Muslims believe hadith to be an authority and explanation of the Quran. The task of preserving hadith was taken by Allah himself by means of the Sahabah, the Tabieen and then from generation to generation through unique discipline of hadith sciences. The Sahabah understood that the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the final messenger sent for mankind and that the task of preserving his teachings would fall upon their shoulders. Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) instructed them to spread his teachings to those who were absent. They used to give great concern to sitting with the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) to hear aḥadith from him as much as possible. They would tell each other what they had learnt from the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم). The Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) also warned them in strong words about narrating anything from him which is not authentic. At the same time, Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) had also warned, that it is a major sin to hide knowledge, whenever it is asked for. Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not restrict himself to giving sermons, he ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) also guided the Sahabah practically. Whenever they learnt anything from the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم) they spared no effort to bring it into practice. A Large number of the Sahabah wrote down ahadith and compiled Sahifas (booklets) after hearing them from the Prophet ( صلى الله عليه وسلم). A number of young companions devoted themselves to attaining knowledge and then passed it down to the following generations. Tabieen followed the example of Sahabah in preserving ahadith, for example, Urwah bin Zubair (nephew of Aisha), Nafi Mawla of Abdullah bin Umar and Thabit bin Aslam al-Bunani spent forty years with Anas bin Malik. Also, Amra bint Abdirrahman grew up with Aisha learning ahadith. Like the Sahabah, the Tabieen also collected and compiled ahadith in booklets which were incorporated in books by the next generation and most of those that survive today are in that form as part of other larger books like Musnad Ahmad, Saheeh al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, four Sunan and so on. Scholars of ḥadith from the time of the Tabieen developed the science of al-Jarḥ wa Tadeel. This is the science of examining the narrations of different narrators to make a determination about their trustworthiness and thus authenticity of their narrations.

Since the past century, orientalist works had challenged the authenticity of Hadith material (sayings of the Prophet), claiming that these collections of hadiths were done orally and therefore subject to misreporting and alterations. Dr Hamidullah discovered very early collections of hadiths preserved in libraries in Turkey, France and Germany, and on the basis of these, refuted the misgivings spread by orientalists. This work selects the collections of Hammam ibn Munabbih, a disciple of a companion of the Prophet to substantiate his arguments.

The Hadith are Islam’s most influential texts after the Qur’an. They outline in detail what the Qur’an often leaves unsaid. The Hadith are a foundation for Islamic law and theology and a key to understanding the worldview of Islam and why many Muslims do the things they do. This book subjects the Hadith to a critical analysis from a biblical perspective. In a scholarly and respectful way, it exposes significant inconsistencies within these ancient documents and highlights potential problems with the Muslim-Christian interface.

How were the hadith preserved throughout history?How did scholars ensure that the hadith used for establishing shariah are authentic?Who were the great scholars who devoted their lives to the preservation of hadith?In this short treatise, the author, Shaikh Ibrahim Madani, has simplified much of the information found only in the larger texts on the science of hadith. In addition, he highlights the authority of hadith in Islam and how they were preserved. This book is an excellent start for those who wish to gain a basic understanding of this subject, but cannot invest the time or means to do so.

In today’s complex and volatile world the consequences of relying on fraudulent and counterfeit Hadith to legitimize extremist behavior, issue violent fatwas, and justify blatant abuse, particularly of women, is not only far too easy but in fact dangerous. Israr Khan addresses the sensitive topic of Hadith authentication, focusing on the criteria adopted by classical scholars to maintain that concentration on the continuity and accuracy of the chain of narrators, rather than the textual content of Hadith, has led to particular Hadith being included which either contradict other Hadith directly, project the Prophet (SAAS) in an uncharacteristic light, or do not reflect and/or conflict with the teachings of the Qur’an. The study traces in careful detail the historical development of the oral and written traditions, as well as the many targeted attempts at fabrication that took place, critiquing in methodical detail certain Hadith which have come to be widely accepted as “authentic.” The prominent collections we have today, were made possible by the development of the science of Hadith criticism, and Muslim scholars deserve deep appreciation for their painstaking work, as well as their invaluable contribution towards preserving the Hadith literature to the best of their ability. However, insists the author, the process is ongoing, and the closed door policy which currently surrounds Hadith authentication needs to be carefully reexamined.

As the second main source of the true religion of Islam, hadith has a history full of ups and downs as far as the manner of its transmittal and the periods of its compilation and publication are concerned. Those who are acquainted with Islamic history have all acknowledged that from the time of transmittal up to now, hadith as been associated with many desirable as well as undesirable events, and its compilation and publication in some periods have had both faithful advocates and stern adversaries. For this reason, learning the “history of hadith” – though a piece of knowledge outside the different branches of the science of hadith – is essential for all those who want to benefit from the Sunnah and the corpus of hadith especially in view of the fact that the beginning of hadith compilation and its mechanism have not been the same for the proponents of the various Islamic schools of thought, each of them having a different opinion whose outcome may adversely affect the credibility and status of the existing traditions (ahadith). The present book, which has been written as a textbook in the tertiary level of Islamic studies, endeavors to present the general subjects relevant to hadith and its history as well as to acquaint the students of this field with the Sunni hadith collections and the Four Books (Kutub al-Arba‘ah) of the Shi‘ah in a simple and easy-to-understand approach.