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THE HISTORY OF THE COMPILATION OF THE HADITHS

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The First Period of Compilation
➢ It is the period comprising of prophet’s own life. This period lasted till the death of
Prophet Muhammad.
➢ During his life, companions used to follow one or more of the following 3 methods of
learning and preserving the Hadiths: 1) commit to memory (Hifz); 2) writing (Kitabat);
3) actions/replication (Ta’amul).
➢ Memorization: Prophet Muhammad had established a special place in Masjid-e-Nabwi
for the companions who wanted to dedicate their lives to the study of Islam. Such
companions formed the group of “Ashab-e-Suffah”. One of them was Abu Hurairah who
did not use to write down the Hadith but committed them to memory and as such
narrated more than 5000 Ahadhis. For example, Abu Hurairah dictated many Ahadhis
from memory to one of his disciples, Hammam.
➢ Memorization: The case of Hadith of Gabriel also demonstrates that many times prophet
imparted knowledge and the companions used to understand and memorize it by heart.
➢ Writing: In the early years of Islam, prophet didn’t promote the writing of Hadith so that
it won’t get merged with the Quranic verses. Some companions told Abdullah bin Amr
(who used to write down whatever he heard from prophet) that he should not note down
the words of prophet because Muhammad is an ordinary man (Bashr) whose words can
vary as per his sentiments. On hearing this, prophet said: “By God who owns my life,
nothing comes out of this mouth except the truth. Therefore, you should write without
any hesitation” (Abu Dawood). This is also in line with the Quranic verse which reads:
“He does not speak out of his own will”. Hence, Abdullah bin Amr continued the practice
of writing and more than 2000 Ahadiths are attributed to him. Abudllah compiled a small
book of Ahadiths (which he named as Sahifah Sadiqa) which was later incorporated into
the larger corpus of Imam Ahmed bin Hambal.
➢ Writing: Once a companion asked prophet Muhammad what to do if his memory does
not serve him well to remember the former’s sayings? Prophet is said to have instructed
him as follows: “Take aid of your right hand”.
➢ Writing: In the farewell pilgrimage when prophet delivered his last sermon, a
companions put a petition to Prophet Muhammad to give him a written copy of the
sermon, prophet said: “Write it down for Abu Shah”.
➢ Writing: Ahadiths were also written by companions who were office bearers in the early
days of Islamic expansion under prophet Muhammad. For instance, Amr ibn Hazm, who
was appointed as the governor of Yemen, was given a letter by the prophet containing
the basic religious details (like, times of prayer, ablution method, zakat etc).
➢ Writing: Anas, a young Muslim from Medina who remained under the guidance of
Prophet Muhammad wrote Ahadiths and often used to show his documents in public and
read from them as follows: “These sayings are of the prophet which I have recorded and
have read out to him for any corrections”
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➢ Writing: The 4 caliphs also wrote down numerous Ahadiths of Prophet Muhammad.
Hazrat Ali had his own Sahifa in which details about zakat, spirituality etc were present.
Imam Zahabi reported that Hazrat Ayesha once reported that her father asked to bring
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his handwritten collection of the Ahadiths.
➢ Writing: Zaid b. Sabit was the chief scribe of prophet Muhammad. He learnt different
scripts like Coptic and wrote letters to different regions’ rulers. He wrote down different
Ahadhis of the prophet and often quoted them in letters.
➢ Writing: Prophet wrote letters to the Jinns. These were messages which were recorded
in writing and given to companions, notably Ali. This is recorded by Hajar Asqalani and
Ibn Jawzi.
➢ Actions: Companions tried to follow the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet. As such, the Sunnah
became a living tradition (Imam Malik).
The Second Period of Compilation
➢ It began with prophet’s death. This is the period of the companions (Sahaba and Tabaein).
➢ One of the students of Abu Hurairah, named, Bashir bin Nuhaik compiled the traditions
narrated by his teacher. Similarly, other students of the students of Abu Hurairah also
compiled the prophetic traditions. For example, Hammam’s student, Ma’mar ibn Rashid.
Oban wrote down the traditions narrated by Hazrat Anas bin Malik. Urwah bin Zubair
wrote the Ahadhis narrated by Hazrat Ayesha. Ahadiths narrated by Hazrat Abbas were
also written by his students. All these collections were collected by tracing them to each
companion. That is why these collections are called Musnad. The most famous one is that
of Imam Ahmed bin Hambal. However, there are others like Musnad Abu Bakr, Musnad
Ayesha etc.
➢ Another compilation strategy was to collect and classify the Ahadiths thematically. Under
this category, Al-Muwta by Imam Malik and Al0Musannaf of Imam Abdul Razzaq are
important and prominent.
➢ A formal and a systematic attempt of Ahadiths compilation began at the end of the 1st
century A.H or the start of the 2nd century A.H., (99 A.H.) when the then caliph, named,
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, set up a committee and wrote letter to prominent scholars of that
time like Imam Zohri, Imam Muhamma bin Muslim, Imam Shahbi, Imam Makhool etc
asking them to work on the team for Ahadiths compilation. Famous compilations of this
era include Kitab al-ʿAsaar (by Imam Abu Hanifa), Sunan-e-Abul Walid, and Jam-e-Sufyan
Suri etc.
The Third Period of Compilation
➢ This was the period of the successors of the successors (Taba Tabaein). It is regarded as
the golden age in the history of Ahadiths compilation.
➢ It was in this stage that the rules of Usul-e-Hadith and Asma-Rijal were developed and
employed extensively.
➢ Story of Imam Bukhari—Camel incident.
➢ Al Kutub al-Sitta is a product of this period.

