AS SUNNAH AND ITS POSITION

AL SUNNAH AND ITS POSITIONCHAPTER 3The meaning of As Sunnah, al-Hadith, al Khabar and al AtharAssunnah : literally it derived from the word sanna yasunnu-sunnah which means : method, way, course, rule, mode or manner, habitTechnically assunnah is referring to the Prophets (s.a.w) words, deeds, his tacit approval, his physical and moral features whether before his prophethood or after it. Al Hadith derived from the word haddasta- yuhaddithu hadith which means to tell, to report or to transmit. Technically, it is referring to all what is reported or transmitted from the authority of the Prophet SAW that includes his sayings, deeds, his tacit approval as well as his physical and moral features. These features only refer to his features after becoming the Prophet.However, these two terms had been used interchangeably by the scholars without having major difference in both.

Cont.The sayings of the Prophets means all what he said verbally that constitute the highest wisdom after the Quran. Such as the hadith .: ..... The deeds means all his deeds or conducts in different situations which was witnessed and reported by the companions.such as how to perform solah he said : : .. The tacit approval means his silence act in response to what happened or the practices of the people at that time. This silence act can be considered as an approval of the Prophet. Such as his silence when the sahabah performed sholah ashar in two different places in their journey to Bani Quraidhah or in different occasions that he didnt comment on it.The physical and moral features means all his characters as described by his companions whether there is legal implications or not. Cont.Al Khabar literally means news, information or story.It includes the sayings/statements of the Prophet SAW as well as the sayings/statements of the companions. It is more general than al Hadith.

Al Athar literally means sign, imprint, impact or vestige inherited from the past. Technically it means the sayings or deeds of the companions and successors. Al Hadith al-Qudsi

Qudsi means : sacred, holy and pure.It is referring to what has been revealed by Allah to the Prophet Muhammad SAW by message/meaning while its wording comes from the Prophet himself. Hadith Qudsi is included in the category of hadith due to its wording that comes from the Prophet himself, it is not like Al Quran whereby its text originated from Allah SWT. , : .... The compilation of HadithDuring Prophets time (up to 632 CE).The ahadith mostly were memorized by the sahabah without recording them. It is due to the reminder of the Prophet in his saying : Do not write anything from me except Al Quran and whoever has written anything from me other than Al Quran he should erase it . Reported by Abu Said al Khudri in Sahih Muslim.This hadith has some implications on the writing of ahadith during the Prophets time. That is by the self-restrain of the sahabah to record ahadith. The hadith was later understood that it doesnt mean haram to write ahadith instead it is considered as a precaution for the muslims not to focus on other than al Quran and it is to avoid confusion between Al Quran and al Hadith at that time. Cont.However there were some sahabah who recorded ahadith for their own purpose such as sahifah al Sadiqah kept by Abdullah ibnu Umar which was found later.

The Periode of Khulafa al Rashidun (632-661) Al Hadith was not recorded and compiled yet at this time due to the warning of Umar al Khattab as the caliph not to write or compile al Hadith, even he withdrew his plan to do it. However there were some sahabah who started to compile ahadith such as the compilation of Hammam ibnu Munabbih. (middle of 1st century AH).Umar bin Ibn Abdul Aziz(720 CE).The formal writing and the compilation of ahadith was done only at the time of Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz (d 720 CE) in the end of the 1st century AH. who directed the scholars of hadith to record and compile ahadith officially. This action was taken to protect hadith from vanishing as well as to protect it from fabrication and to provide sources in writing tafsir and fiqh. However at this stage ahadith had been compiled in a simple way and unsystematic.

The stages of hadith compilation1. the stage of al Sahifah: it is the early stage whereby hadith was recorded by individuals and not systematically compiled. (until first half of second century of Hijrah).

2. Al Musannaf : (middle of 2nd century) at this stage hadiths were compiled and arranged according to titles. E.g. al Muwatta by Imam Malik.3. Al Musnad (2nd half of 2nd Century AH). The hadiths were compiled and arranged based on the names of reporters and not selected yet. Eg. Musnad Imam Ahmad bin Hambal .4. Al Sahih: (3rd century AH). The ahadith were compiled and selected based on its authenticity. It was started by Imam al Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawud, Imam al Tirmidzi, Imam An Nasai and Imam Ibnu Majah. These six works on hadith was known as Kutub al Sittah.

