AH *
FAZLUR RAHMAN
Part A
1. Sunnah is a behavorial concept — whether applied to physical or

mental acts — and, further, denotes not merely a single act as such
but in so far as this act is actually repeated or potentially repeatable.
In other words, a Sunnah is a law of behaviour whether instanced
once or often. And since, strictly speaking, the behaviour in question
is that of conscious agents who can 'own' their acts, a Sunnah is not
just a law of behaviour (as laws of natural objects) but a normative
moral law: the element of moral "ought" is an inseparable part of the
meaning of the concept Sunnah. According to the view dominant
among more recent Western scholars, Sunnah denotes the actual
Preliminary Note: It is strongly requested that the readers should read this article
'tojull, a partial reading is liable to create grave misunderstandings. Readers are also
requested not to quote any part of the article which, when torn from its context,
not represent the article as a whole.
129
I
130 Fazlur Rahman
practice which, through being long established over successive

generations, gains the status of normativeness and becomes ‘Sunnah’.
This theory seems to make actual practice — over a period — not
only temporally but also logically prior to the element of
normativeness and to make the latter rest on the former. It is obvious
that this view derives its plausibility from the fact that since Sunnah
is a behavorial concept, what is actually practised by a society over
a long period, is considered not only its actual practice but also its
normative practice. This is especially true of strongly cohesive
societies like the tribal ones. But, surely, these practices could not
have been established in the first place unless ab initio they were
considered normative. Logically, therefore, the element of
normativeness must be prior. And although it must be admitted that
the fact of a custom’s being long established adds a further element
of normativeness to it — especially in conservative societies — this
factor is quite different and must be radically disentangled from the
initial normativeness.
That Sunnah essentially means "exemplary conduct" as such and
that actually being followed is not a part of its meaning (although the
fulfilment of the Sunnah necessarily consists in being followed) can
be demonstrated by numerous examples such as the following, Ibn
Durayd, in his Jamharah (and he is followed in this by other
lexicographers) gives the original meaning of the verb sanna as
"sawwara (al-shay'a)" i.e., to fashion a thing or produce it as a
model. Next, it is applied to behaviour which is considered a model. 1
Here (and this is the sense relevant to us here) sanna would be best
translated by "he set an example". It is in this sense that AbO Yusuf
admonishes Harun al-Rashld (see his Kitdb al-Khardj, the chapter on
Sadaqat) asking the Caliph "to introduce (as distinguished from ‘to
follow’) some good Sunnahs",1 In the same passage, Abu Yusuf
quotes the Hadlth, which may be very early, "whoever introduces a I
good Sunnah will be rewarded... and whoever introduces a bad
Sunnah..." etc. If one asks how a Sunnah could be bad if its essential
meaning is not to be actually followed by others but to be morally
normative, the answer (given by the author of Lisdn al-'Arab, s.v.)
is that those who set bad examples wish, nevertheless, to be followed
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jam&'ah 131
by others and in most cases (perhaps in all cases) they do not think
they are setting bad examples.
2. From the concept of normative or exemplary conduct there

follows the concept of standard or correct conduct as a necessary
complement. If I regard someone’s behaviour as being exemplary for
me then, in so far as I follow this example successfully, my
behaviour will be thus far up to the standard or correct. There
enters, therefore, an element of ‘straightness’ or correctness into this
enlarged complemental sense of the word Sunnah. It is in this sense
that the expression sanan al-tariq is used which means "the path
straight ahead" or "the path without deviation".2 The prevalent view
that in its primary sense Sunnah means "the trodden path" is not
supported by any unique evidence,3 although, of course, a straight
path without deviation implies that the path is already chalked out
which it cannot be unless it has been already trodden. Further, the
sense in which Sunnah is a straight path without any deviation to the
right or to the left also gives the meaning of a "mean between
extremes" or the "middle way". In his letter to ‘Uthman al-Batti,
Abu HanTfah, while explaining his position with regard to a sinful
Muslim, against the Kharijite extremism, describes his own view as
that of Ahl al-‘adl wa’l-Sunnah i.e., "people of the mean and the
middle path". "As regards the appellation which you have
mentioned (regarding my view), what is the crime of a people who
speak with balance {‘adl = justice) and are described by deviationists
by this name? On the contrary, these people are (not Murjites but)
people of balance and the middle path".4 We shall show in a
subsequent article how the term sunnah actually evolved into this
sense and, further, that it was on this principle of the ‘mean’ that the
Ahl al-Sunnah or the ‘orthodoxy’ came into being.
3. Among the modern Western scholars, Ignaz Goldziher, the first

great perceptive student of the evolution of the Muslim Tradition
(although occasionally uncritical of his own assumptions), had
maintained that immediately after the advent of tbe Prophet his
practice and conduct had come to constitute the Sunnah for the
132 Fazlur Rahman
young Muslim community and the ideality of the pre-Islamic Arab

Sunnah had come to cease. After Goldziher, however, this picture
imperceptibly changed. While the Dutch scholar, Snouck Hurgronje,
held that the Muslims themselves added to the Sunnah of the Prophet
until almost all products of Muslim thought and practice came to be
justified as the Sunnah of the Prophet, certain other notable
authorities like Lammens and Margoliouth came to regard the
Sunnah as being entirely the work of the Arabs, pre~Islamic and
post-Islamic — the continuity between the two periods having been
stressed. The concept of the Sunnah of the Prophet was both
explicitly and implicitly rejected. Dr. Joseph Schacht has taken over
this view from Margoliouth and Lammens in his Origins of
Muhammedan Jurisprudence wherein he seeks to maintain that the
concept "Sunnah of the Prophet" is a relatively late concept and that
for the early generations of the Muslims Sunnah meant the practice
of the Muslims themselves.
We have criticized, elsewhere, the grounds of this development
in Western Islamic studies and have attempted to bring out the
conceptual confusion with regard to Sunnah.5 The reason why these
scholars have rejected the concept of the Prophetic Sunnah is that
they have found (i) that a part of the content of Sunnah is a direct
continuation of the pre-Islamic customs and mores of the Arabs; (ii)
that by far the greater part of the content of the Sunnah was the
result of the freethinking-activity of the early legists of Islam who,
by their personal Ijtihad, had made deductions from the existing
Sunnah or practice and — most important of all — had incorporated
new elements from without especially from the Jewish sources and
Byzantine and Persian administrative practices; and, finally, (iii) that
later when the Hadlth develops into an overwhelming movement and
becomes a mass-scale phenomenon in the later second and, especially
in the third, centuries, this whole content of the early Sunnah comes
to be verbally attributed to the Prophet himself under the aegis of the
concept of the "Sunnah of the Prophet".
Now, we shall show (1) that while the above story about the
development of the Sunnah is essentially correct, it is correct about
the content of the Sunpah only and not about the concept of the
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jama’ah 133
"Sunnah of the Prophet", i.e., that the Sunnah of the Prophet" was
a valid and operative concept from the very beginning of Islam and
remained so throughout; (2) that the Sunnah-content left by the
Prophet was not very large in quantity and that it was not something
meant to be absolutely specific; (3) that the concept Sunnah after the
time of the Prophet covered validly not only the Sunnah of the
Prophet himself but also the interpretations of the Prophetic Sunnah;
(4) that the Sunnah in this last sense is co-extensive with the Ijma‘
of the Community, which is essentially an ever-expanding process;
and, finally (5) that after the mass-scale Hadlth movement the
organic relationship between the Sunnah, Ijtihad and Ijma‘ was
destroyed. In the next article we shall show the real genius of the
Hadlth and how the Sunnah may be validly inferred from the
Hadlth-material and how Ijtihad and Ijma‘ may be made operative
again.
4. It may be gathered from the foregoing that the theory that the
concept of the Prophetic Sunnah and even the content of the
Prophetic Sunnah did not exist (outside the Qur’anic pronouncements
on legal and moral issues) draws its force from two considerations
viz., (1) that in actual fact most of the content of the Sunnah during
the early generations of Islam is either a continuation of the pre-
Islamic Arab practices or the result of assimilative deductive thought-
activity of the early Muslims themselves, and (2) that the Sunnah, in
any case, implies a tradition, as distinguished from the activity of
one person. This latter statement itself both enforces and is enforced
by the first. In sections 1 and 2 above of this article we have
advanced evidence to refute this assumption and have shown that
Sunnah really means "the setting up of an example" with a view that
it would or should be followed. Indeed, the Qur’an speaks, in more
than one place, of the "Sunnah of God that is unalterable" in
connection with the moral forces governing the rise and fall of
communities and nations.6 Here it is only the ideality of the action-
pattern of one Being viz., God that is involved. Now, the same
Qur’an speaks of the "exemplary conduct"7 of the Prophet, — in
spite of its occasional criticism of the Prophet’s conduct at certain
134 Fazlur Rahman
points (and this latter point constitutes a unique moral argument for
the revealed character of the Qur’an). When the Word of God calls
the Prophet’s character ‘exemplary’ and ‘great’, is it conceivable that
the Muslims, from the very beginning, should not have accepted it
as a concept?
We have analyzed in our work mentioned before (see note 5)
the letter8 of Hasan al-Basri written to ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan
(65-85 A.H.). There, Hasan speaks of the "Sunnah of the Prophet"
with regard to the freedom of the human will, although he admits
that there exists no formal and verbal tradition from the Prophet
about this matter. This gives us a positive clue to the understanding
of the concept of the "Prophetic Sunnah" and we shall revert to it
later. Further, the pfo-Hashiml poet of the first and early second
century, al-Kumayt, says in one of his famous poems:
On the basis of what Book or which Sunnah do you regard my love

for them as a disgrace?
‘Them’ here means the progeny of the Prophet and the Banu Hashim
in general. The ‘Book’ here is, of course, the Qur’an. What can the
word Sunnah mean in this context except the Sunnah of the Prophet?
This is certainly not the use of the word Sunnah in the sense in
which expressions like "the Sunnah of MadTnah" etc. are used by
early legists. Nor can Sunnah here mean the "middle path" for that
nuance develops a little later — as in the case of Abu Hanlfah’s letter
mentioned above — after the conflict of theological opinion. The
Qastdah in which the word occurs is said by the author of al-Aghani
to be among the earliest compositions of al-Kumayt and was,
therefore, probably written circa 100 A.H. or even before.9
Moreover, the use of the term here does not suggest that it is a new
one but assumes that this sense is fully established. We cannot even
read here any radical Shi‘ah theological comnlioation into the word
Sunnah for the poet is not' an extreme dogmatic Shi‘ah and explicitly
says iri one place that he neither rejects Abu Bakr and ‘Umar nor
calls them kafir.10
In his Kitdb al-Kharaj, Abu Yusuf relates that the second
Caliph, ‘Umar, once wrote that he appointed people in several places
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jama'ah 135
to "teach people the Qur’an and the Sunnah of our Prophet”.11 It

may be said that this reference is rather late (second half of the
second century A.H.) and that' at that time the concept of the
"Prophetic Sunnah" had been formed. What is important here,
however, is the circumstantial truth of the statement itself. ‘Umar
had sent people, it is certain, to different countries, especially to
Iraq. He had emphasized, it is also certain, the teaching of Arabic
and Arabic literature. It goes without saying that the Qur’an was
taught as the nucleus of the new Teaching. But the Qur’an is
obviously not intelligible purely by itself — strictly situational as its
revelations are. It would be utterly irrational to suppose that the
Qur’an was taught without involving in fact the activity of the
Prophet as the central background-activity which included policy,
commands, decisions etc. Nothing can give coherence to the
Qur’anic teaching except the actual life of the Prophet and the
environment in which he moved, and it would be a great childishness
of the 20th-century to suppose that people immediately around the
Prophet distinguished so radically between the Qur’an and its
exemplification in the Prophet that they retained the one but ignored
the other i.e., saw the one as divorced from the other. Did they
never ask themselves the question — even implicitly — "why did
God choose this person as the vehicle of His Message?" Completely
nonsensical is that view of modern scholarship which, gained no
doubt from later Muslim theological discussions themselves, makes
the Prophet almost like a record in relation to Divine Revelation.
Quite a different picture emerges from the Qur’an itself which
assigns a unique status to the Prophet whom it charges with a "heavy
responsibility"12 and whom it invariably represents as being
excessively conscious of this responsibility.13
5. There was, therefore, undoubtedly the Sunnah of the Prophet. But

what was its content and its character? Was it something absolutely
specific laying down once and for all the details of rules about all
spheres of human life as Medieval Muslim Hadlth-Fjq/j literature
suggests?
Now, the overall picture of the Prophet’s biography — if we
136 Fazlur Rahman
look behind the colouring supplied by the Medieval legal mass — has
certainly no tendency to suggest the impression of the Prophet as a
pan-legist neatly regulating the fine details of human life from
administration to those of ritual purity. The evidence, in fact,
strongly suggests that the Prophet was primarily a moral reformer of
mankind and that, apart from occasional decisions, which had the
character of ad hoc cases, he seldom resorted to general legislation
as a means of furthering the Islamic cause. In the Qur’an itself
general legislation forms a very tiny part of the Islamic teaching. But
even the legal or quasi-legal part of the Qur’an itself clearly displays
a situational character. Quite situational, for example, are the
Qur’anic pronouncements on war and peace between the Muslims
and their opponents — pronouncements which do express a certain
general character about the ideal behaviour of the community vis-a-
vis an enemy in a grim struggle but which are so situational that they
can be regarded only as quasi-legal and not strictly and specifically
legal.
A Prophet is a person who is centrally and vitally interested in
swinging history and moulding it on the Divine pattern. As such,
neither the Prophetic Revelation nor the Prophetic behaviour can
neglect the actual historical situation obtaining immediately and
indulge in purely abstract generalities; God speaks and the Prophet
acts in, although certainly not merely for, a given historical conetext.
This is what marks a Prophet out from a visionary or even a mystic.
The Qur’an itself is replete with such evidence with regard both to
the history of the past and the then contemporary scene. And yet the
Message must — despite its being clothed in the flesh and blood of
a particular situation — outflow through and beyond that given
context of history. If we need a support besides an insight into the
actual unfolding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah, we have on our side
Shah WalTyullah of DihlT and a historian like Ibn Khaldun.
To revert to the Prophetic Sunnah. We have said that the early
Islamic literature strongly suggests that the Prophet was not a pan-
legist. For one thing, it can be concluded a priori that the Prophet,
who was, until his death, engaged in a grim moral and political
struggle against the Makkans and the Arabs and in organizing his
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jamd'ah 137
community-state, could hardly have found time to lay down rules for
the minutiae of life. Indeed, the Muslim community went about its
normal business and did its day-to-day transactions, settling their
normal business disputes by themselves in the light of commonsense
and on the basis of their customs which, after certain modifications,
were left intact by the Prophet. It was only in cases that became
especially acute that the Prophet was called upon to decide and in
certain cases the Qur’an had to intervene.14 Mostly such cases were
of an ad hoc nature and were treated informally and in an ad hoc
manner. Thus, these cases could be taken as normative Prophetic
examples and quasi-precedents but not strictly and literally. Indeed,
there is striking evidence15 that even in the case of times of formal
prayers and their detailed manner the Prophet had not left an
inflexible and rigid model. It was only on major policy decisions
with regard to religion and state and on moral principles that the
Prophet took formal action but even then the advice of his major
Companions was sought and given publicly or privately. "In the
behaviour of the Prophet, religious authority and democracy were
blended with a finesse that defies description.”16
That the Prophetic Sunnah was a general umbrella — concept
rather than filled with an absolutely specific content flows directly,
at a theoretical level, from the fact that the ‘Sunnah’ is a behavorial
term: since no two cases, in practice, are ever exactly identical in
their situational setting — moral, psychological and material —
Sunnah must, of necessity, allow of interpretation and adaptation.
But quite apart from this theoretical analysis, there is abundant
historical evidence to show that this was actually the case. The letter
of Hasan al-Basri mentioned previously is a glaring instance of this.
In this letter, Hasan tells ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan that although
there is no Hadith from the Prophet in favour of the freedom of the
will and human responsibility, nevertheless this is the Sunnah of the
Prophet. What this obviously means is that the Prophet (and his
Companions) have shown by their behaviour that the doctrine of
predetermination contradicts the Prophet’s implicit teaching. This
Passage of Hasan is highly revelatory of the Prophetic Sunnah as
being rather a pointer in a direction than an exactly laid-out series of
138 Fazlur Rahman
rules, and demonstrates that it was precisely this notion of the "Ideal
Sunnah” that was the basis of the early thought-activity of the
Muslims, and that Ijtihad and Ijma* are its necessary complements
and forward reaches in which this Sunnah is progressively fulfilled.
6. The earliest extensive extant work on the Hadlth and on the

Sunnah is the Muwatta’, of Malik b. Anas (d. 179 A.H). Malik’s
wont is that at the beginning of each legal topic he quotes a Hadlth
either from the Prophet, if available, or from the Companions,
especially the first four Caliphs. This is usually followed by his
remark: "And this is also the Sunnah with us", or "But the Sunnah
with us is..." or, more frequently, "our practice (amr or ‘amal) is..."
or, still more frequently, "Our agreed practice (al-omr al-mujtama*
*alayhi) is...". Again, with regard to the term Sunnah, sometimes he
simply says, "The Sunnah with us is...", and sometimes, "The
established Sunnah has §een (qadmadat al-Sunnatu)”. We shall now
analyze the use of these closely allied and legally equivalent but
somewhat differing phrases.
Malik quotes a Hadlth from the Prophet that the Prophet granted
a certain person the right of shufah i.e., the right of prior claim to
purchase his partner’s share of the property, which this partner
wanted to dispose of. Malik then observes, "And this is the Sunnah
with us". Then he says that the famous lawyer of Madlnah, SaTd b.
al-Musayyib (d. circa 90 A.H.) was once asked about shufah. "Is
there any Sunnah concerning it?", whereupon Ibn al-Musayyib said,
"Yes, shufah is applicable only to houses and land...".
Now, it is a matter of importance to notice the obvious
difference between the two usages of the term ‘Sunnah’ in "This is
the Sunnah with us" and "Is there any Sunnah with regard to
shufah?" Whereas in the one case it does mean "the practice" or
"established practice in Madlnah", it cannot mean this in the second
case, for one does not ask, in the face of an agreed practice; "Is
there any Sunnah with regard to this?" In this case, then, Sunnah
must mean an ‘authoritative’ — or "normative precedent". But whose
normative precedent? Obviously in this case the ‘Sunnah’ is either
the Sunnah of the Prophet or of any subsequent authority under the
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jam&'ah 139
general aegis of the Prophetic Sunnah, for we have already adduced

evidence that the pre-lslamic Arab practice as such cannot be
regarded as normative. But whereas it is clear that the Sunnah is
under the general aegis of the Prophetic model, it is also clear that
Ibn al-Musayyib does not mention the Prophet here. And Malik
quotes no Hadlth, in this matter, from the Prophet on the authority
of Ibn al-Musayyib. It is thus obvious that the Sunnah in question
could have been set by any Companion or a subsequent authority
although it is not divorced from the general concept of the Prophetic
Sunnah. Further, what these two statements on Sunnah in this
particular case of shufah conjointly imply is that Sunnah in sense (1)
an exemplary precedent, becomes, in Malik’s time; Sunnah in sense
(2) an agreed practice.
7. The necessary instrument whereby the Prophetic model was

progressively developed into a definite and specific code of human
behaviour by the early generations of Muslims was responsible
personal free thought-activity. This rational thinking, called ‘Ra'y’
or "personal considered opinion” produced an immense wealth of
legal, religious and moral ideas during the first century and a half
approximately. But with all its wealth, the product of this activity
became rather chaotic i.e., the ‘Sunnah’ of different regions —
Hijaz, Iraq, Egypt etc. — became divergent on almost every issue of
detail. It was in the face of this interminable conflict of free opinion
that Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ (d. 140 A.H.) declared that there was no
agreed-upon Sunnah of the Prophet and advised the Caliph to
exercise his own Ijtihad.17 But the intellectual and religious leaders
of the community thought otherwise. Already, the individual free
thought, Ra 'y, had given way to more systematic reasoning on the
already existing Sunnah and on the Qur’an. This systematic
reasoning was called qiyas. On the other hand, the existing Sunnah
— the result of earlier free opinion — was slowly reaching a point
where it resuited in a fairly uniform acceptance by the community —
at least regional communities like Hijaz, Iraq etc. This is why both
*he terms Sunnah and Ijma‘ are applied by Malik to this body of
opinion, existing in Madlnah, almost equivalently. But although both
140 Fazlur Rahman
these terms are applied to this material, there is an important

difference in the point of view inherent in each term. The ‘Sunnah’
goes backward and has its starting-point in the "Ideal Sunnah" of the
Prophet which has been progressively interpreted by Ra *y and Qiyds;
the Ijmd‘ is this Sunnah-interpretation or simply ‘Sunnah’ in our
sense (2) above, as it slowly came to be commonly accepted by the
consent of the community.
Between, therefore, the Qur’an and the "Ideal Sunnah" on the
one hand and the Ijmd* or Sunnah in sense (2) on the other, there
lies the inevitable activity of Qiyds ox Ijtihad. Malik, in his al-
Muwatta \ fills continuous paragraphs by his own ijtihad despite his
ceaseless invocation of the "general practice at MadTnah". But there
is perhaps nothing more revealing of the Ijtihad activity in the
existing literature of, even the second century — when a fairly
general common opinion was crystallizing throughout the Muslim
world through the .stabilisation of the Sunnah in sense (2) and
through the growing number of new Hadlth — than the Kitab al-
Siyar al-Kabir of Muhammad al-Shaybanl, the younger of the two
illustrious pupils of Abu Hanlfah. Al-ShaybanT died in 189 A.H. and
his great commentator al-SarakhsT (d. 483 A.H.) tells usiS that this
work is the last one written by al-Shaybanl. The bulk of the book
consists of al-Shaybanfs own ijtihad, arising out of his criticism of
early opinion. Quite apart from Qiyds i.e. analogical reasoning, al-
Shaybanl has often recourse to Istihsan in opposition to earlier
precedents and exercises absolute reasoning.
The number of Hadlths from the Prophet quoted by al-Shaybanl
is indeed, extremely small. He quoted Hadlths frequently from the
Companions and still more frequently from the ‘Successors’ {Tdbi'un
— the generation after the Companions). But he criticizes and rejects
sometimes a Companion’s opinions as well. One illustration will
suffice here. The question under discussion is: What can an
individual Muslim soldier appropriate for himself from the territory
of a defeated enemy in view of the fact that the property of the fallen
enemy does not belong to any individual Muslim but to the
conquering Muslims as a whole? "It has been related from (the
Companion) Abu’l-Darda’," says ai-Shaybanl, "that he said that there
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jama ‘ah 141
is no harm if Muslim soldiers take food (from the enemy’s territory),

bring it back to their family, eat it and also make presents of it (to
others), previded they do not sell it." Now, AbO’l-Darda’ seems to
have included making food-presents among the necessities like eating
(for the soldiers themselves are allowed to eat the food in order to
keep themselves alive which is a necessity). But we do not accept
this for whereas eating is a basic necessity... making food-presents
is not."19 In connection with this, al-Shaybanl says.
We accept on this point the HadTth of the ‘Successor’ Makhul (d. circa
114 A.H). A (Muslim) man slaughtered a camel in the territory of the
Byzantines and invited others to share it. Makhul said to someone
from the Ghassanids: ‘Won’t you get up and bring us some meat from
this slaughtered camel?’ The man replied, ‘This is plunder (i.e. has
not been properly distributed according to the rules of ghammahy.
Makhul said, ‘There is no plunder in what is permissible (i.e. food is
allowed to be eaten)’.
Al-Shaybanl goes on.
It is also related from Makhul that he said that anybody who brings
back home something from the enemy territory that has no value there
but which may be of use to him, is allowed to do so. But this would
hold good, according to us, only in regard to those things wbich have
no special value in our territory either. Things (which may be
valueless in the enemy territory but) which become valuable in our
territory must be returned to the mal al-ghanimah, for, by mere
transportation the essence of a thing is not transformed. Makhul
regarded the fact of transportation as having become a constitutive
quality of a thing — like a craft.20
Al-Shaybanl, after this criticism, proceeds to confirm Makhul’s

lJtihad that if a Muslim finds some petty object in the enemy
territory, say, a piece of wood, and by his own work transforms it
*n[o, say, a bowl, he is entitled to it. But he is not entitled to possess
things which had been manufactured before he found them.
Samples of this type could be given almost endlessly but I have

142 Fazlur Rahman
chosen one lengthy illustration of Ijtihad to give a peep to the reader

into the actual working of the mind of early mujtahid Muslims. It
should be abundantly clear by now that the actual content of the
Sunnah of the early generations of Muslims was largely the product
of Ijtihad when this Ijtihad, through an incessant interaction of
opinion, developed the character of general acceptance or concensus
of the community i.e. Ijmd*. This is why the term Sunnah in our
sense (2) i.e. the actual practice, is used equivalently by Malik with
the term al-amr al-mujtama* *alayhi i.e. Ijmd \ Thus, we see that the
Sunnah and the Ijmd* literally merge into one another and are in
actual fact, materially identical. Even later, in the post-ShafiT
period, when the two concepts are separated, something of the
intimate relationship between the two remains. For, in the later
period, when Sunnah came to designate only the Sunnah of the
Prophet and this not only conceptually and, as it were, as an
umbrella-idea — even then the agreed practice of the Companions
still continued to be called Sunnah — Sunnat al-Sahabah. But where
Sunnah ceases, Ijmd* takes over. Thus, the agreement of the
Companions is both Sunnat al-Sahabah and Ijmd' al-Sahabah. This
in itself was not a harmful change, provided the important status of
Ijmd* were not affected and its right to continue to assimilate and
create new and fresh ideas and elements were not jeopardised. But
what happened, unfortunately, in the post-ShafTT period was
precisely this and in the next section we shall portray this
development.
9. We have, so far, established (1) that the Sunnah of the early

Muslims was, conceptually and in a more or less general way,
closely attached to the Sunnah of the Prophet and that the view that
the early practice of the Muslims was something divorced from the
concept of the Prophetic Sunnah cannot hold water; (2) that the
actual specific content of this early Muslim Sunnah was,
nevertheless, very largely the product of the Muslims themselves; (3)
that the creative agency of this content was the personal Ijtihdd,
crystallizing into Ijmd \ under the general direction of the Prophetic
Sunnah which was not considered as being something very specific
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jam& 'ah 143
and (4) that the content of the Sunnah or Sunnah in sense (2) was
identical with Ijma'. This shows that the community as a whole had
assumed the necessary prerogative of creating and recreating the
content of the Prophetic Sunnah and that Ijma.' was the guaranteefor
the rectitude i. e. for the working infallibility (as opposed to absolute
or theoretical infallibility, such as assumed by the Christian Church)
of the new content.
With this background in view, we can understand the real force
of the famous second-century aphorism: "The Sunnah decides upon
the Qur’an; the Qur’an does not decide upon the Sunnah", which,
without this background, sounds not only shocking but outright
blasphemous. What the aphorism means is that the Community,
under the direction of the spirit (not the absolute letterj in which the
Prophet acted in a given historical situation, shall authoritatively
interpret and assign meaning to the Revelation. Let us give a
concrete example of this. The Qur’an provides that for a decision in
most cases (other than adultery etc.) the evidence of two males or
one male and two females is required. In the established actual
practice, however, civil cases were decided on the basis of one
witness plus an oath. Some people obiected to this practice and
argued from the Qur’an. Malik (al-Muwatta ’, the chapter "al-Yamin
ma'al-Shahid") confirms this established practice which had most
probably arisen out of the exigencies of the iudicial procedure. Malik
also quotes a Hadith in this connection but ultimately relies on the
established practice.
An important feature of this Sunnah-///rw ‘ phenomenon must be
noticed at this stage. It is that this informal Ijma' did not rule out
difference of opinion. Not only was this Ijma' regional — the
Sunnah -Ijma' of MadTnah e.g. differed from that of Iraq — but even
within each region differences existed although an opinio generalis
was crystallizing. This itself reveals the nature of the process
whereby Ijma‘ was being arrived at i.e. through differences in local
usage and through different interpretations a general opinio publica
Was emerging, although at the same time the process of fresh
linking and interpretation was going on. This procedure of reaching
ljma‘ or a common public opinion was utterly democratic in its
144 Fazlur Rahman
temper. But at this juncture also a powerful movement had gained

momentum to achieve standardization and uniformity throughout the
Muslim world. The need for uniformity was pressing in the interests
of administrative and legal procedures and tasks and that is why, as
we have remarked earlier, Ibn al-Muqaffa‘ had advised the ‘Abbasid
Caliph to impose his own decision in the absence of a universal
agreement. This movement for uniformity, impatient with the slow-
moving but democratic Ijmd ‘-process, recommended the substitution
of the Hadlth for the twin principles of Ijtihad and Ijmd‘ and
relegated these to the lowest position and, further, severed the
organic relationship between the two. This seemed to put an end to
the creative process, but for the fact that Hadlth itself began to be
created.
10. The mass-scale Hadlth movement, had already started towards

the turn of the first century but gained a strong impetus during the
second century in the name of a uniform authority — the Prophet —
and in the sphere of jurisprudence was spearheaded by al-Shaff!
whose decisive and successful intervention in the freely-moving
Islamic thought-stream resulted in the fundamental formulation of the
principles of Islamic jurisprudence as the succeeding ages have
known and accepted them, Especially, in our present context, his
arguments concerning the nature of Ijmd ‘ have been truly
momentous. He ceaselessly argued that the claims of his opponents
— the representatives of the older schools — to have arrived at a
state of general Ijmd' were quite unacceptable; that, apart from
certain basic facts, like the number of prayers etc., in fact not Ijmd‘
but difference prevailed on almost all issues, and that no formal
council of Muslim representatives to reach agreements had been ever
convened nor was such a step feasible.21 He non-committally states
the opponents’ view — and on occasions only reluctantly allows it,
viz. that the early Caliphs — especially Abu Bakr and ‘Umar — used
to make public appeals for people to come forward with information
about the Prophetic Sunnah when specific issues arose about which
the Caliphs themselves were not in possession of such information."
Actually, this argument of al-ShafiTs opponents was part of a larger
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jama ‘ah 145
argument that the Prophet’s Companions had seen him behave in all
sorts of situations and had acted in his spirit; that the succeeding
generation had, in their turn, - witnessed the behaviour of the
Companions; and that through this process — involving mutual
advice and criticism — by the third generation, the Prophetic Sunnah
can be assumed to have been established in practice in the
Community and, therefore, the vehicle of mass-scale Hadlth — beset
with dangers of lack of verifiability — was not needed to support this
Sunnah.23 This argument was disallowed resolutely by al-Shafi‘T. The
argument about the public appeals of the Caliphs seems to be an
artifice introduced by the Ahl al-Ijmd' as a defence against the AM
al-Hadith, and the proof of its artificial character is al-Shafi‘!’s
scepticism towards it. But the larger argument had a great
potentiality and apparently much truth. What weakened it in the eyes
of al-Shafi‘T, however, was the differences of opinion prevailing
among the schools. "You do not possess agreement (ijma*) but
disagreement (iftiraq)", he.insistently pointed out.
It is clear that al-Shafi Ts notion of Ijma ‘ was radically different
from that of the early schools . His idea of Ijma ‘ was that of a formal
and a total one; he demanded an agreement which left no room for
disagreement. He was undoubtedly responding to the exigencies of
the time and was but a monumental representative of a trend that had
long set in, working towards equilibrium and uniformity. But the
notion of Ijma ‘ exhibitecfby the early schools was very different. For
them, Ijma' was not ah*imposed or manufactured static fact but an
ongoing democratic process; it was not a formal state but an
informal, natural growth which at each step tolerates and, indeed,
demands fresh and new thought and therefore must live not only with
but also upon a certain amount of disagreement. We must exercise
Ijtihad, they contended and progressively the area of agreement will
widen; the remaining questions must be turned over to fresh Ijtihad
0r Qiyas so that a new Ijma' can be arrived at.24 But it is precisely
this living and organic relationship between Ijtihad and IjmV that
was severed in the successful formulation of al-ShafiT. The p-ace of
the living Sunnah — Ijtihad-Ijma ‘ he gives to the Prophetic Sunnah
which, for him, does not serve as a general directive but as
146 Fazlur Rahman
something absolutely literal and specific and whose only vehicle is

the transmission of the HadTth. The next place he assigns to the
Sunnah of the Companions, especially of the first four Caliphs. In
the third place he puts Ijma' and lastly, he accepts Ijtihad25
Thus, by reversing the natural order: Ijtihdd-Ijmd' into Ijtna'-
Ijtihad, their organic relationship was severed. Ijmd\ instead of
being a process and something forward-looking — coming at the end
of free Ijtihad — came to be something static and backward-looking.
It is that which, instead of having to be accomplished, is already
accomplished in the past. Al-ShafiTs genius provided a mechanism
that gave stability to our medieval socio-religious fabric but at the
cost, in the long run, of creativity and originality. There is no doubt
that even in later times Islam did assimilate new currents of spiritual
and intellectual life — for, a living society can never stand quite still,
but this Islam did not do so much as an active force, master of itself,
but rather as a passive entity with whom these currents of life
played. An important instance in point is Sufism.
Part B
1. Something more about the Sunnah
In part A, we had tried to underline the fact that the Sunnah of the
Holy Prophet was an ideal which the early generations; of Muslims
sought to approximate by interpreting his example in terms of the
new materials at their disposal and the new needs and that this
continuous and progressive interpretation was also called Sunnah,
even if it varied according to different^ regions. This point is so
fundamentally important for grasping the true nature of the early
development of Islam and appears — after the full development of
the Science of HadTth — so new and, indeed, revolutionary, that it
is worth our while devoting a little more attention to it in the light
of further historical evidence before passing on to our treatment of
HadTth.
Abu Yusuf, in his al-Radd *ala Siyaral-Awza'i, states the view
of Abu HanTfah that if a person in a non-Muslim territory becomes
a Muslim, leaves his home and joins the Muslims, then in case this
territory falls to Muslim arms, the property of this person will not
be simply returned to him but will be included in the mal al-
ghanimah. The Syrian al-Awza‘1 rejects Abu Hanlfah’s view, arguing
that the Prophet, at the fall of Makkah, had returned the properties
of men who had left Makkah and had joined the Muslims in al-
Madlnah. According to Abu Yusuf, al-Awza‘T said,
The person most worthy of being followed and whose Sunnah is most
deserving of being adhered to is the Prophet.
Abu Yusuf, defending Abu HanTfah, says that the practice of

Muslims has been on Abu Hanlfah’s side and that the Prophet’s
treatment of Makkans was an exception:
So has been the Sunnah and the practice of Islam (although) the
Prophet did not do so (at Makkah).
AbO Yusuf then points out that the "Prophet’s Sunnah" with the tribe
of Hawazin had been still different. After their defeat, the Banu
Hawazin came and implored the Prophet for mercy and release of
their captives and return of their property. The Prophet gave up his
own share of the booty and was followed by others except some
clans who refused to give up their share. The Prophet then
compensated these clans and all the property and slaves of the Banu
Hawazin were returned.26
The first point to be noticed in the above account is al-AwzaT’s
statement: "The person... whose Sunnah is most deserving of being
followed is the Prophet." It obviously implies (i) that Sunnah or
authoritative precedent can be set by any competent persons, and (ii)
that the Sunnah of the Prophet over-arches all such precedents and
has priority over them. But the second, equally important point is the
use of the term Sunnah by Abu Yusuf in the above account. AbO
Yusuf first distinguishes between the Sunnah with regard to the point
under discussion i.e., the practice accepted by the Muslims on the
one hand, and the Prophet’s special action in the case of the fall of
Makkah on the other. This action of the Prophet is .regarded as an
148 Fazlur Rahman
exception by Abu Yusuf and, therefore, does not constitute Sunnah

for him; for al-Awza‘1, on the other hand, it does constitute Sunnah.
Thus, we see how through different interpretations, contrary
conclusions are arrived at by these two legists. But also of great
interest for us is the use of the term Sunnah by Abu Yusuf in his
second statement where he speaks of the "Sunnah of the Prophet"
with regard to the Banu Hawazin. This case too Abu Yusuf regards
as some kind of exception to the Sunnah; but the exception to the
Sunnah is also termed Sunnah. The most obvious inference from this
must be that when the situation so demands, the exception to the rule
must be applied as a rule. What a contrast this freedom of
interpretation of the Prophetic Sunnah — in order to formulate the
concrete Sunnah in sense (ii) i.e., the actual practice of the
Community — presents to the rigid and inflexible doctrine of Sunnah
inculcated by later legists. Here a freely flowing situational treatment
of the Prophetic activity, there a once-and-for-all positing of
immobile rules; here a ceaseless search for what the Prophet
intended to achieve, there a rigid system, definite and defined, cast
like a hard shell.
Abu HanTfah considers undesirable the selling and buying of
slaves captured in the enemy territory before they are brought to the
land of the Muslims. On this al-AwzaT comments,
The Muslims have always been buying and selling war-captives in the
Dar al-Harb. No two (Muslims) have ever disagreed upon this point
until the murder of (the Caliph) al-Wafid.
Abu Yusuf comments,
Judgment regarding what is lawful and what is unlawful cannot be

based upon such statements as 'People have always been practising
such-and-such/ For, much of what people have always been practising
is unlawful and should not be practised... The basis (of judgment)
should be the Sunnah of the Prophet, or of the early generations
(salaf), i.e. the Companions of the Prophet and men who have an
understanding of the law.27
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jama ‘ah 149
Again, criticising the Sunnah-concept of the HijazT lawyers, Abu

Yusuf writes,
The lawyers of Hijaz give a decision and when they are asked for the
authority, they reply, ‘This is the established Sunnah.’ In all
probability, this Sunnah is (the result of) some decision given by a
market tax-collector (‘amil al-suq) or a tax-collector in an outlying
district.28
Certain points clearly emerge from these discussions and arguments

and counter-arguments. First, the Sunnah-concept as used by early
lawyers, including al-Awza‘1, although it ideally goes back
undoubtedly to the Prophetic Model, is nevertheless, in its actual
materieux, inclusive of the practice of the Community. Indeed, al-
Awza‘1 constantly speaks of the ‘practice of the Muslims,’ ‘of the
political (and military) leaders of the Muslims (a ’immat al-muslimin)’
and ‘of the consonance of the learned as synonymous terms just as
Malik talks of the practice of al-Madlnah. It is absolutely clear that
we are here face to face with the living practice of the early
generations of the Muslims. It is also quite obvious that this Sunnah
— which we called Sunnah in sense (ii) in part A and which may be
called the "living Sunnah" — is identical with the Ijma‘ of the
Community and includes the Ijtihad of the ‘ulamd’ and of the
political authorities in their day-to-day administration.
The second important point that emerges from this picture is
that although the "living Sunnah" is still an on-going process —
thanks to Ijtihad and Ijmd‘ — there is at the same time noticeable, by
the middle of the second century, a development in the theoretical
frame-work of the Fiqh, a development which is clearly visible in the
statements of Abu Yusuf and which began to become conscious first
in Iraq. This development reflects a critical attitude towards the
living Sunnah and contends that net any and every decision by a
judge or a political leader may be regarded as part of the Sunnah and
that only those well-versed in law and possessed of a high degree of
intelligence may be allowed to extend the living Sunnah. The idea of
the living Sunnah is certainly not denied but a firm and sure
Methodology is sought to base this living Sunnah upon it.
150 Fazlur Rahman
2. Early development of the Hadith
That Hadith from the Prophet must have existed from the very
beginning of Islam, is a fact which may not reasonably be doubted.
Indeed, during the life-time of the Prophet, it was perfectly natural
for Muslims to talk about what the Prophet did or said, especially in
a public capacity. The Arabs, who memorized and handed down
poetry of their poets, sayings of their soothsayers and statements of
their judges and tribal leaders, cannot be expected to fail to notice
and narrate the deeds and sayings of one whom they acknowledged
as the Prophet of God. Rejection of this natural phenomenon is
tantamount to a grave irrationality, a sin against history. Their new
Sunnah — the Sunnah of the Prophet — was much too important (an
importance so emphatically enshrined in the Qur'an itself) to be
either ignored or neglected, as we sought to establish in part A. This
fact juts out like a restive rock in the religious history of Islam,
reducing any religious or historical attempt to deny it to a ridiculous
frivolity: the Sunnah of the Community is based upon and has its
source in the Sunnah of the Prophet.
But the Hadith, in the Prophet’s own time, was largely an
informal affair, for the only need for which it would be used was the
guidance in the actual practice of the Muslims and this need was
fulfilled by the Prophet himself. After his death, the Hadith seems
to have attained a semi-formal status for it was natural for the
emerging generation to enquire about the Prophet. There is no
evidence, however, that the Hadith was compiled in any form even
at this stage. The reason, again, seems to be this, viz., that whatever
Hadith existed — as the carrier of the Prophetic Sunnah — existed
for practical purposes i.e., as something which could generate and
be elaborated into the practice of the Community, For this reason,
it was interpreted by the rulers and the judges freely according to the
situation at hand and something was produced in course of time
which we have described as the "living Sunnah." But when, by the
third and fourth quarters of the first century, the living Sunnah had
expanded vastly in different regions of the Muslim Empire through
this process of interpretation in the interests of actual practice, and
T
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jam&’ah 151
difference in law and legal practice widened, the Hadlth began to

develop into a formal discipline.
It appears that the activity of the Hadlth-transmitters was largely
independent of and, in cases, developed even in opposition to the
practice of the lawyers and judges. Whereas the lawyers based their
legal work on the living Sunnah and interpreted their materials freely
through their personal judgment in order to elaborate law, the
Hadlth-transmitters saw their task as consisting of reporting, with the
purpose of promoting legal fixity and permanence. Although the
exact relationship between the lawyers and the transmitters of the
Hadlth in the earliest period is obscure for lack of sufficient
materials, this much seems certain that these two represented in
general the two terms of a tension between legal growth and legal
permanence: the one interested in creating legal materials, the other
seeking a neat methodology or a framework that would endow the
legal materials with stability and consistency. It is also quite certain
that in the early stages the majority of the Hadlth did not go back to
the Prophet, due to the natural paucity of the Prophetic Hadlth, but
to later generations. Certainly, in the extant works of the second
century, most of the legal and even moral traditions are not from the
Prophet but are traced back to the Companions, the ‘Successors’ and
to the third generation. But as time went on, the Hadlth movement,
as though through an inner necessity imposed by its very purpose,
tended to project the Hadlth backwards to its most natural anchoring-
point, the person of the Prophet. The early legal schools, whose
basis was the living and expanding Sunnah rather than a body of
fixed opinion attributed to the Prophet, naturally resisted this
development. We have briefly outlined the role of al-ShafiT in this
process (see part A). Al-ShafiT constantly accuses the lawyers of
"not transmitting the Hadlth" and of not making use in law, "of the
little (Hadlth) you transmit."29 Such criticisms are made by Al-
ShafiT especially against the Hijazls but are equally turned against
the Iraqis.
By the middle of the second century, the Hadlth-movement had
become fairly advanced and although most Hadlth was still attributed
to persons other than the Prophet — the Companions and especially
152 Fazlur Rahman
the generations after the Companions — nevertheless a part of legal

opinion and dogmatic views of the early Muslims had begun to be
projected back to the Prophet. We shall produce detailed evidence
for this statement presently. But still, the Hadlth was interpreted and
treated with great freedom. In part A, we adduced evidence from
Malik who often upholds the practice of al-Madlnah against the
Hadith and often bases his interpretations on his own opinion (ra’y).
In the first section of this part, we have seen how situationally Abu
Yusuf interprets the Hadlth produced by al-Awza‘1 as an argument.
Abu Yusuf s works are full of instances of this kind. We have also
seen above how Abu Yusuf regards the expert lawyers as elaborators
of the Prophetic Sunnah and creators of the living Sunnah. He rejects
‘lonely’ Hadlth by which he does not mean, as was done later, a
Hadlth which has only one chain of narrators but a Hadlth which
stands alone as a kind of exception to the general Sunnah. For
instance, Abu HanTfah holds that a person who provides two horses
for the Jihad is entitled to draw booty-share for only one. Al-
Awza‘1, on the other hand, allows both horses to claim shares and
bases himself both on Hadlth and practice, saying, "This is a Hadlth
well-known to scholars and on which the political leaders have
acted."30 Presumably, this was the administrative practice in Syria.
Abu Yusuf comments.
No tradition has come down to us from the Prophet or anyone of his

Companions about allowing shares to both horses except one. But one
Hadlth we regard as being solitary and do not consider it valid. As for
ai-AwzaTs statement that this has been the practice of the political
leaders and the view of scholars, this is just like the people of Hijaz
who keep asserting: ‘This is the established Sunnah.’ This cannot be
accepted as authoritative from ignorant people. Which political leader
has practised it, and which scholar has accepted it?...31
In the same work, Abu Yusuf issues a general warning against

uncritical acceptance of Hadlth:
Hadlth multiplies so much so that some Hadlths which are traced back
through chains of transmission (yukharraju) are not well-known to
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jama*ah 153
legal experts, nor do they conform to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Beware of solitary HadTths and keep close to the "collective spirit (al-
jama'ah)” of HadTth.32
He adds,
Therefore, make the Qur’an and the well-known Sunnah your guide
and follow it.33
Thus, AbO Yusuf establishes as the criterion of the "collective nature

or spirit" of Hadlth the well-known Sunnah. (The term ‘collectivity’
or ‘collective nature’ is highly significant and we shall show in the
fourth section of this part that it is intimately connected with the term
Sunnah and is then used to designate the majority or the ‘collectivity’
of Muslims — the Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamd‘ah). Abu YOsuf also
quotes several HadTths from the Prophet himself and from his
Companions warning against Hadlth and even in rejection of it.34
This anti-Hadlth Hadlth must be, strictly historically speaking, a
result of the phenomenon of Hadlth itself which is the logical
condition for its emergence. But it is, indeed, highly probable that
the anti-Hadith Hadlth is prior to pro-Hadith Hadlth. This lies in the
very nature of the HadTth-process. Besides, whereas we find the
former in Abu YOsuf, the latter does not seem to occur until later,
and even al-ShafTT, the great protagonist of Hadlth, produces two or
three HadTths only (which we shall discuss later) and bases his
arguments for the acceptance of HadTth, for the most part, on otlêr
materials — Qur’anic and historical. But although Abu Yusuf quotes
several HadTths from the Prophet about the forgery of HadTth, he still
does not know the famous HadTth which later found a prominent
place in the 5z7zd/z-works and which says.
He who deliberately reports lies about me, shall prepare his seat in the
Fire.
This HadTth was sought to be countered by another one which makes

the Prophet say,
154 Fazlur Rahman
Whatever there be of good saying, you can take me to have said it.
Nevertheless, despite Abu Yusufs cautions against the

"multiplication of Hadlth'1, a good deal of Hadlth had been, by his
time, obviously projected back. For example, in his Kitab al-Athar
a tradition is attributed once to ‘A’ishah, wife of the Prophet, and
again to the Companion Ibn Mas‘ud saying,
Evil [or trouble (al-bald 0] is a concomitant of dialectical theology (al~

kaldm)35
Another Hadlth attributes a deterministic doctrine of dogmatic

theology to the Prophet himself. The Companion Suraqah b. Malik
asks the Prophet,
Tell us about this Faith of ours as though we were created for it

(right) on the hour: Are we working for something which has been
already determined by Divine Decree and the Pen has become dry
over it, or shall we work for something (of) which (the issue) shall be
decided in the future? The Prophet answered, "Rather for something
which has been decided by the Divine Decree and over which the Pen
has run dry." "What is, then, our action about? O Prophet of God!"
asked Suraqah, and the Prophet replied, "Work on! for every person,
that has been made easy what he has been created for." The Prophet
then recited the words of the Qur’an, "As for him who gives
generously, fears (God) and approves of good things. We make good
easy for him. "36
We shall explain in the fourth section, while discussing the

emergence of the Muslim orthodoxy, the nature and the role of the
free-will-determinism controversy of which such Hadlth as the one
quoted here is a result. The verse of the Qur’an quoted in this Hadlth
is in unconcealed contradiction with the determinism preached in the
Hadlth.
There is also a definite though rudimentary form of
eschatological Hadlth implying the Second Advent of Jesus, although
it is attributed not to the Prophet but to ‘Abd al-A‘la described either
as a qadi or as a story-teller (qdss) — the latter being most probably
pie Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jama ‘ah 155
correct. An instance of the political HadTth is the following:
A man came to ‘AR and said, "I have never seen anyone better than
you." ‘AR asked, "Did you see the Prophet?", whereupon the man
replied "No." "Did you see Abu Bakr and ‘Umar”? enquired ‘All and
received a negative reply. "If you had told me that you had seen the
Prophet," exclaimed ‘All, "I would have executed you; and if you had
said that you had known Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, 1 would have
administered dire punishment to you. ”37
A moral-legal Hadlth runs as follows: The Prophet said to Abu

