Sahih al Tirmidhi

Bismillahir rahman nir raheem



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5001



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



When a man complained to the Prophet (peace be upon him) of having a hard heart, he said, "Stroke orphans' heads and feed the poor." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5002



Narrated bySuraqah ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Shall I not guide you to the most excellent sadaqah? It is to provide for your daughter when she is sent back to you and has no one but you to provide for her." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5015



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that when a Muslim visits his brother, Allah Most High says, "You are happy and your walking is happy, and you will come to an abode in Paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5017



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



A man passed the Prophet (peace be upon him) when some people were with him, and one of those who were with him said, "I love this man for Allah's sake." The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked if he had informed him, and when he replied that he had not he said, "stand up and go to him and inform him." He stand up, went to him and informed him, and he replied, "May He for Whose sake you love me love you!" He then returned, and when the Prophet had asked



him and he had told him what he had replied, he said, "You will be with him whom you love and you will have the reward you sought from Allah." Bayhaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-Iman. In Tirmidhi's version the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "A man will be with him whom he loves and he will get what he has earned."



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5020



Narrated byYazid ibn Na'amah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When a man makes another his brother he should ask him his name, his father's name and the stock from which he comes, for it binds friendship more closely." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5021



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came out to us and said, "Do you know which action is dearest to Allah Most High?" When one man had suggested prayer and zakat, and another, jihad, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The action dearest to Allah Most High is love for Allah's sake and hatred for Allah's sake." Ahmad transmitted it, and AbuDawud transmitted the second part.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5022



Narrated byAbuUmamah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "No man loves another for Allah's sake without his Lord, Who is Great and Glorious, honouring him." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5023



Narrated byAsma', daughter of Yazid



Asma' heard Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) say, "Shall I not tell you who are the best among you?" They replied, "Certainly, Messenger of Allah." He said, "The best of you are those who when seen are a means of Allah being brought to mind."



Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5033



Narrated byAsma', daughter of Yazid



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Lying is allowed only in three cases: falsehood spoken by a man to his wife to please her, falsehood in war, and falsehood to put things right between people." Transmitted by Ahmad and Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5039



Narrated byAz-Zubayr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The disease of the peoples before you, namely envy and hatred, has crept to you, and it is the unhappy thing. I do not say that it shaves off the hair, but it shaves off the religion." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5041



Narrated byAz-Zubayr



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Avoid bad relations with one another, for that is the unhappy thing." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5042



Narrated byAbuSirmah



The Prophet said, "He who causes harm will be harmed by Allah and he who acts in a hostile manner will be treated in a hostile manner by Allah." Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5043



Narrated byAbuBakr as-Siddiq



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Accursed is he who harms a believer, or acts deceitfully towards him."



Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5044



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) mounted the pulpit and called in a loud voice, "You who have accepted Islam with your tongues but whose hearts have not been reached by faith, do not annoy the Muslims, or revile them, or seek out their faults; for he who seeks out the faults of his brother Muslim will have his faults sought out by Allah and he whose faults are sought out by Allah will be exposed by Him, even though he should be in the interior of his house." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5055



Narrated bySahl ibn Sa'd as-Sa'idi



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Deliberation comes from Allah, but haste from the devil," Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition, and that some traditionists have criticised AbdulMuhaymin ibn Abbas the transmitter on the score of his memory.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5056



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There is no clement one who does not stumble and no sage who does not have experience." Ahmad and Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5059



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Sarjis



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "A good manner of conduct, deliberation and moderation are a twenty-fourth part of prophecy." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5062



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked AbulHaytham ibn at-Tayyihan if he had a servant, and when he replied that he had none he told him to come to him when captives arrived. Two captives were brought to the Prophet, and when AbulHaytham came to him he told him to choose one of them. He asked Allah's Prophet to choose for him, and he said, "The one who is consulted is in a position of trust. Take this one, for I have seen him praying, and treat him kindly." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5077



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Modesty is part of faith and faith is in Paradise, but obscenity is a part of hardness of heart and hardness of heart is in Hell." Transmitted by Ahmad and Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5083



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to him, "Fear Allah wherever you are; if you follow an evil deed with a good one you will obliterate it; and deal with people with a good disposition." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Darimi



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5084



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Shall I not tell you who is kept away from Hell and from whom Hell is kept away? From everyone who is gentle and kindly, approachable and of an easy disposition". Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying it is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5086



Narrated byMakhul



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The believers are gentle and kindly like a tractable camel which when guided lets itself be guided and when made to sit even on stones does so." Tirmidhi transmitted in mursal form.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5087



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "He who mixes with people and endures the harm they do is better than he who does not mix with them or endure the harm they do." Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5099



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to say, "O Allah, as Thou hast made my form beautiful so make my character beautiful." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5102



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



A man reviled AbuBakr and the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting showing pleasure and smiling, but when the man went on at length and AbuBakr replied to some of what he said the Prophet (peace be upon him) became angry and got up and left. AbuBakr caught up with him and said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he was reviling me while you were sitting, but when I replied to some of what he said you became angry and got up and went away." He replied, "There was an angel with you replying to him, but when you replied to him a devil came down." He then added, "AbuBakr, there are three things all of which are true: No one is wronged and ignores it for the sake of Allah who is Great and Glorious without Allah giving him great help for it. No one begins to give intending thereby to unite ties of relationship without Allah providing him with much more because of it. And no one will begin to beg seeking thereby to gain abundance without Allah giving him still more scantiness because of it." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5111