Kutub al Sittah

Kutub al SittahThe Sunni Muslims view the six major hadith collections as their most important sources after Al Quran. They are, in order of authenticity:

1. Sahih Bukhari, collected by Imam al-Bukhari (d. 256 A.H., 870 C.E.), it includes 2761 ahadith without repetition.

2. Sahih Muslim, collected by Imam Muslim b. al-Hajjaj (d. 261 A.H., 875 C.E.), it includes 2179 ahadith without repetition.3. Sunan al Nasai, collected by al-Nasa'i (d. 303 A.H., 915 C.E.) Abu Abd al-Rahman Ahmad bin Ali bin Syuaib bin Ali bin Sinan bin Bahr al-Khurasani. It has 5761 hadith.4. Sunan Abu Dawood, collected by Abu Dawood (d. 275 A.H., 888 C.E.) Abu Dawud Sulayman bin al-Asath bin Ishak bin Basyir bin Syadad bin Amru bin Imran al-Azdi al-Sijistani. It has 4800 hadith.Cont.5. Jami al-Tirmidhi, collected by al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 A.H, 892 C.E) Abu Isa Muhammad bin Isa bin Sawrah bin Musa bin al-Dahhak al-Salmi al-Tirmidhi.it has 3956 hadith.6. Sunan ibn Majah, collected by ( ) Abu Abd Allah bin Yazid bin Majah al-Rabi al-Qazwini.known as Ibnu Majah (d. 273 A.H., 887 C.E.). it has 4341 hadith.The first two, commonly referred to as the Two Sahihs as an indication of their authenticity, both contain approximately seven thousand ahadith altogether if repetitions are not counted, according to Ibn Hajar.

The classification of hadithEach hadith consists of two elements namely : al-Isnad and al MatanAl-Isnad means the chain of people through whom the hadith was transmitted. Al-Matan means the content or the text which contains the statement or the incident reported by the narrator.

Al-hadith is selected to know its authenticity based on both elements : the isnad and the matan of the hadith. briefly the hadith can be classified based on two categories namely the quality and the quantity of the hadith and its narrators. The classification of hadith based on its narrators (isnad)Briefly the hadith can be classified into 2 categories namely : Mutawatir and Ahad.

Hadith Mutawatir means the hadith which was reported by a large number of narrators whose agreement upon a lie is inconceivable. This condition must be met in the entire chain from the origin of the report to the very end. Large number here is normally above 4 to unlimited numbers.Hadith mutawatir can be divided further into two types namely mutawatir by words and mutawatir by meaning. Mutawatir by words means the hadith was reported by many with the same expression/nash. However the ahadith which fall under this category is small in number. Mutawatir by meaning means the hadith was reported by many with different expression/wording but with the same message. The ahadith of this nature are numerous.

Hadith Ahad It means the hadith which was reported by small number of narrators at one level or more which does not reach the number of mutawatir. Small number here is referring to 4 persons and below. There are different types of hadith which fall under this category such as mashur, aziz, gharib etc. Cont.Al-Hadith al-Mashur means the hadith which was reported by three to four sahabah which doesnt reach the level of mutawatir even if it is reported many many in the next levels. Al-Hadith al-Aziz means the hadith which was reported by at least two narrators in every generation. Al-Hadith al-Gharib means the hadith which was reported by one narrator in one generation or in all. Hadith classification based on the quality/authenticity.1. al-Hadith al-Sahih: it is the hadith which is absolutely correct hadith with no defect/s in its isnad (chain of reporters) and in its matan (text). Hadith sahih has to fulfil the following requirements ;1. Its chain of reporters is continuous and there is no missing person anywhere in the chain. (from the Prophet to the last narrator).2. every reporter/transmitter possessed the qualities of adl (righteous conduct) and dhabit (strong memory).3. it is not an isolated hadith (shaz).4. It has no hidden defect either in its sanad or matan (illah qadihah).2. Hadith Hasan means the hadith with almost similar to hadith sahih except by having certain defect in its reporter such as having weak memory. 3. Hadith dhaif means the hadith which has some problems/defects in either its sanad (chain of reporters) or in its text (matan) which may be in disagreement with the very basic teaching of Islam (al Quran).There are different types of hadith under this category such as hadith al Mursal, al-Mauquf, al Munqati, etc.For the first two types of hadith according to the majority of Ulama it is compulsory for the Muslims to follow and practice them. While for hadith dhaif there are different opinions about it. The common opinion among the Imams of Hadith is that it can be practiced/followed only in fadhail amal but not as hujjah(argument) with certain conditions such as :1. the hadith is not too weak .2 the hadith is in line with meaning of other hadith which is stronger. 3. the person who practiced it should not use it as an authority but rather as a precaution. Hadith maudhu means the fabricated hadith. It is referring to the hadith which is made by someone and attributed to the Prophet and infact it has no origin from the Prophet or sahabah. It can be identified through its isnad and matan which dont fulfil the requirements of hadith.