Dharr:
O Abu Dharr! public office (al-imrah or al-imdrah) is a trust which on

the day of Judgement shall turn into disgrace and repentance except
for those who acquire such office properly and then fulfil the
obligation (that it lays upon them).
Abu Yusuf’s fellow-legist, Muhammad al-Shaybanl says after

narrating the same Hadlth that the Prophet added, "And how can he
possibly do that, O Abu Dharr?"38
3. The HadTth movement
The Hadlth-materials continued to increase during the second century

and the period represented above constitutes a transition period in the
development of both the literature and the status of the Prophetic
Hadlth. AI-Awza‘T regards the Hadlth of the Prophet as being
endowed with fundamental obligatoriness but the Sunnah or living
practice is of the same status with him. His appeals to the practice
of the Community or its leaders are to judge from the extant
materials, the most regular feature of his legal argumentation. Malik
adduces Hadlth (not necessarily Prophetic HadTth) to vindicate the
Madlnese Sunnah but regards the Sunnah in terms of actual
importance, as being superior to the HadTth. As for Abu Yusuf and
al-Shaybanl, very few of whose legal Hadlths go back to the Prophet
at all, they interpret the Hadlth with a freedom whose instances we
156 Fazlur Rahman
have seen above. The Iraqi school recognises the supreme

importance of the Prophetic HadTth but the HadTth, according to it,
must be situationally interpreted in order that law may be deduced
from it. There is only one point in his al-Radd *ala Siyar al-Awza'i
on which Abu Yusuf has recanted from Abu HanTfah’s position to
that of al-AwzaT on the basis of HadTth — although he could have
easily interpreted that HadTth if he had wished to. The point under
discussion is the share of booty to be allotted to a Muslim for his
horse for taking part in Jihad apart from his own share. It seems that
a horse’s share was double the share of a human being and the
practice probably originated with the Prophet who wanted to
encourage the breeding of horses for war in view of the paucity of
riding animals suitable for war in early Islam. Indeed, there is
evidence that the Prophet was anxious over this matter in the early
stages of the Muslims’ struggle against the pagan Arabs. Abu
HanTfah tbought it improper that an animal should be treated
preferentially in relation to a man,39 and he had also a precedent of
‘Umar who approved of a booty distribution in Syria where one
share was given to each man and also one share for even horse.40
We do not know what the practice at that time was and it is very
likely that the practice differed in different regions. It is obvious that
the chief determinant in this issue shoulf be the relative scarcity or
otherwise of the horses, the type of horse, the cost involved in
maintaining a war-horse etc. But al-Awza‘T states categorically that
not only had the Prophet given to a horse twice the share of a soldier
but that the "Muslims follow this until today." Abu Yusuf, who
otherwise liberally interprets the Prophetic and other precedents
• nmhout, gives up his master’s view on the ground that al-
Awza*rs position is supported by a tradition from the Prophet and
from o her Companions,41
This case is obviously a clear indication of the increasing power
of the HadTth over against the living Sunnah whose very life-blood
was free and progressive interpretation. It was against this
background that al-ShafiT, the "Champion of HadTth", carried out
his successful campaign to substitute the HadTth for the living Sunnah
as briefly described in part A. We shall illustrate al-ShafiTs attitude
to the HadTth and free interpretation by two examples which shall

indicate the nature of the change and the power of the new trend that
had set in the legal thought of Islam. There was a difference of
opinion among the jurists about the extent of the sternness of policy
towards a non-Muslim people in state of war. Abu HanTfah
advocated a consistently stem policy on general grounds of strategy:
such questions are considered as to whether enemy livestock and
trees should be destroyed; whether anything should be exported to
the enemy territory, especially goods of a strategic character;
whether the enemy, in case they shield themselves, say, with Muslim
children, should be shot at; whether war captives should be allowed
to be redeemed by the enemy or not; whether Muslim soldiers who
find themselves without weapons during a battle may take such
weapons from the public reserves (without permission, apparently).42
On all these matters Abu HanTfah recommends alternatives conducive
to a successful issue in favour of Muslims and making for Muslim
strength. The net result is an uncompromisingiy stern policy. The
only guiding principles of Abu HanTfah seem to be those based on
pure war-strategy. On the first of the above-mentioned questions,
where Abu HanTfah seeks to support himself by a Qur’anic verse, al-
Awza‘T who opposes Abu HanTfah on all these points, adduces no
Prophetic HadTth. but relies on injunctions reported to have been
given by Abu Bakr to the troops, viz., that they should not destroy
trees or animals. Abu Yusuf, who takes the side of his master on all
these issues and taunts al-Awza‘T more than once with ignoring the
interests of the Muslims,43 controverts the story of Abu Bakr’s
sieged instructions and seeks to support his view from the incident
°f the Muslim treatment of the BanO Qurayzah.
Al-Shafi‘T is questioned on the same point44 by a MadTnese who
says that according to his school enemy property should be spared
I from destruction and refers to the above-mentioned injunctions of
Abfl Bakr. Al-Shafi‘T declares himself unequivocally in favour of
destroying the enemy property, to the exclusion of the animals. He
kases himself on the historical HadTth that the Prophet carried out
^holesale destruction when the Muslims attacked Banu Nadir,
| Khaybar and al-Ta’if and asserts that this is the Sunnah of the
158 Fazlur Rahman
Prophet.45 Now, the fact is that with regard to the Jews of Band
Nadir and Khaybar, the Prophet had taken specially stern measures
and historical facts render the conclusion inescapable that the past
behaviour of the Jews was responsible for this. Indeed, it is highly
probable that the Prophet wanted to drive the Jews out of Arabia.
(This was later categorically stated in Hadlth form which is,
however, historically unacceptable for banishing of Jews is attributed
by Hadlth to ‘Umar also). As for al-Ta’if, it was the last post of
resistance of the pagan Arabs and was stubbornly holding out even
after the fall of Makkah. This is the reason why the Prophet took
specially strong measures against it and is even said to have
bombarded it with a catapult. It is highly illuminating to see that
while Abu HanTfah and al-Shafi‘1 hold the same position, they do so
for very different reasons. Whereas Abu Hamfah’s real grounds are
commonsense war-strategy for which he seeks support in the Qur'an,
al-Shafi‘1 bases himself on literal Hadlth reports without taking the
situational context into account. For al-Awza‘1, like the Madinese,
the practice of the Muslims is authoritatively indicative of the
Prophetic Sunnah and they adduce no arguments from the Prophet’s
campaigns against the Band Nadir, Band Qurayzah, Khaybar or al-
Ta’if. On the question of killing the animals, however, al-Shafi‘T
takes up a position similar to that of al-Awza‘1 but again for very
different reasons. Whereas the latter appeals to Abu Bakr s
instructions, al-ShafiT has come to base himself on a Hadlth
generally forbidding the killing of animals except for food — a
Hadlth which, it is noteworthy, was not known to al-Awza‘1 or to
Abu Yusuf.
A second instance of this new trend represented by al-Shafi‘i
may be seen in the case of the institution of the walfy or guardian in
marriage. The institution of the walfy must have been older than
Islam and there are also reports from the Prophet and others about
its importance. According to one report, a guardian is necessary only
for a first marriage and a remarrying woman can dispense with & |
while according to another no marriage is valid without a walty-
‘Umar is said to have forbidden women from marrying without the
permission of their guardian, or an elder statesman of their family &
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jama 'ah 159
the state. A Madlnese tells al-ShafiT that he and his colleagues

uphold the waliy institution for noble-born women but do not regard
it necessary in the case of low-born ones. The idea behind this
attitude seems to be that the waliy endows the marriage with a formal
dignity which is not thought necessary in the case of a low-born
woman. Al-Shafi‘1 says to him.
What would you think if someone were to tell you that he will not
permit the marriage of a low-born woman without a guardian for she
is more liable to enter into a spurious marriage and to fall into evil
than a noble-bom one who has a sense of honour of her noble origin...
Would such a person not be nearer the truth than you? Your opinion
is too erroneous to need any more refutation than just to be stated.46
Al-ShafiT maintains that the Hadlth must be accepted, no distinctions

made and no questions raised about it. It will be seen that al-ShafiTs
interpretation of the waliy institution is not so much in terms of
dignity and honour but in those of protecting the woman from evil
and a public guarantee of genuine marriage. But although al-Shafi‘T
has correctly analyzed the value (‘illat al-hukm), he, in fact, warns
against this kind of rational activity and recommends a literal
acceptance of Hadlth.
The Hadith-movement, which represents the new change in the
religious structure of Islam as a discipline and whose mile-stone is
al-ShafiTs activity in law and legal Hadlth, demanded by its very
nature that Hadlth should expand and that ever new Hadlth should
continue to come into existence in new situations to face novel
problems — social, moral, religious etc. It is, of course, beyond the
scope of this article to treat, in an exhaustive manner, all the fields
wherein and points of view wherefrom ever new Hadlth came into
.being but the following shall serve as illustrations of both the nature
and the scope of Hadlth-formation. It is well-known and admitted by
the classical traditionists themselves that moral maxims and edifying
statements and aphorisms may be attributed to the Prophet
irrespective of whether this attribution is strictly historical or not. It
Was legal and dogmatic Hadlth i.e. that concerning belief and
Practice which must, "strictly speaking", belong to the Prophet.
160 Fazlur Rahman
First, it may, of course be doubted, once the principle of non¬

historicity is introduced at some level, whether this principle can
stand confined to that level. If one thinks that a certain maxim
contains a moral truth and may, therefore, be attributed to the
Prophet, why should not a legal dictum which, according to
someone, embodies a moral value for law is nothing but a
particular embodiment of moral principles — likewise be attributed
to the Prophet? The majority of the contents of the HadTth-corpus is,
in fact, nothing but the Sunnah-Ijtihad of the first generations of
Muslims, an ijtihdd which had its source in individual opinion but
which in course of time and after tremendous struggles and conflicts
against heresies and extreme sectarian opinion received the sanction
of Ijmd‘ i.e. the adherence of the majority of the community. In
other words, the earlier living Sunnah was reflected in the mirror of
the HadTth with the necessary addition of chains of narrators. There
is, however, one major difference: whereas Sunnah was largely and
primarily a practical phenomenon, geared as it was to behavorial
norms, HadTth became the vehicle not only of legal norms but of
religious beliefs and principles as well. We present here some
examples.
We have noticed above the warnings against HadTth by Abu
Yusuf. Some of these warnings are attributed to the Prophet himself
and we have already remarked that it is highly probable that anti-
KadTth traditions originated before the pro-HadTth traditions. The
earliest extant account supporting HadTth by a HadTth is that of al-
ShafiT He quotes the following tradition:
The Prophet said, ‘May God make that man prosperous who hears my
words, preserves them carefully in memory and then transmits them.
For, -there is many a bearer of wisdom who cannot understand it
himself (but can only transmit it). And many a transmitter of wisdom
transmits it to someone who can understand it better. There are three
things with regard to which the heart of a Muslim is never stingy1
working sincerely for God, active good-will for the Muslims and
adhering to their majority for their mission (da'wah) will render them
secure.47
The Living Sunnah and al-Surmah wai Jama'ah 161
Another tradition quoted by him repeatedly is that the Prophet said.
Let me not find anyone of you reclining on his seat and, when a
command comes from me commanding something, or forbidding
something, saying, ‘I do not know (this); I follow that which I find in
the Book of God.’48
Lastly, there is the tradition according to which the Prophet said.
There is no harm in relating traditions from the Banu Isra’Il; and

relate traditions (also) from me but do not attribute traditions to me
falsely.49
The first of the above-mentioned three Hadlths is also adduced

by al-Shafi‘1 as an argument for Ijma ‘ which we shall discuss below.
Here we begin by enunciating a general principle viz. that a Hadith
which involves a prediction, directly or indirectly, cannot, on strict
historical grounds, be accepted as genuinely emanating from the
Prophet and must be referred to the relevant period of later history.
We do not reject all predictions but only those which are fairly
specific. This principle has been accepted by most classical
traditionists themselves but has never been applied by them with the
full rigour of strict historicity. While they reject absolutely specific
predictions viz. those which claim to indicate a specific day or date
or place, they swallow without qualms predictions about the rise of
Muslim theological and political groups and parties. We Muslims
must decide whether, in face of strict historical evidence, we can
accept and go on accepting predictive Hadith and, if so, how far.
There is a type of prediction contained e.g. in the Qur’anic verse
about the relative war-fortunes of the Persians and the Romans
(Qur’an, 30:1-3). This kind of prediction is absolutely rational for
while even ordinary human wisdom, with an insight into history, can
successfully predict on such points as wars, economic slumps etc.,
how much more infallibly can the Divine Wisdom. But we shall
show that the predictions which Hadith involves directly or indirectly
are not of this type. Indeed, we shall also show in the next section
•hat the basic function of Hadith was not so much history-writing but
162 Fazlur Rahman
history-making and that contemporary phenomena were projected

ba^k in the form of Hadlth in order to succeed in moulding the
Community on a certain spiritual, political and social pattern. We
must emphasize again that it is not against the predictive quality of
the Prophet, arising out of an insight into the workings of historic
forces that we argue. On the contrary, we believe that the very
greatness of the Prophet lies in the fact that, having a unique insight
into the forces of history, he pressed them into the service of a
Dt\ inely inspired moral pattern. But there is a world of difference
between this historic judgment and soothsaying about e.g. the false
Prophet Musaylimah and the rise of the Mu‘tazilah, Khawarij, Shi'ah
etc.
By predictive Hadlth we do not mean only such Hadlth as has
the predictive form but also that which involves a prediction. For
example, the Hadlth, "The QadarTs (i.e. those who uphold the
freedom of the human will) are the Magians of this Community,"
although not directly predictive, involves a prediction. For, it
presupposes a technical consciousness of the philosophical problem
of freedom such as could develop only with the rise of dogmatic
schisms. Now, in the light of our principle, all the three HadTths
cited above from al-ShafiT supporting the phenomenon of Hadlth
itself, are, historically speaking, extremely dubious. Take the first
one. Besides the obvious fact that for the Prophet to say what the
first part of this Hadlth attribues to him is to insult his own
Companions by calling them unintelligent, the Hadlth could only
arise at a time when the legal acumen of the Muslims flared up and
brilliant schools of legal opinion developed all over the then Muslim
world from Iraq to Egypt. Further, it conjures up a picture of the
Prophet and his Companions which is entirely artificial: the Prophet
is portrayed as making speeches and issuing statements, not for the
immediate needs of the contemporary Community but for the
Community to preserve them word for word, for transmission to
later generations who should understand them better! Nor will the
second Hadlth bear examination: it presupposes an acceptance of the
Qur’an and a wholesale rejection of the Sunnah, a complete divorce
of the latter from the former which, as we pointed out also in our
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah 163
last article, cannot be rationally and legitimately attributed to the

Companions. How could the Companions, who accepted even the
Word of God on the authority of the Prophet, reject that very
authority of the Prophet as a whole (as distinguished from murmurs
in certain quarters about a particular decision of the Prophet)? For
the Hadlth in question envisages a total rejection of the Sunnah in
favour of the Qur’an. It obviously arose in a later situation when the
Hadlth-movement had set in and claimed to be the unique vehicle (at
the expense of the living Sunnah) of expressing the Prophetic
Sunnah; and its credentials to do so were questioned both by the Ahl
al-Kalam and the earlier schools of law. Thus, this Hadlth turns out
to be blatantly predictive. As for al-ShafiTs third Hadlth, its case is
no better:
There is no harm in relating traditions from the Banu Isra’Tl; and

relate traditions (also) from me but do not attribute to me traditions
falsely.
With certain alterations, this Hadlth has also survived in al-Bukharl’s

Sahlh. But it is a historical fact that Judeo-Christian religious lore
had begun to find its way into Islam at a very early date chiefly
through the activity of popular preachers {qussas) who wanted to
make their sermons as effective as possible. This movement was
criticized by certain early traditions and sayings. There is, for
example, a tradition that ‘Umar once advocated the acceptance of
certain Jewish traditions but was sternly forbidden by the Prophet to
do so.50 There is also a saying admonishing the Muslims to seek
knowledge "not from popular preachers but from the fuqahd'."51
These endeavours to stem the tide of what came to be called
‘Isra’ilTyyaf were then sought to be countered by sueji Hadlths as the
present one.
So much for the Hadlth-basis of Hadlth. Let us now turn to
Ijnu2'. Al-Shafi‘T has two Hadlths to quote to establish the validity of
ljma‘. His predecessors, of course, had the idea of Ijmd' but it seems
to have been a natural growth. Even Abu Yusufand al-Shaybanl who
talk of sticking to the traditions and opinions of al-jamd‘ah and al-
‘ammah, do not bring in any Hadlth, i.e. a verbal report from the
164 Fazlur Rahman
Prophet to support Ijmd \ One Hadlth of al-Shafi‘1 in this connection

is identical with the first Hadlth quoted above of which the first part
we have already discussed concerning Hadlth. The second part says.
There are three things with regard to which the heart of a Muslim is
never stingy: sincere action for God’s sake, active good-will for the
Muslims and sticking to the majority of the Muslims — for their
mission will safeguard them.
Al-ShafiTs second Hadlth runs:
‘Umar gave a sermon in al-Jahiyah (a place in Syria) in which he said:

"The Prophet (once) stood among us as I now stand among you and
declared, ‘Honour my Companions first, then those who follow them
and then those who follow these latter. Then (i.e. after these three
generations) falsehood will become rampant so that a person will
swear without being asked to swear and shall offer to give evidence
without being asked to do so. Listen! whosoever wants to be pleased
with a spacious residence in Paradise, should (under these
circumstances) stick to the majority of the Community. Satan is the
companion of the isolated person; if one person (is joined by another
and) become two, Satan recedes from them proportionately..."52
The fact that earlier jurists, although insisting on Ijma\ do not

support it by any Hadlth is itself a fundamentally significant
comment on the evolution of the Hadltlwnovement. Indeed, how
much the situation had changed in this regard by the time of al-
Shafi‘1 can be tellingly illustrated by one example. Abu Yusuf, while
warning against the flood of Hadlth says that the Prophet once said,
Hadlth in my name will spread; so what comes to you in my name and

agrees with the Qur’an, take it as coming from me while what comes
to you in my name but is in conflict with the Qur’an cannot be from
mp 53
As we pointed out earlier in this section, this type of anti-Hadith

Hadlth cannot be regarded as genuine. It represents, rather, a
genuine effort not only on the part of the Mu‘tazilah but on that of
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jama 'ah 165
orthodox jurists to curb the Hadlth movement. But the Hadith-

movement had become so strong only a few decades later that this
particular Hadlth regarded by Abu Yusuf as apparently genuine, was
rejected by aNShafi‘1 as absolutely unreliable.54
But,what about the two Hadlths quoted by al-Shafi‘1 to give a
theoretical basis for ljma‘1 The first of these two Hadlths we have
already found reason to declare unhistorical. Further, we shall show
that it is part- of-.a massive campaign carried out from the second
century onwards to preserve the unitary fabric of the Community and
to crystallize a middle-of-the-road orthodox majority i.e. a majority
which by being both a majority and middle-of-the-road would be
deserving of the designation ‘orthodoxy’. As for the second Hadlth
quoted by al-Shafi‘1, it is so manifestly predictive that this hardly
needs to be pointed out. This Hadlth gives the first formal hint that
the first three generations — the Companions, their Successors and
the Successors of the Successors — are to be regarded as the Fathers
of the Islamic doctrine and practice and their teachings as the
permanent basis for the religious structure of the Community. It is
a point of great importance and interest to note that it is after
approximately these three generations that the "living Sunnah" of
these very generations starts getting canonized in the form of the
Hadlth.
Al-ShafiT, immediately before quoting the Hadlth on
while defending Ijmd‘ also states,
We know (i.e. it is our conviction) that the majority (‘dmmah) of them

(i.e. Muslims) will not, God willing, agree on an error.
After al-Shafi‘1, when Hadlth multiplies still further, this statement

becomes a Hadlth and is attributed to the Prophet in the Sahth of al-
Tirmidhl by the change of the word khata’ into dalalah and in the
later centuries becomes very famous. Other formulations of this idea
also come into existence such as the Hadlth, "God’s hand is on the
majority.(al-jama‘dh)"ss~etc. But, ais we said just now, the
Hadlth is a part of/a campaign UTCrystallize a middle-of-the-road
orthodoxy, to the consideration of which we must now turn.
166 Fazlur Rahman
4. The HadTth and the Orthodox (al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamd'ah)
A most important feature of the religious history of Islam, neglect or

underestimation of which must result in a total misunderstanding of
that history, is the fact that from the very moment that political,
theological and legal differences threatened the integrity of the
Community, the idea to preserve its unity asserted itself. The
doctrine that this unity will be some kind of a synthesis or the via
media (al-Sunnah) is a necessary corollary of the same idea. Hence,
the terms al-sunnah wa 1-jama ‘ah, as a single phrase, are not merely
juxtaposed but are held to be correlates. Indeed, the most basic
function of the Muslim 'orthodoxy' has been, since the very
inception of the idea, not to dictate or define religious truth but to
consolidate and formulate it; neither to be an intermediary between
God and man nor to be a warring group among groups but to
stabilize and keep balance. The agents in this great drama of
producing the structure of the orthodoxy are precisely the Ahl al-
Hadith.
The political wars, and, in their wake, theological and dogmatic
controversies, gave rise to a specially prominent type of predictive
HadTth known as the ‘HadTth about civil wars' (Hadlth al-Fitan).
Its clear purpose was to steer a middle course especially between the
KharijT and Shi‘i political and theological extremes. To justify Hadlth
about civil wars, certain over-arching HadTths were circulated such
as the following from the Companion Hudhayfah who said.
The Prophet once stood among us (to address us) in such a manner
that he left nothing (important) that was to happen until the Hour of
Judgment but that his address comprehended it. Those who remember
it, remember it and there are those who have forgotten it... There are
certain things in this address which I have forgotten but when I am
confronted with them I remember them just as a person (vaguely)
remembers the face of an absent person but when he sees him again
he recognizes him.
This HadTth is quoted by both al-Bukhari and Muslim.56 According

to Dawud, Hudhayfah said that the Prophet had identified every
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jama"ah 167
leader of a political dissension who had three hundred or more

followers, by his name, his father’s name and tribe.57 A typical
/Tma/t-Hadljth is the following one from Muslim and al-Bukharl
allegedly reported again, by Hudhayfah:
People used to ask the Prophet about good while I used to ask him
about evil out of fear lest it should overtake me. So I said, ‘O Prophet
of God! We have been previously in ignorance and evil and then God
brought us this good (through you); will there be evil again after the
present good?’ ‘Yes’, said the Prophet. ‘And will good return once
again after that evil?’ I asked. The Prophet said, ‘Yes, but there will
be a mixture of corruption in it.’ ‘What will be its corruption?’ I
’ asked. The Prophet replied, ‘Some people shall follow other than my
Sunnah and shall lead people not whither I lead. Some of their deeds
will be good, others bad.’ I asked, ‘Will there be, after this (mixed)
good, again evil?’ He said, ‘Yes, propagandists standing at the gates
of Hell; whoever listens to them, they will throw him into it.’
‘Describe them for us, O Prophet of God !’ I requested. The Prophet
said, ‘They are from our own race, speaking the very same tongue.’
‘What is your command for me in case I find myself in such a
situation?’ f asked. The Prophet said, ‘Stick to the majority-party of
the Muslims and to their political leader.’ ‘But if they have no
majority-party nor a political leader?’ I enquired. The Prophet replied,
‘Then forsake all the factions, even if you have to cling to the root of
a tree until death overtakes you in this condition.’58
According to another version in the Sahih of Muslim the Prophet

said,
After me shall come political leaders who will not be guided by my

guidance and will not follow my Sunnah, and among them shall arise
people whose hearts shall be the beans of devils in the physical frames
of humans.” Hudhayfah says he asked, ”What shall I do, O Prophet
of God! if I find myself in such a situation?” Thereupon the Prophet
answered, "Listen and obey the political leader. And should he even
strike your back and wrest your property, you should but listen and
obey."59
Neither of these two Hadlths is, of course, acceptable as a

168 Fazlur Rahman
genuine Prophetic sayings any more than the preceding Hadlth

(which is designed to be a sheet-anchor for all predictive Hadlth).
What they jointly teach is to keep with the majority of the Muslims
and obey the political leadership at any cost — except possibly
infidelity- Thus, we see that the ljma -Hadlth is grounded in a dire
political necessity. And the dictum that one should obey even an
unjust ruler is a counsel of wisdom dictated also by political needs
arising out of incessant civil wars; it hearkens especially to those
incurable professional rebels, the Kharijites. And a peculiarly anti-
KharijT Hadlth is the following which, over against KharijT
rebellionism, teaches absolute passivity and isolationism, viz. that the
Prophet said.
There shall be civil wars wherein a sit-at-home will be better than a

standing person; and a standing person shall be better than one who
walks; and one who walks will be better than one who runs...60
This Hadlth does nothing but to seek to counteract KharijT

activism and zest for political life. In fact, sometimes the isolationist
Hadlth has gone so far as to annul the ljma '-doctrine and to teach
crass individualism. Thus, the Prophet is reported to have advised
‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As,
Stick to your home and control your tongue; take what you recognize
as good and leave what you cannot recognize as good; and mind your
own business and have nothing to do with the affairs of the ‘public’.61
It is noteworthy that the word which we have rendered as ‘public' is

al-'ammah which in early literature is an equivalent of al~jamd*ah as
we shall presently explain.
Not, however, all Sunni HadTth is anti-Kharijite. There is, for
example, a Hadlth quoted by Ibn Hanbal, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhl
and Ibn Majah in which a political doctrine has been incorporated
which is originally unmistakably KharijT. According to this HadTth,
the Prophet said.
My (last) advice to you is to fear God and to render absolute

The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jama'ah 169
obedience (to the political leader) even if he be a black slave. Those

of you who survive me shall see great differences (among Muslims);
so stick to my Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided and divinely-led
Caliphs.62
In this Hadlth, the element of absolute obedience is anti-Kharijite but

the extension of rulership to a "black slave" is so unmistakably
KharijI that it hits the eye. For the Sunnis had upheld that "rulers are
from the Quraysh," while the Shi'ah had demanded that rulership
must belong to a descendant of the House of ‘All. The Kharijites
alone had extended the privilege of possible political leadership of
the Community to every Muslim — "even though, he be a black
slave," the only condition being a man’s fitness for the office. This
phenomenon viz. that the Ahl al-Sunnah wa ’l-Jama 'ah have included
in their doctrine certain elements from the right and certain others
from the left wing, is not confined to this Hadlth alone which has
been given here only for illustration. This policy of synthesis and
mediation is, indeed, of the essence of the Ahl al-Sunnah.
But the idea of the "middle-path-majority", although certainly
in its earliest phase bom of political necessity, was bound to be
applied in a theological-legal sense also as the political /actions
tended to create for themselves a theological-moral-legal basis. We
have pointed, in the last article, to Abu Hanifah’s description of
himself as one of "Ahl al-‘adl wa’l-Sunnah" (i.e. people of balance
and the middle path) in the context of a theological controversy. [In
this connection, one should also recall such terms as "alfama'ah min
al-Hadlth" (i.e. the Hadlth recognized by the majority or the
collective nature of Hadlth) and "al-Sunnah al-ma‘rufah” used
frequently by Abu Yusuf to distinguish these from the ‘peripheral’
and ‘obscure’ opinion]. This controversy, indeed, was the most
scute, not only because it was the first general moral-theological
controversy in Islam but also because due to its very nature, it
threatened the fabric of the Muslim Community most seriously. The
controversy was precisely this: What is the definition of a Mu ’min
°r a Muslim and can a man continue to be regarded as a Muslim
even if he commits a grave moral error? The Kharijites not only
declared such a person as a Kafir but they attributed Kufr also to
170 Fazlur Rahman
those who did not declare such a person as a Kafir, and further
declared the necessity of Jihad against them. Against this alarming
challenge the need was felt of a catholic definition of Islam which
should be acceptable to the ‘majority’. Would not such a definition
necessarily be middle-of-the-road — and, therefore, correct? The
first reaction to the KharijT uncompromising fanaticism was
MurjTism i.e. the doctrine — most probably favoured by the
Umayyad state — that a person who professes to be a Muslim should
not be declared non-Muslim because of his deeds, and that the state
of his inner spirit must be left to God for final judgment. Of course,
if the Community was to survive at all some such definition was
necessary and a modified MurjT’ism — through making some sort of
a distinction between Islam and Iman — came, in course of time, to
constitute an essential factor of orthodoxy i.e. the beliefs of the
majority of the Community. The following famous Hadlth is a
typical Murji’ite HadTth and is to be found in both al-Bukharl and
Muslim.
The Companion Abu Dharr relates that the Prophet said, "There is
none who confesses that ‘there is no god but God’ but that he shall
enter Paradise." Abu Dharr asked, "Even though he should commit
adultery and theft?" "Even though he should commit adultery and
theft”, replied the Prophet. Abu Dharr repeated the question three
times and got the same answer from the Prophet who added with his
third affirmation, "Though Abu Dharr’s nose should be in the dust"
— i.e. despite the wishes of Abu Dharr. We are told that whenever
Abu Dharr related this Hadlth, he repeated the phrase (proudly),
"Though Abu Dharr’s nose should be in the dust."63
The same Hadlth is related by Abu Yusuf in his Kitab al-Athdr, only
not from Abu Dharr but from another Companion, Abu’l-Darda’;
and Abu Yusuf adds that Abu’l-Darda’ used to relate this Hadlth
every Friday by the pulpit of the Prophet.64
In order partially to redress the moral shock which a sensitive
person may experience at being told that people may continue to be
good Muslims "even though they should commit adultery and theft,"
a more compromising and refined view was put forward in a Hadlth
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jam&’ah 171
recorded by Abu Dawud and al-TirmidhT viz. that the Prophet said,
Where a person commits adultery. Faith goes out of him and remains
above his head like a canopy; but when he passes out of this (state of
sinful) act, Faith returns to him.65
As a result of this painstaking and heart-searching Hadith-activity

amidst an atmosphere of interminable conflict, the Muslim orthodoxy
— the Ahl al-Sunnah (i.e. the majority of the Community) finally
formulated at the hands of al-Ash‘arT and al-MaturTdf and their
successors — a catholic definition of Islam which silenced Kharijism
and Mu‘tazilism and saved the Community from suicide.
The same overall picture emerges when we turn to the problem
of the freedom of the human will versus Divine determinism — the
second big rock (which directly grew out of the first viz. the
relationship of faith to behaviour and the definition of a Muslim) that
shook the Community during the second and third centuries. But
whereas the first challenge came from the Khawarij, the second came
from the Mu‘tazilah who are, in a sense, the theological inheritors
of the Khawarij. The two questions are also allied. For, if a man is
free to will and (presumably) to act according to his will, then his
actions are a direct index of the state of his inner Faith, and he is
responsible for both his willing and acting. But if so, then the
original controversy as to who is a Muslim and who is not will be
opened again. In other words, Mu'tazilism is bound to resunect
Kharijism. Besides, the Mu‘tazilah rationalism appeared to the
religious-minded to be a form of gross humanism, an imposition
upon God of what a certain number of men regard as truth and
justice. Because probably of both these dangers, a vast amount of
Hadlth came to be circulated emphasizing Divine determinism at
different levels — of intention, motivation and act. We have noted
above in the second section a relatively early form of this
deterministic Hadlth. But in course of time the Hadlth on this point
multiplied. The Prophet is, for instance, reported to have said.
Believers in freedom of the human will are the Magians of this

Community. Do not visit them when they fall sick; do not attend their
172 Fazlur Rahman
funerals when they die.66
This Hadlth, besides advocating an extreme stand of a total boycott

of the Mu‘tazilah, involves a series of technical steps in a
sophisticated philosophic reasoning such as cannot be attributed to
early seventh century Arabia. The suppressed argument is on the
following lines. God is Omnipotent. But if there is an omnipotent
being, no other being can even be potent, let alone omnipotent. But
man, in order to have freedom of will and action, must be potent.
Therefore, the admission of human freedom is the admission of two
ultimate potencies — God and man, since, if we regard human
potency as not being ultimate but only derivative from God, then
freedom of the will becomes illusory. In history, Zoroastrianism has
admitted two ultimate potencies — Yazdan and Ahriman. Belief in
freedom of the human will is, therefore, a form of Zoroastrianism.
According to another Hadlth, the Prophet said,
Do not have social intercourse with the believers in the freedom of the
will, nor take your cases to them for decision.67
A Hadlth contained in Muslim and al-Bukhari reports from the

Prophet,
It is pre written for the son of Adam as to the exact amount of
adultery he should commit. Now; the adultery of the eye is a (lustful)
look, the adultery of the tongue is talk; the soul wishes and desires
while the sexual organ (only) confirms or belies.68
A number of HadTths state categorically and graphically how God,

when He created all the souls in Eternity, destined some to Paradise,
others to Hell, and some adding, ”1 do not care!"69 The Prophet, in
a Hadlth to be found in al-Bukhari and Muslim says,
(When the embryo is four months old), God sends an angel with four
Decrees which he writes down viz. its actions, life-span, sustenance
and whether it is blissful or damned... I swear by Him other than
Whom there is no God, one of you continues to perform Paradise¬
winning acts until, when between him and Paradise, there is but a
ffie living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jama‘ah 173
yard. Fate overtakes him and he performs actions deserving of Fire

and thus enters Fire...70
But again, not all Hadlth is deterministic in the sense of utter

predestination and there are Sunni HadTths — although fewer in
number — which handle the matter quite differently. There is e.g.
the famous Hadlth, recorded both by al-Bukharl and Muslim,
according to which the Prophet said,
Every child is bom in a natural state (i.e. a good state), but then its
parents make either a Jew or a Christian or a Magian of it.. .71
And in a Hadlth contained in al-Tirmidhl, Ibn Majah and Ahmad b.

Hanbal the Prophet was asked by a Companion,
"Do you think that amulets and medicines we use and precautionary
measures (against illness etc.) we take gainsay the Divine
determinism?" The Prophet replied, "(No), they are themselves a part
of Divine determinism.’72
To this category of Hadlth also belongs the report that when ‘Umar
once ordered that the Muslim army be removed from a place struck
with plague, someone objected to his order saying, "Do you flee
from the Decree of God?" Whereupon ‘Umar is said to have replied,
”1 flee from the Decree of God to the Decree of God." Despite this
second type of Hadlth, however, which was to keep balance with the
deterministic Hadlth, the latter exercised a preponderating effect on
the Sunni orthodoxy as distinguished from the Shi‘ah (who in this
respect, continued the Mu‘tazilah tradition). Later a number of
influential voices arose within Sunni Islam against the preponderance
of determinism, and especially of the Sufic interpretation of it,
among the most eminent of these are Ibn Taymiyyah and Shaykh
Ahmad SirhindT.
The same endeavour of the Ahl al-Sunnah to steer a "middle
path" and keep excessive trends in check is visible in the
Phenomenon of the pro and anti-Sufi Hadlth. This is not the place to
80 into the details of the origins of Sufism, but without denying that
174 Fazlur Rahman
(as in every society) there must have been among the Companions
those in whose temperament puritanical and devotional trends were
stronger than purely activist traits, it must be admitted that Sufism,
as it developed from the second and, especially, third centuries, has
little justification in the pristine practice of the Community. Its
original impetuses came from politico-civil wars on the one hand and
from the development of the law on the other. Its earliest
manifestations are excessive individualist isolationism and ultra-
puritanical asceticism. We have noted above the extreme isolationist
Hadlth in connection with internecine wars. But this type of Hadlth
expresses not only a political attitude but also a definite spiritual
character. Further, according to a Hadlth in al-Bukharl, Kitab at-
Jihad, the Prophet is represented as recommending that one should
go "into a mountain cavity (shi'b), and leave people alone."73 That
this Hadlth should occur in the Sahih of al-Bukharl in the very
chapter devoted to Jihad is a remarkable evidence both of the
grpwing power of the Sufi movement and the catholic spirit of the
Ahl al~Sunnah. But there are also equally powerful and extremely
intetesting counter-Hadlths. The Hadlths strongly recommending the
earning of livelihood (against the extreme interpretation of the Sufi
concept of Tawakkul) and condemning uncompromising indulgence
in devotional piety are too well-known to be documented in detail.74
A pointed Hadlth in this connection declares Jihdd to be the Islamic
equivalent of monasticism.75 But the most remarkable Hadlth of this
type is the one according to which the Prophet said,
Dear to me among (the things of) this world are women and scent; but
my (true) enjoyment is in prayers.76
Each of these three individual elements of this Hadlth undoubtedly

represents the Sunnah of the Prophet. But the way the enjoyment of
this world has been combined with prayers in one breath and the
mechanical juxtaposition of values of utterly different genre cannot
but be an artificial construction quite unattributable to the Prophet.
Indeed, it is certain that the Hadlth must have been directed against
a target, and this target cannot be anything else but a Sufistic form
of unintegrated spirituality.
pie Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jamd'ah 175
In the developments outlined in the previous and the present

sections we have deliberately chosen examples from what may be
said to constitute the "Fundamental Hadlth” i.e. Hadlth which
elucidates fundamental developments in the religious history of Islam
in its classical, formative period and throws the formation of the
orthodoxy (Sunnism) into bold relief. We have left out on purpose
the development of the specifically legal Hadlth — although, of
course, a concept like that of Ijma‘, is directly relevant as part of the
framework of Muslim law also — because the specifically legal
Hadlth does not so elucidate the crystallization of the orthodoxy as
does Fundamental Hadlth. But otherwise the legal Hadlth shares the
character of the "Fundamental HadTth" and exhibits the same
development in that legal Hadlth, reflects the "living Sunnah" of the
early generations of the Muslims and not merely the Prophetic
Sunnah in a specific and literal sense. Whether the literal Prophetic
Sunnah, in its entirety, can be disentangled from the "living Sunnah"
reflected in the HadTth is extremely doubtful, if not impossible,
although certain fundamental traits can be definitely delineated if a
serious and systematic academic effort is made. And, surely,
considerations of pure scholarship apart, Muslims are Islamically
duty-bound to make such an effort and to trace the different stages
through which legal HadTth passed subsequently, point by point.
Take e.g. the question of Riba in HadTth. (We are not discussing
the question of interest in Islam as such but illustrating the problem
of legal HadTth). There are two things which the Qur’an makes clear
about the Riba institution: (i) that it was a system whereby the
substantive sum or commodity was multiplied "several-fold” (Qur’an,
3:130), and, therefore, (ii) that it was opposed to fair commerce,
even though those who indulged in Riba tried to maintain that it was
a form of commercial transaction (Qur’an, 2:275 ff.). The only
description or definition of Riba that the historical HadTth gives is
what corroborates the Qur’anic statements viz. that the debtor, after
the expiry of the fixed term of the debt, was asked either to pay up
or to increase the capital.77 There is no other shred of historical
evidence. But the purely legal HadTth subsequently multiplies and
most certainly reflects the living Sunnah of the early period for its
176 Fazlur Rahman
formulation is based on legal practice and opinion. That there has

been a development on the matter is clearly demonstrable. For one
thing, there is a ‘blanket’ Hadith attributed to ‘Umar saying that the
Prophet did not explain what comes under Ribd and, therefore, in the
spirit of caution one ought to enlarge the coverage of Riba-
prohibition as much as possible.78 But despite the continuous attempt
at systematization of legal thought on the matter, not only is this
development fairly visible in the Hadith, but there still remained
blatant contradictions, e.g. on the question as to whether selling of
animals on the basis of interest in kind is allowed or not — each
view is supported by Hadlths.79 The oft-quoted Hadith that
commodities covered by Ribd must be exchanged "in equal amount
and con-presently" is obviously contradicted by an equally famous
Hadith that Ribd is only on deferred payment and has no relevance
to con-present exchange.80 This state of affairs apparently reflects
two schools of legal opinion on the matter. The tendency has
undoubtedly been towards greater strictness and rigidity, and later,
indeed, not only interest but even the acceptance of a present by the
creditor from the debtor is forbidden by Hadith.81 We move far,
indeed, from the Qur’anic background and a general principle is put
forward in the form of a Hadith which states, "Every advantage that
may accrue from the credit is interest."82 Even the exchange of
manufactured gold and silver for an increased quantity of the same
raw materials — an increase justified and, indeed, necessitated by
workmanship and labour comes to be forbidden.83
5. Sunnah and Hadith
We have, in the foregoing, analyzed ‘abjectively’ and, in the eyes of

those with strong traditionalist attitudes and sensibilities, ruthlessly
(and perhaps also ‘unfairly’?) some of the main lines of Hadith. But
we must be clear as to what exactly all this amounts to. It is
absolutely imperative to be exactly clear about the real issues at stake
particularly because there are strong trends in our society which in
the name of what they call ‘progressivism’ wish to brush aside the
Hadith and the Prophetic Sunnah. In their anxiety to "clear the way".
w
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l JamO'ah 177
they resort to methods much more questionable than Nero’s method

of rebuilding Rome. Not only are the trends in question lacking in
foresight, they exhibit a singular lack of clarity of issues and a
dismal ignorance of the evolution of Hadlth itself. Without any
grounding either in scholarship or in insight they sometimes tell us
that the Hadlth is unhistorical and therefore unreliable as a guide to
the Prophetic Sunnah. At other times we are naively told that Hadlth
may be history but it has no S/zan'a/i-normativeness i.e. even if
Hadlth is genuine, it contains no Sunnah for us. ‘Progress’ we all
want, not despite Islam, nor besides Islam but because of Islam for
we all believe that Islam, as it was launched as a movement on earth
in seventh century Arabia, represented pure progress — moral and
material. But we can neither share nor forgive ‘confusionism’ and
obscurantism. What shall we progress from and what shall we
progress with, and, indeed, whereto shall we progress? An answer
to these questions demands a sober and constructive recourse to our
history. What is the real relationship between Sunnah and Hadlth?
Go to the contemporary crusading and verbose disquisitions on
Hadlth for an answer to this crucial question and search in vain for
an answer. It may be remarked here that there was no group in
classical Islam — be it the Khawarij or the Mu'tazilah — who ever
denied the validity of the Sunnah84 and that what they objected to
was the formulation of the Sunnah in Hadlth terms.
We may further point to the pathetic irony that very often the
anti-Hadlth argument (which is also assumed to be anti-Sunnah) is
based on subjectively and naively selected Hadlth, to the effect that
the Prophet or ‘Umar or someone else from the earliest authorities
had forbidden or discouraged the transmission of Hadlth from the
Prophet. Besides the intrinsic irrationality of this point of view, this
anti-Hadith Hadlth turnout, on closer historical examination, to be
itself a direct product of the Hadlth movement. And if all Hadlth is
given up, what remains but a yawning chasm of fourteen centuries
between us and the Prophet? And in the vacuity of this chasm not
only must the Qur’an slip from our fingers under our subjective
whims — for the only thing that anchors it is the Prophetic activity
itself — br* even the very existence and integrity of the Qur’an and,
fe
178 Fazlur Rahman
indeed, the existence of the Prophet himself become an unwarranted

myth.
We shall now endeavour to show that technical Hadlth, as
distinguished from historical and biographical Hadlth, although it is
by and large not historical, must nevertheless be considered as
normative in a basic sense and we shall try to indicate by illustration
what this basic sense is. These are the points we wish to make in this
connection:
1. That the technical Hadlth is by and large not historical in its

actual formulations is shown by the various examples dealt with
in the preceding, pages. It may be said that we have, after all,
given a few examples from a vast literature and that our
conclusion is too sweeping. Now the first thing to be
remembered in this connection is that the examples we have
adduced are what we have called "Fundamental Hadlth" i.e.
Hadlth concerned with the Islamic Methodology itself. If the
Hadlth about the fundamental principles of Ijmd’ and Hadlth
themselves proves unhistorical, the prime facie case for the
historicity of most other Hadlth is demolished. It must be
noticed that we are saying "most other Hadlth" and not "all
other Hadlth.” But this difference between ‘most’ and ‘all* —
with the notable exception of Hadlth about the Far&’id — is all
but theoretical and is, at present at least, neither locatable nor
definable: the credentials of each Hadlth must be separately
examined on historical grounds. The second objection against us
must be that we have not taken the IsnQd — the guaranteeing
chain of transmission — into account. Now, we do not
underrate the importance of IsnQd. Quite apart from the fact that
IsnQd gave rise to a vast and genuine biographical information-
literature — a unique Islamic achievement — it has certainly
contributed to minimizing Hadlth forgery. Indeed, a vast
number of forged HadTths have been eliminated by the untiring
activity of our traditionists on the basis of IsnQd. But although
Isnad is important in a negative manner, it cannot constitute a
positive final argument. For although a person ‘A’ who is
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa 7 Jamd 'ah 179
generally considered reliable may be shown to have actually met

another generally reliable person ‘B’ (which point is itself hard
to establish), this constitutes no proof that a particular HadTth in
question was transmitted by ‘B’ to ‘A’. But the most fatal
objection to considering Isnad the positive final argument is that
Isndd itself is a relatively late development originating around
the turn of the first century.85 The professedly predictive
Hadlths about political troubles in al-Bukhan and Muslim have
excellent Isndds and yet we cannot accept them if we are
historically honest.
2. But the most fundamental objection to our thesis of non¬

historicity of HadTth will not be scientific but religious viz. that
HadTth will thus turn out to be a gigantic conspiracy. The
question, however, is whether the Ahl al-Hadtth themselves
regarded their activity as strictly historical. We recall here the
HadTth already quoted above viz. that the Prophet said,
"Whatever of good saying there be, I can be taken to have said
it." It is idle to say that this refers only to moral HadTth, for
political and legal HadTth has obvious moral implications. Even
the famous HadTth according to which the Prophet said,
"Whoever tells a deliberate lie about me, should prepare a seat
in Hell," was later modified to read, "Whoever tells a deliberate
lie... in order to lead people astray..." On this basis then a
general principle was formulated that "HadTth arousing pious
feelings is not to be rejected". This principle is attributed by al-
NawawT [see his commentary on the Sahth of Muslim, Karachi
(n.d.) vol.I, p.8] to the KarramTyah and he complains that many
ignorant people and preachers have followed it. Even the
famous HadTth according to which HadTth which is in
consonance with the Qur’an is to be accepted, does anything but
argue for historicity. U must, therefore, be concluded that
HadTth represents the interpreted spirit of the Prophetic teaching
— it represents the "living Sunnah."
3. But if the HadTth is not strictly historical, it is quite obvious

80 Fazlur Rahman
that it is not divorced from the Prophet’s Sunnah, either.

Indeed, there is an intimate and ineliminable connection between
the Hadlth and the Prophet’s Sunnah. We recall what we
established in our first article viz. that the earliest generations
of Muslims — judges, lawyers, theoreticians and politicians —
had elaborated and interpreted the Prophetic Model (Sunnah) in
the interests of the needs of the Muslims and the resultant
product in each generation was the Sunnah in sense (ii) [see part
A] i.e. the living Sunnah. Now, the Hadlth is nothing but a
reflection in a verbal mode of this living Sunnah. The Prophet’s
Sunnah is, therefore, in the Hadlth just as it existed in the living
Sunnah. But the living Sunnah contained not only the general
Prophetic Model but also regionally standardized interpretations
of that Model — thanks to the ceaseless activity of personal
Ijtihad and Ijma4. That is why innumerable differences existed
in the living Sunnah. But this is exactly true of Hadlth also.
This is because Hadlth reflects the living Sunnah. Indeed, a
striking feature of Hadlth is its diversity and the fact that almost
on all points it reflects different points of view. This point,
while it shows the lack of strict historicity of Hadlth, just like
the earlier living Sunnah, has been the most potent factor of
catholicity in the hands of the Ahl al-Sunnah i.e. the majority of
the Muslims. For the Ahl al-Sunnah, through Hadlth, tried —
largely successfully — to steer a middle course and produce a
middle-of-the-road synthesis. The main relevant difference
between the living Sunnah of the early generations and Hadlth
formulation is that whereas the former was a living and on¬
going process, the latter is formal and has soagi.t to confer
absolute permanence on the living Sunnah synthesis cf roughly
the first three centuries. This, no doubt, was th* need of the
hour, for an on-going process without some formalization
threatens, at some point of time or another, to break the
continuity of the process itself by destroying its identity. But
what resulted from Hadlth eventually was not some
formalization but a total fixation. The present need undoubtedly
is to re-loosen this formalism and to resume the threads from
The Living Sunnah and al-Sumah wa 7 Jama‘ah 181
the point where the living Sunnah had voluntarily emptied itself
into the Hadlth dam. But it is at precisely this juncture that a
voice whispers (besides much other wild advice), "Hadlth
and/or Sunnah are incurable reactionarism; leave them roundly
if you want to progress." Is this the voice of hope or despair?
The application of the principle in the following illustration will
tell.
4. We have said repeatedly — perhaps to the annoyance of some

readers — that Hadlth, although it has as its ultimate basis the
Prophetic Model, represehts the workings of the early
generations on that Model. Hadlth, in fact, is the sum total of
aphorisms formulated and put out by Muslims themselves,
ostensibly about the Prophet although not without an ultimate
historical touch with the Prophet. Its very aphoristic character
shows that it is not historical. It is rather a gigantic and
monumental commentary on the Prophet by the early
Community. Therefore, though based on the Prophet, it also
constitutes an epitome of the wisdom of classical Muslims.
Now, if we listen to the voice referred to above, we get

alarming results. We have shown above that the Hadlth about ljma‘,
for example, is historically unacceptable. If we follow the voice, we
should reject the doctrine of Ijma'. But, can we? At this stage,
however, the voice might say that Ijma.' can be grounded in the
Qur’an, for the Book of God says.
Cling together to the rope of God and do not disperse (Qur’an,
3:103).
But although this is a command for unity, it is not exactly Ijma', for
Ijma ’ is " unanimously arriving at a decision". If this verse had-meant
Ijma‘, al-Shaft‘I and others would long ago have advanced it as an
argument on the point. But let us suppose the Qur’anic verse does
mean Ijma'. Even then the nature of Ijma' remains unspecified. Is it
something statistical or qualitative? i.e., is Ijma' total or does it leave
room for difference of opinion. Now, we find a good deal of Hadlth
182 Fazlur Rahman
which encourages the expression of a dissenting voice, and such