Narrated bySalamah ibn al-Akwa'



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "A man will continue to exalt himself till he is recorded among the imperious ones and is smitten as they are." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5112



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The proud will be resurrected like specks on the Day of Resurrection in the form of men, covered all round with ignominy. They will be driven to a prison in Jahannam called Bawlas with the hottest fire rising over them, and will be given to drink the liquid of the inhabitants of Hell, which is tinat al-khabal. Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5114



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When one of you becomes angry while standing he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good; otherwise he should lie down." Transmitted by Ahmad and Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5115



Narrated byAsma', daughter of `Umays



Asma heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "He is a bad servant who is proud and puts on airs and forgets the Most Great and Sublime One. He is a bad servant who is overbearing and overweening and forgets the Overpowering and Most High One. He is a bad servant who is neglectful and careless and forgets the graves and corruption. He is a bad servant who is corrupt and excessively disobedient and forgets the beginning and the end. He is a bad servant who deceptively uses religion. He is a bad servant who is let by greed. He is a bad servant who is misled by passion. He is a bad servant who is debased by worldly desire." Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying its isnad is not strong and also that this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5116



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "No one has swallowed back anything more excellent in the sight of Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, than anger he restrains, seeking to please Allah most high." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5129



Narrated byHudhayfah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well and that if they do wrong you will do wrong; but accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong if they do evil." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5130



Narrated byMu'awiyah



Mu'awiyah wrote to Aisha asking her to write him a letter giving him advice but not to make it lengthy. She wrote: Peace be upon you! To proceed: I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "If anyone seeks Allah's good pleasure at the cost of men's displeasure Allah will keep from him the trouble caused by men; but if anyone seeks men's good pleasure at the cost of Allah's displeasure Allah will leave him in men's hands." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5132



Narrated byAbuUmamah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Among those who will be in the worst station with respect to Allah on the Day of Resurrection, will be a man who has squandered his future life at the expense of someone else's worldly interests." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5140



Narrated byHudhayfah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you must enjoin what is reputable and forbid what is disreputable, or Allah will certainly soon send punishment from Himself to you. Then you will make supplication and not receive an answer."



Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5142



Narrated byAbuBakr as-Siddiq



You people recite this verse, "You who believe, care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly guided." I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "When people see something objectionable and do not change it, Allah will soon include them all in His punishment." Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi, who declared it to be sahih, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5144



Narrated byAbuTha'labah



AbuTha'labah swore by Allah that he had asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him and grant him peace) about the words of Allah Most High, "Care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly guided." He had replied, "No, enjoin one another to do what is reputable and forbid one another to do what is disreputable. But when you see niggardliness being obeyed, passion being followed, worldly interests being preferred, everyone being charmed with his own opinion, and you see something you are inclined to do, care for yourself and leave alone what people in general are doing; for ahead of you are days which will require endurance, in which he who shows endurance will be like him who grasps live coals. The one who acts rightly during that period will have the reward of fifty men who act as he does." The hearers said, "The reward of fifty of them, Messenger of Allah! (peace be upon him)." He replied, "The reward of fifty of you." Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5145



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) stood up among us to deliver an address after the afternoon prayer, and he did not leave out anything that would happen up to the Day of Resurrection without mentioning it. Some remembered and some forgot his words. In the course of his address he said, "The world is sweet and verdant and Allah is putting you as successors in it, so consider how you act. Be on you guard against the world, and be on your guard against women." He mentioned that everyone who had betrayed a trust would have a banner on the Day of Resurrection to the extent of his betrayal in the world, and that no betrayal was greater than that of the ruler of the common people, whose banner would be fixed onto his posterior. And he said, "Let not respect for men prevent any of you from speaking the truth when he knows it." One version says "From changing a disreputable thing if he sees it."



AbuSa'id then wept and said: We have seen it, but respect for men has prevented us from speaking about it. The Prophet then said, "The descendants of Adam have been created in various categories. Some are born believers and live and die believers; some are born infidels and live and die infidels; some are born believers and live as believers, but die infidels; some are born infidels and live as infidels, but die believers." It is said that he mentioned anger, saying, "Some are swift to anger and swift to cool down, the one characteristic making up for the other; some are slow to anger and slow to cool down, the one characteristic making up for the other; but the best of you are those who are slow to anger and swift to cool down, and the worst of you are those who are swift to anger and slow to cool down." He continued, "Beware of anger, for it is a live coal on the heart of the descendant of Adam. Do you not notice the swelling of the veins of his neck and the redness of his eyes? So when anyone experiences anything of that nature he should lie down and cleave to the earth." The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned debts saying, "Some among you are good payers, but make immoderate demands when a debt is owed to them, the one characteristic making up for the other. Some are bad payers, but make gentle demands when a debt is owed to them, the one characteristic making up for the other. But the best among you are those who are good payers when they owe a debt and make gentle demands when a debt is owed to them, and the worst among you are those who are bad payers when they owe a debt and make immoderate demands when a debt is owed to them." Then when the sun was shining over the tops of the palm trees and the extremities of the walls he said, "No more of the world remains in relation to what has passed than there remains of this day in relation to what has passed." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5150



Narrated byAmmar ibn Yasir



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The table was sent down from Heaven with bread and meat, and they were commanded not to be unfaithful nor to store up for the morrow. But they were unfaithful, sorted up and laid by for the morrow, so they were changed into apes and swine." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5154



