THE HADITH OR THE TRADITIONS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMED (S.A.W) BY BABA ALI MUSTAPHA

The prime sources of religion of Islam are the Qur’an and the Hadith. The Qur’an is the word of God to all Muslims. The Prophet did not have anything to do with its words, it was revealed to him as it is now read. Whilst the Qur’an give the Muslim a primary rule of life, there are many matters where guidance for practical living is necessary but about which the Qur’an says nothing. In such cases, the obvious thing was to follow the custom or usage of the Prophet (i.e. Sunnah). There were ancient customs which could be accepted in some matters, but on matters peculiar to the religion of Islam there was the custom of the earliest believers who had been the contemporaries and companions of the Prophet and would presumably would act in matters of religion according to the custom of the Prophet himself. Eventually there come into existence traditions which gave formal statement of what the Sunnah of the earliest Muslims was on a variety of matters. Literally, Sunnah means a way or rule or manner of acting or mode of life. In consequence of this, there arose in Islam a class of students who made it their business to investigate and hand down the minutest details concerning the life of the Prophet.

Before long, attention came to be concentrated on the Prophet, and his manner of life become in their eyes of the ideal Muslim life to be imitated by his followers. In other words, the Sunnah of the Prophet became a standard of living which every Muslim aspire to reach. Certainly, who else could be a better guide for Muslims than the Prophet himself. His words and deeds, therefore, become a source of inspiration for all Muslims in all time to come.

After his death reports of the Prophet’s wonderful sayings and doings began to circulate those sayings continued to increase from time to time as they were collected from the Sahabah, the companions of the Prophet and become subject to standardization and selection. This represented the word of the Prophet as supplemented to the word of Allah. The Hadith, in order words, is the second pillar after the Qur’an upon which every Muslim rest the fabric of his faith and life. The body of traditions circulated orally for sometime as indicated by the word Hadith, commonly used for tradition and which literally means a saying conveyed to man either through hearing or through witnessing an event. It is also used to denote “conversation i.e. the telling of something new. The record of the sayings, therefore, were called Hadith, the rest, as a whole, was called Sunnah (custom or usage). For its details, the plural Sunnah meaning customs was used.

The Importance of Hadith for both Religious and Legal Purpose in Islam

As we have earlier stated on the Hadith has come to supplement the Qur’an as a source of the Islamic religious law. Muslims can always turn to both sources for answers to all problems, be they legal or religious. The importance of the Hadith in this regard can be realized when one considers the zeal and enthusiasm with which every group of Muslims, every party, every movement supplied itself with a selection of traditions which would give prophetic authority for its particular point of view.

After the death of the Prophet, every case that came up for decision had to be referred either to the Holy Qur’an or to some judgement or saying of the Holy Prophet, which judgements or sayings therefore, obtained a wide reputation. There are numerous cases on record in which right was claimed on the basis of a judgement or saying of the Holy Prophet, and evidence was demanded as to the authenticity of the saying.

For instance, Fatimah, the Prophet’s daughter claimed that she was entitled to an inheritance from the Holy Prophet. But according to Bukhari, Chapter 85, Tradition 2, the Holy Prophet said “We Prophets do not inherit nor leave an estate for an inheritance: whatever we leave is a charity”. This saying was cited by Abubakar as against the claim of Fatimah. The truth of this Hadith was not questioned by anyone and Fatimah’s claim was rejected. Incidents of this type occurred daily and became the occasion of establishing the truth of many sayings of the Holy Prophet.

Not only was the trustworthiness of the particular Hadith established beyond all doubt, but the Hadith also obtained a wide circulation, and from being the knowledge of one man only passed to that of many. The Hadith literature, as we now have it provides us with apostolic precept and example covering the whole duty of man; it is the basis of that developed system of law, theology and custom which is Islam. Muslim law is so very comprehensive that all the minutest acts of a Muslim are guarded by it.  A Muslim, in reality is told by his code not only what is required under penalty, but also that is either recommended or disliked after giving illustrations of the Prophet and his nearest companions. This is done without involving any reward or penalty since a pious believer is interested to know the praiseworthiness or “blameworthiness” and thus reform his action to please Allah and His Prophet.

