The History and Importance of the

Ahadith
•The history of the compilation of the Ahadis.
•The earliest collections
•The main Musnad and Musannaf collections
•The main compilers and their activities
•The methods based on examination of the chain of transmitters (isnaad) and
the text (matn) of a Hadis to test the reliability of the Hadis
•The main features of the six collections of Sunni Ahadis and the four
collections of Shía Ahadis
•The major themes of the Hadis
•The use of Hadis in legal thinking, Relationship of Hadis with the Holy Qur'an,
ljmah and Qiyas (Analogy)
•The significance of Hadis in thoughts and actions

by Sakhi Ahmad
 Definition and Importance of Hadith

Hadith are the recorded words, actions, and approvals of the Prophet
Muhammad, the revered founder of Islam. These narrations serve as a
crucial supplement to the Quran, providing guidance on Islamic beliefs,
practices, and moral principles. They offer a window into the Prophet's
life and teachings, which Muslims strive to emulate.

by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
✓ IN THE ERA OF THE PROPHET ‫ﷺ‬AND COMPANION

• Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬appointed companions to write down pacts,

agreements, and treaties between the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬and different tribes.
• Scholars preserved these types of Ahadith's in separate volumes.
• Prophet (‫')ﷺ‬s letters to different kings are preserved in different
books.

by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
✓ IN THE ERA OF THE PROPHET ‫ﷺ‬AND COMPANION

•Some famous Hadith scriptures compiled by companions are:

i)Sahifa Hazrat Jabir
ii) Sahifa Hazrat Ibn-e-Abbas
iii) Sahifa Hammam bin Munabbah (Abu Huraira)
iv) Sahifa Sadiqa

by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
DURING THE AGE OF TABI'IN (THE SUCCESSORS)
• Second century is termed as era of Hijra successors.
• Distinguished successors of this age include Hazrat Salim & Hazrat
Saeed bin Al-Musayyab
• Successors set upon a mission to propagate Hadith and its compilation
with great zeal & vigour
• Hazrat Umar bin Abd Al-Aziz undertook the responsibility of work at
official level.

by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
DURING THE AGE OF TABI'IN (THE SUCCESSORS)
• He asked Imam Ibn-e-Shahab Zuhri to travel across Islamic empire and
asked other officials to provide him support in the collection of Ahadith
from every possible source & compile it into a volume.
• Those who rendered services in Makkah in this regard include Ibn-e-
Juraij, Akrama

by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
DURING THE AGE OF TABI'IN (THE SUCCESSORS)
• Those who rendered services in Madinah include Zain bin Aslam, Salim
bin Abdullah.
• Those who rendered services in Kufa include Wakid bin Jarrah, Imam
Shu'bi
• Those who rendered services in the compilation of Ahadith in Basra
include Rabi' bin Sabih, Hasan Basri
• Those who rendered services in this matter Syria include Rija' bin
Hiwa, Makhul bin Abi Maslama
by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
IN THE AGE OF TAΒΑ ΤΑΒΙΙΝ
• New techniques & sciences regarding compilation of Hadith came into
existence.
• Numerous works/books on Hadith were written.
• Knowledge of jarh & tad'il was founded.
• Foundation of Asma' ar-Rijal was laid down.

by Sakhi Ahmad
COMPILATION OF THE HADITH
IN THE AGE OF TAΒΑ ΤΑΒΙΙΝ
• New terminology was coined for transmission of Hadith.
• Distinguished Compilers of this age include Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal,
Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaiba, Imam Abu Zahariyya Yahya bin Mu'in
Baghdadi
• Distinguished Hadith Books compiled in this age are: Sahih Bukhari
Sahih Muslim, Sunan Nisai, Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan Tirmizi, Sunah
Ibn-e-Majah.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 Major Collections of Hadith
1. Sahih al-Bukhari: Widely considered the most authentic collection, containing over
7,000 verified hadiths compiled by the renowned Islamic scholar Imam al-Bukhari.

2. Sahih Muslim: Another highly revered collection, containing over 4,000 hadiths
verified by the esteemed Islamic scholar Imam Muslim.