Narrated byAbuMusa al-Ash'ari



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose hand Muhammad's soul is, what is reputable and what is disreputable are two creatures which will be set up for mankind on the day of resurrection. What is reputable will give good news to those who followed it and will promise them good, but while what is disreputable will tell them to go away, they will be unable to keep from adhering to it." Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5171



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Who will accept those words from me and act upon them, or teach people who will act upon them?" When he replied that he would he took him by the hand and counting five characteristics, said, "If you guard against the things which are forbidden, you will be the most devout of men; if you are pleased with what Allah has allotted, you will be the richest of men; if you are kind to your neighbour, you will be a believer; if you like others to have what you like for yourself, you will be a Muslim; and do not laugh immoderately, for immoderate laughter causes the heart to die." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5172



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) told that Allah said, "Son of Adam, if you devote your heart to unpreoccupied worship of me I shall fill your breast with sufficiency and make your poverty cease; but if you do not do so I shall fill your hand with work and not make your poverty cease." Ahmad and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5173



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



When a man was mentioned in the presence of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) for devotion to worship and serious effort, and another was mentioned for ri'ah, the Prophet said, "It is not equivalent to ri'ah," meaning self-restraint. Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5174



Narrated byAmr ibn Maymun al-Awdi



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to a man in the course of an exhortation, "Grasp five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death." Tirmidhi transmitted it in mursal form.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5175



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "None of you is expecting anything but wealth which produces injustice, or poverty which makes one forgetful, for an illness which causes deterioration, or decrepitude which weakens the mind, or death which suddenly gives the last stroke, or the Dajjal who is the worst of what is expected but has not yet come, or the last hour which is most calamitous and most bitter." Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Nasa'i.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5176



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The world is accursed and what it contains is accursed, except remembrance of Allah and what He likes, a learned man, or a learner." Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah..



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5177



Narrated bySahl ibn Sa'd



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If the world were equivalent to a gnat's wing in Allah's sight, He would not give an infidel a drink of it." Transmitted by Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah..



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5178



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Do not own an estate and so be pleased with the world." Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5178



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Do not own an estate and so be pleased with the world."



Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5179



Narrated byAbuMusa



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He who loves his present life does damage to his hereafter and he who loves his hereafter does damage to his present life, so prefer what is lasting to what is evanescent." Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5180



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Cursed be the slave of the dinar and cursed be the slave of the dirham." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5181



Narrated byKa'b ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Two hungry wolves let loose among sheep are not more destructive to them than a man's greed for property and self-esteem are to his religion." Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5182



Narrated byKhabbab



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "No believer spends anything without being rewarded for it, except for what he spends on this dust." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5183



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "All spending is in Allah's cause except that on building, for there is no good in it." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5185



Narrated byAbuHashim ibn Utbah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) gave him the following instruction, "A sufficient amount of property for you to gather is a servant and a mount in Allah's cause." Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5186



Narrated byUthman ibn Affan



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The son of Adam has a right only to the following: a house in which he lives, a garment with which he conceals his private parts, dry bread and water." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5187



Narrated bySahl ibn Sa'd



A man came and said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), direct me to a deed for which I shall be loved by Allah and by men when I have done it." He replied, "If you practise abstinence in the world Allah will love you, and if you abstain from people's possessions men will love you." Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5188



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) slept on a reed mat and got up with the marks of it on his body, so Ibn Mas'ud said, "Messenger of Allah, I wish you would order us to spread something out for you and make something." He replied, "What have I to do with the world? In relation to the world I am just like a rider who shades himself under a tree, then goes off and leaves it." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it,



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5189



Narrated byAbuUmamah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The most enviable of my friends in my estimation is a believer with little property who finds pleasure in prayer, who performs the worship of his Lord well, who obeys Him in secret, who is obscure among men, who is not pointed out by people, and whose provision is a bare sufficiency with which he is content." He then snapped his fingers and said, "His death will come speedily, the women who bewail him will be few, and what he leaves will be little." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5190



Narrated byAbuUmamah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, his Lord suggested turning the valley of Mecca into gold for him but he replied, "No, my Lord, but let me have enough to eat and be hungry on alternate days; then when I am hungry I shall make supplication to Thee and make mention of Thee, and when I have enough I shall praise and thank Thee." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5191



Narrated byUbaydullah ibn Mihsan



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If anyone among you is secure in mind in the morning, healthy in body, possessed of food for the day, it is as though the whole world has been brought into his possession." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5192



Narrated byAl-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib



Al-Miqdam heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "A human being has not filled any vessel which is worse than a belly. Enough for the son of Adam are some mouthfuls which can keep his back straight: but if there is no escape he should fill it a third with food, a third with drink, and leave a third empty." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5193



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) heard a man belching and said, "Diminish your belching, for the one who will suffer the severest hunger on the Day of Resurrection will be the one who has had the most to eat in the world." It is transmitted in Sharh as-Sunnah, and Tirmidhi transmitted something to the same effect.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5194



Narrated byKa'b ibn Iyad



Ka'b heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "Every people has a temptation, and my people's temptation is property." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5195



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The son of Adam will be brought on the Day of Resurrection as though he were a lamb and will be made to stand before Allah who, telling him He has given him gifts, bestowed good things on him and granted him favours, will ask him what he has done. He will reply that he has amassed wealth, made it productive and left it in greater quantity than it was originally, and he will tell his Lord that if He sends him back he will bring it all to Him. He will ask him to show Him what he has sent before, and he will reply to his Lord that he has amassed it, made it productive and left it in greater quantity than it was originally, saying that if He sends him back he will bring if all to Him. Now that is a man who has not sent any good before him and he will be taken away to Hell." Tirmidhi transmitted it, but declared that it is weak.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5196



