Saheefa Usool al Hadeeth – Part 1

“People who reject Hadeeth are those who lack knowledge in Hadeeth”
“If Allaah have not blessed this ummmah with any science except Usool al Hadeeth, then this will be sufficient as a proof for Islaam”
Subhanallaah, these are some of the amazing quotes regarding study of Usool al Hadeeth. Usool al Hadeeth, without a doubt, is a science came to protect this deen. After all they say “No one’s life history has been protected like that of the Prophet (sallalahualayhi wasallaam)” Alhamdulillaah, the credit goes again to Usool al Hadeeth.
In studying this noble science with KIU, I made some notes taking from the classes of Shaykh Shafiq Flynn (Hafidhahullaah). I am posting here in two parts
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Course Objective
To familiarize the student with the proofs for the authority Hadeeth and its relationship to Quran
To acquaint the student with the historical influences in the development of Hadeeth criticism
To give the student a clear framework for understanding the nature of the methods and the processes of the Muhadithun
To familiarize students with the methodology for dealing with apparently contradictory evidence
To acquaint the student with the present culmination of earlier initiatives through textual readings of the books of Hadeeth
Chapter 1: Introduction to Usool al Hadeeth
A. Definition of Usool al Hadeeth:
a. Asl: Foundation on which something is built
b. Hadeeth: words, actions, taqreer, Sifat of Muhammad
c. Usool al Hadeeth is the science investigates foundation upon which hadeeth rest upon which includes chain of narrators, text and so on
B. Objectives:
a. To present introductory information so that student can understand Hadeeth discourse
b. To give general knowledge about different components of sciences of Hadeeth
C. Definition of Hadeeth:
a. Linguistic: To speak/ To talk
i. Communication (68:4)
ii. Story (20:9)
iii. Speech (66:33)
b. Technical: words, actions, taqreer (decisions), Sifat (Moral/Physical Characteristics) of Muhammad
D. Definition of Sunnah
a. Linguistic: Path
b. Technical: way of Muhammad
E. Is Sunnah and Hadeeth are Synonymous?
a. Sunnah and Hadeeth are synonymous in the perspective that it is attributed to Muhammad (s)
b. Sunnah actually means physical application/Implementation of Sharee’ah
c. This is because Prophet said “alaikum bi sunnathi wa sunnathi khulafa rashideena, mahdeena, mimba’deena” and which includes Sunnah of Khulafa Rashideen
F. Authority of Sunnah
a. Qur’aan 4:64
b. Qur’aan 53:3,4
d. Qur’aan 4:59
e. Qur’aan 3:31
f. Qur’aan 72:23
f. Hadeeth has never been a controversial source of Islaam
g. Hadeeth and Qur’aan never contradict each other as both are from same sources
G. Hadeeth Complements Qur’aan – Functions of Hadeeth
a. Hadeeth confirms Qur’aan
i. Hadeeth on pillars of Islaam which confirms 2:184
b. Hadeeth explains Qur’aan
i. Hadeeth of how to pray explains 2:83
c. Hadeeth shows exceptions of the Qur’aan
i. 4:11 doesn’t apply to the messengers
d. Hadeeth explains certain terms in Qur’aan
i. Explanation of 6:82 by means of 31:13
e. Hadeeth abrogates earlier injunctions of Qur’aan
i. Stages of forbidding intoxicants
ii. 2:180 – Waseeah needed for all. Hadeeth says it is not required for the default inheritors
iii. This function is stimuli for Muhadeethun to get into the field of Usool al Hadeeth
Chapter 2: History of Recording of Hadeeth
A. Introductory Comment:
a. Nothing happens in Isolation in Historical perspective
b. History of hadeeth recording started with History of Message of Islaam as definition of Hadeeth tells us that sayings/actions/approval/physical characteristics of Muhammad (s)
B. 62:2 – Was all the Arabs unlettered ones?
a. Qur’aan was preserved in text form by Sahaabah’s
b. Battle of Badr – Ransom is teaching
c. Treaty of Hudhaybiah was documented
d. This tells us that preservation is not only in memory but also documented
C. Why hadeeth was not recorded in the first stage of Islaam?
a. Initial Ban on documenting – Fearing people will mess-up with Qur’aan
i. Prophet: “Do not write anything other than the Qur’aan. Teach my hadeeth verbally. Whosoever fabricates over me will have his seat reserved in hell fire” (Sahih Muslim)
b. Ban lifted – When recording of Qur’aan was established
i. Trap the knowledge. Write it down
c. Wisdom behind Initial Ban:
i. Qur’aan is not accused of being contaminated with Hadeeth
ii. Sahaabah’s focused lot on Qur’aan because of this
iii. As Sunnah is more of explanation of Qur’aan, one need to focus on Qur’aan first
D. Early Written Records:
a. Abullaah ibn Amr ibn al Aaas recorded “Do I have to write even when you are angry?”
b. Abdullah ibn Saeed ibn al Aas
c. Saad ibn Ubadah al ansaree
d. Jabir ibn Abdullaah
e. Abdullaah ibn Abbas
f. Saheefa ibn Saadiqa recorded during the time of Prophet
E. System and attitude towards Recording
a. Time of Khulafa Rashideen – Order to write remained absent
i. Abu Bakr – He never accepted Hadeeth without witness
ii. Umar ibn al khattab – He never sanctioned Hadeeth recording in books fearing it will undermine the Qur’aan and he feared our religion will become the religion of others where Prophet’s words were mixed up. He spent one month of Istikhaara on this.
b. Time of Tabieen and Tabe Tabieen:
i. Many of the Scholars refrained from documenting, sticking with the traditional approach of Oral transmissions but some Scholars documented
ii. Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Azeez first officially commissioned written recording of the Hadeeth
iii. It was not his personal opinion but resolve of his discussion with Scholars
iv. He ordered Scholar in Madeenah, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hazm
v. Scholar of Hijaz, Ibn Shihaab az Zuhri also requested by the Caliph
vi. After that, Ibn Shurayj, Ibn Ishaaq, Malik ibn Anas, Sufyan ath Thaure, Al Awzae, Abdullaah ibn Mubarak, Layth ibn Saad become forerunner in Hadeeth literature
vii. These Scholars never focused on other conditions of Saheeh rather Ittisal as sanad alone
viii. Their works are called Musannaf
F. Early Hadeeth Literature
a. Mussanid (Name of the narrator) work started and compiled by
i. Ahmad
ii. Abdullah ibn Abassi
iii. Albasari
iv. Al umuwi
b. Sihah work started
i. Muhammad ibn Ismael al Bukhaaree
ii. Muslim
iii. Ibn Majah
iv. Abu Dawood
v. Tirimithee
vi. An Nasaee
vii. These books were compiled based on conditions and fiqh based
c. Tangent – When the contamination Started?