Hadlth appears in various direct and indirect forms. This shows that
one Ijma' may be changed by a subsequent Ijma‘ and further that
Ijma* is a matter of practice and not that of pure theory involving
truth-values. An Ijma* can be right or wrong, or partly right and
partly wrong, rather than true or false. The Community, indeed,
cannot take itself for granted claiming theoretical infallibility. It must
always aspire both to understand and to do the right.
The character of Hadlth is, therefore, essentialy synthetic.
Further, when we test the Ijmd* — Hadlth on what is historically
known about the Prophet, we find that the former develops out of the
Prophetic Sunnah, for the Prophet not only made every effort to keep
the Community together, he both encouraged and elicited a unity of
thought and purpose. The Qur’anic term shura refers to this activity.
And this catholic and synthetic character of Hadlth is not confined
to this one point — it runs through almost the entire gamut of moral,
social, legal and political doctrines. We have brought out this
synthetic character of Hadlth while discussing the formulation and
expression of the Orthodoxy in the last section.
It must, of course, be emphatically pointed out that a revaluation
of different elements in Hadlth and their thorough reinterpretation
under the changed moral and social conditions of today must be
carried out. This can be done only by a historical study of the Hadlth
— by reducing it to the "living Sunnah" and by clearly distinguishing
from the situational background the real value embodied in it. We
shall find thereby that some of the major emphases of our traditional
Orthodoxy will have to be modified and re-stated. Take, e.g., the
case of determinism and free-will. At the time of the early Umayyads
who advocated pure determinism, free-will had to be emphasized and
this is precisely what Hasan al-Basrl and the early Mu‘tazilah did.
But when the Mu'tazilah humanism seemed to run riot and
threatened the very bases of religion, Ahmad b. Hanbal and his
colleagues accentuated the Will and Power of God over against the
Mu'tazilah rationalism. But this doctrine of Divine Power and
determinism subsequently became, and remains to this day, the
hallmark of orthodoxy. This has surely outrun its original function
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wai Jamd'ah 183
and has been in fact very injurious to the moral and social life of the
Community especially through its wilder interpretations by later
philosophers and Sufis. The preponderant deterministic traditions in
the works of Hadlth must, therefore, be interpreted in their correct
historical perspective and their true functional significance in a
historical context clearly brought out. The same principle of
interpretation must be applied to other spiritual and social problems
such as the age-old tension between the SharVah and the claims of
the Sufi adepts.
On the very same principle of situational interpretation, by
resurrecting the real moral value from the situational background,
must be handled the problem of legal Hadlth. We must view the
legal Hadlth as a problem to be re-treated and not as a ready-made
law to be directly applied. This is certainly a delicate question and
must be handled wisely and cautiously, but handled it must be.
Recall e.g., the question of interest. The Qur’an, as stated above,
brings out the real reason behind the prohibition of Riba saying that
it cannot come under the definition of a commercial transaction
because it is a process whereby the capital is unjustly increased
manifold. The historical Hadlth confirms this by informing us that
this was, in fact, the practice of the pre-Islamic Arabs. But we have
seen the moral strictness by which legal opinion brought various
activities under the definition of Ribd by formulating a general
principle that every loan which brings any advantage to the creditor
is Ribd. In the same breath we are told that Ribd applies exclusively
to the articles of food, gold and silver and beyond these it has no
application.86 This obviously implies that, say, a certain quantity of
cotton may be loaned on the stipulation that six months hence it must
be returned with any amount of increase the creditor wishes to
impose at the time of stipulation. This, of course, contradicts the
genera] principle quoted just now. This whole development shows
that it is a progressive moral interpretation of the Qur’anic
prohibition sought to be rigidly formalized. We have certainly no
reason to accept this specific moral-legal interpretation in all
situations and under all conditions. Further, that the bank-interest of
today is legitimately covered by the definition of commerce is
184 Fazlur Rahman
difficult to deny. It is for the economists and the monetary

technicians to say whether interestless banking can function in
today’s world or not. If it works, it is all to the good. But if it does
not, then to insist that today’s commercial banking — with an overall
controlled economy — comes under the Qur’anic prohibition and is
banned by the Prophetic Sunnah is not so much historical or religious
honesty but an acute crisis of human confidence and uncompromising
cynicism. The Qur’an and the Sunnah were given for intelligent
moral understanding and implementation, not for rigid formalism.
On some such line of re-treatment, we can reduce the HadTth to
Sunnah — what it was in the beginning — and by situational
interpretation can resurrect the norms which we can then apply to
our situation today. It will have been noticed that although we do not
accept HadTth in general as strictly historical, we have not used the
terms ‘forgery’ or ‘concoction’ with reference to it but have
employed the term ‘formulation’. This is because although HadTth
verbally speaking does not go back to the Prophet, its spirit certainly
does, and HadTth is largely the situational interpretation and
formulation of this Prophetic Model or spirit. The term ‘forgery’ and
its equivalents would, therefore, be false when used about the nature
of HadTth and the term ‘formulation’ would be literally true. We
cannot call HadTth a forgery because it reflects the living Sunnah and
the living Sunnah was not a forgery but a progressive interpretation
and formulation of the Prophetic Sunnah.
What we want now to do is to recast the HadTth into living
Sunnah terms by historical interpretation so that we may be able to
derive no;ais from it for ourselves through an adequate ethical theory
and its legal re-embodiment.
One anxiety will trouble many conscientious Muslims. It is that
if it is found impossible to* locate and define the historically and
specifically Prophetic content of the Sunnah, then the connection
between the Prophet and the Community would become elusive and
the concept "Prophetic Sunnah" would be irrevocably liquidated. But
this worry is not real. To begin with, there are a number of things
which are undeniable historical contents of the Prophetic Sunnah.
Prayer, zafcdr, fasting, pilgrimage etc. with their detailed manner of
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jama‘ah 185
application, are so Prophetic that only a dishonest or an insane

person would deny this. Indeed, the historical HadTth i.e., the
biography of the Prophet is, in its main points, absolutely clear and
would serve as the chief anchoring point of the technical HadTth itself
when the latter is interpreted. Indeed, the overall character not only
of the Prophet but of the early Community is indubitably fixed and,
in its essential features, is not at all open to question — even though
there may be questions about the historical details. It is against this
background of what is surely known of the Prophet and the early
Community (besides the Qur’an) that we can interpret HadTth. The
purely Prophetic elements in technical HadTth may be hard to trace,
it may even be impossible to recover the entirety of them without a
shadow of doubt, but a certain amount will undoubtedly be retrieved.
But our argument does involve a reversal of the traditional picture on
one salient point in that we are putting more reliance on pure history
than HadTth and are seeking to judge the latter partly in the light of
the former (partly, because there is also the Qur’an whereas the
traditional picture is the other way round. But the traditional picture
is already biassed in favour of technical HadTth; there is no intrinsic
evidence for this claim and much intrinsic evidence that we have
adduced is against it. The alleged criticism of Muhammad b. Ishaq,
an early biographer of the Prophet, by Malik is probably itself a later
tradiiionist view for we find AbG Yusuf quoting from Ibn Ishaq.87
NOTES
Part A
1- KhSlid b. ‘Alabah al-HudhalT says (Tdj al- "Arils, s.v.):
"Do not be hesitant about a Sunnah which you have introduced, for die first
person to be satisfied with a Sunnah is the one who has introduced it (i.e. has
performed it first of all)’.
2- Vide all the major dictionaries, s.v.
3. Taj al-‘Artts refers it only to Shimr, although even there it is not absolutely
clear whether Sunnah is to be taken in a purely physical sense in its primitive
connotation. There seems to be a widespread prejudice that the Arabs, in
building abstract concepts, always used words which primarily denoted
186 Fazlur Rahman
physical phenomena.
4. Published with other works attributed to Abu HanTfah (Cairo), p.38.
5. In the volume "Islam”, chapter III, published by George Weidenfeld and
Nicolson, (London) in their series "History of Religion".
6. Qur’an, 33:62; 35:43.
7. Qur’an, 33:21; 60:4, 6.
8. This letter was published by H. Ritter in Der Islam, Vol.21, 67 ff.
9. Al-Agh&ni, XV, 124; the H&shimiy&t of al-Kumayt were critically edited by
J. Horovitz in 1904.
10. H&shimiy&t, poem No.8, verse i ff.
11. Abu Yusufs Kitdb at-Khar&j (Cairo 1302 A.H.), p.8, line 22.
12. Qur’an 73:5.
13. Qur’an 18:6; 20:1.
14. E.g. Qur’an 4:64.
15. For times of prayers see the Muwattd* of Malik, HadTth No.l:
...‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Az!z one day delayed a prayer. ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr
entered upon him and informed him that al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, while in
Kdfah, once delayed a prayer, but Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansart came to him and
said: "What is this, O MughTrah! Did you not know that Gabriel came down
and prayed and the Prophet prayed (with him); then (again) Gabriel prayed
(i.e. the next prayer) and the Prophet prayed (with him); then again Gabriel
prayed (i.e. the third prayer) and the Prophet did likewise; then again Gabriel
prayed (i.e. the fourth prayer) and likewise did the Prophet; and then again
Gabriel prayed (i.e. the fifth prayer) and so did the Prophet? The Prophet then
said, ‘Have I been commanded this?’" (On hearing this) ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-
‘AzTz exclaimed, "Mind what you are relating, O ‘Urwah! Is it the case that
Gabriel it was who appointed the times of praver for the Prophet?" ‘Urwah
replied, "So was Bashir son of Abu Mas'ud al-AnsarT in the habit of relating
from his father".
Hence forward, whenever prayers are emphasized in the HadTth, the
word Sal&h is almost invariably accompanied by the phrase: " ‘ala miqdtiha"
— [Prayers] at their proper times. This seems to point to a campaign for the
fixing of standard times for prayers.
16. Quoted from the manuscript of my above-mentioned work.
17. Ibn al-Muqaffa”s Ris&lah fi 7-Soh&bah, in Ras& V al-Bulaghd ‘ (Cairo 1930).
18. Haydarabad edition, 1335 A.H., Vol.I, p.2.
19. Ibid., Vol.H, p.260.
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa'l Jamd'ah 187
20. Ibid., Vol.n, p.259.

21. al-Umm, Vol. VII, pp.240 fif, 248, 256, 258.
22. Ibid., VO, pp.242, 246.
23. Ibid., VII, p.242 etc.
24. See especially ibid. (Vol. VII), p.255, 8 lines from the bottom ff.
25. Especially ibid., p.246, line 15.
Part B
26. Abu Yusufs al-Radd ‘aid Siyar al-Awzd #f (Hyderabad, n.d.), pp. 131 -5; ibid.,
pp.32-3.
27. Ibid., p.76.

28. Ibid., p.ll.
29. Al-ShafiT, Kitdb al-Umm, vol. vii. p.239, last line; p.240 line 5.
30. Abu Yusuf, op. cit. p.40 ff.

31. Ibid., p.41.
32. Ibid., p.31.
33. Ibid., p.32.
34. Ibid., pp.24-32.
35. Abu Yusuf, Athdr, (Cairo 1355 A.H.) Nos. 887, 889. It is possible that"al-
Kal&mm originally meant just "talk" but by Abu Yusufs time it had acquired
a technical meaning.
36. Ibid., No. 581.
37. Ibid., No. 924.
38. Ibid, No. 917 and the footnote.
39. Abu Yusuf, al-Radd etc., p .21.
40. Ibid., footnote to p. 17.

41. Ibid., p.21.
42. Ibid., pp.85 , 61-2, 65, 75, 13-7.
43. Ibid., 15, 85 etc.
44. Kitdb al-Umm, vii, 212-3.
45. Ibid., p.2I2.
46. Ibid., pp.906-7.
47. Al-Shafi'f, al-Ris&lah (Cairo 1309 A.H.), ed. Ahmad Muhammad Shakir,
pp.401-2.
188 Fazlur Rahman
48. Ibid., pp.403-4.

49. Ibid., pp.397-8.
50. Apud Mishkdt al-Masdbih (DihlT 1932), pp.30, 32.
51. Abu Yusuf, Athdr, No. 959.
52. Al-Shafi‘F, al-Risalah, pp.473-4.
53. Abu YQsuf, al-Radd etc., p.25.
54. Al-Risdlah, p.224.
55. Al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Fitan, No. 7.
56. ap. Mishkat al-Masdbih, p.461.
57. ap. ibid., p.463.
58. ap. ibid., p.461.
59. ap. ibid., p.462.
60. ap. ibid., p.462.
61. ap. ibid., p.464.
62. ap. ibid., p.30.
63. ap. ibid., p.14. *
64. Abu Yusuf, Athdr, No. 891.
65. ap. Mishkdt, p. 18; see also p.17, the Hadith from al-Bukharl and Muslim:
"The adulterer does not commit adultery in a state of Faith..."
66. ap. ibid., p.22.
67. up. ibid., p.22.
68. ap. ibid., p.20.
69. ap. ibid., pp.23, 20 etc.
70. ap. ibid., p.20.
71. ap. ibid., p.21.
72. ap. ibid., p.22.
73. Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Jihad, No.2.
74. E.g. ap. Mishkdt, p.27; pp.241-3; and several Hadlths in Kitdbal-‘Ilm, pp.32-
38.
75. Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad 3, 82, 266.
76. Al-Nasa'I, ‘Ishrat al-Nisd \ No. 1.
77. Al-Shafi‘r, al-Risdlah, p.234; al-Bayhaql, al-Sunan al-Kubrd (Hyderabad 1352
A.H.), vol. v, p.275.
The Living Sunnah and al-Sunnah wa’l Jama*ah 189
78. ap. Mishkdt, p.246.

79. ap, Mishkdt, p.245 (both HadTths are given there); al-Bayhaqf, op. cit.,
pp.287-8.
80. For the first view see al-Bayhaqf, op. cit., ibid., pp.280-81.
81. ap. Mishkdt, p.246.
82. E.g., al-Bayhaqf, op. cit. p.350, line lOff.
83. Ibid., p.279, 15fF.

84. For the Mu*taziiah see Al-Shafi‘f, Kitdb al-Umm, vol. vii, p.252, line 15. For
the Khdrijf acceptance of Sunnah, see e.g. al-Jahiz, al-Baydrt (Cairo 1948),
vol. ii, p.122, line 13, a speech by the Khdrijf (AbadI) leader, Abu Hamzah.
The Khdrijfs, indeed, even accepted HadTth (see Ibn Qutaybah, Ta ’wfl
mukhtalif al-Hadfth, Cairo 1326 A.H., p.3.).
85. See L. Caetani, Annali Dell’ Islam, Introduction, section on Isndd. The
beginnings of Isndd are generally attributed by Muslim authorities themselves
to the Civil War (al-Fitnah) i.e. the murder of the Umayyad Caliph al-Walfd.
See also J. Schacht, Origins etc,, p.36.
86. Al-Bayhaqf, op. cit., p.286.
87. Abu Yusuf, al-Radd...t pp.7, 12 etc.
7
THE FALLACIES
OF ANTI-HADlTH
ARGUMENTS
SHAH SHAHIDULLAH FARIDI
It has become the common practice in modem times for western-

educated people in Islamic countries to claim to be able to reinterpret
Islam by reference to the Holy Qur’an only, disregarding entirely the
Sunnah of the Holy Prophet on one pretext or another. Unwittingly
or wittingly by this means they strike at the very foundation of Islam
on which it has been firmly based for the last fourteen centuries. The
aim of these attempts is to reduce Islam to a set of general
principles, many of which are of their own conception, or derived
from their study of western literature, and so enable them to live a
life patterned on western Europe while fixing the label of Islam to it.
This practice has become so common in its various form that it is
time that the position of the Sunnah of the Prophet be made clear to
those Muslims, who, for lack of essential knowledge of the.structure
of the religion of Islam may be enticed into this misguided way of
thinking. The spread of these so-called "modem" ideas would have
incalculably disastrous effects on the thought and practice, and
collective life of the world of Islam.
190
r
t
The Fallacies of Anti-Hadtth Arguments 191
It should be well understood that the exponents of this new¬

fangled theory (new-fangled with relation to the original authorities
of Islam, though it has been tried out on various occasions in Islamic
history) are themselves entirely devoid of the essential knowledge
required for expressing any opinion about Islam. The Qur’an has
been studied in translation without any solid grounding in the Arabic
language, the books of Hadlth and the earliest sources of Islamic
Law have not been studied at all, even Islamic history is only known
at third or fourth hand. How anyone, with such hopelessly
inadequate preparation can have the affrontery to pontificate about
such a deep subject as Islam, is one of the tragedies of the modern
era. In previous, more enlightened times he would have been
dismissed as a mischeivous ignoramus but today even the flimsiest
superficiality passes for learning, and mere mental aberrations for
thought. History is blatantly contradicted, logic is flouted, as if these
two essentials of intelligent human thinking are of no value. Indeed,
they are of no value to those who wish to put forward pure fictions
of their imagination as truth, for history and logic are their worst
enemies.
We intend to show here that the Sunnah of the Prophet is an
integral part of Islam in addition to the Qur’an. No one denies or can
deny, that the Qur’an is the foundation of Islam, being the direct
word of God to man. All principles of thought and action,
spirituality and morality, private and social life in Islam are
ultimately derived from the Holy Book. But the Holy Book itself was
sent through the Prophet in fact, the Prophet is the guarantee of the
Holy Book. It is necessary, in order to be a messenger of God, to be
free from any possibility of error and deviation, for any possibility
of error would affect the reliability of the Holy Book. This, is why
the profession of faith of a Muslim consists of two fundamentals
only, belief in the Divinity of Allah and the truth of the Propjiethood
of Muhammad. The truth of the Qur’an follows from these two basic
postulates, and so it is not mentioned separately. But perhaps our
present day "reformers" do not accept the "Good Word" (Kalimah
Tayyibah) which has from the beginning been the mark
distinguishing the believer from the unbeliever, for it is only referred
192 Shah Shahidullah faridi
to and not spelled out in the Qur’an. To what depths of absurdity the
misused logic of man can sink!
A messenger of God, being necessarily free from error, receives
continuous and permanent guidance from God. This guidance has
been described most meaningfully by God Himself in the Qur’an:
Thou art indeed of the envoys, on a straight path (36:3-4).
The Prophet cannot take any step but that it will be on the straight
path; it is impossible for him to deviate from this path even an inch
onto a crooked one. God had elucidated the meaning of this straight
path on another occasion:
Indeed, my lord is on a straight path (11:56).
It is the path to God, the path of truth and guidance, and the Prophet
has been assured by God that he is without question and without
intermission on this path. Not only this, God also states of Himself
that:
He guides whom He wills to a straight path (2:142).
And then again assures the Prophet that:
Thou indeed guidest (men) to a straight path (42:52),

i.e., not only the Prophet himself is on the Straight Path, but
guidance too has been confirmed by God as leading to this path, and
guidance is, as it were, God’s guidance. The Prophet, like Muslims,
used to pray "Guide us to the straight path", as in Surah al-Fatihah,
since the continuous guidance he received was not of himself but of
God, and as a servant of God he was continually in need of it, but
God has in his case permanently granted this prayer in the Qur’an
itself:
Thou art indeed of the envoys, on a straight path (36:3-4).

The Fallacies of Anti-Hadlth Arguments 193
It is established by these verses of God’s Word that the Prophet is

guided permanently and absolutely by God, and this guidance is not
merely confined to the receiving and transmitting of the Qur’an.
God’s assurance in this regard is without any provisions or
limitations. But the "modernists" not only claim that the guidance
given to the Prophet is confined to the Qur’an, but also that his
function as a Prophet is confined to the delivering of that Qur’an,
that the rest of his activities were only carried on in the capacity of
the leader of the community, and consequently have no permanent
signinificance. But God has given us a book "in which there is no
doubt" and the Prophet’s functions have been enumerated in detail:
Allah has indeed shown grace to the believers in sending them

a messengerfrom among themselves who reciteth unto them His
revelations, and purifieth them and teacheth them the Book and
Wisdom (3:164).
Here God has told us of the four functions of the Prophet, of which
only the first refers to the Qur’an, "reciting His revelations"; the
other three are besides this, of "purifying”, "teaching the Book" and
"teaching Wisdom". These four functions have been described as the
purpose for which God has sent the Messenger, and God’s guidance
to man will be fulfilled and completed by all and not by one only.
All these functions are therefore part of God’s guidance through the
person of the Prophet.
The purpose of sending the Messenger is, apart from "reciting
His revelations," firstly to "purify" them, for the proper
understanding of the Book and "wisdom," and the ability to put them
into practice, is unattainable unless a purification of the heart, the
centre of the will and intentions, has not been achieved. This
purification consists of the spiritual influence of the Holy Prophet’s
personality, and hisjcontinuai exhortations to the believers by word
and example in the light of the Qur’an to purify their thoughts and
deeds. The next stage after this purification is the "teaching of the
Book," that is, to explain and demonstrate the implications of the
Book, and to apply it to the circumstances of human life in the most
194 Shah Shahid ullah fartdi
excellent way. Finally, the "teaching of wisdom" refers to the

development into a science of certain subjects treated in general in
the Qur’an, such as spiritual science, moral science, the science of
the Shaft*ah, of government etc., regarding all of which we can find
valuable guidance both theoretical and practical from the Prophet.
These four main functions of the Prophet have been instituted and
carried out by the command under the guidance of God Himself, and
constitute an integral part of God’s message to mankind. To state
that only the first function is of permanent significance is simply to
flout the Word of God.
The Qur’an is not only "without any doubt" but it is also a
Clear Book (Kitab al-Mublri) and the basic principles of the Islamic
faith have been stated by God in the most unmistakable terms. The
status and importance of the Sunnah have been decisively asserted in
the following verse:
You have indeed in the Messenger of God as good example for

him who looks forward to God and the Last Day and remembers
God much (33:21)
By the use of this expression "a good example" (Uswatun

Hasanah), Allah has given the Sunnah and the Hadith of the Prophet
a permanent and vital position in the religion of Islam, and further
has mentioned as the qualification of those who will appreciate and
accept this position that they look forward to their meeting with God
and to the Last Day, and as a result always remember Allah.
Following the Prophet’s example has been made a part of faith, an
accompaniment to faith in Allah, and the Last Day, and anyone who*
does not accept and follow this example cannot claim, by the
evidence of the Word of God itself, to be complete in faith. Here the
word "example” has been used absolutely, not limited to any
particular aspect of the Prophet’s life, and so covers his words, his
deeds, his permissions and prohibitions, his private and public
behaviour, his worship and his administration, his moral qualities
and his manners.
The Prophet’s Sunnah is-herehy elevated to the position of a
The Fallacies of Anti-Hadith Arguments 195
divine institution in Islam, and his sayings a divinely authorised

intepretation of God’s message. In the verse discussed previously,
God stated Allah hath indeed shown grace to the believers in sending
them a messenger among themselves who reciteth unto them the Book
and wisdom. The special grace shown to the believers in the Final
Message of Allah to mankind is that Allah has not only sent an
authoritative Book in which the principles of faith and practice are
laid down, but in order to make the "straight path" more clearly
distinguished and easier to travel, has also sent a living example to
show the perfect expression of these principles in human life; in
other words, Allah has granted us that special grace of sending both
the principles and their application. The Qur’an is the verbal
message, and the Prophet is die human message — the projection of
the verbal message into the sphere of human behaviour. Allah has
stated that those who look forward to meeting Him and to the Last
Day, and who remember Himjnuch, will certainly accept this human
message, and the more theicjaith and their remembrance become
firmly established, the more they will be able to profit by it and to
identify themselves with it.
Those Muslims from the Companions onwards who have always
treated the following of the Sunnah as an article of faith were not
merely acting on their personal opinion; they were obeying the clear
injunctions of the Qur’an, and this explains the utmost care they took
to preserve the Prophet’s practice and sayings and transmit them to
those who came after.
We have seen that Allah has defined the functions of the
Prophet, and set up his personality in all its aspects as a model on
.which Muslims should pattern their livesf It remains to discover
exactly to what extent Muslims are obliged to follow this pattern;
with what particular emphasis this duty has been laid upon them. The
reply to this question is immediately forthcoming:
Obey Allah and obey the Prophet (5:92),

where we are told that just as Allah’s orders in the Qur’an are
worthy of obedience, so are the interpretations and applications of
Allah’s orders by the Prophet equally binding on the Muslim
Community. In fact, Allah’s orders and the orders of the Prophet

based on them are essentially one, for:
Whoever obeys the Prophet, he has obeyed Allah (4:80).
It is part of Allah’s infinite wisdom and kindness towards mankind

that the main principles of Islam have been stated clearly in the
Qur’an, while the application of these principles has been left to the
Prophet, but the Prophet’s orders are authorised and confirmed by
Allah, so that obedience to the Prophet’s order is really obedience to
Allah.
It is plain from the preceding examination of the Sunnah in
Islam and of what Muslim’s attitude should be towards it, that the
whole life of the Prophet is inspired by Allah, that he is perfectly
guided at every moment by divine revelation. It would be impossible
otherwise for Allah to hold him up as an unfailing example to
mankind, or to order implicit obedience to him. But the highly
illogical stand of the "modernists’1 is that revelation is confined only
to the Qur’an and that the Prophet’s words and deeds, apart from
transmitting the Qur’an to mankind, are uninspired by Allah, and
therefore not binding on succeeding generations. This stand, as has
already been shown, is quite untenable in the light of Allah’s
commands to the Muslim Community regarding the pesonality of the
Prophet, but it is untenable also for die reason that the Qur’an makes
it quite clear that revelation (wahy) is not confined to Books of
Allah, but is a continuous process in the lives of the Prophets. There
are numerous incidents related in the Qur’an about Prophets
receiving revelation as a process quite apart from the revelation of
Books. For instance, Allah said to Adam:
O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden (2:35),
and their Lord called them:

Did I not forbid you . . . (7:22).
In the case of Noah:

And it was inspired in Noah: No one of thy folk will believe save
r
him who hath believed already (11:36);

Load therein two of every kind (11:11);
O Noah, he is not one of thy household (l 1:46).
Allah states of Abraham:

That is our argument, which we gave to Abraham against his
folk (6:83);
O Abraham, forsake this (11:26);
Jacob said:
I do indeed scent the presence of Joseph,
and when he retrieved his eyesight, he said:
Did I not say to you that I know from Allah that which you
know not? (12:94 ff.).
In the case of Joseph:

We inspired in him: thou wilt tell them of this deed of theirs
when they know not (12:15).
Allah called to Moses in the valley of Tuwa:

0 Moses, verily I am thy Lord (20:12),
and then:
. . . hearken to what is.inspired.
Again:
We inspired Moses saying: Take away my slaves by night
(20:77).
These are only some of the many instances which can be given, in
all of which reference is made to revelations from Allah to the
Prophets on which have nothing to do with the revelations of Books.
We cannot stress too much the point that in order to be a "good
example” to Muslims, it is necessary that the Prophet be at all times
under the inspiration of Allah. Matters connected with the preaching
of Islam and spiritual training of the believers, are specifically stated
by Allah to be under His auspices, but even in the details of worldly
life without inspiration it would be impossible to be an example, and
that too for all Muslims at all times. No man by his own efforts or
by dint only of his own natural qualities could personify Islam. It is
no argument to bring forward the occasions when the Prophet stated
that he was only speaking from personal opinion. These occasions
were when the matter concerned did not involve any religious or
moral question, such as methods of cultivation, or the placing of the
troops in battle. Another occasion was when deciding a case after
hearing the evidence of both sides, for it is part of the Prophet’s
example, as inspired by Allah, that cases should be decided on the
outward evidence, and anyone who falsifies evidence in such a way
that his deceit is not outwardly apparent, may have the case decided
in his favour but have to pay for his deceit before Allah. The
Prophet has been expressly ordered in the Qur’an to decide matters
of worldly expediency after consulting with his followers:
Consult with them upon the conduct of affairs (3:159).
The exercise of human reason on the occasions which warrant it is

also part of the Prophet’s example, and is under the commands of
Allah. Neither is it an argument to say that the Prophet used to draw
conclusions from the Qur’an by the exercise of reason, for Allah has
made it quite plain, as has already been shown, that the Prophet’s
application of Qur’anic principles is authorised by Himself and is to
be taken as from Himself. It therefore follows that the reasoning
used by the Prophet for drawing conclusions from the Qur’an is itself
inspired. That Allah inspires Prophets with reasoning as well as
conclusions is expressed in the Qur’an:
That is Our argument, which We gave to Abraham against his

folk (6:83),
where a whole process of reasoning is inspired to the Prophet

Abraham.
To sum up, the Hadfth and the Sunnah of the Prophet are
demonstrated by the Qur’an to be divinely inspired and to form a
permanent part of the message of Allah to man. The interpretation
of the Qur’an by the Prophet is authoritative — the only difference

between the injunctions of Allah in the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the
Prophet is that the direct injunctions of Allah are compulsory
whereas the Sunnah, being an "example" is to be performed to the
best of one’s ability. But deliberate neglect or, as with some of the
"modernists," complete denial of the Sunnah is nothing but open
contravention of the Holy Book.
The truth about Hadith
It is a sign of the influence of a great deal of loose talk in criticism

of Hadith, which has become fashionable in some circles, that the
heading given to the report in a newspaper recently was simply
"Hadith should not be treated as a source of law." The heading, of
course, is blatantly incorrect and misleading, and does not conform
to the words reported below; but it is characteristic of a mentality
which has been biased by sweeping and ill-informed remarks about
the Hadith. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, which include
what is known as the Suniiah, or his practice, are both as a matter
of faith and as a matter of fact a source of Muslim law, and are so
by Divine Command and by the very nature of things. The Qur’an
deals extensively with matters of faith and'morality, the nature of
Allah, the reality of Prophethood, the Day of Judgement, the life of
the next world, the principles of worship, or human relationships and
the inward attitude mam must cultivate towards Allah and his
fellowmen; it also lays down civil and criminal laws, but of
necessity, since the Qur'an is intended to be easily read, understood
and encompassed, detailed application of the law is not its subject,
and it is part of Allah’s providence that this should be demonstrated
by His Prophet. This element in God’s message to man, that is to
say, its practical application by the Prophet, was clearly asserted in
the Qur’an, and understood as an indivisible and vital part of Islam
both by the Prophet himself and his Companions. Under Allah’s
inspiration, the Prophet developed legal ordinances in the light of the
Qur’an which were intended by him and accepted by his Companions
to be of permanent validity. The Khulafa' al-Rashidun and those
Companions who survived thetn were insistent that after the Qur’an,
the Sunnah of the Prophet had an obligatory nature in matters of law,
and in this they took their authority from the frequent orders of
Allah "obey Allah and obey the Messenger" in which Allah and His
Messenger are indissolubly linked, as also in another, "he who obeys
the Messenger obeys Allah\ It has never been in question at any
stage in Islamic history that the Sunnah as recorded in authoritative
Hadlth is, in development of the legal principles laid down in the
Qur’an, an essential source for Islamic legislation.
The butt of criticism, mostly superficial and backed by no solid
foundation of knowledge, of some over-enthusiastic purveyors of
ljtihdd is the authoritative nature of the Hadlth which we have in our
possession. Very few of these critics, if any of them, have ever
cared to make a deep and unbiased study of Hadlth literature, much
of which is only available in Arabic, especially the critical and
analytical works. From one aspect in particular this perfunctory
attitude to Hadlth is a matter of great sorrow, since the collection
and sifting, grading and comparing of Hadlth is one of the greatest
achievements in scholarship not only of the Muslims but of the
whole world. Precisely in order to remove any doubt of authenticity,
generation after generation of traditionists subjected Hadlth to the
most rigorous scrutiny and came to very definite conclusions; what
a pity that this wonderful monument of faith and brilliant scholarship
should be dismissed in a few glib words by "modernists’’ who have
not taken the trouble even to examine it. No mass of historical
material has ever been put to such tests, nor have such meticulous
subsidiary sciences such as the biography of the Companions, their
Followers and the Followers of their Followers and the other relaters
of Hadlth, ever been created by any other body of scholars. The
whole of Hadlth literature is pervaded by a spirit of such fine
exactitude that it would seem pedantic — if it were not for the
unstained honesty of purpose of the Traditionists — to leave no
avenue of research untraversed.
The first of the criticisms which are now commonly being
directed against the Hadlth is that they were not collected in the time
of the Prophet or of the Khulafd* al-R&shidun, and that during the
period between the utterance or occurrance of their contents and their

being recorded in writing there was every chance of their being
materially altered. Some have even gone so far as to say that they
were not recorded because they were unreliable. That in the earlier
stages they were not fully recorded in writing, is true, though it is
not true that they were not recorded at all even as regards the
Prophet’s lifetime, for there is good evidence to show that ‘Abdullah
b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As for one, used to write down what he heard from
his Master. Other Companions too put their collections of Hadlth
into writing later in life, particularly Abu Hurayrah and ‘Abdullah
b. ‘Abbas, two very important sources of Hadlth. But in general it
can be said that HadTths were only partially and privately recorded
in writing in the early stages.
The reasons for this are quite clear and there is nothing
mysterious about them. The Arabs’ antipathy to writing in this
period is well-known, very few of were literate. Huge stores of
knowledge of genealogy and poetry preserved in their prodigious
memories; some people being able to recite a hundred thousand
verses. There were no books in currency among them; even during
the Prophet’s lifetime the Qur’an did not circulate in book fortn. The
fact that the Prophet’s sayings, legal decisions and deeds, were not
generally written down is therefore not surprising in the least. There
is also evidence that the Prophet disapproved of the general writing
of Hadlth in his lifetime for fear that they would become mixed up
with the Qur’an, which had not yet been fully revealed, and with
which the Muslims had yet to become completely familiar. But this
is not to say that he disapproved of memorising of, or acting upon
Hadlth; on .the contrary, he insisted on it. The more learned of the
Companions, including the Khulafd ’ al-Rdshidun, spent their time in
absorbing thoroughly the explanations, applications, and
developments of the Qur’an by the Prophet in addition to their study
of the Qur’an itself. When the Prophet had passed away from this
world and the age of the Caliphs came, after some deliberation they
also came to the conclusion that the written recording of HadTths and
publishing them in a book form was inexpedient at this stage, for the
same reasons as in the Prophet’s lifetime, that the Word of Allah
fe
must be learnt and studied and thoroughly absorbed first, while its
practical application by the Prophet can be handed down by word of
mouth and by personal example. But if we look at the life and the
decisions of the Khulafd' al-Rashidun, we find that in every case
where any matter had not been dealt with explicitly by the Qur’an,
they considered it obligatory to discover what was the practice of the
Prophet in this situation and made their decisions according to their
findings. To contravene the practice of the Prophet on any vital
matter was in their eyes equivalent to contravening Islam itself.
The whole of the history of this period shows this valuation of
the Prophet’s practice, and on this point there is complete unanimity.
It is a grave mis-statement to say that ‘Umar al-Khattab was against
the relating of Traditions; he was only against collecting them into
book form, not that they should not be learnt and known. He was
certainly strict as regards accuracy of reporting and always
demanded a supporting witness if any Companion recounted
something of the Messenger of Allah; when that witness was
forthcoming he accepted the Tradition with no further hesitation. In
those cases which came up before him he continually had recourse
to his own knowledge of the Prophet’s rulings, and if he himself did
not have this knowledge he-appealed to the other Companions; on
receiving the required information and after satisfying himself
regarding its accuracy, he immediately acted upon it. Indeed, the fact
that Hadlths were completely recorded in writing during the lifetime
of the Companions was no drawback; they themselves were living
models of his practice and treasure-houses of his sayings. They
spread over the huge areas which now constituted the Islamic
empire, to Kufah and Basrah in Iraq, to Syria, Palestine, Egypt and
Khurasan, Here they were surrounded by eager pupils both Arab and
nonMxab, thirsting to hear about their revered Prophet from those
who had seen and lived with him. Some of these pupils, who are
known as the Followers of the Companions (TabVun), became
renowned all over the Islamic world for their learning in the Qur’an
and the Sunnah? for their correct reporting and understanding of
Hadlth, and for theft piety and purity of life. Such were Hasan BasrI,
the associate of the companions ‘Imran b. Husayn and Anas b. Malik
The Fallacies of Anti-Hadith Arguments 203
in Basrah; Alqama and Aswad, the repositories of the vast learning

of ‘Abdullah b. Mas'ud in Kufah, who were also the pupHs Of ‘Umar
and ‘A’ishah; Sa‘Td b. Musaiyib, the pupil of Abu Hurayrah and
Taus, Mujahid, ‘Ata’ b. Abl Rabah and others; NafT, the pupil of
‘A’ishah, and many others whose honesty and trustworthiness are
unquestioned. Here it is important to note that ‘A’ishah and Abu
Hurayrah lived up to between 50 and 60 A.H, ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas
and ‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar to around 70 A.H., Abu Sa‘Id KhudrI to
between 70 and 80 A.H. and Anas b. Malik to 90 A.H. This is to
say that in the second half of the first century of the Hijrah it was
still possible to hear a great store of HadTth from those who had seen
or heard them directly from the Messenger of Allah himself.
Nearly all the famous Tabi'un we have mentioned just now,
lived up to dates between 90 and 120 A.H., which means up to this
time the collections of HadTth related by these perfectly reliable
reporters were available to all who wished to take them. Before the
first quarter of the second century (100-125 A.H.) collections in
book form were still not current, and although many Tabi'un had
their private written collections, the main basis of teaching was
verbal, as was the fashion during this era when knowledge even if
written was always committed to memory. It was at this time that the
first large-scale collections in book form began to be made, those by
Ibn Jurayj, Malik, Sufyan ThawrT, Ma’mar b. Rashid and others, all
pupils of the Tabi'un. The idea that much time elapsed between the
original hearing and final recording in book form of HadTth as would
make them unreliable is found to be completely unfounded when
their history as given above is attentively considered, particularly
with regard to these early collections, almost all the contents of
which found their way into the later collections of al-BukharT etc.,
a century later. But the principle is also established that those
Hadiths recounted by the well-known and reliable Tabi'un whether
collected into book form or not were available from the recounters
themselves up to the first quarter of the second century of the Hijrah,
and it only requires two or three successive trustworthy scholars of
HadTth to convey them to al-Bukharl and his contemporaries. It is
also necessary to mention that between the earliest published
compilations and al-Bukhari’s time there were other large classified

collections of great importance such as that of ‘Abdur Razaq (died
shortly after 200 A.H.), the pupil of Ibn Jurayj, Sufyan ThawrI,
Ma’mar b. Rashid and Malik, the earlier collectors. The question
arised as to what were these unreliable, wrong or concocted Hadlth
of which so much fuss is being made by ill-informed critics today?
It is not true to state that untrustworthy traditions regarding the
Messenger of Allah existed to any noteworthy extent during the main
portion of the era of the Khulafa* al-Rashidun. It was only when the
Schismatics began to appear such as the Kharijls, and the dynastic
clashes of the Banu Umayyah, Banu ‘Abbas and Band Hashim
convulsed the Ummah, and particularly after the martyrdom of Imam
Husayn and his family at Karbala’, that some partisans had recourse
to distorting or inventing Hadlth to justify their claims. But it was
never the real scholars of traditions who related these incorrect
reports, nor had they any purpose in doing so; unreliable Traditions
were purveyed by unreliable people, the partisans, popular
preachers, story-tellers and so on, and have not escaped the eagle
eyes of the very critical Muhaddithun, The solid body of recognised
Hadlth which forms the basis cf Muslim Law can be found in Malik
as well as in the decisions of Abu Hanlfah and the later Imams. If
there are differences of opinion on any important point it is almost
always where that difference already existed among the companions.
What is remarkable about Muslim law based on the Qur’an and
Sunnah as presented by Abu Hanlfah and Malik, for instance, is not
the differences in detail but the extraordinary agreement in its main
structure, which proves that there was an agreed corpus of Sunnah
which was common to both schools of thought. It is a common
fallacy to speak of the accepted books of traditions such as al-
Bukharl, Muslim, al-Tirmidhl, etc., as if they themselves constitute
the source of Islamic Fiqh. They are certainly adduced as authorities
in later judicial controversy, but it is often forgotten that the whole
fabric of Fiqh was erected before these traditionists were even born.
Abu Hanlfah himself was bom in 80 A.H. when some of the other
Companions of the Prophet were still alive, and he was the pupil of
some of the famous Tabi'un we have mentioned above, particularly
‘Ata’ b. Abl Rabah in Makkah. The body of traditions used by Abu

Hanlfah:'and Malik were fresh from the tabi'un and unsullied by
partisan politics and imaginative interpolations, which in any case
affected traditions treating with law very little. These traditions are
present in the later collections, but were used by Abu Hanifah one
hundred years earlier.
The statement reported by the biographers of Imam al-Bukhari
that he selected 7,000 Hadlths out of 600,000 is being put to much
use by the detractors of Hadlth to attempt to show that the majority
are unreliable. This statement was made to extol his industry and
discrimination, but from the point of view of the history of Hadlth
it is necessary to go more deeply into the matter and avoid rash
conclusions which do not conform to reality. In citing this bare
statement, the impression is given that in al-Bukharl’s time there was
a vast, unclassified mass of every kind of tradition, true and false,
floating all over the then Islamic empire, and that he suddenly
appeared on the scene, separated the true from,the false, and was
only able to find 7,000 out of 600,000. The real facts are nothing
resembling this at all. Criticism and scrutiny of Hadlth was being
done from the very beginning, even in the time of the Companions
and their Followers, and there had always been a central core of
unquestionable true Hadlth with the earnest, sincere and pious
scholars. For instance, the comments of Muhammad b. Hasan, the
renowned pupil of Abu Hanifah, on Malik’s book of Hadlth, the
Muwatta', show that out of more than a thousand traditions of the
Messenger of Allah and the Companions quoted by Malik, Abu
Hanifah only differed with about eighty and even then not regarding
their authenticity, but prefering a different ruling. The mischief of
fabricating or distorting Hadlth was begun, during the time of the
political dissension between the Banu Hashim and the Umayyads,
and particularly after the massacre of Karbala’, when unprecedented
passions were roused. But these unreliable traditions circulated
among the leading partisans of these two parties and were used to
prospective supporters; the really learned were well aware of this
and such dishonest tampering with the true Sunnah was clearly
denounced by them, and the relators of such traditions singled out
206 SHAH SHAHIDULLAH FARlDl
and condemned.
A study of the comments of traditionists on such fabricators
and the rejection of their claims to credibility show this plainly, for
instance, al-Sha‘bT, one of the leading TabVun in knowledge of
tradition and law, roundly condemns various people who related
much partisan reports attributing them wrongly to ‘All. This kind of
fabrication had currency among the ignorant and those who had
special interest, not among the scholars.
A second breeding-ground for incorrect and exaggerated
traditions were the public preachers and story-tellers, who are prone
to this weakness to the present day. The books of the biographies of
the reporters of traditions are full of condemnations of people of this
type, and their effusions, though gaining currency among the
unlettered, were never accepted by the learned. Apart from these two
main sources of falsification, there were other unreliable HadTths
which were due to mere human weakness, such as forgetting,
mixing-up, exaggeration, ascribing statements of the Companions to
the Prophet himself and so on. The whole science of the traditionists
was brought to bear on the elimination of such weak reports, and by
an amazingly thorough system of analysis and comparison and
minute checking, these defects have been brought to light and
carefully classified.
The immense research which has gone into the study of HadTth
cannot be imagined by simply reading the bare translation of one of
the well-known compilations. To know something of what the
Muslim traditionists have achieved, one has to go through such
comparative studies of HadTth such as ‘Asqalanfs commentary on al-
BukharT, where all the ramifications of the variants of a particular
HadTth are traced meticulously. After making such a study the only
honest conclusion one can reach is that it is difficult if not impossible
to arrive at anything but the same conclusions as these great Muslim
religious scholars. With regard to the statement regarding al-
BukharT’s selection of HadTth, it is also necessary to understand that
in the language of traditionists, all the variants of a single HadTth are
counted as a separate HadTth, or an identical HadTth related by two
or more different persons. For instance, the famous HadTth reported
by ‘Umar, "actions are judged by intentions," is related from 700

different authorities. In the terminology of the traditionists, these are
counted as 700 HadTths. Thus the large number of Hadlth mentioned
are not actually all different, but contain many slight variations of a
single Hadlth.
In sum, this statement regarding al-BukharT’s discrimination
only amounts to say that he took the trouble to study the whole of
the HadTths, both reliable and unreliable, which existed written or
unwritten in his day. But it should not be imagined that he was the
first to determine the true from the false; a generally agreed body of
good and fair traditions was already in existence with the earlier
traditionists. Al-BukharT added his own unparalleled acumen to make
a final examination and compiled a definitive selection of those
HadTths "which possessed the very best authority. Those who lightly
challenge the authority of such compilations should be well aware of
what they are doing; it requires a person of exceptional industry and
intelligence even to reach to the level of a pupil of these great
Muhaddithun. To surpass them would require something more than
the superficial and biased minds of today, which have not shown
themselves capable of any constructive work in the religious field up
to the present.
We come now to a very crucial matter. It is stated that the
HadTth should be re-examined on a new basis and with a view to the
changed environment. No one has yet given the least inkling of what
this basis is to be, except perhaps that it will be the arbitrary fancies
of the re-examiners. We have to learn what al-BukharT’s basis is, let
alone working out a new one. But what constitutes exactly this
changed environment? We must be very clear about what has
changed and what has not. The real change in the modern wprld has
taken place in the physical realm through the inventions of machines
and scientific apparatus, and has affected particularly
communications, travel, the "publication of books and disseminating
l of information, availability of mass-produced books and labour-
saving devices. But the spiritual and moral nature of man has not
changed, nor indeed, has his basic physical nature; he still has to eat.
sleep, wash, relieve himself, marry and bring up children, find
shelter, work for his bread and preserve a family and community
life. The colours of the picture have changed but the outline is the
same.
Any amendments in-Muslim law which are necessitated by the
inevitable changes of the machine age are perfectly justified. But
there is another type of change which is always lurking consciously
or subconsciously in the minds of some of the "modernists", and this
is the change in habits due to foreign domination, not physical but
cultural domination. Many of these habits, both of thought and
action, are not inevitable at all, stilt less desirable, and are simply
the result of blind conformity. Much of the criticism and scepticism
directed towards religion today is not in the least genuine but simply
a western habit of thought. Most, if not all, of the modem critics of
Hadlth among Muslims have not exercised any constructive or
original thought on the question, but borrow the criticism of western
writers and use their arguments.
Western detractors of Hadlth can be divided into two main
categories: sceptic rationalists, and missionaries. All of them have
the characteristics of one or both of these categories in various
proportions. There is one attribute which is common to both of
them; they are unable to conceive of a Revealed Law. Christianity
in its present form is based on the rejection of the Jewish Law,
which was effected shortly after Jesus’ removal from this world, in
the time of his disciples. This rejection has moulded the mentality of
the West so that they now have great difficulty in accepting even the
possibility of a law laid down under Divine Inspiration. So the first
reason for their criticism of Hadlth is an inherent defect of mind. As
far as the sceptic rationalists are concerned they do not believe in
revealed religion at all, and their criticism starts off with this basic
prejudgement. With an inherited warped mentality and a disbelief in
the honesty and good intentions of man, they naturally assume that
what they cannot understand must have been invented, and use all
kinds of specious and unscientific arguments to attempt to prove it.
Their attitude to Islam, in fact to all revealed religions, is that of a
disbeliever; it is obvious that for a Muslim to adopt their attitude or
make use of their very poorly founded arguments is absurd and self-
contradictory.
The second category of critics are the missionaries or inspired
by the missionary spirit; their intention from the beginning is to
denigrate Islam by any method that comes to hand. All weapons,
honest and dishonest, rational and irrational, virtuous and vicious are
allowable in their view. To expect them to make a scholarly and
impartial study of any branch of Islam would be sheer gullibility.
Some of the books regarding HadTth published from European
universities are written precisely in this spirit.
It can be imagined that any Muslim who bases his knowledge
of HadTth on such works can know precisely nil, or rather a minus
quantity, regarding the subject. If the basis of HadTth criticism or the
criticism of any branch of Islam is to be an outlook based on the
borrowed conceptions and way of life of the West then it has no
validity at all and must be rejected outright. Subservience to a
civilization which happens to be passing through a temporary phase
of material prosperity and power can have no place in the religion of
Islam. Genuine research and reform which are not coloured by the
spirit of mere imitation but based on the true faith and directed to the
real progress of Islam are quite another thing. To be a genuine
Muslim reformer, a p'erson should have a burning faith, the love of
Allah and His Messenger, and intimate personal experience of the
spiritual and devotional as well as the practical and institutional
aspects of Islam.
8
SUNNAH - THE
FACTUAL EMBODIMENT
OF REVELATION
S. M. YUSUF
The Sunnah and the Kitdb
The Prophet came with a mission. This mission, under the Divine
guidance, took a definite form known as the Sunnah or the Sunnah
of the Prophet of God. The Divine guidance, which came verbally
in the form of Qur’anic Revelation, provided a kind of necessary
background foundation for the Sunnah. Although, therefore,
difference can be made between the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the two
cannot be fundamentally divorced from one another. For, the Sunnah
is a, more or less, concrete implementation of the Divine will.1 The
tangible form, the factual embodiment, has every claim upon our
attention and may not be neglected when we try to understand the
spirit or the value-content of Islam. This shift in emphasis from bare
Book independently of the Sunnah to the Sunnah with reference to
the Book makes all the difference in the undersanding of the
development of legal practice and theory in Islam. Further, it also
makes a vital difference in our approach towards the problem of
210
The Factual Embodiment of Revelation 211
Ijtihad in relation to the situations arising out of the complexities of

the present-day modern life.
In justification of the above position we have to turn first to
Revelation inaql) and then to simple natural wisdom (‘aql).
Revelation
In the context of the mission of the prophets the Qur’an speaks on

eight occasions of the Kitab in conjunction with the Hikmah, on the
ninth occasion Ayat Allah is substituted for al-kitab together with al-
hikmah.2 Now hikmah signifies propriety of judgment as manifested
and embodied in the propriety of conduct.3 Clearly, hikmah is the
primary trait of nubuwwah i.e., the prophets were concerned with
the establishment and perpetuation of propriety in ‘veritable modes
of behaviour.’ Even the efforts of a prophet with a book are directed
essentially to the same veritable modes of behaviour — the hikmah
in action. In this latter case the Book is necessarily embodied in the
hikmah-, there is no question of the hikmah being turned into a mere
ephemeral accident of the Book. The importance of the Book lies in
the fact that it helps in stabilising the hikmah and ensuring sanctity
and purity for the same. In other words, al-kitab wa'l-hikmah
represents an organic whole; the kitab subsists not in the leaves
‘between the two covers’ nor in the folds of the memory of the
‘readers’ (qurra’) but in the coveted forms of the hikmah which in
its turn is sustained by the supreme memorable words of God. The
progression from the Kit&b to the Hikmah is essential; to tear the one
from the other is to destroy the common entity of both. The Hikmah
springs from the Book and the Book grows into the Hikmah. The
root is important for the sake of the flower and the fruit; anyone who
would not have the entire plant with the natural shape, colour, odour
and taste of-its foliage and product would just kill the root by having
only the root. Perhaps I need not labour the point that the Hikmah is
by common agreement to be equated fully with the Sunnah — the
pattern of behaviour according to the design of the Book.
212 S. M. Yusuf
‘Aql
The simple natural wisdom of man would also regard the concrete
form as crucial in the matter of heavenly guidance. So far as the
values are concerned they belong to the realm of ma'ruf i.e.,
intuitive knowledge of good and evil. It is only in determining the
particular form of virtue in specified circumstances that man by
himself would feel somewhat perplexed and helpless. And it is just
at the point where man’s natural wisdom wavers and feels at a loss
to make a definite choice — it is just there that the choice of Allah
is made known to him in the form of actual practice fostered under
the aegis of a prophet in intimate communion with Himself. Now the
actual practice of virtue with all the details of form and manner
represents the real outside help to man in his predicament, which is
to devise form and shape for the practice of intuitively known values
in actual life. It is but due that the faithful should treasure and stick
unflinchingly to the formalities of the Sunnah because it is the forms
of virtue that constitute the real art of religion. When we admire a
piece of art — a particular design of dress, for example — do we not
actually concentrate upon the form which the artist has succeeded in
devising for the abstract values of beauty and elegance? The moment
one turns one’s gaze away from the ensemble of form one is left
with a mere piece of cloth, which one cannot make any use of unless
one finds some form for it. Thus the discarding of ‘form’ only serves
to force upon attention the importance of it. And then comes the
realisation that it is really the form that baffles the intellect of man.
To make little of form is to make little of religion itself by
contenting merely with intuition. And let us remember that intuition
receives flashes of abstract values only — a realm in which it is, no
doubt, far more reliable than rational thought. But as soon as it
comes to actual practice calling for a definite choice of form, the
impudence of both the intuition and the rational thought is fully
exposed. Then there appear only two alternatives: either to
acknowledge in all humbleness that the choice of form is to be
determined by the Sunnah, i.e., tjie example of a Drnnely guided
person or to resort to bullying and assert that the forms are just
inconsequential. The former is the way of religion, the latter the way
of no-religion. Naturalism, Humanism and Liberalism are essentially
non-religious attitudes not because they deny any moral values of life
but just because they discount the specific forms of virtue as enjoined
by religion. Very soon, however, these non-religious attitudes turn
anti-religious when they develop intolerance of religious forms. That
is to say, while demanding of religion the tolerance of any form of
virtue whatsoever, non-religion tends to regard the particular form
of religion as anathema to itself. Why? This is so because the
specific forms of religion have their sanction in tawqif i.e., the
authoritative teaching of God as distinct from the inward perception
of man. This element of tawqif in regard to actual form is the real
distinction of religion and any attack on it is an attack on religion
itself. It was on the same account that the ‘Natural (nature excluding
tawqif) Religion’ of the Mu'tazilah fell into disrepute. And the
failure of philosophy in all the ages to serve the mass of mankind in
regard to the promotion of practical virtue on any scale comparable
to that of religion is also to be explained by the absence of the self¬
same tawqif in respect of forms.
Shah Wa&yullah on the importance of ‘form’
The best exposition of the above viewpoint is to be found in Shah