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, that the first question a man would be asked about Allah's favours on the Day of Resurrection would be, "Did We not make your body healthy and give you cool water to drink?" Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5197



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "On the Day of Resurrection the feet of the son of Adam will not move away till he is questioned about five matters: on what he spent his life, in doing what he made his youth pass away; whence he acquired his property, on what he spent it, and what he did regarding what he knew." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5198



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to him, "You are not better than people with red or black skins unless you excel them in piety." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5200



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He has been successful whose heart Allah has made sincere towards faith, whose heart He has made free from unbelief, his tongue truthful, his soul calm, his nature straight, whose ear He has made attentive and his eye observant. The ear is a funnel and the eye is a repository for what the heart learns. He is successful whose heart is made retentive." Ahmad and Bayhaqi, is Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5201



Narrated byUqbah ibn Amir



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When you see Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, giving a man such worldly goods as he likes in spite of his acts of disobedience, it is just a way of bringing him little by little nearer to destruction." Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) then recited, "When they forgot what had been called to their attention We opened to them the gates of everything, and when they were happy about what they were given We suddenly seized them, and lo, they were desperate." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5202



Narrated byAbuUmamah



When one of the men in the Suffah died leaving a dinar, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said it was a branding. When another died leaving two dinars, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said they were two brandings. Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5203



Narrated byAbuHashim ibn Utbah



Mu'awiyah told that he went in to visit his maternal uncle, AbuHashim ibn Utbah, and that when AbuHashim wept he asked him what was making him weep, whether he was disturbed by a pain or by eagerness to stay in the world. He replied that that was not the reason, but that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) has given them an exhortation and he had not held to it. He asked what it was and he replied that he had heard him say, "A sufficient amount of property for you to gather is a servant and a mount in Allah's cause," whereas he saw that he had amassed goods. Ahmad, Tirmidhi Nasa'i and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5208



Narrated bySahl ibn Sa'd



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "This wealth consists of various kinds of treasures and those treasures have keys. Blessed is the man whom Allah has made a key for good and a lock for evil, but woe to the man whom Allah has made a key for evil and a lock for good." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5211



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The world is the dwelling of him who has no dwelling and the property of him who has no property. For he who has no intelligence amasses goods." Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5218



Narrated byAbudDarda,



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The sun does not rise without having on either side of it two angels who call out and cause all creatures but men and jinn to hear, 'O people, come to your Lord. What is little and sufficient is better than what is abundant and causes negligence.'" AbuNu'aym transmitted this tradition in al-Hilyah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5221



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



When Allah's Messenger was asked who was most excellent, he replied, "Everyone whose heart is clear of pollution (makhmum al-qalb) and whose tongue is truthful." On being told by his hearers that they understood "whose tongue is truthful," but not makhmum al-qalb he replied, "The one who is pure, the one who is pure, with no sin, iniquity, deceit, or envy." Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5222



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If you have four characteristics, whatever worldly advantage passes you by does not matter to you: keeping a trust, speaking the truth, a good character, and abstemiousness in food." Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5224



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, Deeds will come. Prayer will come and say, "My Lord, I am prayer," to which He will reply, "You are engaged in good." Sadaqah will come and say, "My Lord, I am sadaqah," to which He will reply, "You are engaged in good." Fasting will come and say, "My Lord, I am fasting," to which He will reply, "You are engaged in good." Deeds will come in a similar manner and Allah Most High will say, "You are engaged in good." Then Islam will come and say, "My Lord, Thou art peace (salam) and I am Islam," to which Allah Most High will reply, "You are engaged in good; today by means of you I shall mete out punishment and by means of you I shall give." Allah Most High has said in His Book, "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam it shall not be accepted of him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers."'



Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5225



Narrated byAisha



Aisha had a curtain containing representations of birds and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Remove it, Aisha, for when I see it I remember worldly things." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5226



Narrated byAbuAyyub al-Ansari



When a man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) asking him to give him an injunction and to make it brief, he said, "When you stand up to pray perform your prayer as if it were your last, do not say anything you will have to make an excuse for tomorrow, and resolve to give up all hopes of what men posses." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5227



Narrated byMu'adh ibn Jabal



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) sent him to the Yemen, he went out with him giving him advice, Mu'adh riding and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) walking beside his riding beast. Then when he finished he said, "Perhaps, Mu'adh, you may not meet me after this year, but perhaps, you may pass this mosque of mine and my grave." Mu'adh wept from grief over the departure of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) then turned facing Medina and said, "Those nearest to me are the pious, whoever they are and whenever they are." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5243



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The poor will enter Paradise five hundred years, i.e. half a day, before the rich." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5244



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik ; AbuSa'id



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "O Allah, grant me life as a poor man, cause me to die as a poor man, and resurrect me in the company of the poor." Aisha asked him why he had said this, and he replied, "Because they will enter Paradise forty years before the rich. Do not turn away a poor man, Aisha, even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you, Aisha, Allah will bring you near Him on the Day of Resurrection." Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted and Ibn Majah transmitted it up to "in the company of the poor" on the authority of AbuSa'id



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5249



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The world is the believer's prison and famine, but when he leaves the world he leaves the prison and the famine." It is transmitted in Sharh as-Sunnah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5250