i. During this time, People fabricated Hadeeth, mixed up the language, defended their sects with forged hadeeth
ii. Eg.: Khawaarij developed political views and supported it with their own invented hadeeth
iii. This is the time Ilm Ar-Rijaal and Jarh wa ta’deel started
G. Features of Hadeeth enquiry at that time
a. They travelled for collecting Hadeeth
b. Wider network formed because of exchange of hadeeth among the narrators and Scholars
Chapter 3: Historical Outlook at development of Usool
A. Role of the travelers of Hadeeth
a. Ar Rahala (Travelers)
i. Came to protect the Hadeeth of the Prophet
ii. They received the hadeeth first hand from the Source
iii. They were dedicated travelers who sacrificed a lot for Ahadeeth
iv. Titles given to venerate these travellers: Raheela watayyeb, Expansive in travel, Rahaal
b. Traders in Hadeeth:
i. Kind of travelers who traded in the hadeeth. They would charge particular fee for narrating the hadeeth though they narrate the truth
ii. Imam Ahmad criticized this kind of travelers and deemed impermissible to take hadeeth from these people
iii. Some criticized that they may fabricate as they are doing it for money
B. Commencement of developing Procedures to protect the Hadeeth
a. Khateeb al Baghdadee started defining some
b. Critical consciousness of quality of the person narrating hadeeth developed (Ilm Jarh wa ta’deel)
c. Consciousness of connection of chain developed
d. Travelling increased the standardization of hadeeth terminologies as it made all parts like one class
C. Role of Public Institutions
a. In the 6th Century AH, Darul Hadeeth was established by Zinqi in Damascus. Ibn Ashakir was the Teacher
b. Al Madrasa al Kamiliyah in 622 AH
c. Al Ashraqiyah in 626 by Imam an Nawawee in Damascus
d. They were the traditionalists of the society and some were accused of going against of Orthodoxy because of corruption caused by Bayt al Hikmah
e. Titles given by these institutions:
i. Al Musnid – He will be able to narrate hadeeth with Isnaad
ii. Al Muhadeeth – Understands the isnaad, realize Pseudo people, identify people, listened to Kutub Sittah, Mu’jam at tabaranee, Musnad Ahmad
iii. Al Haafidh – One who memorized 100s and 1000s of Hadeeth, knowledge of Science of Men, Knowledge of conditions
1. Ibn Ubdah – Haafidh of Kufa (d. 382 H) who memorized 400000 hadeeth
2. Imam Bukharee memorized 300000 hadeeth
D. How conditions of transmission of Hadeeth developed?
a. Way of Memorization of Hadeeth:
Scholars differed over how hadeeth needs to be memorized – Wording and meaning or meaning alone?
i. In wording and meaning:
1. Scholars memorized the actual wording of the text from their Shaykh in conformation with Albarra ibn Yazeed’s hadeeth – Prophet correcting him for “nabeeyuka” when he said “Rasoolika”
2. Wording memorization will avoid common mistakes of words
1. Interchanging of words
2. Lahn (Incorrect pronunciation)
3. Safety provision added : Aw kama Qaal
ii. Meaning alone is sufficient:
1. They allowed Hadeeth to be narrated in meaning provided their language is sound, just and other conditions
2. Imam Malik: All those hadeeth that is Marfu should be narrated in Lafdh (same wording). Mauquf Hadeeth (from Sahaabah and others) can be narrated in meaning
3. Ibn Salah: Narration of meaning of the hadeeth is fine in both Marfu and Mauquf . He justified that primary concern among the Sahaabah was its meaning
iii. Memorizing the Summary of the Hadeeth
1. Portion of the Hadeeth and not the complete text.
2. Imam Bukharee did this in his Saheeh when having similar narration from other root
b. Written form communication:
i. Once the Student become known to the Shaykh, Shaykh allowed them to relay to others by means of written forms
ii. Reached to many by Students
iii. It reached to the level of Books
Chapter 4: Transmission of Hadeeth
A. Tahammul al Hadeeth:
a. the way in which Hadeeth has been received
b. Two components:
i. Al Adaah – How it was delivered to Shaykh
ii. Tahammum – How it was received from the students
B. 8 Popular forms: (range in strength and vary in forms)
a. Assima (heard)/Samaa’: Reading by the teacher
i. Four formats:
1. Recitation from memory by the teacher
2. Reading from books (his book/books of students compiled from his works)
3. Question and answers: Student narrating part of the hadeeth and the teacher completes it
4. Dictation: Sahaabee Waathilah ibn Asqaa was the first one. Az Zuhree used this method
ii. Forms: Hadathna/Hadathnee/thanaa/naa – he told to us/he told me
1. Communicated verbally and heard by students
2. Very strong form
iii. Akhbaranaa/Aranaa/ana – he told me of some news
1. Synonymous with Hadathna but commonly refers to method of Ard
iv. They say Samee’tu and the above forms (eg.: Samee’tu hadathna)
b. ‘Ard/Alqir’aa (Student read a hadeeth infront of Shaykh)
i. Read from written document
ii. Read from memory
1. Condition is shaykh should have already memorized the hadeeth
iii. After reading use the word samee’tu
iv. Student will first copy Shaykh’s material and draw a circle at the end of every hadeeth. Once he reads back to the Shaykh, he will mark the circle
v. If he transmits without verification, he is called Saariq al Hadeeth (Thief of Hadeeth)
vi. Similar to copyright law- you can buy as many books but not allowed to make one
Both the above tahammum form will include entire isnaad. Following forms miss this characteristic
c. Ijaaza (Permission to transmit)
i. Shaykh permits his student to narrate the hadeeth he heard/some of his works without having student read the books back to him
ii. “I have committed you to narrate of mine”
iii. Student did not directly hear the hadeeth from the shaykh
iv. It involves lot of trust upon the students by the Shaykh
