The truth of the End of Days

Hadith ( الحديث ) are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Hadith collections are regarded as important tools for determining the Sunnah, or Muslim way of life, by all traditional schools of jurisprudence.

The intended meaning of hadith in religious tradition is something attributed to the Prophet, as though in contrast to the Qur'an, which has preceded it. Hadith can be divided into three categories based upon their content:

A statement of the Prophet (قَوْل).
An action of the Prophet (فِعْل).
The Prophet’s affirmation of an action done by someone other than him (تَقْرِير).

The importance of Hadith on modern Islam cannot be underestimated. Many of the fundamental orthodoxies that distinguish Sunni from Shi'a are to be found embedded in the various Hadith, not the Qur'an.

Furthermore, many modern Islamic scholars and preachers teach key Hadith and the Qur'an often on an equal footing so that young students of Islam are unaware that many of the statement made to them are not evident in the Qur'an but in different collections of Hadith.

Standard structure of a Hadith

Each Hadith consists of two parts: the tradition itself, or matn (for instance, the words of the Prophet) and the isnad or sanad (chain of authorities). The isnad indicates the human transmitters through which the tradition was relayed.

History

Muslim historians claim that an early tradition was established of passing down the alleged sayings of Muhammad (PBUH) soon after his death in 632. This tradition is supposed to have started with Caliph Uthman, the third Caliph, who historians claim encouraged this oral tradition.

However, Caliph Uthman is also reliably recorded as being the Caliph who ordered all non-authorised writings, except what he officially issued to be completely destroyed, without question.

The claim then that the same Caliph credited with eliminating all dissension through the destruction of priceless original holy scripture, also encouraged a decentralised oral tradition is completely without credibility.

What is more likely is that the Hadith tradition emerged because of the orders of Uthman to destroy all non-authorized writings, which means an unknown number of Hadith could possibly be the first accurate remnants of sacred scripture before it was all ordered to be destroyed around 650-655.

First written collections of Hadith

The earliest officially recognized collections of Hadith first appeared towards the end of the 9th Century CE, over two to three hundred years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The first collection of Hadith reliably regarded by Sunni scholars is the Sahih al-Bukhari collected by Imam Bukhari around prior to 870 CE. The isnad (chain of authorities) are typically very short (one to a maximum of three generations) meaning there is around a 150 year gap in succession of authority.

This is similar for other official Hadith of the Sunni, with no official text showing an unbroken isnad (chain of authorities) from the time of Muhammad to the time the collection was first published.

In contrast, the Shi'a claim book of Hadith allegedly attributed to Sulaym ibn Qays (685 CE) as the first of all collections. However, modern historical analysis points to the earliest print copies from the 17th Century CE, with the likely production at the earliest of the 11th century CE and definately not by Sulaym ibn Qays.

Shi'a Hadith typically extend their isnad (chain of authorities) with Hadith longer in generations (sometimes up to six or even eight) compared to Sunni. However, similar to Sunni, no credible Hadith collection supported by Shi'a scholars contains unbroken isnad (chain of authorities) from the time of Muhammad to the time the collection was first published.

What this means is that in spite of claims to the contrary, not one single Sunni or Shi'a Hadith collection in existence today can reliably show a chain of transmission from the time of Muhammad to the time it was first collected.

Therefore, no Hadith can be reliably considered purely by its isnad (chain of authority). Instead, all hadith can only be judged on the quality and likely credibility of the information transmitted.

When Islamic scholars ignore this undeniable fact and apply great weight to claimed isnad transmission over quality of content (matn), it is a false argument that is purely subjective and without historic credibility.

Hadith collections

Sunni Muslims recognize principally six Hadith collections:

Sunni Hadith (canon)

Name	Collector	Year
Sahih al-Bukhari	Imam Bukhari	870
Sahih Muslim	Muslim Ibn al-Hajjaj	875
Sunan Abi Da'ud	Abu Da'ud	888
Sunan al-Tirmidhi	al-Tirmidhi	892
Sunan al-Sughra	al-Nasa'i	915
Sunan Ibn Maja	Ibn Maja	886

Shi'a Muslims do not generally acknowledge all of the Hadith above. Instead they have their own collections that focus on the sayings and virtues of the imams. The four canonical Shi'a Hadiths are those of:

Shi'a Hadith (canon)

Name	Collector	Year
Kitab al-Kafi	Mohammad Ya'qub Kulainy	937
Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih	Al-Shaykh al-Saduq	988
Al-Tahdhib	Shaykh Tusi	1058
Al-Istibsar	Shaykh Tusi	1055

Hadith of One-Islam

One-Islam Muslims use only one Hadith, known as the Sahih Muhammad which references all Sunni and Shi'a Hadith but focuses on direct revelation concerning the truth of certain Hadith.

One-Islam Hadith (canon)

Name	Collector	Year
Sahih Muhammad	al-Haqq


Home