Narrated byQatadah ibn an-Nu'man



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When Allah loves a man He protects him from the world just as one of you continue to protect his patient from water." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5251



Narrated byMuhammad ibn Labid



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "There are two things which the son of Adam dislikes. He dislikes death, but death is better for the believer than temptation; and he dislikes few possessions, but few possessions involve less reckoning." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5252



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mughaffal



A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "I love you." When he had told him to consider what he was saying, and the man declared three times, "I swear by Allah that I love



you," he replied, "If you are speaking the truth, prepare a complete armour for poverty, for poverty certainly comes quicker to those who love me than a flood does to its destination." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5253



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I have been made afraid regarding Allah's cause when no one was afraid, I have been made to endure harm in Allah's cause when no one was suffering harm, and thirty nights and days have come to me when Bilal and I had no food which creatures possessed of a liver eat, except something which was kept under Bilal's armpit." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying the meaning of this tradition is that when the Prophet went out in flight from Makkah accompanied by Bilal, Bilal had only as much food as he could carry under his armpit.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5254



Narrated byAbuTalhah



When we complained to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) of hunger and raised our clothes to show we were each carrying a stone over the belly, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) raised his clothes and showed that he had two stones on his belly. Tirmidhi transmitted it saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5255



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



When they were smitten by hunger Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) gave them a date each. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5256



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever has two characteristics will be recorded by Allah as grateful and showing endurance. He who regarding his religion considers his superior and copies him, and regarding his worldly interests considers his inferior and praises Allah for the bounty He has bestowed on him, will be recorded by Allah as grateful and



showing endurance. But he who regarding his religion considers his inferior, and regarding his worldly interests considers his superior and grieves over what has passed him by will not be recorded by Allah as grateful and showing endurance." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5258



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



While I was sitting in the mosque at the same time as some of the poor ones among the Emigrants were seated in a circle, the Prophet (peace be upon him) entered and sat with them, so I got up and went over to them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, "Let the poor ones among the Emigrants rejoice over what makes their faces glad, for they will enter Paradise forty years before the rich." Abdullah ibn Amr said he saw their colour shine so that he wished to be along with them, or to be one of them. Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5259



Narrated byAbuDharr



My friend ordered me to observe seven things. He ordered me to love the poor and be near them; he ordered me to consider my inferior and not consider my superior; he ordered me to join ties of relationship even when relatives were at a distance; he ordered me not to ask anyone for anything; he ordered me to speak the truth even when it was bitter; he ordered me not to fear for Allah's sake reproach anyone may cast on me; and he ordered me to repeat often "There is no might and no power except in Allah," for these words were part of the treasure under the Throne. Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5260



Narrated byAisha



Three worldly things used to give pleasure to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him): food, women and perfume. He acquired two, but one he did not acquire. He acquired women and perfume, but not food. Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5261



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Perfume and women have been made dear to me, but my comfort has been provided by prayer." Ahmad and Nasa'i transmitted it. After "Have been made dear to me" Ibn al-Jawzi added, "in the world".



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5262



Narrated byMu'adh ibn Jabal



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) sent him to the Yemen, he said, "Beware of living sumptuously, for Allah's servants do not live sumptuously." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5265



Narrated byImran ibn Husayn



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah loves His poor, believing servant who refrains from begging and yet has children." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5275



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came upon us when my mother and I were plastering something and asked, "What is this, Abdullah?" On my telling him it was something we were repairing, he said, "What has been commanded is more urgent than that." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5277



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This is the son of Adam and this is his appointed period," putting his hand on the back of his neck. He then spread out his hand saying, "And there is his hope.' Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5279



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "My people live from sixty to seventy years, and very few live longer." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5280



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The term of life of my people ranges between sixty and seventy years, and very few live longer." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5285



Narrated byAbuBakr



When a man asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), who among men was best, he replied, "He who has a long life and does what is good." He asked who among men was worst and he replied, "He who has a long life and does what is evil." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5286



Narrated byUbayd ibn Khalid



The Prophet (peace be upon him) made a brotherhood between two men, one of whom was killed in Allah's cause. A week or so later the other died, and when they had prayed at his funeral the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked what they had said. On their replying that they had besought Allah to forgive him, show mercy to him, and join him to his companion, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "What about his prayers since the time the other died and his good deeds since the time the other died?" (Or he said, 'his fasting since the time the other died). The distance between them is greater than that between Heaven and Earth." AbuDawud and Nasa'i transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5287



Narrated byAbuKabshah al-Anmari



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There are three things which I swear to be true, and I shall tell you something else, so keep it in mind. The three things which I swear to be true are that a man's property does not become less on account of sadaqah; that when a man is wronged and bears it patiently Allah will give him greater honour on that account; and that when a man opens a door towards begging Allah opens for him a door towards poverty. The thing I am going to tell you which you must keep in mind is this. The world has only four types of people: 1) A man whom Allah provides with property and knowledge, in which he fears his Lord and joins ties of relationship, acting in it towards Allah as is due to Him, this man being in the most excellent station. 2) A man whom Allah provides with knowledge but not with property, who says with a sincere intention that if he had property he would act as so and so does, their reward being equal. 3) A man whom Allah provides with property but not with knowledge, in which he acts in a random manner ignorantly, not fearing his Lord respecting it, or using it to join ties of relationship, or dealing with it in a right way, this man being in the worst station. 4) A man whom Allah provides with neither property nor knowledge, who says that if he had property he would deal with it as so and so does and has this intention, the load they have to bear being equal." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5288