v. If the book is unknown or shaykh who permitted is unknown, then this form of Ijaaza is unacceptable
vi. Form: Anba’na, naba’nee – He called our attention to
1. Muhadeeth were cautious to accept this kind of hadeeth because this is the way of Mudallees
2. Mudallees is one who perform tadlees al isnaad (Confusion in the chain) and tadless ash shuyookh (confusion by the name of the shaykh)
3. Mudallees is not fabrication as the person is not intending to fabricate rather wants to strengthen his hadeeth
d. Al Munaawalah (Granting books):
i. Shaykh gives his verified written document/books to narrate regardless of student is aware, permitting them to narrate
ii. Three formats:
1. Al Mun’awala al Ijaaza (Permission in form of document) It is higher form
2. Student prepares the document, Shaykh reviews and permits to narrate it. It is lower form
3. Student prepares book and Shaykh allows to permit that particular book without reviewing the book
iii. Eg.: Az Zuhree granted books to Thawree, Al-Awzaa’ee and ubaydullah ibn umar
iv. Form: Anba’na, naba’nee
e. Al Mukataba/ Kitaabah (Correspondence) :
i. Shaykh writes a book and send them to the students and allowing them to narrate it
ii. Form: Person wrote to me/wrote to us
iii. Ibn Abbas wrote to Ibn Abee Mulyakah and Najdah
f. Al I’laam (Announcement):
i. Student/Teacher announces he has the permission to narrate the particular text provided he has the original copy signed by the author to do so
ii. Shaykh goes through with his students and tell them that these are my hadeeth
iii. No explicit form of permission
iv. Shaykh may mention here it is forbidden for you to narrate this book then that should not be narrated
v. A’lamna Shaykh, A’lamna Fu;aan
g. Al Wassiyah (Bequest of Books):
i. Shaykh on his death bed allows his student to narrate particular hadeeth or some of his works
ii. Eg.: Abdullaah ibn zayd al Basree (d.104) given wasiyah to Ayoob
h. Ar Rijaala/Wajaadah (Discovery of Books) :
i. When person finds a written document and finds not the author but he attributes it to some shaykh by means of handwriting/others
ii. Waja’tu al Fulaan
iii. Similar to our case – We read from published Bukharee and we have not met the Shaykh but certain it is book of Imam Bukharee
C. Benefits:
a. From this shima, one can identity the certainty of the hadeeth and derive ahkam respectively
b. Demonstrates historical evolution
c. Practical significance
Chapter 5: Ilmul Diraayah and Ilmul Riwayah
A. Two major Sciences of Hadeeth
a. Ilmul Diraayah
b. Ilmul Riwayah
B. Definition of Ilmul Riwayah
a. Linguistic: Knowledge of the narrations
b. Technical: Study of correct transmission of all which is attributed to Prophet like sayings, actions, approval, physical characteristics in addition to narration from Sahaabah’s, tabieen along with benefits/rules that can be extracted from it
c. It is the study of actual text
d. Examples:
i. Lahn in matn?
ii. Synonyms replaced the matn?
iii. Actual memorization/collection of hadeeth
e. Muhadeeth called Usool al hadeeth as Ilmul Riwayah but it is incomplete with Diraayah
C. Definition of Ilmul Diraayah
a. Linguistic: Knowledge of chains and conditions of hadeeth
b. Technical: study of the chain of the hadeeth, and the principles that are used in determining the acceptability or unacceptability of a hadeeth.
c. Analytical/historical study
d. Conditions of the narrator and narrated
e. Study of the Rawi (narrator)
i. consists of tahmmul (Delivery), Adah, jarh wa ta’deel (Characteristics of Rawi), history/origin/death of the narrator
f. Study of Marwi (narrated)
i. Is the isnaad is muttasil?
ii. Any breaks in the links?
iii. Conditions pertaining to Tahmmul and adah was performed
D. Sciences related to Ilmud Diraayah
a. Ilm Jarh wa ta’deel – conditions of the narrator
i. Started with Ibn Abbas, Anas ibn Malik <= Companions
ii. Ibn Sireen (d. 110) <= Tabiee
iii. Alhamash (d.148) <= Tabut tabiee
iv. Early Writers:
1. Imam Tabaqat ibn Saad
2. Imam as sooyuti
3. Specific Books
a. Dhahabee – kashif
b. Science of Rijaal al Hadeeth
i. Actual narrators of hadeeth were studied
ii. Not particular aspect alone rather a comprehensive study
iii. Some of the aspects:
1. honesty of the narrators
2. religious conviction of the narrator
3. trustworthiness of the narrator
4. intellectual skills of the narrators
iv. Some Literature:
1. Imam Bukharee’s Tareek al Kabeer
2. Ibn Hajar’s Al Isaaba tahmeedh as Sahaabah
3. Imam Sooyuti condensed it to Aynal Isaabah
c. Science of Muhtaliful Hadeeth
i. Certain terms inherent within the hadeeth that seemingly contradict the other hadeeth
ii. Early writers
1. Imam Shafiee
2. Ibn Qutaybah
3. Ibn al Jawzee
d. Science of Ilal Hadeeth
i. Plural of illaa
ii. Subtle course which blemishes the hadeeth
iii. Requires in-depth knowledge and personal acquaintance
iv. Imam Muslim
v. Early writers
1. Ibn Jawzee
2. Major works by Ibn katheer (d.606) – Nihayah ghareeb al hadeeth
3. Imam Suyoote condensed it
e. Ilm naasikhul hadeeth wal mansookhi
i. Hadeeth too follows the same pattern as that Qur’aan (gradual and legislative approach)
ii. Eg.: Prophet forbade his companion to record hadeeth in early stages but later allowed
iii. Ibn Jawzee (d.597)
a. Study of Isnaad
i. It identifies reports whether acceptable or not
ii. Ascertains level of strength and authenticity
iii. Preserves hadeeth literature from blemish and corruption
iv. Science that tests chain rigorously
v. Ibn Mubarak “If it is not for isnaad, anybody will say anything”
vi. Imam tabari’s tafseer has lot of Isnaad
vii. Abu Aliyah al Jilaane “Allaah gave 3 things to this community: Isnaad, lineage, Al I’raab (punctuation)”
viii. Two major types
1. Isnaad al Alee
a. Few narrators
b. Something preferred over Isnaad naazi
c. If some one heard the same hadeeth earlier, that would be preferred as Isnaad al Alee
