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History and Importance of Hadith

Question 2 Compulsory
Q1 (a) Write about the following terms and the relationship between them:
• isnad
• matn
• musnad
• musannaf. [10]

(b) How do compilations of genuine Hadiths benefit Muslims today? [4]

Q2 (a) Write an account of:

 the reasons given by scholars for compiling Hadith collections, and;
 the checks made to confirm their authenticity. [10]
(b) What is the purpose of having false Hadiths in Hadith collections? [4]

What are Hadith and Sunnah?

Hadith literally means the sayings of Holy Prophet (SAWW). The word Sunnah
literally means actions, the actions of Prophet (SAW) are called Sunnah,
In Islamic terminology, it has three basic kinds:
1. Quali: Saying of the Prophet (SAWW)
2. Fiely: The action of the Prophet (SAWW)
3. Taqreeri: Silence and approval of something that happened in front of the
Prophet (SAWW) and he kept quite showing his tacit of approval.

1. Classification of Ahadith:

Different kinds of AHadith came into existence according to rank and degree of
reliability. Thus Hadith have been classified by the scholars into two classes:

1. Hadith Qudsi: A Hadith that contains words from Allah is called Hadith
Qudsi, for e.g.: Muhammad (SAWW) said Allah Almighty says: “Fasting is for
me and I shall certainly compensate it.” It is called Hadith Qudsi.

2. Hadith Nabwi: These are simply the sayings of Prophet (SAWW)A Hadith
that contains words from Holy Prophet (SAWW) himself is called Hadith
Nabwi, for instance: The Prophet (SAWW) said, “ All actions are judged by
intentions.”
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2. Kinds of Ahadith/Different Types of Traditions:

1. Sahih Hadith (Authentic): The Hadith whose chain of narrators is not broken, its
narrators are Adil, have Dabt and does not have any Illat and shazooz. If all the
narrators in the Isnad fulfill the conditions stipulated, the tradition is classified as
an accurate saying, or action of the Prophet (SAWW), and named Sahih and its
Matan must not against the Quran, e.g. Yaha who narrated from Malik who
narrated from Nafay who narrated from Abdullah bin Umar (RA) who narrated
heard the Prophet (S.AWW) saying, “He who missed the Asr Prayer is as if he has
lost his family and property”

2. Hassan (Approved): It is like Sahih tradition except that its soundness is not
entirely proven according to the traditional canons.
It is like Sahih tradition except some of its narrators have been found defective in
memory in comparison with narrators of Sahih traditions, e.g Holy Prophet
(SAWW) said, “My community will not agree unanimously on an error”

3. Daeef (weak): If any of the narrators in the Isnad was known to have had
any of the following faults, the Hadith is then classified as being inaccurate
and referred to as Zaeef.
1. The narrator was known to have been a liar.
2. He was known to have a bad memory.
3. He was known to have not met the one, he was supposed to be narrating from.
“Abu Bakr is more knowledgeable and strong, he should be caliph after me” in
this Hadith the original narrator is missing so it is Daeef.
“Seek knowledge even if you will have to go China”

4. Mudoo Hadith (Fabricated): Some times AHadith were fabricated, sayings and
doings were attributed to Prophet (SAWW) which he had not said, or done and
cannot be used to prove any point of law. “The Ark of Nooh (AS) made Tawaf of
Holy Kaaba and offered two Rakat prayer near the station of Ibrahim "such Hadith
goes against common sense, therefore, they are rejected.
5. Mutawatir; It is tradition reported by a large number of people in different times
whose agreement on lie becomes in conceivable, making it authentic.

6. Ahad :( singleor isolated) these are tradition whose chain of narrators are
broken or traditions that are less widely accepted, it is therefore, less authentic,
if its narrators were truthful and honest, it was accepted otherwise it is rejected.
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7. Mahsoor ; (well known) it is a tradition which is known publicly by a great

majority of the people but it does not possess the character of universality . It
was narrated by three narrators at every stage.

8. Azeez (strong) it is a tradition narrated by two narrators in all ages.

9. Ghreeb (Rare or unfamiliar) it is tradition resting on the evidence of a single

narrator at any particular time.

3. The Structure of Hadith:

Qualities of Sand (Isnad) & Matan (text) Hadith consists of two main parts, the
chain of narrators (ISanad) and the text (Matn).

The chain of narrators (Sanad):

The presence of Isnad which ultimately connects a tradition with Prophet of
Allah, provides testimony of fact that the Hadith originated directly from
the Prophet (SAWW). A strong Isnad is one whose transmitters are staunch
Muslims, have retentive memories, and have met one another.
The Text (Matn):
The text of tradition or what the Prophet (SAWW) actually said or did
is called Matn.

For example, “Yahya narrated from Malik who narrated from Nafae
who narrated from Abdullah bin Umar that the Prophet (SAWW) said,
‘He who misses Asr prayer is as if he has lost his family and property.’”