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him), said, "When Allah desires good for a man He employed him," He was asked how He employs him and replied, "He helps him to do what is good before he dies." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5289



Narrated byShaddad ibn Aws



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The prudent man is he who subdues himself and works for what comes after death, but the incapable man is he who lets himself follow his passion and puts his hope in Allah." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5290



Narrated byOne of the companions of the Prophet



When we were sitting together, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) appeared with a trace of water on his head, and when we told him that he appeared to us to be in a happy frame of mind, he agreed. The people then began to discuss wealth and Allah's Messenger (peace be



upon him) said, "There is no harm in wealth for him who fears Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, but for him who fears Allah health is better than wealth, and a happy frame of mind is one of Allah's favours." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5293



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Shaddad



When three members of the Banu Udhrah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and accepted Islam, he asked who would look after them for him and Talhah said he would, so they stayed with him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sent out an expedition which one of them joined, and he was martyred. Afterwards he sent out an expedition which a second man joined, and he was martyred. Later the third man died in his bed. Talhah said he had seen these three in paradise and had seen that the one who died in his bed was their leader, the one who was martyred second coming next to him and the first coming next to him. He had misgivings about that, so he mentioned the matter to the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said, "What objection have you to that? No one is more excellent in Allah's sight than a believer whose life is prolonged in Islam to glorify and magnify Allah and declare His uniqueness." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5294



Narrated byMuhammad ibn AbuAmirah



Muhammad ibn AbuAmirah, who was one of the companions of Allah's Messenger, said: "If a man were to fall on his face from the day he was born till the day he died of old age, showing obedience to Allah, he would consider it insignificant on the day and wish to be sent back to the world to acquire more recompense and reward." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5299



Narrated byUmar ibn al-Khattab



Umar heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "If you were to trust in Allah genuinely He would give you provision as He does for the birds which go out hungry in the morning and come back full in the evening." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5301



Narrated byAbuDharr



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Abstinence regarding worldly things does not consist in treating as unlawful what is lawful or wasting property, but abstinence regarding worldly things means that you do not place more reliance in what you possess than you do in what Allah possesses, and that when you are afflicted you are most desirous that it should be made lasting for the sake of the reward which accrues from it." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition and that the tradition of Amr ibn Waqid the transmitter are rejected.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5302



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



One day he was riding behind Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) who said, "Young man, if you are mindful of Allah He will be mindful of you, and if you are mindful of Allah you will find Him before you. When you ask for anything ask it from Allah, and if you seek help seek help Allah. Know that if the people were to unite to do you some benefit they could benefit you only with what Allah had recorded for you, and that if they were to unite to do you some injury they could injure you only with what Allah had recorded for you. The pens are withdrawn and the pages are dry." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5303



Narrated bySa'd



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Part of the happiness of a son of Adam consists in his pleasure with what Allah has decreed for him, part of the misery of a son of Adam consists in his abandonment of asking Allah's blessing, and part of the misery of a son of Adam consists in his displeasure with what Allah had decreed for him." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5306



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, he knew a verse which would suffice men if they would but apply it, "For him who fears Allah He will appoint a way out and He will give him provision from an unimagined source.'" Ahmad, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5308



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



There were two brothers in the time of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), one of whom used to come to the Prophet while the other worked at a trade. When the one who worked at a trade complained of his brother to the Prophet (peace be upon him) he replied, "Perhaps you obtain your provision by means of him." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a sahih gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5309



Narrated byAmr ibn al-'As



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The heart of the son of Adam has a piece in every wadi and if anyone lets his heart follow all the pieces, Allah will not care in which wadi He destroys him; but to anyone who trusts in Allah He will supply enough for all the pieces." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5310



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that their Lord, Who was Great and Glorious had said, "If My servants were to obey Me, I should give them rain by night, make the sun rise on them by day, and not cause them to hear the sound of thunder." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5311



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



When a man went in to his family and saw their needy condition he went out to the desert. When his wife saw his embarrassment she got up, and when she had made the mill ready and lit a fire under the oven she said, "O Allah, grant us provision." She then looked and saw that the platter had become full, and when she went to the oven she found it had become full. The husband returned, and on his remarking that they had got something since his departure, his wife replied, "Yes, from our Lord," and the man went and lifted the millstone. The matter was mentioned to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he said, "If he had not raised it, it would have kept turning till the Day of Resurrection." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5318



Narrated byAbuSa'd ibn AbuFadalah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When Allah assembles men on the Day of Resurrection 'for a day about which there is no doubt', a crier will call saying that if anyone has associated someone in a deed which he did for Allah's sake, he can seek his reward from someone other than Allah, for Allah is the One who has least need of partners." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5320



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik ; Zayd ibn Thabit



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If anyone's intention is to seek the hereafter Allah will place his sufficiency in his heart and order his affairs, and the world will come to him submissively; but if anyone's intention is to seek worldly good Allah will place poverty before him and disorder his affairs, and only so much of it as has been ordained for him will come to him." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ahmad and Darimi transmitted it on the authority of Aban whose authority was Zayd ibn Thabit.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5322



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



AbuHurayrah said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while I was in my house, in my place of prayer, a man came in to visit me and I was charmed with the condition in which he saw me." Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) replied, "Allah have mercy on you, AbuHurayrah! You will have a double reward, one for praying in secret and one for praying in public." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5323



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "In the last times men will come forth who will fraudulently use religion for worldly ends and wear sheepskins in public to display meekness. Their tongues will be sweeter than sugar, but their hearts will be the hearts of wolves. Allah will say, 'Are they trying to deceive me, or are they acting presumptuously towards me? I swear by myself that I shall send trial upon those people which will leave the intelligent man among them confounded.'"



