The transmission of Hadith
The term Hadith can be interpreted as a statement or an action that can be attributed to the Prophet Muhammad. The validity of such statements is of great importance to Islamic historians who pay close attention to their transmission of Hadith (Berg, 2000). The collection of these sayings began in the early years of Islam.
It should be noted that the early scholars gave preference to oral narratives that could verify a saying uttered by Muhammad (Brown, 1999, p. 88). It should be noted that written records could also be considered by researchers, but they had to be attested by living transmitters of the Hadith (Brown, 1999, p. 88). In this case, the main task is to trace this statement to the companions of the Prophet.
Very often, this reliability of this saying can be questioned, especially when the chain or narrators is not complete. So, it is very difficult to examine the transmission of Hadith because one should determine whether a certain narrator or transmitter of Hadith is reliable or not. So, sometimes there are no ways of ensuring the validity of transmission.
The second issue that should be discussed is the time gap between the statement made by Muhammad and its written documentation. During the first one hundred years after Muhammad’s death, this transmission was primarily oral. This is the minimum time-gap between the oral and written traditions of Islam.
Overall, these issues are of great importance to modern historians of Islam. One should bear in mind that Muhammad did not want other people to record his statements because his words could be misinterpreted. This is one of the factors that explain the existence of time-gap.
Classifications and categories of Hadith
There are various classifications of Hadith. Researchers pay close attention to such criteria as the reliability of transmitters, the number of narrators who reported a certain saying or action of Muhammad. Moreover, Islamic scholars focus on the particular authority or narrator to whom a Hadith can be traced. These are the most common classifications that now exist. Additionally, Hadith can be divided into several categories, for example, they can be called authentic, good, dependable, strong or weak (Faldi, 2011, p. 117).
Apart from that, Islamic historians attempt to determine whether a Hadith was an explicit or tacit statement. It does not necessarily have to be a certain verbal utterance; in many cases, one can speak only about the actions of Muhammad and their implications. This is one of the main issues that should be kept in mind. So, at this point, there is no universal classification of Hadith, because these saying or statements can be discussed from different perspectives.
Special attention should be paid to such terms as Isnad and Matn. The word Isnad can be defined as the chain of narrators who transmitted the Hadith (Meri, 2004, p. 307). Islamic scholars pay close attention to the personality of these people, their behavior, integrity, and so forth.
Provided that the validity of their reports is disputed, Hadith may not be fully accepted. Additionally, one should pay close attention to such a concept as Matn or the text of the narrative (Meri, 2004, p. 307). Islamic scholars closely examine the texts of Hadith and look at the possible difference between these texts. On the whole, these examples indicate that the study of Hadith can be a very time-consuming and complicated process.
The authenticity of classifications
There are several problems related to classifications or categories of Hadith. For instance, historians attach much attention to the credibility of Hadith while categorizing these statements attributed to Muhammad. However, it is very difficult to prove that a certain statement was made by Muhammad.
These utterances were collected and recorded at the time when people had few opportunities to check the validity of someone else’s words. Moreover, one should take into account that contemporary Muslims have different attitudes toward Hadith.
For example, Sunni and Shia Muslims have different collections of Hadith (Nydell, 2012, p. 79). In part, these differences can be explained by the animosity existing between these religious groups. Thus, one should bear in mind that the collection and verification of Hadith might have been affected by political struggle. It could have affected the decisions of those people who evaluated different Hadith.
As it has been said before, there is a significant time-gap between the oral and written traditions of Hadith. In many cases, decades or even centuries could have passed after the death of Muhammad before his actual statement was recorded. It is quite possible that during this period the words of the Prophet could be misinterpreted or distorted.
This is why it is not possible to describe Hadith by using such categories as authentic, good, dependable or weak. Additionally, the actions or tacit approvals of Muhammad may be difficult to interpret, and one cannot say that they provide direct guidance to Muslims.
These are the main problems that are related to the authenticity and credibility of different classifications. The challenges described in this section are relevant to contemporary scholars of Haddith.
Reference List
Berg, H. (2000). The Development Of Exegesis In Early Islam: The Authenticity Of Muslim Literature From The Formative Period. London: Routledge.
Brown, D. (1999). Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Faldi, A. (2011). Introduction to Hadith. New York: ICAS Press.
Meri, J. (2004). Medieval Islamic civilization. London: Routledge.
Nydell, M. (2012). Understanding Arabs, Fifth Edition: A Contemporary Guide to Arab Society. New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.