Hadith Compilations

[mrashidhai]

HADITH COMPILATIONS
M. Rashid Hai

It is a common misunderstanding amongst some Orientalists that hadiths were collected and written down after 150 to 200 years of Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w) 's death. There is a general consensus amongst the muslim scholars that hadith collection (even in the written form) began during the time of Prophet sws by his own orders.

At first the Prophet (s.a.w) stopped the companions (r.a) to write down hadiths, told them to erase anything other then Quran, he sws probably didn't want the Quran to get mixed with hadith, the people should know the difference. Later he permitted to write hadiths.

One example of this is the document that the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent to his deputy in Yemen explaining matters relating to Zakâh. He also commanded Abû Shâmah to write down his statement during the conquest of Mecca.

Some of the Companions were well known for their recording of every statement that they heard from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Some of the more famous compilations were those of `Ali, Sa`d b. `Ubâdah, and `Abd Alah b. `Amr b. al-`As.

It is authentically established that the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave his Companions his express permission to write down everything that he said. `Abd Allah b. `Amr b. al-`As relates that he used to write down everything that he heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say. Members of the tribe of Quraysh told him that he should not do so, saying: “Do you write down everything that you hear from Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) while he is a man who speaks in happiness and anger?” `Abd Allah b. `Amr b. al-`As tells us that he stopped and then mentioned this to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), upon which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) told him: “Write. For I swear by him in whose hand is my soul, nothing emanates from this except the truth.” And he pointed to his mouth. [Related by al-Hâkim and others]

Allah says basically the same thing in the Qur’ân: “He does not speak of his own desire. It is but revelation that is revealed to him.”
The process of collecting and compiling remain continued trough the following centuries and even today Islamic researchers are working on different aspect of the science of ahadith. These scholars out rightly reprove any hadith that does not qualify the standards of authenticity as set by muhaddathin (the hadith compilers).

Sheikh Nâsir al-Mâjid, professor at al-Imâm University in Riyadh says; “ We do not claim that the Sunnah in its entirety was set down in writing during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him). However, we are saying that the recording of the Sunnah was definitely going on at that time”.


The protection and preservation of ahaadeeth came about in three ways :
1. The Ummah acting upon the ahaadeeth
2. Memorisation and writing.
3. Narrating and teaching ahaadeeth in study circles.

Using these methods the gathering, compilation, classification, formation and writing
of ahaadeeth over time can be classified into four periods. They are:

THE FIRST PERIOD
This era extended from the lifetime of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu alayhe
wa sallam) up until the first century Hijrah. In this period ahaadeeth were gathered by
memorisation, teaching and compilations. The details of this are:

Famous Memorizers of Hadeeth

The Sahaabah (Companions)
1. Abu Hurairah (Abdur-Rahmaan) (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.59H at the age of 78; he narrated 5374 ahaadeeth. The number of his students reaches 800
2. Abdullaah Ibn Abbaas (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.68H at the age of 71; he narrated 2660 ahaadeeth
3. Aa’ishah Siddeeqa (radi-Allaahu ‘anhaa) d.58H at the age of 67; she narrated 2210 ahaadeeth
4. Abdullaah Ibn Umar (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.73H at the age of 84; he narrated 1630 ahaadeeth
5. Jaabir Ibn Abdullaah (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.78H at the age of 94; he narrated 1560 ahaadeeth
6. Anas Ibn Maalik (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.93H at the age of 103; he narrated 1286 ahaadeeth and
7. Abu Sa’eed al-Khudree (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.74H at the age of 84; he narrated 1170 ahaadeeth.
These Companions were amongst those who had memorised more than 1000 ahaadeeth.
Furthermore:
8. Abdullaah Ibn Amr Ibn al-Aas (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.63H
9. Alee Ibn Abee Taalib (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.40H and
10. Umar Ibn al-Khattaab (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.33H
Are amongst those Companions who narrated between 500 and 1000 ahaadeeth.
Likewise the folowing are amongst those Companions who narrated more than 100 but less than 500
ahaadeeth.
11. Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.13H
12. Uthmaan Ibn Affaan Dhun-Noorain (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.36H
13. Umm Salamah (radi-Allaahu ‘anhaa) d.59H
14. Abu Moosaa al-Asha'aree (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.52H
15. Abu Dharr al-Ghaffaree (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.32H
16. Abu Ayyoob al-Ansaaree (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.51H
17. Ubayy Ibn Ka’ab (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.19H and
18. Mu’aadh Ibn Jabal (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) d.81H

The Taabi’een (Successors)
And we cannot forget the major Taabi’een (Successors) who, after endless striving, gathered the treasures of the Sunnah so the Ummah of Muhammad (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) could become enriched with it forever; from amongst them are:
1) Sa’eed Ibn al-Mussayab
2) Urwah Ibn Zubair
3) Saalim Ibn Abdullaah Ibn Umar
4) Naaf’i