Wallyullah’s Hujjah. According to him, every act prescribed, by the
Sunnah (with the Kitdb at the back of it) is a definite, invariable
form (.shabh, qOlab, numnnah) permeated with a spirit or general
abstract idea or high moral consideration (ruh, asl, maslahah). The
understanding and appreciation of the latter, which is the subject of
the "‘ilm asrdral-shari‘ahn, far from promoting any contempt for
the former, should only compel conservation and strict adherence to
it. The relationship between the two is hard, fast and essential: the
form is the ideal representation {shukhus mathdliyyah) and the perfect
actualisation (wujud shabahtf of the spirit — the one denotes, stands
for, and symbolises, the other -like the word and the idea, the script
and the spoken word,' and the picture and the object.4 So far as the
value is concerned, it is ingrained in human nature; there is no grace
214 S. M. Yusuf
of God (lutf) in revealing the same through a prophet. It is only the

prescription through Sunnah of the dimensions and the particulars
(maqddir) of the acts containing, embodying as well as preserving
and promoting the values which constitutes the real ‘grace1,5 And it
is the height of folly on the part of man to belittle or cast away this
very distinctive element of grace from the solid structure of practical
religion.
Maslahah distinguished from 'Illah
Further, Shah WalTyullah makes a very subtle distinction of high

import between maslahah i.e., abstract consideration of value and
‘illah i.e., the effective cause or the accountable condition of
judgment. For example, a traveller on journey is privileged not to
keep the fast. In this case consideration for convenience and
avoidance of extra hardship represents the value content of the
judgment, which, however, should not be confused with the effective
cause or the accountable condition of it, namely, the journey. There
can be no doubt about the essential primacy of the value content but
that only enhances the quality of an act; the act itself is determined
and takes cognisable shape from the conditions specified for it. Now
the all-important conclusion resulting from the above is that analogy
is to be based on 4illah and not on maslahah — in the above
example, on the concrete circumstance of journey and not on the
consideration for the avoidance of extra hardship. The value content
is recognised only in one prescribed form just as the human spirit is
recognisable only in the human form. One form is not as good as the
other: there is to be no extension of analogy in regard to forms. For
fulfilment of duty, the prayer has to be in just one prescribed form:
communion with Allah in any other form is not enough. This is
because the value content is unmeasurable and liable to be mistaken
(ial-khafi al-mushtabah); it has to be regulated and defined with
suitable external formal conditions such as are clearly understood and
palpably seen by the common people and would incontestably allow
for an easy check and simple process of retribution.6 Finally,
retribution depends primarily upon the formalities of an act; without
I
I
I
I
he Factual Embodiment of Revelation
the completion of formalities in the ordained manner the act cannot

be taken into account at all. It is only when the act is there in
appropriate form and shape that a probe can be made into the spirit
215
| behind it with a view to assessing the quality of the act. The fact that
the spirit is susceptible of simulation and difficult of apprehension in
its hide-out deep into the recesses of the heart only serves to bring
out the point made above in regard to the formalities being the
accountable test of punishment and reward.
That is, of course, the generally accepted view among all the
religious persuasions: the learned among them are distinguished by
an insight into the absolute, inseparable and divinely ordained
relationship between the maslahah or the value content of an act and
the form prescribed for the same through the Sunnah; the rest are
just content with performance on the pattern of the Sunnah. But
during various periods of history there has been a minority of
intellectuals and visionaries who, once they attained to a knowledge
of the maslahah behind the religious ordinances, began to work for
the discarding of the prescribed forms as inconsequential. According
to them the form was like a shell; it had to be broken and the kernel
(i.e., value) taken out of it. But, to turh the same simile the other
way, the kernel requires for its growth and protection a shell of a
distinct type, which would not allow even of the slightest variation.
The intellectuals and the visionaries fail to appreciate that it requires
the Omniscience of Allah to devise the appropriate form for the
growth and preservation of ingrained values, which cannot but
deteriorate and lose their effectiveness without it. Any other form
devised by human reason is bound to lack perfection. Hence
infidelity to more Sunnah can only mean splendid chaos — a sort of
Bohemian libertinism in spiritual and moral values. In the words of
Shah Wallyullah,
There is no gainsaying the fact that unconformity to the prescribed

formal ways (mandhij) is a great source of evil in as much as it
involves fault-finding with the divinely-guided Sunnah, the opening of
the door of sin, double-dealing with the general body of Muslims and
harming the clan, the town and the entire community.7
216 S. M. Yusuf
Among the intellectuals who mocked at the supreme importance of

the Sunnah forms were the well-meaning Mu‘tazilah and the
impudently wise philosophers. Their attitude to tawqif has already
been hinted at above. The Sufi visionaries had even more obvious
excuse for showing contempt for everything pertaining to sobriety
and orderliness in actual life on mundane earth. Ail these deviations
from the general consensus soon developed into monstrosities and
had to be curbed by force — not only the force of the government
in power but also the pressure of the general will of the community.
The danger to public life and morality resulting from the attempts to
play with ‘forms’ is poignantly brought out towards the end of the
story of Absal and Salaman (in Ibn TufayPs Hayy bin Yctfjzan). It
was this disillusionment that gave rise to the later view that
philosophy should be confined to the select few as evidenced by the
spate of works entitled "al-madnun bUu ‘aid ghayri ahlihim.
The challenge of modernity
In our own day the so-called modernity, the protagonists of which

keep a sinister silence on its full and proper definition, is but the
same old challenge to the Sunnah in a new garb with the difference
that this time it is accompanied by a fanfare of scientific achievement
and industrial and technological power. Anyway, modernity is
presented as a self-evident inescapable fact destined to reign supreme
in the mid-twentieth century. In the circumstances it would appear
to be a generous concession indeed that religion is allowed to
survive: only it is called upon to adjust itself to the new demands of
the age. The method suggested for such adjustment is no other than
sloughing off the old forms and revaluing the values arbitrarily
according to the exigencies of modernity itself. No surprise that the
brunt of the attack is directed at the Sunnah — the repository of
forms and institutions. It makes little difference if the allegiance to
the Sunnah is retained so long as it is regarded as a mere carton
package for graded values. Quite unwittingly a Christian missionary
adviser on ‘modem Islam’ once let the cat out of the bag when he
complained with amusing, rather exasperating, pathos that the
Muslims were more devoted to Islam than to Allah! Modernity is at

war with the dimensional Islam — its practices and institutions. If
only the sanctity of such practices as cutting the hand of the thief and
stoning the married adulterer is undermined, a general inward
abhorrence of theft and adultery can conveniently be tolerated.
The Turks may remain staunch Muslims with the permission of
modernity only if the state is secular and the SharVah replaced with
a conglomeration of Swiss and other codes. To clinch the issue, let
us only ask ourselves the simple question whether our sense of
abhorrence at theft and adultery has increased or decreased since the
giving up of the Sunnah form of punishment designed to foster the
same.
A typical example of the adjustment of Islam to modernity is
provided by what has come to be known as the Fatwa of Tunis (by
al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Mahlrl, ex-Mufti of Safaqis dated the 19th
February, I960).8 Basically, the argument runs thus: attach yourself
only to the value of sparing extra hardship as deduced from the
privilege of the traveller not to keep the fast, then apply the value
quite widely in the case of industrial and other workers until the
institution of fasting rests at the sweet will of those willing and
allowed to declare themselves as idlers. It is highly significant,
indeed, that Shah WalTyullah repeatedly proffers the self-same
example in order to mark the difference between maslahah and ‘illah
and to forewarn against the attempts to writhe out of the concrete
form of the Sunnah and run after the ethereal spirit of the Book.
Shah WalTyullah’s vision was almost prophetic in his grasp of the
mentality of the modernists in Islam. If hard work (e.g., agriculture
and smithpry) were compared to the hardship of the journey, then,
declares Shah WalTyllah, obedience to God would be nullified. And
if every fatigue and hardship (ta ‘b, ‘ina ’) were considered as harmful
(harij) and worthy of elimination then there would be no test at all
of submission to the Will of God.9
As a matter of fact. Shah WalTyullah has just taken the cue from
aI-Shafi‘1. It is well-known that the latter was almost vehement in his
denunciation of al-lstihsan. He declared:
218 S. M. Yusuf
Whoever indulges in Istihsan sets himself up as Lawgiver.
This categorical declaration is corroborated and explained by al-

Sha‘b! in the words:
Certainly* if you took to comparisons (of value) you would be making

the lawful unlawful and the unlawful lawful".10
Now this vehemence, rather virulence, on the part of a disciplined

academician like ai-ShafTI can only be understood in the context of
value-hunt implied in Istihsan and its consequences for the integrity
of the Sunnah. It represents an inherent failing of the human intellect
and an old recurring danger to the supremacy of the Shari'ah.
In conclusion, it will be appreciated that the history of the
development of jurisprudence in Islam is characterised by an honest
search for the Sunnah, which is to be contrasted with the modernist
exasperation with the Sunnah. The Muslim jurists were eager to
make life conform to Islam while the modernist is at pains to make
Islam conform to modernity. The moment the structure of the
Sunnah topples down, Islam with its pure spirit and much-vaunted
values will be dead and buried under the debris.
NOTES
t. Cf. al-Shafi‘f, al-Risalahy ed. Ahmad Shakir, Art.257:
L *■><*. alii ijj**) y*
2. Cf. Ibid.y Art.245-257. Refer the Qur’an, 3:81; 2:129; 2:151; 2:231; 3:48;
si 110; 4:54; 4:113 and 33:34.
The following verses may also be borne in mind where al-hikmah is almost
defined by acts of virtue: 31:12; 17:23, 39.
The verse 4:61 may also be regarded as equivalent to "al-kitdb >wa 7 hikmah*
3. See Tafstr al-Khdzin under the verses quoted in Note 2 particularly 31:12
where al-hikmah is best defined as:
[ATAto'/i (Cairo 1328 A.H.), III; 440).
In this respect, the concomitant, al-kitab wa*l~hikmah is to be compared with

*'amanu wa'amilu al-salihat\ The relationship between the good faith and the
good conduct has been one of the most vexed problems in theology. However,
in spite of all ingenuity, the attempt to isolate the one from the other has
proved to be far from convincing. The point is that good faith can only be
seen and vouched for through specific forms of good conduct.
Shah WalTyullah,Hujjah (Cairo 1352 A.H.), 1:92, babAsbabal-Mu'akhadhah
‘ala al-Mandhij.
5. Ibid.. 1:129.
6. Ibid., 1:130 and 87.
7. Ibid., 1:92.
8. See the text thereof in Die Welt des Islams, N.S. vol.VII, pp.54-57.
9. Shah WalTyullah, op. cit., 1:94 and 103-4.
10. Ibid., 1:121, Man Asbab al-Tahrif al-Istihsan and p.147, para.2.
9
SOCIAL CHANGE
AND EARLY
SUNNAH
FAZLUR RAHMAN
The problem before us
When new forces of massive magnitude — socio-economic, cultural-

moral or political — occur in or to a society, the fate of that society
naturally depends on how far it is able to meet the new challenges
creatively. If it can avoid the two extremes of panicking and
recoiling upon itself and seeking delusive shelters in the past on the
one hand, and sacrificing or compromising its very ideals on the
other, and can react to the new forces with self-confidence by
necessary assimilation, absorption, rejection and other forms of
positive creativity, it will develop a new dimension for its inner
aspirations, a new meaning and scope for its ideals. Should it,
however, choose, by volition or force of circumstance, the second
of the two extremes we have just mentioned and succumb to the new
forces, it will obviously undergo a metamorphosis; its being will no
longer remain the same and, indeed, it may even perish in the
process of transformation and be swallowed up by another sccio-
220
Social Change and Early Sunnah 221
cultural organism. But more surely fatal than this mistake is the one
we have mentioned as the first extreme. Should a society begin to
live in the past — however sweet its memories — and fail to face the
realities of the present squarely — however unpleasant they be, — it
must become a fossil; and it is an unalterable law of God that fossils
do not survive for long:
We did them no injustice; it is they who did injustice to

themselves (11:101; 16:33, etc.).
Roughly speaking, for about a century Muslim society has been

experiencing the onset, within its fabric, of tremendous forces let
loose by what is generally called ‘Modernity’ whose source has lain
in the contemporary West. Certain conscious efforts have been made
by Muslim thinkers both in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent and in the
Middle East, particularly around the end of the last century, to meet
the new challenges by creative absorption, adjustment, etc. With the
rise, however, of independent Muslim states during the past two
decades or so and their emancipation from the foreign political
domination, these influences of Modernity have naturally been
accelerated in pace and momentum. We say ‘naturally’ because with
the all-too-justifiable desire for developing the potential resources on
the part of these countries — natural and human — instruments of
mass economic production and movement, mass-education, media of
mass-comlnunication, etc., are absolutely inescapable. Muslim
society has plunged itself into the Industrial Age — if it did not do
so, its fate would be sealed. But these vast and massive impacts
require a creative response of equal dimensions if our society is to
progress Islamically. This calls for a relentless process of hard,
clear, systematic and synthetic thinking, which is not yet visible in
the Muslim World. By and large, and in effect, we are still suffering
from intellectual indolence and consequently, for all practical
Purposes, are experiencing the two extreme attitudes born of this
indolence, to which we have just now pointed, viz. (a) a laissez-faire
attitude towards the new forces which makes us simply drift, and (b)
an attitude of escape to the past which may seem emotionally more
222 Fazlur Rahman
satisfying immediately but which is, in fact, the more obviously fatal
of the two attitudes.
Fortunately, there are strong guiding lines for us in the early
history of the Community when the Qur’anic teaching and the
Prophetic Sunnah (the ideal legacy of the Prophetic activity) were
creatively elaborated and interpreted to meet the new factors and
impacts upon Muslim society into the ‘living Sunnah’ of the
Community. In Chapter 6 we have studied at some length the
phenomenon of this developing, moving ‘living Sunnah’. This was
not just an academic exercise motivated through sheer historical
curiosity: if it is historically true, then it is fraught lvith meaning for
us now, and, indeed, forever. In the sequel, we shall illustrate the
development of this early ‘living Sunnah’ with concrete examples,
endeavouring in each case to show the situational background — the
forces that called forth a certain measure — and by pointing out the
extent of the newness of the cases we hope to bring out their true
magnitude. These illustrations have three objectives in view: (i) they
strikingly drive home the reality of the ‘living Sunnah’; (ii) they are
intended as pointers for future developments; (iii) they constitute a
humble suggestion to the ‘ulama ’ that if the study of early Hadlth-
materials is carried through with constructive purposiveness under
the canons of historical criticism and in relation to the historico-
sociological background, they take on quite a new meaning. A
Hadlth, say, in al~Muwatta \ that ‘Umar did so-and-so, when read as
mere Hadlth, i.e., as an isolated report, remains a blank and yields
little; but when one fully comprehends the sociological forces that
brought the action about, it becomes meaningful for us now and
assumes an entirely new dimension.
In what sense does it become meaningful for us now? As a
pointer to our future development, as we said in (ii) above. It is of
capital importance to realize, however, that a pointer is, by its very
nature, generally indicative rather than specifically legislative. The
‘living Sunnah’ of our early forefathers, therefore, while it has
lessons for us as a genuine and successful interpretation of the
Qur’an and the Prophetic activity for the early days of the
Community, is, in its flesh and blood, absolutely irrepeatable, for
history really never repeats itself so far as societies and their

structures are concerned. There is only one sense in which our early
history is repeatable — and, indeed, in that sense it must be repeated
if we are to live as progressive Muslims at all, viz., just as those
generations met their own situation adequately by freely interpreting
the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet — by emphasizing the ideal
and the principles and re-embodying them in a fresh texture of their
own contemporary history — we must perform the same feat for
ourselves, with our own effort, for our own contemporary history.
In one way, the following examples have been chosen somewhat
at random in the sense that many more examples of the kind exist in
books out of which only these happen to be given here. But these are
as good as any others in illustrating the points outlined above and in
establishing our thesis. In another sense, however, these examples
are not altogether the results of random choice but have been largely
determined by one major consideration which will become apparent
to any careful reader. This is the fact that most of the examples have
been chosen from ‘Umar’s legislation and decisions. The reason for
this is not far to seek. It was in the time of ‘Umar that, due to
sudden and vast conquests, big sociological and political problems
arose in Madlnah itself and in the conquered lands. Sociologically
speaking, perhaps the biggest problem was the presence of an
immense increase in the numbers of slaves and slave-girls or, rather,
bondsmen and bondswomen. The same element in the population,
when gradually freed, became so powerful that it contributed directly
to the subsequent overthrow of the Umayyad rule. While going
through the Muwatta’ of Malik one is impressed with the social
legislation of ‘Umar, especially with regard to the slave problem,
and more especially with regard to the problem of the slave-girls.
Secondly, therefore, many of these examples happen to be drawn
from the Muwatta ’.
Some illustrations:
A law of War
1. The practice of the Prophet had been that if a certain tribe did not
224 Fazlur Rahman
surrender peacefully but was reduced after armed conflict, its lands
were confiscated and distributed among the Muslim soldiers as part
of the booty. This was probably an old law of war. But the Muslims
accepted it as the Sunnah of the Prophet, as part of the mechanism
of devastating the enemy and rewarding the Muslim fighter and,
indeed, this law remained operative in the early small-scale conquests
of the Muslims outside Arabia. When, however, Iraq (Sawad) and
Egypt were conquered and added to the Muslim territory in ‘Umar's
time, he refused to distribute these massive territories among the
Arab soldiers and dispossess the original inhabitants. There was solid
opposition against ‘Umar’s stand even though he was not alone in
holding this opinion but several other men of eminence agreed with
him. The opposition hardened so much that a kind of crisis
developed, but ‘Umar remained firm and tried to argue his case on
the ground that if Arab soldiers became land-settlers they would
cease to be fighters, although his real considerations, as it
subsequently turned out, were based on a keen sense of socio¬
economic justice. One day ‘Umar came upon the following verse of
the Qur’an which, in a very general way, did support his view and
in broad terms embodied his unshakeable faith in justice:
. . . And those whoshall come after them shall say: O our Lord!
Forgive us and those of our brethren who have preceded us in
Faith . . . Verily, Thou art kind, benevolent (59:10).
This verse most decisively shows that he was motivated by

fundamental considerations of socio-economic justice: he refused to
concede the distribution of one whole country after another among
the Muslim-Arab soldiery to the neglect of the world population and
future generations.1
But this case reveals certain features of paramount importance
in connection with the interpretation of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s
Sunnah. The Prophet had undoubtedly confiscated the territories that
had fallen after a fight. This fact is historically so clear and firm that
it is this kind of unambiguous pronouncement or behaviour that later
legists term muhkam or mansus. The truth, however, is that this hard
and fast distinction between muhkam and mutashdbih, between nass

and non-now does not exist for the very early generations of
Muslims. It is this type of case that has led Joseph Schacht to assert
repeatedly in his Origins of Muhammedan Jurisprudence that in the
early development of Fiqh the Qur’an is "introduced invariably at a
secondary stage” (e.g. p.224). This is an extraordinary statement to
make. But it certainly points to something and this something is that
the early generations were not bound by what later came to be called
‘nass’ or the letter of the text. This case of ‘Umar is a striking case
of this kind. What ‘Umar and those who agreed with him — and
ultimately everyone had to agree — felt most strongly was that the
Prophet was acting within a restricted milieu of tribes, that,
therefore, you cannot carry on the same practice where vast
territories and whole peoples are involved; otherwise you violate the
very principles ofjustice for which the Prophet had been fighting all
i
his life. One thing is certain: that although ‘Umar obviousty departed
formally from the Sunnah of the Prophet on a major point, he did so
in the interest of implementing the essence of the Prophet’s Sunnah.
Indeed, there are few men in history who have carried on the
mission of the Prophet so creatively, so effectively and so well. But
these are the choices and the decisions which every living society has
:to face almost incessantly but particularly at times when massive new
factors enter into it.
Criminal Law
2. It is well known that ‘Umar suspended the Hadd punishment for

theft during a period of acute scarcity of food.
Social Legislation
3. ‘Umar ordered:
Whatever slave-girl gives birth to a child from her master, can neither
be sold by him nor given away as a gift nor left as a part of his
inheritance. She belongs to her master during his lifetime (i.e. unless
she is freed by him), but on his death will become automatically free :
226 Fazlur Rahman
We know that a "mother-of the-child (umm al-walad)\ as a slave-

girl who bore a child was called since early Islamic days, could be
sold, given away as a gift and was, of course, on the death of her
master, inherited during the lifetime of the Prophet — although this
was an old custom of the Arabs, which the Prophet did not forbid
because apparently it did not constitute a big social problem. In one
respect, however, the slave-girl got a special concession in very early
Islam — besides the overall improvement that occurred through
Qur’anic legislation and moral exhortation with regard to slaves in
general. This is that when she bore a child, she was called "umm al~
walad" and, as such, given special treatment.
Not until Omar’s time, however, was a legislative measure
taken to ensure that the "mother-of-the-child” could neither be sold
nor given away as gift nor yet could she be retained as a slave after
the master was dead. At the latter’s death, indeed, both she and her
offspring must enjoy equal freedom. What had happened since the
Prophet’s days that a custom even backed by his own ‘silent’
approval (Sunnah sukutiyah) had to be legislated against? Obviously,
something vitally Islamic was at stake and on closer examination we
find that a big problem of social justice had been raised by certain
new factors in the society. The great influx of slaves and slave-girls
raised many problems. Especially acute was the problem of those
slave-girls — whose number was very large — that bore children. If
these were bought and sold and given away as gifts, what would be
its effect on society? More especially, what would be its effect on
children, on their morale and morals? These were the considerations
that led ‘Umar to put a ban on their sale and indeed, on their slavery
after the master’s death. So far as the master’s life is concerned,
since the woman has borne him children, he is assumed to show her
great consideration by an almost physical necessity, as it were.
‘Umar, therefore, curtailed the ‘rights’ of slave-owning men and
even went against a Sunnah in order to keep the bases of the Sunnah
,
alive strong and progressively prosperous.
For the traditional students of the Hadlth, i.e. 'u/ama\ the
above-quoted measure of ‘Umar is merely a Hadlth, i.e. a report
about a ”saying of ‘Umar". Since the genuinely historical reports are
not studied with an eye on the historico-sociological background

which would make them ‘live’ before our own eyes, they are read as
dead matter, shorn of any meaning for us now. May we request our
‘ulama’ to study these materials with the necessary and relevant
background? We feel certain that once this is done, the whole
question of how the Qur’an and the Sunnah are to be interpreted will
take on a new meaning for the traditional students of the madrasah.
3A. Malik holds3 that if a man-slave contracts with his master to

purchase his freedom on payment of instalments to his master but
dies before completing the instalments, then, if such a "contractual
slave (mukatab)" has left a "mother-of-the-child" and also children
who are too weak to complete the instalments left over by their
father and thus earn their own freedom as well as that of the
"mother-of-the-child", then the "mother-of-the-child" must be sold
in order to purchase the freedom for the children.
The really interesting feature of this comment of Malik is that
it is not brought into relation with ‘Umar’s order banning the sale of
the "mothers-of-children”. Of course, the case Malik is discussing
may be different from those covered by ‘Umar’s order; but Malik
does not even mention ‘Umar’s order, discuss its relevance or
otherwise to the case in point and mark out the latter’s differential,
etc. This is, indeed, a most fundamental and striking feature of our
Fiqh, that its various parts and legal points and enunciations do not
actually tie up with one another to make it a real well-knit system.
That is why it has been aptly described as a "discussion on a
Muslim’s duties" rather than a legal system in the strict sense.
Indeed, even a casual student cannot fail to notice this ‘atomicity’ of
Fiqh — the, in effect, intellectually unrelated development of almost
all of its enunciations. Therefore, rather than being a system, it is a
huge mass of atoms, each atom being a kind of a system in itself.
Broadly speaking, therefore, Fiqh constitutes materials for a legal
system but is not a legal system itself. We do not, however, deny
that Fiqh is endowed with a sufficiently definite character which
marks it out from other legal systems — this character being the
result of its Islamicity — what we deny is that it is a logically
228 Fazlur Rahman
connected, intellectually worked out, and, therefore, a closely

enough knit legal system.
4. Connected with (3) above is ‘Umar’s decision that if a slave is

grossly maltreated by his or her master, the state must intervene.
Malik reports that ‘Umar ordered the freeing of a slave-girl who had
been tortured by her master.4
5. ‘Umar issued an order with the following statement:
How about men who cohabit with their slave-girls but then neglect
them (and subsequently refuse to own children bom of these slave-
girls on the pretext that they were never sure where these girls had
been visiting). For me it is sufficient ground that the master of a
slave-girl should admit having cohahited.with her that I should declare
the child to be his. So either control your slave-girls or let them go.5
Just consider the dimensions of the social evil arising from the non¬
recognition of children by anyone as their father — either the
ostensible father or the real one. The problem, however, arose in the
first place bjrthe immense number of slave-girls who probably could
not even be controlled by their masters. We now understand more
fully the significance of (3) above, viz. ‘Umar’s measure to declare
slave-girls with children free and rehabilitate them in society.
Law of Evidence
6. A man came to ‘Umar from Iraq and said, "I have come to you
for something which has neither head nor tail (i.e. is as difficult to
treat as a vicious circle).” "What is it ?’’ inquired ‘Umar. The man
said, "In our country (Iraq) false evidence has become rampant." "Is
this really so?" asked ‘Umar and "yes" was the man’s reply.
Thereupon ‘Umar said: "By God, none shall be imprisoned under
Islam except on the evidence of unimpeachable witnesses. "6 The law
of evidence in Islam, of course, lays down certain criteria of
reliability of witnesses although these are rather formal. But what is
of importance here is that an important part of die procedural law is
being given a fresh meaning because of the new situational context

that had arisen. It may be objected that this report of Malik may not
be able to stand the test of strict historical criticism for, to begin
with, we do not know who this ‘man’ was that came from Iraq and
complained to ‘Umar. But our point about the fresh interpretation of
laws and investing these with new emphasis and even new meaning
in the light of.the changing sociological situation remains perfectly
valid whether or not the story itself is true and, if true, whether it is
true about ‘Umar or about somebody else.
7. A slave who, under a contract, was allowed by his master to

purchase his freedom by instalments was called a "mukatab (a slave
contracted-for-freedom)". A man was thought to be under no legal
| compulsion to allow his slave to purchase freedom but this was
| undoubtedly encouraged by state policies. Actually, the words of the
I
I Qur’an:
And contract them (the slaves) for freedom, if you think they are
any good (24:33).
hardly admit of any doubt as to the uncompromising intention of the

Qur’an to free slaves and abolish slavery. But with the influx of a
large number of slaves — under the war ethics of those days — the
intention of the Qur’an could not be immediately carried out and
. subsequently this became one of those major points on which the
Qur’anic ideals>were thwarted by the Community at large. The
words of the'Qur’an, "If you think they are any good” are not a
restriction on freeing of slaves. All that they mean is that if a slave
cannot earn to purchase his freedom then he cannot be expected to
stand on his own feet, when set free and even when set free, he will
be a slave.
Once, however, a slave had contracted for freedom the question
arose whether a slave, on showing good cause, could pay all his
instalments at once — if he could earn so much and hence offered to
do so — and free himself without going through the entire period of
the instalments. Malik says:
230 Fazlur Rahman
Furafisah [Porphyrius (?) apparently a Graeco-Syrian name) b.

‘Umayr, the Hanafite [this has no reference to the famous school of
Islamic law but to a tribe] had a mukatab who proposed to the former
that he accept from the latter all the sums of the mukaiabah-contract
at once (because the slave had grounds for getting freedom early).
Furafisah refused the offer. The mukatab came to the UmawT Marwan,
then governor of Madlnah, and petitioned to him. Marwan called
Furafisah and asked him to accept the offer but the latter refused
again. Marwan then ordered that the contract money should be taken
from the slave and put in the public treasury, while to the slave he
said: "Go! you are a free man." When Furafisah saw this, he took the
money.7
Commenting upon this Malik says:
Therefore, our established practice \al-amr\ we have pointed out

before, however, that Malik uses the terms *al-amr\ *al-'amal\ kal-
sunnah', and 'al-amr al-mujtama' ‘alayhV as equivalent terms for the
practice or Sunnah at Madlnah) is that when his special circumstances
enable a mukatab to pay up all his dues, even before they are due, it
is permitted to him to do so and his master may not refuse . . .
We have cited this case in order to make two points. First,

along with the previously cited examples, it brings out clearly the
measures that were taken by the state-authorities to enfranchize the
slaves. Secondly, this illustration forces vividly upon our attention
the fact, oft-repeated previously, that Sunnah, i.e., the living practice
of the Community, is not just the work of the Prophet as the post-
Shafi‘1 Fi^/i-doctrine claims, but is the result of the progressive
thought — and decision-making activity of the Muslims. Here
Marwan b. al-Hakam’s decision is part of the practice or Sunnah
according to Malik. Exactly the same is true of the concept of
Sunnah in al-Awza‘1, the younger contemporary of Malik in Syria.
The Iraqi school started with the same living tradition but gradually
exhibited greater freedom in legal ratiocination and depended less on
actual decisions taken in the past. About the middle of the second
century, however,this free thought began more and more to take the
form of traditions (Hadlth). But the Iraqi Hadjth is, at bottom, no
less regional than the Madinese Sunnah or the 'practice' of al-

AwzaT.
Conclusion
The illustrations given above — and a host of other examples many

of which we have not given and some of which we have provided in
the previous chapters — demonstrate beyond any shadow of doubt
that our earliest generations looked upon the teaching of the Qur’an
and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet not as something static but
essentially as something that moves through different social forms
and moves creatively. Islam is the name of certain norms and ideals
which are to be progressively realized through different social
phenomena and set-ups. Indeed, Islam, understood properly, ever
seeks new and fresh forms for self-realization and finds these forms.
Social institutions are one of the most important sectors of the
Islamic activity and expression. Social institutions, therefore, must
become proper vehicles for the carriage and dispensation of Islamic
values — of social justice and creativity, etc. This is the clear lesson
that we learn from the early development of the Sunnah.
We do not wish to be misunderstood. We especially and
carefully reject that vagrant attitude of empty liberalism or negative
spiritualism that seeks to drive a wedge between the form and the
êssence and says that what matters is the essence and that the form
fis at best its cumbersome companion. We say that the form and the
'essence are coevals, inter-dependent and each necessary and
desirable. But we know that even forms have a way of changing and
yet remaining the same. What is injurious to a living faith and a
living society is not forms but formalism. ‘Umar changed the form
of the Prophet’s Sunnah of War in certain fundamental aspects and
yet that very Prophet’s Sunnah was all the more prosperous because
of this change. The Muslims, indeed, changed the Qur’anic law of
evidence and, instead of insisting on two witnesses, began deciding
cases on the basis of one witness and an oath. They knew that what
the Qur’an was after, was to establish justice and not two witnesses.
If now we can have a recorded self-confession (provided its
232 Fazlur Rahman
authenticity is otherwise established beyond doubt), may we not even

dispense with conventional modes of evidence in a given case?
But these examples are vital and potent enough to raise other
and much bigger issues to which we must give constructive and
decisive replies. In the world, as it stands constituted today, is it or
is it not among our paramount duties to create the best moral and
material conditions for the coming generations? If it is, can we
honestly allow the reckless multiplication of population whom we can
neither properly nourish nor educate? Does it make good Islamic
sense? And if it is the absolutely inalienable ‘right’ of a Muslim to
procreate in season and out of season, can we accept the alternate but
desperate course of strict regimentation of labour? The first course
is easier, but if not adopted today, tomorrow the choice will no
longer be ours and the other alternative will simply impose itself
upon us. Again, if we adopt the first course, how much raising of
the standard of living do we want before relaxing controls, is another
question. But all these are problems that must be answered now; and
they must be answered from the depths of the Islamic conscience,
not from a mimicry of the past. If the right and successful answer
emerges now from the Islamic conscience, therein shall live the
Sunnah of the Prophet.
NOTES
1. Abu Yusuf, Kitdb al-Kharaj (Cairo 1302 A.H.), p.20.

2. Malik, al-Muwatta’ (Cairo 1370 A.H./1951), II: 776.
3. Ibidp.798.
4. Ibidp.776.
5. Ibid., pp.742-3; passage translated here is at the top of p.743.
6. Ibid., p.720.
7. Ibid., p.800.
SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL REALITIES
OF THE SUNNAH
MUHAMMAD ASAD
Many reform proposals have been advanced during the last decades,
and many spiritual doctors have tried to devise a patent medicine for
the sick body of Islam. But, until now, all was in vain, because all
those clever doctors — at least those who get a hearing today —
invariably forgot to prescribe along with their medicines, tonics and
elixirs the natural diet on which the early development of the patient
had been based. This diet, the only one which the body of Islam,
sound or sick, can positively accept and assimilate, is the Sunnah of
our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The
Sunnah is the key to the understanding of the Islamic rise more than
fourteen centuries ago; and why should it not be a key to the
understanding of our present degeneration? Observance of the
Sunnah is synonymous with Islamic existence and progress. Neglect
of the Sunnah is synonymous with decomposition and decay of
Islam. The Sunnah was the iron framework of the House of Islam;
and if you remove the framework from a building, can you be
surprised if it breaks down like a house of cards?
234 Muhammad Asad
This simple truth, almost unanimously accepted by all learned

men throughout Islamic history, is — we know it well — most
unpopular today for reasons connected with the ever growing
influence of Western civilisation. But it is a truth none the less, and
in fact, the only truth which can save us from the chaos and the
shame of our present decay.
The word Sunnah is used here in its widest meaning, namely,
the example the Prophet has set before us in his actions and sayings.
His wonderful life was a living illustration and explanation of the
Qur’an, and we can do no greater justice to the Holy Book than by
following him who was the means of its revelation.
We have seen that one of the main achievements of Islam — the
ohe which distinguishes it from all other transcendental systems —
is the complete reconciliation between the moral and the material
sides of human life. This was one of the reasons why Islam in its
prime had such a triumphant success wherever it appeared. It
brought to mankind the new message that the earth need not be
despised in order that heaven be gained. This prominent feature of
Islam explains why our Prophet, in his mission as an apostolic guide
of humanity, was so deeply concerned with human life in its polarity
both as a spiritual and a material phenomenon?It does hot, therefore,
show a very deep understanding of Islam if one discriminates
between such orders of the Prophet as deal with purely devotional
and spiritual matters, and others which have to do with questions of
our society and our daily life. The contention that we are obliged to
follow the commands belonging to the first group, but not obliged to
follow those of the second, is as superficial and, in its spirit, as anti-
Islamic as the idea that certain general injunctions of the Qur’an
were meant only for the ignorant Arabs at the time of the revelation,
and not for the refined gentlemen of the twentieth century. At its
root lies a strange under-estimation of the prophetical role of
Mustafa.
As the life of a Muslim must be directed upon a full and
unreserved co-operation between his spiritual and his bodily self, so
the leadership of our Prophet embraces life as a compound entity, a
sum total of moral and practical, individual and social
Social and Cultural Realities of the Sunnah 235
manifestations. This is the deepest meaning of Sunnah.
The Qur’an says:
Whatever the Prophet enjoins you, accept; and whatever he

forbids you, avoid (59:7).
and the Prophet said:
The Jews have been split up into seventy-one sects, the Christians into
seventy-two sects, and the Muslims will be split up into seventy-three
sects" (Sunan Abu Dawud, J&mi‘ al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al-D&rimt,
Musnad lbn Hanbat).
tin this connection it may be mentioned that in Arabian usage the

^number 70 very often stands for "many", and does not necessarily
denote the actual, arithmetical figure. So the Prophet obviously
intended to say that the sects and divisions among the Muslims
would be very many, even more than those among the Jews and
Christians. And he added:
... all of them are destined for the Fire with the exception of one.
When the Companions asked which one would be the one, the right-
guided group, he answered:
That which is based on my and my Companions’ principles.
Certain verses of the Qur’an make this point clear beyond any
possibility of misunderstanding:
Nay, by thy Sustainer! They do not attain to faith until they

make thee [O Muhammad] a judge of what is in dispute between
them and find in themselves no dislike of what thou dicidest, and
submit with [full] submission (4:65).
And:
236 Muhammad Asad
Say [O Muhammad]: if you love God, follow me: God will love
you and forgive you your sins; and God is Forgiving, a
Dispenser of Grace. Say: obey God and the Apostle! But if they
turn away, behold, God loveth not the Unbelievers. <3:31-32).
The Sunnah of the Prophet is, therefore, next to the Qur’an, the
second source of Islamic law of social and personal behaviour. In
fact, we must regard the Sunnah as the only valid explanation of the
Qur’anic teachings, the only means to avoid dissensions concerning
their interpretation and adaptation to practical use. Many verses of
the Holy Qur’an have an allegorical meaning and could be
understood in different ways unless there was some definite system
of interpretation. And there are, furthermore, many items of
practical importance not explicitly dealt with in the Qur’an. The
spirit prevailing in the Holy Book is, to be sure, uniform throughout;
but to deduce from it the practical attitude which we have to adopt
is not in every case an easy matter. So long as we believe that this
Book is the Word of God, perfect in form and purpose, the only
logical conclusion is that it never was intended to be used
independently of the personal guidance of the Prophet which is
embodied in the system of Sunnah.
In the next section, an attempt will be made to explain the
ultimate reasons for the linking-up of the Qur’an, for all times, with
the inspiring and directing personality of the Prophet. For now the
following reflection should be sufficient.
Our reasoning tells us that there could not possibly be a better
interpreter of the Qur’anic teachings than he through whom they
were revealed to humanity. The slogan we so often hear in our days,
"Let us go back to the Qur’an, but let us not be slavish followers of
the Sunnah," merely betrays an ignorance of Islam. Those who speak
so resemble a man who wishes to enter a palace but does not wish
to employ the genuine key which alone is fit to open the door.
And so we come to the very important question as to the
authenticity of the sources which reveal the life and the sayings of
the Prophet to us. These sources are the HadTths, the Traditions of
the sayings and actions of the Prophet reported and transmitted by
his Companions and critically collected in the first few centuries of

Islam. Many modern Muslims profess that they would be ready to
follow the Sunnah; but they think they cannot rely upon the body of
the HadTths on which it rests. It has become a matter of fashion in
our days to deny, in principle, the authenticity of HadTth and,
therefore, of the whole structure of the Sunnah.
Is there any scientific warrant for this attitude? Is there any
scientific justification for the rejection of HadTth as a dependable
source of Islamic Law?
We should think that the opponents of orthodox thought would
be able to bring forward really convincing arguments which would
establish, once for all, the unreliability of the Traditions ascribed to
the Prophet. But this is not the case. In spite of all the efforts which
have been employed to challenge the authenticity of HadTth as a
body, those modem critics, both Eastern and Western, have not been
able to back their purely temperamental criticism with results of
scientific research. It would be rather difficult to do so, as the
compilers of the early Hadith-collections, and particularly the Imams
al-Bukhari and Muslim, have done whatever was humanly possible
to put the authenticity of every Tradition to a very rigorous test —
a far more rigorous test than European historians usually apply to
any historical document.
It would go far beyond the limits of this book to dwell here in
detail on the scrupulous method by which the reliability of Traditions
was investigated by the early muhaddithun, the learned men devoted
to the study of HadTth. For our purpose it may suffice to say that a
complete science has been evolved, the only object of which is the
research as to the meaning, the form and the way of transmission of
the Prophet’s HadTths. An historical branch of this science succeeded
in establishing an unbroken chain of detailed biographies of all those
personalities who have ever been mentioned as narrators of
Traditions. The lives of those men and women have been thoroughly
investigated from every point of view, and only those have been
accepted as reliable whose way of life and of transmitting a HadTth
perfectly responds to the standard stipulated by the great
tnuhaddithun and believed to be the most exacting that could be
238 Muhammad Asad
conceived. If, therefore, anyone wishes to contest tcwday the

authenticity of a particular Hadlth or of the system as a whole, the
burden of proving its inaccuracy falls upon him alone. It is
scientifically not in the least justifiable to contest the veracity of an
historical source unless one is prepared to prove that this source is
defective. If no reasonable — that is, scientific — argument can be
found against the veracity of the source itself or against one or more
of its later transmitters, and if, on the other hand, no other,
contradictory report about the same matter exists, then we'are bound
to accept the Tradition as true.
Suppose, for example, when someone speaks about the Indian
wars of Mahmud of Ghaznah, you suddenly get up and say. "I don’t
believe that Mahmud ever came to India. It is a legend without
historical foundation." What would happen in such a case? At once
some person well-versed in history would try to correct your mistake
and would quote chronicles and histories, based on reports of
contemporaries of that famous Sultan, as a definite proof of the fact
that Mahmud had been in India. In that case you would have to
accept the proof — or you would be regarded as a crank who for no
obvious reason denies solid historical facts. If this is so, one must
ask oneself why our modern critics do not extend the same logical
fair-mindedness to the problem of Hadlth as well?
The primary ground for a Hadlth being false would be a wilful
lie on the part of the first source, the Companion concerned, or of
the later transmitters. As to the Companions, such a possibility can
be ruled out a priori. It requires only some insight into the
psychological side of the problem in order to relegate such
assumptions into the sphere of pure fancy. The tremendous
impression which the personality of the Prophet has made on these
men and women is an outstanding fact of human history; and,
moreover, it is extremely well documented by history. Is 11
conceivable that people who were ready to sacrifice themselves and
all they possessed at the bidding of the Apostle of God would play
tricks with his words? The Prophet had said:
Whoever intentionally lies about me will take his place in the FlfC
(,Sahih al-Bukharf, Sunan Abu Dawud, Jami ‘ al-Tirmdhi, Sunan $n
Social and-Cultural Realities of the Surmah 239
M&jah, Sunan al-Ddrimi, Musnad lbn Hanbal).
This the Companions knew; they believed implicitly in the words of

the Prophet whom they regarded as the Speaker of God; and is it
probable, from the psychological point of view, that they disregarded
this very definite injunction?
In criftiinal court proceedings the first question facing the judge
is cui bono — for whose benefit — the crime could have been
committed. This judicial principle can be applied to the problem of
Hadlth as well. With the exception of Traditions which directly
concern the status of certain individuals or groups, for example, the
decidedly spurious — and by most of the muhaddithun rejected —
Traditions connected with the political claims of the different parties
in the first century after the Prophet’s death, there could have been
no "profitable" reason for any individual to falsify sayings of the
Prophet. It was in a just appreciation of the possibility of HadTths
being invented for some personal ends that the two foremost
authorities among the traditionists, the Imams Bukhari and Muslim,
have rigorously excluded all Traditions relating to party politics from
their compilations. What remained was fairly beyond the suspicion
of giving personal advantages to anyone.
There is one argument more on which the authenticity of a
Hadlth could be challenged. It is conceivable that either the
Companion who heard it from the lips of the Prophet or one or
another of the- later narrators has committed — while being
subjectively truthful — a mistake due to a misunderstanding of the
Prophet’s words, or a lapse of memory, or some other psychological
reason. But the internal — that is, psychological — evidence speaks
against any great possibility of such mistakes, at least on the part of
foe Companions. To the people who lived with the Prophet,
everyone of his sayings and actions was of utmost significance, due
not only to the fascination which his personality exerted on them, but
lalso to their firm belief that it was God’s will that they should
lregulate their life, even in its minute details, according to the
Iforection and the example of the Prophet. Therefore they could not
lê the question of his sayings offhand, but tried to preserve them
ln their memory even at the cost of great personal discomforts. It is
240 Muhammad Asad
related that the Companions who were immediately associated with

the Prophet made among themselves groups of two men each, one
of whom was to be alternately in the vicinity of the Prophet while
the other was busy with the pursuit of his livelihood or other
matters; and whatever they heard or saw of their Master they
communicated to each other: so anxious were they lest some saying
or doing of the Prophet should escape their notice. It is not very
probable that, with such an attitude, they could have been negligent
as to the exact wording of a HadTth. And if it was possible for
hundreds of Companions to preserve the wording of the whole
Qur’an, down to the smallest details of spelling, in their memory,
then it was, no doubt, equally possible for them and for those who
immediately followed them to keep single sayings of the Prophet in
their memory without adding to them or omitting anything from
them.
Moreover, the traditionists ascribe perfect authenticity to those
HadTths only which are reported in the same form through different,
independent chains of narrators. Nor is this all. In order to be sahih
(sound), a HadTth must be corroborated at every stage of
transmission by the independent evidence of at least two — and
possible more, transmitters — so that at no stage the report should
hinge on the authority of one person only. This demand of
corroboration is so exacting that in a HadTth reported through, say,
three "generations" of transmitters between the Companion
concerned and the final cor/piler, actually a score or more of
transmitters, distributed over those three "generations", are involved.
With all this, no Muslim has ever believed that Traditions of the
Prophet could have the status, or even the undisputed authenticity,
of the Qur’an. At no time the critical investigation of HadTth has
stopped. The fact that there are numberless spurious HadTths did not
in the least escape the attention of the muhaddithun, as European i
critics naively seem to suppose. On the contrary, the critical science |
of HadTth was initiated by the necessity of discerning between
authentic and spurious, and the very Imams BukharT and Muslim, not
to mention the lesser traditionists, are direct products of this critical
attitude. The existence, therefore, of false HadTths does not prove
anything against the system of Hadlth as a whole — no more than a

fanciful tale from the Arabian Nights could be regarded as an
argument against the authenticity of any historical report of the
corresponding period.
Until now no critic has been able to prove in a systematic way
that the-body of Hadlth regarded as authentic according to the test-
standard of the foremost traditionists is inaccurate. The rejection of
authentic Traditions, either as a whole or in parts, is so far a purely
temperamental matter, and has failed to establish itself as the result
of unprejudiced, scientific investigation. But the motive for such an
oppositional attitude among many Muslims of our time can easily be
traced. This motive lies in the impossibility of bringing our present,
degenerate ways of living and thinking into line with the true spirit
of Islam as reflected in the Sunnah of our Prophet . In order to justify
their own shortcomings and the shortcomings of their environment,
those pseudo-critics of Hadlth try to remove the necessity of
following* the Sunnah; because, if this were done, they would be able
to interpret the Qur’anic teachings just as they like, on the lines of
superficial "rationalism" — that is, every one according to his own
inclination and turn of mind. And in this way the exceptional
position of Islam as a moral and practical, as an individual and social
code, would be shattered to pieces.
In these days, when the influence of Western civilisation makes
itself more and more felt in Muslim countries, one motive more is
added to the strange attitude of the sp-called^Muslim intelligentsia"
in this matter. It is impossible to live according to the Sunnah of our
Prophet and to follow the Western mode of life at one and the same
time. But the present generation of Muslims is ready to adore
everything that is Western, to worship the foreign civilisation
because it is foreign, powerful and materially brilliant. This
"Westernisation" is the strongest reason why the Traditions of our
Prophet and, along with them, the whole structure of the Sunnah
have become so unpopular today. The Sunnah is so obviously
opposed to the fundamental ideas underlying Western civilisation that
those who are fascinated by the latter see no way out of the tangle
but to describe the Sunnah as an irrelevant, and therefore not
242 Muhammad Asad
compulsory, aspect of Islam — because it is "based on unreliable

