THE

AUTHORITY

SUNNAH

Justice

Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Idrattil

Quran

Karachi, Pakistan

CONTENTS
Page
Foreword
3
1

Chapter

Sunnah: the Second Source of Islamic law

Definition

5 6
6

of Sunnah

The status of the Holy Prophet The obed ience of the Messenger
1

9
18

Iltiba

(following) of the Prophet

Two kinds of revelation

The second kind of revelation proved by the Holy Quran The obedience of the Prophet as
distinct

23

23

from the obedience of a

ruler

40
45
45

Chapter 2
The scope of the Prophetic Authority The Prophet's Authority to make laws

The Holy

Prophet's Authority to

interpret the

Holy Quran

53
54 59
61

Examples of Prophetic explanations of the Quran

Docs

the

Holy Quran need explanation?

limit

The time

of the Prophetic authority

The Prophclic Authority in worldly affairs The event of fecundation of the palm-trees

67

70

Chapter 3

The

authenticity of the "Sunnah":

its

historical aspect

75
73

The preservation of Sunnah

Three kinds of Ahad ith

7g

The authenticity of the first two kinds Different ways of Ahadilh preservation
1.

Memorization
Discussions
Practice

2.
3.

Writing

The compilation of Hadith

of the Holy Prophet

in the

days

The did at ions of the Holy Prophet

The book of sadaqah The

script

^
10*
101

copy of Amr b.

Hazm

Written directives to other Governors

Written directives for certain delegations

102

The compilations of Hadith by

of the Holy Prophet

the

companions
105

The

scripts of

Abu Hurairah
ibn

105

The script of Abdullah The script of Anas

Amr

'06

107 107 109

The script of Ali

Scripts

of Jabir

Scripts of Ibn 'Abbas

109
in the
' *

The compilation of ahadilh

era after the

companions
first

The compilations of the The books of haditli

the second century

century

13

written in
'

*5 18

The criticism of ahadith

1.

Scrutiny of the narrators

EM
123

2. 3. 4.

Constancy of the chain of nniraiois

Comparison with other narrations

General analysis of the tradition

'25
125

Conclusion

126

p-^Jl i/**v" ^'

pi

LS

J^ua\ jjJUt ojLp

^^U f)Lj ^iSj

-&

jlJ-I

FOREWORD

In

October 1989,

was

invited to present a paper

in

on

the "Authority of the

Sunnah"

an international conference

held in Chicago by an international Islamic organisation.

Since long,

felt the

need of a brief English booklet

containing basic information on "The Sunnah of the Holy

Prophet

", it's

general features, the nature of

it's

authority

and the standard of it's authenticity.

I

took the opportunity to

little

fulfil this

need and wrote on

the subject in a

more

detail than

was required

in a

conference of

this type.

The present work is the result of the above endeavour. This book is meant for the general reader who wants
to

know what the "Sunnah of the Holy Prophet 4&

it

" is,

how
all
it

does

have a binding authority over

all

the

Muslims

for

times to come, what status has the Holy Quran given to

and what measures has the

the

Ummah adopted to preserve

it

for

coming generations.

hope

that this

humble

effort will provide brief, yet

clear*

of similar nature and will help understanding the true status of the 'Sunnah' as a source of Islamic Law and as a source of guidance for all Muslims in
to questions
It

answers

hope in removing certain doubts inculcated by few contemporary writers in

will also assist,
I
f

their practical lives.

respect of the authority of the Sunnah,

May
adorne
readers.
it

Almighty Allah approve of with His pleasure and make

this
it

humble

effort,

beneficial to the

Muhammad Taqi Usmani

CHAPTER

SUNNAH:
THE SECOND SOURCE OF
ISLAMIC

LAW

The Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad i; has been

accepted as an important source of Islamic law, next in importance only to the Holy Quran. This status of the sunnah has remained

unchallenged and undisputed throughout the centuries. There have

been many differences among Muslims in their juristic opinions, but the authority of the Holy Quran and the sunnah of the Holy Prophet was never denied by any jurist. Leaving aside some
scattered individuals

who

stream of the Muslim

separated themselves from the main population, nobody has ever refused to

accept the sunnah of the Holy Prophet as a sacred source of the Islamic law.

The
orientalists

position

is

still

and some of their

same, but some non-Muslim followers have tried, during the last
the
in the authority or the veracity

of Hadiih and to develop a suspicious attitude towards the Sunnah. That is why some Muslims who are unable to study Islam through
iis

century to cast

some doubts

original sources,

when ihcy

read such books, often

become

bit skeptical in the subject.

The present

article intends, therefore, to

not to indulge hot atmosphere of argumentation which has no bounds or limits, but to narrate Lhc truth as it stands.
is

objective and simple account of the SUNN original sources of Islamic learning. The purpose
in a

AH

provide an based on the

DEFINITION OF

SVNNAH
defined by the scholars of lhc science

The Sitnnah has been

of Hadith as follows:
' '

"A word spoken or an

act

done or

a confirmation

given by the Holy Prophet

1

Muhammad

'Confirmation in this definition is termed in Arabic as Taqrir. What is meant by this term is like somebody said something, or acted in a particular manner, and his saying or act

came

knowledge of the Holy Prophet ^l.and he either confirmed it in express words or remained silent withoui giving any indication of disapproval. Such silence, being an implied approval of the Holy Prophet j^is also included in the term
to the

'Sunnah'.

As

the

Sunnah, with

all its

three kinds (saying, act and

jSg,
,

confirmation), relates to the Holy Prophet

the Islamic

lu

true status in

law cannot be ascertained without ascertaining the status of The Holy Prophet iS himself.

The
So
.

status of the

Holy Prophet
is:

the

first

pertinent question in the subject

What status

docs a prophet occupy when he is sent to the people? Has he no higher a status than that of a message - carrier or a postman who.

no concern with it whatsoever? The answer is certainly in the negative. The prophets arc not sent merely to deliver the word of Allah. They arc also rcquried to explain the divine Book to interpret it, to expound it, to demonstrate the ways of its application and to present a practical example of its contents. Their duty is not restricted to reciting the words of the Book, rather they are supposed to leach it and to
after delivering the letter, has
t

train people to run their lives in

accordance with

its

requirements.

The Holy Quran

leaves

no doubt concerning

this point

by saying:

\jJ rt^

**J

^-JU^Jl ^J>

-OJV

y4 J2i

Allah has surely blessed ihe believers with His

when He raised in their midst from among themselves, who recites

favour

Messenger to them His

earlier, in

verses and makes them pure and teaches llicm the

Book and

the

wisdom, while they were,

an open error (3:164).

S-ttiC^JIj c-jllxJt /v^-oJLajj

p^-Ojj^

<jLjI

^^ic-

He

(Allah)

unlettered, a

One who raised up, among the Messenger from among themselves who
is

the

recites the verses of Allah,

and makes them pure and

the

leaches them the

Book and

wisdom. (62:2)
the

The same

functions were attributed to

the prayer of Sayyidna Ibrahim

f%J\

*JL&

Holy Prophet *. in when, according to the

Holy Quran, he prayed:

j^rSJj il&Jl)

Lil^Cli

^4^i ^1

Our Lord, raise in their midst a messenger from among themselves who recites to them Your verses and teaches them the Book and the wisdom and
purifies their. (2: 129)

These arc
Prophet
Prophet

^ which
*

the terms or reference given to the Holy

include four distinct functions and the Holy has been entrusted with all of them:

(1) Recitation
(2)

of the Verses of Allah.

Teaching the Book of Allah,

Teaching the Wisdom.

(3)
(4)

Making

die people pure.

the

Thus the Holy Quran leaves no ambiguities in the fact that Holy Prophet ^is not supposed to merely recite the verses

and then leave it to the people to interpret and apply them in whatever manner they like. Instead, he is sent to 'teach* the

Book. Then, since teaching the Book is not enough, he is also Tcquircd to leach "Wisdom" which is something additional to the "Book". Still, this is not enough, therefore the Holy Prophet |Sp has also to 'make the people purc' meaning thereby that the theoretical teaching of the Book and the 'Wisdom' must be followed by a practical training to enable the people to apply the Book and the wisdom in the way Allah requires them to apply.
f

This verse of the Holy Quran describes the following functions of the Holy Prophet Jf
;

(a)

He

is

the authority in the

way

the

Holy Book has

to be

recited.

(b)

He

has the final word in the interpretation of the Book.

(c)

He
He

is

the only source at

which

the

wisdom based on

divine guidance can be learned.

(d)
to
is

entrusted with the practical training of the people

bring his teachings into practice.

These functions of the Holy Prophet 1> can never be carried out unless his teachings, bolh oral and practical, arc held to be authoritative for his followers, and the Muslims who arc given under his training arc made bound to obey and follow him, and 'c\ namely, the teaching of the Book and The functions Wisdom require that his 'sayings' should be binding on the

V
'

followers, while the function *d\ the practical training, requires

that his
r

acts

should be an example for the

to follow
it.

ummah, and

the

ununah should be bound

It is

not merely a logical inference from the verse of the

Holy Quran quoted above, but it is also mentioned in express terms by the Holy Quran in a large number of verses which give the Muslims a mandatory command to obey and follow him. While doing so, the Holy Quran has used two different terms namely, ihe 'ita'ah' (to obey) and the 'itiiM (lo follow). The first term refers to the orders and sayings of the Holy Prophet ^1
,

while the second rclalcs to his acts and practice. By ordering the Muslims both lo obey and lo 'follow' the Holy Prophet .
'
'

lli

Holy Quran has given an authority

to

both

his sayings

and

acts.

The obedience of
It

the Messenger

is

in this

background that the Holy

Quran

insists
it is

repeatedly on 'the obedience of the Prophet' so

much

so that

mentioned side by side with, the obedience of Allah,

Sit

o^ WjS

bli

J^JI

\jX\

$
'rffi
if

i^^l'
Say,
'

Obey

Allah and the Messenger buL

they

turn their backs

Allah loves not the disbelievers'.

And obey Allah and may be blessed, (3:132)

the

Messenger so

thai

you

those

who

believe,

obey Allah and obey

the

Messenger and those

in authority

among

you. (4:59)

And obey
beware. (5:92)
4i)i

Allah and obey the Messenger and

ij*J*ij /vSjuj

db

l^JU*lj

40)1

ljZU

So, fear Allah and set things right between you

and obey

Allah and His Messenger

It

you arc

believers. (8:1)

obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn away from him, while you arc listening (8:20)
those
believe,

who

Allah and His Messenger and do not quarrel with each other, and so lose heart (8:46)

And obey

11

Say, 'Obey Allah and obey ihc Messenger; then,

you tum away, upon him rests what is laid on him, and upon you rests what is laid on'you. IT you obey him, you will be guided". (24:54)
if

jiaat \j^j% 'S^j\

obey Allah and obey the Messenger and do not make your deeds vain.
those
believe,

who

(47:33)

$ *

* +

So, establish salah and pay zakah and obey Allah

and His Messenger (58:1 3)

^i ^SMi Wt^u J
And obey Allah and obey the Messenger, but if you turn your backs, Our Messenger has only to
deliver the manifest message. (64:12)

obedience of the Messenger' has been ordered as an obligatory command. There arc oiher verses in which the results of the 'obedience of the Messenger' have been
In these verses 'the

described. Here again the 'obedience of the Messenger' has been

combined with

'the

obedience of Allah*:

13
1>4JU
#

*tjjl
*

A^iOlU
1

UU4V4J1J
#

J^UjjJI
*

likljl *Jj*-jj <bl

j^JaJj

3lSjJl

oy^i3 SiLJI

And

the believers,

men and women,

fair

a e friends

of each other; ihcy bid the

and forbid the unfair;

they establish salah and pay zakah and ihcy obey

Allah and His Messenger.

These arc those upon

is

whom

Allah shall have mercy; Allah

All

Mighty,

All Wise. (9:71)

you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not diminish you anything of your deeds. (49: 14)
If

The Holy Quran has also made it clear that 'the obedience of the prophet* is not a new principle, nor is it limiicd to the Holy Prophet Muhammad -^ The same principle applied to all the former prophets who came before him:
.

And we

scni

obeyed by the
It is

no messenger, but that he should be leave of Allah. (4:64)

by the Holy Quran thai the prophets arc the spokesmen of Allah's pleasure. Hence, the obedience of the
also clarified

prophet

is

actually the obedience of Allah Himself.

14
And whoever obeys
obeys Allah. (41:80)
ihc Messenger, thereby

Holy Prophet Jg& has been stressed by the Holy Quran and has been combined v/iLli the 'obedience of Allah" in the same way his disobedience* has been warned against and is combined with the disobedience of Allah
*
'

As

the obedience or the

':

<li-Ju 43jJl>-

J**>J ^J~"JJ

*W 0**H

(J*J

And whoever disobeys

Allah and

Ills

and transgresses His limits, He shall Fire where he shall remain forever (4:14)

Messenger idmil him to

And whoever disobeys

Allah and His Messenger

error. (33:36)

has gone astray into manifest

(lip l^Jj

jj\>.

And whoever disobeys

for

Allah and His Messenger,

him there

is

the fire of

Jahannam. There Ihcy

shall

remain forever. (72:23)

And whoever makes

a breach with Allah

is

mm

Messenger, then Allah

severe in

and His punishment.

15
Did ihcy not come 10 know liiat whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger, for him there is the fire of

Jahannamn

(9:63)
1

Thus, both positive and negative aspects of lhc 'obedience have been dealt with in the Holy Quran and the 'obedience of lhc

each one of these verses has been mentioned separately, alongwiih the obedience of Allah:
'

Holy Prophet

in

noteworthy that whenever the 'obedience of Allah is mentioned in the Holy Quran, it is always followed by the
It is

obedience of the Prophet* which has never been missed even in a

single verse.

There

is

no verse

in the entire

Book where

the

'obedience of Allah' has been mentioned alone with no reference

to the

'Obedience of the Messenger*.

On

Lhc contrary, there arc

some
1

verses where only the

is

'obedience of the Messenger' has been mentioned, and there

reference to the 'obedience of Allah
:

no

And

establish salah and

pay Zakah and obey Lhc

Prophet, so Lhal you

.'

may
,-*
.

be blessed. (24:56)
t r
t

And

if

you obey him

:

(the Prophet),

you

shall find

lhc right path. (24

54)

day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth might be
that

On

levelled wilh them. (4

42)

16

J&KM dL*J f**^

become

*^\j

And whoever makes a

after the right path has

breach with the Messenger

clear to him,

and

way other than that of the believers, We shall let him own what he chose and shall admit him in the Jahannam. and it is evil as a returning place.
follows a
(4:115)

upon the 'obedience of the Prophet' is that the obedience of Allah' cannot be carried out Allah docs not except through the 'obedience of the Prophet address each and every individual to tell him what He requires from him, as the Holy Quran puts it;

The reason

for so

much

stress

Lij U Oj^
And
it is

^J

"ilj-j

J-jj

*Ly
that

not possible for a

human being

Allah should speak to him, except by revelation, or from behind a curtain, or that He should send a

messenger and he reveal by His have what

wills. (42:51)

He

Therefore Allah conveys His injunctions only through H:s prophets, and his obedience cannot be carried out except by the
obedience of the messengers. So, when a prophet bids something
or forbids something, he docs not do
rather,
it

in his private capacity,

he docs so
1

in the capacity

of a messenger of Allah.

When

Allah Himself has given an express command 'to obey the Messenger the obedience of the Prophet is actually the "obedience of Allah , though in an indirect manner. This point
,
1

17
has been clearly established by the Holy Quran words:
**
i

in the

following

* if f

'

"

"V

6
ii

i^

**

And whoever obeys

obeys Allah. (4:80)

ihc Messenger, thereby

So, whenever only the 'obedience of the Messenger' has

Holy Quran it includes, without saying, the 'obedience of Allah' because the Messenger docs not say anything in the capacity of a Messenger unless he is guided by a revelation
in the

been mentioned

from Allah:

if-M y*S

% S* Oj &$\0 jl*4 Uj
his
(to

And he (the Prophet) docs not speak out of own desirc. It is not but a revelation revealed
him) (53:3)
Looked
at

from

this angle* the

obedience of the Prophet ^Sj

represents the obedience of Allah and the reference to the former always includes the latter That is why the Holy Quran in some
,

verses deemed

it

sufficient to refer to the obedience of the

practical

Messenger only, for the obey the prophet.

way

to

obey Allah

is

only to

On

the contrary, the

to refer to the 'obedience

Holy Quran did not deem it sufficient of Allah* without referring to the
to

remove even the remotest excuse for ignoring the 'obedience of the Prophet* and to leave no doubt whatsoever in the fact that the 'obedience of Allah* is not complete
unless the 'obedience of the Prophet*
implications.
1

'obedience of ihc Messenger',

is

fully

observed with

all its

18
Ittiba'

(following) of the Prophet*

The second term used by

prophets
is the' ittlba\ i.e. to

the

Holy Quran

in respcel

of the

follow:

you love Allah, follow me and Allah love you and forgive you your sins (3:31)
Say,
if

wilt

CiJJl

^1

^JJi

Jj^Jl

U**r^

d^*
AjjJshj

JygtJglj Sljjlll ^i

-*AJLLfr \jjZ&~4

Those who follow

Prophet
die

the Messenger, the unlettered

whom

ihcy find written

down

with them in

Torah and the Evangilc... (7:157)

c^JJl

of'y.

^1 yr^l
.

-Jj-jj-uAj (*i#U

JjOlyJ pXLJ >^lj

OUlSj

4JDb

Believe, then, in Allah and His Messenger, the

unlettered Prophet,

who

believes in Allah and His

words, and follow him so that you

right path. (7:157)

may be on

the

Allah has surely relented towards the Prophet and

the Emigrants and the Helpers

who

followed him

in

an hour of difficulty

(9:1 17)

19

O
who

Prophet, sufficient to you

is

Allah and those

followed you of the believers (8:64)

Mli D^rjJ!

U*Jlj cJjpl

Uj

tul

b&

(The believers say:) Our Lord, wc have come to believe in what You revealed, and followed the Messenger. So, write us among those who bear
witness. (3:53)
VST

iJ^L

jm

-it

J\ j&m uf?^

*$* d*
* *&
*

* *

Say,

"

This
1

is

my

way.

call lo

Allah with sure

knowledge,

and whoever follows me." (12:108)

The closest of the people who follow him. (3:68)

** V <+**jj SBjf
'

to Ibrahim are those

"

'-'I'

'* '*Sl

*^*?-'

Ml Crt^*
"
*

f-

lit"

VJ**

c5*

^^-J
followed

And Wc
him

set in the hearts

of those

who

(Jesus) tenderness and

mercy (57:27)

jll
!

J&Q V* 3 ^ j^C

^ IfA J&J

And warn
,

the people of the day

evil punishment comes on them and those "Our Lord, defer us to a near term, and shall say

when who did

ihe

wc

shall

respond
1 .

to

Your

call

and shall follow the

messengers'

(14:44)

20

did not appoint the Qiblah on which you were earlier, but that might know the people who

And We

We

follow the Messenger, as distinct from those turn back on their heels (2:143)

who

He
(36:20)

said,

'My people, follow

the messengers'.

(Moses

said:)

And your Lord

So, follow

is

the 'Rahman'

(the All-Merciful).

me

and obey

my

command. (20:90)

j^a ^ii

si

ill

^'Wlj &\J*$
*

Ijftai

(Yt
a single

j^UI)
we

^lj
follow

So, they (the disbelievers) said, 'Shall

human being from among us? Then, indeed

we

should be in error and insanity*. (54:24)

these verses, with different styles and connotations, lay
1

AH

a strong emphasis on the necessity of 'following the prophets and indicate that whoever believes in a prophet is bound to
is obvious. The prophets arc sent to the people to set a practical example of what they teach and preach. Their message is not confined to their oral teachings Their acts are equally important in any effort to discover, learn and follow

follow' him.

The

reason

the right

way of living. The Holy Quran

is

quite explicit

on

this

21
point

when it was

said in

Surah al

Ahzab:

( X\

uJyS\

There is surely a good example for you in the Messenger of Allah, for the one who hopes (to meet) Allah and the Hereafter, and remembers Allah
abundantly/ (33:21)
It is
1

an established fact

that

mere

theoretical education

cannot be sufficient for reforming a people. Ttye natural way of reformation is to set a practical example which people may follow.

Merc reading of books cannot make

or an, unless he
skillful artist
is

a person perfect in a science

simultaneously trained by a senior scholar or a

If

of

that field.

medical science,

somebody but docs not work under

books of the supervision of an

studies the

experienced doctor, he despite his thorough study/cannot claim to serve as a doctor nor can such a person be allowed to play with
the lives of the patients.
If

somebody

studies books of law, he cannot claim to be a

lawyer unless he acquires a practical training from a senior lawyer and remains for a considerable lime under his juniorship.