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➢ This period culminated the oral tradition and commenced the systematic writing of the
prophetic sayings.
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PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. What can be learnt from the choice of Imam Bukhari by modern-day Muslims? [4]

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2. Was Imam Bukhari right in his decision to reject the collection of Ahadiths? [4]

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3. Why was it important that the Hadith compilations were not made simultaneously with
the Quran compilation? [4]

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THE EARLIEST COLLECTIONS OF HADITHS

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The Sahifa of the caliphs:
➢ Hazrat Abu Bakr is said to have written down the prophetic traditions. As mentioned
earlier, Hazrat Ayesha was once asked by him to bring his handwritten Ahadiths.
➢ Hazrat Ali was a prominent scribe during Prophet’s life. He had written down numerous
traditions in his collection known as Sahifa Ali bin Abi Talib. Different Shi’i Muslims still
refer to the traditions that were recorded by him in his Sahifa.
➢ Hazrat Usman and Umar were much more reluctant to record the Ahadiths of the prophet
in writing.

Sahifas of other companions:

➢ Abu Hurairah had his own Sahifa which became a source of learning for his students like
Hamam as discussed earlier.
➢ Al-Sahifa al-Sadiqa: an important source that was collected by Abudllah bin Amr. It
contained about a thousand traditions pertaining to different matters of religion.
➢ Sahifa Amr bin Azam was an important collection that contained rulings about prayer,
Zakat, laws about governance.
➢ Sahifa Anas bin Malik and Sahifa Hammam Ibn Munabbih were important Sahifas that
helped the later generations learn about the prophetic teachings.

PRACTICE QUESTION
1. What was the importance of the early Sahifas to the compilers of the Hadith working
after 2 A.H.?

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classification of hadith COLLECTIONS

Musnad Collections:
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➢ The word Musnad is an Arabic word meaning support.
➢ In these collections, subject-matter/theme is ignored, and the material arrangement
made is according to their original narrators.
➢ Hence, the Isnad shapes the arrangement of the Hadiths in the Musnad collections. The
way the original narrating authorities are arranged differs in different collections. For
example, some collections arrange the authorities alphabetically while others
chronologically (merit in the acceptance of Islam). Another way is arrangement
according to the affinity of their tribe to the Holy Prophet etc.
➢ While making arrangements, the compiler will always look at the Isnad.
➢ The collector of a Musnad collection is called “Musnid”
➢ Following are the famous Musnad collections:
1) Musnad Imam Ahmed bin Hambal: 30,000/75000 were included.
2) Musnad Abu Dawood Tayaalsi: Contains about 3000 Ahadiths.
3) Musnad Abu Awaanah: The compiler claimed that all included Ahadiths were Sahih
4) Musnad al-Siraj, Musnad al-Firdous etc.
5) Musnad Imam Abdul Rehman contains traditions related by 1300 companions.
Musnnaf Collections:
➢ It is an Arabic word which means “divided up”.
➢ In these collections, the Ahadiths are divided topically or thematically.
➢ While making thematic arrangements, the compiler will always look at the Matn.
➢ Following are the best known Musannaf collections:
1) Kutub al-Sittah
2) Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik.
3) Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah (includes about 40k Ahadiths)
4) Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq.
➢ These collections come handy when references about a particular topic is required. For
example, Hadiths about Faith are mentioned in Kitab al-Imān.
Mu’jam
➢ Such collections are arranged alphabetically under the names of the companions. These
collections are also called Mu’jam al-Sahaba.
➢ Famous work include Al-Mu’jam al-Tabarani (also called Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir)