Traditions." After that, it becomes easier to twist the teachings of the
Qur’an in such a way that they appear to suit the spirit of Western
civilisation.
The Spirit of the Sunnah
Almost as important as the formal, so to say legal, justification of

the Sunnah through the establishment of the historical dependability
of Hadlth is the question as to its inner, spiritual, justification. Why
should an observance of the Sunnah be regarded as indispensable for
a life in the true sense of Islam? Is there no other way to the reality
of Islam than through that large system of actions and customs, of
orders and prohibitions, some of them of an obviously trivial nature,
but all of them derived from the life-example of the Prophet? No
doubt, he was the greatest of men; but is not the necessity to imitate
his life in all its formal details an infringement on the individual
freedom of human personality? It is an old objection which
unfriendly critics of Islam usually put forward — that the necessity
of strictly following the Sunnah was one of the main causes of the
subsequent decay of the Islam world, for such an attitude is supposed
to encroach, in the long run, on the liberty of human action and the
natural development of society. It is of the greatest importance for
the future of Islam whether we are able to meet this objection or not.
Our attitude towards the problem of the Sunnah will determine our
future attitude towards Islam.
We are proud, and justly proud, of the fact that Islam, as a
religion, is not based on mystic dogmatism but is always open to the
critical inquiry of reason. We have* therefore, the right not only to
know that the observance of the Sunnah has been imposed upon us,
but also to understand the inherent reason of its imposition.
Islam leads man to a unification of all aspects of life. Being a
means to that goal, this religion represents in itself a totality of
conceptions to which nothing can be added and from which nothing
can be subtracted. There is no room for eclecticism in Islam.
Wherever its teachings are recognised as really pronounced by the
Qur’an or the Prophet we must accept them in their completeness;

otherwise they lose their value. It is a fundamental misunderstanding
of Islam to think that, being a religion of reason, it leaves its
teachings open to individual selection — a claim made possible by a
popular misconception of "rationalism". There is a wide — and by
the philosophy of all ages sufficiently recognised — gulf between
reason and "rationalism" as it is commonly understood today. The
function of reason in regard to religious teachings is of a controlling
character; its duty is to watch that nothing is imposed on the human
mind which it cannot bear easily, that is, without the aid of
philosophical juggleries. So far as Islam is concerned, unprejudiced
reason has, time and again, given it its unreserved vote of
confidence. That does not mean that every one who gets in touch
with Islam will necessarily accept its teachings as obliging for
himself; this is a matter of temperament and — last but not least —
of spiritual illumination. But surely and certainly no unbiased person
would contend that there is anything in Islam contrary to reason. No
doubt, there are things in it beyond the limits of human
understanding, but nothing which is contrary to it.
The role of reason in religious matters is. as we have seen, in
the nature of a control — a'registration apparatus saying "yes" or
"no", as the case., may be. But this is not the case with so-called
"rationalism". It does not content itself with registration and control,
but jumps into the field of speculation; it is not receptive and
detached like pure reason, but extremely subjective and
temperamental. Reason knows its own limits; but "rationalism” is
preposterous in its claim to encompass the world and all mysteries
within its own, individual circle. In religious matters it hardly even
concedes the possibility of certain things being, temporarily or
permanently, beyond human understanding; but it is, at the same
time, illogical enough to concede this possibility to science — and so
to itself.
The over-estimation of this unimaginative rationalism is one of
the causes why so many modern Muslims refuse to surrender
themselves to the guidance of the Prophet. But it does not need a
Kant today to prove that human understanding is strictly limited in
244 Muhammad Asad
its possibilities. Our mind is unable, by virtue of its nature, to

understand the idea of totality we can grasp, of all things, their
details only. We do not know what infinity or eternity is; we do not
even know what life is. In problems of a religion resting on
transcendental foundations we, therefore, need a guide whose mind
possesses something more than the normal reasoning qualities and the
subjective rationalism common to all of us. We need someone who
is inspired — in one word, a Prophet. If we believe that the Qur'an
is the Word of God, and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be
upon him) was God’s Apostle, we are not only morally, but also
intellectually bound to follow his guidance blindly. The expression
"blindly" does not mean that we should exclude our powers of
reasoning. On the contrary, we have to make use of those powers to
the best of our ability and knowledge; we have to try to discover the
inherent meaning and purpose of the commands transmitted to us by
the Prophet. But in any case — whether we are able to understand
its ultimate purpose or not — we must obey the order. I should like
to illustrate this by the example of a soldier who had been ordered
by his general to occupy a certain strategic position. The good
soldier will follow and execute the order immediately. If, while
doing so, he is able to explain to himself the ultimate, strategic
purpose which the general had in view, the better for him and for his
career; but if the deeper aim which underlies the general’s command
does not reveal itself to him at once, he is nevertheless not entitled
to give up or even to postpone its execution. We Muslims rely upon
our Prophet’s being the best commander mankind could ever get. We
naturally believe that he knew the domain of religion both in its
spiritual and its social aspect far better than we ever could. In
ordering us to do this or to avoid that, he always had some
"strategic" objective in view which he thought to be indispensable for
the spiritual or social welfare of man. Sometimes this object is
clearly visible, and sometimes it is more or less hidden before the
untrained eyes of the average man, sometimes we can understand the
deepest aim of the Prophet’s order, and sometimes only the
superficial, immediate purpose. Whatever the case may be, we are
bound to follow the Prophet’s commands, provided their authenticity
is reasonably established. Nothing else matters. Of course, there are

commands of the Prophet which are obviously of paramount
importance and others which are less important, and we have to give
the more important precedence over the less important. But never
have we the right to disregard any one of them because they appear
to us "Unessential" — for it is said in the Qur’an of the Prophet:
He does not speak of his own desire (53:8).
That is, he speaks only when an objective necessity arises; and he

does it because God orders him to do so. And for this reason we are
obliged to follow the Prophet’s Sunnah in spirit and in form, if we
wish to be true to the spirit of Islam.
Once the objective necessity, for a Muslim, to follow the
Sunnah of his Prophet is established, he has the right, and even the
duty, to inquire into its role within the religious and social structure
of Islam. What is the spiritual meaning of that great, detailed system
of laws and rules of conduct which are supposed to pervade the life
of a Muslim from his birth to the moment of death, and to regulate
his behaviour in the most important as well as in the most
insignificant phases of his existence? Or is there, perhaps, no
meaning at all? Was there any good in the Prophet’s ordering his
followers to do everything in the way he did it? What difference can
it make whether I eat with the right or with the left hand — if both
are equally clean? What difference whether I keep my beard or shave
it? Are such things not purely formal? Have they any bearing on the
progress of man or on the welfare of society? And if not, why have
they been imposed on us?
It is high time for us, who believe that Islam stands and falls
with the observance of the Sunnah, to answer the questions.
There are, to my knowledge, at least three distinct reasons for
the institution of Sunnah.
The first reason is the training of man, in a methodical way, to
live permanently in a state of consciousness, wakefulness and self-
control. In the spiritual progress of man, haphazard actions and
habits are like stumbling blocks in the way of a racing horse; they
246 Muhammad Asad
must be reduced to a minimum, because they destroy spiritual

concentration. Everything we do should be determined by our will
and submitted to our moral control. But in order to be able to do so
we must learn to observe ourselves. This necessity, for a Muslim, of
permanent self-control has been beautifully expressed by ‘Umar al-
Khattab:
Render to yourselves account about yourselves before you are called

upon to render account.
And the Prophet said:
Worship thy Lord as if thou saw him (Sahth al-BukhUrt, Sahlh

Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawud, Sunan al-Nasa ’i).
It has been pointed out before that the Islamic idea of worship
-embraces not only the strictly devotional duties but actually the
whole of our life. Its goal is the unification of our spiritual and our
material selves into one single entity. Our endeavours must be,
therefore, clearly- directed towards the elimination of the
unconscious, uncontrolled factors in our life as much as this is
humanly possible. Self-observation is the first step on this way; and
the surest method to train oneself in self-observation is to get the
habitual, seemingly unimportant actions of our daily life under
control. Those "small" things, those "unimportant" actions and habits
are, in the context of the mental training we are speaking of, in
reality far more important than the "great” activities in our life. The
great things are always, by virtue of their greatness, clearly visible;
and therefore they mostly remain within the sphere of consciousness.
But those other, those "small" things, easily escape our attention and
cheat our control. Therefore they are by far the more valuable
objects on which we can sharpen our powers of self-control.
It might be perhaps, in itself, not important with which hand we
eat or whether we shave or keep our beard: but it is psychologically
of the highest importance to do things according to a systematic
resolve, for by doing so we keep ourselves keyed up to a high pitch
of self-observation and moral control. This is not an easy matter —
for, laziness of the mind is no less real than laziness of the body. If
you ask a man who is accustomed to a sedentary mode of life to
walk a lqng distance, he will soon grow tired and be unable to
proceed further. But not so a man who throughout the whole of his
life has .trained himself in walking. For him this kind of muscular
exertion is no exertion at all; it is a pleasant bodily action to which
he is accustomed. This is a further explanation why the Sunnah
covers almost every aspect of human life. If we are constantly called
upon to subject all our actions and omissions to conscious
discrimination, our power of self-observation grows steadily and in
time becomes our second nature. Everyday, as long as this training
proceeds, our moral laziness diminishes along with it.
The use of the expression "training” naturally implies that its
result is dependent on the consciousness of its performance. The
moment the practice of the Sunnah degenerates into mechanical
routine it entirely loses its educative value. Such has been the case
with the Muslims during the last centuries. When the Companions of
the Prophet and the generations which succeeded them made the
attempt to conform every detail of their existence to the example of
the Master, they did it in conscious surrender to a directive will that
would shape their life in the spirit of the Qur’an. Owing to this
conscious resolve they could benefit by the training through Sunnah
to the full extent. It is not the fault of the system if the Muslims of
later times did not make the right use of the psychological avenues
it opened. This omission was probably due, in a very large measure,
to the influence of Sufism with its more or less pronounced contempt
of the active and its emphasis on the purely receptive energies in
man. As the practice of Sunnah had been already established as a
component of Islamic religious life since the very beginning of
Islam, Sufism did not succeed in uprooting it in principle. But it
succeeded in neutralising its active vigour and so, to a certain extent,
its utility. The Sunnah remained, for the Sufis, an ideogram of only
platonic importance, with a mystical background; for the theologians
and legists, a system of laws; and for the Muslim masses nothing but
a hollow shell without any living meaning. But notwithstanding the
failure of the Muslims to benefit from the teachings of the Holy
248 Muhammad Asad
Qur’an and their interpretation through the Sunnah of the Prophet,

the. idea underlying the teachings as well as their interpretation has
remained intact, and there is no reason why it could not be put into
practice once again. The real objective of the Sunnah is not, as our
antagonistic critics presume, the breeding of Pharisees and dry
formalists, but of conscious, determined, deep-hearted men of action.
Men and women of such a style were the Companions of the
Prophet. The permanent consciousness, inner wakefulness and sense
of responsibility in all they did — therein lies the secret of their
miraculous efficiency and their startling historical success.
This is the first and, so to say, individual aspect of the Sunnah.
Its second aspect is its social importance and utility. There can be
hardly any doubt that most of the social conflicts are due to men’s
misunderstanding each other’s actions and intentions. The cause of
such a misunderstanding is the extreme variety of temperaments and
inclinations in the individual members of the society. Now different
temperaments force different habits on men, and those different
habits, hardened through the usage of long years, become barriers
between individuals. If, on the contrary, several individuals happen
to have identical habits throughout their life, there is every
probability of their mutual relations being sympathetic and their
minds ready to understand each other. Therefore Islam, which is
equally concerned with social as well as with individual welfare,
makes it an essential point that the individual members of the society
should be systematically induced to make their habits and customs
resemble each other, however different their social or economic
status be in each case.
But beyond this, the Sunnah in its so-called "rigidity” renders
even a greater service to society. It makes it coherent and stable in
form and precludes the development of antagonisms and conflicts
such as have, under the name of "social questions," caused a
considerable confusion in Western society. Such social questions
arise when certain institutions or customs are felt to be imperfect or
defective, and are therefore open to criticism and progressive
changes. But for the Muslims — that is for those who consider
themselves bound by the Law of the Qur’an and, consequently, by
the injunctions given by the Prophet — the conditions of the society

must have a settled appearance, because they are supposed to be of
transcendental origin. As long as there is no doubt as to this origin,
no need and no desire will arise to question the social organisation
in its fundamentals. It is only thus that we can conceive a practical
possibility for the Qur’anic postulate that the Muslims should be like
a "solid building". If we apply this principle to our communal life,
there should be no necessity for the society to spend its energies on
side-issues and partial "reforms" which, owing to their very nature,
can have only passing value. Freed from dialectical confusion and
built on the solid pedestal of the Divine Law and the life-example of
our Prophet, Islamic society could use all its forces on problems of
real material and intellectual welfare, thus paving the way for the
individual in his spiritual endeavours. This, and nothing else, is the
real, religious objective of the Islamic social organisation.
And now we come to the third aspect of the Sunnah and the
necessity of our strictly following it.
In this system many details of bur daily life are based on the
example set by the Prophet. Whatever we do, we are permanently
compelled to think of a corresponding doing or saying of the
Prophet. Thus the personality of the Greatest Man becomes deeply
embodied in the very routine of our daily life, and his spiritual
influence is made a real, ever recurring factor in our existence.
Consciously and subconsciously we are led to study the Prophet’s
attitude in this or that matter. We learn to regard him not only as the
bearer of a moral revelation but also as the guide towards a perfect
life. It is here that we must decide whether we wish to regard the
Prophet as a mere wise man among many other wise men, or as the
supreme Messenger of God always acting under Divine inspiration.
The view-point of the Holy Qur’an in this matter is clear beyond any
possibility of misunderstanding. A man who is designed as the "Last
of the Prophets" and a "Mercy to the Worlds" cannot be but
permanently inspired. To reject his guidance, or certain elements of
it, would mean nothing less than to reject or underestimate God’s
own guidance. It would mean further, in the logical continuation of
this thought, that the entire message of Islam was not intended to be
250 Muhammad Asad
a final, but only an alternative solution of man’s problems, and that

it is left to our discretion to choose this or some other, perhaps
equally true and useful, solution. This easy — because morally and
practically not in the least obliging — principle might lead us
anywhere, but surely not to the spirit of Islam, of which it is said in
the Qur’an.
Today I have made perfect for you your religion, and fulfilled
My favour unto you, and chosen Islam as your religion (5:3).
We regard Islam as superior to all other religious systems

because it embraces life in its totality. It takes World and Hereafter,
soul and body, individual and society, equally into consideration. It
takes into consideration not only the lofty possibilities of the human
nature, but also its inherent limitations and weaknesses. It does not
impose the impossible upon us, but directs us how to make the best
use of our possibilities and to reach a higher plane of reality where
there is no cleavage and no antagonism between Idea and Action. It
is not a way among others, but the Way; and the Man who gave us
this teaching is not just one guide among others, but the Guide. To
follow him and all he did and ordered is to follow Islam; to discard
his Sunnah is to discard the reality of Islam.
PART THREE
MYSTICAL AND SPIRITUAL
DIMENSION OF THE SUNNAH
11
THE PROPHET AS
THE EXAMPLAR
PAR EXCELLENCE
SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR
The Prophet as the founder of Islam and the messenger of God’s

revelation to mankind is the interpreter par excellence of the Book
of God; and his Hadlth and Sunnah, his sayings and actions, are
after the Qur’an, the most important sources of the Islamic tradition.
In order to understand the significance of the Prophet it is not
sufficient to study, from the outside, historical texts pertaining to his
life. One must view him also from within the Islamic point of view
and try to discover the position he occupies in the religious
consciousness of Muslims. When in any Islamic language one says
the Prophet, it means Muhammad — whose name as such is never
iterated except that as a courtesy it be followed by the formula "sall-
Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam", that is, "may God’s blessing and
salutation be upon him".
It is even legitimate to say that, in general, when one says the
Prophet it means the prophet of Islam; for although in every religion
the founder, who is an aspect of the Universal Intellect, becomes the
Aspect, the Word, the Incarnation, nevertheless each founder
253
254 Seyyed Hossein Nasr
emphasizes a certain aspect of the Truth and even typifies that aspect
universally. Although there is belief in incarnation in many religions,
when one says the Incarnation it refers to Christ who personifies this
aspect. And although every prophet and saint has experienced
‘enlightenment’, the Enlightenment refers to the experience of the
Buddha which is the most outstanding and universal embodiment of
this experience. In the same manner the prophet of Islam is the
prototype and perfect embodiment of prophecy and so in a profound
sense is the Prophet. In fact in Islam every form of revelation is
envisaged as a prophecy whose complete and total realization is to
be seen in Muhammad — upon whom be peace. As the Sufi poet
Mahmud Shabistarl writes in his incomparable Gulshan-i raz (The
Secret Rose Garden):
The first appearance of prophethood was in Adam,

And its perfection was in the ‘Seal of the Prophets’.
(Whinfield translation)
It is difficult for a non-Muslim to understand the spiritual

significance of the Prophet and his role as the prototype of the
religious and spiritual life, especially if one comes from a Christian
background. Compared to Christ, or to the Buddha for that matter,
the earthly career of the Prophet seems often too human and too
engrossed in the vicissitudes of social, economic and political activity
to serve as a model for the spiritual life. That is why so many people
who write today of the great spiritual guides of humanity are not able
to understand and interpret him sympathetically. It is easier to see
the spiritual radiance of Christ or even medieval saints, Christian or
Muslim, than that of the Prophet, although the Prophet is the
supreme saint in Islam without whom there would have been no
sanctity whatsoever.
The reason for this difficulty is that the spiritual nature of the
Prophet is veiled in his human one and his purely spiritual function
is hidden in his duties as the guide of men and the leader of a
community. It was the function of the Prophet to be, not only a
spiritual guide, but also the organizer of a new social order with all
that such a function implies. And it is precisely this aspect of his
The Examplar Par Excellence 255
being that veils his purely spiritual dimension from foreign eyes.
Outsiders have understood his political genius, his power of oratory,
his great statesmanship, but few have understood how he could be
the religious and spiritual guide of men and how his life could be
emulated tjy those who aspire to sanctity. This is particularly true in
the modern world in which religion is separated from other domains
of life and most modern men can hardly imagine how a spiritual
being could also be immersed in the most intense political and social
activity.
Actually if the contour of the personality of the Prophet is to be
understood he should not be compared to Christ or the Buddha
whose message was meant primarily for saintly men and who
founded a community based on monastic life which later became the
norm of a whole society. Rather, because of his dual function as
‘king’ and ‘prophet’, as the guide of men in this world and the
hereafter, the Prophet should be compared to the prophet-kings of
the Old Testament, to David and Solomon, and especially to
Abraham himself. Or to cite once again an example outside the
Abrahamic tradition, the spiritual type of the Prophet should be
compared in Hinduism, to Rama and Krishna, who although in a
completely different traditional climate, were avataras and at the
same time kings and house-holders who participated in social life
with all that such activity implies as recorded in the Mahabhdrata
and the Ramayana.
This type of figure who is at once a spiritual being and a leader
of men has always been, relatively speaking, rare in the Christian
West, especially in modern times. Political life has become so
divorced from spiritual principles that to many people such a
function itself appears as an impossibility in proof of which
Westerners often point to the purely spiritual life of Christ who said,
"My Kingdom is not of this world.” And even historically the
Occident has not witnessed many figures of this type unless one
considers the Templars and in another context such devout kings as
Charlemagne and St. Louis. The figure of the Prophet is thus
difficult for many Occidentals to understand and this misconception
to which often bad intention has been added is responsible for the
nearly total ignorance of his spiritual nature in most works written

about him in Western languages of which the number is legion. One
could in fact say that of the major elements of Islam the real
significance of the Prophet is the least understood to non-Muslims
and especially to Occidentals.
The Prophet did participate in social life in its fullest sense. He
married, had a household, was a father and moreover he was ruler
and judge and had also to fight many wars in which he underwent
painful ordeals. He had to undergo many hardships and experience
all the difficulties which human life, especially that of the founder of
a new state and society, implies. But within all these activities his
heart rested in contentment with the Divine, and he continued
inwardly to repose in the Divine Peace. In fact his participation in
social and political life was precisely to integrate this domain into a
spiritual centre.
The Prophet entertained no political or worldly ambition
whatsoever. He was by nature a contemplative. Before being chosen
as prophet he did not like to frequent social gatherings and activities.
He led a caravan from Makkah to Syria passing through the majestic
silence of the desert whose very ‘infinity’ induces man towards
contemplation. He often spent long periods in the cave of Hira’ in
solitude and meditation. He did not believe himself to be by nature
a man of the world or one who was naturally inclined to seek
political power among the Quraysh or social eminence in Makkan
society although he came from the noblest family. It was in fact very
painful and difficult for him to accept the burden of prophecy which
implied the founding of not only a new religion but also a new social
and political order. All the traditional sources, which alone matter in
this case, testify to the great hardship the Prophet underwent by
being chosen to participate in the active life in its most acute form.
Modern studies on the life of the Prophet which depict him as a man
who enjoyed fighting wars, are totally untrue and in fact a reversal
of the real personality of the Prophet. Immediately after the reception
of the first revelation the Prophet confessed to his wife, KhadTjah,
how difficult it was for him to accept the burden of prophecy and
how fearful he was of all that such a mission implied.
B> Likewise, with the marriages of the Prophet, they are not at all
fjgigns of his lenience vis-a-vis the flesh. During the period of youth
when the passions are most strong the Prophet lived with only one
wife who was much older than he and also underwent long periods
of abstinence. And as a prophet many of his marriages were political
ones which, in the prevalent social structure of Arabia, guaranteed
the consolidation of the newly founded Muslim community. Multiple
marriage, for him, as is true of Islam in general, was not so much
enjoyment as responsibility and a means of integration of the newly
founded society. Besides, in Islam the whole problem of sexuality
appears in a different light from that in Christianity and should not
be judged by the same standards. The multiple marriages of the
Prophet, far from pointing to his weakness towards ‘the flesh’,
symbolize his patriarchal nature and his function, not as a saint who
withdraws from the world, but as one who sanctifies the very life of
the world by living in it and accepting it with the aim of integrating
it into a higher order of reality.
The Prophet has also often been criticized by modern Western
authors for being cruel and for having treated men harshly. Such a
charge is again absurd because critics of this kind have forgotten that
either a religion leaves the world aside, as Christ did, or integrates
the world, in which case it must deal with such questions as war,
retribution, justice, etc. When Charlemagne or some other Christian
king thrust a sword into the breast of a heathen soldier he was, from
the individual point of view, being cruel to that soldier. But on the
universal plane this was a necessity for the preservation of a
Christian civilization which had to defend its borders or perish. The
same holds true for a Buddhist king or ruler, or for that matter any
religious authority which seeks to integrate human society.
The Prophet exercised the utmost kindness possible and was
harsh only with traitors. Now, a traitor against a newly founded
religious community, which God has willed and whose existence is
a mercy from heaven for mankind, is a traitor against the Truth
itself. The harshness of the Prophet in such cases is an expression of
Divine Justice. One cannot accuse God of being cruel because men
die, or because there is illness and ugliness in the world. Every
k
construction implies a previous destruction, a clearing of grounds for

the appearance of a new form. This holds true not only in case of a
physical structure but also in case of a new revelation which must
clear the ground if it is to be a new social and political order as well
as a purely religious one. What appears to some as the cruelty of the
Prophet towards men is precisely this aspect of his function as the
instrument of God for the establishment of a new world order whose
homeland in Arabia was to be pure of any paganism and polytheism
which if present would pollute the very source of this new fountain
of life. As to what concerned his own person, the Prophet was
always the epitome of kindness and generosity.
Nowhere is the nobility and generosity of the Prophet better
exemplified than in his triumphant entry into Makkah, which in a
sense highlights his earthly career. There, at a moment when the
very people who had caused untold hardships and trials for the
Prophet were completely subdued by him, instead of thinking of
vengeance, which was certainly his due, he forgave them. One must
study closely the almost unimaginable obstacles placed before the
Prophet by these same people, of the immense suffering he had
undergone because of them, to realize what degree of generosity this
act of the Prophet implies. It is not actually necessary to give an
apologetic account of the life of the Prophet, but these matters need
to be answered because the false and often malicious accusations of
this kind made against the founder of Islam in so many modem
studies make the understanding of him by those who rely upon such
studies well nigh impossible.
Also the Prophet was not certainly without love and compassion.
Many incidents in his life and sayings recorded in HadTth literature
point to his depth of love for God which, in conformity with the
general perspective of Islam, was never divorced from the
knowledge of Him. For example, in a well known HadTth, he said:
O Lord, grant to me the love of thee. Grant that I love those that love
thee. Grant that I may do the deed that wins thy love. Make thy love
dear to me more than self, family and wealth.
Such sayings clearly demonstrate the fact that although the Prophet
was in a sense a king or ruler of a community and a judge and had

to deal according to justice in both capacities, he was at the same
time one whose being was anchored in the love for God. Otherwise,
he could not have been a prophet.
Froiji the Muslim point of view, the Prophet is the symbol of
perfection of both the human person and human society. He is the
prototype of the human individual and the human collectivity. As
such he bears certain characteristics in the eye of traditional Muslims
which can only be discovered by studying the traditional accounts of
him. The many Western works on the Prophet, with very few
exceptions, are useless from this point of view no matter how much
historical data they provide for the reader. The same holds true in
fact for the new type of biographies of the Prophet written by
modernized Muslims who would like at all cost to make the Prophet
an ordinary man and neglect systematically any aspect of his being
that does not conform to a humanistic and rationalistic framework
they have adopted a priori, mostly as a result of either influence
from or reaction to the modern Western point of view. The profound
characteristics of the Prophet which have guided the Islamic
community over the centuries and have left an indelible mark on the
consciousness of the Muslim cannot be discerned save through the
traditional sources and the Hadlth, and, of course, the Qur’an itself
which bears the perfume of the soul of the person through whom it
was revealed.
The universal characteristics of the Prophet are not the same as
his daily actions and day to day life, which can be read about in
standard biographies of the Prophet, and with which we cannot deal
here. They are, rather, characteristics which issue forth from his
personality as a particular spiritual prototype. Seen in this light there
are essentially three qualities that characterize the Prophet. First of
all the Prophet possessed the quality of piety in its most universal
sense, that quality which attaches man to God. The Prophet w£is in
that sense pious. He had a profound piety which inwardly attached
him to God, that made him place the interest of God before
everything else including himself. Secondly^ he had a quality of
combativeness, of always being actively engaged in combat against
all that negated the Truth and disrupted harmony. Externally it meant
fighting wars, either military, political or social ones, the war which
the Prophet named the ‘little holy war’ (al-jihad al-asghar). Inwardly
this combativeness meant a continuous war against the carnal soul
(nafs), against all that in man tends towards the negation of God and
His Will, the ‘great holy war’ (al-jihad al-akbar).
It is difficult for modern men to understand the positive
symbolism of war thanks to modem technology which has made war
total and its instruments the very embodiment of what is ugly and
evil. Men therefore think that the role of religion is only in
preserving some kind of precarious peace. This, of course, is true,
but not in the superficial sense that is usually meant. If religion is to
be an integral part of life it must try to establish peace in the most
profound sense, namely to establish equilibrium between all the
existing forces that surround man and to overcome all the forces that
tend to destroy this equilibrium. No religion has sought to establish
peace in this sense more than Islam. It is precisely in such a context
that war can have a positive meaning as the activity to establish
harmony both inwardly and outwardly and it is in this sense that
Islam has stressed the positive aspect of combativeness.
The Prophet embodies to an eminent degree this perfection of
combative virtue. If one thinks of the Buddha as sitting in a state of
contemplation under the Bo-tree, the Prophet can be imagined as a
rider sitting on a steed with the sword of justice and discrimination
drawn in his hand and galloping at full speed, yet ready to come to
an immediate halt before the mountain of Truth. The Prophet was
faced from the beginning of his prophetic mission with the task of
wielding the sword of Truth, of establishing equilibrium and in this
arduous task he had no rest. His rest and repose was in the heart of
the holy war (jihad) itself and he represents this aspect of spirituality
in which peace comes not in passivity but in true activity. Peace
belongs to one who is inwardly at peace with the Will of Heaven and
outwardly at war with the forces of disruption and disequilibrium.
Finally, the Prophet possessed the quality of magnanimity in its
fullness. His soul displayed a grandeur which every devout Muslim
feels. He is for the Muslim nobility and magnanimity personified.
The Exemplar Par Excellence 261
This aspect of the Prophet is fully displayed in his treatment of his

Companions which, in fact, has been the model for later ages and
which all generations of Muslims have sought to emulate.
To put it another way, which focuses more sharply the
personality of the Prophet, the qualities can be enumerated as
strength, nobility and serenity or inner calm. Strength is outwardly
manifested in the little holy war and inwardly in the great holy war
according to the saying of the Prophet who, returning from one of
the early wars, said:
We* have returned from the small jihad to the great jihad.
It is this great jihad-which is; of particular spiritual significance as a

war?*against all those tendencies which pull the soul of man away
from the Centre and Origin and bar him from the grace of heaven.
The nobility or generosity of the Prophet shows itself most of
all in charity towards all rhen and more generally towards all beings.
Of course this*virtue is not central as in Christianity which can be
called the religion of charity. But it is important on the human level
and as it concerns the person of the Prophet. It points to the fact that
there,was no narrowness or pettiness in the soul of the Prophet, no
limitation in giving of himself to-others. A spiritual man is one who
always givesHo those around him and does not receive, according to
the saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." It was
characteristic of the Prophet to have always given till the last
moment of his life. He never asked anything for himself and never
sought to receive.
The aspect of serenity, which also characterizes all true
expressions of Islam, is essentially the love of truth. It is to put the
Truth before everything else. It is to be impartial, to be logical on
the level of discourse, not to let one’s emotions colour and prejudice
one’s intellectual judgment. It is not to be a rationalist, but to see the
truth of things and to love the Truth above all else. To love the
Truth is to love God Who is the Truth, one of His Names being the
Truth (al-haqq).
If one were to compare these qualities of the Prophet, namely,
strength, nobility and serenity, with those of the founders of the
other great religions one would see that they are not necessarily the
same because firstly, the Prophet was not himself the Divine
Incarnation and secondly, because each religion emphasizes a certain
aspect of the Truth. One cannot follow and emulate Christ in the
same manner as the Prophet because in Christianity Christ is the
God-man, the Divine Incarnation. One can be absorbed into his
nature but he cannot be copied as the perfection of the human state.
One can neither walk on water nor raise the dead to life. Still, when
one thinks of Christianity and Christ another set of characteristics
come to mind, such as divinity, incarnation, and on another level
love, charity and sacrifice. Or when one thinks of the Buddha and
Buddhism it is most of all the ideas of pity for the whole of creation,
enlightenment and illumination and extinction in Nirvana that stand
out.
In Islam, when one thinks of the Prophet who is to be emulated,
it is the image of a strong personality that comes to mind, who is
severe with himself and with the false and the unjust, and charitable
towards the world that surrounds him. On the basis of these two
virtues of strength and sobriety on the one hand and charity and
generosity on the other, he is serene, extinguished in the Truth. He
is that warrior on horseback who halts before the mountain of Truth,
passive towards the Divine Will, active towards the world, hard and
sober towards himself and kind and generous towards the creatures
about him.
These qualities characteristic of the Prophet are contained
virtually in the sound of the second Shahadah, Muhammad al-rasul
Alldh, that is, Muhammad is the Prophet of God, in its Arabic
pronunciation, not in its translation into another language. Here
again the symbolism is inextricably connected to the sounds and
forms of the sacred language and cannot be translated. The very
sound of the name Muhammad implies force, a sudden breaking
forth of a power which is from God and is not just human. The word
rasul with its elongated second syllable symbolizes this ‘expansion
of the chest’ (inshirah al-sadr), and a generosity that flows from the
being of the Prophet and which ultimately comes from God. As for
Allah it is, of course, the Truth itself which terminates the formula.
The second Shahadah thus implies by its sound the power,

generosity and serenity of reposing in the Truth characteristic of the
Prophet. But this repose in the Truth is not based on a flight from
the world but on a penetration into it in order to integrate and
organize it. The spiritual castle in Islam is based on the firm
foundations of harmony within human society and in individual
human life.
In the traditional prayers on the Prophet which all Muslims
recite on certain occasions, God’s blessing and salutation are asked
for the Prophet who is God’s servant (‘abd), His messenger (rasul),
and the unlettered Prophet (al-nabial-ummt). For example, one well-
known version of the formula of benediction upon the Prophet is as
follows: ,
Oh, God, bless our Lord Muhammad, Thy servant and Thy
Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, and his family and his companions,
and salute them.
Here again the three epithets with which his name is qualified
symbolize his three basic characteristics which stand out most in the
eyes of devout Muslims. He is first of all an ‘abd; but who is an
i’abd except one whose will is surrendered to the will of his master,
Iwho is himself poor (faqir) but rich on account of what his master
bestows upon him. As the ’abd of God the Prophet exemplified in its
"fullness this spiritual poverty and sobriety which is so characteristic
of Islam. He loved fasting, vigilance, prayer, all of which have
become essential elements in Islamic religious life. As an ‘abd the
Prophet put everything in the hands of God and realized a poverty
which is, in reality, the most perfect and enduring wealth.
The rasul in this formula again symbolizes his aspect of charity
and generosity and metaphysically the rasul himself is sent because
of God’s charity for the world and men whom He loves so that He
sends His prophets to guide them. That is why the Prophet is ‘God’s
mercy to the worlds.’ For the Muslim the Prophet himself displays
mercy and generosity, a generosity which flows from the nobility of
character. Islam has always emphasized this quality and sought to
inculcate nobility in the souls of men. A good Muslim must have
some nobility and generosity which always reflect this aspect of the
personality of the Prophet.
As for the nabi al-ummi, it symbolizes extinction before the
Truth. The unlettered nature of the Prophet means most of all the
extinction of all that is human before the Divine. The soul of the
Prophet was a tabula rasa before the Divine Pen and on the human
level his quality of ‘unletteredness’ marks that supreme virtue of
realizing the Truth through the contemplation of it which marks an
‘extinction’ in the metaphysical sense before the Truth. Only through
this extinction (farm *) can one hope to enter into life with God and
subsistence in Him (baqar).
To summarize the qualities of the Prophet, it can be said that he
is human equilibrium which has become extinct in the Divine Truth.
He marks the establishment of harmony and equilibrium between all
the tendencies present in man, his sensual, social, economic, political
tendencies, which cannot be overcome unless the human state itself
is transcended. He displays the integration of these tendencies and
forces with the aim of establishing a basis which naturally leads
towards contemplation and extinction in the Truth. His spiritual way
means to accept the human condition which is normalized and
sanctified as the ground for the most lofty spiritual castle. The
spirituality of Islam of which the Prophet is the prototype is not the
rejection of the world but the transcending of it through its
integration into a Centre and the establishment of a harmony upon
which the quest for the Absolute is based. The Prophet in these
qualities that he displayed so eminently is at once the prototype of
human and spiritual perfection and a guide towards its realization,
for as the Qur’an states;
Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example

(33:21).
Since the Prophet is the prototype of all human perfection to the

extent that one of his titles is the ‘most noble of all creation’ (ashraf
al-makhluqai), it may be asked in what way can men emulate him.
How can the Prophet become a guide for human life, and his iTe,
deeds and thoughts serve as a guide for the Muslim in this terrestrial
journey? The answer to this fundamental question, which concerns
all the individual and collective life of Muslims of later generations,
lies in the sayings which he left behind and which are known as
HadTth*and his daily life and practice known as Sunnah. The family
and companions of the Prophet who had been with him during his
life time bore the impressions of his Sunnah within their souls with
a depth that results from contact with a prophet. When man meets an
extraordinary person he carries the impression of this meeting
always. Then how permanent must have been the impression made
on men by the Prophet, whose encounter is so much outside of
ordinary experience today that human beings can hardly imagine it.
The first generation of Muslims practiced this Sunnah with all the
ardour and faith that resulted from their proximity to the source of
the revelation and the presence of the barakah. or grace of the
Prophet among them. They in turn were emulated by the next
generation and so on to modem times when the faithful still seek to
base their lives upon that of the Prophet. This end is achieved
through the fresh interpretation that each generation makes of his life
(siyar), through the litanies and chants repeated in his praise
(mada ’ih) and through the celebrations marking his birth (mawlid) or
other joyous occasions.
As for the HadTth, these too were memorized by those who
heard them and were in turn transmitted to those who followed
( during succeeding generations. Here again it was not a question of

memorizing just anything but of remembering the sayings of one
whom God had chosen as His messenger. And those who memorized
the prophetic sayings were not like modem men whose memory has
J been dulled by formalized classroom learning and over-reliance on
| written sources, but nomads or men of nomadic background for
whom speech and literature were connected with what was known by
I heart. These were men who possessed remarkable powers of
5 memory, which still survive among certain so-called ‘illiterate’
f people and which have often startled ‘literate’ observers from
, sedentary civilizations.
The sayings of the Prophet were eventually collected as the
spread of Islam and the gradual moving away from the homogeneity
of the early community endangered their integral existence. The
devoutest of men set about to collect prophetic sayings or a Hadlth,
examining the chain of transmitters for each saying. As a result in
the Sunni world six major collections of Hadlth became assembled
such as those of al-Bukharf and Muslim and soon gained complete
authority in the orthodox confciunity. In Shi‘ism a similar process
took place except that in addition to the sayings of the Prophet those
of the Imams, whose teachings expound the meaning of the prophetic
message, form a part of the Hadlth collection. There too, volumes
of these sayings were assembled of which the most important is the
Usui al-Kafi of Kulaynl.
The Hadlth literature, in both Sunni and Shiite sources, is a
monumental treasury of wisdom which is at once a commentary upon
the Qur’an and a complement to its teachings. The prophetic sayings
concern every domain from pure metaphysics to table manners. In
them one finds what the Prophet said at times of distress, in
receiving an ambassador' in treating a prisoner, in dealing with his
family, and in nearly every other situation which touches upon the
domestic, economic, social and political life of man. In addition, in
this literature many questions pertaining to metaphysics, cosmology,
eschatology and the spiritual life are discussed. Altogether, after the
Qur’an, the Hadlth and the prophetic Sunnah which is closely bound
to it are the most precious source of guidance which Islamic society
possesses, and along with the Qur’an they are the fountain head of
all Islamic life and thought.
It is against this basic aspect of the whole structure of Islam that
a severe attack has been made in recent years by an influential
school of Western orientalists. No more of a vicious and insidious
attack could be made against Islam than this one, which undercuts its
very foundations and whose effect is more dangerous than if a
physical attack were made against Islam.
Purporting to be scientific and applying the famous — or rather
should one say the infamous — historical method which reduces all
religious truths to historical facts, the critics of Hadlth have come to
the conclusion that this literature is not from the Prophet but was
‘forged’ by later generations. What lies behind the scientific t.icade

presented in most of these attacks is the a priori assumption that
Islam is not a Divine revelation. If it is not a Divine revelation then
it must be explained away in terms of factors present in seventh
century Arabian society. Now, a Bedouin society could not have had
any metaphysical knowledge, could not have possibly known about
the Divine Word or Logos, about the higher states of being, about
the structure of the Universe. Therefore, everything in Hadlth
literature that speaks of these matters must be a later accretion. Were
the critics of Hadlth simply to admit that the Prophet was a prophet,
there would be no scientifically valid argument whatsoever against
the main body of Hadlth. But this is precisely what they do not admit
and therefore they have to consider as a later forgery anything in
Hadlth literature which resembles the doctrines of other religions or
speaks of esoteric questions.
There is of course no doubt that there are many Hadlths which
are spurious. Traditional Islamic scholars themselves developed an
elaborate science to examine the text of the Hadlth (‘ilm al-jarh) and
the validity of the chains of prophetic transmission {'ilm al-dirayah)
as well as the circumstances under which it was spoken. They sifted
the sayings and compared them with detailed knowledge of the
factors involved in a manner which no modern scholar can hope to
match. In this manner certain sayings were accepted and other
rejected as being either of dubious origin or completely unauthentic.
Those who collected Hadlth were in fact the most pious and devout
of men who often travelled from Central Asia to MadTnah or Iraq or
Syria in search of Hadlth. Throughout Islamic history the most
devout and ascetic of the religious scholars have been the scholars of
Hadlth (the muhaddithun), and because of the degree of piety and
trust of the community that is necessary before a person is
recognized as an authority in this field, they have always constituted
the smallest number among all the different classes of religious
scholars.
In fact what the modern critics of Hadlth do not realize in
applying their so-called historical method is that they are projecting
the kind of agnostic mentality prevalent in man academic circles
today on to the mentality of a traditional Muslim scholar of HadTth.

They think that for him also the questions of religion could be
treated in such a ‘detached’ manner as to enable them even to ‘forge’
sayings of the Prophet or to accept them into the traditional corpus
without the greatest care. They do not realize that for men of the
early centuries and especially the religious scholars the fire of hell
was not an abstract thought but a concrete reality. They feared God
in a way which most modern men can hardly imagine and it is
psychologically absurd that, with a mentality to which the alternative
of Heaven or Hell is the most real thing of all, they should commit
the unpardonable sin of forging prophetic sayings. Nothing is less
scientific than to project the modern mentality, which is an anomaly
in history, on to a period when man lived and thought in a traditional
world in which the verities of religion determined life itself, and in
which men sought first and foremost to perform the most important
duty placed upon their shoulders, namely, to save their souls.
As to the statement made by critics of HadTth that the forged
sayings came into being in the second century A.H. and were
honestly believed to be prophetic sayings by the collectors of the
third century, the same answer can be given. The Sunnah of the
Prophet and his sayings had left such a profound imprint upon the
first generation and those that came immediately afterwards that a
forging of new sayings, and therefore also new ways of action and
procedure in religious questions that already possessed precedence,
would have been immediately opposed by the community. It would
have meant a break in the continuity of the whole religious life and
pattern of Islam which in fact, is not discernible. Moreover, the
Imams, whose sayings are included in the HadTth corpus in Shi‘ism
and who themselves are the most reliable chain of transmission of
prophetic sayings, survived after the third Islamic century', that is,
after the very period of the collection of the well-known books of
HadTth, so that they bridge the period to which the modern critics
point as the time of ‘forgery’ of HadTth. Their very presence in fact
is one more proof of the falsity of the arguments presented against
the authenticity of HadTth literature, arguments which attack not only
the dubious and spurious sayings but the main body of HadTth,
according to which Islamic society has lived and modelled itself since
its inception.
The danger inherent in this criticism of the Hadlth lies in
decreasing ks value in the eyes of those Muslims who, having come
under the sway of its arguments, accept the fatally dangerous
conclusion that the body of Hadlth is not the sayings of the Prophet
and therefore does not carry his authority. In this way one of the
foundations of Divine Law and a vital source of guidance for the
spiritual life is destroyed. It is as if the whole foundation were pulled
from underneath the structure of Islam. What would be left in such
a case would be the Qur’an, which, being the Word of God, is too
sublime to interpret and decipher without the aid of the Prophet. Left
by themselves men would in most cases read their own limitations
into the Holy Book and the whole homogeneity of Muslim society
and the harmony existing between the Qur’an and the religious life
of Islam would be disrupted. There are few problems that call for as
immediate action on the part of the Muslim community as a response
by qualified, traditional Muslim authorities in scientific — but not
necessarily ‘scientistic’ — terms to the charges brought against
Hadlth literature by modern Western critics, who have now also
found a few disciples among Muslims. They have found a few
followers of Muslim background who have left the traditional point
of view and have become enamoured by the apparently scientific
method of the critics which only hides an a priori presumption no
Muslim can accept, namely the negation of the heavenly origin of the
Qur’anic revelation and the actual prophetic power and function of
the Prophet.
Be it as it may, as far as traditional Islam is concerned, which
alone concerns us here, the Hadlth is, after the Qur’an, the most
important source of both the Law, SharVah, and the Spiritual way,
Tarlqah. And it is the vital integrating factor in Muslim society, for
the daily lives of millions of Muslims the world over have been
modelled upon the prophetic Sunnah and Hadlth. For nearly fourteen
hundred years Muslims have tried to awaken in the morning as the
Prophet awakened, to eat as he ate, to wash as he washed himself,
even to cut their nails as he did. There has been no greater force for
i
the unification of the Muslim peoples than the presence of this

common model for the minutest acts of daily life. A Chinese
Muslim, although racially a Chinese, has a countenance, behaviour,
manner of walking and acting that resembles in certain ways those
of a Muslim on the coast of the Atlantic. That is because both have
for centuries copied the same model. Something of the soul of the
Prophet is to be seen in both places. It is this essential unifying
factor, a common Sunnah or way of living as a model, that makes
a bazaar in Morocco have a ‘feeling’ or ambiance of a bazaar in
Persia, although the people in the two places speak a different
language and dress differently. There is something in the air which
an intelligent foreign observer will immediately detect as belonging
to the same religious and spiritual climate. And this sameness is
brought about firstly through the presence of the Qur’an and
secondly, and in a more immediate and tangible way, through the
‘presence’ of the Prophet in his community by virtue of his Hadlth
and Sunnah.
Through the Hadlth and Sunnah Muslims come to know both the
Prophet and the message of the Qur’an. Without Hadlth much of the
Qur’an would be a closed book. We are told in the Qur’an to pray
but were it not for prophetic Sunnah we would not know how to
pray. Something as fundamental as the daily prayers which are the
central rite of Islam would be impossible to perform without the
guidance of the prophetic practice. This applies to a thousand and
one other situations so that it is* almost unnecessary to emphasize the
vital connection between the Qur’an and the practice and sayings of
the Prophet whom God chose as its revealer and interpreter to
mankind.
Before terminating this discussion about the Hadlth it should be
pointed out that within the vast corpus of prophetic sayings there are
forty which are called ‘sacred sayings’ {Hadlth Qudsi) which are not
a part of the Qur’an but in which God speaks in the first person
through the Prophet. These sayings although small in number are of
extreme importance in that they are, along with certain verses of the
Qur’an, the basis of the spiritual life in Islam. Sufism is based on
these sayings and many a Sufi knows them by heart and lives in
constant remembrance of their message. These sayings all concern

the spiritual life rather than social or political matters. They deal
with man’s direct relation with God as in the famous Hadlth Qudsi
so often repeated by Sufi masters over the ages;
l My slave ceaseth not to draw nigh unto Me through devotions of tree-

will until I love him, and when I love him, I am the hearing with
which he heareth and the sight with which he seeth and the hand with
; which he fighteth and the foot with which he walketh.
The presence of these sayings indicate how deeply the roots of