3. Sunan Abi Dawud: A comprehensive collection of over 5,000 hadiths,

compiled by the influential Islamic scholar Abu Dawud.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 Major Compilers of Hadith
Imam al-Bukhari Imam Muslim Abu Dawud

Widely regarded as the most The renowned Islamic Abu Dawud, a prominent Islamic
authoritative collector of scholar Imam Muslim jurist and hadith scholar,
hadith, Imam al-Bukhari's compiled the compiled the expansive "Sunan
"Sahih al-Bukhari" is comprehensive "Sahih Abi Dawud" collection, featuring
considered the most authentic Muslim" collection, which over 5,000 hadiths that provide
compilation, containing over contains over 4,000 invaluable guidance on Islamic
7,000 verified narrations from rigorously authenticated practices and teachings.
the Prophet Muhammad. hadiths, making it the
second most authoritative
hadith compendium.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 Different Types of Hadith Books
Sahih
Collections

These collections, such as Sahih al-Bukhari and

Sahih Muslim, contain the most authentic and
verified hadiths, meticulously compiled by renowned
Islamic scholars based on stringent criteria.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 Different Types of Hadith Books
Sahih Sunan Musnad Mu'jam
Collections Collections Collections Collections
These Sunan Musnad Mu'jam collections,
collections, such collections, like collections, such like the Mu'jam al-
as Sahih al- Sunan Abi as the Musnad of Kabir by at-
Bukhari and Dawud and Imam Ahmad, Tabarani,
Sahih Muslim, Sunan an-Nasa'i, organize hadiths categorize hadiths
contain the most focus on hadiths based on the by topic, making it
authentic and related to narrators, easier for readers
verified hadiths, Islamic law, allowing readers to find information
meticulously rituals, and to explore the on specific subjects
compiled by everyday teachings of within the vast
renowned practices, specific corpus of hadith
Islamic scholars providing companions of literature.
based on comprehensive the Prophet
stringent guidance for Muhammad.
criteria. Muslims.
by Sakhi Ahmad
 Authenticity and
Reliability of Hadith
The authenticity and reliability of hadith are of
utmost importance in Islamic teachings. Rigorous
vetting processes, including scrutiny of the
narrators' credibility and the chain of transmission,
ensure that only verified hadiths are accepted as
authoritative sources of guidance.
Renowned Islamic scholars have meticulously
compiled collections like Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih
Muslim, which are considered the most reliable
repositories of the Prophet's teachings, setting the
gold standard for the authenticity of hadith.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 Hadith and Islamic Law

The teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, as recorded in the hadith, serve as a crucial foundation
for Islamic law and jurisprudence. Hadith provide guidance on a wide range of legal subjects, from
ritual purity and family matters to commercial transactions and judicial procedures.
Islamic scholars have meticulously analyzed and categorized the hadith, extracting the legal
principles and rulings that form the basis of Sharia law. This comprehensive legal framework,
rooted in the Prophet's teachings, governs the personal, social, and spiritual aspects of a
Muslim's life.

by Sakhi Ahmad
Hadith and Spiritual Guidance
1 Spiritual Reflection
The hadith offer profound insights into the Prophet Muhammad's
spiritual teachings, guiding Muslims to cultivate inner peace, self-
reflection, and a deeper connection with the divine.

2 Moral Compass
Through the hadith, the Prophet's exemplary character and ethical
principles are illuminated, inspiring Muslims to embody virtues like
compassion, honesty, and humility in their daily lives.

3 Devotional Practices
The hadith provide detailed instructions on various forms of worship,
such as prayer, fasting, and remembrance of God, enabling Muslims to
develop a robust spiritual discipline.

by Sakhi Ahma
Hadith and Prophetic Traditions
Glimpse into Prophet's Life Moral Exemplar
The hadith offer a unique
Through the hadith, the Prophet's exemplary
window into the life and
character and ethical conduct are illuminated,
teachings of Prophet
serving as a guiding light for Muslims to emulate in
Muhammad, providing
their personal and spiritual development.
invaluable insights into his
words, actions, and
interactions that shape Islamic
beliefs and practices.
Practical Guidance
The hadith contains detailed instructions on a wide range of topics,
from worship and rituals to social interactions and personal
conduct, equipping Muslims with comprehensive guidance for
everyday life.
by Sakhi Ahmad
 Conclusion and Practical Applications

1 Integrating Hadith into Daily Life2 Preserving the Hadith Legacy

Apply the teachings and guidance Engage in the study and
found in hadith to enrich personal transmission of hadith literature to
spiritual practices, strengthen ensure the continued preservation
moral character, and cultivate a and dissemination of the Prophet's
deeper connection with the divine. teachings for present and future
generations.

