Hadith as traditional schools of studying and understanding Quran and the prophecy of Muhammad’s statements. Hadith relates to different interpretations of the sacred scripture, as well as Muhammad’s records (Kamali 16). In this respect, there are different classifications of the Hadith science that consider various angles of the study, including Sahih, Hasan, Muwaththaq, and Da if (Al-Fadli 13).
The existence of different meanings and assumptions concerning the Islamic reading contribute to the development of debate on the religious issues. Later discussions of hadith are presented by West European scholars whose assumptions arose as a result of the Muslim scholars from the viewpoint of religion and politics.
The Science of Hadith should also rely on the analysis of its components. In particular, hadith is divided into the chain of transmission (sanad) and content (matn) (Al-Fadli 77). The chain of transmission consists in reliance and dependence of the scientists on the sequence of deductions. Hence, the chain relates to the path of transmission by means of which the thought reaches the reporter from the initial narrator.
It is composed of separate elements shaping the entire chain (Al-Fadli 77). Matn is the content the text of the originally articulated speech introduced by the narrator. The text is split in two elements – the meaning and the wording (Al-Fadli 77). The meaning denotes the significance of the narration and includes lexical, grammatical, and morphological aspects. The wording is associated with grammatical arrangement that is confined to words and word combinations.
Based on the emerged misunderstanding among the scholars exploring hadith, some assertions about the reliability and validity of the science in general have been introduced. In this respect, Alshehri refers to two schools of thought – that of al-Zuhri and al-Bukhari (98).
Hence, according to the first theorist, “if students want to learn, they must strive, and they should not be given any ready-made knowledge in the shape of books or regular dictators” (99). This teaching policy, however, altered as soon as the Islamic law introduced new changes to the learning process. In particular, it is regarded that knowledge should be gained with extreme effort.
The second theorist resorts to isnad to highlight the transitions between the narrations. The majority of scientists refer to authentic interpretation of the Islamic Law. According to sahih, a category of Hadith, “a tradition that has broken chain transmission…cannot be termed ‘authentic’, even if all the reporters in its chain are veracious imamis” (Al-Fadli 10).
The tradition also refers to the accurate reporting of the texts to the extent that there is no sign of transmissions. Hasan is the school of thought that is associated with the necessity to affirm the reliability of the statement. In case one of the narrations are not authentic that other related narrations should depend on it.
The tradition of hadith is also widely discussion with regard to dichotomy between soul and the spirit. In particular, Daftari argues that the Islamic tradition focuses on the absence of differences between spirit and soul (118). However, there are supportive arguments that describe this dichotomy in terms of material and spiritual matters. The scholar introduces a number of related studies dedicated to the analysis of Islamic philosophy rejecting the identity between soul and spirit.
Hadith science often makes use of these terms interchangeably, which is sometimes creates controversy. In particular, provided soul is of bodily origins, it cannot exist beyond it. In contrast, spirit is more associated with moral awareness, which stands apart from bodily experiences. As an example, Daftari states, “the spirit has been created before the soul but there is no reference to the time of the soul’s creation” (120). Therefore, the spirit exists beyond the body; it is immortal embodiment of the spiritual domain.
The spirit is also the measurement of human moral actions; if a person commits a bad action, he/she will not be able to receive benefits from the spirit. Hadith discovers detailed description of the spirit and soul. It also suggests that such functions as sight and hearing are connected with the soul whereas the functions pertaining to spirituality and humanity relate to the spirit.
Consequently, hadith states that a wise person can change their immoral behaviors of his soul to contribute to the good characteristics of the spirit. All actions are aimed at transferring the bad actions into good ones. Therefore, the tradition introduces humans as perfect being who can carry out both material and immaterial actions inside themselves.
In conclusion, the science of hadith is the field relating to moral, religious, and legal interpretation of the Islamic prophet’s statements. It has a number of sub-categories considering various narrations, including sahih and hasan. It also has a chain of transmission and the text itself that serves the basic for scientific examination.
Numerous scholars are engaged in learning and analyzing the narration in terms of authenticity and consistence with the sacred scripture. In addition, hadith strongly relates to the study of soul and spirit that are differentiated in the Islamic tradition.
Works Cited
Al-Fadli, Abd al-Hadi. Introduction to Hadith. US: ICAS Press, 2011. Print.
Alshehri, Mohammed. “Misunderstanding Of Statements And Practices Of Some Early Hadīth Scholars By Some Orientalists.” Journal Of Hadith Studies 8.2 (2010): 97-106. Print.
Daftari, Abdulaziz. “The Dichotomy of The Soul And Spirit In Shi’a Hadith.” Journal of Shi’a Islamic Studies 5.2 (2012): 117-129. Print.
Kamali, Mohammad, and Islamic Foundation. A Text of Hadith Studies: Authenticity, Compilation, Classification, and Criticism of Hadith. US: Islamic Foundation. 2005. Print.