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Jami
➢ A Hadith collection which contains traditions related to all the eight topics (Belief, Laws
and rulings, Piety, Asceticism, Quranic commentary/interpretation, virtues, defects,
historical matters) is termed as Jami. For example, Jami-e-Tirmidhi or Sahih Bukari.
Sunan
➢ In Arabic, the word Sunan means “word of goodness”
➢ These collections contain Ahadiths about legal matters. Hence, the Ahadiths preserved in
such collections are called “Ahadiths al-Ahkam”
➢ Famous books include: Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan al-Nasai, Sunan Ibn Majah, Sunan al-
Kubra, Sunan al-Daarmi, Sunan Sa’id ibn Mansur etc
Mustadrak
➢ In Arabic, the word means to write a book that completes another book and covers the
subjects which have been missed in it.
➢ A collection in which the compiler accepts the conditions set by his predecessor collector
and then collects the traditions not included by the predecessors. For example,
Mustadrak of Al-Hakim al-Nisaburi. It is also called Talkhis al-Mustadrak. It contains
about 10,000 Ahadhis.
Arba’niyat
➢ In Arabic, the word Arba’ means 4.
➢ These collections contain 40 Hadiths related to one or more subjects which might be of
special interest to the compiler. For example, al-Nawawi.

PRACTICE QUESTION
1. What is the significance of having different classifications of Hadiths to the Muslims
today?

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AUTHENTICITY OF A HADITH
Introduction:
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➢ During the golden era of the Hadith compilation, Taba Tabaein like Imām Bukhari and
Imām Muslim developed a set of rules to check the authenticity of the Hadiths.
➢ They developed rules of to check the genuineness of both the text (Math) and the chain
of narrators (Isnad) of any Hadith they included in their collections.
➢ These rules are of immense significance to the Muhaddithin. These rules are a great pillar
and support to Ilm al-Hadith.

The Principle of Riwayat (examining the chain of narrators or Isnad):

➢ The first narrator should be the companion of the prophet.

➢ All narrators in a chain should be adult Muslims with sound memory and ability to recall.
➢ All narrators should have a pious character (ʿAdal) and must be known for their Taqwa.
➢ None of the narrators should have committed any major sin or told a lie.
➢ Narrators should be known for their knowledge of the faith, truthfulness, and
trustworthiness.
➢ None of them should be involved in any crime.
➢ Narrators should only communicate the words of the teacher and not anything from his
own.
➢ Any narrator in the chain should be able to develop the chain backwards up to the
prophet Muhammad.
➢ Narrators should not have gap between them. For example, any chain of narrators in
which the son is directly taking the Hadith from the father of his great grandfather will
not be accepted due to huge gap of time.
➢ Narrators should have met at least their direct predecessor in the chain.
➢ Narrators must have great command over classical Arabic (without any shortcoming in
knowing the language)
➢ Biographical information of each narrator should be checked. For example, their age,
parentage, lineage, place of narrator/narration, teacher, student etc. These details are
available in the books of Asma-al-Rajal.

The Principle of Dirayat (examining the text or Matn):

➢ The text should not be against any verse of the Holy Quran or the basic teachings.
➢ It should not contradict other well-known authentic (Sahih Hadith).
➢ The text should be free of grammatical errors.
➢ It should not be against common sense or normal experience of the people.
➢ It should contain words, phrases, or expressions that Prophet could have not used.
➢ It should not be in praise of any infamous tribe.
➢ It should not be in praise of prophet Muhammad himself.
➢ It should not report any events pertaining to the future.