4. Criteria for the Evaluation of Isanad (chain of narrators)

Study of narrators is called Asma-Al-Rijal. It comprises of the collection and

verification of the biography of each and every person that ever narrated a
Hadith in his life.
 The person must be a sane Muslim adult, who never committed a
major sin and is known to avoid even ones.
 The narrator must have an excellent memory and transmit the Hadith as
it is to next in line.
 The narrator must be of a sound mind, retentive memory, and possess
an upright and a righteous character.
 He should have not been accused of committing a crime.
 The name ,nickname title, parentage and occupation of the narrator
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should be known so his entire biography can be investigated

 He should not have spoken against other reliable persons.
 He must have famous personality and character
 The chain of transmitters (Isnad) must finally go back to Prophet
Muhammad (SAWW).
 The first person must be companion of prophet (saw)
 He should be careful and intelligent, and must have shown responsibility
in the narration or writing of the Hadith.
 Note students must add event of hazrat Imam Bukhari

4. Criteria for the Evaluation of Matan (text):

A tradition must not conflict with traditions which have been accepted
Authentic. Nor should it contradict, the absolute consensus of the community, or
the accepted basic principle of Islam.
 It must not conflict with the contain of the holy Quran
 A tradition must not go contrary to the dictates of reason, the laws of nature,
or common experience.
 Those traditions were also rejected whose transmitters were an innovator,
or which aimed to defame a companion of the Prophet (SAWW).
 Tradition establishing a disproportional high reward for insignificant
good deeds, or disproportional severe punishments for ordinary sins
was rejected.
 The traditions must not be too trivial to agree with the Prophet (SAWW)’s
dignity. The traditions which contain detailed prophecies of future events,
equipped with dates were also rejected.
 A tradition which leveled accusation at the family of the Prophet (SAWW)
was also rejected.
 A matn should not violate the basic rules of Arabic grammar and style,
nor its mode of expression be weak enough to disagree with the Prophet
(SAWW)’s eloquent Arabic.
 Traditions containing such expressions which are clearly unsuitable for
Prophet (SAWW) were also rejected.

Importance of Isnad and Matn in deciding a Hadith’ authenticity:

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 Every Hadith consists of two parts, the Isnad and Matn. Each of these
parts has equal importance to the traditionist. Hadith compilers introduced
each Hadith with its own Isnad, which means the series of authorities who
may be called narrators.
 The scholar developed certain principles, which eventually evolved into the
science of Hadith, is called Usool-e-Hadith.
A Hadith is divided into two parts, Isnad and Matn.
The chain of narrators was carefully studied. Each and every narrator was
observed closely and his character investigated into, his faith, memory, knowledge
of Quran and the Arabic language and character had to be highest degree of
Muhaddis to accept his statement.
 The transmitter should be Adil, i.e. he should be known for scrupulous
observance of the ordinance of religion, prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and
supporter of poor. He must also avoid all intoxications.
 He should be sober in manner and manly in his social character.
 He must therefore have the reputation of truthfulness and honesty in all
his dealings and should be known to have applied himself to study, and
collection of aHadith.
 He ought, by preference, also to be competent in Arabic, proficient enough
to appreciate which types of words or particles affect meaning. Otherwise,
the chain would be disapproved and also the Hadith would be disapproves,
and would be barred from authenticity.
 For this purpose, another branch of Islamic science was developed known as
Asma-al-Rijjal, which comprised detailed investigation of the biographies of
the narrators. It must be examined, each and every word.

The second step was the actual of the already verified Hadith. Also, it must be
in the style of Arabs and the manner of the Holy Prophet (SAWW), as well as
the style of the Arabs at that time. If it clashed with any there, it would not be
accepted in any authentic book. It is necessary to know the meaning of the
various expressions it contains, especially a matn should not violate the basic
rules of Arabic grammar and style. A tradition should not be against the dictates
of reasons, the law of nature and common experiences.
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5. Major difference between Musnad and Musannaf:

The collection of aHadith became an important part of theological activities

in centuries of Islam. Two techniques were mainly adopted resulting on two
types of collection- Musnad and Musannaf.
 Musnad: (Latterly a compilation related to Isnad) is type of compilation in
which Matn of a Hadith is written along with its Isnad, i.e. chain of transmitters
or in which AHadith are arranged, rather collected under the name of rawi or
narrator who narrated it from the Holy Prophet (SAWW). This is done without
arranging AHadith in topic wise or irrespective of their subject matter the Isnad
mentioned which allows the Hadith to eventually be trace to the Prophet
(SAWW).
 Musnads are relatively of earlier origin than most of the other compilation,
example of prominent Musnad compilation include Musnad of Abu Bakr (RA),
Musnad of Ayesha (RA) 2210. This is perhaps the earliest Musnad work. Most
important and renowned Musnad collection is of Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal’s
Musnad.
 Musannaf (Latterly divided up) are those compilations that were prepared in
the later period of the history of Ahadith compilation. This is a more
comprehensive collection of Hadith in which the traditions relating to different
topics are assembled and then classified into various groups or chapters, each
dealing with a particular topic.
 In a Musannaf work, the Hadith are arranged in the topic wise manner, so that
various chapters are compiled. For instance, we find chapters relating Zakat,
Hajj, Parity, Marriage, Crime, Salat, good manners and punishment etc. under
each chapter we find the relevant Ahadith, name of narrators is also mentioned
at the start of every Hadith. This kind of compilation is greatly helpful in
understanding the Prophet (SAWW)’s teachings relating to a particular subject
matter or topic. It is useful for making laws .This makes Musannaf version
more important and easy to avail. For instance Muwatta Imam Malik,
Musannaf of Imam Abdur Razzaq and all Sihah Sittah.