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Sunnah and Hadith
Collection and Preservation in Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) life
Earliest collections
The History of the compilation of Hadith
Sanad and Matan
Causes of fabrication
Qualities of a sound narrator
Musnad and Musannaf collections
Hadith-e-Qudsi
Types of Books of Hadith
Categorization of Hadith based on reliability
Six Canonical Books of Hadith
Main compilers of Hadith and their activities:
Four Collections of Shia Hadith
Differences between Sunni and Shi’a collections of Hadith
Individual’s Responsibilities in Ahadith
Communal Responsibilities in Ahadith:

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 The History and Importance of Hadith
Sunnah and Hadith
➢ The word Sunnah: (Plural Sunnan) literally means a clear path, a practice, a rule. In
Islamic terms it is the way of life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). So Sunnah of
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) includes his specific words, habits, actions and silent
approvals of others by him. Based on this Hadith can be divided into three types:
➢ Quol: The sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) example “Pray as you have seen
me praying”.
➢ Fi’el: The actions and practice of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) example (The
Prophet (peace be upon him) used Miswak in ablution).
➢ Taqreer: Something happened in the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) presence, and he
kept quiet, showing his tacit approval. Example once the Prophet (peace be upon him)
saw Hadhrat Anas writing Ahadith, he (peace be upon him) didn’t stop HazratAnas from
doing so, nor he showed his disagreement, rather he (peace be upon him) remained
silent, thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) established the permission to write
Ahadith by his action.
➢ The Sunnah also refers to religious duties namely that which is recommended although
not obligatory.
➢ The word Hadith: is derived from “Tahdis” meaning to inform and “Hadasa”, which means
to be new. It indicates the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) includes his specific words,
actions and silent approvals of others by him.
➢ So the narrations of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are called Ahadith. Since the
Ahadith is something newly produced. The words Hadith and Sunnah are closely
connected, Sunnah usually means a manner of acting it mainly indicates the doings of the
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

Collection and Preservation in Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) life

➢ Q(a): How the Ahadith were collected and preserved by companions of the Prophet
(peace be upon him)? [10]
Introduction
➢ At first, The Prophet (peace be upon him) stopped companions from writing Ahadith so it
does not get mixed up with Quranic verses. When revelation and writing of Quran

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 reached near completion, he (peace be upon him) taught and advised his companions:
“Pass on knowledge from me, even if it be only a sentence”.
➢ The same emphasis of circulating his teachings is noticeable in his speech at the farewell
Hajj he said, “Let all those who are present warn those who are absent”.
➢ Therefore, after noticing much stress on learning and circulating his teaching, the
companions adopted three methods of learning and preservation of Ahadith:
Memorization, Record keeping, and Practice.

Memorization:

➢ Prior to the advent of Islam, memorization was the primary means of circulating the
information amongst the Arabs.
➢ That’s why the Prophet (peace be upon him) would repeat important things more than
once to make memorizing and understanding easy. He would then listen to as his
followers repeated what he had told them to be sure that they understood.
➢ Those who memorized Ahadith were mainly Abu Huraira, Saad, Jabir, Anas, Ayesha,
Abdullah ibn Amr and Abdullah ibn Abbas.
➢ In Islamic literature, we can see a large number of the companions advising their followers
to memorize Ahadith either in groups or individually.

Record Keeping:

➢ Soon after the demise of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) companions put their
maximum efforts to spread the teaching of Quran and Hadith and travelled across the
Arab and even beyond. They set up different centers of learning and teaching of Hadith.
Some of them were Makkah, Madinah, Koofa, Busra and Damascus etc.
➢ Traditions regarding the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and early history of
Islam were passed down both early and written.
➢ The collection of Ahadith was a careful and through process that began right at the time
of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and continued through centuries that followed.
➢ The best example of written Sunnah were the letters , laws and treaties which were
dictated by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and were preserved in his life time.
➢ Many companions used to write down Ahadith during the life of the Holy Prophet (peace
be upon him) like Hazrat Abdullah ibn Amar and Hazrat Ali.
➢ The following are the compilations of that period:
➢ Sahifa-e-Sadiqah: written by Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas it is the most famous compilation
of Hadith.

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➢ Sahifa-e-Sahiha: written by Hammam Ibn Munbah from Abu Hurairah, that included
thousands of Ahadith on every topic.
➢ Booklet of Abu Shah Yemeni (RA): which was written on the order of the Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) so Abu Shah could take written farewell sermon of the Holy Prophet
(peace be upon him) to Yemen.
➢ Booklet of Ali (RA): that included Ahadith regarding Zakat, treaties and laws of retaliation
and blood money.
➢ Booklet of Anas bin Malik: some of them were even checked and endorsed by the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him)
➢ Kitab-us-Sadaqah: contained the rules of Zakat, written on the Holy Prophet (peace be
upon him) order.
➢ Booklet of Amr bin Hazm (RA): containing rules of Prayer, Zakat, purification and
administrative laws.
➢ Booklet of Samrah bin Jundub, Booklet of Jabir bin Abdullah, Booklet of Abdullah bin
Abbas, Booklet of Ubadah bin Samit etc.

Practice:

➢ The most efficient way of learning is to put something in practice, especially the religious
teachings is something to be applied in life and not simply discussed.
➢ The companions learned by observing the actions and sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace
be upon him) and then applying what they head and saw, to their own practices.
➢ In this way it would be inscribed in their heart.

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 The History of the compilation of Hadith
Q(a)Outline the main stages of compilation of Hadith? [10]

Paragraph-1 (During Prophet’s life time)

Paragraph-2 (The age of companions) (Observing and spreading period) [1 AH to 99 AH]

Paragraph-3 (The age of successors of companions) (Writing and sorting period) [100 AH to 200
AH]

➢ The systematic collection and compilation of Hadith began during the time of the
followers of companions.
➢ Umer bin Abdul Aziz a great Umayyad caliph wrote a latter to governor of Madinah and
asked him to gather scholars of Madinah and make compilation of Hadiths.
➢ Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Hazm, Ibn e Shihab al-Zuhri are among these who compiled
Hadiths at ‘Umar II’s request’.
➢ Following were also the outstanding works of this period ; Al Mutta by Imam Malik,
Kitabul Athar by Imam Abu Hanifa, Al Musannaf by Imam Abul Razzak.
➢ The verdicts and saying of companions were also compiled.

