SS TWO ISLAMIC STUDIES WK8
DATE: Monday 27th June, 2022.
SUBJECT: Islamic studies
CLASS: SS II
TOPIC: Authenticity of the Hadith
INTRODUCTION
The need for establishing the authenticity of hadith.
Unlike the Quran, the hadith was not documented during the Prophet’s lifetime. The Prophet is reported to have discouraged the writing of his sayings lest they might be confused with the text of the Quran. The Hadith were therefore passed on mainly orally before they were committed to writing and gathered into collections between one hundred and three hundred years after Hijrah during the reign of the Caliphate of Umar Ibn Abdul ' Aziz. Obviously, when words are not recorded in writing at once there is a possibility of errors in their transmission:
1. The human memory is fallible: A saying might be partly forgotten or the meaning changed by mistake.
3. There is a possibility of forgery: An unscrupulous person holding a different view may invent or change the Prophet’s saying on purpose in order to support his personal interest.
GENUINENESS OF ISNAD
The following criteria were laid down to authenticate the characters involved in the transmission of Hadith.
1. A person reported to have heard the prophet was examined to ascertain that he was a contemporary of the Holy Prophet.
2. Other people in the chain were also checked to know if they ever met those from whom or to whom they related a Hadith.
3. Their sincerity and good memory were also scrutinized.
4. The narrators and their means of livelihood were also examined.
5. To check whether the transmitters are Muslims.
6. To check whether Hadith transmitted is only one or more chain.
7. Only the wife of the Prophet could have heard him alone.
8. The test of Isnad involved the study of the people who passed on the Hadith. This science of Hadith is known as ASMA'UL-RIJAL (the study of the names of the men of Hadith.)
GENUINENESS OF MATN
1. It was examined whether the text of the Hadith contained a meaning opposed to any portion of the Qur'an.
2. Any text of Hadith that is against human natural phenomena. e.g the height of any human is hundred feet.
3. If the text of Hadith gave priority to one tribe, race or colour over another.
Based on the above criteria, Hadith were categorized into three (3) namely:
1. Sahih Hadith
2. Hasan Hadith
3. Da'if Hadith.
- Sahih: these hadith are considered sound or genuine traditions in accordance with all the above tests applied positive.
- Hassan: these hadith are considered good although not to the degree of sahih.
- Da’if: these hadith are considered weak and less reliable.
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