The Written Works of the First Period
1. Saaheefa Saadiqaa
This has been attributed to Abdullaah Ibn Amr al-Aas (d.63H at the age of 77).
2. Saaheefa Saheehaa
This is attributed to Humaam Ibn Munabbeh (rahimahullaah) (d.101H).
3. Saaheefa Basheer Ibn Naheek
He was the student of Abu Hurairah (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu).
4. Musnad Abu Hurairah (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
It was written during the time of the Companions.
5. Saaheefa Alee (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
It is found Imaam Bukhaaree’s checking that this collection had in it issues of zakah, and the Khutbatul-Hajjah al-Widah and Islaamic guidelines.
6. The Final Sermon of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam)
On the conquest of Makkah the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) told Abu Shah Yamanee (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) to write down the final sermon.
7. Saaheefa Jaabir (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
In it they wrote down issues of Hajj and the Khutbatul-Hajjah al-Widah.
8. Narrations of Aa’ishah Siddeeqa (radi-Allaahu ‘anhaa)
The narrations of Aa’ishah Siddeeqa were written by her student, Urwah Ibn Zubair.
9. Ahaadeeth of Ibn Abbaas (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
There were many compilations of the ahaadeeth of Ibn Abbaas (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu).
Sa’eed Ibn Jubair would compile his ahaadeeth.
10. The Saaheefa of Anas Ibn Maalik (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
In it Anas Ibn Maalik (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) mentioned that every thing mentioned in it had been written by memory; whilst showing and affirming from the Prophet sws.
11. Amr Ibn Hazm (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
When he was made the Governor and sent to Yemen he was given written instructions and guidance. Not only did he protect the guidelines but he also added 21 commands of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) and he made it into the form of a book.
12. Risaalah of Samurah Ibn Jundub (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
This was given to his son in the form of a will; this was a great treasure.
13. Sa’ad Ibn Ubaadah (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
He knew how to read and write from the time of Jahiliyyah.
14. Maktoob Naaf’i (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu)
Sulaymaan Ibn Moosaa narrates that Abdullaah Ibn Umar (radi-Allaahu ‘anhu) would dictate and Naaf’i would write.
15.Ma’an narrates that Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ood took out a book
and whilst raising the cover he would say: ‘My father wrote this.’
If the research were to continue the number of examples and occurrences would be too great. During this time the Companions (radi-Allaahu ‘anhum) and the major Successors concentrated on using their memories to write. During the second period the gathering of ahaadeeth started.

THE SECOND PERIOD
The second period started from about half of the second century Hijrah (150 AH). During this time a major group of the Successors compiled earlier works in to the form of books.

Compilers of Hadeeth

1. Muhammad Ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree (d.124H) (rahimahullaah)
2. Abdul Maalik Ibn Juraij (rahimahullaah) (d.150H) in Makkah
3. Imaam al-Awzaa’ee (rahimahullaah) (d.157H) in Shaam (Syria)
4. Mu’ammar Ibn Raashid (rahimahullaah) (d.153H) in Yemen
5. Imaam Sufyaan ath-Thawree (rahimahullaah) (d.161H) in Koofah
6. Imaam Hamaad Ibn Salamah (rahimahullaah) (d.167H) in Basra
7. Abdullaah Ibn al-Mubaarak (rahimahullaah) (d.181H) in Khurasaan and
8. Maalik Ibn Anas (rahimahullaah) (d.179H)

The Written Works of the Second Period
1. Muwatta Imaam Maalik (d.179 H
2. Jaami Sufyaan ath-Thawree (d.161H)
3. Jaami Abdullaah Ibn al-Mubaarak (d.181H)
4. Jaami Imaam al-Awzaa’ee (d.157H)
5. Jaami Ibn Juraij (d.150H)
6. Kitaab al-Akhraj of Qaadhi Abu Yoosuf (d.182H)
7. Kitaab al-Athaar of Imaam Muhammad (d.189H)

THE THIRD PERIOD
This period extends from about half of the second century Hijrah to the end of the
fourth century Hijrah.(150 AH – 400 AH)

During this Period:

• All the ahadith of Rasulullah sws and narrations of sahaaba (companions) were collected and preserved.
• All the ahadith and narrations were scrutinized and authenticated, and books were written for that matter.
• All the ahadith and statements of sahaaba were classified into different categories and for that matter an analytical subject of ‘Ilm ul Hadith‘ (Science of Hadith) was devised.