Paragraph-4 (Age of Taba’ Tabieen) (200-300 AH) (Compiling Period)

➢ Age of followers of Tabieen was the age of climax of the compilation of Hadith.
➢ The science of AsmaurRijal was invented. The life sketches of 150000 people were
collected.
➢ Hadith Books were compiled in different patterns and were named Musnad, Musannaf,
Jami, Mustadrak and Mustakhraj.
➢ The six most reliable books of Hadith: Sahih Bukhari by Muhammad bin ismail, Sahih
Muslim by Muslim bin Al-Hajaj, Sunan Abu Daud by Imam Abu Daud, Jami Tirmizi by
imam Tirmizi,
➢ Sunan Nasai by Abu Abdulrehman Al-Nasai and Sunan Ibn e Majah by Muhammad ibn
Yazid ibn Maja.

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 Sanad and Matan
Methods to ensure the authenticity of Hadith
(a)Outline the parts that make up a Hadith and describe the checks made by collectors in
order to ensure the authenticity of their collection. [10]

(a)What methods were used by the collectors of six major collections of Ahadith (SahahSitta)
to ensure that the sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) they accepted were genuine?
[10]

(a)Give description that how Muhaddithun decided between acceptable and unacceptable
hadith. [10]

Introduction:
➢ For the purpose of verification and authenticity of a Hadith, Muhadditheen (collectors of
Ahadith) divided it into two parts:
➢ (a)The chain of narrators of Hadith: known as “Isnaad” or “Sanad”. It is the connection
between the narrator of the Hadith and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
➢ (b)The text: what the Prophet peace be upon him actually said or did, known as “Matan”.

Criterion adopted for judging the veracity of the Sanad:

➢ Sanad is the chain of narrators (Muhadditeen) of Hadith.
➢ These are the series of authorities who are called narrators or transmitters of Hadith.
➢ The sanad is a support to the Hadith which proves its authenticity or genuineness.
➢ It proves that Hadith is pure from any impurity that is changes.
➢ Tradition is attach great importance to isnad and consider it an indispensible part of every
Tradition.
➢ It reduces the risk of forgery in Hadis.
➢ Sanad is important thing to be looked for declaring a hadith, most authentic.
➢ To check Sanad it is essential to know life, character and scholarship of all narrators
(transmitters).that subject is called Ilm-e-Isma-o-Rijal.
➢ The narrators were pious, noble, honest, well-reputed persons who had good memory
and had written down what they had heard.
➢ A narrator actually met the other narrator and in this way the chain of narration went
right back to the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
➢ The narrator was physically, mentally and intellectually fit to understand the full
importance and impact of all what he had heard.

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➢ The last person in the chain of narration was a companion of the Holy Prophet(Peace be
upon him) who had himself either heard. The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) speak the
particular words or seen him performing the action quoted in the Hadith.
➢ The chain of narration from beginning to the end had un-interrupted continuity.

Criterion adopted for judging the veracity of the Matn:

➢ Matan is the actual text quoted by Dear Prophet(PBUH).
➢ There should not be changes in it.
➢ It should be authentic and should be proved by scholars for it genuineness.
➢ The Matn, as report of an act or statement of the Prophet(S), helps to build up a picture of
his teachings and thus a basis for Muslim beliefs and rites.
➢ It was not in conflict with the content, spirit, philosophy or the commandments of the
Holy Quran in any manner or a tradition which had already stood the test of reliability /
authenticity or the consensus (Ijma) of the community.
➢ It was not against the historical facts already established and proved.
➢ It was not against the dictates of reason, logic, rationale common sense or the laws of
nature.
➢ It did not, in any way, hurl accusation at the family of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon
him).

Categories:

➢ According to the reliability of Sanad and Matn, Muhadditheen has classified the Hadith
into four major categories:
➢ Al-Sahih: If any Hadith perfectly passed all these tests, in which there is no weakness,
neither in chain nor in text then the Hadith is termed as Sahih (genuine).
➢ Al-Hasan: in which a slight weakness is found in its chain.
➢ Al-Daif: A Hadith is classified as Daif as either due to discontinuity in the chain of narrator
or due to some criticism of a narrator or the disagreement of narration with Islamic beliefs
and practice.
➢ Al-Maudo: The saying which was not found to trace back to Prophet Muhammad peace
be upon him and was wrongly attributed to him, such Hadith was termed as Maudo
(fabricated).

Causes of fabrication:

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➢ There are several factors which may motivate an individual to fabricate a narration, from
them:
➢ Political differences,
➢ Factions based on issued of creed,
➢ Fabrications by heretics (apostate),
➢ Fabrications by story-tellers,
➢ Fabrications by ignorant ascetics,
➢ Prejudice in favour of town, race or a particular leader,
➢ Inventions for personal motives,
➢ Proverbs turned into Hadith.

Qualities of a sound narrator

Q(b)What qualities a narrator must possess to be considered sound? [4]

➢ The study of narrators of Ahadith is a proper science called “Asma-al-Rijal”. (detailed

biographies of narrators of Hadith)
➢ Muhadditheen adopted some criterions to check authenticity of Hadith through
examination of Sand.
➢ The great scholar Abdullah Ibn-e-Mubarak said, “Having a chain of narrator is a part of
religion. If it were not for that, people would proclaimed whatever they wished”.
➢ Narrator of Hadith must possess below mentioned qualities:
➢ A narrator must be sane, adult and practicing Muslim.
➢ A sound narrator has never been accused to intend innovation in religious matters.
➢ He had good memory, strong character and a reputation of not involving in any major or
even minor sins.

Q(b)Why is it important for Muslims to have collections of authentic Ahadith? [4]

➢ Hadith is the primary source of law, its authority is next to Quran and a very important
source of Tafseer.
➢ The Prophet’s life is the best role model for Muslim so they try to base their lives on the
Prophet’s example, it is very important for them to know what he did or said. Thus, they
need authentic Ahadith to avoid wrong idea about Islam and start improper practice.
➢ That is why; Muslim scholars judged the reliability of Hadith by examining their Isnad and
text and collected them in the proper book form.

