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مراحل تدوين الحديث عبر العصور

The document discusses the four stages of Hadith compilation: 1) During the Prophet's lifetime, Hadith were orally transmitted and some were written down. 2) After the Prophet's death, companions taught Hadith and some wrote collections. 3) During the Tabi'un period, Hadith were systematically collected. 4) During the Taba Tabi'un period, authentic Hadith were carefully compiled and separated from weak Hadith, resulting in the six major Hadith collections.

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537 views4 pages

مراحل تدوين الحديث عبر العصور

The document discusses the four stages of Hadith compilation: 1) During the Prophet's lifetime, Hadith were orally transmitted and some were written down. 2) After the Prophet's death, companions taught Hadith and some wrote collections. 3) During the Tabi'un period, Hadith were systematically collected. 4) During the Taba Tabi'un period, authentic Hadith were carefully compiled and separated from weak Hadith, resulting in the six major Hadith collections.

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abdullahfarhan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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How were Hadith Compiled?

The history of the compilation of Hadith may be broadly divided into four stages:
1. The first stage relates to the period of the Prophet till 11 A.H.
2. The second stage is approximately from 11 A.H. to 100 A.H. This is the period of Sahaba,
the companions of the Prophet.
3. The third stage is from about 101 to nearly 200 A.H. This is the period of the Tabiun, the
disciples of the companions of the Prophet.
4. The fourth stage is roughly from 200 A.H. to 300 A.H. This is the period of Taba Tabiun,
the disciples of the disciples.
First Stage: During the Period of the Prophet till 11AH
During his lifetime, initially he as stopped his companions from writing his ahadith due to some
reasons, “Don’t write anything from me other than Qur’an, if someone has written must
remove it.”
Later he not only allowed but also dictated many things to them.
“Convey to others on my behalf, even though it be a single verse.”
“Those present should convey (my sunnah) to those absent, he may convey to a person who
can understand it more than him.”
“Preserve knowledge by writing”
“Seek help from your right hand and pointed out to writing.” Said to an Asari

Preservation through Practice


Preservation through Memorization
Preservation through Writing

During the life of the Prophet there was no regular compilation of the traditions, for they were
not generally recorded in writing. However, they were orally transmitted, with great accuracy
of detail, thanks to the Arabs’ exceptionally retentive memories.
1. Some companions had, however, prepared written collections of traditions for their own
personal use. Those companions, in particular, who had weaker memories used to write
them down for memorizing and preservation. These were also dictated to their disciples.
2. Then there were those companions who had administrative offices arranged for written
copies of traditions, so that they might carry out their duties in the true spirit of Islam.

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For instance, while appointing Amr ibn Hazm as the governor of Yaman, the Prophet
himself gave him a letter containing the times of prayer, methods of prayer, details of
ablution, booty, taxation, zakat, etc.
3. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, a young Makkan, also used to write down all that he heard
from the Prophet. He had even asked the Prophet if he could make notes of all that he
said. The Prophet replied in the affirmative. “Write it down, for only the truth comes
from this (He pointed to his mouth)”. Abdullah called this compilation Sahifah
Sadiqa (The Book of the Truth). It was later incorporated into the larger collection of
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.
4. Anas, a young Madinan, was the Prophet’s personal attendant. Since Anas remained with
the Prophet day and night, he had greater opportunities than the other companions to
listen to his words. Anas had written down the tradition on scrolls. He used to unroll
these documents and say: “These are the sayings of the Prophet, which I have noted
and then also read out to him to have any mistakes corrected.”
5. Ali ibn Abi Talib was one of the scribes of the Prophet. The Prophet once dictated to him
and he wrote on a large piece of parchment on both sides. He also had a sahifa (pamphlet)
from the Prophet which was on zakat (the poor due) and taxes.
Besides these there were some other documents dictated by the Prophet himself — official
letters, missionary letters, treaties of peace and alliance addressed to different tribes— all these
were later incorporated into larger collections of Hadith.

