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Muṣṭalaḥ Al-Ḥadīth Hadith Terminology

1Hadith Structure 2Varioius

issues regarding Ahadith

3Orientalists and Hadith

Learning Intention for this WORKSHOP إن شاء الله

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1 Isnad & Matn Mutawaatir & Ahaad Hadith according to its origins Conditions for a saheeh Hadith

HadithStructure

KEY-facts Mustalah Al-Hadith is a very

sophisticated science It only developed into a science in the

Muslim scholarly community

Distinct components of any Hadith …oop

1. The MATN: The body/text of the Hadith

2. The ISNAAD: The chain of transmission

Ibn Hajr رحم%%ه الله said: “A Khabr [Hadeeth] may have few Turuq/Isnaad (chains); either of a fixed number or an unfixed amount. There will either be more than two Sanads or two or one.” [Nukhbat-ul-Fikr, page 10]

Muhammad ibn Sirin رحم%%ه الله said: “They did not previously inquire about the sanad. However, after the turmoil occurred they would say, ‘Name for us your narrators.’ So the people of the Sunnah would have their hadith accepted and the people of innovation would not.” [Reported by Muslim in the introduction to his Sahih, vol. 1, pg. 8]

Every Hadith has TWO very distinct components …

Mutawaatir & Ahaadoop If the Isnaad has an unfixed amount of Turuq [different ways of

transmission] than the Hadith is labeled as Mutawaatir[either mutawaatir lafzee (wording) or mutawateer m’anawee (meaning)]

Narrated by a large number of scholars Scholars are found in every level/generation of the chain Impossibility of them gathering together to make up a lie Serves ‘ilm-ul-yaqeen (definite or certainty of the narration)

Any Isnaad which does not fulfil the conditions of Mutawaatir is called Ahaad [mashoor: 3, people, ‘azeez: 2 people, ghareeb: 1 person … in every generation]

Condition for a saheeh Hadithoop Some ‘Ulama have established five conditions for a Hadith to be

saheeh (authentic):1. Good character of all its narrators 2. Good memory and precision on the part of narrators with regard

to what they are narrating. 3. Continuous isnaad from beginning to end, meaning that each

narrator heard the Hadith from the one before him. 4. The Hadith is free from any oddness in its isnaad or text. What is

meant by “odd” is anything in which the narrator narrates something that contradicts the narration of a sounder narrator.

5. The Hadith is free from faults in its isnaad and text. A “fault” is a subtle problem that undermines the soundness of the Hadith, which can be detected only by the well versed scholars of Hadith

Basic Structure in Mustalah Al-Hadith

oopCategorization of the Hadith according to its narration to us

Mutawatir

Ahaad

Hassan (good)

Rejected due to an error in the isnaad

Mardood (rejected)

Makbool (accepted)

Saheeh (authentic)

Rejected due to an error in the Raawí (narrator)

2 What is the difference between “saheeh hadeeth” and “its isnaad is saheeh”

Are we allowed to narrate a Hadith by

its meaning?

The six most famous Hadith collections

KEY-facts In order to be a Muhadith

one must dedicate ones whole live to learn the detailed issues of this science

Various issues

regarding Ahadith

Difference between “saheeh hadeeth” and “saheeh isnaad”

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Al-Haafiz ibn al-Salaah رحم%%ه الله said: “When they say “This hadeeth has a saheeh isnaad or a hasan isnaad” instead of “this is a saheeh hadeeth or a hasan hadeeth”, that is because it may be said that this hadeeth has a saheeh isnaad but it is not saheeh per se because it is shaadhdh (odd) or mu’allal (faulty).”

[Muqaddimah fi ‘Uloom al-Hadeeth, page 23]

Ibn Katheer رحم%ه الله said: “The fact that the isnaad is deemed to be saheeh or hasan does not necessarily mean that the same applies to the text, because it may be shaadhdh (odd) or mu’allal (faulty).”

[Ikhtisaar ‘Uloom al-Hadeeth, page 43]

Narrating a Hadith by its meaningoop It is permissible for a person to narrate the meaning of a Hadith

according to the majority of scholars, for one who has knowledge of Arabic and is free of the risk of making mistakes or changing the meaning which would lead to changing the ruling. But that changing of the wording is not allowed in the case of words that used in worship such as dhikr and du’a that are narrated in ahadeeth.

The six most famous Hadith collectionsoop1- Imam al-Bukhaari

Abu ‘Abd-Allaah Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel ibn Ibraaheem ibn al-Mugheerah ibn Bardizbah al-Ja’fi al-Bukhaari (194-256 AH)

2- Imam MuslimMuslim ibn al-Hajjaaj ibn Muslim al-Qushayri al-NisapooriAbu’l-Husayn (204-261 AH)

3- Imam Abu Dawood (202-275 AH)

4- Imam al-Tirmidhi (209-279 AH)

5- Imam al-Nasaa’í (215-300 AH)

6- Imaam Ibn Maajah (209-273 AH)

3KEY-Facts

Orientalists were studying Hadith for the past two centuries

They studied Hadith for various reasons/intentions

Orientalists and Hadith

Who are some of the most famous Orientalists in regards to Hadith studies

Important notes regarding Orientalist

studies of Hadith

Some Orientalists who studied Hadithoop Joseph Schacht Ignaz Goldzieher G.H.A. Juynboll Nabia Abbott … and others

Orientalists had various reasons/intentions to study Hadith There was some benefit which came from the Orientalist’s studies of

Hadith There is a lot of doubt about the Sunnah/Hadith spread by

Orientalists Many of their arguments against the Sunnah are self-defeating

The EndBy Abu Bilal Sanel Abdurrahman