2. Isnaad naazi
a. Many narrators
b. Starts from major Imams
E. Literature related to Ilmur Riwayah
Imam Ahmad collected 750,000 hadeeth but recorded around 40,000 hadeeth
a. First categorization: Based on the grading of most of the hadeeth
i. Saheeh
1. Bukharee
2. Muslim
3. Muwatta Malik
ii. Hasan
1. Tirimidhee
2. Musnad Ahmad
3. Abu Dawood
4. Ibn Majah
iii. Da’ef
1. Ibn Abishayba
2. Tayalisee
3. Tabaranee
b. Second categorization
i. Sihah – Mainly of Saheeh hadeeh
1. Bukharee
a. Mainly ahkam
b. He sets two conditions
i. Should be a contemporary from Shaykh
ii. Should heard directly from Shaykh
2. Muslim
a. Very organized
b. Should be a contemporary from Shaykh
3. Jami tirimidhee
a. Gives introduction to Sciences of hadeeth
4. Abu Dawood
a. Mainly ahkam
5. Ibn Majah
a. Systematically organized
6. Nasaee
a. Have every flavour
7. Muwatta Malik
a. Mainly fiqhee aspect
ii. Jaami: Books that compiles around these 8 topic
1. Aqeedah
2. Ahkam
3. Riqaq
4. Adab
5. Tafseer
6. Thareek/Siyar
7. Fitan (trials and tribulations)
8. Appreciation and denunciation of persons and places.
Eg.: Tirimidhee
iii. Al mustadrikat
1. Take the conditions of particular imam and present his hadeeth and adds hadeeth left by original compilers for some reasons
2. Hakim taken condition of Imam Bukharee, Muslim, hadeeth with subtle defects and strange ahadeeth
3. Eg.: Al Hakim – Addhabee condensed this book
iv. Al Mustakhrijat
1. Collections of Ahadeeth in which a later compiler adds fresh Isnads (chains of narrators) to the traditions already collected by previous compilers.
2. Abu Nuyam Isfahani’s mustakhraj on Bukharee and Muslim
3. Ibn Abu bakr
v. Al Ajzaa (Juz)
1. Particular Sahabee identified and hadeeth narrated by him are reported
2. Hadeeth on particular topic
a. Imam Suyoote – Benefits of Salatul Dhuhaa
Chapter 6: Conditions for acceptability of Rawi (Narrator)
A. Four Conditions for Legitimacy of the narrator:
a. Aql (intellectual ability/discernment)
i. Ability to discern right and wrong and ability to perform the functions of Hadeeth like Al ada’ (deliver) and Tahammul (receive)
ii. Based on this they considered age for narration of hadeeth. Scholars have differed in identifying the age required to deliver hadeeth (al-Ada’) and receive it (al-tahammul). .
1. People of Basrah allowed age of 10
2. Kufa allowed age of 20
3. Shaam allowed age of 30
b. Dabt (accuracy)
i. Two factors:
1. Amudahara – Person who has strong ability of memory and observation
2. One another way by which rawi becomes Dabt is acceptability of him by other Muhadeeth
c. Al Adaalah (Honesty/Justice)
i. Religious
ii. It is not a single moment/act rather continuous assessment
iii. Established by Testimonial
iv. Established by Witnesses
d. Al Islaam (Spiritual capability)
B. Historical outlook:
a. In early stages, these 4 conditions were the practical understanding of the environment as the science was at its infancy
b. Later Scholars formalized the conditions and categorized
C. What is Jarh wa ta’deel?
a. Jarh means criticism
b. Ta’deel means praising
c. Jarh of sectarian group will not be accepted (eg.:Asharites rejecting the Rawi from Ahlus sunnah wal jamah)
D. Conditions of Jarh
a. Ibtidaa (blemished because of bidah
b. Mukhalafatul thiqah (contradicts reliable narrator)
c. Jahalatul haal (not aware of his own circumstances)
d. Inqitas sanad (no break in the chain)
E. Conditions of Jarh attached to Adaalah (Honesty)
a. Accusation of fabrication
b. Fasiq (Open transgresson)
c. Jahalah – when conditions of Rawi is not clear
d. Bid’at – person guilty of doing Bid’ah
e. Muroo’ah – He does things that creates doubt about his personal conduct
F. Conditions of Jarh attached to Dabt (accuracy)
a. Soo’ul Hifz: Bad Memorization (confuses between the text) -this riwayah or equal to more than his Saheeh riwayah
b. Prone to make mistakes in memory (names, dates, text, etc)
c. Extreme Carelessness: Person is not smart (Alghaffalah/Katharul Ghaflat)
d. Al wahm: Person dreams/imagines things
e. Mukhalafat at thiqah: Report a hadeeth that contradicts the hadeeth of thiqah (Strongly reliable)
G. How to deal with conflicting reports?
a. Somebody done Jarh (Criticism) and somebody done ta’deel (praise)
b. We acknowledge/reject based on reasons provided
c. Person unknown is called Mubham
d. About those whom we don’t know, we see there is no report that threatens their Adaalah.. We don’t know about his bad conduct and we don’t know about his good conduct as well so we don’t accept until something is established
H. Levels of Jarh wa ta’deel
i. Person might be a outright liar – completely rejected
ii. Person forgets sometimes/dreams –
iii. Person doesn’t act upon what he knows
Chapter 7: Classifications of Hadeeth terminologies (Ilm Mustalah al Hadeeth)
A. Introduction
a. Categorized according to different requirements as Hadeeth are of different types
b. Ibn Salah mentions around 65 classifications in his book Usool al Hadeeth and states these are sciences by itself
B. Ranges of authenticity:
a. Authenticity ranges between Saheeh and Da’eef
i. Saheeh
1. Al hasan
ii. Da’eef
C. Saheeh Hadeeth
a. Conditions:
i. Hadeeth al musnad (continuous links of narrator) reaches Muhammad that marfu, mauquf, and not mursal, munqati
1. Muttasil means continuous chain but not necessary that links back to Prophet whereas musnad reaches Muhammad
ii. Not a hadeeth which is Shadhdh (hadeeth contradicts hadeeth established by thiqaa)
iii. Not a hadeeth which is Mu’allal (no hidden/subtle defects)
1. It may be in the text
2. It may be in chain
iv. Communicated by alaadil (Honesty)
v. Communicated by Daabit (accuracy)
b. Saheeh hadeeth can be Ahad or Mutawattir
i. In general, hadeeth mutawattir means that group of people that it is impossible to conspire a lie
ii. Minimum number of reporters for hadeeth to be Mutawattir
1. Certain number of people at the beginning, middle and the end of the chain will make Hadeeth Mutawattir
2. Some scholars said 4 (based on Qur’aan 24:13)
3. Some said 5
4. Some said 10 because in arabic anything meets 10 is called Jamah
5. Some said it is 12 based on Qur’aan 5:11
6. Some said it is 20 based on Qur’aan 8:
iii. Tawattur can happen by two ways:
1. Tawattur bil lafdh -Text (quote unquote)
i. Example: “whoever fabricates a hadeeth can expect a seat from the hell fire” [Bukharee]
ii. Narrated by 40 Sahaabah’s and among them were 10 promised Jannah
2. Tawattur al Ma’naa – Meaning (found in several supporting hadeeth)
i. Du’aa that indicates prophet raised his hand in du’aa
ii. “Actions are but by intentions”
iv. Ahad
1. Individual narrations
Joke: Ahad is like a Muslim and Mutawattir is Muhsin or Mu’min ?