Islamic spirituality are sunk in the sources of the revelation itself.
Far from being just a legal and social system devoid of a spiritual
dimension, or one upon which a spiritual dimension was artificially
grafted later on, Islam was, from the beginning, both a Law and a
Way. The two dimensions of Islam, the exoteric and esoteric, are
best demonstrated in the case of the Prophet himself who was both
the perfection of human action on the social and political plane and
the prototype of the spiritual life in his inner oneness with God and
in his total realization in which he saw nothing except in God and
through God.
The particularity of the Prophet which distinguishes him from
those that came before him is that he is the last of the prophets
(kMlam al-anbiyd 0, the seal of prophecy who, coming at the end of
the prophetic cycle, integrates in himself the function of prophecy as
such. This aspect of the Prophet immediately brings up the question
of what prophecy itself means. There have been numerous volumes
written by traditional Muslim authorities on this subject in which the
elaborate metaphysical dimension of this central reality of religion is
outlined. Although it is not possible to discuss this question in detail
Sere one can summarize by saying that prophethood is, according to
the Islamic view, a state bestowed upon men whom God has chosen
because of certain perfections in them by virtue of which they
become the instrument through whom God reveals His message to
the world. Their inspiration is directly from Heaven. A prophet owes
nothing to anyone. He is not a scholar who discerns through books
certain truths, nor one who learns from other human beings and in
turn transmits this learning. His knowledge marks a direct

intervention of the Divine in the human order, an intervention which
is not, from the Islamic point of view, an incarnation but a
theophany (tajalli).
This definition of prophethood holds true for every prophet, not
just in the case of the founder of Islam. From the Muslim point of
view Christ did not gain his knowledge of the Old Testament and the
message of the Hebrew prophets by reading books or learning from
rabbis but directly from heaven. Nor did Moses learn the laws and
the message that he brought from older prophets, be it even
Abraham. He received a new message directly from God. And if he
reiterated some of the truths of the messages brought by the Semitic
prophets before him or if Christ affirmed the Jewish tradition whose
inner meaning he revealed — according to the well-known saying
"Christ revealed what Moses veiled" — or if the Qur’an mentions
some of the stories of the Old and New Testaments, none of these
instances implies an historical borrowing. They indicate only a new
revelation in the cadre of the same spiritual climate which can be
called the Abrahamic tradition. The same applies to the avataras of
Hinduism who came each with a new message from Heaven but
spoken in the laguage of the same spiritual ambiance.
Although all prophecy implies a meeting of the Divine and
human planes, there are degrees of prophecy dependent upon the
type of message revealed and the function of the messenger in
propagating that message. In fact whereas in English the single word
prophet is usually used, in Arabic, Persian and other languages of
the Islamic people there are a series of words connected with levels
of prophethood. There is first of all the nabi, a man who brings
news of God’s message, a man whom God has chosen to' speak to.
But God does not just speak to any man. He who is worthy of
hearing a Divine, message must be qualified. He must be pure by
nature. That is why according to traditional Islamic sources the body
of the Prophet was made from the choicest earth. He must possess
the perfection of human virtues such as goodness and nobility
although in reality he has nothing of his own. everything having been
given by God to him. He must have the perfection of both the
practical and theoretical faculties, a perfect imagination, an intellect

that is perfectly attuned to the Divine Intellect, a psychological and
corporeal structure which enables him to lead men in action and to
guide them through all trials and circumstances. But the message
which the nabi receives is not necessarily universal. He may receive
a message which is to remain within him and not be divulged openly
or is meant to be imparted to only a few in the cadre of an already
existing religion.
Of the prophets in this sense (anbiyd*), there are, according to
tradition, one hundred and twenty-four thousand whom God has sent
to every nation and people, for the Qur’an asserts that there is no
people unto whom a prophet has not been sent.
And for every nation there is a messenger (10:48).
although it also states that to each people God speaks in its own
language, hence the diversity of religions:
And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his

folk (14:4).
The universality of prophecy so clearly enunciated in the Qur’an

means the universality of tradition, of religion. It means that all
orthodox religions come from heaven and are not man made. It also
implies by its comprehensive formulation the presence of Divine
revelation not only in the Abrahamic tradition but among all nations,
although in previous times this question was not explored explicitly.
The Qur’an asserted the principle of universality leaving the
possibility of its application outside the Semitic world as the case
arose, for example, when Islam encountered Zoroastrianism in Persia
or Hinduism in India. In the same manner it could be applied in
modern times to the encounter with any previously unknown genuine
tradition, be it that of the American Indians.
Among the anbiyd * there are those who belong to another
category of prophets, or a new level of prophecy, namely those who
not only receive a message from heaven but are also chosen to
propagate that message for the segment of humanity providentially

destined for it. The prophet with such a function is called rasul. He
is also a nabi but in addition he has this function of making God’s
message known to men and inviting them to accept it, as is seen in
the case of many prophets of the Old Testament. Above the rasUl
stands the prophet who is to bring a major new religion to the world,
the ‘possessor of firmness and determination’ (ulu’l-'azm). Of this
latter category Islam, again limiting itself to the Abrahamic
Tradition, believes there have been seven, each of whom was the
founder of a new religion and who brought a new Divine Law into
the world. There are then altogether three grades of prophecy, that
of the nabi, the rasul and the ulu 7- ‘azm, although in certain Islamic
sources this gradation is further refined to include in further detail
the degrees of anbiya ’ who are distinguished by the manner in which
they perceive the angel of revelation.
‘The Prophet’ was at once a nabi, a rasul and an ulu 7- 'azm and
brought the cycle of prophecy to a close. After him there will be no
new SkarVah or Divine Law brought into the world until the end of
time. There are to be no revelations (wahy) after him, for he marks
the termination of the prophetic cycle (da'irat al-nubuwwah). It may
on the surface appear as a great tragedy that man seems to be thus
left without any possibility of renewing the truths of the revelation
through new contact with the source of the truth. But in reality the
termination of the prophetic cycle does not mean that all possibility
of contact with the Divine order has ceased. Whereas revelation
(wahy) is no longer possible, inspiration (ilham) remains always as
a latent possibility. Whereas the cycle of prophecy (da’irat al-
nubuwwah) has come to an end, the cycle of wildyah (dd’irat al-
wilayah), which for want of a better term may be translated as the
‘cycle of initiation’ and also sanctity, continues.
Actually wildyah in this context, which should in the technical
language of Islamic gnosis be distinguished from wildyah in the
ordinary sense having to do with the state of waif or saint, means the
presence of this inner dimension within Islam which the Prophet
inaugurated along with a new SharVah and which will continue to
the end of time. Thanks to its presence, man is able to renew himself
spiritually and gain contact with the Divine although a new revelation
is no longer possible. It is due to this esoteric dimension of Islam
and the grace or barakah contained in the organizations which are its
preservers and propagators that the spiritual force of the original
revelation has been renewed over the ages and the possibility of a
spiritual life leading to the state of sainthood, that purifies human
society and rejuvenates religious forces, has been preserved.
The Prophet in terminating the prophetic cycle and in bringing
the last Shari ‘ah into the world, also inaugurated the cycle of
‘Muhammadan sanctity’ (wildyah Muhamtnadlyah), which is ever
present and which is the means whereby the spiritual energy of the
tradition is continuously renewed. Therefore, far from there being a
need for any new religion, which at this moment of time can only
mean a pseudo-religion, the revelation brought by the Prophet
contains in itself all that is needed to fulfil in every way the religious
and spiritual needs of Muslims, from the common believer to the
potential saint.
The Prophet, besides being the leader of men and the founder
of a new civilization, is also the perfection of the human norm and
the model for the spiritual life of Islam. He said "I am a human
being like you" (ana basharun mithlukum), to which Muslim sages
over the ages have added, "yes, but like a precious gem among
stones" (ka’l-yaqut bayn al-hajar). The profound symbolism
contained in this saying is connected with the inner nature of the
Prophet. All men in their purely human nature are like stones,
opaque and heavy and a veil to the light that shines upon them. The
Prophet also possesses this human nature outwardly. But inwardly he
has become alchemically transmuted into a precious stone which,
although still a stone, is transparent before the light and has lost its
opacity. The Prophet is outwardly only a human being (bashar), but
inwardly he is the full realization of manhood in its most universal
sense. He is the Universal Man (al-insan al-kamil), the prototype of
all of creation, the norm of all perfection, the first of all beings, the
mirror in which God contemplates universal existence. He is
inwardly identified with the Logos and the Divine Intellect.
In every religion the founder is identified with the Logos, as we
read in the beginning of the Gospel according to John, "In principio

erat verbum,” that is, that which was in the beginning was the Word
or Logos identified with Christ. Islam considers all prophets as an
aspect of the Universal Logos, which in its perspective is identified
with the ‘Reality of Muhammad’ (al-haqiqah al-Muhammadiyah),
which was the first of God’s creation and through whom God sees
all things. As the Muhammadan reality the Prophet came before all
the other prophets at the beginning of the prophetic cycle, and it is
to this inner aspect of him as the Logos to which reference is made
in the HadTth:
He [Muhammad] was prophet [the Logos] when Adam was still

between water and clay.
The Sufi Najm al-DTn al-RazT in his Mirsad al-'ibad writes that just
as in the case of a tree one first plants a seed which then grows into
a plant that gives branches, then leaves, then blossoms, then fruit
which in turn contains the seed, so did the cycle of prophecy begin
with the Muhammadan Reality, with the inner reality of Muhammad,
while it ended with the human manifestation of him. He thus is
inwardly the beginning and outwardly the end of the prophetic cycle
which he synthesizes and unifies in his being. Outwardly he is a
human being and inwardly the Universal Man, the norm of all
spiritual perfection. The Prophet himself referred to this inner aspect
of his nature as in the HadTth:
I am Ahmad without the mint [that is, ahad meaning Unity!; I am

Arab without the ‘ayn [that is rabb meaning Lord]. Who has seen me,
the same hath seen the Truth.
What do such sayings mean but the inward union of the Prophet with
God. This truth has been reiterated over and over again throughout
the ages by masters of Sufism as in the beautiful Persian poem from
the Gulshan-i raz:
A single mim divides Ahad from Ahmad

The world is immersed in that one mim.
This mini which separates the esoteric nameof the Prophet, Ahmad,
from God, is the symbol of return to the Origin, of death and
reawakening to the eternal realities. Its numerical equivalence is forty
which itself symbolizes the age of prophecy in Islam. The Prophet
is outwardly the messenger of God to men; inwardly he is in
permanent union with the Lord.
The doctrine of Universal Man which is inextricably connected
with what one may call prophetology in Islam, is far from having
originated as a result of later influences upon Islam. It is based rather
on what the Prophet was inwardly and as he was seen by those
among his Companions who, besides being his followers religiously,
were the inheritors of his esoteric message. Those who wish to
deprive Islam of a spiritual and intellectual dimension seek to make
of this basic doctrine a later borrowing as if the Prophet could have
become in an effective and operative way the Universal Man by just
having such a state attributed to him if he were not so already in his
real nature. It would be as if one expected a body to shine simply by
calling it the sun. The Prophet possessed in himself that reality which
later gained the technical name of Universal Man. But the ‘named’
was there long before this name was given to it, and before the
theory of it was elaborated for later generations who because of
elongation from the source of the revelation were in need of further
explanation.
In conclusion it may be said that the Prophet is the perfection
of both the human collectivity and the human individual, the norm
for the perfect social life and the prototype and guide for the spiritual
life. He is both the Universal Man and the Primordial Man (al-insan
al-qadim). As the Universal Man he is the totality of which we are
a part and in which we participate; as the Primordial Man he is that
original perfection with respect to which we are a decadence and a
falling away. He is thus both the ‘spatial’ and ‘temporal’ norms of
perfection, ‘spatial’ in the sense of the totality of which we are a part
and ‘temporal’ in he sense of the perfection which was at the
beginning and wh.ui we must seek to regain by moving upstream
against the downward flow of the march of time
The Prophet possessed eminently both the human (nOsut) and
•***«**•• -W.feip***. * .d. i

spiritual (lahut) natures. Yet, there was never an incarnation of the

lahut into the nasut, a perspective which Islam does not accept. The
Prophet did possess these two natures and for this very reason his
example makes possible the presence of a spiritual way in Islam. He
was the perfect ruler, judge and leader of men. He was the creator
of the most perfect Muslim society in comparison with which every
later society is a falling away. But he was in addition the prototype
of the spiritual life. That is why it is absolutely necessary to follow
in his footsteps if one aspires towards spiritual realization.
The love of the Prophet is incumbent upon all Muslims and
especially upon those who aspire towards the saintly life. This love
must not be understood in an individualistic sense. Rather, the
Prophet is loved because he symbolizes that harmony and beauty that
pervade all things, and displays in their fullness those virtues, the
attainment of which allow man to realize his theomorphic nature.
Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet,

O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a
worthy salutation (33:56).
HADITH — ITS
RELEVANCE TO THE
MODERN TIMES
SYED ABUL HASAN ALI NADWI
Before I throw light upon the relevance of the traditions to the

religious and social life of Muslims in the modem times, let me say
a few words about their significance for the believers. The sayings
and doings of the Prophet not only complement the Qur’an but,
being the authentic record of the Prophet’s life, they lead his
followers to the source of revelation and provide them access to the
inner, spiritual dimension of the Prophet’s teachings. Every religion
which seeks to build an ideal pattern of society prescribes certain
ethical rules and devotional observances for achieving that end.
These are, nevertheless, only the outward manifestations of that
system. Life in complete harmony with the spirit of such rules and
laws can be realized only by forming and moulding the life of the
followers of that religion after the perfect model of that system. In
the case of Islam, this model is obviously the life of the Prophet of
Islam. His sayings and doings, the minute details of his everyday
life, provide us with the means of realizing the inner reality, the gist
and spirit of the Islamic system of beliefs and observances.
279
280 Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi
Let us begin with the aims and effects of the mission of Prophet
Muhammad. These, according to the Qur’an, consist of the
following:
i. Recitation of the revealed verses;
ii. Teaching of the Book;
iii. Teaching of Wisdom; and
iv. Cleansing and Purification.
He it is who sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their

own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them
clean, and to teach them the Scripture and Wisdom, though
heretofore they were indeed in error manifest (Qur’an, 62:2).
Even as We have sent unto you a messenger from among you,

who recites unto you Our Revelations and makes you clean, and
teaches you the Scripture and Wisdom, and teaches you that
which you knew not (2:151).
Indeed, the mission of Prophet Muhammad comprehends the

four above-mentioned objectives. Just as the blessed Prophet gave to
mankind a new Scripture and bestowed upon it new knowledge, in
the same way he granted to it new moral virtues and sentiments, a
new belief and faith, a new devotion and eagerness, a new
magnanimity and high-mindedness, a new spirit of self-effacement
and solicitude for the Hereafter, a new ideal of contentment and
contemptuous disregard of worldly goods and glory, a new concept
of love and affection, compassion and kindliness, and a new joy of
worship and a wealth of divine fear, repentance and supplication.
Upon these very characteristics was founded the entire structure of
Islamic Society and from them originated the religious environment
commonly known as the Era of the Prophet and the Holy
Companions. The Companions were the finest result and symbols of
the efforts of the Prophet as the Apostle of God. One has only to
look at this august body of men for the manifestation of the various
aspects of prophethood in everyday life.
The mission of the Prophet and his teachings were the fountain-
t Relevance to the Modem Times 281
'■ head of these blessings and the whole of Islamic life and social
| design of the first century of Islam stemmed from them. But if a
| study in depth was made of how it all came about and its ways and
means were analyzed it would appear that the marvellous revolution
sprang from these formative factors which worked in the new society
and Ummah:
i. The personality of the sacred Prophet — his life and character;
ii. The Holy Qur’an; and
iii. The sayings and sermons, teachings and precepts, and
exhortations and admonitions of the Prophet.
The three factors, as a little thought will show, lie behind the
perfect materialization of the aims and effects of the mission of
Prophet Muhammad. They have played a decisive role in the making
and moulding of the new Ummah. A complete society, a perfect life
and a collective design in which beliefs and actions, moral virtues
and emotions, aptitudes and inclinations and kinship and mutual
relations find their due expression cannot come into existence apart
from them. Life springs from life.
In our world, a lamp is lighted by another lamp. The true
Islamic morality, which along with belief and action, is seen in the
lives of the Companidns and their faithful successors, and their lofty
idealism and deep religious feeling, are not merely due to the
recitation of the Book but have also been instilled by the most
inspiring and lovable personality that was before them all the time.
These are the effects of the life and character as well which the Holy
Companions could see and observe during all the hours of day and
night and of the company, discourses and exhortations from which
they used'to profit continually during the lifetime of the Prophet. The
special temperament of Islam evolved as a result of the assemblage
of all these factors in which there was not only the habitual
obedience to commands and injunctions but a growth of the tr ie
spirit was characterized by the urge to act on them. Side by side with
compliance with rules and regulations and the rendering of rights,
this spirit also possessed the ability to conceive the subtleties of
tender emotions and refined feelings.
282 Abul Hasan ali Nadwi
The Companions had received the command from the Qur’an

and also heard the commendation "Who are humble in their
prayers". But it was only when they had offered salat with the
Prophet and observed the state of his ruku* which they have
described in these words:
We used to hear sounds coming from his bosom as if something was

being cooked in a pot on the stove,
that they realized the true significance of it. They had learnt from the
Qur’an that salat was the favourite occupation of a truthful believer
but until they had heard the Prophet say, "The coolness of my eyes
lies in salat," and, "O Bilal! Give the call to salat and bring comfort
to my heart,” they had no clear idea of the intensity of the
attachment. They had repeatedly read in the Qur’an the exhortation
to supplicate God and had also heard that He is displeased with those
who do not beseech Him humbly for their needs. They were not
unaware of the meaning of ‘humbling one’s self, ‘perseverance’ and
‘crying’ but the reality of it dawned upon them only when they saw
the Prophet placing his forehead on the ground, in the Battle of
Badr, and crying out to the Almighty from the depth of his heart:
O Lord! I beg thee in the name of Thy Promise and Thy Covenant. O
Lord! If You decide (to destroy these handful of men) then You shall
not be worshipped.
They noticed the extreme anguish of Abu Bakr which forced him to
cry out "O Messenger of God! It is enough". They knew that the
essence of supplication lay in humbleness and submission and an
entreaty was precious to the extent to which it possessed these
attributes, but the real import of ‘humbleness’ and ‘submission’ was
perceived by them only when they heard the Prophet making this
prayer at ‘Arafah:
O Lord! Thou heareth what I say and seeth where I am and in

whatever state. Thou knowest what is secret and what is manifest in
me, and naught concerning me is hidden from Thee. 1 am in distress,
Relevance to the Modem Times 283
a beggar. I beg Thee for protection and succour. Thy fear is gripping
me. I confess my sins. I entreat Thee like a poor, helpless suppliant.
I beseech Thee like a wretched sinner. I implore Thee like an
afflicted, awe-stricken slave — a slave whose head is bowed before
Thee,'whose tears are flowing in Thy presence, and whose body is
bent (in utter submission), — a slave who is lying prostrate on the
ground begging and imploring and crying his heart out. O Lord! Do
I not reject my prayer. Have mercy on me. O Thou, the Best and Most
j, Excellent of Givers, and the Noblest of Helpers.
| They had read in the Qur’an about the worthlessness of this

I world and the permanence of the Hereafter. They knew by heart the
I verse, "The life of the world is but a pastime and a game. Lo! the
home of the Hereafter — that is Life." But they could comprehend
its fundamental significance and be acquainted with its practical
interpretation solely from the life of the Prophet. It was only by
observing his way of living and the painfully low level of material
icomfort that prevailed in his household that they felt what was meant
;by considering the life after death to be the real existence. His day-
to-day life reflected the motto:
I O Lord! There is no joy other than the joy of Futurity.
IWhen from this brief exhortation and practical life-pattern they came
ko know about the details of the cloudless joys and comforts of
Paradise and endless torture of Hell from the Prophet, they were
seized wjth.the mixed feelings of fear and eagerness and the picture
of both trie ultimate resting places remained constantly alive before
their eyes.
Likewise, they were well-acquainted with the meanings of moral
virtues like compassion, humility., affability and gentleness but they
realized the full scope of their implication, their application in real
life and the proper ways and occasions of putting them into practice
only when they had an experience of the behavior of the Prophet
towards the weak and the indigent, and towards his own friends and
companions, family members and domestic servants, and heard his
exhortations and admonitions in that regard. They had received the
command from the Qur'an to fulfill the rights of the general body of
Muslims but its numerous forms like visiting the sick, attending the
funeral and making a prayer for the welfare of anyone who sneezed
were such that most of the people could, perhaps, not think of them
on their own. Similarly, the Qur’an has enjoined kindness to parents
and to others who have a claim, but how many moral teachers have
dreamt of the lofty standard held out in the following Tradition:
The highest grade of the loyalty and kindliness of a son towards his
parents is that, after their death, he showed affection to their friends
and behaved with them in a benevolent and obliging manner.
Few have attained :he level of gentlemanliness in social conduct

shown in this Hadith:
When a goat was slaughtered in the Prophet's house he would often

get it cut into pieces and send the pieces of meat to ladies who were
the friends of his deceased>wife, Khadljah.
From, these few examples drawn from the Hadith of the Prophet’s
sayings and doings one can imagine the guidance the traditions
furnish in different branches of life, what new knowledge they
impart and what a treasure-house they constitute for humanity.
On the other hand, the history of religions and communities
bears witness to the fact that mere legislation is not enough to bring
about a deed in its true spirit and to create the atmosphere that is
needed to make it effective and purposeful. For instance, the brief
command to establish prayers cannot produce the inner feeling that
helps in the preservation of its form and spirit, encourages its regular
observance and leads to the attainment of the desired moral, spiritual
and collective results. For it, rules and principles, guidance and
proprieties are needed that lend grandeur and effectiveness to the act.
The essential conditions of ablution, cleanliness, understanding,
humbleness, peace and calmness have been laid in the Qur'an for this
very reason. It should not be hard to appreciate that the proper
climate in which the fruits of salat are borne forth and its moral,
spiritual and collective benefits accrue, will be generated in
proportion to the attention paid to these requisites and formalities.

Students of the HadTth of the Prophet will be aware that his
precepts and sayings have made the salat a most efficacious means
of inner purification, moral uplift and God-consciousness as well as
a means for training and instruction of the Ummah and for the
promotion of discipline and solidarity in it. From him we have
learned the virtues of ablution and precise formulation of intention,
the importance of going to the mosque, the prayer of the way, the
correct manner of entering the mosque and the formula of God-
remembrance, the salutation of the mosque (meaning practices firmly
established by the conduct of the Holy Prophet), the virtue of waiting
in the mosque for salat, the reward of congregation, the reward of
adhan (call to prayer) and Iqamah (second call to prayer uttered
immediately before the commencement of the fard prayer), the office
of Imamah and the requirement to follow the Imam implicitly, the
arrangement of rows, the excellence of people sitting together for the
recitation of the Names, Praises and Attributes of the Lord and for
religious education and instruction, the correct way of coming out of
the mosque and the special prayer for the occasion, etc. Add to it the
condition of the Prophet’s salat, his enthusiasm for the
si pererogatory prayers and the description of his absorption in
prayer "and lamentation during the recitation of the Qur’an (which
have been described in detail in the Traditions) and you will see what
a high degree of excellence the salat of the Ummah acquired and
how wonderful is the intellectual and emotional atmosphere that is
generated by it. On the same basis, think of the other obligatory
duties of imvw(fastirtg), zakat (poor-due) and Hajj (Pilgrimage) and
judge for yourself how far they can retain their effectiveness and the
ability to stir the deepest feelings of the devotees, and prove helpful
in the building up of a new society, if these acts of worship are
shorn of the virtues and formalities mentioned in the Traditions and
isolated from the atmosphere we have just indicated.
The life, precepts and sayings of the Prophet, in reality, provide
the climate for Faith in which it thrives and bears fruit. Religion is
not the name of a soulless dogma or wooden ethical code. It cannot
endure without genuine emotions, solid facts and practical examples.
The best and most reliable collection of these feelings, events and
instances is the one related to the personality of the sacred Prophet
and derived from the record of his life. Judaism, Christianity and
other Asian faiths became crippled so soon because they did not
possess an authentic record of the precepts .and practices of their
Prophets. The atmosphere in which adherents prosper morally and
spiritually and withstand successfully the onslaughts of godlessness
and materialism was not available to them. They, ultimately, tried to
fill the void with the accounts of the lives and attainments of saints
and holy men and their discourses and utterances, but succeeded only
in reducing religion to a package of innovations, rituals and
ingenious interpretations. The hollowness of these faiths and
communities, as regards reliable life-records of their Prophets, is a
historical fact upon which a great deal has been written already. One
of the proofs of Islam being the last and eternal religion is that it was
never overtaken by such a disaster. The intellectual and spiritual
environment in which the Companions of the prophet spent their
lives has been preserved in its pristine purity for all time to come
through the Hadith. Thanks to them, it is quite possible for anyone
belonging to the succeeding generations to break away instantly from
his own surroundings and begin to live in the environment in which
the Prophet himself is present — he is speaking to the Companions
and the Companions are listening to him intently. Forms of action
are seen side by side with precepts, and episodes of feeling alongwith
forms of action — an environment in which an idea can be formed
of the kind of deeds and morals that originate from Faith and the
design of life that is determined by belief in the Hereafter. It is a
window through which the family life of the Prophet, the house
where he lived, the usual way in which he spent his nights, and the
level of material comforts enjoyed by the members of his household
can be distinctly viewed. The state of his genuflexion can be seen
with the eyes, and the melody of his hymns and prayers can be heard
with the ears. How, then, can anyone be guilty of negligence who
sees the Prophet’s eyes overflowing with tears and feet swollen, and
hears him protesting earnestly, "Am I not grateful bondsman of the
Lord?" How can they be in two minds about the worthlessness of
this world? And how can they remain unmoved by the call of
asceticism when they can ‘see’ that fire was not lighted in the
Prophet’s house for as many as two months on end or when they
observe the stone tied to his stomach, the marks of the mat on his
back, the remainder of the gold meant for charity being spent
anxiously in the path of God before retiring to bed and the oil for the
lamp being borrowed from the neighbour during the last illness?
Where would one go for a lesson in nobility of mind and character
who has seen the Prophet attending upon the members of his family,
showing affection to his children, leniency to his servants, kindness
towards the Companions and forbearance and compassion towards
the enemies?
In fact, not only is the door of the Prophet’s dwelling open in
this atmosphere through which all this is seen by the viewers but also
the doors of the dwellings of the blessed Companions, as is
everything else — their style of living, the burning of their hearts,
the ardour of their nights, their activity ana occupation in the market
and ease and tranquility in the mosque, their devoutness and self¬
surrender, the ceaseless attacks of the carnal desires on them, their
whole-hearted submission to the Almighty and their human
weaknesses — is visible. Here the glorious self-denial of Abu Talhah
Ansar! meets the eye as well as the unique incident of Ka‘ab b.
Malik’s staying away-from the Battle of Tabuk. In brief, it is a
natural environment in which life is present in its true colours and
the manifold facets of human personality are on display, and the
Hadlths of the Prophet have made all this safe for eternity by
painting a vivid picture of the Era of the Apostle in its minutest
details.
The preservation of the historical portrait of the Era of the
Prophet along with that of the Companions is an achievement of the
Muslims of which they can justly be proud. It is unequalled in the
annals of religions and communities. A faith that has to endure till
fhe end of time and provide proper incentive to action and
wholesome nourishment to the heart and mind cannot remain alive
and active without the environment that is peculiar to it. This
environment has been preserved till Doomsday by means of the
288 Abul Hasan Au Nadwi
HadTth. The history of the collection and compilation of the HadTth

emphatically shows that it was not a chance occurrence. The
attention of the Companions was drawn towards writing down the
HadTth even during the Prophet’s lifetime and a large part of the
sayings was preserved by them. Then, the compilation and
arrangement of the HadTth narratives was the task of their immediate
successors. Thousands of scholars and researchists studied and
worked all the way to Iran, Khurasan and Turkestan. Their
phenomenal memory, resoluteness and dedication, the birth of the
masters of Asma* al-Rijdl (a most important branch of HadTth
literature which was created as an aid to the formal criticism of the
HadTth) and the science of narration, and, finally, the enduring
interest of the Ummah in the subject and its popularity and
propagation in the whole of the Islamic World — all these facts go
to prove that like the preservation of the Qur’an, the preservation of
the HadTth, too, was willed by God. In his infinite wisdom, the Lord
had decided that the reports of the sayings and practices of the
Prophet be collected and made safe forever. It was due to it that the
continuity of the Glorious Life was maintained and the moral,
spiritual and academic legacy the Companions had inherited directly
went on reaching the Ummah during all the stages of its history. In
this way, the process of ‘succession’ continued not only in respect of
beliefs and injunctions but in the emotional and temperamental fields
as well. The mental and emotional disposition of the age of the
Companions was duly transmitted from one generation and class to
another because of the HadTth.
In the long and chequered history of the Ummah this quality and
temperament never left it altogether — it did not become wholly
extinct at any time — and there were always found in it men who
could be said to possess the nature and disposition of the
Companions. The same passion for worship, the same piety and
de\ outness, the same constancy and steadfastness, the same humility
and introspection of the self, the same ardour for the Hereafter, the
same detachment from the material world, the same fervour for
sanctioning what was lawful and prohibiting what was forbidden, the
same revulsion for innovations and the same keenness to follow the
doings and practices of the Prophet which are the fruits of the study
of the Traditions and of keeping company with those who have
received illumination from the bosom of the sacred Apostle are
evident in them. The mental and emotional disposition of the Ummah
has endured from the first century of Islam to the modern
materialistic times. From Sufyan ThawrT, ‘Abdullah b. Mubarak and
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal to Mawlana Faziur Rahman Ganj
Moradabadi, Mawlana Rashid Ahmad Gangohi and Mawlana Syed
‘Abdullah Ghaznavi we have an unbroken chain of its glowing
symbols. As long as the matchless stock of the Hadlth remains and
the process of benefitting from it continues, the true disposition and
temperament of the Ummah in which solicitude for the Hereafter is
dominant over attachment to the present world, the confirmed
practice of the Prophet over custom, and spiritualism over
materialism will endure. It will never be that the Muslims, as a
whole, fell a victim to gross materialism or got immersed altogether
in innovations, worldliness and rejection of the life to come. On the
contrary, under its influence, reformative movements will always be
at work and the process of renovation will continue in the Ummah
and one group or another will at all time be striving in it for the
promotion of Sunnah and SharUah.
These who want to deprive the Ummah of this priceless source
of life, vitality and guidance, and seek to undermine faith in its
genuineness and reliability do not realise what a grievous disservice
they are doing to the Muslims. They do not know that their efforts
can end up only in making the Ummah rootless and wayward exactly
in the same way as the enemies of Judaism and Christianity and the
vicissitudes of time have played havoc with these great religions. If
they are doing it deliberately, no one can be a greater antagonist of
Islam for there is no other way of reviving and recreating the
temperament and fundamental inclination that was the grand
peculiarity of the holy Companions. It can either be produced
directly from the company of the Prophet or indirectly through the
Hadlths which are a living portrait of that era and an eloquent record
of the life of the Prophet.
13
THE PLACE OF THE
PROPHET OF ISLAM IN
IQBAL’S THOUGHT
ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL
A. Jeffery writes in his interesting article on Ibn ‘Arabfs Shajarat

al-Kawn, that
many years ago ... the late Shaykh Mustafa al-Maraghl remarked
on a visit to his friend the Anglican Bishop in Egypt, that the
commonest cause of offence, generally unwitting offence, given by
Christians to Muslims, arose from their complete failure to understand
the very high regard all Muslims have for the person of their Prophet.1
The fact that Muhammad has been depicted in European

controversial literature from the Middle Ages up to very recent times
in the most depraving manner, and that it took the non-Muslim world
centuries to describe him and his work with justice, has perhaps
unconsciously clouded the mind of students and scholars from
understanding the great importance of Muhammad for Muslim
religious life.
Even the average European Orientalist is often unaware of the
290
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in Iqbal’s Thought 291
veneration in which the Prophet is held in Islamic countries; and

Constance Padwick has acutely said:
No one can estimate the power of Islam as a religion who does not
take-into account the love at the heart of it for this figure (i.e., the
Prophet). It is here that human emotion, repressed at some point by
the austerity of the doctrine of God as developed in theology, has its
full outlet — a warm human emotion which the peasant can share with
the mystic. The love of this figure is perhaps the strongest binding
force in a religion which has so marked a binding power ... 2
Whole books are devoted to the embroidering of the short sentence

of the Blessings upon the Prophet, many of them famous in Muslim
devotion, from West Africa to Indonesia, like the Dala 'il al-Khayrat
and the formula of Blessing itself is being used sometimes just as a
magic spell.
"Only a human to whom was revealed" — that is the idea the
Qur’an gives of the Prophet, and there is no doubt that Muslim
theology and Muslim piety have always strived to maintain the
human personality of Muhammad the Prophet in contrast to the term
‘Son of God* which seemed to express for them the greatest
deviation from true religion of the Christian neighbours; and as long
as Muhammad is mentioned by millions of tongues every day as
Rasul Allah in the witness formula, there is no danger of his
deification. Yet, as a human the Prophet Muhammad has been
described in the words of the Qur’an itself, and through the
numerous traditions which depict him in all his humanity, there was,
from the very beginning of Islamic history, a strong tendency to
emphasize his personal traits to attribute miracles to him, and in a
slow but intense development which has been shown excellently by
Tor Andrae in his famous study Die Person Muhammads in Glauben
und Lehre seiner Gemeinde (Stockholm 1918), the veneration of the
Prophet reached mystical heights. Starting from certain verses of the
Qur’an, Muhammad’s future rank as shafi\ intercessor for his
followers on the Day of Judgment, became one of the centres of
popular piety: it is he whom the sorrowful implore, on him is the
hope that they may be released from the fire of Hell, and enter the
292 Annemarie Schimmel
presence of God, and already in rather early mystical theology the

greatness and pre-eternity of Muhammad is maintained, for instance,
in the Kitab al-Tawdsin of Hallaj (d. 922 A.D.).
It is quite natural that the repetition of Muhammad’s name in the
second part of the Confession of Faith, just after the name of God,
led to the conclusion that his spiritual place was far above that of
other beings, that he was prior to Creation, and that the worlds
would not have been created but for his sake. The Hadith Qudsi
lawlaka — "If thou werest not, I would not have created the spheres"
— has become, in mystical literature and poetry, a widely used
chiffre for the Prophet’s pre-eternal glory. This mystical theology
was crowned by the idea that Muhammad was the insdn al-kamil, the
Perfect Man par excellence, the central point in which divine and
human spheres meet, the source of light from which the lights of all
the other prophets have emerged.
It seems that approximately from the 12th century onwards a
new side of Muhammad-veneration became more and more popular
— at least we do not yet know how long it was already in use to
celebrate the mawlUd, the birthday of the Prophet, for which poets
and mystics composed heart-felt hymns and which was, in some
periods, a real popular festival with illuminations of towns, etc. The
mawluds, which were composed for these occasions, are still extant
— it is sufficient to mention the most famous example of this kind
of poetry in Turkey, Suleyman CelebT’s (d.1429 A.D.) mawlud-i
sharif which is still living in the hearts of almost all Turks, and
which is recited not only on the birthday of the Prophet on 12 Rabi
I but also as a kind of Soul’s Mass at the 40th day after death and at
the anniversary of death. There are mawluds all over the Islamic
world, and in their simple verses and their loving devotion, they
belong to the most touching expressions of Islamic religious life.
Also, poets used to put at the beginning of the works — after the
poetical praise of God — the na a praise-poem in honour of the
Prophet, which also developed into a poetical form in its own right;
still is the na€t of Mawlana RumI well-known in Turkey and the
countries where RumT’s mystical poetry is read. So Iqbal is perfectly
right when he puts the praise of the Prophet into Ruml’s mouth and
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in Iqbal's Thought 293
makes him describe the greatness of the Seal of Prophets.3

The mystical tradition about the Prophetic virtues has lived in
India as' strong as elsewhere; to mention only one example: in the
folklore of a comparatively small Province like Sind, the mawluds,
the versified stories of the miracles of the Prophet, the prayers which
were addressed to him since centuries, fill large volumes, and in
many cases the Western reader could simply replace the name of
Muhammad by that of Christ, and could, then, recite the same poem
for himself.
But in this mystical atmosphere the knowledge of the real human
life of Muhammad had been nearly forgotten. Not earlier than the
last decades of the 19th century the Indian Muslim intelligentsia felt
the necessity — as a counter-weight against the Christian missionary
activities — to inform their fellow-Muslims about the life and deeds
of the historical Prophet. Classical sources, like the Life of
Muhammad by Ibn Hisham, thejcollection of traditions, were largely
used. Syed Ameer Ali’s famous work *The Spirit of Islam” is
essentially called "The Life of Muhammad", and its importance for
a new presentation of the Prophet as the unsurpassable model of
behaviour cannot be estimated too highly. Then followed the great
Biography of the Prophet by Mawlana Shibll — the first monumental
work on this topic in Urdu which was completed (in 5 vols.) by
Sayyid Sulayman NadwT, Iqbal’s venerated friend, and was partly
translated also in other Indian vernaculars. All over the Islamic
world more biographies of Muhammad written by Muslim scholars
were published in recent decades than in the same number of
centuries, and still this:interest in the historical figure of the Prophet
is continuing. In 1920, a special siraf-movement was started in India
which aimed at the publication of books and pamphlets on the
Prophet for distribution-among the population especially in the
Punjab.
Also certain later mystical orders, in order to avoid pantheistic
trends in Sufism, — like the movement of Sayyid Ahmad Brelawl in
India and the Tariqah Muhammadiyah of the Tijani or the
Mirghaniyah in North Africa — taught as the highest goal the
unification of the soul not with God but with the essence of the
294 annemarie Schimmel
Prophet.
These two currents: the mystical veneration of the Prophet and
the investigation of his life in order to show the Muslims that they,
just as the Muslim community in times of old, should live in
complete harmony with the way of life, the behaviour and the ideal
which Muhammad had put before the Faithful: these two currents
together form the basis of Muhammad Iqbal’s prophetology which
is sounding like a basso ostinato through his work in the different
periods of his life. He says:
The dust of Madlnah and Najaf is collyrium for my eyes.4
Although some other problems which are most vividly expressed in

Iqbal’s poetry and his philosophical work are rarely touched in his
letters, the love for the Lord of Beings is felt in his private
correspondence, too, and his friends tell that he often was shedding
tears from emotion when the Prophet’s name was mentioned. The
visit of ‘Abd al-MajTd QurashI, the founder of the sirat-movement,
in 1929 was most welcomed by him,5 and in the same year he
mentions with satisfaction the fact that the Birthday of the Prophet
had been celebrated by the Muslims in South India.
In order to bind together the Islamic nations of India the most holy
personality of the honoured Prophet can constitute as our greatest and
most efficient power.6
Iqbal’s poetry, too, turns to the Prophet often in a new and

unexpected way, and the role of Muhammad is important from the
Asrar up to the Armaghan; perhaps with the exception of Payam-i
Mashriq where — except the introduction — only merely literary
allusions to the Prophet are found. There is the tune of perfect trust
in the Prophet which is characteristic of the normal Muslim
devotions:
Thy love is greater for the rebels —

It is, in forgiving sins, like the love of a mother.7
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in Iqb&l’s Thought 295
It is however worth mentioning that one side of the Prophet which

is most frequently focussed by other poets, and especially in
folk-poetry, and which makes him so dear to all fearful souls, is not
often met with-in-Iqbal’s poetical works: it is his role as shaft', as
intercessor at Doomsday. Though, in the Asrdr* the poet sings:
In him is our trust on the Day of Judgment, and in this world too he
is our protector;
this tune is scarcely repeated, since Muhammad Iqbal’s conception

of death, resurrection and final judgment in the later stages of his
theological thought widely differs from the accustomed theological
and popular beliefs and dogmatic details. However, his confidence
in every human affair rested upon the Prophet whom he had asked,
in the end of Rumuz (p. 193 ff.) to grant him the power of activity.
It is rather significant that during his last long illness when he was
staying at Bhopal he saw in a dream the reformer Sir Sayyid Ahmad
Khan — the grandfather of his host — who advised him to tell his
illness to the Prophet,9 and indeed Iqbal composed a long poem10 in
which he, after having described the sad situation of the Muslims,
asks the Prophet to help him in his illness — just as seven centuries
ago the Egyptian al-BusTrl (d. 1296 A.D.) had composed his famous
Qasidat al-Burdah in honour of Muhammad, and was cured: an
example which has become a model for pious Muslims throughout
the centuries.
"Interior medicine for me is only that I recite blessings (durud)
on your ancestor (i.e., Muhammad)” he writes, jn 1935, to a
Sayyid11 — but even this recitation is felt by him ta be a daring
work:
from shame my body became like water —

Love said: Oh you who are subjects to others . . .
As long as you have not yet got colour and scent from Muhammad,
don’t dirty his name with your blessings.12
Muhammad was for Iqbal the visible tide of God’s activity. God
could not be seen by mortal eyes — as the Qur’an says: lan taranl
(thou wilt not see Me), whereas this word is not applicable to the
Prophet:13
God is my Hidden One, thou art my Open One!

With God I talk in veils, with Thee openly!14
And according to an apocryphal tradition, quoted by Rurnl and many

other mystics, "Who sees me, sees God" the poet turns to the
Prophet for help as well as for praise.15
Just as the Muslim feels the nearness of God when reciting the
Qur’an, Iqbal admits to have felt a spiritual connection with the
Prophet when working on the subject of Islamic history, and history
of Islamic law:16
The differences of juristic questions and the argumentations of the

jurists of Islam in which the love of the Seal of Apostleship is
concealed — the study of all these things gives me an endless spiritual
delight.17
And how much more the presence of something which was said to
have belonged to the Prophet! The exhibition of the khirqah-i sharlf,
the cloak of the Prophet, at Qandahar during his visit to Afghanistan
inspired Iqbal to one of the finest Persian hymns18 in which he
compares his heart to Gabriel who was able to see the Prophet in
flesh, and tells how his heart started singing and dancing and reciting
poetry in front of the sacred relic.
The cloak of the "bar which both of them do not transgress". (Surah
55:20).
I saw it in the light of "I have two cloaks,"
His religion and his ritual are the effect of the All
In his forehead is writ the destination of everything.
It goes without saying that a visit to the Prophet’s tomb — combined

with the performance of the duty of pilgrimage — was one of Iqbal’s
greatest and most ardent wishes from early times onward.19 To die
in the blessed country of the Hijaz — that was his dream during war-
time,20 and not without reason his posthumous poems have been
called Gift of the Hijaz (Armaghan-i Hijaz). His letters in the last
years of his life are full of sentences which express the nostalgia for
the Prophet’s country most ardently, and he was sure that a visit to
that place‘would bring innumerable spiritual benefits to the visitor.21
He had intended to go to Madlnah on his way back from Europe in
1932, but was of the opinion
that it would be bad manners to dare visit the Holy Presence of

Prophethood in connection with a journey made for worldly
purposes.22
He wrote, then, the great ode to the Prophet which ends with the
line:
Thou art the Preserved Tablet, and Thou art the Pen.23
The more painful his illness grew, the stronger was the wish.to visit
the Holy Places.
What other place is there left for sinners like me but the threshold of
the Prophet?24
and even in the last months before his death he did not give up hope
that
I can perform the pilgrimage in the following year and be also present
in the Presence of Prophethood and bring from there such a gift that
the Muslims of India will remember it.25
But that dream was not fulfilled — only a whole chapter of the
quatrains in Armaghan-i Hijaz is called "In the Presence of the
Prophet."
In Muhammad — whom he, as most of the mystic poets, often
calls with his surname Mustafa, the Chosen One — Iqbal saw the
source of everything good and useful in human life; poverty (in the
religious sense, according to the tradition "My poverty is my pride")
and sovereignty belong to the manifestations of Mustafa;26 he is the

model for every Muslim,27 the visible witness of God’s beauty and
power. His way is the only way to choose28 for the Muslims of this
century who are strangers to his beauty.29 This idea, which animates
the quatrains of the Armaghan, is expressed as early as the Jawab-i
Shikwah in 1913, where God is made to say:
Thou a Muslim art, and Destiny thy edict must obey, Be thou faithful
to Muhammad and We yield Ourselves to thee — Not this world alone
— the Tablet and the Pen thy prize will be.
From here we reach the mystical* ideas of Muhammad’s

pre-existence, and can understand, in the light of the development of
mystical praise, the great hymn which Iqbal has sung in honour of
him who is the perfect manifestation of Love.30 Already in the Asrar,
when showing that "Self is strengthened by Love" Iqbal turns to the
person of the Prophet:
There is a beloved hidden within thine heart . . .

By love of him the heart is made strong . . .
In the Muslim-s heart is the home of Muhammad,
All our glory is from the name of Muhammad.
The idea that Muhammad’s name31 itself is holy which is common

in Muslim piety, is already found in the Jawdb-i Shikwah:
Light the world, too long in darkness, with Muhammad’s radiant

name!
It is a common idea in all religions that the name of a thing

designates the thing itself, and that to possess the name means to
possess the thing itself. Name contains a certain power, a barakah,
and that is the reason for calling so many children with the name of
the Prophet in order to make them participate of the Prophet’s
spiritual power — but it is also the reason for the taboo on
pronouncing the name Muhammad in Turkey, and its being changed
into Mehmet, lest the most holy name be polluted by daily use and
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in Iqb&l’s Thought 299
misuse.
In the Asrar Iqbal says:
Eternity is less than a moment of his time

Eternity receives increase from his essence.
He slept on a mat of rushes
But the crown of Chosroes was under his peoples’ feet . . .
And more than 20 years later the poet goes on in the same strain:
He is the meaning of Gabriel and the Qur’an

He is the watchman of the wisdom of God,
His wisdom is higher than reason ... 32
In the Rumuz, which is, essentially, the treasure-house of Iqbal’s

prophetology, he compares Muhammad to "the lamp in the darkness
of Being. . who was when Adam was still in water and clay,33
alluding to a famous tradition which the mystics have used in order
to indicate the pre-existence of Muhammad: "I was a prophet while
Adam was still between water and clay" i.e., not yet made.
One of the most beautiful and significant passages in honour of
the Prophet is found in the Jawid-namah in the scene in the Heaven
of Jupiter, where Hallaj teaches Iqbal the secrets of Prophethood. In
these verses, Iqbal’s ideas about the spiritual and mystical personality
of Muhammad are expressed with perfect clearness. That he has
chosen Hallaj as the interpreter of his ideas is due to the fact that this
mystic had made the first substantial contribution to the
Muhammad-mysticism, and some formulae of the Iqbalian poems
may have been translated or at least inspired by the passages in
Hallaj’s Kitab al-Tawasin, especially Tasln al-Siraj which was with
Iqbal since the First World War, and which he had studied with
increasing interest and understanding.
"His Slave” is higher than thy understanding,

Since he is both man and essence.
His essence is neither Arabic nor Persian,
He is a man, and yet previous to Adam.
"His Slave" is the painter of destinations,

In him is the repair of ruins.
"His Slave" is soul-giving and soul-taking,
"His Slave" is both bottle and hard stone.
"Slave" is different, and "His Slave" is different.
We are completely waiting, he is the waited for.
"His Slave" is Time, and Time is from "His Slave",
We all are colours, he is without colour and scent.
"His Slave" is without beginning, without end,
"His Slave" — where is for him morning and evening?
Nobody is acquainted with the secrets of "His Slave",
"His Slave" is nothing but the secret of "but God".
That Muhammad is conceived both as man and as essence shows the

relation with Ibn ‘ArabT’s and JTli’s ideas of the Perfect Man who
unites in himself the aspects of the divine and the worldly life. And
why the stress which is laid on the expression "His Slave"?
According to old mystical traditions which are found already in the
earliest writings on Sufism,34 like Qushayri’s Risalah, and which was
very common in Sufi circles and not the least in India, as the
example of the Punjabi mystic Bullhe Shah shows. ‘Abduh, "His
servant" shows the highest rank of the Prophet because this term is
used in the Qur’an in connection with the ascension of Muhammad
— "Praised be He who travelled at night with His servant" (Surah
17:1) — and since the night-journey means the culmination of
Muhammad’s role as Prophet, being brought in to Divine presence
without veils, the term 'abduh hints at the highest degree of
prophethood, and, consequently, the highest rank man can attain; not
‘sonship’ of God, but the rank of the faithful servant is the highest
goal.35 Iqbal is, in these lines, completely in agreement with the
great Indian theologian whom he considered to be one of the most
important figures in Islamic history, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhind! (<*■
1624), who held that the highest experience of annihilation is only
transient, and that the mystic has to come back to the stage of
'abdiyah or servitude which is the summum bonum of the spiritual
life of one who believes in a transcendental God. We may also quote
another personality whose influence on Iqbal has not yet been
examined but whose ideas display many similarities: it is Mir Dard

(1720-1784)36, who has expounded a mystical theory of his own
which+ie called ‘ilm-i Ilahi Muhammadi — knowledge of God based
on the teaching of Muhammad — in which he calls those men real
Unitarians who remain, in spite of their divine vision, "slaves of
God". And so, for Iqbal, too, not only the secret of the Prophet lies
concealed in the word "His Slave", but also the secret of every man
— for man has developed his spiritual faculties in such a way that he
may come closest to the ideal of the Prophet in his aspect as Perfect
Man. In the aspect of "His Slave" — the Prophet teaches man the
mystery of the tradition, "I have a time with God", starting from the
experience of ascension, i.e. the immediate contact with God — the
famous word which has formed a favourite basis for meditation for
innumerable mystics, since it points to the experience of human
communion with God, when the spell of time is broken, and eternity
is realized already in this life. So, the aspect of His Slave is the
model for man in his aspirations towards perfection, in which his
hand, like that of Muhammad ‘becomes God’s hand, the moon is
split by his fingers’ 37 The same chapter in the Jamd-namah contains
another description of the Prophet which is more complicated. The
Qur’an has described Muhammad as Rahmatan li'l ‘Alamin, Mercy
for the Worlds (Surah 21:107), and this phrase has been used often
as diagram for the Prophet and his activities. That is also the case in
a verse of Ghalib, the great Indo-Muslim poet of the early 19th
century who had written a mathnawt about the question whether God
could create another Muhammad or not:
Wherever a tumult of the worlds arises,

There is also a Mercy for the worlds.
Iqbal was fascinated by this verse, but a letter to Sayyid Sulayman

NadwT38 in 1922 shows that he had difficulties in finding out its right
meaning. He concludes: "The present astronomers say that in some
stars human beings and creatures of even higher order may live. If
it is like that, then the manifestation of a Mercy for the Worlds is
necessary there too. In this manner the transmigration or buruz
would be least necessary for the Muslims. SuhrawardI, the shaykh of
the Ishraq (illumination) philosophy, was in a way convinced of the

transmigration of soul ..." This might lead to unexpected
consequences for the finality of Prophethood, and so Iqbal has left
this idea when he inserts the verse — quoted by Ghalib in the
Jupiter-Sphere — into the Jawid-namah ten years later, though he is
well aware that these lines, if continued, may prove dangerous.
Ghalib is made to answer (alluding to Surah 87:2) i.e..
Creation, Destiny and Guidance are the beginning —

“Mercy for the Worlds" is the end;
i.e., the finality of Muhammad’s Prophethood is maintained, but

Ghalib himself thinks that further investigations of the meaning of
this verse might lead to "infidelity which lies behind poetry".
Anyhow, by the attribution of this verse to its real author Ghalib it
becomes clear why this poet — who was neither very religious nor
a heretic — is put into the same Sphere as the great heretics Hallaj
and Tahirah. Iqbal would rather — as we can gather from other
poems — accept this appearance of the Mercy for the Worlds as the
single manifestation of the Muhammadan Reality (similar to Jill)
though this expression, so dear to mystics, does not occur in his
work.
But Muhammad is more than the individual soul "who has given
faith to this handful dust,"39 more than a mystic light illuminating
this dark world — he is the leader of the community of the Faithful,
the model not only of personal behaviour but that of political conduct
— "who with the key of religion opened the door of this world"40 —
a poetical statement which is completely to the point. It is interesting
to read the discussion between Iqbal and his friend Sulayman NadwT
about the role of the Prophet in worldly and religious affairs. Iqbal
had asked him about the ijtihad-i NabawT, i.e. the power of deciding
juridical or other matters outside the Qur’an,41 and NadwT replied
that the "prophetic intelligence is higher than normal human
intelligence" and that the Prophet is guided in his decisions towards
the absolutely right way. This faculty enabled him to become the
divinely guided leader of his community, and more than anything
else it is this political role which Iqbal has underlined in his picture
of the Prophet. Contrasting him with the self-centred recluse, the

mystic who is not interested in social life, he shows in vivid colours
how the prophets have always emerged from re-treatment and given
a proper shape to political and social events, and how Muhammad
has fulfilled this prophetic mission completely:
On his forehead is writ the destiny of nations.42
Taking into consideration the idea of Sprenger that Muhammad was

a psychopath, Iqbal says ironically:
Well, if a psychopath has the power to give a fresh direction to the

course of human history, it is a point of the highest psychological
interest to search his original experience which has turned slaves into
leaders of men, and has inspired the conduct and shaped the career of
whole races of mankind. Judging from the various types of activity
that emanated from the movement initiated by the Prophet of Islam,
his spiritual tension and the kind of behaviour which issued from it,
"cannot be regarded as a response to a mere fantasy inside the brain.
It is impossible to understand it except as a response to an objective
situation generative of new enthusiasms, new organizations, new
starting points. If we look at the matter from the standpoint of
anthropology it appears that a psychopath is an important factor in the
economy of humanity’s social organization ... 45
Iqbal has seen — and he is perfectly right here — that the peculiarity
of the prophetic mission consists of freeing the people from the
traditional concepts of life, to pass from Vb/fcs-religion to Welt-
religion, and that means in the case of Muhammad "to oppose, with
energetic consistency, those tenets of the Arabian philosophy of
life",44 and to form a spiritual community which is no longer bound
to prejudices of race, blood or colour. Iqbal has poetically depicted
this side of Muhammad’s activity in the Tasin-i Muhammad, in the
Jdwid-ndmah, where the doctrines of the Prophet are reflected
through the reaction of Abu Jahl, one of his grimmest enemies at
Makkah:
304 annemarie Schimmel
We are utterly heart-sick because of Muhammad;

His teachings have put out the lights of the Ka‘bah!
* * * *
His religion abolishes distinctions of race and blood.

