Lecture Slides for Module 3 - Sunnah and Hadith

1. Module 3: Sunnah and Hadith

2. Agenda
• Defining Sunnah and Hadith
• Arguments for the authenticity of Hadith
• Compilation of Ahadith
• Classification of Ahadith

3. • Sunnah and Hadith
• What is the difference?

4. Sunnah and Hadith: Literal Meaning
• Sunnah:
– Practice (practice of an individual)
– Custom (established practice of a society)
– Tradition (established practice of many generations of people)
• Hadith:
– A saying
– A piece of information

5. Sunnah and Hadith: Technical Meaning
• Sunnah includes:
– [‫]قول‬ Sayings of the Prophet (S.A.W)
– [‫]فعل‬ Practices of the Prophet (S.A.W)
– [‫]تقرير‬ Tacit approvals of the Prophet (S.A.W)
• Hadith:
– The reported and recorded form of Sunnah
– Also known as Khabar

6. Use of the Word Sunnah in pre-Islamic Arabia
• Political situation in Arabia before Islam: Anarchy
• Tribal sunnah as the guiding principle of the Arab society
• The same word was used for the Prophet’s (S.A.W) life to
establish its importance

7. Arguments for the Authenticity of Hadith
• Deductive argument (‫استخراجی‬ ِ‫ل‬‫)دلی‬
– Principle-based argument
• Inductive argument (‫استقرائی‬ ِ‫ل‬‫)دلی‬
– Fact-based argument

8. Deductive Argument for the Authenticity of Hadith
ْ‫ا‬‫و‬ُ‫ع‬‫ی‬ِ‫ط‬َ‫أ‬ َ‫و‬
َ‫هللا‬
ْ‫م‬ُ‫ك‬َّ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬َ‫ل‬ َ‫ل‬‫و‬ُ‫س‬َّ‫الر‬ َ‫و‬
َ‫ون‬ُ‫م‬َ‫ح‬ ْ‫ر‬ُ‫ت‬
And obey Allah and the Messenger, so that you may be graced
with mercy. [Al-Imran: 132]

9. Deductive Argument for the Authenticity of Hadith
‫ا‬َّ‫ن‬ِ‫إ‬
ُ‫ه‬َ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬َّ‫ن‬ِ‫إ‬ َ‫و‬ َ‫ر‬ْ‫ك‬ِ‫الذ‬ ‫َا‬‫ن‬ْ‫ل‬َّ‫َز‬‫ن‬ ُ‫ن‬ْ‫َح‬‫ن‬
َ‫ون‬ُ‫ظ‬ِ‫ف‬‫ا‬َ‫ح‬َ‫ل‬
Surely We have revealed this reminder (the Qur'an); and We will
surely preserve it. [Al-Hijr: 9]
ِ‫إ‬ َ‫ل‬ ِ
‫ز‬ُ‫ن‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬ ِ
‫اس‬َّ‫ن‬‫ل‬ِ‫ل‬ َ‫ن‬ِ‫ی‬َ‫ب‬ُ‫ت‬ِ‫ل‬ َ‫ر‬ْ‫ك‬ِ‫الذ‬ َ‫ْك‬‫ی‬َ‫ل‬ِ‫إ‬ ‫َا‬‫ن‬ْ‫ل‬َ‫نز‬َ‫أ‬ َ‫و‬
ْ‫م‬ِ‫ه‬ْ‫ی‬َ‫ل‬
We have sent down the reminder (the Qur’an) to you (O
Muhammad), so that you may explain clearly to mankind as to
what was sent to them. [Al-Nahal: 44]

10. Inductive Argument for the Authenticity of Hadith
• Argument based on historical facts: the history of the
compilation of hadith
• Utmost care has been taken by the successive generations of the
Muslim Ummah in order to preserve the authentic hadith of the
Prophet (S.A.W)

11. Three Periods in the Compilation of Hadith
1. Age of the Prophet (S.A.W) and the companions
2. Age of the Tabi‘een and the Taba Tabi‘een
3. Third Century Hijri (The Golden Period of Hadith
Compilation)

12. Preservation and Compilation of Hadith during the
time of the Prophet (S.A.W) and the companions
• Memorization
– Saying of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W), narrated by Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (R.A):
“May Allah beautify a person who hears a saying of mine, so he understands it,
remembers it, and conveys it.” [Jami‘ Tirmizi]
– Abu Huraira (R.A): Used to divide the night into three equal portions: for sleep,
prayer and the memorization of the Ahaadith.
• Discussion
• Practice
• Writing [eg. Sahifa Saadiqa by Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al-Aas (R.A)]

13. Compilation of Hadith in the time of Tabi‘een and
Taba‘ Tabi‘een:
• Compilation of Hassan al-Basri
• Compilation of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri
• Compilation of Hammam Ibn Munabbih [Student of Abu
Hurairah (R.A)]
• Al-Mu’atta of Imam Malik
• Musnad of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal

14. Compilation of Hadith in the Third Century Hijri
• Books of Hadith:
1. Sahih Bukhari
2. Sahih Muslim
3. Sunan Abu Dawood
4. Sunan Nasaai
5. Jami‘ Tirmizi
6. Sunan Ibn Majah
• These six books are known as ‫ستہ‬ ‫صحاح‬ (The Six Authentic
Books)

15. Three Periods in the Compilation of Hadith
1. Age of the Prophet (S.A.W) and the companions
– Sahifa
2. Age of the Tabi‘een and the Taba Tabi‘een
– Musnad
3. Third Century Hijri
– Musannaf

16. Types of Musannaf
• Jami‘
– Sahih Bukhari and Jami‘ Tirmizi
• Sunan
– Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan Nisai, Sunan Ibn Majah,

17. Prominent Narrators of Hadith
• Abu Huraira (R.A) – narrated 5,374 Ahaadith
• Abdullah Ibn Umar (R.A) – narrated 2,600 Ahaadith
• Anas Ibn Malik (R.A) – narrated 2,286 Ahaadith
• Ayesha (R.A) – narrated 2,210 Ahaadith

18. Classification of Ahadith
• Purpose of classification
– To determine the authenticity of hadith
– To determine the relative importance of hadith
– To determine the general applicability of hadith

19. Prophet (S.A.W)
S1
T1
TT1 TT2
T2
TT3 TT4
S2
T3
TT5 TT6
T4
TT7 TT8

20. Classification of Hadith (w.r.t the number of
narrators)
• Khabar Mutawatir (‫متواتر‬ ‫)خبر‬
– Narrated by such a large number of reliable individuals at each and
every stage of narration that the possibility of concoction is
inconceivable.
• Khabar Wahid (‫واحد‬ ‫)خبر‬
– A hadith which is has not been narrated by a large number of narrators

21. Types of Khabar Mutawatir
• Verbal Mutawatir (‫باللفظ‬ ‫)متواتر‬:
– “Whoever invents a lie and attributes it to me intentionally, let him
prepare his seat in the Fire.”
– The Last Sermon of the Prophet (S.A.W)
• Conceptual Mutawatir ( ‫متواتر‬
‫بالمعن‬
‫ى‬ ):
– Ahadith about number of rak‘ats in daily prayers
– Ahadith about the punishment in the grave

22. Status of Khabar Mutawatir
• Khabar Mutawatir is characterized by:
– Authenticity
– General applicability
• Khabar Mutawatir is the only Hadith which can independently
set an article of faith and a ruling of Shari‘a

23. Types of Khabar Wahid (w.r.t the number of
narrators)
• Khabar Mash’hur (‫مشہور‬ ‫)خبر‬: Narrated by at least three
narrators at each stage of narration
• Khabar Azeez (
‫عزيز‬ ‫خبر‬
) : Narrated by at least two narrators at
each stage of narration
• Khabar Ghareeb (
‫غريب‬ ‫خبر‬
) : Narrated by at least one narrator at
each stage of narration

24. Two Parts of Hadith
• Hadith has two parts:
– Sanad (‫)سند‬: Chain of Narration
– Matan (‫)متن‬: Text of Hadith
Malik Ibn Anas heard from Nafi‘, who heard from Abdullah Ibn
Umar that the Messenger of Allah (‫)ﷺ‬ said:
“Prayer in congregation is better than the prayer of a man by
himself by twenty-seven degrees.”

25. Conditions for Khabar Wahid Ahadith
• Analyzing the chain of narration (‫)سند‬ of Hadith:
– The chain of narration should be complete and without flaws (‫)متصل‬
– All narrators of hadith should have good character (‫)عادل‬
– All narrators of hadith should have good memory (‫الضبط‬ ‫)كامل‬

26. Conditions for Khabar Wahid Ahadith
• Analyzing the text (‫)متن‬ of the Hadith:
– The text of the hadith should be supported by evidence from the
Qur’an and other ahadith
– The text of the hadith should be supported by actual facts

27. Classification of Hadith (w.r.t the quality of the sanad and matan)
• Sahih ( ‫صحیح‬ – Authentic): A hadith which perfectly fulfills the criteria of evaluation
regarding the chain of narration and the text.
• Hassan ( ‫حسن‬ – Good): A hadith which fulfills the criteria like Sahih Hadith BUT
there is one narrator in the chain of narration who does not have good memory.
• Za‘eef ( ‫ضعیف‬ – Weak): A hadith which has a broken chain of narration OR there is
one narrator in the chain of narration who has committed sin.
• Mawzu‘ ( ‫موضوع‬ – Fabricated): A saying which is wrongly attributed to the Prophet
(S.A.W)

28. Use of Ahaadith in Matters of Sharia
• Mutawatir Hadith is used as primary evidence in matters of
Sharia
• Sahih or Hassan in Khabar Wahid Hadith is used as a secondary
evidence in matters of Sharia
• Zaeef Hadith is used as an endorsement in matters of Sharia