Even a plain enthusiast who wants to cook a good meal cannot do so perfectly by merely studying the books written on
the subject, although
all

the ingredients required for cooking the

food arc mentioned

process arc fully
that

book and even the minute details of the described. But a person who has never cooked
in the

meal before cannot prcpaie it just right and perfect with the sole help of a cook - book unless he is practically trained by some expert. That expert sets a practical example for him and he, by following the example, gradually learns how to cook that good
meal.

22
ft

clearly

shows

that

human beings

arc always in need of a

practical

example

in order to learn

an important subject. The same

is tine in the

matter of religious leaching and training.

That
only.

is

why

Allah did not choose to send the divine books

He always sent a messenger with the book. There arc many prophets who came without a new divine book. But there is no divine book sent down without a prophet. The disbelievers of Makkah, too demanded many times that ihe Book should be
f

revealed to them without the mediation of the Holy Prophet

But the demand was rejected and the Book was sent through Holy Prophet j. .

the

The reason

is

obvious. Humanity did not need a divine

book only. It also needed a teacher who could teach them the contents of the Book. It also needed an instructor who could train them and could set a practical example for them without which they could not benefit from the Book in their practical life. It was for this reason that the Holy Prophet i|p was sent with a clear direction to all human beings that they arc bound to obey and follow him and to leam the details of Allah's pleasure through the practical example set before them by him. It was also clarified in the foregoing verse of the Holy Book that the 'obedience of the Messenger' is actually the 'obedience of Allah and that the latter
1

cannot be carried out except through the former, because whatever

Holy Prophet says or docs in the capacity of a prophet is based on the revelation received by him from Allah. Thus, his sayings and his acts both, even though they arc not contained in the Holy Quran, are inspired or confirmed by the divine
the
revelation.

23

TWO

KINDS OF REVELATION

It

follows from the foregoing discussion that the revelation

: receives from Allah
is

the

Holy Prophet

of two different

kinds:

Quran the Holy Book, named in the Islamic terminology as aj-wahy al-matluww (the recited revelation i.e.. the revelation which can be recited in the prayers). This kind of revelation is confined to the verses of the Holy Quran and is
(i)

the revelation of the

written verbally in
(ii)

its folds.

by the Holy Prophet ig; from time to time to let him know the pleasure of Allah in day -to-day affairs and the details of the principles laid down in the Holy
the revelation received

This kind of revelation is called al-wahv ghair-al-matiuww (the unrccilcd revelation). This kind of revelation ife not conveyed to the people verbally. It has been demonstrated through the sayings and acts of the Holy

Quran with

their correct interpretation.

Prophet

THE SECOND KIND OF REVELATION PROVED BY THE HOLY QURAN.

This second kind of revelation
is

not contained in the Holy

it

Quran, but the Holy Quran

but attributes
its

itself

not only refers to

frequently

contents to Allah Almighty.

Some verses of the

below which clearly prove that the 'revelation is not confined to the Holy Quran, but there is another kind orwahy' which docs not form part of the "Holy Book", yet

Holy Book
1

arc reproduced

24
it

is

Lhc revelation from Allah Almighty:

The Holy Quran

says:

Wc did not appoini Lhc Qiblah on which you were earlier but that Wc might know the people who
And
follow the Messenger as distinct from those
turn back

who

on

their heels. (2: 143)

il

In order to

understand the verse,

il

is

necessary to

know

the

background

in

which

was

revealed:
life, after

In the early

daysotMadani

the

Holy Prophet's

migration to Mactinah, the Muslims were ordered to direct their faces in prayers towards Byttd-MaqcUs (Jerusalem) which had

been appointed as Qiblah of the Muslims. Upto seventeen months the Muslims had been observing the Bytul-Maqdis as their Qlhtalu
seventeen months that lhc Holy Quran abrogated the earlier order and the Muslims were required to observe the Holy
It

was

after

Mosque

Makkah as their Qiblah and turn their faces towards il while praying. The following verse was revealed to appoini the
of
DQwQiblali:

So, turn your face lo wards Al-Masjid-al-Haram.

(2:144)

This

new

order was criticised by

it

some

disbelievers and

was appointed as Qiblah earlier. The above quoted verse (2:143) was revealed lo answer this objection. The answer was that the appointment of the former Qiblah was in order to test the people whether or not
they objected on
as to

why

the Bylul-Maqdis

they follow the Messenger.

To quote

the verse again:

25
"

And Wc

earlier

(i.e.

did not appoint the Qiblah on which you were Bytul - Maqdis) but that Wc might know the people

who

follow the

Messenger

"

Here the appointment of the previous Qiblah has been attributed to Allah Almighty which is a clear indication to the fact that the appointment of Bytul - Maqdis as Qiblah was done by the order of Allah Almighty Himself. But this order is nowhere in the Holy Quran, and there is no verse in the Holy Book which directs the turning of faces towards Bylul-Maqdis. This order was given to Muslims by the Holy Prophet |g with no reference to any verse of the Holy Quran. Still, this order was mentioned by the Holy Quran in the above quoted verse as the order of Allah: The
words:

"Wc

did not appoint the Qiblah" instead of the words:

point

"The Holy Prophet did not" to need more explanation.

arc loo clear

on

this

This statement of the Holy Quran, thus, evidently proves that the previous order given by the Holy Prophet was based on a revelation which did not form part of the Book. And this is exactly the Unrccilcd revelation \ The verse of the Holy Quran

'

(2:1

43) quoted above proves the following

(a) the

Tacts:

Holy Prophet used

to

receive

some

revelations

which arc not contained

(b)

in the

Holy Quran.

These revelations were from Allah Almighty, so much so that the orders based on such revelations were
attributed to

Allah Almighty.
revelation were as binding on

(c)

The orders based on such

the believers as

the orders of the first

kind or

revelations
(d)

i.e.,

the verses of

Holy Quran.

These orders were sometimes given so as to test whether or not tlic Muslims follow the Messenger JSj^ irrespective

26
of ihc question
that his orders arc contained in ihc

Holy

Quran or
2, In the

not.

Muslims

in

beginning one of ihc rules followed by therespect of the fasts of Ramadan was that even a short

nap after iftar (breaking of a fast) would nullify the permissibility of having sexual intercourse with one's wife. So, if someone would sleep for a short while after iflar and wake up again, he

would lose
rest

the opportunity of sleeping with his wife during the

fast

was over. This rule was presccibed by the Holy Prophet -^and was not contained in the Holy Quran. But some Muslims broke ihc rule by sleeping with
of the night, despite that the

wives after having a post-iftarnap. Referring to these events, ihc Holy Quran first admonishes those people who did not follow
their

by abrogating the same allows the Muslims in future to sleep with ihcir wives even when they had a nap after iftar. In this context the Holy Quran says:
the rule. Then,
-

lytk

*^ * ^ ~ *L-j J! ^jJl f\?*^

*

**

t* t

t^a

SJLJ

j J^l

^
(vav
i

f&j\

<Iii

^ ^J ^u

^j\ j

^i ^*y

s^ii)

jlil

JJ

^Ol Ijluf

Ii is

made

lawful for you, in the nights of fasis, to

have sex with your women. They arc a cover for you, and you arc a cover for them. Allah knew that

you were betraying yourselves;

towards you and pardoned you.

so,

So,

He relented now you can

have sexual intimacy with them, and seek what Allah

has destined for you, and cat and drink until the

27
white thread of ihc

dawn becomes

distinct

from the

black thread; then complete the fasts upto the night.

(2: 187)

The following points with

consideration:
(a)

respect to this verse arc worth

The verse confirms thai having sex during 'Ramadan' was not lawful before,

the nights of

(b)

The people who hud sex during the nights of Ramadan before this verse was revealed, arc admonished by
describing their act as 'betraying themselves'.

(c)

The words,
'relenting'

'so

He

relented towards you and pardorcd

you', indicate that their sexual act

was

a sin, because

and 'pardoning' occur only after a person

sin.

commits a
(d)

The words
them*

now you can have sexual intimacy with denote that it is only now that the sexual act
'so

during the nights of Ramadan has been

made

lawful.

All these points confirm the fact that the earlier prohibition

of having sexual intercourse during the nights of Ramadan was validly made by a competent authority, and the Muslims were

bound

to abide

by

it

But there
prohibition.
the
in
It

Holy Quran to convey this was enforced only by ihc Holy Prophet Still,
is

no verse

in the

Holy Quran not only confirms its own words. It is due to the

Jg

it

bui also treats

fact that

wcrc the Holy Prophet

it

as if

it

did not enforce this prohibition by his

own

^
in

will,
is

it

was

rather,

based on a revelation of Allah Almighty which the Holy Quran.

not contained

Looked
Holy Quran

at

from
is

this angle, this verse

on

the one fiand

part of the

proves that there

,

a revelation

which docs nut form

it

and on the other hand,

reaffirms the status of ihc

28
Holy Prophet ^;as a law-giver, and orders and prohibitions, arc binding on
3,

that his injunctions, both

the Muslims.

On

the accasion of the battle of Uhud,

some Quranic

verses were revealed to

Baulc of Badr: How ihcm to send the angels to These verses arc as under:
-oil

Muslims recall the events of the Allah helped them and how He promised
the
their aid,

make

and how He actually did

so.

ljjJ\i ij^l

*I}i

j jjuj

4U1 fOj-AJ

JlII

tiSyL ls$\\ Li <J^T iblL JCjj J^J-J jl

iB.

"

*"

1
.'

' *

"

\T6 - \Y-Yi Jtj^ Jl)

Allah has certainly helped you
at

(^^*
Badr while you

were weak.
grateful.

So, fear Allah, so thai you

may be

When you (O
it

Prophet) were saying to the

believers, "Shall
shall aid

not suffice you that your Lord

you with three thousand angels being sent down? Why not? If you observe patience and fear Allah and they come to you in this their heat, your Lord shall aid you wiih five thousand angels having distinct marks". And Allah did not make it but a good news for you so that your hearts might be
satisfied.

And

there

is

no help but from Allah, the

(3;

All-Mighty, the All-Wise."

123,126)

29
The
italicised

sentence of these verses attributes the good

news of the aid of angels to Allah Almighty, meaning thereby that the good news of this aid was given by Allah Himself. But this good news given at the time of Badr is nowhere available in the Holy Quran. In other words, there is no verse in the Holy Book revealed during the battle of Badr which implies the good news of the aid of the angels. What is quoted above is only a reference of
that news,

made
in this

at

the time of a later battle, and

it is

expressly

mentioned

verse that the good news was given by the Holy

the

Prophet 3$.

Still,

news

is

attributed to Allah.

Thus,

it

is

another example where the words of the Holy

Prophet j$ are held to be the words of Allah. There is no reason for this expression other than that the words of the Prophet

were inspired by a special revelation, not contained in the Holy Quran, and this is what is called the 'unrccited revelation*.
4. Referring to the battle

of

Uhud

at

another occasion, the

Holy Quran

says,

jUiVi

And when

Allah promised you that one of the two

^groups shall be for you (8:7)

One of

the

two

parties referred to in this verse

was

the

commercial caravan of Abu Sufyan, coming from Syria, and the other group was the army of the Makkan disbelievers, led by Abu Jahl. The above verse says that Allah had promised the believers that they would triumph over one of these two groups. The Muslims, in fact, won the battle against the latter, namely, the

army of Abu Jahl,

The

point worth consideration here

is that

the promise of
is

Allah to give the Muslims victory against any of the two groups

not there in the Holy Quran. This promise was conveyed to the

30
Holy Prophet Jj| without any reference to any verse of the Holy Quran. Still the verse quoted above attributes the promise lo Allah, and not to the Holy Prophet 3$
the
.

Muslims by

The only conclusion derivable from this is that the promise was received by the Holy Prophet ^through an 'unrccitcd
Hence, it is attributed lo Allah. Guided by this revelation, the Holy Prophet ijf conveyed the promise to his companions.
revelation'.
,

Thus, it is another proof of the existence of a kind of revelation which is not contained in the Holy Quran and is called
the 'unrccitcd revelation
5.
1 ,

Once

the

Holy Prophet $
lo

told a secret to

one of his

wives. She disclosed the secret to

some other

person.

When

the

Holy Prophet came

know

thai the secret

has been disclosed by

She asked him as to who told him about the disclosure. The Holy Prophet ^replied that he was informed about it by Allah Almighty.
his wife, he sought an explanation from her.

This event has been mentioned by the Holy Quran following words:

in the

"And when

the Prophet told

one of

his

wives
it.

about a matter secretly: then, when she told about

and Allah has disclosed it to him, he made known some part of it and turned aside from some part; then, when lie told her about it, she said, * Who told
T

31
you
this"?

He

said,

'

was

told by the

All

-Knowing, the All -Aware.

The
secret.

italicised sentences

of this vcise are quite clear in that

Allah has told the Holy Prophet J> about the disclosure of the

This

is

also not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Quran.

where the Holy Prophet ^received some revelation from Allah other than the one contained in the Holy Quran. This is exactly the 'unrccitcd revelation'.
So,
il

is

another concrete example

During the scigc of Banu Nadir, the famous tribe of the Jews in Mcdinah, some Muslims had cut down datc-trccs from
6.

compel the enemy to surrender. After the war was over, some Jews objected to the cutting trees. The Holy Quran has answered the objection in the following words:
around the
fort to

jjJ~\ )

44)1

o^M

Vj***

Whatever date-trees you cut down, or left standing upon their roots, that was by the leave of
Allah (59:5)
Il

has been very directly mentioned in

cut

this

verse that the

Muslims

down
to

the trees with a leave

in the

from Allah. But nobody

Holy Quran to the effect that the cutting of trees during the war is allowed. The question is: from where did the Muslims acquire this leave from Allah? There is no answer to this question except that the leave of Allah had been conveyed to them by the Holy Prophet Up and he received it
can point out

any verse

through 'unrccitcd rcvclaLion'.

Holy Prophet^; had adopted Sayyidna Zaid b. Harithah as his son. He married Zainab daughter of Jahsh. After some time their relations began to be
7. It is well

known

that the

strained and, ultimately, he divorced her.

In the
all

days of
respects.

Jahiiiyyah an adopted son was treated as a real son in

32
and for
all

purposes.

The Holy Quran, on

the other hand,

declared that Ihc adopted sons cannot be treated as the real ones.

of the adopted son, Allah that he should marry Almighty ordered the Holy Prophet Zainab after her having been divorced by his adopted son, Zaid ibn Hariihah. The Holy Prophet ij was a bit reluctant in the beginning, for, according to the prevalent custom, it was treated a shameful act to marry the divorced wife of ones adopted son. But when the Holy Prophet i. received a concrete order from

To eradicate

the Jahili concept

Allah, he married her.

This event has been mentioned by the Holy Quran

following words

in the

U iUJi

^ ^iJj

<

Ii)l

jllj &*-$}

iU& dL-U

IjC

y&

t*?l4jj

1>j

^ Wj

#SI Uli

^p 4)1 iil O^J

>A? O*^

TV

vl>^l )

When you were saying to the one whom Allah had blessed and whom you had blessed, {i.e. Zaid
before he divorced Zainab), "Keep to you your wife and Tear Allah," and you were hiding in your heart

what Allah was to disclose and you were fearing people, and Allah has more right to be feared by
you.

So,

when Zaid

finished with her.

We

made

vou marry her, so that there may remain no restriction on the bclicvcis in respect of tfic wives of

33
adopted sons when they have finished with them. And the order of Allah had to be done.
their

(33:37)

Here the words, *you were hiding in your heart what Allah was to disclose* refer to the foot that Allah had informed the Holy Prophet # that he win marry Zainab after she is divorced by Zaid. The Holy Prophet iknew that, ultimately, she is going to be divorced by Zaid, but, out of shame, he could not disclose it and when Zaid consulted him in the matter, he advised him to keep to his wife and not to divorce her.

From this it follows that the Holy Prophet i had been foretold by Allah that Zainab was going to be divorced by her
husband. But this information
It

is

not contained in the Holy Quran.

was given to him through an umecited revelation.

The second semence is more significant in the context, that is, "We made you many her* Here Allah Almighty declares that ic marriage between the Holy Prophet i^and Say y id ah Zainab was contracted by an order of Allah. This order is nowhere
li

mentioned in the Holy Quran. Still, the Holy Quran affirms iL This is another confirmation of an order conveyed to the Holy
Prophet i> through an 'unrccitcd revelation'.
to establish salah (the prayer) and to be steadfast in it. In the following verse, after repeating the same order, the Holy Quran
8.

The Holy Quran has

repeatedly ordered the

Muslims

gives a special concession to the Muslims that in the slate of war, when they fear an attack from their enemy, they can perform the

prayer in whatever way they can, either riding on horses or camels or walking on their fceL But after the danger of the enemy is
over, they are ordered to perform the prayer in
Tliis principle
its

normal way.

has been laid down in the following words:

j J*Jj}\ ftLJIj a\JuJ\

yaU

34

vwm

%&$

)
all

Take due care of

if

the prayers and the middle

prayer, and stand before Allah in total devotion.

But

you arc in fear, then (pray) on foot or riding, but when you are in peace, then recite the name of Allah in the way He taught you. 0:239,240)

A number of points are worth consideration in these verses:

assumes that there are more than one prayers obligatory on the Muslims, but the exact number of the prayers has not been given, neither in this verse nor at any other place in the Holy Quran. That the number of obligatory prayers is The Hol y Quran five is only mentioned by the Holy Prophet by saying 'Take due care of all the prayers' confirms what the
Firstly, the verse

Holy Prophet $$* prescribed for the Muslims.

Secondly, the verse lays special emphasis on the "Middle Prayer , but does not define it. The definition has been left to the
1

Holy Prophet

Thirdly, the most important sentence in relation to our subject is 'when vou are in peace, then, rece ite the name of Allah
,

goes without saying that the to perform the 'recitation of the name of Allah* means here prayed as the context does not permit any olher meaning.
in the

wav He

taught vou'

It

'

the Holy Quran directs the Muslims that in the state of peace they should perform the prayer in its normal way which has been taught to them by Allah. It is an express indication that

Now,

the normal

way of performing

prayers has been taught to the

Muslims by Allah Himself.

mentioned in the mentioning the detailed way of performing prayer. It is only the Holy Prophet |who educated the Muslims as to how they are to

But no such way has ever been Holy Quran. There is no verse in the Holy Book

35
perform
it.

Prophet to
It

But the Holy Quran holds the teaching of the Holy be the teaching of Allah.

means that Allah has taught the way of prayer to the Holy Prophet ^through some 'unreel ted revelation not contained in the Holy Quran, and the Holy Prophet ^taught it to die Muslims Thus, the Muslims have been taught by Allah through the teaching of the Holy Prophet iL. However, the teaching of the Holy Prophet |f| is described in the Holy verse as the teaching of Allah, because it was based on the 'unrccited rcvclaiion
1

^ Muslims
Prophet

9.

Certain hypocrites had not accompanied the Holy in the expedition of Hudaibiyah. After that, when the

resolved to proceed to the battle of Khybcr, the Holy Prophet iSp declared that only the participants of Hudaibiyah shall
entitled to

be

accompany him on

this journey.

The hypocrites

who

did not go to Hudaibiyah were

now

interested in their

participation in the batik of Khybcr, because, according to their

anticipation, the

sizeable spoils

Holy Prophet

Muslims were expected to gain from there which the hypocrites wanted to share. But the
t

inspitc

of

their requests, did not allow

them

to

participate in the battle.

This event has been referred Holy Quran

to in the

following verse of the

(\a.tfl).