In Shariah (Islamic theology), therefore actions are divided into five classes, as follows:

1. Fard or Wajib: A compulsory duty the omission of which is punished.

2. Mandub or Mustahab: An action is rewarded, but the omission is not punished.

3. Jaiz or Mubah: An action which is permitted but is legally indifferent.

4. Makrub: An action which is disliked and disapproved by Shariah but is not under any penalty

5. Haram: An action which is forbidden. It is punishable by law.

After understanding the above framework of Muslim law, it is understandable that it was essential to receive guidance from the history of the Prophet. For this reason, all the records of the manners and customs of the Prophet, of the little details of his life and conversation were collected.

This the traditions of the Prophet were important in the development of Islamic legal system and jurisprudence. The Muwatta of Iman Malik bin Anas (d. 179 A.H.) show, for example, how the law can be drawn from these usages and traditions of the Prophet. This book, the first of its kind, helped to build up a system of law based partly on traditions. It was followed by the Musnad of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (d. 241 A.H)

In short, after the Holy Qur’an, the Hadith is the primary source of Muslim law.

The Growth and the Development of the Science of Hadith

Islam spread throughout the world with miraculous speed. Within a century, the names of Allah and His Prophet, Muhammad, were loudly cried out in the words of Mua’addhin from the minarates of the mosque building throughout the whole world. It is very interesting to note that Islam was preached by Prophet Muhammad both as a religion and as a way of life. Therefore, the Holy Qur’an contains the revelations from Allah pertaining to all aspects of human beings both in the mundance existence and the existence of the hereafter. It contains a number of laws as for example rules in regard to marriage, inheritances and the care of orphans, et.c But the Qur’an is not meant to be a book of law or a book of history or sociology, it is as a matter of fact, a book of guidance where Allah speaks to His creatures to lead a decent and refined life. The Qur’an does not settle the question arising from diverse categories, as systematic and moral theology, ritual , civil and military law.

The Holy Qur’an with its wealth of detail is still insufficient by itself without the assistance of Fatawa (a religious decision) and tradition, and the Hadith arose to supply this need. As far as the other eastern religions are concerned their followers built gorgeous temples for their deities but the Muslims on the contrary, wrote systematic science like Asma’al-rijal or the science to verify the narrators of the tradition of Muhammad, as to who reported and from whom and what was the character of the reporter in his public and private life. This was a tremendous task but the early Muslims devoted their lifetime to study the science of theology, the commentaries of the Qur’an , the Hadith and the like.

Bukhari, a notable traditionist, whose compilation of the Hadith is known among the Muslims as the most correct one, recalls a Hadith from Muhammad as reported by Abdallah bn Mas’ud “that the best Hadith is the book of God” (Bab Ihsam, ed Krchl, iv. P. 420). Hadith is a noun derived from the word Hadath “to be new” which means in broad sense, a tale or verbal communication of any kind. The Holy Qur’an is as it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad and it was heard from the tongue of the Prophet, also a hadith. The true interpretation of the Qur’an, therefore, can be found in the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad since he led his life according to the teaching of the Qur’an and his whole life was inspired by Allah Himself.

The Hadith of the Prophet enshrines the Sunnah or the “way of life”- the custom and practice of early Muslim community. The Hadith of the Prophet was invoked to prove that certain acts were performed by the Prophet and therefore they were to be imitated by all faithful Muslims. It is from this point of view that Hadith and Sunnah are sometimes names of the same thing.

            During the lifetime of the Prophet, the Muslims did not need any other guide in the matters of both spiritual and secular nature. After his death, the early pious Muslims imitated him and strictly followed his examples. Therefore, they always referred to the words and deeds of Muhammad. Their work of collections of the traditions was a separate thing from the study of Law though it was eventually connected with it. They began to compile everything that he had said and done; what he had refrained from doing, what he had given qisi-approval to be silence. Above all. A record was being gathered of all the cases he had judged and of his decisions, of all the answers which he gave to formal questions on religious life and faith.

At first a particular companion of the Prophet had his own collection in memory or writing. Then these collection were passed on to others, this is how the chain ran on and in time a tradition evolved which consisted formally of two essential parts of the text (Matn) so handed on, and the chain of transmitters (Isnad) over whose lips it had passed. As for example X said “there narrated to me Y” saying, “there narrated to me Z”, SAYING……So far it is the Isnad until it came to the last link and then followed the Matn, “The Messenger of Allah’ may benediction and salutations of Allah be on him, said “Acquisition of knowledge is compulsory for Muslim men and women”. Thus the writing down of the tradition aided the memory to hold that which was already learned”.

Asma a-Rijal

In order to know the life and career as well as the character of the various person who constituted the various links in the chains of the different Isnads, there developed the science of Asma al Rijal which literally means the names of the men. In fact, it is the biography and criticism of the narrators of the Hadith or any such aspect of their life as may be helpful in determining their identity, veracity and reliability.