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Classification OF HADITH
Introduction:
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➢ There are two broad categories of Hadith viz. Hadith Qudsi and Hadith Nabwi.
➢ Hadith Nabwi are further classified based on their authenticity.
Features of Hadith Qudsi (Divine Hadith)
➢ Words and meaning belong to Allah.
➢ Usually starts with “Allah says”
➢ Few, by some estimates even less than a thousand.
➢ Topics: Man-God relationship, hereafter, Tawhid, and worship
➢ Only sayings (not actions)
➢ Isnad ends on Allah.
➢ Example of a Hadith Qudsi is: “Surely, my mercy prevails over my anger”; “If My servant
likes to meet me, I like to meet him, and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him”.
Features of Hadith Nabwi (prophetic Hadith)
➢ Words and meaning belong to Prophet Muhammad.
➢ A common start is “Prophet said”.
➢ Thousands of such Hadiths are available.
➢ Topics: Diverse (Faith, Legalities, Pillars, Articles etc).
➢ Contain both saying and actions (Sunnah).
➢ Isnad end on prophet Muhammad
➢ Example of Hadith Nabawi: “Seek knowledge from cradle to grave”
Differences between Holy Quran and Hadith Qudsi
➢ Quran was revealed in Arabic language; Hadith Qudsi were not directly revealed in
Arabic language, rather they came in prophet’s vision, dream etc.
➢ Quran is a word of Allah spoken by Allah; Hadith Qudsi are words of Allah conveyed by
prophet in his own wordings.
➢ Quran has no Isnad, Hadith Qudsi has a Isnad as stated above.
➢ Angel Gabriel brought the Quranic verses; Hadith Qudsi were largely direct inspirations.
➢ Quran is a primary source of Islam law; Hadith Qudsi are supplementary guidelines.
➢ Rejecting Holy Quran and not accepting it is Kufr; it is not the case about Hadith Qudsi.

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CLASSIFICATION OF hadith nabwi

Sahih Hadith (The Authentic)
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➢ They are absolutely perfect Ahadiths. There is no doubt or weakness in their Isnad or
Matn.
➢ For example, the Ahadiths contained in the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
Hasan Hadith (The Good/Approved)
➢ These are next best after the Sahih Hadith in terms of their authenticity.
➢ There is a slight weakness in its chain of narrators in comparison to the Sahih Hadith.
Za’aif Hadith (The Weak)
➢ These are Ahadiths whose either chain of narrators (Isnad) or text (Matn) is doubtful.
Mau’zo Hadith (The Fabricated)
➢ A false Hadith.

THE MAIN COMPILERS OF HADITH: their life, activities, & books

Imam Bukhari
1. Life Details:
➢ Name: Abu Abdullah ibn Ismaili Al-Bukhari.
➢ Place of birth: Bukhara
➢ Date of birth: 194 A.H.
➢ Date of death: 256 A.H.
➢ Title: Amir al Momineen Fil Hadith
➢ Intellectually sound with great memorization power. However, physically weak.
2. Activities:
➢ At an early age of 11, he started studying Hadith. Soon he studied all Muhaddithin of
Bukhara.
➢ He then travelled to Mecca with his mother and from there began his quest of Hadith
collection.
➢ He travelled to different places like Kufa, Basra, Egypt, Hijaz, Nishapur, Iraq etc.
➢ He was a saintly Muslim who was deeply interested in the study of Islam. He earned his
own living, rather than relying on charity.
➢ He used to pray extra for Allah’s help for the process of Hadith collection.
3. Books:
➢ He wrote different books pertaining to Hadith studies. Main one is Sahih Bukhari.
➢ It is considered as the most authentic book by almost all Muhaddithin.
➢ About 10,000 Hadiths were selected by him out of 600,000 collected.

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➢ There is a lot of redundancy. Without repetition, the total number of Hadith in this book
is about 2600.
➢ Sahih Bukhari is a Musannaf collection
➢ Chapter headings are available in this book which are called “Tarjama tul Baab”.
Imam Muslim
1. Life Details:
➢ Name: Imam Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaj.
➢ Place of birth: Nishapur, Iran
➢ Date of birth: 202 A.H.
➢ Date of death: 261 A.H.
2. Activities:
➢ From an early age, he started attending lectures of his contemporary Muhaddithin like
Ishaq bin Rahwayh and Ahmad bin Hanbal.
➢ He had a small business as a source of income.
3. Books:
➢ Sahih Muslim is the next best collection of Hadith after Bukhari.
➢ Imam Muslim examined about 400,000 Ahadiths but selected only 10,000 to be included
in his book. Without repetition, the number of Hadith equals about 4000 divided over 43
books. It is a Musannaf collection.
➢ He strictly followed the rules of Ilm al Hadiths and Ilm al Rijal which were adequately
used by Imam Bukhari.
➢ He was stricter than Imam Bukhari in highlighting the differences between the narrations
of various narrators.
➢ He took great care while presenting different versions of a single Hadiths.
➢ In the beginning of Sahih Muslim, one finds a prologue written by Imam Muslim which
contains details about Ilm al Hadith (Science of Hadith/Hadith studies). This prologue is
called “Muqaddama” in Arabic.
➢ Different versions of a single Hadith are arranged together at an appropriate place in the
collection. This rigor is not found in the work of Bukhari.
➢ Together with the Sahih of Imam Bukhari, these books are called “Al-Sahihain”
Imam Abu Dawood
1. Life Details:
➢ Name: Imam Suleman Ibn Ashath.
➢ Place of birth: Southern Arabia (Azd tribe); Imran was his ancestor who died at Siffin
while fighting for the cause of Ali.
➢ Date of birth: 202 A.H.
➢ Date of death: 275 A.H. (in Basra)
2. Activities:
➢ He spent a great of time with Imam Ahmed bin Hambal in Baghdad and became a master
of Hadith literature.