Though himself from Quraysh, he disowns the superiority of the Arabs
In his religion the high and low are but one

He ate out of the same dish with his slave!
To leave earth-rootedness and narrow patriotism, that is, for Iqbal,

the meaning of Muhammad’s Hijrah from Makkah to Madlnah: by
cutting the relations with his beloved hometown the Prophet wanted
to give an example to the generations to come. Already in the
note-book of 1910 that idea had been expressed:
Islam appeared as a protest against idolatry. And what is patriotism

but a subtle form of idolatry. . . The fact that the Prophet prospered
and died in a place not his birthplace is perhaps a mystic hint to the
same effect.45
The tension between nationalism in the modern sense of the word —

as he had witnessed it in Europe and saw growing in the Near East
after the First World War (without understanding, however, that this
was, again, a protest against tbe Western ruling powers) — and the
"higher nationalism" of the Faithful which unites human beings all
over the world; this tension forms a favourite subject of both his
letters and his poetry till the end of his life:
Native country (watan) is something different in the right doctrine of

the Prophet,
and Native country is something different in the words of politicians.46
Leaving the homeland for spreading one’s ideas all over the
world, that is the ideal of the Muslim: just as the scent of the rose
becomes widely known after it has left the rose-bud, so the
individual and the "spiritual nation" can work properly only after
having given up the clinging to the piece of earth which they call
fatherland in the political sense. Iqbal never got tired of preaching

| that Islam is opposed to blood-relationship which is considered earth-
rootedness47 and therefore incompatible with the lofty ideals of the
Prophet. "The greatest miracle which the Prophet has performed is
that he has produced a nation" (Tenk., 133). The whole concept of
the Rumuz centres round this nation-building work of the Prophet,
and 15 years later Iqbal expressed the same ideas that
the Prophet was able to perform the miracle of restoration by his

word qum — Rise! —
in awakening the cry AllQh-htt in the heart of a nation.48
He believes that a people, by turning back to the simple and proper

teachings of the Prophet, the centre of which is the message of God’s
unity and sovereignty, can begin a new life after centuries of slumber
and decadence.
Iqbal takes over here ideas which had been'expressed by a
Muslim philosopher whom he admired greatly; the ideas Ibn Khaldun
(d. 1405) had expressed in his Muqaddimah49 about the ‘asabiyah —
the binding power in socio-political life which is strengthened by
religion. The adherence to the same prophetic revelation will create,
in a group of individuals, the strongest possible feelings of solidarity
and inspire the group with unexpected activities.
Muhammad has, according to Iqbal, not only given the example
of how a supranational society should be built, but is, at the same
time, the symbol for the unshakable unity of this nation:
| We are like a rose with many petals but with one perfume —
i- He (Muhammad) is the soul of this society, and he is one.50
i and in the Payam-i Mashriq he has repeated
^ We all the nurslings of one springtime be.51
The Prophet is the neart in the handful of dust which are"52 i.e.,
the life giving power which makes mankind a true living organism.
The Islamic nation thus conceived as a sanctuary in which the
Unity of God, the unity of the Prophet, and the essential unity of all
human beings are maintained as the basis and centre of life, all the
manifestations of nationalism which tried to break up this unity
seemed to be for the poet nothing more than new idols, a new Lat
and Manat — as he calls them: we may translate adequately that
political nationalism is Ba‘alism. The Islamic nation (millah) has
other roots than that of dust and water, of race and blood, it is built
on fundamentals which are concealed in man’s heart — and the main
fundamental is
Love of the Prophet which runs like blood in the veins of the
community.53
Since Iqbal saw under the shining surface of the Nationalist

movements in the Near-East a return to pre-Islamic, or rather pre-
monotheistic Ba‘alism (only in a refined, but therefore more
dangerous form), his attacks against Persian nationalism and Turkish
westernisation are so bitter and aggressive, and therefore he loves the
Afghan nation which is still untouched by these dangers. The Jamd-
ndmah contains, in the Mercury-Sphere, long discussions about the
nation-concept in prophetic meaning, and even Iqbal’s last statement
and a related poem54 is directed against the DeobandT and pro-
Congressite the late Husayn Ahmad MadanT who had as he saw it
confused the terms nation (millah) in the Islamic sense, and nation
(qawm) in the nationalist sense:
Before his call to Prophethood, the nation of Muhammad (peace be

upon/him) was no doubt a nation and a free one, but as Muhammad’s
ummjah began to be formed, the status of the people as a nation
became a secondary one. Those who accepted Muhammad’s
leadership, became part and parcel of the Muslim or Muhammadan
community irrespective of the fact whether they belonged to his own
nation or other nations. Formerly they had been slaves of land and
race: land and race did not become their slaves ... It is a peculiar
greatness of the Holy Prophet that the self-invented distinctions and
superiority complexes of the nations of the world are destroyed and
there comes into being a community which can be styled ummaiun
muslimatun laka and to whose thoughts the Divine dictum shuhaddf

‘aid al-nas (witness for the people) justly applies.55
The ideal millah which Iqbal aimed at should be the realization of the
universal Tawhid, the confession of unity which the Prophet had
preached, who had founded, by his own example the universality of
freedom, equality and brotherhood.56
On Prophethood is in the world our foundation,

From Prophethood has our religion its ritual,
From Prophethood are hundred-thousands of us one,
Part from part cannot be separated.
From Prophethood we all got the same melody.
The same breath, the same aim.57
Iqbal’s ideal of nationhood is a striking example of that which

Nieuwenhuize has underlined in an interesting article in Studio.
Islamica when he writes:
To a Muslim the problem of nationhood cannot be envisaged but in

terms of what scope can be practically and empirically allowed to the
operative effect to the concept of nation within the coordinates of the
permanently valid comprehensiveness of the ummah.58
The factor which should form the ideal Islamic nation is the burning
love of the Prophet which would enable both the individual and the
community to live according to the Divine Law,59 and it was Iqbal’s
idea that, just as Muhammad was the leader and completer of the
long line of the Messengers of God, so his nation should also be the
leader of nations and the most perfect model of a community:
He is the Seal of Prophets, we that of nations,
and as he was Rahmatan (Mercy for the Worlds), so are the Muslims
who are related to him "the sign of Mercy for the people of the
Worlds".60 Iqbal went even further in his analogy: the fact that this
world is the heritage of the Free, is understood from the Divine
)
word lawlaka — "if thou hadst not been"61 which was revealed to the
Prophet and is, according to Iqbal to be applied to every Faithful,
and, as a logical consequence, to the ideal Muslim nation.62
That the aspiration to this leadership among nations involves
also strength and the will to expand, is implicitly understood,63 and
might even lead to a new interpretation of the concept of Jihad, the
Holy War. But as much as Iqbal dreamt of the ideal Islamic nation,
he clearly saw in the twenties the danger that Imperialistic trends
might spoil those ideas,64 and has warned the Islamic peoples of the
consequences of blending the "poverty" of the Prophet and the
splendour of mundane reign. He first dreamt, as did so many of his
contemporaries, of the alleged ideal rule of the four Caliphs after
Muhammad’s death, the Golden Age of Islam.
Yet, in our context, it is not the political importance of Iqbal’s
ideas on religion and nationalism but simply their relation to his
concept of Prophethood and the way how these ideas unfolded
logically from his love for the Prophet who combined worldly and
religious talents, and was conceived as a model of all qualities which
are necessary for the happy life of the individual and nation.
The above-mentioned aspects of the prophetic life and
prophethood are more or less common to all Muslim thinkers, and
neither in the mystical interpretation nor in depicting Muhammad as
the model for every Muslim, in preaching the imitatio Muhammadi
for individuals and nations Iqbal has uttered new or unexpected
ideas. But he has contributed one very interesting point of view to
the problem of Prophethood. Islam has always held the doctrine that
Muhammad is the last Prophet after whom no other Prophet will
come, his message is enough for the world now and till eternity.
Iqbal writes, commenting on the Qur’anic dictum, "Today we have
completed your religion for you" (Surah 5:5):65
Now God has finalized for us the Divine law,

and has finalized for our Prophet prophethood.
Now the service of the cupbearer has been transferred to us.
He gave us the last cup he possessed ...
That means that the Islamic nation has to carry on on the lines
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in IqbaVs Thought 309
indicated by Muhammad. But what is the meaning of the Finality of

Prophethood? Would not a new prophet who translates the Divine
Will into the language of our time or the time to come, be
necessary? Iqbal answers this question in a highly interesting way:
. . . The Prophet of Islam seems to stand between the ancient and the
modem world. In so far as the source of his revelation is concerned,
he belongs to the ancient world; in so far as the spirit of his revelation
is concerned, he belongs to the modem world. In him life discovers
other sources of knowledge suitable to its new direction. The birth of
Islam ... is the birth of inductive intellect. In Islam prophecy reaches
its perfection in discovering the need of its own abolition ... 66
That means, for Iqbal, that the Qur’an has opened for man the vast
field of scientific methods, realizing the importance of the careful
observation of nature and history. For Iqbal, Muhammad was the
first critical observer of psychic phenomena, as is proved by the
example of his interest in a psychic Jewish youth whom the traditions
describe.67 The Prophet was thirsty for knowledge, and this thirst
made him the first to encourage studies.
Though he saw the essence of Being without veil.

Yet the word ‘God increase me’ (in knowledge) came from his lips —
this verse was written in order to kindle the interest of the ex-Afghan
ruler Amanullah Khan in studies and scientific work in his country.68
We can understand the importance of this statement better when we
confront it with the traditional attitude of the mullas in Islamic
countries who were hostile to every kind of secular learning and saw
in science only Satanic inventions. And on the other hand, Iqbal
wanted to prove — as Syed Ameer Ali and others had already done
before him — that the European science which now threatens the
Eastern countries and-succeeds in seducing the ignorant masses, is
based essentially on the scholarship of the Islamic peoples who
introduced the scientific ways of thinking into Medieval Europe.
Later on, ‘Inayatuliah Khan MashriqT has in his commentary on the
Qur’an even gone so far as to declare the modem research workers
as successors and substimtes of the Prophet! This is the one side —

the cultural one — of the Finality of Prophethood. On the other
hand, it means, in Iqbal’s words:
No spiritual surrender to any human being after Muhammad who

emancipated his followers by giving them a law which is realizable as
arising from the very core of human conscience. Theologically the
doctrine is that the socio-political organization called Islam is perfect
and eternal. No revelation, the denial of which entails heresy, is
possible after Muhammad.69
These words were written against the modernist movement of the

Qadiyams, which had emerged in the Punjab and whose role grew
more and more important in the twenties. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had
declared himself the promised Messiah and claimed to be the Mahdl
in 1908; and since then, the tension grew between the orthodox
Muslims and the Qadiyams who split up in 1914 into the Lahore-
group and the Qadiyan-group. As to the moderate Ahmadiyahs of
Lahore, Iqbal acknowledges their activity for spreading Islam
through their missionary organizations in different countries.70 yet he
considered them even more dangerous than the other group because
they claimed their founder as a Mujaddid; and such a claim most
Muslims were prepared to accept — yet, the heterodox teachings
remained the same. The Qadiyams and their refutation form an
important subject in his correspondence with the late Professor Ilyas
BaraiiT who had published a book against them,71 and with Sayyid
Sulayman NadwT. He never ceases reiterating that the belief in the
Finality of Muhammad’s Prophethood,
is really the factor which accurately draws the line of demarcation

between Muslims and non-Muslims and enables one to decide whether
a certain individual or group is part of the community or not . .
According to our belief Islam as a religion was revealed by God, but
the existence of Islam as a society or nation depends entirely on the
personality of the Holy Prophet.72
Further,
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in Iqbal's Thought 311
Any religious society historically arising from the bosom of Islam

which claims a new prophethood for its basis . . . must be regarded
by every Muslim as a serious danger to the solidarity of Islam. This
must necessarily be so; since the integrity of Muslim society is secured
by the idea of the Finality of Prophethood alone.73
Iqbal’s Open Letter to Pandit Nehru about the question of the

Qadiyams is an important document,74 and contains many an
important statement about the juridical status of the Qadiyanls whom
he regarded as violating the fundamental doctrine of Islam, as more
dangerous to Indian Islam than was Spinoze to the Jewish community
in Amsterdam.75 In his correspondence with Sulayman NadwT, Iqbal
put his finger on the question whether "in Islamic law the defamation
of the Prophet is an offence which has to be punished, and if yes,
what is the punishment?”76 His correspondent answered in the
affirmative and stated that even the death-penalty could be imposed.
Iqbal wanted at that time — in the beginning of the thirties — that
the rulers of India should declare the Qadiyanls a separate
community. "This will be perfectly consistent with the policy of the
Qadiyams themselves and the Indian Muslim will tolerate them just
as he tolerates the other religions."77 The problem, however,
remained unsolved, and when Iqbal wrote in 1936, that
thank Heaven the fitnah (disturbance, mischief) of the Qadiyanls is

growing weaker in the Punjab,78
he could not possibily foresee that the same problem was, in 1953,
to form one of the most serious problems in the politico-religious
history of the young state of Pakistan in which the orthodox claim to
declaring the Qadiyams a non-Muslim minority led to heavy
disturbances in the Punjab.
Iqbal’s aversion against this group who denied the Finality of
Prophethood was so strong that he has even in his poem ‘Session of
the Satan’ which was written in that very year 1936 hut published
posthumously, inserted some allusions to the Qadiyanls who despise
the Holy War (Jihad) and juggle about the question of the Messiah,
in Grder to weaken the unity of Islam, and helping, in that way, the
diabolic powers of destruction.79 For him there was the unshakable

confidence that:
For us Mustafa is enough.80
From this central place which the "Arabian Friend" held in his
system of thought and personal ..faith, many symbols and ideas of
Iqbal’s work can be interpreted;rfor instance the central concept of
love which often contains the idea of love of the Prophet, or love
inspired by the Prophet.
The Arab countries, the language of the Beloved, and many
allusions to Najd and the Hijaz gain their trr significance in the
light of his Muhammad-veneration, and it can easib' be understood
that he wished his words to be translated into Arabic. But after all
the praises of the Prophet in ardent hymns, or verses full of
theological depth or social and political ideas, Iqbal turns, in one of
his last verses81 once more to the Prophet as a dear and
compassionate friend;82 and with a simplicity which is rarely met
with in his poetry he shows himself on the road 10 Madlnah, to the
threshold of the Beloved, in complete stillness and calmness:
just like a bird who, in the desen night

Spreads out his wings, when thinking of his nest.
NOTES
Abbre' lotions:
BJ - B&l-i JibriL
BD - Bang-i Darti.
PM - Pay am-i Mashriq.
2A - Zabur-i \Ajam.
AK * Asrar-i Khudl.
R - Rumuz-i Bikhudi.
Pas. - Pas chih bayad kard ay aqwam-i Sharq,
ZK - Zarb'i Kalim.
AH - Armaghan-i Hijaz.
L - Six Lectures on the Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam.
SS - Speeches and Statements of Iqbal, ed. Sham loo.
SR - Stray Reflections, ed. Javid Iqbal.
The Place of the Prophet of Islam in IqbaVs Thought 313
1. A. Jeffery. Ibn al-'Arabfs "Shajarat al-Kawn", Studio Istamica, vol. X

(1959), p.44.
2. Constance E. Padwick, Muslim Devotions (London 1961), p.145.
3. R: 152.
4. BJ: 61.
5. M. II: 93.
6. Ibid.
7. Pas: 69.
8. line 383.
9. M, I: 414.
10. Pas.: 64 ff.
11. M, I: 248.
12. Pas. 49; cf. BJ: 130.
13. cf. AH: 32.
14. PM: 221.
15. cf. AH: 71.
16. M, I: 404 (1936).
17. The author wrote in another place: The personality of the Prophet became the
medium of religious experience, although, phenomenologically speaking, the
centre of Islam is the Koran as direct divine revelation, not the messenger
who brought it. But the Muslims felt that the figure of the Prophet was
necessary for the maintenance of the Muslim faith in its "legal" aspect (as
indicated in the second phrase of the profession of faith). The Prophet, as
RumT says {Mathnawf 3:801), is a divine test for man; in contrast to Iblisian
tawhid, which will bow only before God, the Prophet is put in between to
destroy this temptation, which may lead, ultimately, toward pantheism and
confusion of all religious creeds. Muhammad constitutes a limit in the
definition of Islam and sets K off from other forms of faith. Mystics who used
the first half of the profession of faith exclusively, without acknowledging the
special rank of Muhammad, were prone to fall into a sweeping pantheistic
interpretation of Islam (Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimension of Islam,
p.214).
18. Mis., 29: ff.
19. cf. M, II: 36 (1911).
20. R: 198.
21. Cf. his letters to Sayyid Ghulam Miran Shah, M, I: 222 (1937); M, I: 232,
(1938).
22. M, II: 397.

23. BJ: 151.
24. M, II: 341 (1937).
25. M, I: 382 (1937).
26. Cf. Mis: 3; Pas., 23: ff.
27. Pas.: 27.
28. AH: 89.
29. Pas.: 29.
30. BJ: 151.
31. Cf. A. Fischer, Vergottiichung und Tabuisierung der Namen Muhammads bei
den Muslimen, (Beitrage zur Arabistik, Semitistik und Islamwissenschaft,
Leipzig 1944).
32. Pas.: 12 ff.
33. R: 130, cf. 121.
34. H. Ritter, Das Meer der Seele (Leiden 1955), esp. pp. 105, 208.
35. Cf. Pas.: 33.
36. Yusuf Hussain Khan, Glimpses of Medieval Indian Culture (London 1959),
P-12-
37. AK: 483 ff.
38. M, 1:117.
39. Pas.: 53.
40. AK: 189.
41. M, I: 153 (1922).
42. Pas.: 33.
43. L: 190.
44. I. Goidziher, Muhammadanische Studien (Halle 1898), vol. I, p. 12.
45. SR: 19.
46. BD: 174.
47. L: 146.
48. Pas.: 66.
49. Ibn Khaldun: cf. his Muqaddimah, Book I, part 3 about the principle of
‘asabiyah.
50. AK: 305 ff., cf. R. 152.

51. LT: 83, cf. 82.
52. Mis.: 32.

53. R: 190.
54. Cf. AH: 278.
55. SS: 235, cf. 238.
56. R: 101 ff.
57. Ibid., 116 ff.
58. C.A.O. van Nieuwenhuijze, "The Ummah, An Analytic Approach”, Studio
Islamica, vol. X (1959).
59. Cf. PM: 8.
60. R: 116.
61. BJ: 97.
62. Cf. also BJ: 117, 119.
63. Cf. M, B: 163.
64. Cf. BD: 286, AH: 110, 126.
65. Cf. R: 163.
66. L: 126.
67. L: 16.
68. PM: 6.
69. SS: 120.
70. Cf. M, 0: 232 (1932).
71. M. I: 410, 419 in 1936 and 1937.
72. SS: 108.
73. SS: 94.
74. SS: 111-44.
75. Ibid114.
76 M, I: 189 ff. (1935).
77. SS: 100.
78. M, 1:199.
79. BJ: 227.
80. AH 81.
81. AH 29.
82. Ailasioa* to the Arabian Friend are found, for instance, in PM: 194; ZX:61;
JfeHi48; R: 149, 195; cf. also A'zamI, Falsafah Iqbal (Cairo 1950), p.8.
14
FITRAH AND
SUNNAH
ABD AL-QADIR AL-SUFI AL-MURABIT
Fitrah is what you are born on. In other words, it’s your naturalness.
It’s natural man. Fitrah is the noble savage. Fitrah is a completely
natural pattern of human existence which does not have introduced
into it any — let us say, deep fantasy. They have no deep fantasy in
the modern sense because what they have to support them, to sustain
them, is a direct seeing into two things. One is the unity of the
creation. The other is the unity of their cosmic situation, their
metacosmic situation and their global situation, that is, they see the
unity of their place in the world. They know where the dead go, they
know they’re on a journey, they know what these trees are, what
these plants are, what that river is and what that mountain is. They
know a basic picture. But within that basic picture the real matter of
fitrah takes place and that is that they know a pattern, they know
what the anthropologists call a canon, a canon of knowledge. They
have built into them a canon of knowledge. Now this means that,
first of all, they know how to be as human beings.
Now to start with, the Prophet said that fitrah meant clipping
the moustache of men, not letting it grow down into the mouth so
that it became dirty and food got into it and it was unclean. This
316
Fitrah and Sunnah 317
implied that, psychologically, if unclipped it was a sign of a certain

imbalance in the nafs of man. Growing the beard, not styling the
beard, not letting the face come through but letting the beard cover
the face. The beard is the veil of men. Men are veiled in Islam as
well as women. It is not just the Sufis but the mutakallimun, the
people of words in Islam, who consider that the Islam of a country
becomes corrupted when the men begin to trim the beard away in
order to show themselves. It becomes corrupted in vanity and it
becomes corrupted in arrogance when they begin to overclip the
moustache left at all, which is a sign of arrogance and cruelty. These
are the inner aspects of the matter. The Prophet indicated that this
was not the wisdom of the complete man, this was simply the basic
thing of being a human being. Until you have this, by the science of
this teaching that has come from the very beginning of man, man is
incomplete, he is out of harmony, he is out of tune. Then after that
he should in fitrah — shave his body hair, his sex and under the
arms. Again, if you go to all those countries where the fitrah is still
in balance, you will still find this quite naturally taking place There
is a fourth thing, which is the clipping of the nails, again to do witn
hygiene, to do with a certain basic sanity of balance, or working and
eating with the fingers. These are the basics of natural man. This is
the grooming like the cat which, in a healthy environment, keeps
itself clean. If it’s introduced into an unhealthy environmer. it ceases
the whole process of grooming and cleaning which comes cyclically
at certain points in the day; that whole process which is so beautiful
to watch. So this is fitrah.
Sunnah
Now we introduce another term which is Sunnah. Sunnah is derived

from a word which means form. The form is the form of the human
being. The Sunnah is negotiated. In other words, in his natural state,
man’s fitrah is inherited. Just as the bird knows how to fluff out its
feathers, natural man knows how to keep himself in a certain
physical state. It is a sign of the very profoundly deep-rooted
psychosis of the epoch we live in that rather than the very things that
318 Abd al-Qadir al-Sufi
are fitrah, it is their opposites in many cases that are lauded as a

kind of ‘how it should be.’ There is no escaping it, and you find it,
of course, mostly in the decadence of very advanced industrial
societies. Sunnah means — and this is why this apparently technical
and anthropological business is vital to you — how you walk, how
you sit, how you stand, how you greet people, how you are with old
people, how you are with young people, how you are with young
women, how you are with old women, how you are with strangers,
how you are with guests, how you are with your enemies, what you
may do, what you may not do. All this is die stuff of existence. If
you take away Sunnah from man, you shatter the form of man. You
cannot remove Sunnah without leaving in its place basic insanity,
because insanity is broken form. The basic insanity, the psychosis,
the neurosis, and let us not make too big a differentiation between
these two terms, the imbalance, let us say; the deep imaginative
mental and experiential imbalance of ordinary people. I’m not talking
about the so-called mad-beyond recall. They are another story. They
are further over in the spectrum. I am talking about the imbalance in
the human situation that has led to the chaos, to the anarchy, and to
the nightmare that is the society in which we find ourselves. No one
with any feeling can but see what a horrific situation we have got
ourselves into.
This Sunnah is not inherited characteristic, it is not known to
man. Where did it come from? The teaching which is from the same
source as the Sunnah declares itself unequivocally as saying that it
comes from the source of life. In other words, that Allah negotiates
life to His people through the nabiyin, through the ones who are
sent, through the rasulun, through the messengers. Each messenger
comes to each epoch to give pattern for that time, and this patterning
and redefining of the pattern has been going on from the beginning
of man’s time. The picture in the teaching of Islam is that every age
— not only every nation and every people —but every age, every
cycle of time, has its Prophet. In other words, as the human situation
developed, expanded, changed, evolved, moved, there was need for
this Sunnah to refine itself, to adjust itself. It was a wisdom. It was
not a fixed thing. It’s not, "don’t do this, don’t do that." It’s
scientific law — if you boil water you get steam, if you do this then
this will happen, if you behave in this way that will happen.
This Sunnah adjusts itself. In other words, the limits of the
human being narrowed and widened and narrowed and widened in
different spheres depending on the basic situation of the community
of the time. So that when we come to now, when we come to this
last period, to this last 1400 years, we come to the final phase of this
picture according to the teaching of the wisdom-process. And it is
with the coming of Muhammad that one has a final condification,
one has the final picture of the Sunnah. When he came it was made
very clear in the Qur’an. You must understand that the Qur’an is not
the book which says, "stand like this and sit like this." He was the
Book. There came the Book and the Sunnah. There came a silhouette
of a man, a picture, a three-dimensional intime walking explanation.
The same silhouette as the prophets before him — as Jesus, as
Moses, as this one, as that one. Not only in the Semitic line which
we know and in which we have been brought up, but other lines of
prophets about which we’ve heard and others again about which we
have never heard. According to this picture in the secret arithmetic
of these matters, there have been since the beginning of time
124,000 prophets, nabiyln, ones who came with this picture.
The Prophet came with a message, he only came to deliver the
message and not to force anything on people. If you get this right
you get everything right. Islam is not a religion. Religion is the
decadence, the collapse that sets in when the prophet’s wisdom¬
teaching this is corrupted and is adapted because man can’t be
bothered. Basically we want to go backwards. We don’t want to go
forwards. We want to go back into the childhood state because it’s
much more comfortable and much easier. We don’t want this terrible
endless forward movement of energy, this arc of energy that goes
against the biological process of running down and dying. So again
and again, man has corrupted the message of the prophets and turned
it into a religion. And when he corrupts it, it is in one of two ways.
This can be seen in our immediate past in two pictures where the
prophetic picture was corrupted. One was among the Jews and the
other was among the Christians. The Christian mistake and the
Jewish mistake.
The Jewish mistake
The Jews had a Sunnah which was much more intricate, much more
complex — what you could eat, what you could not eat, what you
could do on the day that was set aside for Allah, what you could not
do on the day set aside for Allah, and so on and on. It was very
complex and beautiful. It’s ravishing and there is an aspect of man’s
mind that becomes hypnotised by it and he forgets the point of it
until you find him saying, "Oh, you shouldn’t do that, ah, but it’s
not allowed to do such and such, it’s haram to do this, ah! it’s haldl
to do that." He goes around like a kind of policeman policing other
people as to how they should be. And very soon you got what we
might call the Jewish mistake — turning a scientific law which is
there for our understanding into a legal law, jurisprudence, books.
"You are guilty according to Book VII Page 17 .... five lashes, etc."
The whole fantasy of legality and of controiling others. And it was
the perfect system — the organic life process of the Sunnah turned
upside down was the perfect system to tyrannize others and make
their lives absolute misery.
The Christian mistake
The presence of Sayyidina ‘Isa — (Jesus) — ‘alayhissaldm, the

impact of it, was so incredible, so extraordinary, the spiritual beauty
of Sayyidina .‘Isa — ‘alayhissaldm, the overwhelming states that
Allah granted him, the miracles that He granted him, the knowledges
that He granted him, were so awesome to the Christians that they
longed in some way to be lost in it all. But the thing that kept the
sanity of the reality of ‘Isa was the Sunnah which was the Sunnah of
the prophets before him, because he came affirming .the Sunnah of
the earlier prophets. When the non-Jewish Christians became
involved they didn’t want to adopt the whole thing, this whole
science. They didn’t want it, they couldn’t be bothered with it. So
what they said was, "You don’t have to bother with it. You can eat
what you like, you can sit where you like, you can dress as you like.
It’s enough that you believe in him and everything is all right." So
they rejected the Sunnah of the Jews and projected a mystery
transaction, ritualisation, iconography, initiate priesthood — all to
enshrine this mystery-transaction blood-into-wine, and so on. This
was what they claimed would REPLACE the Sunnah, which was a
science of gaining spiritual knowledge — a superstition that assured
you Paradise.
The science of sane living
That is the picture of the point we come to with Sayyidina

Muhammad, sallalldhu ‘alayhi wasallam. When he came he said, "I
am ‘abd and I am rasul." I am a slave — in other words I am one of
you. We are all ‘abd-All&h. We are slaves of Allah, we are bom and
we will die. But he also said, "I am rasul. I come with a message.
And the message was Qur’an, the message was himself. It says in the
Qur’an to follow the Messenger, do what he does. What he says you
do, you do, and what he says you don’t do, you don’t do. You can’t
have the one without the other. Now this is the outward picture. It
is not this thing separate from life which we call religion. It is the
science of sane living. It is the science of how to live.
When the Prophet entered the city of al-Yathrib he named it
Madlnah al-Munawarrah. Madlnah al-Munawarrah means the
‘illuminated city’ and the illumination of Madlnah. The people of
Madlnah were lights. Sayyidina Muhammad said, "My companions
are like stars. You can follow any one of them and you wilt be
guided." They were luminous people. There have never been people
’ike the people of Madlnah on the face of the earth from that moment
till now and from that time to the beginning of time. At the time of
Hudaybah, the Prophet said "At this moment you are the best people
who have ever been on the earth." They were the fulfilment of the
human picture. They were compassionate. They were noble. They
were courageous. They were generous to the point of dying rather
than let another go without a drink of water. Some were very rich,
322 Abd al-Qadr al-Sufi
some were very very poor, but nobody went without. They shared
among each other. There are' a million examples, all recorded, all
known, all told and retold. The picture was so incredible that 1400
years later we know them almost to the streets on which they lived..
Islam is vast. Islam is vast in itself as a wisdom process and it’s vast
humanity because it is the way that Allah has.decreed. It doesn’t take
much intellect to recognize the people of the way, the people who
moveji sabUiUOh, who act ft sabilillOh, who don’t do a thing for
themselves but do it lillah — for Allah! — everything lillah. They
eat lillah. They give lillah. They accept lillah. This is the human
being.
We haven’t got to ma'rifah, we haven’t yet got on the subject
of gnosis, we haven’t got near it. We have first of all to know what
a human being is. We’ve lost fitrah. We are losing contact in this
age with what a human being is. The beards have been ripped off the
faces of men. You must know, those of you who wear beards, the
extraordinary hostility you can encounter by the fact of having a
beard in certain company. This is not superficial. This is not class
difference or prejudice. This is a deep rooted awareness that in front
of them is someone who still has that basic harmony. The Prophet
said, "There is a blessing for a man, even if he is not a muslim,
there is a blessing for a man by his having a beard." By his wearing
the beard he’s already in harmony.
The thing about the Sunnah which lie& on this fitrah is when you
begin to find out about it, one of the discovries you make right away
is that you already have got some of the Sunnah in you, you’re
already doing It. If you remove something injurious from the road
to stop someone from having an accident, that is Sunnah. If you
come up to your brother with a smiling face when you don’t feel like
smiling, but you give im a smile, that’s Sunnah. Existence is about
this easing of the human situation. This is Sunnah. But more than
this, we partake of the nature of Sayyidina Muhammad, his
humanness. We wiil not receive a book because with him the role of
messenger is completed but the maqam, the station — the spiritual
station of nabi. of prophet, we participate in it. We have a little bit
of it. He said that a true dream is l/25th part of prophecy. In other
words man is there, he’s already there. He’s already got the thing
that if he will let it open in himself, will let it develop and awaken
in himself, will make him become vast. The human being can
become tremendous if he gives himself the chance.
He said that good conduct — good action was l/6th part of
prophecy. Anyone anywhere who acts in that way is on the ‘huda’,
he’s on the ancient guidance, he’s hamf, he’s on the way of the
rajulullah. So you see, some of the really important things of being
Muslim, of Islam, are performed hy people who have not even heard
of the Prophet. The things that are ‘the Steep’, that are the hard
climb of spiritual developlnent, are listed in die Qur’an and every
one of them, any human being can do. Looking after the orphan,
feeding the hungry, protecting the widowed women, helping people,
just sheer humanness is the stuff of Islam. You’re half Muslim
before the matter begins.
But the bit that matters, the bit that underpins it, the bit that
holds it up, the bit on which it’s al 1 sustained is your relationship
to the Ineffable, to the Absolute, to the Reality that has created you.
The thing that makes you a real human being is whether your higher
self is in tune with the Divine Reality. If you say ‘Allafui Akbar as
He asked you to say ‘AlUihu Akbar’ you have aligned yourself, you
have attuned yourself, you have harmonized yourself.
Do you see that the world is turning around the stars and
Ka‘bah is there (at the centre) and there’s a circle there 24 hours a
day. There’s a circle around it, circling it which has been circling it
twenty-four hours a day from now back to the time of Sayyidina
Ibrahim. Endlessly circling round and round. If you were a Martian
watching, you’d say, "It’s total chaos down there but there’s one
pattern that never stops. And that is a circle that goes round and
round one dot somewhere over there. ” And if you kept on watching
you’d say, "And once a year there is a whole movement in towards
that point and this circling becomes vast, becomes tremendous."
Then you’d watch another movement and you’d say, "Well, not only
that but we find that around this point there are concentric rings
getting bigger and bigger, spreading right around the globe, all
turned into this point and it’s like a flickering, rippling wave." It’s
to do with the time of the day when you pray. Here, now. A half an
hour later they are praying, over there.
There’s an endless, non-stop wave of human beings who turn
away from all this insanity, who turn away from all this madness,
and turn to the divine Reality that is in the centre of their beings and
they say, "All that ever happens in the world is that every dawn the
angels come out from the throne of Allah and say "Glory to Allah,
He is Majestic, He is Beautiful, He is Sublime, He is the Creator,
He is the Doer, He is the Knower, He is the Wilier, He is the Seer,
He is the Hearer, He is the Actor, Glory be to Allah." That’s all that
ever happens. And everything else is ‘wahm\ And here we are
caught in the wahm, in the illusion.
The Prophet said, "Truly man is asleep and when he dies he
wakes up.” He also said, "Die before you die." Wake up! Islam is
the science of waking up. It’s already happening. By your bowing
and your prostrating, by your calling upon Allah, by your eating at
the same plate with three fingers, by the growing of your beard, by
the attuning yourself to your brothers, by the courtesy among you,
it is happening already. It is an alchemical process. The way of
Islam is alchemy. The science of Islam is alchemy — real alchemy.
We must know above everything, above all our own enmity towards
ourselves, above all our own betrayal and our own weakness and our
own vacillation and our own stupidity and our being tired of
existence, we must know who we are, why we are here, where we
are going, what is the journey. We must know — we want to know,
"Who am I?" You must find the meaning of your own reality. "He
who knows his self, truly he knows his Lord" — his Sustainer, his
Creator. You must find out.
Allah said, "The whole universe cannot contain me but the heart
of the mu'min contains me." Everything is linked to everything in
this world. It is one creation. It is one globe. And that globe is part
of one galaxy and that galaxy is part of the metagalaxy of the vast
creation, the end of which we haven’t begun to get to and it is one
and that one is nothing. The Existent is Allah. The only reality is
Allah. The only truth is Allah. And the truth has come and falsehood
vanishes away.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
EXTRACTS FROM AL-SHAFITS RISALAH
(Translated by Majid Khadduri)
ON THE OBLIGATION OF MAN TO

ACCEPT THE AUTHORITY OF
THE PROPHET
A Declaration Concerning the Duty Imposed by God, as

Laid Down in His Book [Ordering Men] to Follow the
Prophet's Sunnah
86. Al-Shafi'I said: God has placed His Apostle — (in relation to(
His religion. His commands and His Book — in the position made
clear by Him as a distinguishing standard of His religion by
imposing the duty of obedience to Him as well as prohibiting
disobedience to Him. He has made His merits evident by associating
belief in His Apostle with the belief in Him. For God, Blessed and
Most High, said:
So believe in God and His Apostles, and do not say: "Three."

Refrain; [it will be] better for you. God is only one God. Glory
be to Him. His having a son is something alien to him (Qur’an,
4:169],
And He said:
325
326 Appendix I
The believers are only those who have believed in God and His
Apostle, and who when they are with him on some common
affair do not go away until they ask his permission [24:62],
Thus [God] prescribed that the perfect beginning of the faith, to

which all other things are subordinate, shall be the belief in Him and
then in His Apostle. For if a person believes only in Him, not in His
Apostle, the name of the perfect faith [i.e., Islam] will never apply
to him until he believes in His Apostle together with Him.1
So the Apostle laid down the Sunnah [of reciting the Prophet’s
name together with that of God] for testing the faith of every man [as
the following tradition indicates]:
Malik b. Anas told us from Hilal b. Usamah from ‘Ata’ b.
Yasar from ‘Umar b. al-Hakam, who said:
I went to the Apostle of God with a slave-girl and I asked him: "I
have taken an oath [to free a slave]; may I free her?" "Where is
God?" the Apostle asked her. "In heaven," she answered. "And who
am I?" asked he. "You are the Apostle of God," she answered. "You
may free her," [the Prophet] said.2
[The transmitter’s name, ‘Umar b. al-Hakam] — al-Shafi‘1 says —

should read Mu'awiyah b. al-Hakam, for Malik, I believe, has not
correctly reported the name, as others did.
87. Shaft‘1 said: God has imposed the duty on men to obey His
divine communications as well as the Sunnah of His Apostle. For He
said in His Book:
O our Lord, raise up amongst them an Apostle, one of

themselves, to recite to them Thy signs and to teach them the
Book and Wisdom and to purify them. Verily Thou art All-
mighty, All-wise [2:123],
1. Cf. Tabari, Tafsir. Vol. IX, pp.422-23; BaydSwT, pp. 137-38. 474-75.
2. Malik, Vol.H, pp.776-77.
Extracts from al-ShdfiT’s Ris&lah 327
And He, glorious be His praise, said:
And also we have sent among you an Apostle, one ofyourselves,

to recite to you our signs, and purify you, to teach you the Book
and the Wisdom, and to teach you what you did not know
[2:146],
And He said:
God bestowed a favour upon the believers when He raised up

amongst them an Apostle, one of themselves, to recite His signs
to them, to purify them and to teach them the Book, although
they had formerly been in manifest error [3:158],
And He, glorious be His praise, said:
It is He who has raised up an Apostle among the untutored

people, one of their number to recite to them His signs, to purify
them, and to teach them the Book and the Wisdom, though
formerly they had been in manifest error [62:2],
And He said:
But remember the goodness which God has shown you and how
much of the Book and the Wisdom He has sent down to you to
admonish you thereby [2:231],
And He said:
God has sent down to thee the Book and the Wisdom, and has
taught thee what thou did not know before; the bounty of God
towards thee is ever great [4:113],
And He said:
And call to mind the signs of God and the Wisdom which are
328 Appendix I
recited in your houses; verily God is gentle, well-informed

[33:34].
So God mentioned His Book — which is the Qur’an — and

Wisdom, and I have heard that those who are learned in the Qur’an
— whom 1 approve — hold that Wisdom is the Sunnah of the
Apostle of God. This is like what [God Himself] said; but God
knows best. For the Qur’an is mentioned [first], followed by
Wisdom; [then] God mentioned His favour to mankind by teaching
than the Qur’an and Wisdom. So it is not permissible for Wisdom
to be called here [anything] save the Sunnah of the Apostle of God.
For [Wisdom] is closely linked to the Book of God, and God has
imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and imposed on men
the obligation to obey his orders.3 So it is not permissible to regard
anything as a duty save that set forth in the Qur’an and the Sunnah
of His Apostle. For [God], as we have [just] stated, prescribed that
the belief in His Apostle shall be associated with the belief in Him.
The Sunnah of the Apostle.makes evident what God meant [in
the text of His Book], indicating His general and particular
3. Ai-ShafTf said: [Al-Bayan] includes all that the Apostle has provided in the
Sunnah concerning which there is no [legislation in the] Book. There is in this
book — concerning God's favourin ' mankind [with die ability] to understand
the Book and Wisdom — a proof that Wisdom is the Sunnah of the Apostle
of God.
Included in what I have stated concerning God's command to His creatures
ordering obedience to the Apostle and specifying the place it has in religion,
is a proof of the precise definition of the duties stated in the Qur an, which
consists of the following categories:
The first category is what the Book has laid down with such clarity that
nothing further — in addition to revelation (tanzfl) — was needed.
The second category consists in what is clearly stated in the obligation
imposed [by God] ordering obedience to the Prophet. The Apostle in his turn
precisely stated on the authority of God what the duties are, upon whom they
are binding, and in what circumstances some of them are required or not
required, and when they are-binding.
The third category consists in what [God] has specified only in the Sunnah of
the His Prophet, in the absence of textual [legislation in the] Book.
[Al-ShafiT's Risala translated by Majid Khadduri, $22.]
Extracts from al-Shdfi'i’s Risalah 329
[commands]. He associated the Wisdom [embodied] in the Sunnah

with his Book, but made it subordinate [to the Book]. Never has God
done this for any of His creatures save His Apostle.
God’s Command Ordering Obedience to the Apostle is

Both Associated with Obedience to Him and Ordered
independently
88. [Al-Shafi‘T said]: God said:
When God and His Apostle have decreed a matter, it is, not for
a believing man or a woman to exercise a choice in a matter
affecting him; whoever opposes God and His Apostle has
deviated into manifest error [33:36].
And He said:
Oyou who believe, obey God and obey the Apostle and those in
authority among you. If you should quarrel about anything,
refer it to God and the Apostle, if you believe in God and the
Last Day. That is better and fairer in the issue [4:62],
Some scholars have held that "those in authority" [means] the

commanders of the Apostle’s army. That is what more than one
commentator has told us. But God knows best.4
This is in accord with what [God] said, for the Arabs who had
been around Makkah knew nothing about command, and [the idea
of] some submitting to the command of others was repugnant to
them.
When, however, they submitted to [the authority of] the
Apostle, they did not think that [such an authority] was fit to reside
4. Tabari adds that it may mean the leaders in matters of religion and law. See
Tabari. Tafsir, Vol.VIII, pp.495-504; BaydawT, p. 115.
330 APPENDIX I
in any hands other than the Apostle's.

So they were commanded to obey "those in authority" — the
ones whom the Apostle appointed, with conditional but not absolute
obedience, concerning their rights and duties. However, [God] said;
"If you should quarrel about anything, refer it to God," that is, in
the event of disagreement.
89. Al-Shafi‘1 said: This [i.e., the meaning implied in the latter
command] is, if jGod will, as He said about "those in authority",
namely, that "If you should quarrel" (but God knows best), they [the
people] and the commander whom they were ordered to obey —
should "refer it to God and the Apostle" for a settlement on the basis
of what God and His Apostle said, if they know it. If you do not
know what God’s commands are, you should ask the Apostle, if you
are able to reach him,5 or any one of you who is able to do so. For
this is an obligation concerning which there should be no
disagreement, in accordance with God’s saying:
When God and His Apostle have decreed a certain matter, it is

not for a believing man or a woman to have a choice in a
matter affecting him [33:36].
As to the disputes that happened after the Apostle’s [death], the

matter was decided in accordance with God’s judgment [as laid down
in the Qur’an] and then that of His Apostle [as laid down in the
Sunnah]. But if a text were not applicable, the matter was decided by
analogy on the strength of a precedent sotfght [either in the Qur’an
or the Sunnah] in the same manner as I have [already] explained
concerning the qiblah, [witnesses of] just character, equal
compensation, and whatever God has prescribed in parallel cases.
For He said:
Those who obey God and the Apostle are with the prophets and
the veracious and the martyrs and the upright upon whom God
5. Tabari, Tafsfr, Vol. VIII, pp.504-505.

Extracts from al-Sh&fiVs RisQlah 331
has bestowed favour. Good company are these [4:71].
And He said:
O you who have believed, obey God and His Apostle [8:20].
God’s Command-Ordering Obedience to His Apostle
90. [Al-ShafiT said]: God, glorious be His praise, said:
Verily, those who swear allegiance to thee swear allegiance

really to God; the hand of God is above their hands. So
whoever breaks his oath, breaks it only to his own hurt, and to
him who fulfils what he has pledged to God, He will grant a
great reward [48:10].
And He said:
Whoever obeys the Apostle has obeyed God [4:82].
So God instructed [men] that their homage to the Apostle is

homage to Him, and their obedience [to him] is obedience to Him.
And He said:
But no! by thy Lord, they will not become believers until they
make thee judge in their disputes and do not afterwards find
difficulty in Thy decisions, but surrender in full submission
[4:68]
This verse, we have been told, was revealed in connection with a

land dispute between al-Zubayr and another man in which the
Prophet gave a decision in favour of al-Zubayr. This decision is a
Sunnah laid down by the Apostle, not a command in the text of the
332 Appendix I
Qur’an.6
The Qur’an indicates what I have just stated; for if this decision
were a Qur’anic decision, it should have been prescribed in the text
of the Book of God.
But if men fail to accept a decision based on a clear text of the
Book of God, they undoubtedly cease to be believers, for they are
rejecting a decision based on divine legislation. For God, Blessed
and Most High, said:
Do not put the Apostle's calling on you for aid on the same
footing amongst you as your calling on each other. God knows,
those of you who slip away secretly, so let those who go against
His command beware lest a trial befall them, or a painful
punishment [24:63].
And He said:
When they are called to God and to His Apostle that he may
judge between them, lo, a party of them avert themselves. But
if they are in the right, they will come to him in submission.
Is there sickness in their hearts, or are they in doubt, or do
they fear that God and His Apostle may act unjustly towards
them. Nayt but they are the evil doers.
6. Yahya b. Adam, in Kitab al-Khar&j, reports the case as follows: "One of the
Helpers from among the Banu Umayyah had a dispute with al-Zubayr
concerning a creek (sharj) in the harrah, and the Prophet said: "Irrigate, 0
Zubayr, and then leave the water aione.’ Said the man pf the Banu Umayyah:
"Justice, O Prophet, even though he is the son of your iuntV And the face of
the Prophet changed so that the man knew that what he had said had hurt the
Prophet. Then the Prophet said: ‘O Zubayr, shut off the water till it reaches
the height of two ankles’ — or he said: — '[till it] reaches the fence — and
then let the water flow.’ It was revealed [then] — or he said: recited: ‘No, by
thy Lord, they do not believe until they make thee judge in the tangles . . •
(Qur’an, 4:68). [Yahya b. Adam, Kitdb al-Khardj, ed. A.M. Shakir (Cairo
1347 A.H./1929), pp. 106-107; English translation by A. Ben Shemesh,
entitled Taxation In Islam (Leiden 1958), p.74. See also Tabari, Tafsfr, Vol-
VIII, pp.519-23.
Extracts from al-ShdfiVs Risttlah 333
All that the believers said when they were called to God and
His Apostle that he might judge between them was: "We hear
and obey." These are the ones who prosper.
Whoever obeys God and His Apostle, and fears God and
shows piety — these are the ones who attain felicity [24:47-51].
Through this communication, God instructed men that their

recourse to the Apostle to judge among them is a recourse to God’s
judgment, for the Apostle is the judge among them, and when they
accept his judgment they do so only because of an obligation
imposed by God.
And He instructed them that the [Prophet’s] judgment is His
judgment, for his judgment is imposed by Him and by His
established knowledge — rendering him a man of destiny and
assisting him by preserving him from error and [worldly] success —
and by testifying that He guides him and causes him to obey His
order.
_ So God imposed the obligation upon His creatures to obey His
Apostle, and He instructed them that [obedience] to him is obedience
to Him.
The sum-total of what He instructed them is the duty to obey
Him and His Apostle, and that obedience to the Apostle is obedience
to Him. He [also] instructed them that He imposed the duty on His
Apostle to obey His order, Glorious be His praise.
The Obligation Made Clear by God to His Creatures That

He Imposed upon His Apostle to Follow What He
Revealed to Him, and What He Testified to of His
Obeying His Commands, His Guidance, and That He is
the Guide of Any Who Follow Him
91. Al-ShafTT said: God, Glorious be His praise, said to His

Prophet:
O Prophet, fear God, and obey not the unbelievers and the
334 Appendix I
hypocrites. Verily God is All-knowing, All-wise. But follow what

is revealed to thee from thy Lord. Verily God is aware of the
things you do [33:1-2].
And He said:
Follow what has been revealed unto thee from thy Lord — there
is no god but Him — and turn thou away from the polytheists
[6:106],
And He said:
Then we set thee upon an open way of the Law; therefore follow
it, and follow not the whims of those who do not know [45:18],
So God instructed His Apostle that He has favoured him with

His established knowledge and that he will preserve him from
mankind, for He said:
O thou Apostle, proclaim what is sent down to thee from thy

Lord — if thou do it not thou hast not delivered His message —
and God will defend thee from the people [5:71],
92. Al-Shafi‘T said: And [He], glorious be His praise, certified

[the Prophet’s] firm belief in what He commanded him, and in
Guidance to himself and to whoever follows him. For He said:
Thus We have revealed to thee a spirit belonging to Our affair.