The earliest formal collection of tradition generally in the form of as Musnad. In these, each Hadith or statement which gave the saying or described the action of the Prophet was preceded by Isnad, or chain of transmitters. This took it back to the companion or intimate of the Prophet who had himself heard the statement or witness the event given in the Matn or text of the Hadith, as authority for the Sunnah of the Prophet. These were then listed under the name of the final link in the Isnad, as we have mentioned before. The following examples will show clearly how this was done.

According to Bukhari (chapter 30, tradition 26) Abdan related to us (saying) Yazid bn Zurai informed us saying: Hishan related to us saying: Ibn Sirin related to us from Abu Huraira, from the Prophet-may benediction and salutation be upon him-that he said: “If anyone forgets and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it was Allah who caused him thus to eat or drink” Similarly one finds chain or narrations in the recorded traditions.

From these examples it will be observed that the narrations are generally done in direct speech thus “A told me, saying that B and C had informed him saying that I mentioned that he hear relate. I hear F ask the Apostle of God so and so.

A more practical arrangement, however was by subject- matter. Since at an early period the working jurists needed collection of traditions which they might use in rendering decision on practical cases, there grew up the practice of arranging decisions under the rubrics suggested by the needs of the jurist-marriage, inheritance, debt, ritual practice, et.c. Thus Al-Bukhari groups together a number of Ahadith concerning fasting. Some of these include Ahadith “on the necessity of the fast of Ramadan” “On the one who fasts yet eats and drinks from forgetfulness, etc.

This later development in the method of arranging collections took place about the middle of the third century when Hadith had attained such importance as a means of determining the practice and beliefs of the community. The primary aim of the reporters was to establish unerring authority for law and custom; thus though the collectors (or reporters) devoted sevupulos to the Isnad was subordinate to the Matn (i.e. the subject matter of the tradition). Traditions were recorded according to their subject and the subject matter was arranged under the headings of law books. Such collections were “Musannafat”.

Gradually six collections which were made in the later part of the third century of Islam succeeded in gaining such general approval that later generations tacitly accepted them as the six canonical collection (Sahih sittah). They are:

1. The Sahih of al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH = 870 AD)

2. The Sahih of Muslim (d. 261 A.H. = 875 AD)

3. The Sunnan of Ibn Maja (d. 273 A.H = 887 AD)

4. The Sunnan of Abu-Da’ud (d. 273 A.H. = 888 AD)

5. The Jami of Tirmidhi (d. 279 A.H = 892 A.D.)

6. The Sunan of al-Nasai (d. 303 A.H = 915 AD)

In preparing their collections, these traditionists obviously used a critical technique of selection to decide what they would include and they would reject. Bukhari for example, examined some 600,000 traditions of which he accepted only 7,397. Their purpose was to assemble a body of tradition which would serve as a rule of life for practising Muslims, so their primary interest was in selecting such traditions as would give clear guidance concerning what Muslims belief and practice should be, what things were permissible and approved, and what were not permissible and disapproved.

In their attempt, to set up test of authenticity which would exclude unauthentic material, these traditionists picked on the Isnad as the testing point and worked out an elaborate system for testing the trustworthiness of those “chains: and of the individuals who formed the links therein, so that an Isnad could be labelled “excellent”, “good”, “fair”, “weak”, etc. and the tradition itself rated accordingly.

 To a Muslim therefore, the Isnad is quite as important an element in the Hadith as the Matn itself. Since the Hadith consists of two parts – the Isnad and the Matn as we have already seen there grew up the principles of the criticism of the Hadith as the traditionists began to write their commentaries of the Hadith literature in general. This, there come into existence the criticisms of the Hadith relating to the Isnad and those relating to the Matn. The following is a summary of the Principle of criticisms of the Isnad.

1. All the tradition must be traced back to its original reporter through a chain of transmitters. These transmitters must be of excellent character, truthful and must have a good retentive memory and high qualities of head and hearts.

2. Every tradition which reported an event or happening that occurred frequently in the presence of large number of people must have been originally reported by several narrators.

On the basis of these strict principles many traditions narrated by a single companion (sahabi) of the Prophet were rejected. As for example a Hadith is said to have been reported by AbuBakr alone in which he says that at a the time of the call for the prayer (Adhan), the Muslims kissed their thumbs when the Holy Prophet’s name was recited. Since this event took place in the presence of a large number of Muslims, five times a day without fail, it should have been reported by a number of narrators. Since it is reported by only one companion, the Hadith is rejected.