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➢ In addition to this, in the following generation, that after TabaTabieen the fear of
innovation arose in this situation the collection of Hadith played an important part and
saved the Hadith forever.

Q(b)What was the significance of the Prophet(PBUH) not allowing the writing down of
Ahadith in the early days of his Prophet-hood? [4]

➢ In the early days of his Prophet-hood, he focused attention towards establishing Islam as
the main concern.
➢ It was to make sure that his sayings were not mixed up with the words of the Quran.
➢ As soon as the revelation of Quran reached near completion and Prophet (PBUH) was
confident that companions were quite able to differentiate between Quran and Hadith,
he encouraged them to write down Ahadith.
➢ When Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr Al A’as got confused whether to write everything he heard
from Prophet (PBUH) or else shall make criteria for writing down something. The Prophet
(PBUH) permitted him to write everything from him. As the Prophet (PBUH) didn’t utter
anything from his own, his utterance were actually the revelations.

Musnad and Musannaf collections

Q(b)Outline the major differences between Musnad and Musannaf collection of Ahadith.
[4]

➢ The ‘Musnad’ is the collection of Ahadith according to the name of the first transmitter,
no matter what their contents and themes are.
➢ They are useful to find out Hadith narrated by a particular companion. E.gMusnad-e-
Hanbal.
➢ The ‘Musannaf’ is the collection of Ahadith according to their topic and subject matter.
➢ They are useful for finding out Prophet’s teaching on a particular point of belief or
practice i.e prayer, fasting. E.g The six books of Hadith (Sihah-e-Sitta) that is Sahih Bukhari,
Sahih Muslim, traditions of Imam Abu Dawood, Nisai, Ibn Maaja and Tirmidhi.

Hadith-e-Qudsi
Q(b) ‘Truly, My mercy overcomes My wrath’. This is a Hadith Qudsi. What is special about
Hadiths of this kind? [4] [J/2010]

➢ ‘Quds’ means purity and ‘Qudsi’ means something that is related to Allah who is the
purest.

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➢ Muslims regard Hadith Qudsi as the words of Allah, repeated by Prophet (peace be upon
him) and recorded on the condition of a Sand. It is also called ‘Divine Hadith’.
➢ It differs from Quran as it was expressed by Prophet (peace be upon him) in his own
words, whereas the Quran is the direct words of Allah.
➢ Example: Allah says, “fasting is for me and I shall certainly compensate it”.

Types of Books of Hadith

➢ There are many types of compilations of Hadith each of which gained a specific name.
some of these types of books are:
➢ Saheeh: That book whose compiler indicated that he has only included SaheehAhadith
for example, Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim.
➢ Jaami: That book which includes Ahadith categorized under the following eight
categories: Siyar. Aadaab, Tafseer, Aqaa’id, Futun, Ahkaam, Ishraat and Manaaqib for
example, Bukhari and Tirmidhi.
➢ Sunan: That book which only includes Ahadith that are related to rules (Ahkam) for
example, Sunan Abu Dawwod and Nissa’i,
➢ Musnad: is the collection of Ahadith according to the name of the first transmitter, no
matter what their contents and themes are.
➢ They are useful to find out Hadith narrated by a particular companion. E.gMusnad-e-
Hanbal.
➢ Mu’Jam: That book which is arranged by the order of the shuyookh who narrated the
Ahadith for example, Mu’jamTabaraani.
➢ Mustakhrij: that book in which the compiler brings chains from other shuyookh besides
the author or another book to support the Hadith of that scholar’s book. For example
MustakhrajAbiNu’aym on Bukhari.
➢ Mustadrik: that book which includes Ahadith under various headings which other
author has left out of his book. For example, MustadrikHaakim includes Ahadith that are
nor in the two Saheeh Books but which Imam Hakim has indicated as satisfying the
conditions for authenticity that were followed by Bukhari and Muslim.
➢ Rissalah: that book which only contains Ahadith under the headings of one of the eight
headings mentioned in the Jaami’. For example, Imam Ahmed’s book of Zuhd which falls
under Aadaab and Ibn Jareer’s book of Tafseer.
➢ Juz: That smaller book which only contains Ahadith about a particular subject for
example, Imam Bukhari’s JuzQira’ahKhalf al-Imam.
➢ Arba’een: a collection of 40 Ahadith. For example Arba’een-e-Nawawi.

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 Categorization of Hadith based on reliability
➢ Q(a)What are the different types of Ahadith? How is each Hadith classified into the
different types? [10]

➢ The saying of Prophet(PBUH) in his own words is called Hadih-e-Nabwi- A Prophetic

Hadith. For example “Paradise lies under the feet of your mother”.
➢ The content/idea of Allah which was directly revealed to Prophet and he conveyed it to
Ummah in his own words.
➢ Sahih (Genuine): A Hadith, narrated by a continuous chain of known trustworthy
people, without any contradiction with Quranic verse. E.gYahya narrated from Malik who
narrated from Nafa’I who narrated from Abdullah bin Umar that the Prophet said.
➢ Hasan (good, acceptable): In general it is authentic like Sahih, however, not
established to the extent of Sahih because of slight weakness in its chain.
➢ Da’if (Weak): A that does not reach the level of Hasan due to three reasons:
discontinuity in the chain of narrators, some criticism of a narrator, or some weakness in
Matn (text of Hadith).
➢ Mauzu (Fabricated): A Hadith which contains a known liar or wrongly attributed
Hadith to the Prophet (PBUH)
➢ There is a subdivision of Hadiths in regards to their acceptance, into two important
classes:
➢ Mutawatir(Successive narration): A Hadith reported by a large number of people in
different times whose agreement on a lie becomes unbelievable. It is the highest form of
Sahih.
➢ Ahad(singular narration): the type of Hadith which is conveyed by very few or one
narrator.
➢ Ahad is categorized in three types:
➢ Mashhur: is narrated by three or more narrators but still doesn’t match the
requirements of Mutawatir.
➢ Azizis reported by two narrators.
➢ Gharib is narrated by one narrator.