[^

ty&\'j\S }j bj*Js
will say,

b*$
set

"Those remaining behind

when you

forth after spoils to acquire them, *Let us follow

you' desiring to change the words of Allah. Say, You shall not follow us; so Allah has said earlier.*
(48:15)

The words

in italics indicate that Lhcrc

was

a previous

word

36
of Allah barring the participation of the hypocrites in the battle of Khybcr, and confining the battle to the participants of Hudaibiyah. But no such word exists anywhere in the Holy Quran. It was
only a prophetic order. Still, Allah Almighty describes it as His Own word. The reason is obvious. The Prophetic order was based on the order of Allah received by him through some
"unretited revelation
it
1

which

is

not found in the Holy Quran. Yet,

was a

revelation, as certain as

any wbid of Allah.

days of his Prophcthood, when the Holy Prophet JL received the verses of the Holy Quran revealed to him, he used to recite the same simultaneously, lest he should forget them. It was a strenuous exercise for him. because he felt it
10. In the early

was much too difficult to

correctly, and to learn
it

listen to the revelation, to understand

it

by

heart, all at the

Almighty relieved him from this following verses of the Holy Quran:

same time. Allah burden when He revealed the

4$Lj

L*U

0j jj 43jl g3li tbt^i

liji

6\j3

Move not your tongue with it in

It is

order to hasten iL

on Us

to gather

it

(in

when We read it, on Us to explain it. (75:16,1

So.

your heart) and to recite it. follow its reading. Then it is

In the last sentence, Allah Almighty has promised the Holy

Prophet is to explain the verecs of the Holy Quran to him. It is evident that this explanation is something separate from the Holy Quran itself. It is not the Holy Quran. It is its explanation or its
exegesis. Therefore,
distinct
it

should necessarily be in some other form,

1

from the words of the Holy Book. And this is exactly what is meant by the 'unrecitcd revelation . But the two kinds of revelation, though different in their form, are both revealed to the Holy Prophet -*!, both are from Allah, and both arc to be believed and obeyed by the Muslims.

37
1 JL

The Holy Quran says

ii&j-ij

lo the

Holy Prophet
i*i

u aj^j

im\ a>

3>fy}

'lj^ dd*
And Allah has

M '&& d^j fXS a& ^

revealed upon you the Book and the wisdom, and has taught you what you did not

know, and the grace of Allah upon you has been

great. (4:113)

of the Wisdom has been mentioned as separate from the revelation of the Book. It indicates that the wisdom referred to here is something additional to the Holy Quran, and it has also been revealed lo the Holy Prophet ig: by Allah Almighty. Then the Holy Quran proceeds to
In this verse the revelation

say

"And (Allah) has taught you what you did not know".
Book, but has Wisdom, and also taught the Holy Prophet what he did not know before. This leaching includes ail kinds of directions given by Him to his Prophet, cither through the Holy Book or through some 'unrccitcd revelation in the light of which
It

means

that Allah has not only revealed ihc

also revealed the

ihc

Holy Prophet |f| performed

his functions as a

messenger of

Allah.
12.

The Holy Quran has summarised

the various kinds of

revelation in the following words:

& jt y.s
( o
*

*j &\

*!&

at

Jg sir u

iSjflM

38
human being that Allah should speak to him, except by way of revelation, or from behind a curtain, or 'that He should send a messenger and he reveals by His leave whatHcwills".(42:5I)
it is

And

not possible for a

out or these three modes, the revelation of the Holy Quran was carried out through the third one, namely, through an angel who is identified in the verse by the word, 'messenger'. It
is

Now,

clearly settled by

some other verses:

agi

tffe

# Ik^'fe
enemy

otf

>.

$
*

>

Say, whoever be an

to Jibril (Gabriel, the

it

angel)-

it is

he

who

has brought

(the

Quran) down

upon your heart by the permission of Allah (2:97)

\\a ~\\T
truly,
it

Aj*jl}\

)
is

And

(the

Quran)

the revelation

of the

Lord of the worlds, brought down by the Faithful Spirit upon your heart, that you may be one of the
warncrs, in a clear Arabic tongue. (26:129,195)

These verses arc quile

explicit

on the point

that the

Holy

Quran has been revealed through an angel, named in ihc first verse as Jibril, and in the second one as the Faithful Spirit; but the verse (42:51) quoted above describes that there arc two more ways of revelation. These two modes have also been used in the case of the Holy Prophet $. It means that ihc revelation sent down to the Holy Prophet was not confined to the Holy Quran, but there were other revelations, too. These revelations arc termed as
. T

unrcc:tcd revelation'

These arc sixteen verses, which affirm not only the

existence of the 'unrccited revelation' but also
authenticity, and
its
its reliability

and

binding nature.

It is

not intended here to

Holy Quran to establish this kind of revelation. The purpose was to give some examples only, which has, perhaps, been substantially served, But before proceeding further, it will be useful to recollect and summarise the conclusions that stand proved in the light of the Holy Quran as
all

produce

the material available in the

discussed above:

Holy Prophet f> like other prophets is not only to convey the divine Book. He is also to teach the Book, to teach the wisdom and to make people pure by training them practically.
(1)

The function of

the

(2)

The 'Obedience of

the

Holy Prophet'

is

as

necessary as the obedience of Allah; because the

latter

has always

been mentioned in the Holy Quran combined with the former.

(3) 'The

Obedience of the Holy Prophet'

latter

-25-in practical

obedience of Allah'; and the out except through the former.

is 'the

terms

cannot be carried

(4)

The Muslims

are

bound not only

an obligation

to

obey the Holy

iProphet, but they are also under

to follow him.

Whatever the Holy Prophet^ says or does in his capacity of a Messenger is always based on, or confirmed by, a
(5)
revelation from Allah.

sometimes contained in the Holy Quran and called the recited revelation, and sometimes it is sent down in addition to the Holy Quran, and the same is termed as
'unrecitcd revelation
1 .

(6) This revelation is

40
The obedience of
the Prophet

as distinct from the obedience

of a ruler

which are based purely on the of the Holy Quran, another possiblity, often overemphasized by some quarters while opposing the authority of
verses

From

the above conclusions,

sometimes said that the Holy Quran, when it ordains the obedience of the Holy Prophet^, means his obedience in the capacity of a niler or a head of the state, and not in the capacity of a prophet. Since the Holy Prophet jP was also a ruler of the Muslims, they were ordered to 'obey* and 'follow* him. But after he passed away, his personal obedience is no more necessary. Now, whoever takes over the
Ft is

the sunnah, is completely ruled out.

rule shall stand for the

Holy Prophet

|3

in the matter

of

obedience, and the Muslims should follow him.

This fallacy is based on the misconception that the Holy Prophet was ordered to be obeyed in his capacity of a ruler, and not in the capacity of a prophet or messenger.

But the verses already quoted leave no room for

misconception.
(1)

this

The

reasons are as under:

Wherever the Holy Quran, has directed toward the 'obedience of the Holy Prophet it has always referred to the
1

'obedience of the Messenger' and not to

ruler',

the obedience of the

iSfc

nor to the obedience of 'Muhammad*

It

in his private

capacity.

clearly indicates that

he must be obeyed on account of

his being a messenger.

When

say, to someone, 'obey your father',

is

it

means
I

that

his being father

the basic cause of his being obeyed. If

it

say,

'obey your teachei\

is

evident that his being teacher

is

the cause
interpret

3f his obedience being due.

Nobody can reasonably

41
these sentences conversely. So,

when Allah Almighty says 'Obey

the Messenger

how can
not the

messcngcrship
(2) At

is

be reasonable to say that bis cause of his obedience?

it

one occasion,

at least, the

even the remotest

said:

possibility of this

Holy Quran has removed wrong interpretation, when it

those

who

believe,
in

Messenger and those

obey Allah and obey the authority among you (4:59)

lias

been separated and distinguished from that of the ruling authorities, which means and "those in authority* both arc to be that the 'messenger
Hcic. the obedience of the messenger
'

obeyed

in their different capacities.

important to note that in the case of the Holy Prophet both ihc capacities were combined in him. He was a Messenger as well as a ruler. Therefore, if the Holy Quran intended to restrict the obedience of the Holy Prophet to his lifetime only, it could
It is

easily be said, *Obey

Muhammad

expression, the

Holy Quran

-Up \ But by avoiding this explicitly differentiated between his

two capacities, and mentioned each of them separately to remove even the slightest apprehension of this misconception, and thus Icfi no room for confusing one capacity with the
other.
Moreover, there is another point to note in this verse. The word 'Messenger' used here is in singular, while the phrase 'those in authority', is in plural. This is to signify that the Holy Prophet igjs the last messenger after whom no prophet will

come. So,

his obedience as a prophet shall always

himself alone. Nobody can share with him in

be confined this obedience

to

in

42
future.

On

the other hand, the ruling authorities shall be in a large

after the other.

number, coming one

extends to
all

This kind of obedience

is

not

restricted 10 the ruler present at the time

of revelation;
after

it,

rather,

the ruling authorities

coming

him.

been established earlier that the obedience of the Holy Prophet jf was based on the 'unrccitcd revelation' he used to receive from Allah. That is why the Holy Quran has held it to be the 'obedience of Allah' Himself. On the other hand, no ruler or a head of a state can claim to receive any revelation of any
(3) It has

kind.
Il is

for this reason that a ruler can enjoy an administrative

authority over his subjects, but he cannot lay

Shari'ah.

down

the rules of

His orders are purely administrative orders, which are to be obeyed by the citizens in that capacity alone. He cannot override any rule of Shari'ah enshrined in the Holy Quran and
sunnah, nor can his orders be regarded as imperatives for all limes to come, as those of Shari'ah, because ihcy arc not based on any revelation from Allah. They are effective only in a sphere where
the shari'ah has not given any definite rule, and left the matter the discretion of a rulcn

on

|f is totally different. He, as a messenger, receives revelation from Allah, recited and unreeilcd both. His prophetic orders, therefore, are not just

The case of the Holy Prophet

administrative orders based

on

his personal perception.

They
it.

arc

based on the revelation,

or. at least, are

confirmed by

Let

me

now

explain both situations:

The

orders of the Holy Prophet

^are sometimes based on

the revelation in die sense that the revelation 'recited or unrccitcd' But for this revelation, he would not is their original source.
deliver such orders. There can be

no doubt

in Lheir divine nature.

Hence, they form part of the Shari'ah.

some cases, however, the origin of the orders is not a revelation. They arc based originally on the Holy Prophet's own
In

43
by a revelation laier on. This confirmation again is of two kinds: sometimes it occurs in explicit terms, whereby the decision of the Holy Prophet is upheld by a revelation, and sometimes it happens to be an implied confirmation. If Allah Almighty docs not object to a certain act of the Holy Prophet > it necessarily implies that the act has been confirmed by Him,
analysis of the affairs. But they arc confirmed

<

The reason spokesman of His

being a pleasure, remains under a constant divine supervision. If he says something or docs something, which is
is
f

obvious.

prophet of Allah

not in complete consonance with Allah's pleasure, he is always warned about it. In a number of verses, the Holy Quran has
expressed Allah's disapproval of some acts done or intended by the Holy Prophet Thus, no act of the Holy Prophet iSjlhas

ever gone unchecked.

In this perspective,
if"

the

Holy Prophet ijpdocs some thing

or issues an order, and no revelation, recited or unrccited, comes to disapprove Lhc same, it necessarily implies that the act or order

has been approved by Allah Almighty, because

if the

converse

were

would never remain silent; it would certainly come to correct the error, as it came in certain cases where disapproval was conveyed in direct terms to the Holy
true, the revelation

Prophet

whatever he says or docs in his capacity of a messenger, and no revelation comes to the contrary, it is deemed
,

Thus

to

be an implied confirmation of his saying or act.

It is,

therefore, true to say that

all

his orders
it,

and acts are

explicitly or

cither based on the revelation, or confirmed by

implicitly.

such authority can be attributed to any ruler after him, because the revelation after him came to an end. This is why the

No

Holy Quran highlights the obedience of

from
that

the

messenger as

distinct

of the ruling

authorities.

44
On
these three major grounds, there
is

no room

for the

misconccplion thai ihc 'obedience of the Messenger* emphasized by the Holy Quran means the "obedience of ihc ruling authority'. In fact, his obedience is necessary for the sole reason that he is a prophet, and his orders and acts, reflect ihc pleasure of Allah. Hence, the 'Sunnah' which is nothing but a record of his sayings and acts, enjoys a binding authority on all Muslims who believe in
Allah and His Holy Book.

45

CHAPTER

The Scope of

the Prophetic Authority

The verses of the Quran quoted

in the previous chapter,

and

the natural conclusions derived therefrom, arc sufficient to prove the authority of the 'Sunnah' of the Holy Prophet

4&

'is

being a

source of Islamic law stands proved on that score. Yet, the Holy Quran has not only stressed upon the 'obedience of the

Messenger' as a general rule or principle; It has also highlighted the different shades of authority in order to explain the scope of his obedience, and the various spheres where it is to be applied.
Therefore,

wc

propose

in this chapter to deal with

each of

these spheres separately, and to explain what the Holy Quran requires of us in respect of each of them.

The Prophet's Authority

to

make

laws

number of verses

in the

authority of the Holy Prophet

Holy Quran

establish the
-

as a legislator or a law

maker.

Some of those arc

reproduced below:

46

^WW
Sljpl

f* oi-^'j

^' o^J

Oj=d

*AJu*

Wj^ ^J^i

JjS^J

*<

6$
6y<

b*^*

'rrs^

^^
So,
I

dUJjl ^L4

cSjJ*

j>JI l^-3lj jj*0lj

And My mercy embraces

prescribe
it

all

things.

shall

for those

who

fear Allah, and pay zakah

(obligatory alms), and those signs,

who have

faith in

Our

who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet whom they find written down in the Torah and the Injil, and who bids them to the
those
Fair and forbids them the Unfair,

for them the good things, them the impure things, and relieves them of their burdens and of the shackles that were upon them. So those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light that has been sent
,

and makes lawful and makes unlawful for

down

with him

they are the ones

who

acquire

success" (7:157)

The
things

italicized

words

in this verse signify that

functions of the Holy Propcht

ig

is " to

one of the make lawful the good

M

This function has and make unlawful the impure things. been separated from 'bidding the Fair and forbidding the Unfair', because ihe latter relates to the preaching of wh:* has already been
f

47
established as Fair, and warning against what
is

established as

Unfair, while the former embodies the

making of lawful and

regarding the

unlawful, that
prescribing
the

is,

the enforcing of

new laws

permissibility or prohibition of things.

This function of

new

religious laws and rules is attributed here not to

to the

Holy Prophet ^. It, therefore, cannot be argued that the 'making lawful or unlawful' means the declaration of what is laid down in the Holy Quran only, because the declaration of a law is totally different from making it.

Holy Quran, but

Besides, the declaration of the established rules has been

referred to in the earlier sentence separately, that
'

is,

bids them to
in the next

the Fair and forbids for them ihc Unfair.

sentence, therefore,

is

only

to 'making'

The reference new laws.

The verse Prophet *&. In

something

also emphasises

'to
it

believe' in the
clearly

Holy
make

the present context,

means

to believe

in all his functions

mentioned

in the

verse including to

'lawful' or 'unlawful*.

The verse, moreover, directs to follow the light that has been sent down with him. Here again, instead of 'following the
Holy Quran', 'following
include
all

the light' has been ordered, so as to

the imperatives sent

down
acts.

to the

Holy Prophet

4I

cither through the

reflecting in his

Holy Book or through

ihc unrcciicd revelation,

own orders and

Looked
of the
to

at

from whatever angle,

this

verse

is

a clear proof

faci that the

Holy Prophet jgt had an authority based, of

course, on the unrcciied revelation, to those mentioned in the Holy Quran.

2,

make new laws

in addition

The Holy Quran

says:

4J^**jj

4A31

j^>.

)j*jP*Jlj

^ul

48
Fight ihose

who do not believe in Allah and made unlawful (9:29:)

the

Hereafter and do not hold unlawful what Allah

and

His Messenger have

The underlined words signify that it is necessary 'to hold unlawful what AUah and His Messenger made unlawful', and that
making something unlawful* is not restricted to Allah Almighty. The Holy Prophet j can also, by the will of Allah,
the authority

exercise this authority.

Allah and that of the former is wholly independent,

authority of the latter
revelation from
is

The difference between the authority of Messenger is, no doubt, significant. The
intrinsic

and

self-existent, while the

AUah.

derived from and dependent on the Yet, the fact remains that the Holy

Prophet ihas
submit
to
it

this authority

and

it

is

necessary for believers to

alongwtth their submission to the authority of Allah.

3.

The Holy Quran says,

(rv

v i>Ai)
has a
right,

No

believer, neither

man nor woman,

when Allah and His Messenger decide a

matter, to

have a choice in their matter in issue. And whoever disobeys AUah and His Messenger has gone astray
into manifest error. (33:36)

Here, the decisions of Allah and the

Messenger^

both

have been declared binding on the believers.

worth mentioning that the word 'and' occuring between Allah' and 'His Messenger carries both conjunctive and
It

is

cannot be held to give conjunctive sense only, because in that case it will exclude the decision of Allah
It

disjunctive meanings.

49
unless
it

is

combined with

the decision

construction too fallacious lo

expression.

of the messenger - a be imagined in the divine

The only reasonable

word
sense
'and' in
is

construction, therefore, is to take the

both conjunctive and disjunctive meanings.

The

whenever Allah or His Messenger, any one or both of them, decide a matter, Lhe believers have no choice except to
that

submit to their decision.

It is

thus clear that the Holy Prophet

has the legal

affairs

authority to deliver decisions in the collective and individual

of the believers 4.

who

are

bound

to surrender lo those decisions

The Holy Quran says,

9
I

9. iciB.

i0

9**9*

J t 9~

&

9.

<*

Whatever

the

Messenger gives you, take

it

it,

and

whatever he forbids you, refrain from

(59:7)

Although the context of this verse of the spoils of war, yet

interpretation of the
particular event in
it is

relates to Lhe distribution

the well

known

principle of the

Hoi/ Quran that, notwithstanding the which a vercc is revealed, if the words used are

general, they arc to be consirued in their general sense; they

cannot bo restricted to that particular event.

which is never disputed. the verse gives a general rule about the Holy Prophet |3. that whatever order he gives is binding on the believers and, whatever thing he forbids stands prohibited for them. The Holy Quran thus has conferred a legal authority to the Holy Prophet *5f to give orders, to make laws and to enforce prohibitions.
Keeping
in
this principle,
It

view

will be interesting here to cite a

wise answer of Abdullah

the

ibn Mas'ud, the blessed

companion of

Holy Prophet

50
which he gave
to a

woman.

from the tribe of Asad came to Abdullah b. Mas'ud and said, 1 have come to know that you hold such and such things as prohibited. I have gone through the whole Book of Allah, but never found any such pnobibition in it'.
'

A woman

Abdullah b. Mas'ud replied, "Had you read the Book, you would have found it. AUah Almighty says :*

Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it." (59: 7)
answer Abdullah b. Mas'ud pointed out that this verse is so comprehensive that it embodies all the orders and and since the questioned prohibitions of the Holy Prophet prohibitions arc enforced by the Holy Prophet i they form part of this verse, though indirectly.
this

By

5.

The Holy Quran

says.

But no, by your Lord, they

shall not

be (deemed

to be) believers unless they accept

their disputes, then find in their

you as judge in hearts no adverse

to
it

feeling against
in

what you decided, but serrender

complete submission (4:65)

authority of the

Holy Prophet igi established in this verse seems apparantly to be an authority to adjudicate in the disputes brought before him. But after due consideration in the
* Reported by Ibn Majah

The

V.L Ch.lO:52P367 Hadith 1998

51
construction used here, this authority appears to be

more than

thai

of a judge.

A judge,
Muslim.
sin, for

judgments and the

for being a

no doubt, has an authority to deliver his parties concerned arc bound to obey his
is

judgments, but the submission to his judgments

If

not a condition

somebody docs
it

not accept the judgment of

a duly authorised judge,

can be a gross misconduct on his pan,

which he may be punished, but he cannot be excluded from the pale of Islam on this score alone. He cannot
and a great
be held as disbeliever.

On
person

the contrary, the verse vehemently insists that the

who docs not

accept the verdicts of the Holy Prophet

cannot be held to be a believer. This forceful assertion indicates

of the Holy Prophet , is not merely that of a customary judge. The denial of his judgments amounts to disbelief It implies that the verdicts of the Holy Prophet referred to here arc not the normal verdicts given in the process of a trial. They arc the laws laid down by him on the basis of the revelation, recited or unrccitcd, that he receives from Allah. So, the denial of these laws is, in fact, the denial of the divine orders which excludes the denier from the pale of Islam.
that the authority

Looked

at

from

this point

of view,

this verse

gives the Holy

Prophet J> not only the authority of a judge, but also confers

upon him the authority

as the divine laws
6.

to

make

laws, as binding on the

Muslims

The Holy Quran says:

*J UjJpIj Jj**jJbj 4i)U
LL4I

Qj)jJUj

iulj Cj

iu's

jZ

j^u Jj^j

J&

fi

'<>j-

fHj& J* OZ?** j4|l

>4

J^

52

is oisr

q &Uin ^ a^l & a^5

ciYj iiLi iy^s
of

^
They

iijji)

[4^

say,

'wc believe

in

Allah

and ihc

Messenger, and wc obey.' Then, after thai, a group of them turn away. And ihcy arc not believers. And

when
he

they arc called lo Allah and His Messenger that

a

may judge between them, suddenly

group of

them turn back. But if they had a right, they come lo him submissively! Is it thai there is sickness in ihcir
hearts?