As far as the Matn is concerned, the following principles of criticism of the Hadith are laid down:

1. The Hadith should not be contrary to the text or teachings of the Qur’an or the accepted basic principles of Islam.

2. The Hadith should not be against the dictates of reason or laws of nature and common experience.

3. The Hadith should not be contrary to the traditions which have been already accepted by the authorities as reliable and authentic by applying all the principles.

4. The Hadith which sings the praise and excellence of any tribe, place or person should be generally rejected.

5. The Hadith that contains the dates and minute details of future events should be rejected.

6. The Hadith that contains some remarks of the Prophet which are not in keeping with the Islamic belief of the Prophethood and the position of the Holy Prophet or such expressions as may not be suitable to him, should also be rejected.

Such strict principles of criticisms of the Hadith are extremely necessary since the traditions of the Prophet are of great legal importance, second only to the Qur’an. This is the reason why all the important Muslim jurists belonging to the first three generations of the Muslims era preferred the tradition to the Qiyas (analogical deductions). In some cases, some of them refused to expressed their individual opinion in legal matters in cases in which the Hadith was known to them. The jurist like Imam Malik also accepted the practices of the companion of the Prophet as an important legal authority since the practices followed by the companion were based on the practices of the Prophet. The companion of the Prophet followed the footsteps of their master scrupulously.

The Holy Qur’an also advocates the acceptance of Hadith as a source of Islamic legal system. It says “Whatever the Messenger gives to you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it”. (Qur’an Surah 59 verse 7).

Qualification of a Transmitter of Hadith

It is agreed by all the scholars of the Hadith as well as the Jurist of Islam that a transmitter of the Hadith should possess certain qualifications to be acceptable. He must be of firm faith, truthful, matured in age and a person of great integrity. He should also a good memory. He must be well acquainted with the method learning, preserving and transmitting the traditions. He must also be conversant with names, careers and characters of the earlier reporters of the traditions. In short, Imam al-Shafi has summed up the qualifications of transmitters in the following words in his Risalah.

He must be of firm faith, well-known for his truthfulness in whatever he reported. He should understand its contents and should know well how the change on expression affects the ideas expressed therein. He should report verbation what he learnt from his teacher, and not narrate in his own words the sense of what he learned. He must possess a retentive memory and if he had reported from a book, he should remember his book well. He should refrain from making a report on the authority of those whom he met but from whom he did not learn anything. 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.

Classification of the Ahadith

The scholar of the Hadith literature have divided the traditions into three categories according to the degree of their reliability. This classification was based on:

1. The perfection of imperfection of the chain of their transmitters

2. The freedom of the text from any concealed defects.

3. Acceptance or rejection of any hadith by the companions (Sahab) their followers (Tabiun) and their successors (Tab’ Tabiun).

Those three categories of the Hadith are:

1. The Sahih: These are the genuine tradition so declared after applying all tests.

2. The Hasan: these are the fair traditions although inferior in the matter of authenticity of the Sahih.

3. The Da’if: These are the weak tradition which are not so very reliable. The Da’if or weak traditions are divided further as follows, taking into consideration the degree of their defects in their reporters (Ruwwat) or in the text (Matn) of the reports.

a. The Mu’allaq traditions: those tradition in which one or two transmitters are omitted in the beginning of the Isnad.

b. The Maqtu Traditions: These are those traditions which are reported by a Tabi’I, a man of second category after the Prophet.

c. The Munqati traditions: these are broken traditions.

d. The Mursal traditions: those are the incomplete traditions in the Isnad of which a companion (Sahabi) is omitted e.g A Tabi says, the Prophet said….

e. The Musahaf traditions: these are the traditions which have a mistake in the words or letters of the Isnad or the Matn e.g. Hasan is written as Hashan.

f. The Shadh traditions: these are the traditions with a reliable chain of reporters but their meaning are contrary to other similarly attested traditions narrated by the majority of the contemporary transmitters.

g. The Maudu’ traditions: those are the fabricated and untrue traditions.