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 Six Canonical Books of Hadith
Q(a)Describe the features of the six authoritative collections of Sunni Ahadith? [10]

Sahih Al-Bukhari
➢ The actual title of the book is ‘Al-Jaami’ al-Sahih al-Musnad al-Mukhtasar min
UmuriRasoolil Allah wasunanihiwaAyyamihi, known as al-Jaami al-Sahih Bukhari.
➢ It was collected by the great Persian scholar Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Ismail (194-256
A.H)
➢ The most authentic book: second only to the Glorious Quran.
➢ This book is arranged according to topics under separate headings. The author did not
accept any Hadith unless all the narrators were reliable.
➢ It is called Jami’ because it covers all aspects of life.
➢ Imam Bukhari collected over 600,000Ahadith and included only 7275 traditions. Without
repetition the number goes down to about 2602.
➢ He compiled them into 97 books according to the subjects matters which are further
divided into 3450 chapters.

Sahih Al-Muslim
➢ The full title of the book is Al-Musnad Al-Sahih Bi Naqliddin.
➢ It is the second most authentic book of Hadith after SahihBukhari.
➢ It was collected by Muslim ibn al-Hajaj Al-Nashapuri (202-261)
➢ This book is divided into 43 books, contains 9200 Ahadith selected out of 300,000,
without repetition 2200 authentic Ahadith.
➢ SahihBukhari and SahihMuslim are collectively called Sahihain.
➢ Imam Muslim established the practice that narrators must stand in unbroken chain.

Sunan An-Nasa’i
➢ It was collected by Imam Ahmed bin Shuaib Al-Nasai’ of Nishapur on the request of the
governor of Ramalah.
➢ It has about 5662 Ahadith, he followed the rules of Imam Muslims and Bukhari.
➢ Most of the Ahadith are Sahidh however incase of any weak Hadith he clarifies the
weakness.

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➢ He defines the difficult words and brigs off narrations for one particular Hadith.

Sunan Abu Dawood:

➢ Collected by Sulayman ibn Ash’athAzdiSijstani, commonly known as Abu Dawood.
➢ He was born in Seestan, in east of Iran 202 A.H and died in 275 A.H in Basra.
➢ It contains some 4,800 Ahadith selected out of 500,000.
➢ Ahadith are arranged in this book according to different subject matters.

Jami’ Tirmidhi:
➢ Collected by Abu Isa Muhammad Ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi (209-279A.H)
➢ It is the best of books, having the most benefit, well-organized, with least repetition.
➢ It mentions the different views, angles of argument, and clarifies the status of the Hadith
as being Sahih, Dai’f as well as remarks regarding narrators.
➢ The work is divided into 50 chapters and consists of 3956 Ahadith

Sunan ibn Majah:

➢ Compiled by Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid Ibn Majah al-Qazwini of Iran (209-
273)
➢ It contains 4341 Ahadith in 32 books, divided into 1,500 chapters.
➢ It is one of the best in arrangement of chapters with very little repetition.

Note: The aforesaid six books of Ahadis are called Sihah-e-Sittah. Inaddition to these, the
following three are also rated as reliable and authentic by the Muslim Scholars.

Masnad Ibn Hambal:

➢ Name of the Author: Abu Abdullah Ahmad Ibn Muhammad
➢ Place and Date of Birth: Baghdad , 164 AH / 780 AD
➢ Place and Date of Death: Baghdad 241 AH / 855 AD.
➢ Places visited to seek knowledge: Kufa, Basrah, Makkah, Madinah, Yemen, Syria,Morocco,
Algeria, Iraq and Iran.
➢ No. of Ahadis collected by him: 30,000 including those that are repeated. He is the
Imamof the Hambli School of Thought, and is well regarded in the muslim world as he
took astrong stand against the beliefs of Mu’tazillah during the reign of the Abbasiud
CaliphAl-Mu’tasim.

Ad-Darimi:
➢ Name of the Author: Abu Muhammad Abdullah Ibn AbdurRehman

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➢ Place and Date of Birth: Samarkand (Uzbekistan), 181 AH / 797 AD
➢ Place and Date of Death: Samarkand 255 AH / 869 AD.
➢ Places visited to seek knowledge: Hijaz, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Khurasan
➢ Books: (i) Sunan Ad-Darimi
➢ (ii) As-Sulasiyya

Al-Muwatta:
➢ Name of the Author: Abu Abdullah Malik Ibn Anas
➢ Place and Date of Birth: Madinah, 93 AH / 712 AD
➢ Place and Date of Death: Madinah 179 AH / 795 AD.
➢ Other Books: (i) Al-Masail An-Nujum
➢ (ii) TafseerGharib Al-Quran
➢ He was the Imam of Madinah, and the founder of Maliki School of Thought. He was
verysolid in his religious commitment and withstood opposition with firmness and
fortitude.
➢ The SahihAhadis reported by the aforesaid sheikhs are furtherdivided into following seven
categories.
➢ 1) Those on which Al-Bukhari and Muslim both agree (the highest category)
➢ 2) Those which were reported only by Bukhari
➢ 3) Those which were reported only by Muslim.
➢ 4) Those which meet the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim even if none of themreported
them.
➢ 5) Those which meet the conditions of Bukhari even though he did not report them.
➢ 6) Those which meet the conditions of Muslim even though he did not report them.
➢ 7) Those which are judged to be Sahih, Authentic and Reliable by scholars otherthan
Bukhari and Muslim but which do not, otherwise, meet their conditions.

Main compilers of Hadith and their activities:

Q(a): Briefly describe the main activities of the compilers of the six most authentic collections
of Hadith (Sihah-e-Sitta). [10]

Muhammad bin Ismail Al Bukkari:

➢ Muhammad ibn Ismail ibn Ibrahim al Bukahari, popularly known as imam Bukari, was born
in 196 AH in the city of Bukhara in khorsan (now in Uzbekistan).