3 Hadith-Informed Decision 4 Fostering Hadith-Based

Making Scholarship
Refer to the hadith when faced Support the ongoing research,
with ethical dilemmas or seeking analysis, and commentary on
guidance on personal, social, and hadith by Islamic scholars to
legal matters, allowing the deepen the understanding and
Prophet's wisdom to inform one's application of the Prophet's
choices. teachings in the modern context.
by Sakhi Ahmad
 QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR TRANSMITTING HADITH
 The qualities which are required to check the individual Narrator in the chain
of transmitter of a Hadith are that the narrator of the Hadith must be of firm faith
and honest. He must be known for truthfulness in whatever he reports.
 The narrator must be trustworthy, reliable and righteous. He should understand
what he reports and know how a change of word can change the ideas in it.
 He should report exactly what he has learned from his teacher and not to use his
own words. The narrator must have a very sound memory.
 He should report what agrees with the reporters of others known to have good
memories.
by Sakhi Ahmad
 QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR TRANSMITTING HADITH
 A narrator cannot criticize someone that the Ummah has accepted. Examples are
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim. Anyone who criticizes these great scholars would
be considered to be a false narrator.
 The two significant parts of a Hadith are: Isnad and Matn.
 Isnad refers to the chain of narrators that has reported any given Hadith. In the
sciences of Hadith the Muslim Scholars agreed that the chain must begin from the
Muhaddis of the Hadith and must ends at the Prophet (PBUH) or in the case of
Hadith e-Qudsi ends at Allah.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR TRANSMITTING HADITH
 One of the most famous Muslim scholar Abdullah bin Al Mubarak said “The Isnad
to me is part of the Deen. If it was not for the Isnad anyone would say anything he
wanted” Isnad basically a rigorous testing of the links between individuals and
transmitting the Hadith from the Muhaddis till it reaches Prophet (PBUH) and
through this testing Muslims are certain of the authenticity of the Hadith.
 The Matan refers to the actual text of Hadith which is authentic when compared
with the actual Sunnah of Prophet (PBUH). It is the text of the tradition or what the
Prophet (PBUH) actually said or did.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 IMPORTANCE OF MATAN
The Matan of the Hadith must not conflict or contradict with the Holy Quran nor
should it conflict with other reliable or authentic Hadith.
For example the Holy Quran says “Establish prayer” and the Hadith of the Holy
Prophet (S.A.W) explains it as “Pray as you see me praying” so this Matan of Hadith
explains us the rules of praying Salah.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 IMPORTANCE OF MATAN
With these rules the compilers of authentic books of Ahadith were able to classify
Hadith into types:
 Sahih (the authentic)
 Hassan (fair, about which little doubt
 Zaeef (weak, which raises many doubts concerning authenticity)
 Maudu (fabricated, un-Islamic)

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SUNNI
SAHIH AL-BUKHARI (194-256 A.H)
 It was compiled by Imam Muhammad Bin Ismail Al-Bukhari.
 It is considered to be the most authentic book of Hadith after the Holy Quran.
 In the compilation of this book of Sahih Al- Bukhari, Imam Bukhari displayed a great
critical ability and scrupulous accuracy.
 The total number of Ahadis in this book is 9082 (which was selected from 600000
Ahadis).
 However many of them were repeated with different Isnad. Without repetition the
number goes down to 2602 Ahadis.
 His criteria for acceptance into the collection were amongst the most stringent of all
the scholars of Ahadith