The Six Authentic Collections

The first and most important of the six sound collections is the Sahih of al-Bukhari ( d. 256 = 870 AD)

a. Sahih of Al-Bukhari

This is a corpus of tradition pure and simple, compiled with the object of providing an orthodox criterion in all matters of jurisprudence by Muhammad bin Ismal Abu Abdullah al Jufi commonly known as Imam al-Bukhari. He was born on the 13^th Shawwal 194 A.H/21^st July 810 A.D., at Bukhara. His interest in studying the Hadith began at the tender age of eleven. When he was sixteen years of age he went in pilgrimage to Mecca and sat at the feet of the most famous teachers of the Hadith in the Holy land. He went to Egypt and then to Basra spending sixteen years altogether five of which are spent wandering through all Asia. Then he returned to his home and died on the 30^th Ramadan, 256 A.H/ 31^st August 870 A.D.

Al-Bukhari’s reputation spread far and wide because of his valuable service to the cause of Islam through his famous collection called Al-Jami al Salih. In the compilation  of this work, he has shown the greatest critical ability and most scrupulous accuracy.

Bukhari adopted as the framework of his book headings which covered the whole range of figh (i.e. Islamic theology). His work is divided into ninety-seven books which again are divided into 3,450 chapters.

The tradition are themselves preceded by a Tarjama or rubric designed to lead the reader to a decision where authorities in the various schools (or Madhahid) differ. The Tarjama consists of a text from the Qur’an or of a fragmentary of Hadith for which no Isnad is forthcoming. The Hadith concerning the ‘necessity of the fast of Ramadan’ is preceded by a text taken from the Qur’an (Chapter 2, Verses 183-184): “O Ye who have believed, fasting is prescribed for you, just as it was prescribed for those who were before you. Maybe ye will show piety”.

Tradition reports that Bukhari took cognizance of 600,000 Hadith and himself memorized more than 200,000. Those he preserved for us together with the fragmentary traditions embodied in the Tarjama number about 9,082. But apart from the repetition of some Hadiths, the distinct Hadith numbers 2,762. Al Bukhari also added fairly copious notes to the headings of his chapters.

The exalted position of the Hadith in the Muslim community from the third century onwards and the prominent position of Al Bukhari among the Ashab al-Hadith, are clearly demonstrated in the homage which was paid to Bukhari and his work. He actually deserved to be praised by the Muslims for he labored for 16 years on the compilation of his Sahih, sought the aid of the prayer before committing a tradition to writing and interrogated over 1,000 Sheiks living in places so distant as Balkh, Merv, Nisapur, the Hijaz, Egypt and Syria. The collections of the Hadith by Al Bukhari and Muslim are held in particularly high esteem. They are known ad Al-Sahihan (the two collections recognized as authoritative).

It is no wonder, therefore, that since his death, Muslims have come to revere him, paid visits to his tomb in Khartamak near Samarkand.

b. Sahih of Muslim

Another compilation of the Hadith on which Islam has also conferred the title of Al-Sahih is that of a younger contemporary of Al Bukhari named Muslim b. AL-Hajjah.

Abdul Husain Muslim bin. Al-Hajjah al-Qushayri al-Nisaburi, commonly known as Imam Muslim was born at Nisaburi in 202, A.H/817 A.D. Like Al Bukhari, he travelled widely to collect Ahadith in Arabiya Egypt, Syria and Iraq where he had great opportunities to listen to famous learned like Ahmad bin Hanbal and Harmala, Imam al-Shafil’s pupil. As a prolific writer he wrote many other books on figh and biographies besides the Hadith. But unfortunately they are lost.

The book for which he is best known as the Sahih which he compiled out of 300,000 traditions collected by him. The Sahih’s content are practically identical with Bukhari’s collection except in the Isnads and the difference in treatment is really not very great. The principal difference is the absence of the paragraph headings characteristic of Al Bukhari. His work is compiled according to the corresponding ideas of figh, but he does not follow his plan scrupulously. He simply place the parallel revision together. He prefaces his book with a statement of the conditions a tradition must fulfil before it can be regarded as genuine and authentic. Every Hadith which serve as a support for figh must itself rest upon the authority of men whose trustworthiness was above suspicion. Only traditions which are recognized as absolutely Sahih are included in his and Al Bukhari’s works. In this case, the stipulation (Shuruf) of Muslim were not the same as those of Bukhari.

Further, the authorities must stand in unbroken succession, they must have been contemporaries and must have been actually in person of contact. He pay so much attention to the Isnads, that a tradition is often followed by several different Isnads. The Sahih is introduced by a very useful discussion on the science of Hadith itself and many other important topics in the realm of theology like the five pillars of Islam, marriage, law of inheritance, war, sacrifice, predestination and free will, the Prophethood and the companions of the Prophet.

Abdul Husain Muslim died in 261 A.H/815 AD and was buried at Nasrabad, a suburb of Nisaburi.