c. Saheeh hadeeth can be Mashhoor (well known) as well as ghareeb (strange)
i. In the chain, there is only thiqaa
ii. In hadeeth mashhoor, chain consists of number of thiqqq
d. Region of origination:
One another way to know hadeeth saheeh is from the region of origination of hadeeth (eg. Hadeeth from madeenah is more to be saheeh as Madeenah was free from political/sectarian schism)
e. Grades of Hadeeth (Imam Nawawi’s Hierarchy of strength within Saheeh) :
i. According to conditions of Imam Bukharee, and Imam Muslim (muttaqun alayh) and recorded by them both
ii. Recorded by Imam Bukharee alone
iii. Recorded by Imam Muslim alone
iv. Not narrated by Imam Bukharee or Muslim but agrees to their condition (eg. : Mustadrak al Hakim)
v. Authenticated Hadeeth according to condition of Imam Bukharee and recorded by others
vi. Authenticated Hadeeth according to condition of Imam Muslim and recorded by others
vii. Authenticated by Imams of hadeeth and not according to condition of Imam Bukharee/Muslim
f. What is Saheehal Isnaad means?
i. Saheeh is pertinent to both matn and isnaad
ii. Saheehul Isnaad doesn’t mean hadeeth is saheeh rather hadeeth is saheeh in the chain but there are some illaal in the text
g. Golden chains
i. Malik –> naafi –> Ibn Umar –> Prophet [Bukharee’s preference]
ii. Silsilah adh dhahabee mentions golden chains
1. Imam Ahmad –> Imam Shafi’ee –> Imam Malik –> naafi –> Ibn Umar –> Prophet
h. Types:
i. Saheeh li Thaatihi
1. Saheeh by in and of itself which meets all 5 conditions
ii. Saheeh li Ghayrihi
1. When hadeeth doesn’t meet the requirements of Saheeh but there are supporting reports (Al mut’aaba) that elevates
2. Hasan hadeeth which is elevated
3. Eg.: “If I have not feared for this ummah, I would have ordered them to use miswak before every salah” [Abu Dawood]
4. Hukm: same as Saheeh li Thaatihi. It obliges the person to obey the injunctions in it
D. Hadeeth Hasan
a. History of Hadeeh Hasan
i. Not known in earlier period rather introduced in later period
ii. In earlier period, Hadeeth hasan belongs to hadeeth Saheeh category but it did not enjoy the level of mastery of Saheeh <– Ibn Salah
iii. Ibn Taymiah explains in his explanation of Musnad Ahmad, Hadeeth hasan belongs to Da’ee laysa bi matrook
iv. Hadeeth Hasan was a term coined by Imam Tirimidhee (Some Scholars say it was started even before)
v. Any way, Tirimidhee made it popular due to his high usage
b. Definition of Hadeeth Hasan
i. Hadeeth which has complete isnaad (muttasil) communicated by just but enjoys less accuracy and free from Shaadhdh and Mu’allal
ii. Difference between Saheeh and Hasan is level of accuracy
c. Imam Tirimidhee’s usage (unique):
i. Hasan Saheeh
1. One hadeeth is hasan in itself and there is other hadeeth which meets Saheeh conditions and thus become both hasan and Saheeh. It doesn’t become Saheeh because of hasan report
ii. Hasan Saheeh Ghareeb
1. Same as above except one person is Thiqaa
d. Types
i. Hasan li thaathihi
1. Hasan by in and of itself
ii. Hasan li Ghayrihi
1. Needs supporting isnaad to elevate it to the level of hasan
2. Hadeeth which has Mubham (unknown) narrator who was free from jarh of Adaalah and Dabt can be in the chain and can be elevated to this level
e. Titles (Arqaab) indicate both Saheeh and Hasan combinely
i. Jaeed
ii. Mujawad
iii. Salih
iv. Thaabith
v. Mahfooth
f. Hukm of Hadeeth Hasan: Treat same as Saheeh, Has authority in daily conduct and legislations
E. Hadeeth Da’eef
a. Definition
i. Anything doesn’t meet the requirements of Saheeh or Hasan
ii. Weak hadeeth
b. Possibility of Hadeeth to be Da’eef:
i. Some Scholars identified as 365 ways- not much practical relevance
ii. Ibn Salah said it is 42
c. Mursal/Maraasil:
i. Tabi’ee reports from Prophet without mentioning the Sahaabah
ii. Hukm: They are not authorities
iii. Types:
1. Maraasil of Sahaabah:
a. Sahabeeh himself did not hear directly from the Prophet rather heard from another Sahaabee but he attributes directly to the Prophet
b. Eg. Sahaabee saying Prophet mentioned in Battle of Badr though he did not participated in the battle
c. Hukm: Accepted as all Sahaabahs are adool
2. Maraasil of Tabi’ee
a. Those who mastered the Hadeeth like Sa’eed ibn Musayad who learnt from Sahaabah
3. Maraasil of Senior tabi’ee
a. Mujahid and others
4. Maraasil of later tabi’een
a. Who learnt from Senior tab’iee
iv. Maraasil can be elevated to Marfoo provided we have supporting narrations
v. Reason of weakness: Missing link in Isnaad (usually the Sahaabah)
d. Munqati
i. Hadeeth in which one of the narrators is missing or Mubham (unknown)
ii. It misses narrator anywhere in the chain
e. Mu’addal:
i. Two people missing (consecutive) in the chain
ii. Hukm: no authority
f. Mudalees:
i. Using words/terms that causes ambiguity so that they get rid of their weaknesses
ii. Tadlees al Isnaad
1. When Rawi claims that he heard/met the person but he did not originally heard/met the person
2. They mostly use the Sami’aa form of Tahammum
3. Considered as crime in Hadeeth science as it is purposely confusing isnaad and causing ambiguity
4. Imam Subah: “to fornicate is dearer to me than tadlees”
5. Imam Shafi’ee never taken riwayah from anyone who do Tadlees
6. Other Ulema take from them provided supported by other proofs
iii. Tadlees al Shuyookh
1. Purposely refers to Shaykh who is not popularly known by some popular names causing ambiguity
2. Eg. “My Shaykh Ahmad” but this Ahmad may be not Ahmad ibn Hanbal people perceive
iv. Other Categories
1. Tadlees at Tarf:
a. Deception in Tarf
i. Hadathna Ahmad