2nd Stage: The Time of the Companions of the Prophet. 11-99 AH


After the death of the Prophet, interest in Hadith literature increased greatly on two accounts.
Firstly, the Companions who knew the Hadith at first hand were gradually passing away. Their
number continued to diminish day by day. Therefore, people became more keen to preserve
the precious Hadith literature that had been stored in their memories. Secondly, the number of
converts was growing, and they showed great eagerness to learn as much about the traditions
as possible.
This was the age of the rightly guided Caliphs. In this age the Companions had settled in almost
all the countries conquered by the Muslims. People flocked to them to hear traditions from
them. Thus a number of centres for the learning of traditions came into existence with these
Companions as the focus. When a disciple had learned all the traditions he could from one
Companion, he would go to the next Companion and so on, collecting as many traditions as

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possible. The zeal of these disciples was so great that they undertook long journeys to collect
traditions from different Companions.
Collection of Abu Hurairah (Sahifa Sahiha) compiled by his Student Hammam b. Munnabah
Collection of Ayesha by her nephew Urwa b. Zubair
Collection of Abdullah b. Abbass
In this period, there were not many regular compilations. This was rather the period of
collecting traditions. The work of compilation took place on a large scale during the age
of Tabiun, the disciples of the disciples.

3rd Stage: The Age of Tabiun from 100 to nearly 200 A.H.
This is the age of the followers of the companions of the Prophet. They devoted their entire
lives to collecting traditions from different centres of learning, with the result that a large
number of traditions were preserved. Now it became possible to collect several memoirs in
larger volumes.
Mohd. ibn Shihab Al Zuhri, the first regular compiler, was one of the most distinguished
traditionists. Ibn Shihab Zuhri and Abu Bakr Al-Hazm were asked by Umar ibn Abdul Aziz,
the Umayyad caliph, to prepare a collection of all available traditions.
Umar bin Abul Aziz wrote to Abu Bakr Al Hazm:
“Whatever sayings of the Prophet can be found, write them down, for I fear the loss of
knowledge and disappearance of learned men, and do not accept anything but the Hadith of
the Holy Prophet, and people should make knowledge public.”
The compilations made in this period do not exist today independently, having been
incorporated into the larger collections of the later period. These collections were not
exhaustive works on Hadith. Their nature was that of individual collections.
After the individual compilations of this period, comes the Al Muwatta of Imam Malik (716-
795), the first regular work which contained a well-arranged collection of traditions. The
number of the traditions collected by him is put at 1700. This came to be accepted as a standard
work.
In this period the traditions respectively of the Prophet and his companions, and the decisions
/ edicts of the Tabiun were collected together in the same volume. However, it was mentioned
with each narration whether it was that of the Prophet, his companions or of the followers.

4th Stage: The Age of Taba Tabiun (Followers of the Successors) 200-300 AH

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This age of the followers of the companions’ successors from 200 to 300 A.H., is the golden
age in Hadith literature. 3rd century of the Hijri Calendar.
1. In this age the Prophet’s traditions were separated from the reports of the companions and
their successors.
2. The authentic traditions were very carefully and painstakingly sifted from the “weak”
traditions and then these were compiled in book-form.
3. Elaborated rules were framed, canons were devised to distinguish the true from the false
traditions in accordance with clear principles.
The main attention of scholars who engaged themselves in the critical scrutiny of Hadith was
given to the recorded chains of witnesses (isnad); whether the dates of birth and death and
places of residence of witnesses in different generations were such as to have made it possible
for them to meet, and whether they were trustworthy. This activity, to be properly carried out,
involved some feeling for the authenticity of the text itself; an experienced traditionist would
develop a sense of discrimination.
All traditions therefore fall into three general categories: (sahih) sound, having a reliable and
uninterrupted isnad and a (matn) text that does not contradict orthodox belief; (hasan) good
those with an incomplete isnad or with transmitters of questionable authority. (dhaif) weak
those whose matn or transmitters are subject to serious criticism.
By the use of these criteria the Hadith scholars were able to classify the traditions according to
their degrees of reliability.
This is the period in which six authentic collections of traditions were compiled. These works
are considered standard works on Hadith, and are known as the six correct books (sihah-e-
sittah). The authors’ names and book titles are as follows:
1. Muhammad b. Ismail al Bukhari, (194 A.H.-256 A.H.): Sahih. This work is next to the
Quran in authenticity.
2. Muslim bin Qushairi (204 A.H.-261 A .H.): Sahih. This is the next most important work
on Hadith.
3. Ibn Majah (202 A.H.-275 A.H.): Sunan
4. Abu Isa al Tirmizi (209 A.H.-279 A.H.): Jame
5. Abu Abdur Rahman an Nasai (214 A.H.-303 A.H.): Sunan
6. Abu Da‘ud (202 A.H.-275 A.H.): Sunan