Or

are ihcy in doubt?

Or

do' they fear that

Allah

may

be unjust towards them, and His

unjust.

Messenger? Nay t but they arc the

the believers say

All that

when they

arc called to Allah and

His Messenger lhat he (the Messenger) may judge between them, is that they say, 'We hear and wc obey.' And ihcy are those who acquire success.

And whoever obeys

fears Allah

Allah and His Messenger and

and observes His Awe, such arc those

who

arc the winners." (24:47-52)

loo, hold that, in order to be a

These verses,
condition
is

Muslim, the
.

of the Holy Prophet^ Those who do not turn towards him in ihcir disputes inspitc of being called to him cannot, according to the Holy Quran, be treated as believers. It carries the same principle as mentioned in
to surrender to the verdicts

ihc preceding verse:

It is

the basic ingredient of the belief in Allah

53
and His Messenger that Lhc authority of the Messenger should be accepted whole- hcartcdly. He must be consulted in disputes and obeyed. His verdicts must be followed in total submission, and the laws enunciated by him must be held as binding.

The Holy Prophet's Authority

to Interpret the

Holy Quran.

The second
is

type of authority given to the Holy Prophet

the authority to interpret and explain the Holy Book. final authority in the intciprctation of the Holy Quran.

He is the The Holy

Quran says:

towards you the Advice * (i.e. the Quran) so that you may explain to the people what has been sent down to them and. so that they
sent

And We

down

may ponder (1 6:44).

unequivocally established here that the basic function of the Holy Prophet j$ is to explain the Holy Book and to
It is

down to him. It is obvious that the Arabs of Makkah, who were directly addressed by the Holy Prophet |did not need any translation of die Quranic text. The Holy Quran was revealed in their own mother tongue. Despite that they were mostly illiterate, they had a command on their
language and' literature. Their beautiful poetry, their eloquent speeches and their impressive dialogues are the basic sources of
*

interpret the revelation sent

The original Arabic word

is

dhik which

icfers here

undisnutcdly to the Holy Quran,

54
richness in the Arabic literature*

They needed no one

lo leach

them the

literal

the textual
It is

meaning of the Quranic icxL That ihcy understood meaning is beyond any doubt.
thus obvious that die explanation entrusted to the Holy

Prophet ife was something more than the literal m *aning of the Book. It was an explanation of what Allah Almighty intended,
including
all

the implications involved and the details needed.

These

details arc also received

the unrcciicd revelation.

clearly said.

through Holy Prophet As discussed earlier, the Holy Quran has

the

by

Then,

it is

on Us

to explain

it

(75:19)

This verse is self-explanatory on the subject. Allah Almighty has Himself assured the Holy Prophet ^lhat He shall explain the Book to him. So, whatever explanation the Holy
Prophet gives
to the

Book

is

based on the explanation of Allah

all

Himself. So, his intcrprction of the Holy Quran overrides

possible interpretations Hence, he
is

the

the final authority in the

exegesis and interpretation, of the Holy Quran.

last

His word

is

the

word

in this behalf.

Examples of Prophetic
explanations of the

Quran

To be more specific, 1 would

.

give a few concrete instances

of the explanations of the Holy Book given to us by the Holy Prophet i$ These examples will also show the drastic amount of

what we
I.

lose if

we

ignore the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet

is

Tlic salah (prayer)

the

well-known way of worship

55
which
faith.
it.

is

undisputedly held as the

first pillar

of Islam after having

The Holy Quran has ordered more than 73 times to observe Despite this large number of verses giving direct command to
is

observe the Salah, there

no verse
it.

in the entire

Book

to

explain

how

to perform

and observe

Some components of the

or sujud (Prostration) or

salah* like ruku' (bowing

down)

Qiyam

(standing) arc

no doubt,

Holy Quran. But the complete way to perform salah as a composite whole has never been explained. It is only through the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ^Lhat we learn the exact way to pcrfom it. If the Sunnah is ignored, all these details about the correct way of observing salah arc totally lost. Not only this, nobody can bring forth an alternate way to perform salah on the
mentioned
in the

basis

of the Holy Quran alone.

It

Holy Quran has repeated the command of observing salah as many as 73 limes, yet, it has
is

significant that the

elected not to describe the

way

it

had to be performed. This

is

not

without some wisdom behind

it.

The

point that seems to have

been made dclibrately

is

one of the significance of the Sunnah.

By avoiding
salah,
it

the details about

is

pointed out thai

no less a pillar of Islam than the Holy Quran is meant for giving the

fundamental principles only.

The
.

details arc left to the

explanations of the Holy Prophet .

2.

Moreover,

'salah* is tied

Holy Quran that the up with some prescribed limes. Allah Almighty
it is

mentioned

in the

says:

Surely, the salah

belicvcns(4:l04)
It is

is

a timed obligation for the

clear from this verse that there are

some

particular times

56
in
is

which the salah should be performed. Bui what arc those limes nowhere mentioned in the Holy Quran. Even that the daily
never disclosed in the the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet
is

obligatory prayers arc five in

number

Holy Book. It is only through that wc have learnt the exact number and
obligatory prayers.
3.

^
be

the specific times

of the

The same

is

the position of the

number of Rak'at

to

performed in each prayer. Ii is not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Quran that the number of Rak'at is two in Fajr, four in Zuhr, Asr and Isha; it is only in the Sunnah that these matters are
mentioned.
If the

Sunnah

is

not believed,

ail

these necessary details

totally

even about the

to

first pillar

of Islam remain

unknown, so

as

render the salah too vague an obligation to be carried out in

practice.
4.
pillar

The same

is

the cose of Zakah (alnis giving), the second

of Islam, which is in most cases combined with the Salah in the Holy Quran. The order to 'pay zakah' is found in the Holy Book in more than thirty places. But who is liable to pay it ? On what rate it should be paid? What assets arc liable to the obligation of Zakah? What assets are exempted from it? All these questions remain unanswered if the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet^; is ignored. It is the Holy Prophet jsjp who explained all these
details about zakah.
5.

Fasts of Ramadan arc held to be the third pillar of Islam.

Here again only the fundamental principles arc found in the Holy Quran. Most of the necessary details have been left to the explanation of the Holy Prophet 4> which he disclosed through his sayings and acts. What acts, other than eating, drinking and having sex, arc prohibited or permitted during the fast? Under what conditions can one break the fast during the day? What kind of treatment can be undenaken in the state of fasting? All these and similar oilier details are mentioned by the Holy Prophet
.

jjfc

57
6.

The Holy Quran has

(

said after mentioning

how

to

perform wudu,

ablution

);

And

if

you arc junub

defiled

well-purify

yourself (5:6)
It is

also clarified in the

Holy Quran

that

while hc'mgjunub

one should not perform prayers (4:43), But the definition of juniib ( defiled ) is nowhere given in the Holy Quran nor is it mentioned how should a defiled person 'well-purify' himself Ii is the Holy Prophet ^who has explained all these questions and
(defiled)
laid

down
7.

the detailed injunctions

on die

subject.

The command of
is in

the

Holy Quran concerning

Hajj, the

fourth pillar of Islam,

the following words:

And
to

as a right of Allah,

it

is

obligatory on people
:

perform the Hajj of the House

whoever has the

97)

ability to
It is

manage

his

way

to

it.

(3

just not disclosed here as to

(pilgrimage to Makkah) is explained that the obligation only once

8.

how many times the Hajj obligatory? The Holy Prophet

is

discharged by performing Hajj

in

life- time.

The Holy Quran

says:

Those who accumulate gold and silver and do not spend them in the way of Allah, give them ihc good news of a painful punishment (9:34)

58
Here, "accumulation*
is

prohibited and 'spending' is

is

enjoined. But the quantum of none of the two

explained.

Upto

one save his money, and how much spending is obligatory? Both the questions arc left to the explanation of the Holy Prophet ^who has laid down the detailed rules in this

what

limit can

respect.
9.

The Holy Quran, while

describing the

of prohibited degree, with

the prohibition to marrying

whom
two

of the women one cannot marry, has extended

list

sisters in

one Lime:

And

(it is

also prohibited) to

combine two

sisters

together (4:23)

The Holy Prophet -^whilc

that the prohibition
is

explaining this verse, clarified

not restricted lo two sisters only.

a principle

The verse

has, instead, laid

down

which includes the prohibition

of combining an aunt and her niece, paicmal or maternal, as well.

10.

The Holy Quran says:

Today
you. (5:5)

the good tilings have been permitted to

Here

'the

good

things' arc not explained.

The

detailed

list

of the lawful 'good things' has only been given by the Holy Prophet |t who has described the different kinds of food being not lawful for the Muslims and not falling in the category of 'good things'. Had there been no such explanation given by the Holy Prophet iSp everybody could interpret the 'good things' according to his own personal desires, and the very purpose of the revelation, namely, to draw a clear distinction between good and
bad, could have been disturbed. If everybody

was

free to

determine what
a

is

good and what

for. It

is

bad, neither any revelation nor

the

messenger was called

was through both

Holy Book

59
and the Messenger

that the

need was

ful filled

Numerous other examples or this

the

nature

may be cited. But

Holy Prophet ** framework of an

few examples given above

arc, perhaps, quite sufficient lo

show

the nature of the explanations given by the

as well as lo establish their necessity in the Islamic life ordained by the Holy Quran for its followers.

Does the Holy Quran need explanation?

Before concluding

this descussion,

it is

pertinent to

answer

a question often raised with reference to the explanation of the

Holy Quran. The question is whether the Holy Quran needs any one to explain its contents? The Holy Quran in certain places seems to claim that its verses arc self explanatory, easy to understand and clear in ihcir meanings. So, any external
explanation should be uncalled
explanation
is

for.

Why,

then, the prophetic

so

much

stressed

upon?
is

The answer
itself.

to this question

found

in the

Holy Quran

combined study of the relevant verses reveals that the Holy Quran deals with two different types of subjects. One is
concerned with the general statements about the simple realities, and it includes the historic events relating lo the former prophets

and their nations, the statement of Allah's bounties on mankind, the creation of the heavens and the earth, the cosmological signs of the divine power and wisdom, the pleasures of the Paradise
and the
torture

of the Hcll and subjects of similar nature.

t

The other type of

issues, the
subjects.

subjects consists of the imperatives of

Shari'ah, the provisions of Islamic law, the details of doctrinal

wisdom of

certain injunctions, and other

academic

The

first

type ofsubjccl, which

is

termed

in

the

Holy Quran

60
no doubt, so easy to understand that even an illiterate rustic can benefit from it without having recourse to anyone else. It is in this type of subjects that the Holy Quran says:
is,

as Zikr (the lesson, the sermon, the advice)

And

surely

we have made

(getting a lesson) so, is

Quran easy for Zikr there anyone to get a

the

Icsson?(54:22)

The words Tor

nature.

Zikr' (getting a lesson) signify that the

first

easiness of the Holy Quran relates to the subjects of the

The

basic thrust of the verse is on gelling lesson from the

purpose only. But by no means the proposition can be extended to the inference of legal rules and the interpretation of the legal and doctrinal provisions contained in
its

Quran and

being easy for

this

even this type of subjects been open to everybody irrespective of the volume of his learning, the Holy Quran would have not entrusted the Holy Prophet ig: with the functions of 'teaching' and 'explaining' the Book. The verses qoutcd earlier, which introduce the Holy Prophet & as the one who 'leaches' and 'explains the Holy Quran, arc explicit on the point thai the Book needs some messenger to teach and interpret it. Regarding the type of verses which require explanation, the Holy Quran itself says.
the interpretation of
1

the Book.

Had

vi

uuLUj ^-ljj

i^^kj J&.VI abj

mention before the people. And nobody understands them except the
these similitudes
learned. (29:43)

And

We

Thus, the

'easiness' of the subjects

of the

first

type docs
the legal

not exclude the necessity of a prophet

who can

explain

all

it
and practical implications of the imperatives contained Quran.
in the

Holy

The Time Limit of

the Prophetic authority

Wc

have so

far studied the

two types of

the Prophetic

make new laws in addition to those contained in the Holy Quran, and the second being the authority to explain, interpret and expound the Quranic
injunctions.

authority, first being the authority to

But before proceeding to other aspects of the Prophetic authority, another issue should be resolved just here.

sometimes argued by those who hesitate to accept the full authority of the Sunnah, that whenever the Holy Quran has conferred on the Holy Prophet an authority to make laws or to explain and interpret the Book, it meant this authority to be
It

is

*s time only. They were under the direct control and the instant supervision of the Holy Prophet i* and were addressed by him face to face. Therefore, the Prophetic authority was limited to them only, ft cannot be

binding on the people of the Prophet

extended

to all the generations for all

times to come.

This contention leads us to the discovery of the time limits of the Prophetic authority. The question is whether the authority

of the Holy Prophet ij was confined to his own time, or it everlasting authority which holds good for all times to come.

is

an

The
answered

basic question underlying this issue has already been

and that is the question of the nature of this authority, ft has been established through a number of arguments that the obedience of the Holy Prophet i was not enjoined upon the Muslims in his capacity of a ruler. It has been enjoined in his
in detail;

capacity of a prophet

Had

it

been the authority of a ruler only,

62
which the Holy Prophet
his administrative rule

i. exercised,

it

would logically be
and as soon as

inferred that the authority is lied

is

up with

his rule,

over, his authority simultaneously

ceases to have effect

a 'Prophetic' authority, and not merely a 'ruling authority', then, it is obvious that it shall continue

But

if the authority is

with the continuance of the prophcthood, and shall not disappear

unlit the

Holy Prophet

$> no longer remains a Prolphct.

Now,
was

the only question is whether the

Holy Prophet 4$

a prophet of a particular nation or a particular time, or his

prophcthood extended to the whole mankind for all times. Let us seek the answer from the Holy Quran itself. The Holy Quran
says:

oA

uilj^^l )

G4<4*

Say,

O mankind, I am the Messenger of Allah to

you

all'

(7:158)

Ci
And Wc
the entire

K ^&i ikr % 'MJM

did not send you

(O Prophet) except to mankind, bearing good news, and

warning. (34:28)

And Wc
all

did not send you* save as a

mercy unto

the worlds. (21:107)

63
Blessed be
worlds. (25:1)
f uj.i *ilj

He Who

has sent

down

ihc

Quran on
all

His servant so that he

may

be a warncr to

the

(j^J Vj-'J Lh*^

iiHiil-jij

And We have
as a Messenger.
(4:79).

sent you

(O Prophet,)

for

mankind

And

Allah suffices 10 be a witness

And

the

whole mankind

is

addressed

when

it

is said:

jU

tjjisi &|j jJj

ilii

[^

l^uli

^^ ^
C
Ji
to

Cj

o^j
the

oh% ofi^Jl J
it is

O mankind,
you.

Messenger has come

you with
better for

[he truth from your Lord, so believe;

you disbelieve, to Allah belongs what is in the heavens and in the earth. And Allah is All Knowing, All-Wise (4:170).
if

And

The

first five

verses need no elaboration.

They

arc self-

explanatory on the point that the Holy Prophet |; was sent to the whole mankind and not to a particular people; his prophclhood

was not

limited cither in lime or in place.

fifth

The
upon
all

verse addresses the whole mankind and enjoins

in the

Holy Prophet fjfc Nobody can say that the belief of the Holy Prophet was restricted to his own time. It is, according to this verse, incumbent upon all ihc peoples, of whatever age, to believe in his Prophclhood.

of them to believe

It

is

also mentioned in the

Holy Quran

that the

Holy

64
Prophet
come:

is

the last

Messenger

after

whom no

Prophet

is lo

\jjjS

^ JT Jb
is

411I

o^j Ate^M

(fl*j

<&

Muhammad
prophets.

not the father of anyone of your

last

men, but the Messenger of Allah and the

of the of

And

Allah

is

AU-Knowing

in respect

everything (33:40).

This verse made

it

clear that the Holy Prophet

| is

the last

one

in the

chain of prophets.

The

earlier prophets

to a particular nation for a particular time,

were often sent because they were

succeeded by other prophets. But no prophet is to come after Muhammad |j Hence, his prophcthood extends to all the nations and all the times. This is what the Holy Prophet ig:
.

himself explained

in the

following words:

tiJUM

aj\j

.^

*iii.

^3

dU UK

were led by the prophets. Whenever a prophet would pass away, another prophet would succeed him. But there is no prophet
Israelites
after
shall
If the

"The

me.
be

However, there
in large

shall

be successors, and

numbers,*

realm of his prophcthood would not reach out to the next generations, the people of those generations would be left devoid of the prophetic guidance, while Allah docs not leave any

people without prophetic guidance.

Sahih

al

Bukhari, Ch. 50 Anbiya, Hadceih 3455.

65
In the light of the verses

doubt

in the fact ihat

all

quoted above, there remains no is a messenger to all ihe the Holy Prophet

nations for

times to come.
all times,

no room for the suggestion that his prophetic authority docs no longer hold good and the present day Muslims are not bound to obey and follow him.
If his

prophcthood extends to

there remains

There
It

is

another point in the subject worth attention:

is

established through a large

number of arguments
ihat the

in the

first

chapter that Allah Almighty sent no divine book without a

Ir is

messengers arc sent to leach the Book and to explain it. It is also proved earlier that, but for the detailed explanations of the Holy Prophet, nobody might know even the way of obligatory prayers.
also clarified

messenger

by Allah

The question now

is

whether

all

these

Prophetic

explanations were needed only by the Arabs of the Prophetic age.

The Arabs of Makkah were more aware of the Arabic language than we arc. They were more familiar to the Quranic style. They
were physically present
personally
all

ai

the time of revelation and observed

which Ihe Holy Book was revealed. They received die verses of the Holy Quran from the mouth of the Holy Prophet J, and were fully aware of all the factors which help in the correct understanding of a text. Still, they needed the explanations of the Holy Prophet i; which were binding on them.
the surrounding circumstances in

Then,

how

can a man of ordinary perception presume that

the people of this age,

who

lack

all

these advantages,

the explanations of a prophet?

We have neither that

we

do not need command on

the Arabic language as they had, nor are

so familiar with the

66
seen the circumstances in which the Holy Quran was revealed, as they have seen. If they

Quranic

style as they were,

nor have

we

needed the guidance of the Holy Prophet Holy Quran, we should certainly need it all
If the authority

^\n

intcrprctting the

the more.

of the Holy Quran has no time-limit, if the text of the Quran is binding on all the generations for all limes to come, then, the authority of the Messenger which is included in

Quran without being limited to any lime bond, shall remain as effective as the Holy Quran itself. While ordaining for the 'obedience of the messengers 'the Holy Quran addressed not only the Arabs of Makkah or Madinah. It has addressed all the bel icvere when it was said:
the very

(J

1W*JI
the

those

who

believe,

obey Allah and obey

Messenger (4:59)
of Allah' has always been combined with the 'obedience of the Messenger* as we have seen earlier, there is no room for separating any one from the other. If one is meant
If the 'obedience

for all times, the other cannot be

meant

for a particular period.

The Holy Quran

another place has also warned against such separation between Allah and His Messenger:
at

(\o\.\o UJl)

67
Those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers, and desire to make separation between
Allah and His messengers, and say, 'we believe in

some, and disbelieve in some* desiring to adopt a way in between this and that- those arc the unbelievers in truth, and Wc have prepared for the dcsbclicvers a humiliating punishment (4; 150,15 1)
Therefore, the submission to the authority of the Holy

Prophet

-^

is

basic ingredient of having belief in his

prophcihood, which can never be separated from him. Thus, to accept the prophetic authority in Lhc early days of Islam, and to

deny

it

in the later days,

is

so fallacious a proposition that cannot

it

find support from any source of Islamic learning, nor can

be

accepted on any touchstone of logic and reason.

The Prophetic Authority

in

Worldly Affairs

Another point of view often presented by some westernised circles is that the authority of lhc Holy Prophet is, no doubt, established by the Holy Quran even for all the generations for all

come. But the scope of this authority is limited only to the doctrinal affairs and the matters of worship. The function of a
times
to

prophet, according to them,

beliefs

is restricted to

correct the doctrinal

to

of the

ummah and

to teach

them

how

worship Allah.

As

far as lhc worldly affairs arc concerned, they arc not

governed by

lhc prophclic authority.

These worldly
at

affairs include, in iheir

view,

all

the

economic, social and

political affairs

which should be
the

settled according to the

expediency

each relevant time, and the

if

Prophclic authority has no concern with them. Even

Holy

Prophet gives some directions

in these fields,

he docs so in his
it

private capacity, and not as a Messenger,

So,

is

not necessary

68
for the

Ummali

to

comply with such

directions.