b. It can be corrected by punctuation
2. Tadlees as Sukt:
a. Saying hadathnee and keep quiet
b. Causing confusion
3. Tadlees at tasweer:
a. Purging the weak people from the isnaad and replacing with stronger Thiqaa
g. Mu’allil:
i. Hadeeth which has illaa (hidden defects)
ii. Illaa is a subtle course which blemishes the Hadeeth
iii. Eg.: One Isnaad is exchanged for other Isnaad
iv. Requires comprehensive knowledge of Rijaal, language, places, various isnaad of the Hadeeth and long time engagement with Hadeeth and so on to identify this
v. Imam Bukharee, Tirimidhee discussed about Mu’allil in some of his works
F. According to hidden defect found in the Isnaad or text
a. Hadeeth al Mudtarib/Idtiraab (Confusion)
i. Reported in number of different ways (chain/reports)
ii. All chain share same strength
iii. Impossible to prefer one way over another
iv. Hukm: considered weak because of inability to choose one isnaad over another which prevents mastery/clarity
v. Confusion (Itiraab) will take place in Isnaad/matn of the hadeeth
b. Hadeeth al Maqlub (reversed)
i. Reversal happens in Isnaad or matn
ii. Isnaad: Names of narrator will be reversed
1. Eg.: Instead of Kaab ibn Musayab, one may call musayab ibn Kab
iii. Matn: Wording may be of different order fro m the similar report
1. Eg.: Hadeeth of seven under the shade
iv. Identified from process of comparison and contrast
v. Hukm: Considered weak because of less Dabt
vi. Historical: Story of Imam Bukharee and 100 reversed hadeeth
G. According to nature of the text and Isnaad
a. Hadeeth al Shadh
i. Narrator is Thiqaa presents hadeeth which is contradictory to the hadeeth presented by thiqaa who is more than him
ii. Singular hadeeth from one person and contradicts one that is stronger than itself
iii. Here Rawi is not weak rather he doen’t know the other reports
b. Hadeeth al Munkar:
i. Similar to Shadh in opposition to one who is stronger than itself and but here happens between weak narrator and Thiqaa
H. Hadeeth al Matrook (Discarded)
a. Narrator who has been accused of fabrication.
b. Rawi is prone to make serious mistakes and doesn’t enjoy sound character
c. Hukm: Rejected
I. Rulings of Hadeeth al Mauquf
a. Hadeeth that reaches Sahabee not Rasoolullah
b. Actions/sayings of Sahabah
c. In matters where there is no possibility of Ijtihaad, then they are acceptable as they cannot say themselves except heard from the Prophet
i. Eg.: Abdullaah ibn Masood narrated “Whoever meets fortuneteller and believes what he says then disobey Allaah and his Prophet”
d. Ibn Umar, Ibn aas narrated Bani Israeliat and we do not take from them
J. Rulings of Hadeeth al Maqtu
a. Hadeeth that reaches Tabi’ee and not Rasoolullah
b. We do not consider later tabiee’s narration
c. Abu Haneefa: We do not have any option when it comes to Rasoolullah and from Sahaabah we have option but with tabiee, they are men and we are men
K. Where Da’eef Hadeeth is allowed to be used?
a. Da’eef hadeeth is allowed in virtuous deeds (Fadail Amal) when there is number of Da’eef hadeeth which supports the hadeeth
b. Many Scholars refused to use Da’eef hadeeth
c. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abdurahman ibn Mahdee Abdullaah ibn Mubaraq used Da’eef hadeeth in these matters
d. Historical background: Hadeeth hasan was not identified during this time
e. To use Da’eef hadeeth, following conditions must be fulfilled:
i. Should not be majorly weak
ii. Pertain to some of the major categories/themes (abwab) of the hadeeth
iii. Should not contradict the stronger report
L. Hadeeth categories which may be Saheeh/Hasan/Da’eef
a. Category 1: Marfoo/Musnad/Mutassill
i. Marfoo may be Saheeh/Hasan/Da’eef depending upon the investigation
1. Marfoo may be
a. Mursal
b. Mu’addal
c. Munqati
ii. Musnad (Continuous Chain that reaches the Prophet )
iii. Muttasil (Continious chain that not necessarily reaches the Prophet): may be Saheeh/Hasan/Da’eef depending upon the investigation
1. Mauquf on Sahabee
2. Maqtu on Tabi’ee
b. Category 2: Ananaa, Al-Muannan, Muallaq
i. Ananaa:
1. “by this person, by this person…”
2. Used particularly by Sahaabahs
3. Present in Bukharee/ and mainly in Muslim
4. Used by Mudalees and make it weaker
ii. Amuannan: enjoys similar experience of Ananaa and this is hadeeth itself
iii. Muallaq:
1. one or more people deleted from the beginning of the Isnaad
2. This kind of Hadeeth present in Bukharee where he used for abbreviation
c. Category 3: Al Fard/Alghareeb
i. Al Fard: Singular/Solitary
1. Single person narrates the hadeeth
2. Popular form of singularity
a. One to One
b. One to Region
c. Region to Region
ii. Ghareeb
1. One person minimum and one or two at different levels of Isnaad
2. Also called as Alfard misbee
M. How Hadeeth elevated?
a. Elevation:
i. From Da’eef to Hasan li Ghayrihi
ii. From Hasan to Shaheeh li Ghayrihi
b. Way: By means of supporting evidences: Hadeeth al Mutaabih/AsShahidh and other requirements
N. Hadeeth al Mutaabih
a. Mutaabih is what has been narrated in exact wording
i. Mutaabih at Taam (complete)
1. Hadeeth which supports from the level of the narrator himself
ii. Mutaabih al qaasir (incomplete)
1. Rawi is not included in the chain
2. the supporting chain begins with the sheikh of the narrator not the narrator
O. Hadeeth as Shahidh
a. Shahid can either be in wording (al lahwi)or meaning (al manawi) of the text
P. Hadeeth al Mudaraj
a. Interpolation in the text of the hadeeth
b. This is unintended interpolation and happens during explanation
c. If there is deliberate interpolation, then it is similar to fabrication
d. Two forms:
i. Form 1:
1. Hadeeth that has more than one isnaad is presented without making it clear that there exists more than one isnaad.
2. Person will confuse with one isnaad with over another
ii. Form 2:
1. Person has more than one hadeeth without respective isnaad
2. Confusing Matn with isnaad and vice versa
e. Ways to identify Idraaj:
i. Wording of hadeeth – certain words indicate that it would not have been spoken by the Prophet
ii. Sahaabah themselves – this is not the actual word rather insertion
iii. Narrators themselves identified
f. Hukm: It can be Saheeh/hasan/Da’eef
Q. Hadeeth Musalsal
a. Certain particular act will be continued when tahammul and aadah will take place
b. Particular characteristics will remain in hadeeth
c. Eg.: Ahmad ibn Husain put his hands together, similarly his teacher, his teacher, Ibn Umar, Abu Hurayrah and upto Prophet
d. It can be verbal/physical
e. Hukm: It can be Saheeh/hasan/Da’eef
R. Hadeeth al Musahhaf
a. The hadeeth in which contamination takes place due to the scribing of hadeeth
b. When you scribe the word, you may miss out dots but actual form stays the same
S. Hadeeth al Muharaf:
a. Actual form of the letter itself does change and changing the wording and meaning
b. Gives farfetched meaning
c. Hukm: Da’eef
T. Points on Criticism
a. Criticism is the key thing that gave raise to different classifications
b. Muhadeeth never adjudged based on face value of the terminology rather they investigated each hadeeth
U. Mawdoo
a. Overview
i. Realm of Imposters
ii. Doesn’t even fall under the analysis of authenticity
iii. They fabricated hadeeth for their own benefits
iv. Fabrication is a greatest crime in institution of hadeeth
v. Fabricator will fail to have basic moral character and they are enemies to hadeeth
b. Historical development:
i. During the time of Abu Bakr and Umar, unity was intact and community remain protected from Fitnah
ii. During the time of Uthman, seeds of fitnah began building
iii. Fitnah accumulated at his death and violently burst during the time of Ali
iv. Khawaarij, Shi’ah, Murjiah and other political parties developed
v. These groups are mutually opposing groups
vi. Reasons
1. Money
2. Make something popular
3. Fame in quoting the hadeeth
vii. This atmosphere tarnished the atmosphere of honesty and truthfulness
viii. In this time, people become skeptic about taking the hadeeth
ix. Several principles and Isnaad evolved to identify the right hadeeth
c. Ways to identify Mawdoo
i. Self admission – “I fabricated the hadeeth”
ii. Text itself – Muhadeeth identify by comparing with conventional stream/style/trend of the hadeeth
iii. Compliance to established facts and conformity with Qur’aan
iv. Severe punishment for trivial acts
1. Popularly found in works of Qasas (story tellers)
2. Shameless jurists who wants to defend their mathhab
v. Knowledge about who is popularly known as fabricator
d. Some stories
i. Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Muin
Both hearing someone during their wudoo narrating hadeeth in reference to them. they went and sat in his circle. Yahya asked “Did you hear from Yahya ibn Muin?” He replied “No” When Yahya told he was Yahya, then the fabricator replied “I heard yaha ibn muin is a foo”l and he was schocked. He added “I narrate from 17 Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahya ibn Muin and do you think you are the only one”
ii. Abdul kareem ibn Abi awjah
1. During the time of Mahdee, abbasid caliph
2. He was killed and he accepted that he narrated 400 fabricated hadeeth in which he made halal as haram and vice versa
3. This is the time, Muhadeeth developed a science called Ilmul Rijaal
e. Our Position:
i. Don’t get despaired by these fabrications, Hadeeth was preserved by Allaah (15:9)
ii. Before Mushaf, some people tried to fabricate Qur’aan as well
iii. Fabricators may have good intention in the heart but fabricate to draw attention to what they perceived to be good
1. Eg.: Sufees fabricated a lot in Fadail-e-Amal
Chapter 8: Shuboohath(Controversies) leveled against Hadeeth
A. Declaration: Islaam is a protected source of learning and safeguarded from controversies
B. Enemies who leveled controversies:
a. Orientalists
i. They were non Muslims who do not accept prophethood of Muhammad or atheists or biased individuals
ii. They are coming from different experience and background
iii. They suffer tainted understanding because of translations
iv. Some are sincere and some are insincere
v. Sometimes funded by body which works against Islaam
b. Muslims who are influenced by external factors
i. Those who learned from Orientalists
ii. Those who were fired with their desires and whims
C. Historical background of Shuboohath:
a. Shedding doubts in the religion started with the time of Muhammad (s)
b. Eg.: In Qur’aan 25:46, Mushrikoon trying to shed doubt about prophet hood of Muhammad by different ways
D. Reason for Shuboohath:
Primary reasons are to
i. Attack legitimate authority of Sunnah
ii. Preservation of Sunnah
a. Secondary reasons:
i. vested government interests in such scholarship
ii. cultural ignorance
iii. enmity towards Islam
iv. challenges of translation
E. Shuboohath 1: Qur’aan alone is sufficient and no need for Sunnah
a. Evidence for allegation:
i. 6:38/16:85 – Dhikr (Qur’aan) which explains everything <– so no need for the sunnah
ii. This is questioning the authority of Prophet
b. Goals of this Shuboohath:
i. There is no need for the Sunnah
ii. Qur’aan alone is authoritative
c. Response:
i. Ibn Hazm’s response: 53:3,4| 16:44
ii. Ibnul Qayyim: Sahaabah’s practically demonstrated Sunnah in their life (7:15 |4:8)
d. Key: Allaah made Sunnah as explanation of Qur’aan and declared authority of Sunnah in Qur’aan
F. Shuboohath 2: Sunnah was not preserved as promise was to preserve the Qur’aan
a. Evidence for allegation:
i. 15:9 says it is “Dhikr” which is protected and not Qur’aan alone.
ii. Dhikr means Qur’aan and Sunnah
b. Response:
i. Status of the Prophet?
ii. 5:3|3:85|3:19 – How can there be Islaam without Sunnah, perfect example of the Prophet?