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➢ He was a great Islamic scholar of Persia, his father, Ismail ibn Ibrahim, was also a known
hadith scholar who died while he was young.
➢ He complied the hadith book named Sahih al Bukhari, which is regarded as the most
authentic of all hadith compilations.
➢ He began studying hadith when he was less than 10 years old, in the year 205 (A.H), by
the age of 16 he had not only memorized many books of popular early compilers but also
studied the biographies of the narrators.
➢ When he turned 18 years old, he began writing about the companions the followers and
their statements. At that time he also authored a book of history.
➢ He went through all the important centers of Islamic teachings of his time, talked to
scholars and exchanged information on hadith. He heard from over 1,000 men, and
learned over 6,000,000 tradition.
➢ After the absence of sixteen years he returned to Bukhara, and there compiled his al-Jami’
as-Sahih, a collection of 9082 authentic traditions, arranged in chapters.
➢ His book is highly regarded among Sunni Muslims, and considered second only to the
Qur’an in terms of authenticity.
➢ He also composed other books, including al Adab al Mufrad, which is also collection of
hadiths on ethics and manners, as well as three books containing biographies of hadith
narrators; Al Tarikh Al kabir, al-tarikh al Saghir ,and al Tarikh al Awsat.
➢ In the year 864 AD / 250 Ah, he settled in Nishapur. It was in Nishapur that he met Muslim
ibn al Hajjaj. He becomeBukfari’s student, and eventually collector and organizer of hadith
collection Shih Muslim which is considered second only to that of al-Bukhari.
➢ Political problems led him to move to Khartang. A village near Samarkand where he died
in the year 870/256 AH and was buried in Uzbekistan near Bukhara.

Imam Muslim bin Al-Hajjaj:

➢ Imam Muslim (Muslim ibn al Hajjaj) was born in Nishapur – Iran, into an Arab tribe of
Qushair, a Persian family.
➢ He began the study of Hadith in 219 AH at the age of 15. He travelled widely to gather his
collection of Ahadith, including to be the student of imam Bukari.
➢ He got the hanour to be the student of Imam Bukhari.
➢ He established the practice that the narrators must stand in unbroken successions and
there was a possibility of their actual meeting.
➢ He authored many books on Islamic law (Fiqh) and biographies. The most important of his
work is Sahih al Muslim. This Sahih is divided into 43 books, contains 9200 Ahadith
selected out of 300,000. The most authentic collection second only to Bukhari.
➢ The sahih is said to share about 2000 hadiths with Bukhari’s Sahih.

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➢ Any tradition accepted by both Bukhari and Muslim has been termed as agreed upon
(MuttfaaqunAlaihi). Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim are collectively called Shaikhian and
their books Sahihain.
➢ He died in 264 AH in Nishapur where he was born.

Imam AhmebiniShuaib bin Ali Al-Nasa’i:

➢ Imam Ahmed bin Shuaib bin Ali, al-Nasa’I of Nishapur (210-310 AH) was born in
Turkamanistan.
➢ He was a noted collector of hadith. He compiled one of the six canonical hadith collections
;Sunan al Nasai ( Sunan al sughra, or al-Mujtaba ) that contains 5662 narrations.
➢ He also collected 15 other books, 6 dealing with the science of hadith.
➢ He started the study of hadith at the age of fifteen, he primarily attended the circles of
knowledge in his town.
➢ Thereafter when he was 20 years old, he started traveling and made his first journey to
Qutaibah and then to Iraq, Kufa, Hijaz, Syria and Egypt. Finally he decided to stay in Egypt.
➢ He was a man full of piety and he possessed a photographic memory too. He was the best
evaluators of the narrators of his time.
➢ His comments in al-Jarhwatta’deel (study of authenticity of narrators) are highly
esteemed by the scholars of hadith.

Imam Abu DawoodSajistani:

➢ Abu DawoodSulaymanAbn Ash ‘athAzdiSajistani, commonly known as Abu Dawud.
➢ He was a noted Persian collector of hadith and wrote the third of the six canonical hadith
collections recognized by Sunni Muslims, Sunan Abu Dawood.
➢ He was born in Seestan, in east of Iran in 202 A.H and died in 275 A.H in Basra.
➢ Widely travelled among scholars of hadith, he went to Iraq Egypt, Syria, Hijaz, Khurasan
,Nishapur, and marv along other places in order to collect hadith.
➢ He was primarily interested in jurisprudence (Fiqh),and as a result his collection mainly
focused on legal thinking.
➢ Out of about 5000,000 hadith, he chose 4,8000 for inclusion in his work.

Imam Tirmidhi:
➢ Imam Tirmidhi full name Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa al Sulami al Tirmidhi( 209-279 AH)
was a Persian collector of hadith . he is locally known as Isa Tirmedhi.
➢ He was born and died in Bagh (Persian meaning “garden”) ,a suburb of Termezi
(Uzbekistan) nowadays central Asia, to a family of the BanuSulaym tribe.

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➢ He began his study of hadith by travelling to Khurasan, Iraq and Hijaz. His teachers
included Imam Ahmed bin Hambal, Imam Bukhari and Imam Abu Dawood.
➢ He had some of the same teachers with Bukhari.
➢ He compiled al Jami ‘ popularly called Sunan al Tirmidhi, one of the six canonical hadith
compilations, as well as ShamailMuhammadiyyah, known popularly as “ShamaailTirmidhi”
, a collection of hadith on Muhammad (peace be upon him) .
➢ His Sunan is known to have the most benefit for the students of Figh, the best
organization, with the least repetition.
➢ It mentions the different views, argument, and clarifies the status of the Hadith as being
Sahih, da‘if, or Gharib as well as remarks regarding narrators.
➢ He was blind in the the last two years of his life, said to have been the consequence of his
weeping over the death of Bukhari.
➢ Tirmidhi is buried in Sherobod, 60 kilometer north of Turmuz.

