By Mohammad Hussain
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The Islamic faith is founded on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. The Quran and Hadith are two written sources that define the belief and the practice of Muslims. Believed to be the word of God, the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad and was recorded as such.
While the Quran dictates the principles of faith, it explains only some of the practice. The Hadith provides guidance for most practice and belief. It is a written record of the deeds and sayings of Prophet Muhammad or the practices that he carried out or approved.
Each Hadith is a narration of an event through which his teachings are conveyed. Perhaps there is no parallel in the history of mankaind whereby an individual's sayings, actions and deeds are so scrupulously recorded, including the descriptions of his physical appearance, likes and dislikes, approvals and disapprovals. It records his biography in narrating his routines as a prophet and a head of state, dealings with family, friends, neighbors and companions, and even the details of his intimate relations with his spouse.
During the last 23 years of his life, Prophet Muhammad explained the principles of Quran and instructed his followers in the details of the practice. For instance, he said, "Pray as you see me pray." The word of Prophet Muhammad became a supplement to the word of God. He remains the ideal model to be followed as described in Hadith.
Some scholars believe that in the early years of Islam, Prophet Muhammad discouraged the writing of Hadith so that the followers would not confuse it with the Quran. Most scholars maintain that many of his companions had contemporaneous written collections of Hadith.
Originating in Arabia, Islam spread rapidly into parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. The teachings of Islam based on the Quran and Hadith also disseminated just as rapidly. Whereas the Quran was compiled in a standard text soon after the death of Prophet Muhammad, the knowledge of Hadith was mostly transmitted through an oral tradition. Before the Hadith was standardized, there were millions of narrations about Prophet Muhammad that were in circulation for more than a century after his death.
The belief that the Hadith as the word of Prophet Muhammad is almost as important as the Quran led to the development of Science for the Study of Hadith. The scholars were concerned with the authenticity of the Hadith in circulation. They took up the daunting task of sifting through millions of narrations that were attributed to Prophet Muhammad.
They were mainly concerned with the reliability of the narrators (transmitters) and the substance (text) of each Hadith. In addition to verifying the reliability of the narrators, each scholar independently developed criteria to assess the authenticity of the substance and text of the Hadith.
In general, the Hadith that was contrary to the teachings or principles of the Quran, was not appealing to normal human reasoning or nature, or was contrary to the prevailing practice was excluded. For instance, Bukhari sifted through 600,000 Hadith and included about 7,000 in his collection. As a result of such work, six collections of Hadith (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibne Maja, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi and Nasai) came to be accepted and are called "The authentic six." This body of Islamic literature has been followed for more than 11 centuries.
The belief and practice of Islam is profoundly influenced by the Hadith. It provides details and instructions in performing the religious duties, elaborates the principles of faith, answers the questions about permissible and forbidden, and is instrumental in formulating the Islamic law or the Sharia.
Since the Hadith narrators have described the Prophet's teachings in their own words, various versions of the same teaching or event have been recorded. It has provided a tremendous degree of flexibility in the Islamic faith, but it has also been used to exploit the differences that are the basis of the flexibility.
Muslims from all schools of thoughts and all walks of life agree that the commandments of the Quran are binding. In contrast, while there is agreement about most Hadith, not everyone agrees that all Hadith is authentic or as binding.
Dr. Mohammad Hussain is a pediatrician and a member of the Islamic Society of Evansville.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The Islamic faith is founded on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. The Quran and Hadith are two written sources that define the belief and the practice of Muslims. Believed to be the word of God, the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad and was recorded as such.
While the Quran dictates the principles of faith, it explains only some of the practice. The Hadith provides guidance for most practice and belief. It is a written record of the deeds and sayings of Prophet Muhammad or the practices that he carried out or approved.
Each Hadith is a narration of an event through which his teachings are conveyed. Perhaps there is no parallel in the history of mankaind whereby an individual's sayings, actions and deeds are so scrupulously recorded, including the descriptions of his physical appearance, likes and dislikes, approvals and disapprovals. It records his biography in narrating his routines as a prophet and a head of state, dealings with family, friends, neighbors and companions, and even the details of his intimate relations with his spouse.
During the last 23 years of his life, Prophet Muhammad explained the principles of Quran and instructed his followers in the details of the practice. For instance, he said, "Pray as you see me pray." The word of Prophet Muhammad became a supplement to the word of God. He remains the ideal model to be followed as described in Hadith.
Some scholars believe that in the early years of Islam, Prophet Muhammad discouraged the writing of Hadith so that the followers would not confuse it with the Quran. Most scholars maintain that many of his companions had contemporaneous written collections of Hadith.
Originating in Arabia, Islam spread rapidly into parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. The teachings of Islam based on the Quran and Hadith also disseminated just as rapidly. Whereas the Quran was compiled in a standard text soon after the death of Prophet Muhammad, the knowledge of Hadith was mostly transmitted through an oral tradition. Before the Hadith was standardized, there were millions of narrations about Prophet Muhammad that were in circulation for more than a century after his death.
The belief that the Hadith as the word of Prophet Muhammad is almost as important as the Quran led to the development of Science for the Study of Hadith. The scholars were concerned with the authenticity of the Hadith in circulation. They took up the daunting task of sifting through millions of narrations that were attributed to Prophet Muhammad.
They were mainly concerned with the reliability of the narrators (transmitters) and the substance (text) of each Hadith. In addition to verifying the reliability of the narrators, each scholar independently developed criteria to assess the authenticity of the substance and text of the Hadith.
In general, the Hadith that was contrary to the teachings or principles of the Quran, was not appealing to normal human reasoning or nature, or was contrary to the prevailing practice was excluded. For instance, Bukhari sifted through 600,000 Hadith and included about 7,000 in his collection. As a result of such work, six collections of Hadith (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibne Maja, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi and Nasai) came to be accepted and are called "The authentic six." This body of Islamic literature has been followed for more than 11 centuries.
The belief and practice of Islam is profoundly influenced by the Hadith. It provides details and instructions in performing the religious duties, elaborates the principles of faith, answers the questions about permissible and forbidden, and is instrumental in formulating the Islamic law or the Sharia.
Since the Hadith narrators have described the Prophet's teachings in their own words, various versions of the same teaching or event have been recorded. It has provided a tremendous degree of flexibility in the Islamic faith, but it has also been used to exploit the differences that are the basis of the flexibility.
Muslims from all schools of thoughts and all walks of life agree that the commandments of the Quran are binding. In contrast, while there is agreement about most Hadith, not everyone agrees that all Hadith is authentic or as binding.
Dr. Mohammad Hussain is a pediatrician and a member of the Islamic Society of Evansville.
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