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5324



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that Allah, Who is Blessed and Exalted had said, "I have created creatures whose tongues are sweeter than sugar but whose hearts are more bitter than aloes. I swear by myself that I shall certainly bring upon them trial which will leave the intelligent man among them confounded. Are they trying to deceive me, or are they acting presumptuously towards me?" Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5325



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "For everything there is eagerness, but every eagerness has a slack period; so if the one who experiences it does what is right and pursues a middle course place hopes in him, but if fingers are pointed at him do not consider him of any account." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5328



Narrated byUmar ibn al-Khattab



Umar went out one day to the mosque of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and found Mu'adh ibn Jabal sitting by the Prophet's grave, weeping. He asked what was making him weep and he replied that it was something he had heard from Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). He had heard him say, "a little hypocrisy is polytheism, and anyone who is hostile to a friend of Allah has gone forth to fight Allah. Allah loves the upright, pious and retiring ones who are not missed when they are absent and are not given invitations or treated with honour when they are present. Their hearts are the lamps of guidance, and they come forth from every dusty and dark place." Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5329



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, When a man prays publicly in a good manner and prays secretly in a good manner Allah Most High says, "This is my servant indeed." Transmitted by Ibn Majah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5330



Narrated byMu'adh ibn Jabal



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "In the last days there will be people who will be brethren in public but enemies in secret." He was asked how that would come about and replied, "Because they will have ulterior motives in their mutual dealings and at the same time will fear one another." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5331



Narrated byShaddad ibn Aws



Shaddad heard Allah`s Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "He who prays hypocritically has attributed a partner to Allah; he who fasts hypocritically has obtained a partner to Allah; and he who gives sadaqah hypocritically has attributed a partner to Allah." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5333



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came out to them when they were discussing the antichrist and asked if they would like him to tell what caused him more fear for them than the antichrist. They replied that they certainly would, so he said, "Latent polytheism, meaning that a man will stand up and pray and lengthen his prayer because he sees someone looking at him." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5334



Narrated byMahmud ibn Labid



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The thing I fear most for you is the lesser polytheism." He was asked what the lesser polytheism was and replied that it was hypocrisy.



Ahmad transmitted it, and Bayhaqi added in Shu'ab al-Iman that on the day when men are rewarded for their deeds Allah will say to them, "Depart to those towards whom you were hypocritical in the world and see whether you can find any reward or any good with them."



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5338



Narrated byAl-Muhajir ibn Habib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, that Allah Most High said, "I do not accept everything a wise man says, but I accept his ambition and his desire. If his ambition and desire are to obey me I shall make his silence praise of me and calmness even if he does not speak." Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5348



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He who fears sets out at nightfall and he who sets out at nightfall reaches the destination. Allah's commodity is dear. Allah's commodity is Paradise". Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5349



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah Whose praise is glorious, says, "Bring forth from Hell those who have remembered me at any time or feared me in any place." Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Kitab al-Ba'th wan-Nushur, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5350



Narrated byAisha



Aisha asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) about this verse, "And those who bring what they have brought while their hearts are quaking," whether they were the people who drank wine and stole. He replied, "No, daughter of as-Siddiq, but they are those who fast, pray and give sadaqah while fearing that it may not be accepted from them. They are those who compete with one another in good deeds." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5351



Narrated byUbayy ibn Ka'b



When two-thirds of the night had passed the Prophet (peace be upon him) got up and said, "O people, remember Allah, remember Allah. The first blast is surely coming and the second follows it. Death has come with what it contains; death has come with what it contains." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5352



Narrated byAbuSa'id



When the Prophet (peace be upon him) went out to the prayer and saw the people looking as if they were grinning he said, "If you were to keep much in remembrance death which is the cutter-off of pleasures, it would distract you from what I see. Keep much in remembrance death which is the cutter-off of pleasure, for a day does not come to the grave without its saying, 'I am the house of exile, I am the house of solitude, I am the house of dust, I am the house of worms.' When a believer dies the grave says to him, 'Welcome and greeting; you are indeed the dearest to me of those who walk upon me. I have been given charge of you today and you have come to me and you will see how I shall treat you.' It will then expand for him as far as the eye can see and a door to Paradise will be opened for him. But when the profligate or infidel is buried the grave says to him, `No welcome and no greeting to you; you are the most hateful to me of those who walk upon me. I have been given charge of you today and you have come to me and you will see how I shall treat you.' AbuSa'id told that Allah's Messenger indicated it by interlacing his fingers. Then he said, "Seventy dragons will be put in charge of him of such a nature that if one of them were to breathe on the earth it would produce no crops as long as the world lasted, and they will bite and scratch him till he is brought to the reckoning." He also reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying. "The grave is one of the gardens of Paradise, or one of the pits of Hell." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5353



Narrated byAbuJuhayfah



When some people remarked to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) that he had become grey-haired, he replied, Surah Hud and those which are similar to it have made my hair grey." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5354