Muhammad bin Yazid ibn Majah (209-273 AH)

➢ Muhammad bin Yazid ibn Majah al Qazwin of Iran born in Qazwin, the modern-day Iranian
province of Qazwin, in 209 AH to a family who were clients (Mawala) of the Rabia’ah tribe.
➢ He left his hometown to travel the Islamic world visiting Iraq, Barah, Kufabaghbad,
Makkah, Egypt, Ar-rai and Syria.
➢ He was praised as “reliable (thiqah), prominent agreed upon, a religious authority,
possessing knowledge and the capability to memorize.
➢ He died in Qazwin in Shaban 273 AH. His work contains; (1) Sunan ibn Majah , one of the
six canonical collections of hadith (2)Kitab al Tafsir (3) Kitab al Tarikh :a book of history or ,
more likely, a listing of hadith transmitters.

(a)Briefly describe the main activities of the early compilers Imam Malik and Hanbal. [10]

Imam Malik:
➢ Malik bin Anas bin Malik was born in 93 A.H.
➢ Originally his family belonged to Yemen but at the time of Prophet (peace be upon him)
they settled in Madinah.
➢ His father carefully looked after his son and used to revise his lessons. Once Malik made a
mistake in answer to a question upon which his father told him that this must be due to
the time he excessively spent on playing with pigeons.
➢ That was a good lesson for Malik and afterwards concentrate his full attention on his
studies.

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➢ Like other collectors, Malik did not travel abroad for learning Ahadith because he had a
good opportunity to learn from a famous scholars of the world who visited Madinah every
now and then.
➢ Therefore, using this opportunity he memorized thousands of Ahadith in life span.
➢ His relation with the political authorities were friendly through he did not do them any
favours.
➢ The evidence of this is that once he was physically beaten by order of the governor of
Madinah because one of his Fatwas (legal decisions) was regarded as a move against the
authorities. The caliph Abu Jafar asked Malik to read his book to the princes, the scholar
replied that: “knowledge does not go to the people but people come to it”.
➢ When the caliph Abu Jafar requested that other students should not join the class with
class with the princes, he refused his favour saying they would sit where they found as
empty places. These examples show how just and principled he was for the spread of
knowledge.
➢ The number of his students exceeds a thousand. He wrote several books on the subject of
hadith few of his works included kitab al siyar, kitab al manasik, kitab al muwatt.
➢ The fate of his other books is unknown. however, Malik is famous for his school of
thought as he is the founder of Maliki school of thought. He is also famous for his book al-
Muwatta.
➢ Muwatta is not purely a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) legal opinions of the
companions and the successors and off some later authorities.
➢ He refers very frequently to the unanimous opinions of the scholars of Madinah on
subjects where there is no hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him).
➢ He particularly employed Ahadith in relationship with the Qur’an or with agreed opinions
of companions of Madinah.
➢ He mostly gathered Ahadith to establish points of legal teaching. Due to this, his collection
is not in the first place of compilation of hadith but rather a text in which employed
Ahadith on legal matters.

Imam Hanbal
➢ Imam Ahmed bin Hambal was born in Marw in 164 A.H. later on, when he was still an
infant, he was brought to Bagehdad.
➢ He was 16 when he began to study hadith in 179 A.H it is reported in his career he
memorized a million Ahadith.
➢ Ahadith was inspiring in his God – consciousness and in defending Islam. He challenged
the caliph and his religious authority, was imprisoned for a long time was treated very
harshly by the authorities but he never surrendered.

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➢ The Mutazilities so called free thinker in Islam had a great impact on the caliph Mamun al
Mutasim and al Watih. The caliphs accepted the viewpoint of Mutazilite that the Qur’an is
Makhlooq.
➢ When the Caliph al-Mutase forced him to accept this viewpoint, he flatly refused, on this
he was trampled under the feet of the caliph’s servants and a large of executioners was
brought and each of them whipped Ahmed bin Hambal two stripes with all his strength.
After a while he lost consciousness and then he regained it and offered drink he refused
to take saying that he did not want to break his fast.
➢ The most interesting thing in the character of imam Hanbal is that happened in the
Caliphate of al Mutawalii. The government policy was changed in favor of the teachings of
Muhadithin.
➢ He was then asked by the caliph to take revenge from those persecuted him but he
refused and showed mercy.
➢ He compiled many works, some of which have been polished and some of them have
been lost. These included AL-TARIKH,AL NASIKHWAL MANSUKH, AL MUSNAD etc.in all of
this works, he is almost famous for Musnad. He is also famous for being the Imam of
hanbali school of thought.
➢ In Musnad collection he gathered around 30,000 (27,647) Ahadith narrated by 700
companions.
➢ He followed a criterion to collect Ahatith of a certain company ions in one place. He
arranged them with the names of four rightly guided caliphs followed by the remaining six
of who had tiding of paradise from the Prophet (peace be upon him). These are followed
by the companions who embraced Islam first and the wives of prophet (peace be upon
him) and so on.
➢ Under each individual he mentioned different numbers of Ahadith (narrated by that
individual) he could collect.
➢ It is reported that on his death bed he was revising his Musand and left it unfinished
which was completed by his sons.

Four Collections of Shia Hadith

Q(a) Outline the main features of four collections of Shia Ahadith. [10]

➢ Shi’s muslims use different books of hadith than Ahl –e- Sunnah’s six major hadith
collections.
➢ The Shi’a consider many sunni transmitters of Hadith to be unreliable because most of
them accepted the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umar and Ulthman in preference to Ali.

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➢ Shia trust only the Ahadith transmitted through the imams and Prophet Muhammad’s
(peace be upon him) descendants through Fatima Zahra.

Alkafi fi Ilm al-Din:

➢ The book Al Kafi fi ilmal-din (“what is sufficient In the knowledge of the faith”)is a Twelver
Shia Hadith collection compiled by Muhammad min Ya’qoob Al kulayni (died in 329 ah).
➢ It is divided into three sections:
➢ Usul al kafi, which mainly focuses on the principle of religion i.e. faith, reason, knowledge
and communal responsibilities of Muslims.
➢ Rowdat al kafi, which is outlining various points of religious interest. Included are letters
and speeches of imams.
➢ In total, Al Kafi comprises about 16,000 narrations.

