7.3 Primary Sources of Islamic Law
7.3.2 The Ḥadīth
The Ḥadīth is the authentic saying of Prophet Muḥammad and Muslims are also duty- bound to uphold the teachings and practices of Prophet Muḥammad which are
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embodied in the vast volumes of Ḥadīth literature. The Qur’ān commands Muslims to obey Prophet Muḥammad as is evident from the following verse:
“So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you and fear Allāh, for Allāh is strict in punishment” (Al-Ḥashr, 59:7).
However, what is important to note is that it is only what Prophet Muḥammad enjoins upon Muslims to uphold on the basis of his authentic Aḥādīth that are meant to be upheld. It is for this reason that Muslim scholars have devised the Science of the Criticism of Ḥadīth laying down the criteria for sifting out authentic Aḥādīth from the spurious ones attributed to Prophet Muḥammad . In what follows, the issue of the authenticity of Aḥādīth is briefly discussed.
7.3.2.1 Criteria on which the Authenticity of a Ḥadīth is Based
It is important to note that every Ḥadīth report consists of two parts: the isnād (chain of narrators) and the matn (text). The Muḥaddithūn (Scholars of Ḥadīth) developed a unique science to authenticate the Aḥādīth on the basis on these two components.
7.3.2.2 `Ilm Asmā’ al-Rijāl (Science of Criticism of the Narrators of Ḥadīth)
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The Science of Criticism of the narrators of Ḥadīth is in essence a critical evaluation of the life, career, and character of the people who actually reported the sayings of Prophet Muḥammad . Doi (1984:54) reinforces this as follows:
In their attempt to set up tests of authenticity which would exclude unauthentic material, these Traditionists picked on the isnād as the testing point and worked out an elaborate system for testing the trustworthiness of these “chains‟ and of the individuals who formedthe links therein, so that an isnād could be labeled “excellent”, “good”,
“weak”, etc., and the Tradition itself rated accordingly.
In other words then, the principle governing the authenticity of the isnād is that it must be traced back to the original reporter and finally back to Prophet Muḥammad through a chain of transmitters. Moreover, the essential criterion that had to be met in making the isnād valid and acceptable is that the links in the chain of narrators should have met each other forming a continuous chain. If a gap or “defect” exists in the chain of narrators, then the Ḥadīth would not be regarded as an authentic Ḥadīth. For example, if one or some of the narrators in the isnad was or were not known persons within the community then that would jeopardize the authenticity of the Ḥadīth.
In addition to meeting the above criteria insofar as the isnād is concerned, Doi (1984:55) mentions that the more the narrators in the isnād reporting a particular Ḥadīth belonged to the category of the Ṣaḥābah (Companions) of Prophet Muḥammad , the more credible the Ḥadīth would become. In other words, the less number of narrators in the isnād reporting a particular Ḥadīth leading to Prophet Muḥammad d , then the Ḥadīth would be regarded to be “weak” or” unauthentic”.
Hence, the Ḥadīth which was narrated by a single Ṣaḥābī (Companion) of Prophet
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Muḥammad was normally not regarded as authentic. An example of that is a Ḥadīth that was reported by Sayyidunā Abū Bakr alone, in which he mentioned that at the time of the adhān for ṣalāh (prayer), i.e. when the Muslims were called to attend the compulsory prayer in the Masjid, one should kiss one‟s thumbs when Prophet Muḥammad‟s name was recited. Since the compulsory five times daily prayers took place in the presence of a large number of Muslims without fail, such a Ḥadīth should have been reported by a number of narrators and hence in view of the fact that that particular Ḥadīth was only reported by one person then it was deemed unauthentic.
Furthermore, the character and moral behaviour of each narrator in the isnād reporting a Ḥadīth is given paramount importance. Azami (1977:58-59) points out that one of the second century scholars, namely, Ibn Al–Mubārak (d. 181 A.H), lists the following as a narrator‟s notable characteristics: “One who prays in congregation, does not consume alcohol, always speaks the truth and is free from mental problems.”
Hence, if any information is transmitted by a particular narrator who was guilty of indecent or immoral behaviour then his transmission would not be regarded as authentic.
The validity for implementing strict screening of the reports and reporters (narrators) of the Aḥādīth of Prophet Muḥammad is based upon the following Qur‟anic injunction:
“O you who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, lest you harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of repentance for what you have done.” (Al-Ḥujurāt, 49:6)
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7.3.2.3 Criteria for Assessing the Credibility of the Ḥadīth Texts (Matn)
Doi (1984:55) cites the criteria for the determination of the authenticity and inauthenticity of the Ḥadīth Texts (Matn) as follows:
The Aḥādīth should not contradict any of the teachings of the Qur’ān or the accepted basic principles of Islam.
The Aḥādīth which praise any tribe, place or person are rejected.
The Aḥādīth that contain the dates and minute details of future events are rejected.
The Aḥādīth that contain any remarks that are derogatory to the Prophet Muḥammad are rejected.
7.3.2.4 Classification of the Ḥadīth and Categories of Authenticity
According to Doi (1984:56) the Aḥādīth are classified on the basis of the chain of narrators under three headings which specify the degree of their reliability.
1. Mutawātir (large number of narrators) and these are considered to be most authentic.
2. Aḥad (dependent upon one person‟s narrative) and not generally accepted as authentic and can even be rejected on that basis.
3. Mursal (missing a link in the isnād) and hence their credibility is doubted because in the chain of narrators there exists no Ṣahābī (Companion) and that is considered to be a serious flaw.
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The Aḥādīth are also categorized under the following three broad categories:
Ṣaḥīḥ: Most authentic based on fulfilling all credible criteria.
Ḥasan: fair, although inferior in status to the Ṣaḥīḥ ones.
Ḍa`īf: weak traditions that are generally not considered to be very reliable.