To substantiate this proposition,

Holy Prophet which he said to

is

a particular tradition of the often quoted, though out of context, * in

his companions.

You know more

Before
I

about your worldly

affairs.

quote

this tradition in its full context, the

very

concept upon which

this

proposition

is

based needs examination.

In fact, this view

the

is

based on a serious misconception about

whole structure of Islamic order.

is

The misconception is that Islam, like some other religions, restricted only to some doctrines and some rituals. It has no
After
is

concern with the day-to-day affairs of tjic human life. observing the prescribed doctrines and rituals, everybody to run his life in whatever way he likes, not hindered

free

in

any

manner by
this
rituals only.

the divine imperatives. Thai

is

why

the advocates of

view confine the Prophetic authority

to

some

doctrines and

But the misconception, however fashionable it may seem to be, is a misconception. It is an established fact that Islam, unlike some other religions which can coincide and co-exist with the secular concept of life, is not merely a set of doctrines and rituals. It is a complete way of life which deals with the political,

economic and social problems The Holy Quran says,

Jj*-jJuj

as welt as with theological issues.

4l! Ij.jfltTiJ Ijiai jj Jul

yG
shortly.

The

full

context of the tradition

is

coming

69

O those who believe, respond to the call of Alt ah

and His Messenger when he
calls

you

for

what gives

you
Il

life

(8:24).
that Allah

means
is it

and His Messenger

that the affairs

call

people towards
has

life.

How

imagined

of

life

arc totally out of

the jurisdiction of Allah and His Messenger?

studied the Holy

Nobody who

Quran can endorse that its teachings arc limited to worship and rituals. There are specific injunctions in the Holy Quran about sale, purchase loans, mortgage, partnership, penal
laws, inheritance, matrimonial relations, political affairs, problems

of war and peace and other aspects of international relations.

the Islamic teachings
matters, there
is

If

wee

limited to the doctrinal

arc

no reason why such injunctions

and ritual mentioned in

the Holy Quran.

Likewise the Sunnah of die Holy Prophet igpdeals wilh the economic, social, political and legal problems in such detail that

voluminous books have been written to compile them. How can entered this field in such it be envisaged that the Holy Prophet detailed manner without having any authority or jurisdiction?. The injunctions of the Holy Quran and Sunnah in this field arc so absolute, imperative, and of mandatory nature that they cannot be imagined to be personal advices lacking any legal force.

We have

already quoted a large

number of verses from

the

Holy Quran which enjoin the obedience of Allah and the Messenger upon the believers. This 'obedience' has nowhere been limited to some particular field. It is an all-embracing obedience which requires total submission from the believers, having no exception whatsoever.
which is termed in the Islamic law as 'mu'amalat' the Holy Quran and Sunnah have mostly given some broad principles, and left most of the details open to be sctllcd according to ever-changing needs, but in strict conformity with the principles laid down by them. Thus the field
Il is

true that in this field,

,

70
not occupied by Lhe Quran and Sunnah is a wider field where ihc requirements of expediency tan well play their role. But it docs

Quran and Sunnah have no concern with this vital branch of human life which has always been Hie basic cause of unrest in the history of humanity, and m which the so called
not
that the
'rational views* fallen

mean

mostly conflicting with each other, have always

world
to disaster.

prey

to satanic desires leading the

Anyhow,

the fallacy of this narrow viewpoint about Islam

which excludes all the practical spheres of life from its pale. rather, to be more correct, makes them devoid of its guidance, cannot sustain before the overwhelming arguments which stand to
rule
it

out totally.

The event

of fecundation

of the palm-trees.

Let
follows:

mc now

turn

to the tradition

which

is

often quoted to

support this fallacious view.

The

details of the tradition arc as

The Arabs of Madinah used to fecundate their palm-trees in order to make them more fruitful. This operation was called Tabir which is explained by E. W. Lane as below: "He fecundated a palm-tree by means of
spadix of the male
tree,

the
t

which

is

bruised,

orbraycd

and sprinkled upon the spadix of the female; or by inserting a stalk of a raceme, of the male ircc inio Ihc spathe of the female, after shaking off the pollen of die former upon the spadix of the female" *
* Lane, E.VV. Arabic. English ex icon.

71
Keeping
mentioned by
this in

view, read ihc following tradition,

* in his Sahih:

a*

Imam Muslim

HJ
j]

^j
^U

.^Lj ^jj^i>-^
&jiks

.lit

CuJi

<j

ljUJt

4JJI

jX> -iCljJ^

J^J J^ 4$
says:

i-JL$1

The
'I

blessed

Companion Talha

passed alongwith the Holy Prophet

i3jl

aecross

some people who were on the tops of the palm-trees. The Holy Prophet asked, 'What are they doing?

Some
They

people said,

They

arc fecundating the tree.

insert the

male

into the

female and the irec

'

stands fecundated'.

do not think
*

it

will

The Holy Prophet iSp said/ be of any use The people (who

Sahih of Muslim, 2 P. 264, Kilabul Fazail.

72
were fecundating the trees) were informed about what the Holy Prophet j* said. So, they stopped was this operation. Then the Holy Prophet informed about their withdrawal. On this, the Holy

Prophet %> said, 'If it is in fact useful for them, let them do it, because I had only made a guess. So, do not cling to me in my guess. But when I tell you something on behalf of Allah, take it Firm, because I
shall never tell a lie

on behalf of Allah."

According

to the blessed
this

Companion Anas

the Holy

Prophet jg has also said on

ocassion.

You know more

The words of
context,

about your worldly

affairs.

this tradition,

when looked

at in its full
this

would

clearly reveal that the

Holy Prophet ig; in

case

did not deliver an absolute prohibition against the fecundation of

There was no question of its being lawful or unlawful What the Holy Prophet ^did was neither a command, nor a legal or religious prohibition nor a moral condemnation. It was not even a serious observation. It was only a remark passed by him by the way in the form of an instant and general guess, as he himself clarified later. 'I do not think it will be of any use'.
the

palm

trees.

Nobody can take this sentence as a legal or religious observation. That is why the Holy Prophet j did not address with it the
persons involved

nor did he order to convey his message to them. It was through some other persons that they . learned about the remark of the Holy Prophet
in the operation,

&

Although the remark was not in the form of an imperative, but the blessed companions of the Holy Prophet i: used to obey and follow him in everything, not only on the basis of his legal or religious authority, but also out of their profound love towards
him. They, therefore, gave up the operation altogether. When the Holy Prophet ijjfcame to know about their having abstained from

73
the operation on Lhc basis of whai he remarked, he clarified ihc

position to avoid any misunderstanding.

The substance of his

clarification

is

thai

only the absolute

statements of the Holy Prophet ij arc binding, because they arc given in his capacity of a prophet on behalf of Allah Almighty. As
for a

word spoken by him

it

as a personal guess, and not as an

it

absolute statement,

should be duly honoured, bui

should not

be taken as a

part otSftarktlt.

have mentioned earlier, there is a vast field in the day-to-day worldly affairs which is not occupied by the Shariah, where Lhc people have been allowed to proceed according to their needs and expedience and on the basis of their knowledge and
1

As

experience. What instruments should be used to fertilise a barren lantP How the plants should be nourished? What weapons arc

more useful for the purpose of defence? What kind of horses arc more suitable to ride? What medicine is useful in a certain disease? The questions of this type relate to the Held where the Shari ah has
T

not supplied any particular answer. All these and similar other

matters arc

left to

the

human

curiosity

which can solve these

problems through
It is

its

efforts.
field

this

unoccupied

ofmubahat about which

the

Holy

Prophet 4*& observed:

You know
But
it

best about your worldly affairs.

docs not include those worldly affairs in which the Holy Quran or the Sunnah have laid down some specific rules or given a positive command. That is why the Holy Prophet iSj
while declaring the matter of the palm-trees to be in the unoccupied field, has simultaneously observed, "But when I tell you something on behalf of Allah, take it finite

The upshot of

the foregoing discussion is that the

Sunnah

74
second source of Islamic law. Whatever the Holy Prophet 1 said or did in his capacity of a Messenger is binding on the Ummah. This authority of the Sunnah is based on the revelation he received form Allah. Hence, Lhc obedience of.Ac Holy Prophet i3j is another from of lhc obedience of Allah. This prophetic authority which is established through a
i!ic

of the Holy Prophet

^is

large

number of Quranic
its

verses, cannot be curtailed, neither

by
its

limiting

tenure, nor by

exempting the worldly

affairs

from

scope.

75

CHAPTER
The

3
i

Authenticity
its

of the "Sunnah":

historical aspect

Faced with the overwhelming arguments in favour of the authority of Sunnah some people resort to another way of suspecting its credibility, that is, to suspect its historical
authenticity.

According to them, the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet though having a binding authority for all times to come, has not been
preserved in a trustworthy manner. Unlike the Holy Quran, they say, there is no single book containing reliable reports about the

Sunnah. There arc too many works having a large number of traditions sometimes conflicting each other. And those books, too, were compiled in the third century "of Hijrah. So, we cannot
place our trust in the reports which have not even been reduced to writing during [he first three centuries.

This argument
misconceptions.

is

based on a

number of misstatements and

it

As we

shall sec in this chapter, inshallah,

is

wrong complied in
totally

to

claim that the traditions of the Sunnah have been

the third century. But, before

historical aspect

or the Sunnah,

let

approaching this us examine the argument in it's

logical perspective.

This argument accepts

prophetic authority for
all

that the

Holy Prophctig; has

a
is

limes to come, and that his obedience

Muslims of whatever age, but in the same breath ii claims that the reports of the Sunnah being unreliable, we cannot carry out this obedience. Docs it not logically conclude that Allah has enjoined upon us lo obey the Messenger, but did not make this obedience practicable. The question is whether Allah Almighty may give us u positive command to do something which
alL

mandatory for

76
beyond our ability and means. The answer The Holy Quran ilsclf says,
is
is

certainly "no".

(^Jj Vj Li;

ill

IjJSC

Si

Allah docs not task anybody except

It

10 his ability.

cannot be envisaged that Allah will bind all the people with something which does not cxiM or cannot be ascertained. Accepted that, Allah has enjoined ii[X)n us to follow the Sunnah of
the

Holy Prophet,
If

it

certainly implies that the

Sunnah

is

not

Allah has made it obligatory 10 follow the Sunnah, He has certainly preserved it for us, in a reliable form.
undiscovcrable.

The following aspect

Almighty has given us
a

also merits consideration. Allah

in the

promise

Holy Quran.

Indeed
and sur

wc have
ly

revealed the Zikr

it

(i,c

the

Quran)

we

will preserve

(15:9)

Almighty Allah, lias assured the preservation of the Holy Quran. This implies that the Quran will remain un interpolated and that U shall always be transferred from one
In this verse,

generation to the other in

protection

it's

by any foreign clement. The

is

and original form, undistorted question now is whether this divine

real

words of the Holy Quran or docs it extend to its real meanings as well. If the prophetic explanation is necessary to understand the Holy Quran correctly, as proved in the first chapter then the preservation of the Quranic
restricted only to the

words alone cannot serve

says,

the purpose unless the prophetic

explanations arc also preserved.

As quoted

earlier, the

Holy Book

Wc have revealed
you may explain

to

to

you the Zikr(thc Qi*ran) so that the people what has been sent

77
down
for them.
'Zikr'

has been used here for the Holy Quran as has been used in the verse 15:9 and it has been made clear thai the

The word

guidance when they are led by the explantions of the Holy Prophet
"people" can only benefit from
its

^.

Again the words "for the people" indicate (especially in the original Arabic context), that the Holy Prophet's explanation is always needed by "everyone".
need of the piophetic explanation, without which they cannot fully benefit from the
if

Now,

everyone, in every age

is in

Holy Book, how would

Quranic
text

it

be useful for them

to preserve the

and leave

it's it

prophetic explanation at the

mercy of

distorters,

extending to

no type of protection whatsoever.

Therefore, once the necessity of the prophetic explanations

of the Holy Quran

is

accepted,

it

will

be self-contradictory to claim
It

that these explanations are unavailable today.

wilJ

amount

to

no way a wise policy to establish the necessity of the Sunnah on the one hand, and to make its discovery impossible on the other. Such a policy cannot
negating the divine wisdom, because
it is

in

be

attributed to Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

This deductive argument

establish that

is,

in

my

view,

sufficient to

which

is

comprehending the "Sunnah" of the Holy Prophet, neccssay for the correct understanding of the divine

guidance, shall as a whole, remain available in a reliable manner

forever. All objections raised against the authenticity of ihc

Sunnah

as a whole, can be repudiated

facts,

on

this score alone.

But

in

order to study the actual

we

arc giving here a brief account

to preserve the

of the measures taken by the

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet. It is a brief and an inductive study of the subject, for which the comprehensive and voluminous books arc available
in Arabic and other languages.

ummah

The brief account we intend to give here is not comprehensive. The only, purpose is to highlight some basic facts which if studied objectively, arc well enough to

78
support the deductive inference about the authenticity of the

Sunnah.

The Preservation

of

Sunnah

It

is totally

wrong

to

say that the Sunnah of the Holy

first

Prophet iSp was compiled for the

fact, the

time in the third century. In

the very

compilation had begun

in

days of the Holy

though the compilations in a written form were not the sole measures adopted for the preservation of the Sunnah. There were many other reliable sources of preservation
shall sec later, also. In

Prophet |; as

wc

order

to

understand the point correctly

we

will

have

to
.

know

the different kinds of the

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet iSp

Three kinds of Ahadith

An

individual tradition

which narrates

a 'Sunnah'

of the
1

Holy Prophet il is termed in the relevant sciences as 'Hadith (PL Ahadilh) The 'Ahadith', with regard to the frequency of their
sources, arc divided into three
]~

major kinds;

Mutawatir:

It is

a hadith narrated in each era, from the

this

days of Lhc Holy Prophet upto

narrators that
it is

day by such

a large

number of
all

impossible to reasonably accept that

a
lie.

of Lhcm

have colluded 10
This kind
(a)

tell

is

further classified into

two sub-divisions:

Mutawatir in words: It is a hadith whose words arc narrated by such a large number as is required for a mutawaiir, in a manner that all the narralors arc unanimous in reporting it with the same words without any substantial discrepancy

79
Mutawatir in meaning: It is a mutawatir hadith which is not reported by ihc narrators in ihc same words. The words of the narrators arc different. Sometimes even the reported events are not ihc same. But all the narrators are unanimous in reporting a haste
(b)

concept which
is

is

common

in all Hie reports.

This

common

concept

also ranked as a mutawatir concept.

For example, there

is

a saying of the Holy Prophet

jUl
Whoever

yk

aJjuLa I*g5kfa 1J-*^Zjo

1&
lie

JS
*

ry>

intentionally attributes a
in the Fire.

against

me,

should prepare his scat

This

minimum

has a of seventy four narrators. In other words, seventy lour

is

mutawatir hadith of ihc rust kind, because

the

it

companions of

Holy Prophet iglhavc reported

all

ihis hadith at

different occasions,

with the

same words.
received this hadith from these

The number of those who

companions is many times greater, because each of the seventy four companions has conveyed it to a number of his pupils. Thus, the total number of the narrators of this hadith has been increasing in each successive generation, and lias never been less than seventy four. All these narrators, who are now hundreds in number, report it in the same words without even a minor change. This hadith is, therefore, mutawatir by words, because it cannot be imagined reasonably that such a large number of people have
colluded
coin a fallacious sentence in order to attribute Holy Prophet
to
it

to the

-^

On

the other hand,

that the

it

is

also reported by such a large

number of narrators perform two Rakat

and three Rak'at

has enjoined us to in Fajr, four Rak'at in Zuhr, 7Vsr and Isha.

Holy Prophet

Maghrib Prayer, yet the narrations of all the reporters who reported the number of Rak'nt are not in the same words. Their words arc different. Even the events reported by them are different. Bui the common feature of all the reports is
in the

80
the same. This
Rak'at,
is

common

feature,

said to be mulawaiir in

namely, ihc exact number of meaning.

is

2,

The second kind of

hadith

Mashhoor. This term

is

defined by the scholars of Hadilh as follows:

"A hadilh which

is

not mutawatir, but

its

narrators

arc not less than three in any generation" (1).

The same term

is

also used by the scholars

of Fiqh. but

their definition is slightly different.

They

say,
in the

"A mashhnar

hadilh

is

one which was not mutawatir

generation of the Holy Companions, but became mutawatir

immediately after ihem

(2).

The Mashhoor

hadilh according to each definition falls in

the second category following themutawatir.

3.

Khabarul wahid.

\\

is a

hadith

whose

narrators arc less

than three in any given generation.

Let us

now examine each

kind separately:

The

authenticity of the

first

two kinds

As

for the mutawatir,

The

by a absolute truth even if pertaining to our daily life. Any statement based on a mutawatir narration must be accepted by everyone without any hesitation. I have never seen the city of Moscow, but the fact that Moscow is a large city and is the capital of U S S R is an absolute truth which cannot be denied. This fact is proved, to
fact narrated
(1) Tadrccburrawr,
(2)

nobody can question its authenticity. mutawatir chain is always accepted as an

by Suyuti

P. 181 V.2, Karachi 1972.

~Ji

J ~i

81
mc, by
a

number of narrators who have seen ihc city. This is continuously narrated or a mutawatir fact which cannot be
a large

denied or questioned,

have not seen the events of the First and the Second World War. But the fact that these two wars occurcd stands proved, without a shadow of doubt on the ba^sis of the mutawatir reports about them. Nsbody with a sound sense can claim that all those who reported the oecurance of these two wars have colluded to coin a fallacious report and that no war took place at all. This
I
t

strong belief in the factum of war

reports of the event.

is

based on the mutawatir

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ilarr to be held as absolutely true without any iota of doubt in their authenticity. The authenticity of the Holy Quran being the same Boek as that revealed to the Holy Prophet is of the same nature. Thus the mutawatir ahadith, whether they be mutawatir in words or in meaning, arc as authentic as the Holy Quran, and there is no difference between the two in as far as the
In the
f

same way

the mutawatir reports about the

reliability

of their source of narration

is

concerned.

Although the ahadith falling under the first category of the mutawatir, i.e. the mutawatir in words, are very few in number,
yet the ahadith relating to the secend kind, namely, the mutawatir

meaning, arc available in large numbers. Thus, a very sizeable portion of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet falls in this kind of
in

mutawatir, the authenticity of which cannot be doubled in any manner.

As

for the
is

authenticity

second kind, i.e. the Mashhoor its standard of lower than that of the mutawatir, yet, it is sufficient
,

to provide satisfaction

about the correctness of the narration

because

it's'

narrators have been

more than

three trustworthy

persons in every generation.

The

third

kind

is

Khabarui wahid. The authenticity of

its

this
is

kind depends on the veracity of

narrators. If the narrator

82
trustworthy in
accepted, but
if

all

respects, the report given

by him can be

the single reporter is believed to be doubtful, the entire report subsequently remains doubtful. This principle is followed in every sphere or life. Why should it not be applied to the reports about the
the

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet |= ? Rather, in case of 'Ahadith', this principle is most applicable, because the

reporters of ahadith were fully cognizant of the delicate nature of

what they narrate. It was not simple news of an ordinary event having no legal or religious erfect. It was the narration of a fact which has a far-reaching effect on the lives of millions of people.

The reporters of Ahadith knew well that it is net a play to ascribe a word or act to the Holy Prophet ig;. Any deliberate error in ihis
any negligence in this respect would lead them to the wrath of Allah and render ihcm liable to be punished in hell. Every reporter of hadith was aware of the following well-known
narration, or

mutawatirhadith:

*"

Whoever attributes
scat in the Fire.

tic

to

me. he should prepare

his

This hadith had created such a strong sense of

responsibility in the hearts of the narrators of ahadith thai while

reporting anything about the

pale out of fear, lest

Holy Prophet

they often turned

their narration.

some error should creep into

This was the basic reason for which the responsible narrators of ahadith showed the maximum precaution in preserving and reporting a hadith. This standard of precaution cannot be found in any other reports of historical events. So, the principle that the veracity of a report depends on the nature of its
reporter is far more validly applicable to the reports of ahadith lhan nature. it is applicable to the general reports of ordinary

Let us

now examine

the various

ways adopted by the

Ummah to preserve the ahadifa

in their original form:

Different

ways of A had it

li

Preservation

As wc shall later see, the companions of the Holy Prophet reduced a large number of ahadith in writing. Yet, writing was not the sole means of their preservation. There were

many other ways.