Man la YahdurulFaqih
➢ The second book of Shia’s four collections is man la YahduralFaqih by the famous scholar
Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn babawaih, commonly known as Shaikh Saduq.
➢ The title translates as “Every man is his own lawyer”
➢ In this collection Shaikh Saduq gathered 9,044 Ahadith which he divided into small
sections as per the theme/topic of hadith.
➢ Like all other Twelver Shi’a books (except for the Quran ), everything inside was carefully
examined for authenticity by the rules of Isnad and Matn.
➢ This book is not entirely Sahih , Shaikh saduq also included DhaifAhadith in his collection.
➢ Generally, the Isnad (chains of the narrators )are absent. This is because the book was
designed to help ordinary Shia Muslims in the practice of the legal requirements in Islam.
Therefore, this book was not meant to be a work for scholars, who would want to check
the authorities.
➢ It is mainly concerned with fur-ul-deeni.e details of religious laws. Here he covered topics
of marriage, fasting, zakrat, Hajj etc.
➢ Thus the book is a summary of the basic study of legal traditions.

TahzibulAhkam
➢ The third book of Shia’s four collections is TahzibulAhkam by the famous scholar Abu Jafar
Muhammad ibn Hassan Tusi, commonly known as Shaykhtusi.
➢ The title, TahzibulAhkam, is translated as ‘the refinement of laws.’
➢ Al- Muqni’a was a work on traditions by Shaikh al Mufid, the teacher of Shaikh Tusi. Thus,
the original intention of Shaikh Tusi had been to write a commentary on al Mauqni’a of
Shaikh Mufid.

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➢ The method he used to mention Ahadith is to write hadith with its Isnad followed by al-
Mufid‘s comments which are often followed by explanations of Al-Tusi.
➢ He gathered 13,590 Ahadith in his collection which were divided into chapters and
chapters into sections like purity, salah, Saum, zakat, hajj., marriage, divorce etc.
➢ His work concerns the practical regulations for carrying out the sharia, the Holy law of
Islam.

Al-Istibsar fi ma Ikhtalafal Athar (The perspective)

➢ Al-istibsar is the fourth important book of Shi’a’s collections of hadith.
➢ It was written by Abu jafar Muhammad in Hassan al Tusi.
➢ It compress about 5500 Ahadith.
➢ Actually it is summary of Tahibul al Ahkam and covers the same field as Tahzib al Ahkam.
➢ Its method are similar but briefer: there are not so many traditions used in the book and
the explanations are more concise.
➢ In many ways it is closer to MAL LA YADURUHUL FAQIH, although unlike the latter it gives
full Isnad for the traditions quoted.
➢ It is said that al Kafi and Yhazibulahkam represents the comprehensive collections of
tradition, while mal la yah zuruhulfaqih and istibsar are books intended to be used as
ready reference works for students scholars.

Differences between Sunni and Shi’a collections of Hadith:

Q(b):Outline the main differences between Sunni and Shi’a collections of Ahadith. [4]

➢ Shi’a Muslims use different books of AhadiththaAhl al-Sunnah’s six major Hadith
collections.
➢ Sunnis accept all the Ahadith narrated by any companions of Prophet (peace be upon him)
but Shia trust traditions transmitted through the Imams, Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be
upon him) descendants through FatmaZuhra or the supporters of Hazrat Ali (Rz) because
they consider many Sunni transmitters of Hadith to be unreliable because most of them
accepted the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, Umer, Uthman in preference to Ali.
➢ Sunnis collections compress only the word, actions or silent approval of the Prophet peace
be upon him. Unlike Sunnis, Shias also includes in their Ahadith collections statements
attributed to their Imams, whom they regarded as infallible as well as Prophets.
➢ Chain of narrators is not necessarily found in Shia collections but it is the compulsory part
of every Hadith in Sunni collection. Not a single Hadith is accepted in Sunni collection
without Sanad.

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➢ Sunnis collections were written at the time of Prophet peace be upon and continued to be
written in later times as well as the compilation had started in the first century. Although
Shia books of Hadith were written and compiled in 4th and 5th centuries.

Individual’s Responsibilities in Ahadith

Q. Outline the main teachings of the Hadiths you have studied, from the passages set for
special study, about the responsibilities of individual Muslims. [10]

➢ The Ahadith set for special study effectively highlight the responsibilities of Muslims and
what is expected from them in Islam.
➢ Sincerity—naseehah—forms the backbone of a Muslim’s conduct. A Believer must fulfill
his social and religious obligations whole-heartedly to be a true Muslim.
➢ His heart must be free from doubts about Allah SWT, His Book or His Messenger peace be
upon him, i.e., Articles of Faith, and must obey their Commands. Moreover, Prophet
peace be upon him also commands us to be cooperative with the leaders of Muslims, and
have impeccable social relationships with common people.
➢ These impeccable social relations can be achieved only if a Believer practices fraternity
and brotherhood, and also equality. Prophet peace be upon him said,“None of you
believes until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself.”
➢ If a Believer is to achieve perfection of faith, he must be genuinely interested in well-being
of his brothers by desiring for them what he desires for himself. Absence of such a strong
bond indicates weakness of Faith.
➢ Muslims must display prudence while using their power of speech: the tongue shall be
used for propagation of good & not for indecent, hurtful or idle talk.
➢ Another cardinal discipline for a true Believer is generosity, especially towards neighbours
and guests. If these principles are ignored, a person’s claim to believe in Allah SWT and
the Last Day can said to be disputed, according to the Hadith:“Let him who believes in
Allah and the Last Day either speak good or keep silent, and let him who believes in
Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour, and let him who believes in Allah
and the Last Day be generous to his guest.”
➢ In another Hadith, the pre-condition to enter Paradise is also specified. A person must
abide by the injunctions of Shariah, i.e., take lawful as lawful, and unlawful as unlawful,