iii. 16:44 –> If sunnah is not preserved, then explanation of Qur’aan is lost
iv. Usool al Hadeeth exemplifies preservation of Hadeeth
c. Key: Sunnah is part of the religion
G. Shuboohath 3: Prohibition to write Hadeeth
a. Evidence for allegation:
i. They quote “Do not write my hadeeth…”
ii. Abu Bakr’s statement after death of Prophet where he’s referring to Qur’aan as source of authority [Hadeeth Mursal]
b. Response:
i. This prohibition took place during initial period of the Prophet to preserve Qur’aan from mixing and keep them focussed
ii. This prohibition to record hadeeth was abrogated later
iii. Some of the senior companions like Abu Bakr (Saheefah Abu Bakr), Abu hoorayrah recorded Hadeeth
iv. Prophet asked some of his companions to write for a person who asked Prophet’s statement in the recorded fomat
v. Not all members of that early community were illiterate
vi. there existed some tools enabling written recording
vii. Contract between Prophet and Ansaars was written down
H. Shuboohath 4: Later publications/written recording of Habeeth
a. Above response will be sufficient
I. Shuboohath 5: Fabrications of Hadeeth
a. Evidence for allegation: Due to many fabricated hadeeth, hadeeth as a source is not pure
b. Response:
i. Various Mustalah purified the hadeeth
ii. Ulema developed different sciences like Jarh wa ta’deel, Ilm ar Rijaal and others to identify true hadeeth
iii. Comprehensive system of Hadeeth criticism developed, from individual to community and to culture and so on
iv. Hallmark of Islaamic scholarship
v. Vast amount of Hadeeth literature
c. Key: Ilm al Mustalah
d. Fabricators:
i. Qasas
ii. Wavered jurists
iii. Sufis who encouraged ‘righteous acts’ by fabricating hadeeth
iv. Theological and political oriented groups
v. Ignorant who wants to elevate their standards
e. Hukm about Fabricator:
i. Crime against own soul and community
ii. Shun away from the community
iii. It doesn’t lead them to become a kafir but believer whose belief is doubted
1. Abi Muhammad al Juhainee said fabricator’s blood is permissible and he bases it from “whosoever fabricates will have his seat in hell fire
J. Shuboohath 6: Ulema of hadeeth focused only on purifying Isnaad and not on purifying Matn
a. Evidence for allegation:They said this because of certain weak hadeeth in Saheeh literature and it means they have not focused on Matn
b. Goals of this Shuboohath:
i. Aql is the decisive factor
1. If aql is criteria, then we have to deny unseen world as mind cannot perceive Ilmul Ghayb
2. If aql is criteria, then whose mind is the criteria?
ii. They want to make teachings of Prophet like teachings of other great men
iii. Belittle efforts and energies of the Ulema
1. They want to discard Saheeh Bukharee
c. Response: Isnaad is the ladder that narrates the hadeeth, therefore Hadeeth is highly likely to be Saheeh if ladder is Saheeh
d. Key: Focus on Isnaad is based on the fact that sound hadeeth reaches us through sound communication
K. Shuboohath 7: Prophet never written letter (Hadeeth) to other rulers
a. Evidence for allegation:They claimed these letters were not found with the rulers
b. Goals of this Shuboohath: They want to make this religion as religion of Arabs alone and not an universal religion
c. Response:
i. Islaam is universal religion 7:158 | 13:28 | Allaah addresses people as “Ya Ayyuhannas or Ya Banee Adam”
ii. We have Suhaib from Rome, Bilal from Abyssinia, Salman from Persia
iii. All of the Seerah books records these letters
iv. Kisrah of Persia torn out the letter and Allaah torn out his empire by Kisrah being killed by his own son
L. Factors that led to these controversies
a. Language:
i. Language is coding of information
ii. When it speaks about physical entity like tree, there in no other way of interpretation whereas when it speaks about culture, language becomes sensitive
iii. Origins of Language:
1. Toshihiko Izutsu’s theory
2. Refer to “Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur’an” by him
iv. Arabic Culture was redefined
1. Karam doesn’t mean you starve and give all to guests rather you take and give what remains off to the guests
v. Language has ethical and religious significance
1. We go back to Arab poetry before Islaam for the meaning of the words
vi. Orientalist come up with understanding that is not inline with Author’s intention and they do not come from this culture as well
b. Orientalists attitude towards religions:
i. They have strong opposition to religions because of forcing of ideologies and unquestionable things from the Church
ii. They considered unseen world as tales and not the reality
iii. Their view about knowledge, metaphysical reality plays a role in their works
Chapter 9: Practice of Storytelling in Islaam
A. Why do we study?
a. To understand the process of story telling as it is
b. Not to get influenced that this is the bad institution ignoring its good characteristics
B. Definition of Qasas/Qussas
a. Qas means “to cut/to follow/ to narrate a story”
b. Popularly considered as form of public address
C. Benefits of Story telling
a. Serves religious purpose by attracting common man
b. Natural instinct of inclination towards story
c. Tool of Da’wah
D. In Al Qussas wal mudhakeerin, Ibn al Jawzi divides Qassas as follows:
a. Al Wa’idh – Preachers
b. Al Mudhakeerin – One who reminds
c. Al Qusas – do not restrict themselves to Halal and Haram rather introduce for some other purpose
d. Difference: al-Wa’idh invites one to come closer to Allah while according to the limits of Islam while al-Qaas will use any tool available to attract people
E. Criticism about Story tellers:
a. Bid’ah -Gathering people and narrating story is not the way of Prophet and his righteous companions
b. Many of ancient stories/inherited stories are free from any truth
c. Form of entertainment that deviates people from studying Qur’aan and sunnah
d. It corrupted several Muslim minds by means of fabricated/false reports
e. Story telling implies Qur’aan and Sunnah are not sufficient as sources
f. Story tellers do not have critical understanding of reports so they just attracted with the reports they received
F. Term Qussas is not a bad term by itself
a. 12:3 – We are the ones who narrate you best story
b. 7:176
c. This term includes Waidh, al mudhakara, tadrees (instruction)
G. Historical Origin of this Practice
a. Prior to Hasan al Basari, religious instruction took place within the Masjid
b. Hasan al Basri went to public roads and started calling people by means of less formal ways
c. He was al Wai’dh within the bounds of Halal and Haram
d. From here, story telling/public preaching started
e. Later hijacked by ignorant
f. Qussas used story telling as propaganda tool for their vested interests like politics, fiqh, Sufi, wealth fame etc
g. This made the noble institution as form of fabrication and manipulation of general masses
h. This is due to widespread introduction of hadeeth, mostly inauthentic, in their stories
H. Conditions pertaining to Qussas (actually Al Wai’dh) (Ibn al Jawzee)
a. Knowledge of various sciences that will appeal to the audience
b. Knowledge of Hadeeth
c. Knowledge of Thareek (History)
d. Knowledge of Fiqh (their instruction should confirm with legal limits of Fiqh)
e. Knowledge of language of Arabic
f. Piety and Sincerity
g. Aabidth (Worshipper)
h. To abstain from luxurious life rather lead a simple life (in order he’s not narrating for material benefits)
I. Significance of Storytelling today
a. Media, movies of today are form of story telling
b. It is possible that we can use these tools to attract people to Allaah azawajal
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Reference: Notes taken from the KIU Semester 3 classes on Usool al Hadeeth by Shaykh Shafiq Flynn (Hafidhahullaah)

Download the complete notes HERE