Ilm ul Hadith (The Sciences of Hadith)

1. Asma ar-Rijaal
In this science the condition, births, deaths, teachers and students of narrators were gathered in detail.
2. Ilm Masatalah al-Hadeeth (Usool of Hadeeth)
In the light of this knowledge the standard and rules of ahaadeeth, their authenticity and weakness were established.
3. Ilm Ghareeb al-Hadeeth
In this knowledge the meaning of difficult words (in Arabic) have been investigated
4. Ilm Takhreej al-Hadeeth
From this knowledge we find where a particular hadeeth pertaining to a particular science can be found from the well known books of tafseer (Exegesis of the Qur’aan), belief and jurisprudence.
5. Ilm al-Hadeeth al-Mawdoo’ah
In this science the people of knowledge have written books in which they separated the mawdoo (fabricated, forged) narration’s from the authentic ones.
6. Ilm Naaskh wal-Mansookh
7. Ilm at-Tawfeeq Bayn al-Hadeeth
In this science the authentic (saheeh) ahaadeeth that seem to contradict each other have been explained and resolved.
8. Ilm Mukhtalif wal-Ma’atalaf
This science mentions the names of narrators, their kunyah’s, titles, parents, fathers or teachers, whose names may have shown similarities and due to this a person may have made a mistake:
9. Ilm Atraaf al-Hadeeth
This science helps to find a narration, the book of hadeeth it may be found in and its narrators.
10. Fiqh al -Hadeeth
In this science all the authentic ahaadeeth related to rulings and commands were compiled.
Compilers of Hadeeth in the Third Period
1. Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (rahimahullaah) (b.164H d.241H)
2. Imaam Muhammad Ibn Ismaa’eel Bukhaaree (rahimahullaah) (b.194Hd.246H)
3. Imaam Muslim Ibn Hajaaj al-Qushairee (rahimahullaah) (b.202H d.261H)
4. Abu Daawood Isha’at Ibn Sulaimaan as-Sijastaanee (rahimahullaah) (b.204H d.275H)
5. Imaam Abu Eesaa at-Tirmidhee (rahimahullaah) (b.209H d.279H)
6. Imaam Ahmad Ibn Shu’ayb an-Nasaa’ee (rahimahullaah) (d.303H)
7. Imaam Muhammad Ibn Yazeed Ibn Maajah al-Qazdi’aanee (rahimahullaah) (d.273H)

Bukhaaree, Muslim and Tirmidhee are called Jaami, i.e. they contain ahaadeeth on A’qaid, Worship, Manners, Information and other issues. Abu Daawood, an-Nasaa’ee and Ibn Maajah are called Sunan i.e. they contain ahaadeeth pertaining to life.

Tabaqaat of Books of Hadeeth
1. On the basis and in terms of Hadeeth and the reliability of its narrations, Muwatta Imaam Maalik, Saheeh al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim have a high rankingposition.
2. Abu Daawood, at-Tirmidhee and an-Nasaa’ee. The reliability of narrators in these books does not reach the level of the first category but they are considered and confided in. This category also contains Musnad Ahmad.
3. Ad-Daarimee (d.225H), Ibn Maajah, Baihaqee, Daraqutnee (d.385H), the books of at-Tabaraanee (d.360H), writings of at-Tahaawee (d.321H), Musnad Imaam ash-Shaafi’ee and Mustadarak Haakim (d.405H). These books contain all types of hadeeth, authentic and weak.
4. Writings of Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree (d.310H), the books of Khateeb al-Baghdaadee (d.463H), Abu Nu’aym (d.403H), Ibn Asaakir (d.571H), ad-Daylaamee (d.509H)the author of Firdaus, Kaamil of Ibn Adiyy (d.365H), the writings of Ibn Maroodiyyah (d.410H), Waaqidee (d.207H) and books by other authors are in this category.
These books are compilations and may contain many fabrications; if they are analyzed a lot of treasures can be gained.

THE FOURTH PERIOD
This period extends from the start of the fifth century up until today. The works done in this time are:
1. Explanations, footnotes and translations of important books of hadeeth into other languages.
2. More books on the sciences that have been mentioned and explanations and summaries of them.
3. The people of knowledge, due to their keenness and necessity for them, compiled books of hadeeth taken from those books written or compiled in the 3rd Century.

From them are:
i) Mishkaat al-Masabeeh of Walee-ud-Deen Khateeb
ii) Riyadh us-Saaliheen38 of Imaam Abu Zakariyyah Yahyaa Ibn Sharf an- Nawawee (d.676H), the explainer of Saheeh Muslim.39
iii) Muntaqa al-Akhbaar of Abul Barakaat Abdus-Salaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.652H).
iv) Buloogh al-Maraam40 of Ibn Hajr al-Asqalaanee (d.852H),