1-

Memorization
First

of all the companions of the Holy Prophet j$ used to lcam ahadith by heart. The Holy Prophet jj has said:

May

Allah bestow vigor to

it

person

who

hears

my
to

saying and Ieams

by

heart, then
it.

conveys

it

oihcrs exactly as he hears

The companions of

the

Holy Prophet

were eager

to

follow this hadlth and used to devout considerable time for

commiting ahadith to Iheir memories. A large number of them left their homes and began to live in the Mosque of the Holy Prophet j|p so that they may hear the ahadith directly from the

mouth of the Holy Prophet. They spent all ihcir time exclusively in securing the ahadith in their hearts* They are called

Ashah

al-sujfah*

The Arabs had such strong memories that they would easily memorize hundreds of verses of their poetry. Nearly all of them knew by heart detailed pedigrees of not only themselves, but also of their horses and camels. Even their children had enough knowledge of the pedigrees of different tribes. Hammad is a famous narrator of the Arab Poetry. It is reported that he knew by

84
poems for each letter from the alphabet, meaning thereby that he knew three thousand and thirty eight long poems (1).
heart one hundred long

The Arabs were so proud of their memory power that

placed more of their confidence on
it

they
poets

than on writing.

Some

deemed

it

a blemish to preserve their poetry in writing.

They

believed that writings on papers can be tampered with, while the

memory cannot be distorted by any one. If any poets have written some of their poems, they did not like to disclose Lhis fact, because it would be indicative of a defect in their memory (2).
Holy Prophet i=l utilised this memory for preserving ahadith which they deemed to be the only source of guidance after the Holy Quran. It is obvious that their
the

The companions of

enthusiasm towards the preservation of ahadith far exceeded their

zeal for preserving their poetry and literature.
their

memory

in

They therefore, used respect of ahadith with more vigor and more
'

precaution.

Sayyiduna

Holy Prophet
litfj
c

Abu Hurairah, the famous companion who has reported 5374 ahadith, says,
,

of the

J& i?j

JJ

&i

*!>< frtf JJJI bffc

have divided my night into three pans. In one third of the night I perform salaah, in one third l sleep and in one third I memorize the ahadith of the Holy
I

Prophet gg.

(3).

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, after embracing Islam, devoted

his life exclusively for learning the ahadith.

He has

reported

more

ahadith than any other companion of the Holy Prophet ijp

n>AI-alam by
i)

zrikli

2:131
P.

See Al-aghani V. 61
.

61

(3)

1*.

^-k^

gytji

jut

^aij at

&

c y*,wt ^-

85
Once Marwan, the governor of Madinah, tried to test his memory. He invited htm to his house where he asked him to narrate some ahadith, Marwan simultaneously ordered his scribe

Abu Zu'aizVah
reported by

to sit behind a curtain and write the

ahadith

After a

Abu Hurairah *^ M ^j. The scribe noted the ahadith. year he invited Abu Hurairah again and requested him to

repeat what he narrated last year, and likewise ordered

Abu

Zu'aizVah to
tit

Abu

behind a curtain and compare the present words Hurairah with the ahadith he had already written
sit

previously. Sayyiduna

Abu Hurairah

began

to repeat the

ahadith

while

Abu

Zu'aizi'ah

compared them. He found

that

Abu

Hurairah did not leave a single word, nor did he change any word from his earlier narrations (1).

Numerous other examples of this

reporters have used their extra-ordinary

type arc available in the

history of the science o[ hadith which clearly

show

that the

ahadith
to

memory power given

them by Allah Almighty

Prophet

for preserving the

j^

as promised by

Him

in the

Sunnah of the Holy Holy Quran.

of the science of hadith developed the science of Asma'ur-rijal by which they have deduced reliable means to test the memory power of each narrator of ahadith. They never accepted any hadith as reliable unless all of it's narrators were proved to have high memory standards.
shall later see, scholars

As we

Thus, "memory-power" in the science of hadith is not a vague term of general nature. It is a technical term having specified criteria to test the veracity of narrators. A great number of scholars of the sciences of "Asma'urrijaT and Varh and Ta'diF have devoted their lives to examine the reporters of hadith on that Their task was to judge the memory power of each narrator and to record objective opinions about them.
criteria.

Memories of the ahadith

reporters cannot be

compared with

86
the

memory of a

layrnar^

today

who

witnesses an event or hears

some news and conveys

it

to others in a careless

manner seldom

paying due attention to the correctness of his narration. The follows points in this resect arc worth mentioning:
ol ahadith were fully cognizant of the great importance and the delic^c nature of what they intended to report.
1.

The

reporters

They whole-heartedly bejjeved

any misstatement or negligent reporting in this field wa u Id cause them to be condemned both in this world and in the Hc^aftcr. This belief equipped them with a very strong sense of responsibility. It is evident that such a strong sense or responsibility makes a reporter more accurate in his
that

reports.

A newsman

which

common

repining an accident of a common nature in people ^rc involved, can report it's details with

But if th^ accident involves the President or the Prime Minister of his country, he will certainly show more
diligence, precaution and shall employ his best ability to report the incident as accurately as possible. The reporter is the same, but in
the second case he
first
is

less accuracy.

more accurate

in his report

case, because the nature of the incident responsible, hence more cautious.
It

was in the has made him more

than he

cannot be denied that the companions of Lhc Holy Prophet ig, ih^ r pupils and other reliable narrators of
,

ahadith believed with

thc^jr

heart and soul that the importance of a

Holy Prophet exceeds the importance of any other report whatsoever. They believed that it is a source of Islamic law which will govern the Urnmah for all times to come* They believed that any negligence in this respect will lead them to
hadith attributed to the
the severe

punishment of hclL So, their sense of responsibility while reporting ahadith was far higher than that of a newsman reporting an important incident about die head of his country.
2.

The

interest of l^c reporter in the reported events

is

and his

ability to

understand th^ m correctly

another important factor

little reliability

which affects the acct^racy of his indifferent or negligent s^out what he

report. If the reporter is

reports,

can

87
be placed on his

memory
is

But

if

the reporter

or on any subsequent report based on it. not only honest, serious and intelligent but

also interested and involved in the event, his report can easily be
relied upon.
If

some proceedings

arc going

on

in a court

of law.thc

reports of these proceedings can be of different kinds. One report was given by a layman from the audience who was incidentally

orcsent

at

the court.

He had

neither any interest in the proceedings

nor had due knowledge and understanding of the legal issues involved. He gathered a sketchy picture of the proceedings and reported it to a third person. Such a report can neither be relied upon nor taken as an authentic version of the proceedings. This
of errors because the reponcr lacks the ability to understand the matter correctly and the responsible attitude to report it accurately. Such a reporter may not only err in his
report

may

be

full

reporting, but
altogether,

may

after

some lime

also forget

the proceedings

Suppose, there arc some newsmen also who have witnessed the proceedings for the purpose of reporting them in their newspapers. They have more knowledge and understanding
than a layman of the
first

kind. Their report shall be

more

correct

than that of the former. But despite their interest and intelligence, they arc not fully aware of the technical and legal questions

proceedings. Their report shall thus, remain deficient in the legal aspect of the proceedings and cannot be relied upon to the that extent because despite their good memory, they

involved

in the

cannot grasp the legal issues completely.

There were also lawyers who were directly involved in the proceedings. They participated in the debate at the bar. They have argued the case. They were fully aware of die delicate legal issues involved. They understood each and every sentence expressed by other lawyers and the judge. It is obvious that the report of the proceedings given by these lawyers shall be the most
authentic one.

Having

full

knowledge and understanding of

the

88
case Lhcy can neither forget nor err while reporting the substantial

and material parts of die proceedings.

Suppose, all the three categories had the same standard of memory power. Yet, the facts narrated by them have different
levels of correctness.
It

shows

that the interest of the reporter in

the reported event and his understanding of the facts involved

plays an important role in making his

accurate.

memory more

effective and

The deep

interest of the

companions

of the

Holy

Prophct^in

his sayings and acts* rather even

in his gesture is

beyond any doubt. Their understanding of what he said, and their close knowledge and observation of the background and environment under which he spoke or acted cannot be questioned. Thus, all the basic factors which hplp mobilize one's memory were present in ihem.
.

3.

The standard of memory power required

is

for the

authenticity of a report

not, as

mentioned

concept for which no specific criteria exist. Science of hadith have laid down hard and fast rules to ascertain the memory standard of each reporter. Unless a reporter of a

vague The scholars of the

earlier, a

hadith has specific standards of memory, his reports are not

accepted as reliable.

between memorizing a fact which incidentally came to the knowledge of someone who never cared to remember it any more, and memorizing of a fact which is
4.

There

is

a big difference

learnt

by someone with eagerness, with an objective purpose remember it and with a constant effort to keep it in memory.

to

While I studied Arabic, my teacher told me many things which I do not remember today. But the vocabulary I learnt from

my teacher is secured
eager
lo

in

my mind. The reason

it

is 1

obvious.

never

cared to keep the former remembered, while

team the

latter

by heart and to stoie

in

was very much my memory.

89
The companions of ihc holy Prophet
him
incidentally nor

Jp did not listen to

were they careless

in

remembering what Ihcy

heard. Instead, they daily spared specific limes for learning the

ahadhh by

The example of Abu Hurairah^^ur^j has already been cited. He used to spare one third of every night in repealing Ihc ahadith he leaml from the Holy Prophet iSp
heart.
.

Thus, memorization was not a weaker source of preservation of ahadlth, as sometimes is presumed by those who have no proper knowledge of the science of hadith. Looked at in its true perspective, the memories of the reliable reporters of ahadith were no less reliable a source of preservation than
compiling the ahadith
in

book form.

2.

Discussions

The second source of preservation of ahadith was by mutual discussions held by the companions of the Holy Prophet il. Whenever they came to know of a new sunnah, they used to narrate it to others. Thus all the companions would
each other what they leaml from the Holy Prophet H* This was to comply with the specific directions given by the Holy Prophet . in this respect. Here arc some ahadith to this effect:
tell
.

Those present should convey (my sunnah)

absent
(1).

to those

Convey

to others

on

my

behalf,

even though

it

be a

single verse (2),

(2).

JJ^I

^ j* /i U Mi

.L- A

^tT tJjVUt ^-^

90
o^p
4*1*/

t^*~ *&*>** ^i***"

&

A*-* 'y1

'

*^I

>

^'

May Allah grant vigor to a person who listens to my

saying and learns
others (1).
it

by heart

until

he conveys

it

to

You hear (my

sayings) and others will hear from

(2),

you, then others will hear from them <UL

j^ C,^

j,

-^4 iM

dU-I

jJuJLI

SlS?

A Muslim

cannot offer his brother a belter benefit

than transmitting to him a good hadith which has reached him (3).

These directions given by the Holy Prpphct were more than sufficient to induce his companions towards acquiring the knowledge otaltadiih and to convey them to others.

The Holy Prophet

4> also motivated his

companions

to

study the ahadith in their meetings. The word used for this study isTadarus which means "to teach each other". One person would
narrate a particular hadith to the other, in turn,
the
first,

and so on. The purpose was

listen to the other's

to

would repeat it to learn it correctly. Each

if

one would

version and correct his mistake,

any. The result of this ttadanis (discussion)

remember the ahadith as firmly as possible. The Holy Prophet has held this described process of ladarus to be more meritorious
to

was

with Allah than the individual worship throughout in the night. He has said.

(I), rvi.
(2). rx\ (3).
\

ti-4*- *ji* yif ,-"/

iljJ*- jJUW

n*A

--*

jJ-J

*jtf

tfJL./Ji

-u

Ji

J-tf i-A pLJi cjtS' *Ja

jjJt oL* ^.l.

^1 j-

ir^ ^i

uj

^s

91

VW ^ 4T J^ ^ ^ u r^
1

o-j'

Tadarus of knowledge
the night,
is

any period of lime in better than spending the entire night in

(1) for

worship

(2).

Moreover, the Holy Prophet 4a has also warned, thai it is a major sin to hide a word of 'knowledge' whenever it is asked for:

Whoever is questioned
thai he has

pertaining to such
it,

and thereafter conceals

(3).

knowledge will be bridled

by

a rein

of fire

At another occasion the Holy Prophet *> disclosed that concealment of 'knowledge' is in itself a major sin. even though
the person having that
fl>Jb

knowledge
>j

is

not asked about it.

4j

He
^jA

said:

1*>JU ^uLaII

*U-

jUXIj

UiA *PS

Whoever conceals knowledge which can be benefitted from, will come on Doomsday bridled
with a bridle of
fire (4).
it

The

hadith makes

clear that Lhc disclosure of knowledge

is

an inherent obligation on each knowledgeable person, no matter whether he is asked about it or not.

knowledge of the sunnah of the Holy Prophet ^1 was lhc highest branch of knowledge in the eyes of his companions, they deemed it an mdispcnsiblc* obligation on their shoulders to convey to others what ihcy knew of lhc sunnah.
lhc

As

Thus,
(I)

it

was

the
"

most

favourite

hobby of lhc companions of

to

Knowledge" in lhc era of Nabi J> was used connote knowledge relative to lhc Holy Qur'an and die hadith,
(2).
(3).

The word

^iv^fW^c^
w*% $a* JJi
w*t*

& Ju^-n

(4).

J,, .tfi jjjl oL;

92
sat together, instead of being involved in useless talks, lo discuss his sayings and acts. Each of

the

Holy Prophet 4fc whenever ihey

them would mention what he knew while the others would and try to learn it by heart.

listen

These frequent discussions have played an important role in the preservation of Lhe Sunnah. It was by the virtue of these discussions that the ahadith known only by some individuals were conveyed to others, and the circle of narrators was gradually enlarged. Since these discussions were carried out at a lime when the Holy Prophet |t. was himself present among them, they had the full opportunity to confirm the veracity of what has been conveyed to them in this process, and some of them actually did so. The result was that the knowledge of ahadith acquired a wide range among the companions, which not only helped in spreading the knowledge of Sunnah but also provided a check on the mistakes of narrations, because f someone forgets some part of a hadith, the others were present lo fill in the gap and to correct the
i

error.

3.

Practice

The

third

way of preservation of the Sunnah was to

bring

it

into practice.

The knowledge of Sunnah was not merely a theoretical knowledge, nor were the teachings of the Holy Prophet merely philosophical. They related to practical life. The Holy

Prophet iSpdit] not confine himself to giving lessons and sermons

only, he also trained his

Ieamt from the Holy Prophet

into actual practice.

^ Each companion was

the

companions

practically.

Whatever they
it

they spared no effort lo bring

jgr
that

so enthusiastic in
,

practicing the
best lo imitate

Sunnah of
even

Holy Prophet

he

tried his

his personal habits*

Thus the whole atmosphere was one of following the

93
Sunnah. The Sunnah was not a verbal report only,
practice,
it

was a

living

widespred behavior and a current fashion demonstrating itself everywhere in the society, in all the affairs of
a
their daily life.

a student of mathematics confines himself with remembering the formulas orally, he is likely to forget them after a lapse of time, but if he brings them in practice, ten times a day, he
If

shall

never forget them.

Likewise, the Sunnah was not an oral service carried out by the companions They brought it.into their daily practice. The
.

Sunnah was

the centre of gravity for

all

their activities.

How

could they forget the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet i3 around which they built the structure of their whole lives?

Thus, constant practice in accordance with the dictates of the Sunnah was another major factor which advanced the process of preserving the Sunnah and protected it from the foreign
elements aiming
at its distortion.

4.

Writing

The fourth way of preserving of ahadith was writing. Quite a large number of the companions of the Holy Prophet 1 reduced
flic

ahadith in writing after hearing them from

It is

the Holy Prophet

true that in the beginning the

Holy Prophet ig: had

forbidden some of his companions from writing anything other then the verses of the Holy Quran. However, this prohibition was
not because the ahadith had no authoritative value, but because die Holy Prophet J> had in the same breath ordered Ihcm to narrate
his ahadith oraUy.

The

full text

of the relevant hadith

is

as follows:

94
iAy^Ji

&\jai\ ji-

^J* rlS' J^j

*

i^*

fr

Itf-^"

Do
rub

not write (what you hear) from mc, and whoever

has written somcLhing (he heard) from mc, he should

it.

Narrate to others (what vou heart from mc:

lie to

and whoever deliberately attributes a

should prepare his scat in the Fire"
(1).

mc

he

The

underlined phrase of the hadith clarifies that prohibition

was not on account of negating it's authority. The actual reason was that in the beginning of the revelation of the Holy Quran, the companions of the Holy Prophet^ were not fully familiar with the Quranic slyle, nor was the Holy Quran
for writing hadith

compiled in a separate book form. In those days some companions began to write the ahadith alongwith the Quranic text. Some explanations of the Holy Quran given by the Holy Prophet $ were wriuen by some of them mixed with the Quranic verses without any distinction between the two. It was
therefore feared that
the aliadith*
It
it

would lead

to

confuse the Quranic text with

was

in this

background

that the

Holy Prophet i5p

and ordered that anything written other than the Holy Quran should be rubbed or omitted. It should be kept in mind that in those days there was a great shortage of writing

stopped

this practice

Holy Quran used to be written on pieces of leather, on planks or wood, on animal bones and sometimes on stones. It was much difficult to compile all those
paper.

Even

the verses of the

thengs in a book form, and

like

if the

ahadith were also written in the

to distinguish

manner
(!)

it

would be more difficult

between the

Sec Sahih of Muslim V.2JP 414.

95
Quran and those of the ahadiih. The lack of familiarity with the Quranic style would also help creating
writings of the Holy

confusion.

For these reasons the Holy Prophci ^directed his companions to abstain from writing the ahadiih and to confine their preservation to the first three ways which were equally
reliable as discussed earlier.

But

all this

was

in the earlier period

companions became fully Holy Quran and writing paper became available, this transitory measure of precaution was taken back, because the danger of confusion between the Quran and the Imdith no longer existed.
the

When

of his propheihood. conversant of the style of the

At this stage, the Holy Prophet iSphimself directed his companions to write down the ahadith. Some of his instructions in
this respect arc

quoted below:
the yWar complained to the
f

Holy Prophet igl that he hears from him some ahadith but he sometimes forgets them. The Holy Prophet J said:
1.

One companion from

JLi-

oJU Ujlj

iffcyigi

y>~*\
{

"Seek help from your right hand and pointed out

writing (1).
2. Rafe'

lo a

ibn Khadij &

1T

M ^ij the famous companion of the

-jjp
1

Holy Prophet says. I said lo the Holy Prophet you many things, should wc write them down?"

we

hear from

fe replied:

You may

wirte.Therc

is

no harm

(2),

(2).

rW ^ J-^U1 ^Oitj fAy ^ tttf *^jJS

96
(3)

Sayyiduna Anas
i5p has said:

*^ *i

Prophet

reports that the

Holy

"Preserve knowledge by wriiing

4.

(I).

Sayyiduna Abu Rafe' sought permission from the Holy Prophet ig; to write ahadith. The Holy Prophet permitted

him

to

do so
It is

(2).

reported that the ahad'uh written by

too.

Abu Raffrb^j

were copied by other companions,

Salma, a pupil of Ibn

Abbas says:
^f-

IfJ^

f\r

****

^
jj

Cy.

*^'

*?* ^il>

#&
I

J^-j

j-

M J
clb
Holy

saw some small wooden boards with Abdullah Ibn Abbas. He was writing on ihcm some reports of the acts of the Holy Prophet |S which he acquired
Trom
5.

Abu Rafe (3).

r

Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn

ijj;

al-

Aas

reports that the

Prophet

said to him:

JlJI

IjJLj

Preserve knowledge.

He asked
Prophet

"and

how

should

it

be preserved?". The Holy

replied "writing

it" (4).

In other report he says,

(1)- tVk v*
(2).
(3).

> &*% \^*X

tf^* ^u

^ j$

Ju*

#H pUt ab

A-

r^^t/
i

^ rv\

^ a ^i c*u>

97
and told him" I want to narrate your ahadith. So, I want to take assistance of my handwriting beside my heart. Do you deem it fit for me? "The Holy Prophet |
"I

came

to the

HoJy Prophet

replied, "If

it is

my

hadith you

may

seek help from

your hand besides your heart"

6. It

(1).

was

for this reason that

he used

to write

ahadith

frequently.

He

himself says,

whatever I heard from the Holy Prophet i$. and wanted to learn it by heart. Some people of the Qurcsh dissuaded me and said, "Do you write every thing you hear from the Holy Prophet i while he is a human being and sometimes he may be in anger as any other human
I

used

to write

beings

may

be?"