Thou didst not know what either the Book or the Faith were. But
We have made it a light by which We guide whoever We please
of Our servants, and verily thou shalt guide unto a straight path
[42-52],
And He said:
Had it not been for the bounty and mercy of God toward thee.
J
Extracts from al-ShdfiVs Risalah 335
a party of them would have proposed to lead thee astray; but

they lead only themselves astray; they do not hurt thee at all.
God has sent down to thee the Book and the Wisdom, and He
has taught thee what thou didst not know; Godfs bounty to thee
is ever"great [4:113].
Thus God declared that He commanded His Prophet to obey His

order, and certified what he proclaimed on His behalf as well as
what he certified for himself.7 We [also] certify for him in order to
draw near to God by our belief in Him, and we make entreaties to
Him by belief in His words. [For] *Abd al-‘Az!z [b. Muhammad al-
Darawardl] told us from ‘Amr b. AbT ‘Amr — the freed slave of al-
Muttalib — from al-Muttalib b. Hantab that the Apostle of God said:
I have left nothing concerning which God has given you an order
without giving you that order; nor have I neglected anything
concerning which He has given you a prohibition without giving you
that prohibition.8
93. Al-ShafiT said: What God has informed us of in His

established knowledge and in His final and irrevocable judgment —
a favour and a blessing from Him — is that He prevented those who
attempted to lead [the Prophet] astray, and informed him that they
could not hurt him at all.
In certifying that [the Prophet] guides mankind along a straight-
7. Tabari, Tafstr, Vol. IX, pp. 199-201; Baydawl, pp. 126-27.

8. This is the first part of a tradition, the second part of which al-Shafi‘1 cites in
paragraph 97. In his Kitdb al-Umm (Vol VI, p.209, margin) the two parts are
cited as one tradition. Transmitters have related the tradition in a variety of
wordings, but all agree on the substance. See al-Suyutl, al-Jdmi4 al-Saghfr
(Cairo 1352 A.H./1933), Vol. I, p.305. For a discussion on the transmission
of this tradition and on al-Muttalib b. Hantab, Companion of the Prophet, see
Shakir’s edition of the Risalah, pp.93-102, note 8. This Companion should be
distinguished from a Successor by the same name who transmitted traditions
on the authority of ‘A’ishah, Abu Hurayrah, and Anas b. Malik [See Ibn
Hajar, al-lsdbah (Cairo 1358 A.H./1939), Vol. III. p.404J. See also J
Schacht, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, pp.53-54.
336 APPENDIX I
forward path — the path of God — and that he delivers His message
and obeys His commands — as we have stated before — and in
ordering obedience to him and in emphasizing all [of this] in the
[divine] communications just cited — God has given evidence to
mankind that they should accept the judgment of the Apostle and
obey his orders.
94. Al-Shafi‘1 said: Whatever the Apostle has decreed that is not
based on any [textual] command from God, he has done so by God’s
command. So God instructed us in His saying:
And verily thou wilt guide [mankind] to a straight path, the path
of God {42:52-53].
For the Apostle has laid down a Sunnah [on matters] for which
there is a text in the Book of God as well as for others concerning
which there is no [specific] text. But whatever he laid down in the
Sunnah God has ordered us to obey, and He regards [our] obedience
to him as obedience to Him, and [our] refusal to obey him as
disobedience to Him for which no man will be forgiven; nor is an
excuse for failure to obey the Apostle’s Sunnah possible owing to
what I have already stated and to what the Apostle [himself] has
said:
Sufyan [b. ‘Uyaynah] told us from Salim Abu al-Nadr — a
freed slave of ‘Umar b. ‘Ubaydullah — who heard ‘Ubaydullah b.
Abl Raff relate from his father that the Apostle had said:
Let me find no one of you reclining on his couch,9 and when

confronted with an order of permission or prohibition from me, say:
"I do not know [whether this is obligatory or not]; we will follow only
9. ' In both the Bulaq and Shakir editions there is a statement following this
tradition to the effect that al-Shaft‘f explained the word artica. (a couch) to
mean a 4bedstead’ {sarlr)\ but this statement is perhaps spurious, as Shakir
himself suspected, since it is written on the margin of the MS, possibly by one
of the readers. p
Extracts from al-Shdfi’Vs RisQlah 337
what we find in the Book of God."10
95. Al-Shafi‘1 said: The Sunnahs of the Apostle together with

the [communications of the] Book of God fall in two categories:
First, for-every textual [communication] in the Book the Apostle laid
down [a similar Sunnah] in conformity with divine communication.
Second, for any [ambiguous] command the Apostle laid down on
God’s behalf [a Sunnah] clarifying the meaning implied by God and
specifying what [kind of] duty God imposed, whether general or
particular, and how man should carry it out. In both categories [the
Prophet] followed the Book of God.
96. [Al-ShUTi] said: I know of no scholar who does not agree

that the Sunnah of the Prophet falls in three categories, two of which
were agreed upon unanimously. These two categories agree [on
certain matters] and differ [on others].
First, for whatever acts there is textual [legislation] provided by
God in the Book, the Apostle [merely] specified clearly what is in
the text of the Book. Second, as to any [ambiguous] communication
in the Book laid down by God, [the Prophet] specified the meaning
implied by Him. These are the two categories on which scholars do
not disagree.
The third category consists of what the Apostle has laid down
in the Sunnah and concerning which there is no text in the Book.
97. Some [scholars] have said: God empowered [the Prophet],
by virtue of the duty He imposed [on mankind] to obey Him and his
success in obtaining [God’s] approval in accordance with His
10. Abu Dawud, Voi. IV, p.200. This tradition is followed by a statement,
paragraph 296 (Shakir’s edition), which reads: "Sufyan [b. 'Uyaynah] said:
‘(This Hadfth] was related to me by Muhammad b. ai-Munkadir, who
transmitted it from the Prophet without citing the names of [other]
authorities’." Such a tradition, lacking the names of other transmitters, is
called hadlth mursal. Al-Shafi'f, however, seems to have depended on the
authority of ‘Ubaydullah b. Rafi*, the son of Abu Rafi', a freed slave of the
Prophet, who transmitted the tradition from his father [See Ibn Hajar, al-
IsCsbah, Vol. 1, p.488].
338 Appendix I
established knowledge, to provide Sunnahs [for matters] on which

there is no text in the Book. Others said: No Sunnah was ever laid
down [by the Prophet] unless there was a basis" for it in the Book,
such as the Sunnah which specified the number of prayers [each day]
and [the modes of] their performance, based on the general duty of
prayer. In like manner, [the Prophet] laid down Sunnahs dealing with
sale [of property], as well as others. For God said:
Do not consume your property among you uselessly [4:33].
And He said:
God has permitted sale and forbidden usury [2:377].
Whatever God has provided by [way of] permission or pro¬

hibition, he has specified on God’s behalf as he did in [the case of
the duty of] prayer.
Others said: [The Prophet] received a message from God
confirming the Sunnah by a command from Him.
Still others said: [The Prophet] was inspired with all that he had
laid down. The Sunnah is [divine] Wisdom inspired by God, and so
whatever He inspired him with [constitutes] Sunnah. [For] ‘Abd al-
‘Azlz [b. Muhammad al-Darawardi] told us from ‘Amr b. Abl ‘Amr
from al-Muttalib, who related that the Prophet said:
The trustworthy spirit [Gabriel] has inspired me [with the thought] that
no soul will ever die until it will receive its full provision. Be,
therefore, moderate in your request.12
98. Al-Shafi‘! said:13 Among the things with which [the

Prophet] was inspired is his Sunnah. This [Sunnah] is the Wisdom
which God mentioned [in His Book], and whatever He sent down to
11. Literally, Foundation, i.e., a fundamental principle or a precedent.

12. Sec note 8.
13. Bulaq ed., p.16.
Extracts from al-Sh&fi't’s RisQlah 339
him is a Book — the Book of God — all of these have been given to
him as favours from God and by His will. These favours are either
embodied in one Favour [i.e. the Message] or take different forms.
We pray God for protection from error and success.
In whatever form it may take, God made it clear that He
imposed the duty of obedience to His Apostle, and has given none
of mankind an excuse to reject any order he knows to be the order
of the Apostle of God. God has rather made men have need for him
in [all matters of] religion and He has given the proof for it by
providing that the Sunnah of the Apostle make clear the meanings of
the duties laid down in His Book, so that it might be known that the
Sunnah — whether in the form specifying the meaning of God’s
commands as provided in the text of the Book which they can read
or in the form of legislation in the absence of such a text — in either
form represents God’s command and is in [full] agreement with that
of His Apostle; both are [equally] binding in all circumstances. This
has been confirmed by the Apostle in the tradition of Abu Raft*
which has already been cited.14
14. See note 10.

APPENDIX II
FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS OF
AL-SHAFITS RISALAH
A brief summary of the content of the Risalah hardly does justice to

it, for only a complete translation of the text1 can present a full
expression of the ideas and the method of reasoning of its author.
However, a description of the Risalah, its fundamental ideas and
problems, may serve the reader as a guide.
The Risdiah opens with an introductory chapter on the religious
basis of Islamic jurisprudence. After the usual homage and
expressions of gratitude to God, al-ShafiT points out that at the time
Muhammad was charged with his prophetic mission, mankind was
divided into two classes. There were those who did not believe in God
and who worshipped idols and stones and other natural objects, and
there were the ‘People of the Book’,2 who believed in God and in the
teachings of His earlier prophets, but who had changed God’s
commands and forged falsehood by their tongues, mixing it with the
truth that God had revealed to them. Because of this state of
misbelief, God decided to send forth the last of his prophets,
Muhammad, to repair and reconstruct the world into a God-fearing
1. For a complete translation, please see al-Shafii ’j Risala, translated by Majid

Khadduri, (Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, 1987).
2. Ahl al-kitdb, die people who possess a scripture, include Christians, Jews,
Magians (Zoroastrians), Samaritans, and Sabians.
340
Fundamental Ideas of al-Shdfi'f’s Risdlak 341
community. Thus Muhammad’s mission, embodied in the term

‘Islam’, was to provide mankind with the final and definitive religion.
Al-Shafi‘1 discusses briefly the place of the Qur’an in the
Islamic religion and the duty of the Muslims to obey the orders of
the Prophet, and concludes that it is the duty of all those who seek
legal knowledge to gain it by constant appeal to God’s Book as
communicated to the Prophet. For "no misfortune will ever descend
upon any of the followers of God’s religion for which there is no
guidance in the Book of God to indicate the right way."3
The Qur’an, al-Shafi‘1 points out, is the basis of legal
knowledge. Its provisions constitute a "perspicuous declaration"
(Qur’an, 3:132) on all matters, spiritual and temporal, which men
are under obligation to observe. The second chapter of the Risalah
is therefore devoted to a discussion of the nature of the legal
provisions of the Qur’an under the title al-bayan (perspicuous
declaration). Al-bayan, al-Shafi’I says, "is a collective term” which
includes general principles of law as well as detailed rules. The term
al-bayan has been discussed by several leading jurists. Some say that
it merely means a declaration, embodying certain legal provisions;
others argue that it not only declares them, but also makes them
clear. Al-Shafi‘T, however, seems to emphasize the legal content of
the provisions on the grounds that all Qur’anic communications are
clear, "although some are more sharply clarified than others," and
only to those who are ignorant of the Arab tongue do some
communications seem less clear than others. He then divides al-
bayan into five categories. The first consists of a specific legal
provision in the text of the Qur’an, such as the basic duties that are
owed to God (credal witness, prayer, payment of alms, fasting, and
pilgrimage). The second includes certain provisions, whose modes
of observance are specified by an order of the Prophet Muhammad
(such as the number of prayers each day and the amount of alms to
be paid). The third consists of broad legal provisions which the
Prophet particularised. The fourth includes all the legal provisions
laid down by the Prophet in the absence of a specific Qur’anic text.
3. cf. Qur’an, 14:1; 16:46; 16:91; and 42:52.

342 Appendix II
The fifth and final category is comprised of rules which are sought
by the exercise of Ijtihad (personal reasoning) by means of Qiyas
(analogy).
Although in his chapter on al-bayan al-Shafi‘7 discusses certain
characteristics of the Qur’an, that chapter is, apparently, intended to
be only an introduction to a fuller treatment of the Qur’an, from a
juridical viewpoint, in subsequent chapters. At the end of chapter II,
on al-bayan, he discusses the Arabic eloquence of the Qur’an — one
of its distinguishing features — which, to the Muslims, is the chief
evidence of the miracle (i'jaz) of this Book.
Al-ShafiTs critical study of the Qur’an from a juridical
viewpoint led him to the keen observation that the Qur’anic rules and
principles fall into various categories. To begin with, he divides
them into general and particular rules. Some of the general rules, he
observes, are intended to be general, in which the particular rules are
included. There are general rules in which both the general and
particular rules are included, and there are general rules which are
intended to be particular rules..
Then al-Shafi‘T divides the Qur’anic legislation into a different
set of categories. There are, he observes, general rules the meaning
of which may be clarified by the context, and there are those only
the wording of which in(licates the implicit meaning. There are
general rules, he adds, which only the Sunnah can specify as general
or particular.
Al-ShafiTs classification of the Qur’anic legislation into the
foregoing categories was not only novel but was hailed as a great
contribution to the understanding of the Qur’an as a source of law.
His distinction between the general, which embodies general rules
and principles of law, and the particular, which means specific rules,
clarified for his contemporaries the way toward a deeper
understanding of the sources and principles of Islamic law. Al-
ShafiTs contribution elicited high praise. To cite but one example,
al-KarablsT told Ahmad b. Hanbal — founder of another school of
law — that he had understood the precise meaning of the Qur’an
Fundamental Ideas of al-Shdfi'f's Ris&lah 343
only after he had read the Risalah.4

Al-ShafiTs specific reference to the Sunnah, the Prophet’s
sayings and decisions, to clarify the meaning of a particular piece of
Qur’anic legislation or an ambiguous text, brings the Sunnah into the
field of Islamic legislation and indicates its specific role as a source
of law. It is in his discussions of the Sunnah and traditions that we
find one of al-ShafiTs greatest contributions to Islamic-
jurisprudence. For although the school of tradition laid sufficient
emphasis dn the Sunnah, in opposition to the school of opinion, in
which al-Shafi‘T himself took an active part in his early career, it was
al-ShafiTwho made it clear that only an authentic tradition from the
Prophet is- binding and constitutes an authoritative source of
legislation. Both the HijazI and the Iraqi jurists often accepted
traditions that were based on local custom or embodied a personal
opinion as valid for legislation. Al-Shafi‘T made a distinction between
an authentic tradition from the Prophet and a narrative which
embodies the opinion of a Companion or a leading jurist; the latter
may be useful in clarifying the meaning of a text, but it should not
be as binding as a tradition from the Prophet.
Al-Shafi’I goes on, in the following chapters, to discuss the
principle of abrogation, by virtue of which a Qur’anic
communication was repealed by a later one. Here he indicates again
the role of the Sunnah in its relation to the Qur’an, pointing out that
the Sunnah merely states which of the Qur’anic communications are
the abrogating ones and which are the abrogated, but he rejects the
HanafT doctrine which states that the Sunnah can abrogate the
Qur’an. The Qur’an does not abrogate the Sunnah directly nor does
the Sunnah abrogate the Qur’an; the Prophet, says al-Shafi'T, always
provided a new Sunnah, in conformity with Qur’anic legislation,
when the Qur’anic legislation contradicted an earlier Sunnah. Thus
although he stresses the significance of the Sunnah, he gives it a
precise definition as a second authoritative source of law in its
relation to the Qur’an.
The Sunnah includes the Prophet’s sayings and decisions. It is.
4 |bn AbT Hatim al-RazT, p.57; al-Fakhr al-Razi, p 20.

344 Appendix II
therefore, not on the same level as the infallible Qur’anic

communications. However, al-ShafiT argues, God had imposed on
men the duty of obedience to His Prophet as well as to Him, and he
goes on to give evidence that God regards disobedience to the
Prophet as disobedience to Him. Accordingly, in practice the Sunnah
of the Prophet is a source of legislation as valid as the Qur'an.
But since al-ShafiT emphasizes the rule that only an authentic
Sunnah, transmitted by reliable authorities, constitutes a valid source
of law, he devotes a large portion of the Risalah to a study of what
constitutes an authentic tradition, who are the reliable transmitters,
and why certain authentic traditions are contradictory to one another.
This latter category, to which he pays attention, is as novel as his
distinction in the Qur’anic legislation between the general and
particular.
To al-ShafiT there are no contradictory traditions. They appear
contradictory only to those who do not know the circumstances in
which they were laid down and who do not realise that certain
traditions merely qualify others. AI-ShafiTs contribution to this field
of legal reasoning, although it may raise certain doubts as to the
historical evidence of his interpretation, resolved a serious problem
for the jurists who were faced with a great mass of contradictory
traditions. Al-ShafiTs method of reconciliation, called al-ta’wtt
(interpretation),5 encouraged the acceptance of many a tradition
which otherwise would have been in danger of being rejected. Thus
his solution supplied further material for legal development, but for
the critical historian it rendered more difficult the problem of
separating the historical elements from the mass of traditions which
Muslim publicists accepted without question.
The latter part of the Riseilah deals briefly with ljm&‘
(consensus), Qiyas (analogy), Ijtihad (personal reasoning), Istihsan
(juristic preference), and /fc/ir/&zf (disagreement). Although these are
important jurisprudential subjects, al-ShafiT devotes much less space
5. Ta 'wit became the subject of further study by many Muslim scholars. See Ibn
Qutaybah al-Dfnawari, Kitab Ta'wil Mukhtalaf al-Hadtth (Cairo 1326
A.H./1909 A.D).
Fundamental Ideas of al-ShafiTs Risalah 345
to them than to the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Al-ShafiTs doctrine of consensus develops continuously in his
writings. It begins as the consensus of a few scholars in a certain
locality, following Malik’s method, and becomes a concept that
includes the entire Muslim community. If the view that the new
Risalah was written or revised as the last of al-ShafiTs writings is
correct, his doctrine of consensus as defined in this work should
represent his final formulation. In various parts of the Risalah, al-
Shafi‘1 refers to the consensus of the scholars as a method of
expounding the law acceptable to contemporary jurists, but in his
references to the consensus of the community at large, specially in
the chapter on consensus, he undoubtedly tends to invest it with
higher authority. Al-Shafi‘T ends his chapter on consensus by
asserting:
He who holds what the Muslim community holds shall be regarded as

following the community, and he who holds differently shall be
regarded as opposing the community he was ordered to follow. So the
error comes from separation . . .
The concept voxpopuli, vox Dei, embodied in a tradition which

states "My people will never agree on an error," is not cited by al-
ShafiT in this form, a fact which perhaps indicates that it was
circulated after his time. But the concept does appear in the Risalah,
which may well be the source of the final formulation of the
principle embodied in the tradition ascribed to the Prophet
Muhammad. Al-ShafiTs doctrine of the community at large was
opposed by other scholars, including his own followers, although
Ghazzall (d. 1111 A.D.) tried to confine the agreement to
fundamental principles, leaving matters of detail to the consensus of
the scholars. The fundamental weakness in the doctrine of the
consensus of the community was procedural — the lack of an
adequate method which would provide means for the community to
346 Appendix II
arrive at an agreement.6
Al-Shafi‘1 discusses Ijtihad (personal reasoning) and Qiyas
(analogy) at greater length than consensus, because he tried to limit
the use of personal reasoning, in the wide and unrestricted sense, to
the use of analogy. He often uses the terms Qiyas and Ijtihad
interchangeably, but obviously he permits personal reasoning only
through analogy. "Analogy is of two kinds," says al-Shafi‘1, "the
first, if the case in question is similar to the original meaning [of the
precedent] . . . The second, if the case in question is similar to
several precedents, analogy must be applied to the precedent nearest
in resemblance and most appropriate." He tried, however, to limit
the use of analogy to matters of detail; it cannot supersede an
authoritative text. Neither should it be based on a special or an
exceptional precedent; analogy must conform to the spirit and the
general rules and principles of the law. In taking such a position, al-
Shafi‘1 established a balance between those who used analogy
extensively as a source of law and those who rejected it altogether.
As to Istihsdn, which the Iraqi jurists used as a method for rejecting
one precedent in favour of another, it is declared unacceptable by al-
Shafi‘1 because it permits virtually unlimited use of discretion and
personal reasoning. Only one form of personal reasoning is
acceptable to al-ShafiT — analogy. Even this method is regarded as
a weak instrument. In summing up the sources of the law at the end
of the Risdlah, al-ShafiT says:
Although I have made decisions [on the basis of consensus and

analogy] just as I have made decisions on the basis of the Book and
the Sunnah, [in the case of consensus and analogy] the principle on
which I made my decision varies.
Finally, the Risdlah ends with a discussion of Ikhtilaf

(disagreement). Although the jurists before al-ShafiT seem to have
6 The lack of a method by which to arrive at an agreement remained the

perennial weakness of the doctrine of consensus, and no adequate solution was
provided by jurists who came after al-ShafiT
Fundamental Ideas of al-Shaft‘f’s Risdlah 347
tolerated a greater freedom in the use of disagreement, the trend

toward the systematic use of the sources as defined by al-Shafi‘T set
in motion the movement to limit disagreement. Al-Shafi‘T states that
there are two kinds of disagreement. The one is prohibited and the
other permitted. He goes on to say:
On all matters concerning which God provided clear textual evidence

in His Book or [a Sunnah] uttered by the Prophet's tongue,
disagreement among those to whom these [texts] are known is
unlawful. As tc matters that are liable to different interpretations or
derived from analogy, so that he who interprets or applies analogy
arrives at a decision different from that arrived at by another, I do not
hold that [disagreement] of this kind constitutes such strictness as that
arising from textual [evidence].
Thus al-Shafi‘1 restricts disagreement only on matters on which

the scholars may exercise personal reasoning (Ijtihdd) and on which
each may take a decision which is right in his own way. A case in
point is the search for the qiblah, the direction of the Sacred
Mosque. Everyone will have to determine his own qiblah, by Ijtihdd,
and although each may take a slightly different position from
another, everyone is right in his own way.
INDEX
Apart from important names, only key words and concepts have been
included in this index. Words such as Hadith, Sunnah, Isnad, Prophet,
Islam, Qur’an etc., which occur throughout the book have been excluded.
As more than 300 titles have been referred to in this collection, most of
them have been mentioned more than once, the inclusion of all the titles
would make the index inordinately long. For this reason, the names of
authors and books quoted in the Endnotes also have been excluded.
‘A’ishah 10, 14,28, 29, 32, 40, ‘ Aql 211, 212

47, 62,86, 87,154, 203 ‘Arafah 282
‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan ‘Asablyah 305
62,64,134, 137 ‘AsqalanI 82,
‘Abd al-Majid QurashT 294 ‘AsqalariFs commentary on «/-
‘Abd al-A‘la 154 Bukhari 206
‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas (Ibn ‘Ata’ b. Abi Rabah 203, 205
‘Abbas) 4, 14, 29, 32, 86, 87 A. Jeffery 290
113 Ablution 7,104, 112, 114,
‘Abdullah b. Mubarak 35, 289 117,284, 285
‘Abdullah b. Sal am 39 Abraham 98,197, 198, 255, 272
‘Abdullah b. Wahb 34 Abrahamic tradition 255,
‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr 7, 15, 26, 272-274
30, 32, 168 Absal and Salaman 216
‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar, see Ibn Abu al-Darda’ 92
‘Umar Abu Bakr (1st Caliph) 7, 26,
‘Abdullah*Abdur Razaq 204 40, 91, 95,107, 109,134,
‘AR bin Abi Talib 4, 26, 40, 144, 155, 157, 282
64 , 65,86, 112, 113, 115, Abu Bakr b. Hazm 10,33,34
155, 169, 206 Abu Dawud 6, 17, 36,166, 168,
‘AR al-Qari 97 171, 235, 238, 246
349
350 Index
Abu Dharr 155, 170 Ahmadlyahs 310

AbuHajiT^m 93,114, 116,131, Ahriman 172
140/146-148, 152, 157, a immat al-Muslimeen 149
158,204, 205 Ajza* 14, 15, 18
Abu Hayyan 110 Aleppo 8,78, 83, 85
Abu Hurayrah 7, 15, 26, 28, Alexandria 83
29, 32, 37,95 40-42,60, 61, Alqama 203
201, 203 Amanullah Khan 309
Abu Nu'aym 18,73, 82, 87 Analogy 13,30,90, 111, 214,
Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri 6,92, 203 307
Abu Yusuf 66, 67, 117,130, Anas b. Malik 26, 32, 202, 203
134, 146-149, 152, 153, Andalusia 85
155-158, 160, 163-165, Anglican Bishop 290
169, 170, 185 Ansar 7,26, 28
Abu Zamzam 27 Anti-Sunnah 177
Abyssinia 5 Antioch 83
Adam 68,172, 196,254, Arab soldiers 224
276,299 Arabia 5,31,77, 158, 172, 177,
Adh&n 285 224, 257, 258
Afghan 306, 309 Arabian Nights 241
Africa 77, 85, 291 Arabic
North 9, 10, 293 literature, development of,
Agham,al~, 134 9,135
QhM 50, 51, 89, 90, 93, 94,119 vocabulary & /ammar 28
Ahl al-Hadfth 122, 145, 166, Biographical literature in,
179 77-80, 87
Ahl al-Ijma* 145 Hadith literature 200
Ahl al-Sunnah 36, 42, 59,131, Shahadah in, 26
153, 169, 171, 173, 174, degree of prophecy in, 272
180 Prophet neither Arabic nor
Ahl al-‘adl wa'l-Sunnah 131, Persian 299
169 Arabs 4, 5 , 9,31, 38,64,74, 77,
Ahl al-Kal&m 114,163 86, 110,132, 136, 150,
Ahmad b. Hanbal 16, 17, 35, 156, 158, 183, 226,234,
38,48,68,69,87,106, 304
168,173, 182, 289, Arba'tnty&t 14, 18
Armaghan 294, 297, 298, 312
Musnad of, 16-18, 35, Ash'ari, al-, 171
62,235, 239 Ashdb al-Suffah 8, 28, 29
Index 351
Asian 286 185, 293

Asm&9 al-Rijal 7,73, 76-81, 84, Bishop 290
87, 89, 94, 288 Bo-tree 260
Asma‘I 27 Booty 92,147, 152, 156,224
Asrar 213, 294, 295, 298, 299, Brelawi 293
312 Buddha 254, 255, 260, 262
Aswad 203 Buddhism 262
Atba' al-Tabi ‘in 51 Bukhari, Imam al-, 36-38, 42,
Authenticity 30, 33, 41,65, 200, 47-49,79, 81, 82, 203-207,
205,232,236-241, 244, 268 237, 240
Avatar as 255, 272 Bullhe Shah 300
Awza‘I, al-, 11,106, 118, BOsIrl, al-, 295
146-149, 152, 155-158, Byzantine 132
230, 231 Byzantium 5
Ba‘alism 306 Caetani 62

Badr 282 Calendar, lunar, solar 74
Baghawi 82 Charlemagne 255, 257
Baghdad 8,78, 83, 84, 118 Chinese Muslim 270
BaladhurT 80 Christ 254, 255, 257, 262, 272,
Banu Hashim 204, 205. 276,a 293
Banu Qurayzah 157, 158 Christian 5, 38, 39, 86, 143,
Banu Hawazin 148 163, 173, 216,235, 254,
Banu Umayyah 204 255, 257, 290, 291,
Banu Nadir 157, 158 293,319, 320
Banu "Abbas 204 Christianity 257, 261, 262, 286,
Banu Isra’Il 161, 163 289
Banu Hashim 134 Civil War (Fitnah) 59, 64,117
Baqa’ 264 Collective spirit 153
Basrah 11, 35, 60, 83, 85, 202, Constance Padwick 291
203 Constantinople 85
Basri, al-, see Hasan al-Basri Cordova 82, 83
Beard 245, 246, 317, 322, 324,
322
Bedouin 86, 267 Da'irat al-wilayah 274
Bid'ah 104, 110, 116-118, 121 Da ’irat al-nubuwwah 274
Bilal 282 Dajjal 98
Biography of the Prophet 69,74, Dalalah 165
352 Index
Damascus 78, 83-85 114, 121,311

D&r al-Harb 148 Fitrah 316-318, 322
Darinu, al-, 16, 91, 235, 239 Forgery 45, 66, 95, 107, 153,
David 40, 255 178, 184,267
Day of Judgment 98, 291, 295 Fuqaha’ 76, 120, 163
Der Islam 62
DhahabI 78
Dimam b. Tha‘labah 59 Gabriel 296, 299
Dogs 41, 42 Ghalib 301, 302
Doomsday 287,295 Ghassanids 141
Goldziher 4, 12, 15, 18,131,
132
Eastern, critique of, 237 Greatest Man 249
Egypt 9-11, 34, 77, 85, 139, Gulshan-i rat 254, 276
162, 202, 224, 290
Etiquette 15
Europe 78, 190, 297, 304, 309 Hadd 225
European critics 37, 38, 41, 46, Hadfth al-Fitan 166
48, 240 Hadfth Qudst 292
controversial literature 290, Hadfth al-Ahkam 12-14, 17
historians 237, 240 Hadfth-Fiqh 68,135
orientalist 94, 290 Hajl KhalTfah 17
science 309 Hajj 285
universities 209, Hakim 18,73, 85, 87, 96
Ezra 86 Hallaj 292, 299, 302
Hammad b. Salmah 35
Hammam b. Munabbih 15
FanG' 264 Hanafite 230
Fara'id 178 Hantf 323
Fard 111, 121, 285 Harun al-Rashid 130
Fasting 184, 217, 263, 285 Hasan 51, 89,
Fatimah bt. Qays 86 Hasan al-Basri 134, 137, 182,
Fatwa 217 202, 205
Fihrist 11, 76 Hashimites 80
Fiqh 10-15, 66, 68,79,107, Hayy bin Yaqzan 216
109, 114, 119-121,135, Hebrew 272
149, 204,225, 227, 230
Fitan 15, 166 Hell 87, 167, 172, 179,
Fitnah 59, 64, 65, 67,110, 113, 268,283,291
Index 353
Hijaz 10, 35, 109, 118, Ibn ‘Asakir 78

119,139, 149, 152,296, Ibn‘Umar, 6,29,32,40,41,
297, 312 203,41
Hijazi lawyers 149 Ibn al-Jawz! 46, 95, 97
Hijazis 117,151 Ibn al-Zubayr 64, 65
Hijrah 33, 35, 37, 59, 73, 74, Ibn al-Salah 73
77, 79, 81, 82,203,304 Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah 112
Hikmah 211 Ibn al-Da‘i 110
Hims, Syria 60 Ibn al-‘Ad!m 85
Hinduism 255, 272, 273 Ibn Hajar 10, 14, 15, 42, 46,
History of Damascus 78, 84 78, 80, 82, 97, 98
Holy men 286 Ibn Hazm 17
Horovitz 62,74, 76 Ibn Hisham 293
Hudhayfah 166, 167 Ibn Ishaq 48,62, 63, 67, 69,
Hujjah 213 70,185
Hukm 112,159 Ibn Jarir 39, 43
Humanism 171, 182,213 Ibn Jurayj 11,34, 203, 204
Husayn, Martydom of Imam, Ibn Khaldun 38, 44,136, 305
204 Ibn Majah 13,36,97, 168, 173
Hushaym 35 Ibn Mas‘ud 14,154
Hymns 292, 296, 312,286 Ibn Nadlm 76, 79
Ibn Qutaybah 44
Ibn Sa‘d 11, 43, 13, 76, 77, 79
*Illah 51,214, 217 80
7llat al-Hukm 159 Ibn Salah 73, 87
7/m 120 Ibn Shahln 82
7/m al-Jarh wa al-Ta ’dil 58, Ibn Sirin 64, 65, 75, 118
89, 267 Ibn Taytmyah 14,173
7/m Riwayat al-Hadith 87, 88 Ibn TufayFs 216
7/m asrar al-shari'ah 213 Ibrahim 8, 10, 17, 97, 323
7/m al-dirayah 267 7ymd‘ 12, 95, 105, 111, 115,
7/m-/ 7/tf/u Muhamadi 301 118, 120,133, 138-140,
‘Imran b. Husayn 202 142-146, 149, 160, 161,
‘Inayatullah Khan Mashriql 309 163-165, 168, 175, 178,
‘Iraqi, al-, 38,88 180-182
‘Isa 320 Ijtih&d 111, 116, 120,132, 133,
‘Izz al-DIn b. al-Athlr 82 138-142, 144-146, 149,
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr 13, 82, 97 160, 302
Ibn ‘Arabl’s 290, 300 Ilham 274
354 Index
Imamah 285 Ka‘b Ahbar 39

India 9, 77, 81, 238, 273, 293, Ka‘bah 116, 304, 323
294, 297, 300, 311 Kant 243
Indonesia 291 Karbala’ 204, 205
Insan al-Kdmil 275,292 Karrdmfyah 179
Insdn al-qadim 277 KhabrkhOssah 109, 121
Intelligentsia 241, 293 Khabr ‘dmmah 109
Iqdmah 285 Khadijah 256,284
Iran 288, see also Persia Khadir 98
Iraq 60,109, 118, 119,135, 139, Kharij! 45,166, 168-170
143, 149, 162, 202,224, Kharijism 171
228, 229,267 Kharijites 117,168, 169
Iraqi school 156, 118, 119, 230 Khata* 165
Ishrdq philosophy 302 • Khdtam al-anbiyd ’ 271
Islamic Society 121, 249,266, Khatlb al-Baghdadf, al-, 73,
78-80, 82, 85, 87
, 217, 218 Khawarij 114,162, 171, 177
Argument with 113
Khulafd' al-Rdshidun 199-202,
Jahiz, al-, 110 204
Jamd'ah 110, 113, Khurasan 35,60,85,202,288
Sunnah wa’lt chap 6 Khuraj 113
Jamharah 130 Krishna 255
JdmV 15, 17, 18, 35, 36, 235, Kufah 11,35,60, 83, 85, 113,
238 202, 203
Jarh wa'l al-Ta'dfl, al-, 87, 89 Kumayt, al-, 134
Jawdb-i Shikwah 298
Jdwtd-n&mah 299, 301-303, 306
Jesus 86,154, 208,319, 320 Lahore 310
Jew, 5, 39, 86, 158, 173, 235, Ldhut 278
319-321 Lammens 132
Jewish traditions 163 Last of the Prophets 271
Jihad 152, 156, 170, 174, 260, Lit 306
261,308, 311 Le Strange 83
Jili 302 Liberalism 213,231
Jlli’s ideas 300 Lisdn aWArab 130
Joseph 64, 132, 197,225 Living Sunnah- Chap. 6
Judaism 286, 289 Logos 267, 275, 276
Loth 76
Index 355
Ma’mar b. Rashid 203, 204 Mehmet 298

Ma'rifah 322 Mercy to the Worlds 249, 263,
Madinah 5-7, 10-12, 24, 28, 301, 302, 307
30, 34, 60, 83,113,134, Merv 83, 85
138-140, 143, 147, 149, Mesopotamia 11,77
152, 223, 230, 267,294, Middle Ages 290
297, 304, 312,321 Millah 306, 307
MaghazJ 13,74 MirghQntyah 293
Magians 162, 171,173 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 310
Mahabharata 255 * Modernists 193, 196, 199, 200,
Mahmud of Ghaznah 238 208, 217, 218, 310
Mafchui 11,141 Modernity, challenge of,
Makkah 4, 7, 11,24, 26, 27, 216-218, 221
34,60,83,147, 158, Moral Hadlth 179
205,256, 258,303, 304 Morocco 270
Makkans 74, 136, 147 Moses 197, 272,319
Makruh 111 Mother-of-the-child 226, 227
Mid al-ghanfmah 141, 147 Mu’min 169, 324
Malik, Imam, 11-12, 16, 35, Mu‘adh b. Jabal 25
75, 90, 93,116, 117,120, Mu *allaq 52,89
138-140,142, 143, 149, Mu*awiyah 64, 65
152, 155, 185, 203-205, Mu*jam 17, 83, 84
227-230 Mu'tazilah 114, 115,162, 164,
ManOqib 15 ill-173, 177, 182, 213,
Manat 306 216
Marfa* 52,119 Mu‘tazilism 171
Margoliouth 77, 132 Mubdh 111
Mashh&r(yft\\ known) 51, 89, Mufti 67, 217
90 Mughlrah 91
Maslahah 213-215, 217 Muhaddithtn/Muhaddithun 11,
Materialism 286, 289 40, 44, 45, 49, 52, 61, 65,
Mathnawf 301 68, 69, 70, 76, 204, 207,
Main 72, 94 237, 239, 240
Maturidt, al-, 171 Muhammad b. Ishaq 185
MawdQ*Ht 7,46, 94, 95, 98 Muhammad b. Hasan 205
Mawlud 292, 293 Muhammad al-Shay ban! 140,
MawqQfYl, 52, 119 155
Medieval 19, 135, 136, 146, Muhammad b. 4 Amarah 29
254,309 Muhammad b. Maslamah 91
356 Index
Mujaddid 310 Najd 312

Mujahid 203 Najm al-DIn al-RazT 276
Mukatab 227, 229, 230 Najran 5,73
Mukdtabah 230 Naql 211
Mullah AIT Qari, 46j Nasa’T, al-, 246
Munqata ‘ 52 NasibT 40
Muqaddimc Nass 225
Nasut 277, 278
Nationalism 304, 306, 308
funalll, 52, 89 Nationalist 306
Musannaf 16, 18,35 Naturalism 213
Musaylimah 162 Nawawl, al-, 18, 79, 80, 88,
Musayyib, al-, 138, 139 97,179
Muslim (b. Hajjaj al-Qushayri) Nehru 311
17 Nicholson 44,64
Musnad, see Ahmad bin Hanbal Nieuwenhuize 307
Musnid 16 NTshapur 85
Mustadrak 18 Noah 196, 197
Mustafa 234, 290, 297, 298,
312
Mustahab 111 Old Testament 255, 272, 274
Mustakhraj 18 Orientalists, 10,40,62,68, 94,
Mustalah al-Hadith 87 98, 266, 290
MuVah 114 Origins of Muhammedan
Mutakallimun 317 Jurisprudence 132, 225
Mutawatir 50, 51,89, 90, 95
Muwatta’, al-, 11-13, 16,35,
65-67, 120, 138, 140, 143, Pagan 4, 86, 156, 158
205,222, 223 Pakistan 221,311
Mysticism 15, 299 Palestine 9, 202
Paradise 164, 170, 172,283,
321
Na't 292 Payam-i Mashriq 294, 305, 312
Nabi 76, 79,263, 264, Persia 5, 9, 77, 270, 273
272-274, 322 Persians 39, 132, 161, 272,
Nabtyin 318, 319 276, 296, 299, 306
N&fi4 203 Pharisees 248
Ato/j 260,317 Philosophy 213, 216, 243, 302,
Najaf 294 303
Index 357
Pilgrimage 24, 184, 285, 296, power 269

297 revelation 136, 305
Plutarch 80 sayings 168, 265, 266, 268
Poems 134, 297, 299, 302 sunnah 132-135, 137, 139,
Poetry 3,9,27, 28, 58, 150, 142-145, 148, 150, 152,
201, 292, 294-296, 302, 158, 163, 175-177, 182,
304, 312 184, 222, 270
Poets 3, 27, 77, 150, 292, 295, teaching 179
297 transmission 267
political virtues 293
strife 105 Punjab 293, 310, 311
struggle 136
Hadith 155, 179
wars, dissention 166, 167, Qadarls 162
205, 260 Qadi 87, 154
foreign political domination Qadiyan 310
221 Qadiyanls 310, 311
life 205,256,266,305 Qandahar 296
history 83 Qasfdat al-Burdah 295
nationalism, 306 Qdss 40,154
Politics 65, 80, 83, 205, 239 Qatadah 59
Post-ShafFT 142,230 Qayrawan 83
Post-Islamic 132 QazwTn 85, 97
Prayer 24, 91, 184,192, 214, Qiyds 90, 93,94, 111, 118,
263,282-285 119,139, 140, 145
Pre-Islamic 3,27, 28,58, 132, Quraysh 4, 5, 7,169,256, 304
133, 139, 183, 306 Qushayri’s 300
Pro-Hadlth 153, 160 Qussds 40, 113, 163
Prophetic activity 148
behaviour 136
cycle 271, 274-276 Ra*y (opinion) 92, 111, 112,
elements 185 116, 120, 139, 140, 152
hadith 151, 155-157 Ahl al-Ra'y 114, 122
intelligence 302 Ashdb al- Ray 93
life 308 Rabl‘ b. Suhayb 34
meaning 306 RabFah 24
mission 260, 303 Radd ‘a Siyar al-Awzd'f, al
I model 149, 180,181 146, 156
picture 319 Rahmaian li'l ‘Alamin 301
358 Index
Rama 255 Schacht 63, 64, 66, 132, 225

Ramayana 255 Science 17,58, 59,87, 89, 146,
Ramhurmuz! 73, 87 194, 206, 237, 240, 243,
Ras&'il 14, 15, 17, 18 267,288,317, 320, 321,
Rashid Ahmad Gangohi 289 324, 309
Rationalism 171, 182, 241, 243, satanic invention 309
244 Scientific 9, 179,207,216,237,
Rauh b. ‘Ubadah 35 238, 241,266-269,309,319,
Reform 209,233 320
Riba 175, 176, 183 Scripture 280
Righteous Caliphs 64, 111 Seal of Prophets 293, 307
Risalahf /!/-, 87 Semitic 272, 273,319
Robson, J. 62,63, 65 Sha'bT, al-, 75,206,218
Romans 161 Shadhdh 51
Rome 177 Shaft‘I, al-, 66, 67,87, 88,
Ruh69, 213 94,105, 106, 109, 115-120,
Rukn 121 122,144, 145, 151, 153,
Ruku‘ 3, 282 156-165, 181,217, 218,
Rumi 292, 296 291, 295
Rumuz 295, 299, 305, 312 Shah ‘Abd al-‘Az!z 45
Shah WalTyullah 39, 119,
136,213-215, 217
Sa‘Id b. al-Musaiyib 75 Shahadah 262, 263
3a‘Id b. Musaiyib 203 Shajarat al-Kawn 290
Sachau 80 SharVah J13, 177, 183, 194,
Sadaqdi 130 213, 217, 218, 269, 274,
Safaqis 217 275,289
Sahdbah 17, 82, 107, 110-112, Shari 121
118, 119, 121, 122, 342 ShatibI, al-, 106, 110
Sahdhi 12, 112, 115, 119, 121 Shaybam, al-, 12,66,140, 141,
Sahifah 15 155, 163
Sahihayn 36 Shaykh Muhammad al-Mahlri,
SakhawT 89 al-, 217
Salat 3, 104, 121, 282, 284, Shi‘ah 40, 45, 115,134, 162,
285 169, 173
Sam‘an! 78, 84, 85 Shi‘i 166
Sarakhsi, al-, 140 Shi‘ism 114,266, 268
Sariq al-hadilh 70 Shi‘ite266
Sawm 104, 285 Shibfi 293
Index 759
Shu’bah 59 Sunnism 175

Shuf'ah 138, 139 Suraqah b. Malik 154
Shura 182 SuyutT, al-, 15, 61, 80, 89, 90,
Sihah 36, 153 96
Silent approval 8,23 Syed Ameer Ali 309
Sind 293 Syria 9, 11, 60, 77, 84, 85,
SIrat-movement 293, 294 109,152, 156, 164,202,
Slaves 147, 148, 197, 223, 226, 230, 256, 267
229, 230,301, 303, 306,
321
Solomon 255 Ta’if, al-, 157, 158
South India 294 Ta’rfkh (Chronology) 78
Spain 9, 77 Ta’rikh and Siyar 15
Spinoze 311 Kitab al-Ta ’rikh 76, 78, 81
Sprenger 10, 62, 77, 303 Ta ’rikh Baghdad 83
St. Louis 255 Ta’wfl 106
Studia Islamica 307 Tabaqdt al-Huffaz 78
SubkT 85 TabaranT 17
Successors 15, 34, 40, 60, 62, Tabari, al-, 14,62,80
64, 83-85, 88, 91, 165, TdbVi, TabTin, Tdbi'un 6, 12,
171,281, 288,310 40, 51 121, 140, 202-206
Suffah; see Ashab as Suffah Tabuk 287
Sufi 173, 174, 183,216, 254, Tafslr 15, 112
270, 271, 276,300,316 Taha Husayn 64
Sufism 146, 173, 174, 247, Tamm ai-zabt 51
270, 276, 293, 300 Tartqah 293
Sufistic 174 Tashahhud 117
Sufyan b. ‘Uyainah 34 Tasin al-Siraj 299
Sufyan ThawrT 34, 203, 204, Tdsln-i Muhammad 303
289 Taus 203
Suhraward! 301 Tawakkul 174
Suhufv, al-, 70 Tawqtf 213, 216
Sunan 13, 15-19, 36, 94, 235, 'Tayabsl, Abu Dawud, 16
238, 239, 246 Tayammum 86, 91
Sunnah Sukuttyah 226 Templars 255
Sunnah of the Companions 146 The Spirit of Islam 245,
Sunnah of Madlnah 134 250,293
Sunni 87, 90, 94, 114, 168, Theocracy 5
169, 173, 266 Tijani 293
360 Index
TirmidhT, al-, 165, 168, 171, Wahb b. Munabbah 39

173, 204,235, 238 Wahm 324
Tor Andrae 291 Wahy 196
Traditionist 81-85, 96, 185, Walid b. Yazld 64, 117
10, 17,43,62,72, 75-78, WaqidI 76, 79
87-89, 93-98, 114,159, Wasaya 15,25,82, 84
161, 178, 185, 200, 204, West 208, 209,221,255, 291
206, 207, 239-241 Western 49, 129, 131, 132,
Tunis 217 190, 208,234, 237, 241,
Turkestan 288 242, 248,256, 257, 259,
Turkey 292, 298 266, 269, ?93, 304
Turkish 306 Westernisation 241,306
Turks 217, 292 WTd, al-, 148
Tuwa, Valley of, 197 Wilayah 274, 275
Wudu’ 117, 121
‘Ubadah b. al-Samit 75
‘Ulama' 149, 222, 226, 227 Yahya b. SaTd al-Qattan 75, 87
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab 4,7, 30, Yahya b. Adam 68
61, 74, 86, 87, 91-93, 107, Yamfn ma ‘al-Shahid, al-, 143
109, 112-115, 120, 121, Yaqut 17, 83, 84,275
134, 135, 144, 155, 158, Yazdan 172
163, 164, 173, 176, 177, Yemen 8,25, 26, 34, 60
202, 207, 222, 226, 227
‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (Umar
11) 9-11,33,34, Zakat 3, 24,104, 105,184, 285
‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr 74 ZarqanI 12
‘Uthman (4th Caliph)16, Zayd b. ‘Ail 114
61,74,113-115,131 Zoroastrianism 172,273
Uhud 13 Zoroastrians 91
Umayyad 9, 33, 34, 50, 64, 65, ZuhrT, al-, 10, 11,62, 69, 70
115,117, 120, 122, 170,
182, 205, 223
Ummah 204,281, 285, 288,
289, 306, 307
Universal Man 275-277
Uswatun Hasanah 194

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HadIth and Sunnah

—Ideals and Realities—

ZUBAYR SIDDIQI ■ MUHAMMAD

Compiled and Edited by

NATIONAL BOOK SERVICE

Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Sufi al-Murabit is an English Muslim convert. He

Muhammad Asad was born as Leopold Weiss in a Jewish family of Lemberg

Prof. Muhammad Mustafa A‘zami is Professor of Science of Hadlth at

Shah Shahidullah Faridi was of an aristocratic Lennard family of England and

Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr is Professor of Islamic Studies at George

Prof. Annemarie Schimmel, a native of Germany, has long acquaintance with

Dr. S. M. Yusuf holds a Ph.D. in Arabic and an M. A. in Persian. He was the

Surely you have in the Messenger of Allah the pattern of

This uswah of pattern Is available to us in the HadIth. Without

visible light of the uswah of Muhammad s.a.w.

Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent

Islam obviously is incomplete without obeying the Prophet.

We sent not a Messenger but to be obeyed... But no, by the

The Companions (Sahabah) loved the Prophet more than their

Sense of sacred mission

The motives of Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) in narrating

The generation of the Sahabah

Some of the Companions of the Prophet who were very

The fabrication of HadTth: causes and motives

The Islamic response

The ‘ulama ’ (scholars) of Islam (may Allah reward them) answered

fabrications. They studied the chain of narration of each hadith to

Understanding the Qur’an and the Hadlth together

One who wishes to understand Islam must learn to give up random

Time span of Revelation

The Qur’an was revealed over period of 23 years of struggle by the

By degrees shall We teach thee to declare (the Message), so that

No wonder, the Qur’an is difficult for those who are unaware

The significance of Hadfth

The word hadfth primarily means ‘new’. It is used as opposed to

Hadlth and Sunnah

With this significance of the word Hadlth is very closely connected

Hadlth — a subject of keen interest

beliefs of the Arabs, humbled down their boastful tribal chiefs,

Asmd * al-Rijdl which they created as an aid to the formal criticism

The writing of Hadiths

Many of these devoted Companions of the Prophet, if not all of

The collection of Hadfths

task which was only thought of by his great predecessor whom he

to the probability of what is attributed to him.

Muwatta’ is reported to have been between 4,000 and 10,000 which

The legal and historical traditions

the word Fiqh is used in the sense of HadTth.63 As a matter of fact,

Classification of books of Hadith

Books of Hadith have been classified into the following groups:

1. The Sahifahs are such collections of the sayings of the

life-time or by their followers in the next generation. Several of these

are put together and arranged in various books or chapters, each

the traditions related by all the Companions. The Musnad of Ahmad

are known as Sunan works.

Kitab al-Sunan given to them.

1. Sahih al-Bukhdri (Egypt 1309 A.H.), i, 20.

14. Ibid., k. al-VtisQm, b. al-ta'ammuq, vol.iv, p.166.

48. Goldziher, op. cit., vol.ii, pp.210-211.

50. Al-Dhahabf, op. cit., vol.i, p.82.