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 and perform obligatory prayers and fast in Ramadan as Prophet peace be upon him
said:“A man asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace): Do
you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers, fast in Ramadan, treat as lawful that
which is lawful and treat as forbidden that which is forbidden, and do nothing further, I
shall enter paradise? He said: Yes.”
➢ These help train a Muslim for all spheres of life, making him eligible to enter Paradise.
However, the circle of virtuous deeds is not so confined. Helping others, like acting as a
fair judge between two parties, or even lifting someone onto his conveyance also yields
great rewards, equal to that of charity. A Muslim must try to facilitate others, as the
Prophet peace be upon him said:“removing a harmful thing from the road is a charity”.
➢ A Muslim shall also struggle in the way of Allah SWT—Jihad. One form, as per a Hadith, is
to do physical or verbal efforts to suppress evil. Another form is to utilize one’s body, i.e.,
fight infidels in Allah’s SWT Way.
➢ “Whosoever of you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand, and if he is not
able to do so then with his tongue, and if he is not able to do so then with his heart, and
that is the weakest of faith.”
➢ This is the reason why those who die natural deaths or deaths by plague or cholera in the
Way of Allah SWT, are martyrs, as per another Hadith.
➢ A Muslim is enjoined to aid the weak and destitute in the society, and be kind. A Hadith
says:“God will not show mercy to him who does not show mercy to others”.
➢ Prophet peace be upon him would even command his governors to be gentle to their
people and would ask them to avoid alienation or hardness. A link in the chain is aiding
the widows, poor and orphans. The rewards for these are kinship of Prophet Peace be
upon him in Paradise, and equal to exerting oneself in Allah’s SWT Way, or standing for
prayer in night and fasting in the daytime.
➢ “One who manages the affairs of the widow and the poor man is like the one who exerts
himself in the way of Allah, or the one who stands for prayer in the night or fasts in the
day.”
➢ The Ahadith also stress upon fair dealings and lawful earnings. Though the ‘Rizq’ of the
people has been destined beforehand, the test lies in whether it is earned through lawful
or unlawful means. Laborious efforts by oneself to earn a living are encouraged; Prophet
Peace be upon him says,“No one eats better food than that which he eats out of the
work of his own hand.”
➢ Likewise shall one be kind when he sells or buys, or demands his money back, as
according to a Hadith, it earns Allah’s SWT Mercy.“May God show mercy to a man who is
kindly when he sells, when he buys, and when he demands his money back.”

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➢ A Hadith also encourages a Believer to renew and refresh his knowledge of the Holy
Quran repeatedly. Comparing a person to an owner of tethered camels, Prophet Peace be
upon him tells us that “if he lets them loose they will go away”.
➢ However, this acquiring of knowledge (or any other good deed) must be done to please
Allah SWT alone, as Allah SWT regards our hearts and actions. Therefore, a Muslim shall
practice all forms of modesty and avoid pride. A Hadith says,“He who has in his pride as
much pride as a grain of mustard will not enter Paradise.”
➢ In this way, class superiorities and pride etc. are negated and racial borders also nullified.
Therefore Holy Prophet PBUH compares all Believers to a single man.
➢ A Believer shall earnestly follow these teachings, as his goal is Paradise and earth for him
is a prison from which he urges to escape.

Communal Responsibilities in Ahadith:

Q. Outline the main teachings of the Hadiths you have studied about the importance of
Muslim communal life. [10]

➢ The Ahadith of the Holy Prophet Peace be upon him guide Muslims for individual as well
as communal conduct and matters of the Muslims. Islam declares the entire Muslim
community a single body or family where each and every member is ready to share joys as
well as sorrows in the light of this Hadith:“The believers are like a single man’ if his eye is
affected, he is affected; and if his head is affected, he is all affected.”
➢ This is the most fundamental and important aspect of the Muslim community and has
been the subject matter of several Ahadith of the Holy Prophe Peace be upon him t. For
example, the Holy Prophet Peace be upon him, in another Hadith, has linked true faith
with the care and consideration observed by a true believer towards his neighbor “He is
not a true believer who eats to his fill but his neighbour sleeps hungry.
➢ Importance of being kind and polite towards fellow beings has been highlighted in
number of the sayings of the Holy Prophet, and he himself demonstrated it on a number
of occasions. In fact, he was an emblem of mercy, forgiveness and compassion and taught
the same to his followers. He declared in this regard
➢ “Every kind word is a charity and removing a harmful thing from the road is also a
charity.”
Similarly, the Messenger of God always wished to create and develop a society where
every member would emerge as a strong support for those in need. Through his
teachings, instructions and actions he emphasized the importance of taking care of the
less privileged people, like the orphan, widows and the poor.

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➢ He remembered God’s special favour on him all through his childhood. The favour is
mentioned in the Quran as: ‘’Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter and
care’? (al-Duha).
➢ He, therefore, always encouraged an attitude of kindness towards such people and hinted
towards the importance of this by saying: “I and the man who brings up an orphan will
be in Paradise like this: and he pointed with his-two fingers, the index finger and the
middle finger.”
➢ The Holy Prophet Peace be upon him was mindful of other important aspects of the
communal conduct. He was aware of the human weakness of falling victim to the devices
and strategies of Satan whose mission is to entice humans towards disobedience of Divine
commands and to commit sins and spread evils and indecency.
➢ So, he alerted his followers to be ready to take timely and appropriate action in that
regard. He drew the attention of his followers by this Hadith: “Whosoever of you sees an
evil action, let him change it with his hand, and if he is not able to do so, then with his
tongue, and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart, and that is the weakest of
faith.”
➢ He also warned about the possibility of an unjust and impious ruler ruling the Muslim
community and, in that case, he elaborated the importance of raising a voice of protest
against such a ruler. He said: “The most excellent Jehad is uttering the truth in the
presence of an unjust ruler”.
➢ Finally, the Holy Prophet Peace be upon him trains the Muslims community about a fair
treatment of the non-Muslims living in a Muslim community. In this regard, many
instances are quoted in the Hadith books.
➢ For example, the following incident provides sufficient guidance: “A burial bier passed by
us (the companions) and the Holy Prophet PBUH stood up for it, and we stood up. Then
we said: O Messenger of God! It is the bier of a Jew’. He said, ‘when you see a bier stand
up”.
➢ Thus, it can be seen that the Hadith of the Prophet provides complete guidance regarding
the communal conduct of Muslims.

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