(2).

in

They meant that the Holy Prophet 2> might say something a state of anger which he did not seriously intend. So, one

should be selective in writing his ahadith. 'Abdullah ibn Amr conveyed their opinion to the Holy Prophet gj. In reply the Holy Prophet jgp pointed to his lips and said,

swear by the One

in

whose hands

is

the soul of

'

98
Muhammad
(lips)
,

nothing comes out from these two

So, do writc.(l)

except

truth.

to

Holy Prophet write each and every saying of him without any hesitation or
It

was

a clear and absolute order given

by

the

doubt about
In

it's

authoritative nature.

compliance to this order, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr wrote a large number or ahadith and compiled them in a book form which he named "Al Sahifah at Sadiqair. Some details about this book
shall

be discussed
7,

later

on

inshaallah.

During the conquest of Makkah (8 A.H.) the Holy Prophet ^delivered a detailed sermon containing a number of Shariah imperatives, including human rights. One Yemenite person from the gathering, namely, Abu Shah requested Lhc Holy
Prophet

to

provide him the sermon in a written form.

his

The

Holy Prophet ife thereafter ordered

companions

as follows :-

Write

it

down

for

Abu Shah

(2).

These seven examples arc more than sufficient to prove lhat writing of ahadith was not only permitted but also ordered by the Holy Prophet ij and lhat the earlier bar against writing was only for a transitory period to avoid any possible confusion between
the verses of the Holy

Quran and

the ahadith. After this transitory

lifted

period the fear of confusion ended, the bar was

and the

companions were persuaded

to preserve ahadith in

a written form.

(l)i.\ it*

^ i fSU* 2ijj-v m^-t**3 *M ^

*JJ*

**r

^ m * ^ &*>
1

(2). %p Tt

*tf

-V

jJJH %-'tS'

tfjUJl

99

THE COMPILATION OF IIADITII IN THE DAYS OF THE HOLY PROPHET |

Wc have discussed
the different

methods undertaken by ihc

companions of ihc Holy Prophet -l^to preserve the ahadiifu An objective study of these methods would prove that although 'writing* was not the sole method of ihcir preservation, yet it was never neglected in this process. Inspired by the Holy Prophci iSj. himself, a large number of his companions used to secure the
ahadtth in written form.

When wc
in the
is

study individual efforts of the companions for

compiling aliadith,

wc

find that thousands of ahadtth

very days of die Holy Prophet ijp and his

were written Four Caliphs. It

it

not possible to give an exhaustive survey of these efforts, 'or

voluminous book on the subject which is not intended here. Nevertheless, we propose to give a brief
will require a separate

account of some outstanding compilations of aliadith

period.
It

in that early

will, at least, refute the

misconception

that die

ahadtth

were not complied during

the first three centuries.

THE DICTATIONS OF THE HOLY PROPHET^

To begin
considerable
with,

we would

refer to

the

fact

that

number of ahadtth were

dictated and directed to be

himself.

secured

in written

form by the Holy Prophet

Here are

some examples:

100

THE BOOK OF SADAQAH

documents of zakak, and specifying the quantum and the rate of Zakah in respect of different zaka tabic assets. This document was named "Kitab al Sadaqah" (TheBookofSadaqah). Abdullah ibn 'Umar says:
I.

The Holy Prophet Hfhas

dictated detailed

containing rules of

shari'alf about the levy

JP

*J

th*

o^

WB

*Jh~i *j**

<yh$ ts2*- ^(+*

The Holy Prophet ^dictated the Book of Sadaqah and was yet to send it to his governors when he passed away. He had attached it to his sword. When he passed away, Abu-Bakr acted according to it till
he passed away, then Umar acted according to it till he passed away. It was mentioned in his book that

one goat

is

leviable
this

on

five
is

camels

"

(1).

available in several books of ahadith like the Sunan of Abu Dawood. Imam Zuhri, the renowned scholar of hadith used to teach this document to his
pupils.

The

text

of

document

He

used
is

to say:

"This

the text of the

Prophet

^bout

the
is

document dictated by the Holy rules of Sadaqah (Zakah). Its

with the children of Sayyiduna

original manuscript

Umar. Salim, the grandson of Umar had taught it to me. I had learnt it by heart. Umar Ibn 'Abd-ul-'Aziz had procured a copy of this text from Salim and Abdullah, the grandsons of Umar. I have
(I
ir

J-^i

Vj

j .w u L*

tfjTgjI Mjlgl

^i,;*

^u

101
the

same copy wilh mc

(1).

The
the

Script of
In JO A.H.

Amr

b.

Hazm
ihc

when Najran was conquered by

%

Muslims,

Holy Prophet ij appointed his companion Amr ibn Hazm as govemer of the province of Yemen, At this time the Holy Prophet ^dictated a detailed book to Ubayy ibn Ka'b and handed it over to 'Amr ibn Hazm.
This book, besides some general advices, contained the rules of Shari'ah about purification. Salah. Zakah, Ushr, Hajj.

Umrah, Jihad

(battle), spoils, taxes,

Diyah (blood money),

administration, education etc.

Sayyiduna Amr ibn Hazm performed his functions as governor of Yemen in the light of this book. After his demise this document remained with his grandson, Abu Bakr, Imam Zuhri
leanu and copied
it

from him.

He used

to teach

it

to his pupils(2).

WRITTEN DIRECTIVES TO OTHER

GOVERNORS
Similarly,

when

the

Holy

Prophet

appointed some or his

companions as governors of different provinces he used to dictate to them similar documents as his directives which they could
follow in performing their duties as rulers or as judges. When he appointed Abu Huraira and Ala'ibn at Hazrami as his envoy to the
Zoroastrians of Hajar, he dictated to them a directive containing
certain rules of Shariah about Zakah and

Ushr (3).

0).

ff. -

HA u-

*-*S"*
full text

j.jb^ljt*

(2) Certain extracts of this

book arc found

in ihe

works of

hadilh.

F^or

the

sec^fji f*-y j vW* j*i"

(3)

nr ** c j jji &*

102
Likewise,

Murarah

to

when he sent Mu'az ibn Jabal and Malik ibn Yemen, he gave them a document dictated by him
certain rules

which contained

of Shariah

(1).

WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR CERTAIN DELEGATIONS

Certain Arab tribes

who

lived in remote areas far

from

Madinah, after embracing Islam used to send their delegations to the Holy Prophet J. These delegations used to stay at Madinah for a considerable period during which they would learn the teachings of Islam, read the Holy Quran and listen to the sayings of the Holy Prophet i:.Whcn they returned to their homes, some
,

of them requested ihc Holy Prophet

tions for

^lo dictate some instruc-

them and

for their tribes.

accept this request

The Holy Prophet jgf used to and would dictate some directives containing
*

such rules of Shari'ah as they most needed.

1.

came from Yemen and Sayyiduna Wa'il ibn Hujr before leaving for home, requested the Holy Prophet 2.
:

Write

mc a

book addressed to

my tribe.

The Holy Prophet ^dictated three documents to Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah, One of these documents pertained to personal problems of Wail ibn Hujr, while the other two consisted of
certain general precepts of Shari'ah concerning

Salah,Zakah,

prohibition of liquorr, usury and certain other matters (2).

Munqiz ibn Hayyan, a member of the tribe of Abdulqais came lo the Holy Prophet j> and embraced Islam, while returning home he was given a written document by- the Holy Prophet which he carried to his tribe but initially he did not
2.

&

(2).

\r. -

Kf

*n

fj

v-V-* u#A

ta

*j* -**- u; 1

&

103
anyone. When, due lo his efforts, his father-in-law embraced Islam, he handed over the document to him who in turn
disclose
it

to

read

it

before his tribe which subsequently

embraced Islam.

It

was

after this, that the

famous delegation olAhdutqais came lo the

is

Holy Prophet ijjf . The detailed narration Bukhari and Muslim (1).
3.

found in the books of

The delegation of Ihc tribe of Ghamid came to the Holy Prophet -gfc and embraced [slam. The Holy Prophet |3j sent ihem to Sayyiduna Uhayy ibn Ka'b who taught ihem the Holy Quran and:

the

Holy Prophet

-^1 dictated lor ihem a

book

containing injunctions of Islam (2).

The delegation of the tribe of Khath'am came to the Holy Prophet !; While discussing their arrival Ibn Sa'd reports on
4,
.

the authority of different reliable narrators.

.^-iTl*
a5>1

J1p j*

Uj

dfjj

*iili

Lai

\^\lti

They
in

said,

"We
that

believe in Allah, His messenger and

whatever has come from Allah, So, write for us a

document
Prophet

we may follow."

The Holy
to that

wrote for them a document. Jarir ibn

Abdullah and those present stood as witnesses

document"
5.

(3).

The delegation of

the tribes of Sumalalt

and Huddan

(2)

n*

^ *~ ^t CJqJb

104
came
after ihc conquest

of Makkah. They embraced Islam. The

Holy Prophet ls& dictated for them a document containing Islamic injunctions about Zakali. Sayyiduna Sabtt ibn Qais had written the document and Sa'd ibn Vbadah and Muhammad ibn Maslamah
stood as witnesses
6.
(1).

The same Sabit ibn Qais

also wrote a

document

dictated

by the Holy Prophet Jj for the delegation of the tribe of Aslam. The witnesses were Abu Ubaidah ibn Jarrah and Umar ibn
Kixaaab,

few examples which arc neither comprehensive nor exhaustive. Many other instances of the same nature arc found in only one book, namely, the Tahaqat oUbn Sa'd. A thorough research in ail the relevant books would certainly expose a large number of like events for which a more
a
detailed

These arc only

book

is required.

All these examples refer to those events only where the

Holy Prophet ^dictated documents containing general Islamic injunctions. He has also dictated numerous official documents in individual cases. The large number of such documents prevents us from providing even a short reference to all of them in this brief study. All these documents also form part of the Sunnah and a large number of Islamic injunctions arc inferred from them. In brevity, we instead would only refer to a work of Dr. Muhammad Harniduilah, namely, At-Wasaiq al Siyasiyyah, in which he has compiled a considerable number of such documents. Those who
desire further study

may peruse

the same.

i\%\t& &***&&&

105

THE COMPILATIONS OF HADITH BY THE COMPANIONS OF THE HOLY PROPHET ||

As
ahadith.

discussed earlier, Uie Holy Prophet^: has not only

pcrniiucd but also pursuaded his companions to write

In

down

his

pursuance of

this direction, the blessed

companions

of ihe Holy Prophet ^uscd to write ahadith, and a considerable number of ihcm have compiled these writings in book forms.

Some examples

arc given below:

THE SCRIPTS OF ABU HURAIRAH

It

oa^

well-known (hot Abu Huraira o^ai has narrated more ahadith than any other companion of the Holy Prophet^. The number of ahadith reported by him is said to be 5374. The reason was that hc/after embracing Islam, devoted his full life for the sole purpose of bearing and preserving the ahadith of the Holy Prophet^. Unlike the other famous companions, he did not employ himself in any economic activity. He used to remain in the Mosque of the Holy Prophet i: to hear what he said and to witness each event around him. He remained hungry, faced
is

starvations and hardships. Yet, he did not leave the function he

had undertaken.
There are concrete evidences that he had preserved the ahadith in written form. One or his pupils, namely, Hasan ibn 'Amr reports that once
:

Abu Huraira him "many books" Prophet g (1).

It

4>

took him to his home and showed containing the ahadith of the Holy
i

shows
*

that

Abu Hurairah had many

jgsji
*

scripts

of ahadith

(!)

m ^ gJi

^ iivi

j^ji a\-

cir

106
with him,
II is

also established that a

number of his

pupils had

prepared several scripts of his narrations.

The

Script of Abdullah ibn

It

Amr

has been slated earlier that Abdullah ibn 'Amr was specifically instructed by Holy Prophet ig: lo write ahadith. He therefore compiled a big script and named it "At sahifak al

Sadiqah" (The
precautious in
pupils says, "I

of Truth). Abdullah ibn 'Amr was very preserving this script. Mujahid. one of his favorite went to Abdullah ibn Amr and took in hand a script
script

placed beneath his cushion.

save anything from mc.
w

He

slopped me.

said,

"you never

He

replied,

-**

This is the "Sadiqah" (the Script of Truth). Ii is what I heard from the Holy Prophet No other narrator intervenes between him and myself. IT this script, the Book of Allah and

^.

Wahaz

(his agricultural land) are secured for

me

would never

care about the rest of the world (I).

This Script remained with

his children.

His grandson,
it.

Amr

ibn Shuaib used to teach the ahadith contained in

Yahya ibn

Ma'in and Ali ibn al Madini have said that every tradition reported by Amr ibn Shuaib in any book oihadith has been taken from this
scrip! (2). Ibn

alAsir says

that

mis

script contained

one thousand

ahadith (3).

(1

) in

j trr

^ r E *^i
j* v;-*^ 1

jlJ,

vr

<j*

^J jl

gift*

(2).

* r

j ii

*-s

(3), Trr

,j*

r^

*^

-lJ

107
The
Script

Of Anas

Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik was one of those companions of ihe Holy Prophet %* who knew writing. His mother had brought

Holy Prophet - when he was ten years old. He remained in the service of the Holy Prophet Tor ten years during which he heard a large number of ahadith and wrote them down. Said ibn Hilat one of his pupils says,
to ihc

him

jj^Jfc

(^Jl

(j*

l^-*-

oSa :JUi

oJLLp

Jl>c

LJJ

upon Anas he would bring to us some note-books and say, " These arc what I have heard and written from the Holy Prophet a Her which 1 have presented them to the Holy Prophet for
insisted

When wc

confirmation
It

(1).

shows

that

sayyiduna Anas

^*

^j had not only written

had also
had confirmed them.

a large

number of ahadith
to ihc

in several note books, but

showed them

Holy Prophet

& who

The

Script
It is

Or

Ali
'Ali
***
"'

well
wii!

of ahadith

known that Sayyiduna htm. He says,

tf**had a script

have not written anything from the Holy Prophet iL except the Holy Quran and what is
I

)-

G *vu

w^

*>

**

y*j u-A f*

jSUi Jj-c-

108
contained
in this script (1).

Imam Bukhari
places of his Sahih.
that this script

has mentioned this script

at six different

A combined study of all those places reveals

was substantially large and it consisted of ahadith about Qisas (retaliation), Diyah (blood money), Fidyah(ransom), some rights of the non-muslim citizens of an Islamic state specific kinds of inheritance, Zakah rules pertaining to camels of
,

different ages, and

some

rules about the sanctity of the city of

Madinah.

The

script

was written by Sayyiduna Ali

days of the Holy Prophet

Then, in the days of his khilafah (rule), he felt that the ahadith of the Holy Prophet i. should be spread among the people to widen the range of Islamic knowledge and to refute certain misguided ideas prevalent in those days.
.

^ &h

in the

It is

reported

by

the

famous historian Ibn Sa'd that he stood

in the

mosque and

delivered a lecture.

Then he asked

the people,

Who

will purchase 'knowledge' for

that

one Dirham only?.

whoever wanted to team ahadith, should buy writing paper for one dirham and come to him, for dictation of the ahadith of the Holy Prophet

He meant

It is

reported that Harith al

A'war bought some paper and

came

to

him:

\j^S

LU

-d

i^

So, Ali wrote for htm a lot of knowledge (2) should be kept in mind that the word 'knowledge' in the early centuries of Islamic history was used for the knowledge of
It

(2).

l^m^-^^ *%

109.
ahadilh only (1).

Scripts

Of Jabir
is

one of the famous companions of the Holy Prophet ^.who has narrated a large number of ahadilh. It is established that he had compiled the ahadilh in two scripts. One of them contained a detailed account of the last Haj] performed by
Jabir ibn Abdullah

Holy Prophet il The full text of this script is found in the Sahih of Muslim wherein he has described even the minute details
the
.

ofthelastHajj(2).

His second script contained other ahadilh relating

different subjects.

to

Qatadah
a

the

famous pupil of Jabir says;

JlJl ftj4~J

.J^

lii>-l

yl7 lL^*s*aJ

l* 3/

remember

the script of Jabir

more than

remember

Surah Al-Baqarah of the Holf Quran(3).

Reference to

this script is also

found in the

Musannaf of

Abdurrazzaq where some ahadilh of this

script arc reported (4).

Scripts

Of Ibn 'Abbas

Abdullah ibn'Abbas was the cousin of the Holy Prophet When the Holy Prophet j passed away, he was

vts^f*- c*- Zahabi says that Jahir's script fp %\ ^jjj.tuii i/x>

(2) t -

ru

*-'

this is a replica

of

(3)

ft
.

si^ uV
^i-*-

C T'TVV

$}/

***

*JC^

10

yet very young. In order to preserve ahadith. he began to compile as well as those what he himseir heard from the Holy Prophet

narrated by other companions. Whenever he came to know of any companion having some ahadith, he would travel to him to hear them. All such ahadith were compiled by him in several scripts. These scripts numbered so many that they could be

loaded on a camel. These scripts remained with his pupil Kuraib.

Musa ibn'Uqbah,

the

famous

historian says:

IS]

^U

i Al jlp
"JJ

^ JU b&
:^Ji

:JG -u*V*

Jri

loT

ii^^

C-~l

US" ^tOl

^Iji

Kuratb
books.

left

with us a camel load of /6n Abbas's

j4/i

When

ibn'AbdulIah ibn Abbas would

need any book from them, he wrote to Kuraib* "Send to me such and such books". He would then transcribe the book and send to him one of the two
copies (1).

The
them over

pupils of Ibn* Abbas

to

would copy these

scripts

and read

him

to

confirm the correctness of the copics(2).

f

Sometimes lbn Abbas would

narrate the ahadith to his

pupils white they would record them (3).

These arc only a few examples of efforts made by the companioas of the Holy Prophet i^for the compilation of ahadith. We do not intend here to present an exhaustive survey of such Our efforts. Detailed books can be consulted for this purpose. purpose hen: was to give only some examples. These concrete
(
1

fu' jM ^ ^^
t

(2).

w ^ JJ\ ^&

tfi-pS

c*r

Ill
examples
assumption
arc

more than

sufficient to refute the fallacious

that the

ahadith were never written in the days of the

his companions.

Holy Prophet i: and

THE COMPILATION OF AHADITH IN THE ERA AFTER THE

COMPANIONS
The
companions
history of the compilation of ahadith after the
is

even more vast and detailed. Each companion who narrated the ahadith had a large number of pupils who compiled what they heard from him. The pupils of the companions arc
called Tabi'in*.

The compilations of the Tabi'in were generally not arranged subject wise, though some of them have arranged the ahadith under subjective headings. The first known book of hadith which is so arranged is 'Al-abwab of Imam Sha'bi (b.19 A.H.D.103A.H.). This book was divided into various chapters. Each chapter contained the ahadith relating to the same subject like
salaluzakah ctc(l).

book of ahadith arranged in a regular manner appeared in the very first century. Another book was written by Hasan Al Basri (d.l 10) in which he compiled ahadith containing any explanations or commentaries of the Holy Quran (2). This was also a regular book written on a particular
first

This proves that the

subject which appeared in the

first

century.

in the era of the Tabi'in the compilation of ahadith

undertaken officially by the famous khalifah. Aziz (99-101 A.H.). He issued an official order to

was 'Umar ibn Abdul

all

governors

(2)

|TA

<j*

Sr^

^W'^ Jj

fc-*1

112
under his domain that they should gather the knowledgeable persons from among the companions of ihe Holy Prophet j. and their pupils and writfc down the ahadith found with them (1).
of this official decree was that several books of aiiadith were prepared and spread aliBvcr die country. Ihn Shihab At Zuhri was one of the pioneers of the compilation of hadith in

The

result

this period.

He has

written a

number of books.

All these books and scripts written in this period were afterwards included in the larger books of hadith written later on,
usual in the evolution of every science. The separate entity of these books and scripts, being uncalled for, was not much attended to. Thus, the larger books wriucn in the second and third
as
is

took their place, and being more comprehensive, detailed and sufficient, they were so widely spread and studied that the books of the TahVin no longer
centuries

gradually

remained on the scene.

However, some manuscripts of these books were preserved. Later books were compared and confirmed by such
preserved manuscripts.

was the script of Hammam ibn Munabbih* a pupil of Abu Hurairah who prepared a book containing ahadith he heard from Abu Huraira *> a ^j This book is also known as "Al-Sahifah al Sahihah". All" the ahadith of this book were

One of the books

written in the days of the TahVin

included in later compilations.

The full text of it is also found in book was the Musnad or Imam Ahmed. The original script of this thus not attended to and was lost for a considerable lime.
n 1373 A.H.
(i.e.

book were discovered in were published by Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah with a detailed

1954 A.D.) two manuscripts of this the libraries of Berlin and Damascus, and

(I)

irWIj/

t/jM

c?