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SUNNI
SAHIH MUSLIM (204-264 A.H)
 It was compiled by Imam Muslim bin Hajjah and this is considered second only to the
Sahih al-Bukhari.
 These two collections Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are collectively called
Al-Sahihain, the two most authentic collections.
 Any tradition accepted by both Bukhari and Muslim has been termed as Agreed
Upon. Imam Muslim, he traveled widely to gather his collection of Ahadith (plural of
Hadith), including to Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and Egypt.
 Out of 300,000 Hadith which he evaluated, approximately 4,000 were extracted for
inclusion into his collection based on stringent acceptance criteria.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SUNNI
SUNAN ABU DAUD (202-275 A.H)
 Abu Da’ud was another important compiler of Hadith.
 Before writing his Sunan he examined five lakhs of traditions, and selected from
them only 4800 to be put in his book.
 The whole task took him 20 years to complete.
 He kept up the scrupulous exactitude of his predecessors in reproducing the
traditions, which he had collected. But he differed from them in the standard of
his choice.
 He included in his Sunan not only the ‘genuine’ traditions (as al-Bukhari and
Muslim had done), but also such traditions as had been pronounced by some
traditionists to be weak and doubtful.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SUNNI
SUNAN TIRMIZI (209-279 A.H)
 It was compiled by Abu Isa al-Tirmizi.
 He was the first man to determine the names, surnames, and title of the narrators
of traditions and tide to fix the degree of their reliability by inventing peculiar means
of each tradition.
 His work is divided into 50 chapters (Kutub) and contains 3956 Ahadis.Abu Isa al
Tirmizi was a student of Abu Da’ud and his collection follows and improves upon the
techniques of classifying the hadith as proposed by his master.
 Jame of Tirmizi contains all the traditions – legal, dogmatic and historical – that had
been accepted by the Muslim jurists of one school or another, as the basis of Islamic
law.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SUNNI
SUNAN IBNE MAJAH (209-273 A.H)
 Ibn Majah travelled widely to collect traditions from the well-known Traditionists of
his time.
 He compiled several works of Hadith of which the most important is the Sunan.
 In this work, Ibn Majah collected together 4000 traditions in 32 books divided into
1500 chapters.
 The number of weak (dhaif) traditions it contains is not very large, just about 30.
 But it does contain some traditions, which are considered by the authorities on the
subject to be forged (maudu’).

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SUNNI
SUNAN NASAI (214-303 A.H)
 Al Nasai’ collected hadith in his work Sunan
 He entirely ignored the point of view of his senior contemporary, al-Tirmizi on the
question of the application of traditions to various problems that might have been
made by different schools of the Muslim jurisprudence.
 His main object was to establish the text of traditions and the differences
between their various versions, which he quotes extensively.
 In many places, he gives headings to the differences between the various narrators.
This book contains 5662 Ahadis and is divided well into chapters. Imam Nasai is the
best evaluator of the narrators of his time.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SHIA
SHI’A COLLECTIONS:
KITAB AL-KAFI
Compiled by Muhammad Yaqub Kulayni in the third century Hijra, it is divided into
three sections as described below:
•Usulal-Kafi which is concerned with the principle of religion. •Furual-Kafi which is
concerned with religious laws.
•Rawadatal-Kafi which is concerned with the various religious aspects and includes
some writings of the Imams in total. Al-Kafi comprises of about 16000 narrations.
The author states that this book would be sufficient for all the needs of the believers as
it included all branched of religious knowledge.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SHIA
SHI’A COLLECTIONS:
FAQIH
 Compiled by Muhammad ibne Ali al-Qummi in the 4th century Hijri contains over
9000 Hadis.
 The literal translation of the title Manla Yah duruhu Al-Faqih is “For him not in the
presence of Jurisprudence”.
 The book is meant to be a reference book to help ordinary Shia Muslims in the
practice of the legal requirements of Islam. In this book Isnads are absent

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SHIA
SHI’A COLLECTIONS:
TAHDHIBAL-AHKAMFI SHARHAL-MUQNI’A
 Compiled by Sheikh Tusi in the 5th century Hijri contain over 13000 narrations
means “The Refinement of the laws in terms of explanation of the sufficiently”.
 It contains not only traditions but also lengthy discussions about the legal standing
and implications of each Hadis.
 The chapters are well divided and contain the commentaries by some earlier
scholars.

by Sakhi Ahmad
 MAIN COLLECTIONS OF SHIA
SHI’A COLLECTIONS
ISTIBSARFIMA’ KHATALAFAL-AKHBAR
 Compiled by Sheikh Tusi in the 5th century Hijri and contains over 5000 narrations.
 Its methods are similar but briefer: there are not so many traditions used in the
work and the explanations are more concise.
 It is similar to Man la Yahdurulual Faqih, but gives full Isnads for the traditions
quoted intended to be used as ready reference works for students and scholars

by Sakhi Ahmad