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Common questions

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The early Muslim community's rigorous efforts to preserve hadith through memorization, personal writings, and official documents provided a foundational framework for Islamic jurisprudence and theology. Hadiths supported the interpretation of the Qur'an, informed legal rulings, and served as a model for ethical behavior, thus greatly influencing Islamic legal and theological discourse. The authenticated hadith collections allowed for systematic development and unification of Islamic jurisprudential principles across the Ummah .

Official documents such as peace treaties, missionary letters, and personal writings by companions played critical roles in developing early hadith collections. These documents ensured the accurate transmission of the Prophet's directives for governance, prayer, and religious duties. Personal writings by companions like Abdullah ibn Amr and Anas recorded the Prophet's sayings, creating invaluable primary resources that were later integrated into larger collections, thus bridging the oral and written traditions .

The compilation of the six canonical collections of hadith during the Taba Tabi'un period marked a pivotal development in Islamic scholarship. These collections, including Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, set the standard for authenticity and scholarly rigor in hadith study, offering a reliable resource for Islamic jurisprudence and theology. They also facilitated further scrutiny and refinement of hadith literature, contributing to a robust and systematic study of Islamic teachings .

Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As and Anas played significant roles in hadith preservation. Abdullah ibn Amr documented the Prophet's sayings with his consent, creating "Sahifah Sadiqa," which was later incorporated into larger collections. Anas, the Prophet’s attendant, recorded hadiths on scrolls and meticulously verified them by reading back to the Prophet, ensuring accuracy. Their efforts contributed to preserving the Prophet’s teachings for future generations .

During the Tabi'un period (approximately 100-200 A.H.), the compilation of hadiths saw significant advancements as scholars dedicated their efforts to collection from various learning centers. This era marked the transition from oral tradition to written records, creating a foundation for the subsequent classification and critique of hadiths. Scholars like Mohd. ibn Shihab Al Zuhri played pivotal roles as early compilers, thereby preserving a substantial amount of hadith knowledge .

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz instructed Ibn Shihab Al Zuhri and Abu Bakr Al-Hazm to compile hadiths as he feared the loss of knowledge and the passing of learned men, emphasizing the importance of documenting the Prophet's sayings. This directive was historically significant as it marked the formal beginning of systematic hadith collection and preservation, leading to the codification that laid the groundwork for future hadith scholarship .

During the period of the Prophet Muhammad, hadiths were primarily preserved and transmitted through oral transmission due to the Arab tradition of exceptional memorization skills. The Prophet initially discouraged writing hadiths to avoid confusion with the Qur'an, but later permitted and even dictated them to his companions, emphasizing conveyance of his teachings. Some companions, such as Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, wrote down hadiths with the Prophet's consent, creating personal collections like Sahifah Sadiqa. Additionally, official documents and letters were recorded, further aiding preservation .

The methodological advancements from the Taba Tabi'un period, particularly the rigorous authentication processes focusing on isnad evaluation and matn scrutiny, continue to influence modern Islamic scholarship. The classification system of sahih, hasan, and dhaif remains foundational, guiding contemporary scholars in critiquing hadiths. These methodologies laid the groundwork for critically assessing religious texts, ensuring scholarly integrity in modern jurisprudence and theological developments .

As the number of the Prophet’s companions declined during the second stage (11-100 A.H.), the urgency to preserve hadith intensified. This led to increased efforts in transmission and compilation as disciples traveled extensively to learn directly from the remaining companions. This migration created centers of learning and a network for sharing hadiths, significantly influencing the growth of hadith literature and ensuring that the teachings were systematically compiled and preserved .

In the Taba Tabi'un period (200-300 AH), scholars devised comprehensive criteria and methodologies to authenticate hadiths. They focused on the isnad (chain of transmission), evaluating the reliability and continuity of narrators, ensuring they were trustworthy, and confirming they could have met each other. The matn (text) was scrutinized to ensure it did not contradict Islamic principles. Hadiths were classified as sahih (sound), hasan (good), or dhaif (weak), depending on the robustness of their isnad and the integrity of their transmitters .

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