113
introduction.

Muhammad Hamidullah edited these manuscripts which were written centuries ago. He has also compared their text with the one narrated in the musnad or Imam Ahmed. He could not
Dr.

between the two texts. There arc few very minor differences of negligible words which always exist between two manuscripts of the same book.
find any material difference

proves that the books of the Tabi'in were included and were thus made part of the later books of hadilh, with all necessary precautions by which they can safely be relied upon.
It

THE COMPILATIONS OF THE FIRST CENTURY

We
present here
first

a list

of hadilh works written by the

Tabi'in in the

and second centuries. In the first century the following books of hadhh were compiled by the Tabi'in (A).
1.

Book otKhalid ibn Ma'dan

(d.104)

Books of Abu Qilabah (d.104). He bequeathed his books to his pupil, Ayyub Saktiyani (68-131 A.H.), who paid more lhaji ten Dirham$,as a fare for them being loaded on a camel
2.

3.

The
to.

script of

Hammam

ibn Munabbih. alreadv

referred
4.

Books or Hasan alBasri

(21-

10 A.H.)

(A) For reference see the following:(1)

(2)
-

ill

aa

^>iaJttJ.I ijf*

aa
*

i-tU^t i^T&j

msi* #1 *^*J*
jr

(3)
(-1 )

J-* jjfJi Jjl^j

:

|&*

J--UH *jJUj iv

v ***

^ ^*M^

114
5.

Books of Muhammad at Baqir(56- 14 A.M.)

1

6.
7.

Books of Makhul from Syria

Book of Hakam Book of Btikair

ibn Vtaihah ibn 'Abdullah ibn al Ashajj (d.1 17)

8.

9.

Book of Qais
lo

ibn

Sad

(d.117).

This book later

belonged 'o v
10.

Ikunmad ibn Salainah

al Yashkuri
to.

Book of Salaiman

L AlAbwab
2.

ofSha'bi, already referred

Books of Ibn Shihab al Zuhri.

13.
14.

Book of Abul-'Aliyah
Book of Said ibn Jubair (d.95 A.H.)
Books of Umar ibn Abdullah Aziz -(61-101 A.H.)
Books otMujahid ibn Jabr (d 103 A.H.)

15.
16.

17.
(5)

Book of Raja ibn Hywah

.

(d.l 12

A.H.)

t*t

T *Ti-*#^' *-i*v

(6).
(7) (8) (9)
. .

JM-^g4^^
r

^ Ji^dij c>i
:

*~*tf

VI J Y*
ft.
v4 :

^rfA*^ "-rl^

JiUJ.1

/
i

(10).

- j ill

^ J-xdij cyt
|

i*oai

(11). l-a*tfjy
(12)
tvi
: i

'rti Jf r*
1

J-H uL;
(=

*:

(13). (14).
(15) (16)
(1 7j
.

rrA^<j U)jy.dtJJi-J
,. T

^ ft* due ^"j ** ^

jiJ'
:

wrt

^i-Ui

J-

trt

i*

,>">
jOJI

>UL

,c

c-;
:

o-JLj

y-jUJl ,*-

15
Muliammad ibn Amr dm
Ilaq

R.

Book of Abu

Baler Urn

19,

Book oSBmhir

ibn Nahik.

THE BOOKS OF IIADITH WRITTEN IN THE SECOND CENTURY

The
century
is

basic characteristic of the books written in the second

that a large

while the

number of Ihcm were arranged subject wise, books of the First century were not. However,

compilations without due arrangement contincd in this century too. The list of books compiled in this period is very long. Few

prominent books arc referred

1

to here (B).

Book of Ahdtdmallk

ibn Juraij (d. 1 50 A.M.)

2.

Muwatta, of Malik ibn Anas (93-179 A.M.)

3.

Muwatta, of Ibn Abi Zi'b (80-158 A.H.)

4.

Maghazi of Muhammad ibn Ishaq

(d.

151 A.H.)

5.

Musnad of Rabi* ibn Sabih

Book of Said

(d.

60 A.H,)

6.

ibn Abi 'Arubah (d.156 A.H.)

7.

Book of Hammad

ibn

Salmah (d.167 A.H.)

8.

Jame'Sufyan al Thauri (97-161 A.H.)

9.

Same Ma'mar ibn Rested (95-153 A.H.)

Book of Abdurrahman alAwza'i (88-157 A.H.)

10.

(18). n is Ji-w^j (19).

^Jf\

uur

mivJM^uia
Msec:

(B) For no. I to

rrv

^ &t& JJ Mi and for the remainder sec: *>^i au;i

116
11.
2.

Kitabal zuhdby Abdullah ibn at Mubarak

(1

18-181)

Book of Hushaim

ibn Bashir (104-1 83 A.H.)

10-IS58 A-H.)

3.

Book of Jarir ibn Abdulhamid (1 Book of Abdullah

Book of Yahya
ibn

14.

Wahb

(125-197 A.H.)

15.

ibn Abi Kathir (d. 129 A.H.)

I& Book of Muhammad ibn Suqah (d.135 A.H.)

17. Tafsir

ofZaid ibn Astam (d.136 A.H.)

ibn

18. 19.

Book of Mttsa

Vqbah

(d.141 A..H)

Book ofAsh'ath ibn 'Abdulmalik (d.142)

20.
21.
22.

Book of Aqil ibn Kahalid (d.142 A.H.)

Book of
Ytihya ibn Sa'idAnsart Ul.143)

Book of Awj

ibn Abi Jamilah (d.146)

23.

Books of Jcfar ibn Muhammad a! Sadiq (d. 148)

24.
25.

Book of Yunus

ibn Yazid (d.152 A.H.)

(d.
1

Books of Abdnrralunan almas'udi

Books of Zaidah ibn Qudamah
Books of Ibrahim
al
(d.
1

60)

26. 27. 28.

Tahman (d.

63)

Books of Aim Hamzah al Sukri (d.167)

Shu bah ibn al hajjaj (d. 1 60)
al Majishun

29. Algharaib by

30.

Books of 'Abdul Aziz ibn 'Abdullah

(d.164 A.H.)
3
1

Books or Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Uwais Books of Sulainum ibn
Btlal (d. 172)

(d.

69)

32.

1T7
33. 34.

Books of 'Abdullah ibnLahi'ah (d.147)

Jame Sufyan

ibn Vyainah (d.!98)

35. Kitabul-Athar by

Imam Abu Hanifah

ibn

(d. '.50)

36. 37.
38.

Maghazi ofMu'tamir

Sulaiman

(d.

87)

MusannafofWaki 'ibnJarrah

(d.196 A.H.)

MusannafofAbdurrazzak ibn Hammam (136-221)

39.

Musnad ofZaid ibn

'Alt

(76-122)

40.

Books of/mom Shaft! (15-204)

written in ihis age arc
still

The following books

primed forms.
1

available in

Almuwatta, by
Kiialml
-

Imam Malik,
Imam Abu Hanifalt.

2.

Aihar by

3.

Musannaf by

"Abdurrazzaq.
in

This book has been published

4.
5.

eleven big volumes.

As

- si rah

by
-

Muhammad ibn tshaq.

'Alxlullah ibn al
-

Kitab Kitab

al al

Zuhd by

Mubarak.

6.

Zuhd by Waki

'ibnJarrah (3 volumes).
-

7.

Almusnad by Za&i flm VUi (76

Sunan of Shafi'i (150
-

122).

8.

204).

9.

Musnad ot Shaft!
of Awza'i (88
-

10. S/yar

57).

1 1

Musnad of 'Abdullah

ibn al

Mubarak (d.
(d.

8 1 ).

12.

Musnad of Abu Dawood Tayathi

204).

18
-

13. 14.

At
Al

Radd

'Ala Sty aril

Awza'i by

Imam Abu

Yusuf.

Hiijjah 'ala Ahlil

Madinah by Imam Muliammad Urn

Hasan SJiaibam.
15.
6.

Kitabul

Umm

by

Imam Shafi'L
(
1

Al

Maghazi by Waqidi

30 - 206)

(4 volumes).

by no means exhaustive. But a careful suidy of these books only which are available today in printed forms, would clearly reveal that their style is much developed and they definitely do not seem to be the first books on their subject. Some of them arc in more than ten volumes, and their arrangement shows that the compilation of hadith in those days reached a
This
list is

developed stage.
All these valuable efforts of compiling the ahaditk belong to the
is

first

and second centuries. Hence, one can easily sec

how

false

Lhc assumption thai the compilation of ahadilh did not take place

before the third century.

What we have
that the

more than sufficient to prove compilation of ahadith has begun in the very days of the
cited

above

is

Holy Prophet -|and has continued in each point of lime thereafter. This process has, no doubt, passed through certain stages as is usual in every new science or branch of knowledge. Bui the assumption that lhc process could not begin before the third century cannot be substantiated on any ground whatsoever.

THE CRITICISM OF AHADITH

Although the task of preserving of ahadith through all the four ways mentioned earlier including compilations in written form, has been performed with due diligence throughout the first

119
docs not mean that all the iradiiions narrated or compiled in this period have been held as true and reliable.
four centuries of Islamic history, yet
it

In fact, in the

same period

in

which the work of the

compilation of ahadith was going on, a very systematic science of

was developed by the scholars of hadith in which numerous tests were suggested to verify the correctness of a
criticism
narration. All these tests

were applied
it

to each

and every tradition

or report before holding

reliable.

The

different branches of

knowledge which have been introduced by the scholars of the science of hadith has no parallel in the art of historical criticism throughout world history. It is not possible for us to herein
present even a brief introduction of these different branches and
the valuable

works produced

in this respect. It

may be

said

without any fear of exaggeration that thousands of books

the science of hadith.
It

have

been wrilten on these different branches of knowledge regarding

will

be pertinent, however,

to give a brief

example of the
of a hadith.

nature of the criticism of ahadith carried on by scholars and the

different tests applied

by them

to ascertain the veracity

The

traditions

classified into

viewed from different angles have been hundreds of kinds. Relative to their standards of
major

authenticity, the traditions arc ultimately classified into four

categories:
(a) Saliih (correct)

(b)

Hasan (good enough)

(c) D<f '//(weak)

(d)

Maudit

(coined)

two kinds are held to be reliable. Precepts of the Shari'ah can be based on and inferred from only these two kinds. Hence, only the ahadith of these two categories arc held to
the first

Only

120
be the source of Islamic law. The other two kinds have
value especially in the legal or doctrinal matters.
little

or no

Before declaring a hadith as Sahih or Hasan, the following

tests arc applied:

(a) Scrutiny

of its

narrators.

(b)

Scrutiny of the constancy of the chain of

narrators.

(c)

Comparison of its chain and text with other available ways of narration in the same matter.
Examination of the chain and the text of the hadith in the light of other material available on the subject, and to ensure that thcrc is no defect
in the chain or in the text.

(d)

Wc will
of a
tradition.

try Lo give a brief explanation

of these four tests as

they arc applied by the scholars of hadith to scrutinize the veracity

1,

Scrutiny of the narrators

The
on two

first

and foremost
its

test

of the correctness of a hadith

is

relates to the credibility of

narrators. This scrutiny

carried out

scores: firstly, examination of the integrity and

honesty

of a narrator, and secondly, examination of his

memory power.

To

carry out this scrutiny, a separate complete Science has

been introduced which is called 'llmur-Rijal (The knowledge of men). The scholars of this science dcvotfcd their lives for the thorough enquiry about each person who has reported a hadith. For this, they used to go to his place and enquire about htm from his neighbours, pupils and friends so that no scholar would be

121
impressed by his personal rclaiions with a narrator. Ali ibn alMadini, the famous scholar olRijat when asked about his father, first tried to avoid Uic question and replied "Ask some other scholar about him". But when the question was repeated with a
request for his
f

own opinion,

he said,
-

It is

the matter of Faith,

narrator.

(I,

therefore, reply).

He

is

weak

fattier

Waki' ibnJarmlu the well-known Imam of hadith held his as "weak" in hadith, and did not rely on his reports unless

they arc confirmed by

some

reliable narrator.

Imam Abu Dawood,

has opined about his son
(1
\

ihc author of

one of the Six Books, 'Abdullah, that he was "a great liar",

Zaid ibn Abi Unaisah has said about his brother Yahyah, "Do not accept Lhc traditions of my brother Yahyah, because he is
reputed in lying". (2)

Similar opinions arc recorded in the books of the 'Umur-rijaL Hundreds of books have been written on this subject.

Here arc only a few examples:

1.

Tahzibuttahzib by Ilafiz Ibn Ilajar:

Prinicd in twelve volumes, this

give a brief account of all the narrators

the famous Six

book has been designed whose narration is found

It

to
in

Books of hadith only.

(3),

contains the

life

accounts

of 12455 narrator
(I)

arranged in alphabetical order.

same 'Abdullah whose work "Kilabul Masalir has been published by some orientalists.
This
is

the

(2)

v,

tfju-ii

bj&t*&*i&*y

(3) This is the total of the

members given in each volume separately. Sometimes, the same narraLor has been mentioned in different places with different names. So, the actual number of the
narrators

may be

less,

but not less than IO (XKl

r

122
You can
pick up any

any book from the in the Tahzibuuahzih recorded

name from any chain of any hadilh m Six Books. This name will certainly be found
in
its

place in alphabetical scheme.

There you can find

teachers, the
list

of birth and death, the list of his of his pupils, important events of his life and the
his dates

opinions of the scholars about his credibility.

books meant for the narraiors of the Six Books exclusively, and after consulting them one can easily reach a definite conclusion about the veracity of a narrator.

There arc several

oilier

2,

Lisanul-Mizan by

IFafiz

Ibn Major

This book is meant exclusively for those narrators whose names do not appear in any chain contained in any of the Six Books. It means that the traditions reported by them arc found
only in some books other than the Six Books.

This book consists of seven volumes and embodies the introduction of 5991' narrators.

3.

Ta'jilul-Manfa'ah by Ilafiz Ibn II ajar.

This book
is

confined to the introductions of the narrators whosc'iradilions are found in the books of the four Imams: Malik, Abu Hanifah, Shafi't and Ahmed ibn Hanbal. and arc not among
the narrators of the Six Books, Thus,
it

contains the introduction

or 1732 narrators.
All these three books arc written and compiled

by

the

same

has person, namely, the Hafiz Ibn Hajar. It means that he compiled the introdueiion of more than seventeen thousand
narrators of the hadilh.

This

is

the effort of only a single scholar.

Many

other

123
books arc available on

show

the large

same subject. The following tabic will number of narrators introduced in few famous
llic

books of rijat which arc frequently referred

to.

Name of ihc

bottle

Author

Volumes

Number of
narrators

1.

Al-larikh

al

Kabir

Imam

Bukhari

9
9
12

13781

2.
3.

Al- Jarh wat-ta*dil

Ibn Abi Haiim

18050
12455

TahzibutLahzib
Mi/.anul
i'lidal

Hafiz Ibn Hajar

4.
>

Zahabi
1

4 7
1

11053

5.
6. 7.

Lisanul mi/.an
As-stqai

fafr/.

Ibn Hajar

'Ijli

2116 7854

Almughni

lid

du'afa

Zahabi

The last book of this lablc has introduced only those narrators who have been held as "weak" narrators. Similar books
are written by Ibn arc

Abi

Hatitii,

Darqumi

etc.

On

the contrnry.there
like

books which deal with the reliable narrators only of Ibn Hibban" in eleven volumes.

"Thiqnt

Anyhow,

if

a narrator

is

found to be dishonest, has very

weak memory or he is unknown, no trust is placed on his narrations. A large number of traditions has been repudiated on
this score alone.

2.

Constancy of the chain of narrators

It is

well-known
it

that

no

report, in the science

accepted unless

gives the

full

ofhadith is chain of narrators upto the Holy

this

Prophet J, Each narrator from

chain

is first

scrutinized

on
ki
is

the touch-stone of his credibility as dicusscd above. But even ihc narrators of a chain arc found to be reliable,
it

if all

is

not

enough
chain

hold the tradition as authentic.

It

must be proved

that the

124
constant and
that

no narrator has been missed

in

between.

If

it

is

found
is
it is

some

narrator has been missed at any stage, the tradition

held to be unreliable.

To

ensure the constancy of the chain,

necessary to

know

him

historically to

about each narrator whether it is possible for meet the person from whom ho claims to hear

the tradition.

indeed very difficult and delicate. But the scholars of the science othadith have undertaken this task in such an accurate manner that one cannot but wonder.

This scrutiny

is

While holding an enquiry about each narrator, the scholars, beside ascertaining his integrity and memory, would also survey his teachers and pupils. Thus, a detailed list of both his teachers and pupils is available in each detailed book of Rijal. So, when deciding about the constancy of ahadith the scholars do not only make themselves sure about the dales of birth and death or each
narrator, but also

examine

the

list

of his teachers
fix the

ai)d pupils.

Not only

this,

they often try to

time-span in which a

narrator had opportunities to

meet

a particular teacher and that in

which he did actually hear ahadith from him.

credibility

On the

basis of this

information they derive certain important conclusions about the

of a

narrator.

For example, 'Abdullah ihn Lahi'ah is a well-known Egyptian narrator of had ilh. It is established that his memory was weak and he used to narrate those traditions which he wrote. At a particular time, his house was burnt by fire and all his books were also burnt. After this occurancc he sometimes used to report
ahadith from his memory. Therefore, some scholars have decided that his narrations before Ihc accident arc reliable while those

who have heard afiadith from him in the early period, their narrations may be accepted, while Lhc reports of those who have heard from him in the later period cannot be relied upon. The scholars have
narrated after
it

arc not worthy of trust.

Now,

the pupils

scrutinised the

list

of his pupils and have specified the names of

125
his early pupils like 'Abdullah ibn

Wahb

etc.

that all the rest should be treated as his later

and have declared pupils, and no trust

might be placed on
<r

their narrations.

In short, the second type of scrutiny, which is very essential in the criticism of traditions, relates to the constancy and perpetuity of the chain of narrators. If
it is

found that a narrator

has not heard the hadith directly from the one to whom he is ascribing it, the tradition is said to be Munqatl (broken) which
cannot be ticalcd as
reliable.

3.

Comparison with other narrations

The
with what

third test applied to a tradition relates to ils

is

comparison

narrated by other pupils of the

tradition is rcpotcd

same

teacher.

Sometimes a

by several

narrators. All

these reports about the

same saying or event

are said to be the

"turuq" (different ways) of that tradition. While scrutinizing a tradition, the scholars undertake a combined study of all its

found that the majority of the reliable reporters narrate the hadith in a particular way. but one of them reports it in a version substantially different from that of the others, his report is held to be a "Shadh" (rare) version. In such case, despite the
"ways'. If
it

is

reliability

of the reporter, his version

is

not accepted as a "Sahib"

is

(correct) one, and

no trust is placed on it unless it and supported by any internal or external evidence.

confirmed

4.

General analysis of the tradition

The
last,

and very important, scrutiny

is

accompanied by
is

the general analysis of a tradition. In this scrutiny the tradition

analysed in the light of other relevant material available on the

1
-

subject.

The

tradition is

examined from
event
is

different angles:

whether
the

the reported saying or

at all possible;

whether

reported event conforms to the established historical events;

whether

it's

text
;

Prophet

.
is

can be held as truly attributed 10 the Holy whether the chain of narrators is genuine etc.

which cannot be undertaken successfully unless the scholar has full command over
a very dificult and delicate scrutiny
all

This

ihc relevant subjects, occupies c nnplctc

skill in the

knowledge of hadith

and has a great

If,

science of criticism oHiadith.

doubt appears to a scholar about the authenticity of a hadith, he points out that there is a "defect" ('Mali) in the chain or in the text of the hadith, and a
after this scrutiny, a strong
tradition having this kind

of

'Utah*

or

'defect' is

not held as 'SahihV

Thus, a 'Sahih" (correct) hadith has been defined by the

scholars as follows;

"What

is

reported, by a reporter

who

is

honest and of good

memory power, without any break

(defect)".

in the

chain of narrators,

without any 'shudhudh* (rareness) and without any 'Utah'

Conclusion
It is

not possible for us to give

all

the details of the critical

sciences developed by the scholars of hadith.

in this chapter is

only a

What wc have slated simple example of the works undertaken

by them, h can, however, help one to imagine the altitude of their academic and scientific efforts and to satisfy oneself that the task of 'preservation of hadith' has been performed by this urn mall with such diligence, precaution and sense of responsibility that one cannot find its parallel in the history of any other community. It was through these efforts that the divine promise of the preservation o the Holy Quran, with all its letters and meanings,

was duly

fulfilled.