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➢ Because of his extensive knowledge about the Fiqh and Ahadiths related to it, he is
considered by Sunni Muslims as the most expert Faqih amongst the compliers of Kutub
al-Sittah.
3. Books:
➢ His Sunan is one of the most celebrated books when it comes to sacred law and traditions.
➢ He studied 500,000 Ahadiths but selected only 4800 for his book (it took 20 years).
➢ He arranged Hadith thematically, however, an overarching subject is Fiqh.
➢ He has divided the Hadiths contained in his collection into three categories viz., 1)Hadith
mentioned in al-Sahihain; 2) Hadiths that fulfil the criteria of the compilers of al-Sahihain;
3) Hadiths that don’t fulfil the criteria of the compilers of al-Sahihain
➢ He has included mostly Sahih and Hassan Hadiths. However, some weak Hadith are also
incorporated.
Imam al-Tirmidhi
1. Life Details:
➢ Name: Imam Muhammad Ibn Isa Tirmidhi
➢ Place of birth: Termez, Iran
➢ Date of birth: 209 A.H.
➢ Date of death: 279 A.H (Tirmidh)
➢ Title: Ad-Darīr (The Blind one)
2. Activities:
➢ A close student of Imam Bukhari
➢ He was a learnt men in Arabic grammar and preferred Kufa and Basra style of Arabic.
➢ He was also an expert in Fiqh and I’lal-ul-Hadith
3. Books:
➢ Sunan Tirmidhi, which is also called Jami Tirmidhi, is his famous work. It contains about
4000 Hadith covered in 49 chapters.
➢ Authentic and a small of weak Hadiths are incorporated into the collection.
➢ He classifies the Hadiths in a unique way: 1) Hassan Sahih, 2) Hasan Sahih Gareeb, 3)
Sahih Gareeb, 4) Hasan Gareeb.
➢ At the end of almost every Hadith, Tirmidhi makes remarks about the authenticity of the
Hadith.
➢ If a Hadith has numerous Isnad, he presents them as footnotes to the Hadith.
➢ He also wrote Shamāil Muhammadiya (also called Shamāil Tirmidhi) to highlight the
qualities of prophet Muhammad.
Imam Al-Nasai
1. Life Details:
➢ Name: Imam Abu Abdul Rehman Ahmad ibn Shuayb al-Nasai
➢ Place of birth:
➢ Date of birth: 215 A.H.
➢ Date of death: 303 A.H. (Damascus)

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2. Activities:
➢ Early education was given to him in his hometown.
➢ At the age of 15, he travelled to Balkh where he studied Hadith literature. Later, he
travelled to Egypt.
➢ In 302 A.H., he travelled to Damascus where he found that people hated Ali due to
Umayyads influence in the past. He compiled a book on the merits of Ali, however, could
not recite it publicly. Once he tried and was harshly treated.
3. Books:
➢ Sunan contains 5662 Ahadiths which are divided into chapters.
➢ He claims that he included only Sahih (authentic) Hadith. This book is similar to the work
of Imam Bukhari and Muslim in terms of determining that only authentic Ahadiths are
incorporated along
➢ His book is given three different names viz. Al-Sunan al-Sughra, Al-Mujtaba, Al-Mujtana
due to different reasons.
Imam Ibn Maja
1. Life Details:
➢ Name: Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid
➢ Place of birth: Qazwin
➢ Date of birth: 215 A.H.
➢ Date of death: 303 A.H. (Damascus)
2. Activities:
➢ Early education was given to him in his hometown.
➢ At the age of 15, he travelled to Balkh where he studied Hadith literature. Later, he
travelled to Egypt.
➢ In 302 A.H., he travelled to Damascus where he found that people hated Ali due to
Umayyads influence in the past. He compiled a book on the merits of Ali, however, could
not recite it publicly. Once he tried and was harshly treated.
3. Books:
➢ Sunan contains 4341 Ahadiths spread over 32 books and 1500 chapters.
➢ Repetition is less and is considered one of the best Sunan.
➢ 20 fabricated Hadith were later discovered.
➢ About 1300 + Ahadiths are without repetition which is a huge number.

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