Besides these “two genuine books” by Bukhari and Muslim, there are four others which Muslims consider of canonical rank, the whole being known as “six authentic books” or the Sahah-Sitta.

The other four books are:

1. Sunan of Abu Da’ud (d. 275 A.H.)

2. Jami of Abu Isa Muhammad al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 A.H. )

3. Sunan of Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Maja (d. 283 A.H.)

4. Sunan of Abu Abdulrahaman al-Nisai (d. 303 A.H.)

The aim in these four was to compile a collection which would provide the Hadith dealing with all that was permissible and not permissible to a Muslim.

c. Sunan of Abu Da’ud

Abu Da’ud (d. 275 A.H), a contemporary of Bukhari was a pupil of Ahmad bin Hanbal, and the ,master of Al-Nasai (d.303). These two reversed the principles of Sahihain that only Hadith which rested on the authority of men universally esteemed trustworthy could be accepted and they rejected only those which were universally deemed worthy of credence. They noted that some theologians were stricter than others in their scrutiny of the guarantors and where a favorable verdict had been accorded by a lenient scholar, they accepted the Hadith despite the weight of adverse criticism. They expressed their opinion of the guarantors in no unmeasured terms. Abu Da’ud say that he wrote down half a million Ahadith from which he selected 4,800 authentic traditions. Abu Da’ud’s first had great popularity, but as it was somewhat limited in the range of subjects it covered, and was no very critical in testing the authenticity of traditions, it come to be less highly regarded than the collections of al Bukhari and Muslim. The method of arranging Hadith by subject matter was also adopted by Abu Da’ud.

It should be noted that the Sunan of Abu Da’ud naturally fills up the gap left by Bukhari in his scheme of figh, and supply Hadith in support of the most pettifogging (or unimportant) details in ritual and legal life of the community.

d. The Jami of Al-Tirmidhi

Abu Isa Muhammad bin Isa bin Sarwa bin Shada commonly known as Al-Tirmidhi studied under Bukhari, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Abu Da’ud al-Sijistani. He hailed from Tirmidhi, a place near Balkh. He was a great scholar and in addition to the Hadith wrote books on history, law and names. Two of his works are well known: his collection of the Hadith and Shama’il a collection of traditions concerning the person and the character of the Prophet. He travelled widely in Khurasan, Iraq and Hijas to collect traditions. In his later years, he lost his eye-sight and died in 279 A.H./892 A.D.

His book on tradition has made him very famous. It comprises Ahadith on law, on the day of resurrection, on heaven and hell, on the faith, on the Qur’an, on devotion, on the prayers, on rewards and punishments, on good and bad manners, on education and on ligiology. As compared with the work of Al Bukhari and Muslim, this contain far fewer traditions.

Al Tirmidhi’s collection is noted for the critical remark concerning the Isnads and the points of difference between the four school of Islamic Theology.

e. The Sunan of Ibn Maja

and

f. The Sunan of Al- Nasai

The Sunan of Ibn Maja (d. 887 A.D) and the Sunan of Al-Nasai (d. 915 A.D.) deal almost entirely with legal traditions which tell what is permitted and what is forbidden from the point of view of the Shariah. These two works are more lenient in their criticism of the doubtful traditions. However, like other Sunans, they stand only second to the two Sahihs. Al Nasa’I was a pupil of the veteran traditionists (Muhaddith) Abu Da’ud and has followed almost the same pattern as that of his master. Ibn Maja’s treatment of the traditions is not much different from that of Abu Da’ud. When al-Baghawi wrote his famous book Masabuh al-Sunna (the Lamps of Sunna), he collected what was valuable in the six authentic collections (Sahah-Sitta). He, like other recognized Muslim scholars and traditionists, confirmed the authenticity of these six collections.

Finally, for the wise words of the Holy Prophet look for the book “Introduction to the Hadith” by A. Rahman I. Doi.

Baba Ali Mustapha is of Ngarannam Ward, Bolori II, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Babaalimustapha3@gmail.com

Ramadan Mubarak.

Reference:

Introduction to the Hadith by A Rahman I. Doi, published by Hudahuda publication Company, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Hadith (Book 3) by M. Bashir Sambo and Muhammad Hiqab, published by Islamic Publication Bureau, 136A Isolo Road, Mushin, Lagos, Nigeria

Usool Al-Hadith (The Methodology  of Hadith) by Dr. Abu Ameena, Bilal Philips, published by International Islamic Publication House, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).