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



When AbuBakr remarked to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) that he had become greyhaired, he replied, "Hud, al-Waqi'ah, al-Mursalat, 'About what are they asking one another?' and 'When the sun is folded up' have made may hair grey." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5356



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Avoid sins which are considered insignificant, Aisha, for they have one sent by Allah to question about them." Ibn Majah, Darimi and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5359



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If, through fear of Allah, tears--even to the extent of a fly's head--fall from any believer's eyes and drop on some part of his cheek, he will be kept away from Hell by Allah." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5363



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When my people swagger and are served by the sons of kings, the sons of the Persians and Byzantines, Allah will give their worst ones rule over their best ones." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5364



Narrated byHudhayfah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The last hour will not come till you kill your leader, fight together with your swords, and your worst ones inherit your worldly goods." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5365



Narrated byHudhayfah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The last hour will not come till the most fortunate of men in the world will be Baseborn, son of Baseborn." Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5366



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



When we were sitting with Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) in the mosque, Mus'ab ibn Umayr came to us, wearing only a cloak of his patched with fur. When Allah's Messenger saw him he wept to think of his former affluence and his condition at that time. He then said, "How will it be with you when one of you goes out in the morning wearing a mantle and goes out in the evening wearing another, when one dish is placed before him and another removed, and you cover your houses as the Ka'bah is covered?" On receiving the reply, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), we shall then be better than we are today, having leisure for worship and possessing all we require," he said, "No, you are better today than you will be at that time." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5367



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "A time is coming to men when he who adheres to his religion will be like one who seizes live coals." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a tradition whose isnad is gharib.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5368



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When your commanders are your best people, your rich men are your generous people and your affairs are conducted by mutual consultation, the surface of the earth will be better for you that its interior. But when your commanders are your worst people, your rich men are your niggardly people and your affairs are in the hands of your women, the interior of the earth will be the better for you than its surface." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5377



Narrated byAisha



Aisha heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "The first time it (meaning Islam, as Zayd ibn Yahya, the transmitter, said) will be overturned will be like a vessel being overturned," the reference being to wine. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked how that could be when Allah had given such clear directions about it, and replied, "They will call it by another name and consider it lawful." Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5378



Narrated byHudhayfah ibn al-Yaman



An-Nu'man told on Hudhayfah's authority that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Prophecy will remain among you as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a caliphate according to the manner of prophecy as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a distressful kingdom which will remain as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a proud kingdom which will remain as long as Allah wishes it to remain, then Allah Most High will remove it. Then there will be a caliphate according to the manner of prophecy." Then he stopped. Habib said: "When Umar ibn AbdulAziz became caliph I wrote to him, mentioning this tradition to him and saying, "I hope you will be the commander of the faithful after the distressful and the proud kingdoms." It pleased and charmed him, i.e. Umar ibn AbdulAziz." Ahmad and Bayhaqi, in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5398



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al.-'As



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "How will you do when you are left among dregs of mankind whose covenants and guarantees have been impaired, who have disagreed and become thus?" interwining his fingers. He asked what he ordered him to do and he replied, "Keep to what you approve, abandon what you disapprove, attend to your own affairs and avoid the generality." One version says, "Keep to your house, control your tongue, accept what you approve, abandon what you disapprove, attend to your own affairs and leave alone the affairs of the generality." Tirmidhi transmitted it, calling it sahih.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5400



Narrated byUmm Malik al-Bahziyyah



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned civil strife and its nearness, she asked him who would be the best of the people during it and he replied, "A man with his cattle who pays the zakat due on them and worships his Lord, and a man who holds his horse's head and causes fear to the enemy while they are causing him fear." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5401



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There will be civil strife which will wipe out the Arabs, and their slain will go to Hell. During it the tongue will be more severe than blows of the sword." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5408



Narrated byAbuWaqid al-Laythi



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) went out to the battle of Hunayn he passed a tree called Dhat Anwat belonging to the polytheists, on which they hung their weapons. The people asked him to appoint a Dhat Anwat for them just as those people had one, to which Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) replied, "Glory be to Allah! This is like what the people of Moses said when they asked him to appoint them a god just as other people had gods. By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you will certainly follow the practices of your predecessors." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5448



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The last hour will not come before time contracts, a year being like a month, a month like a week, a week like a day, a day like an hour, and an hour like the kindling of a fire." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5450



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When the booty is taken in turn, property given in trust is treated as spoil, zakat is looked on as a fine, learning is acquired for other than a religious purpose, a man obeys his wife and is unfilial towards his mother, he brings his friend near and drives his father far off, voices are raised in the mosques, the most wicked member of a tribe becomes its ruler, the most worthless member of a people becomes its leader, a man is honoured through fear of the evil he may do, singing-girls and stringed instruments make their appearance, wines are drunk, and the last members of this people curse the first ones, look at that time for a violent wind, an earthquake, being swallowed up by the earth, metamorphosis, pelting rain, and signs following one another like bits of a necklace falling one after the other when its string is cut." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5451



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When my people do fifteen things trial will alight on them." He enumerated these things, but did not mention that learning would be acquired for other than a religious purpose. He said, "Shows kindness to his friend and repulses his father." He also said, "Wine is drunk and silk is worn." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5455



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said in the course of the story about the Mahdi, that a man would come to him and say, "Give me, give me, Mahdi," and he would pour into his garment as much as he was able to carry. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5459



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose hand my soul is, the last hour will not come before wild beasts speak to men, the end of a man's whip and the thong of his sandal speak to him, and his thigh informs him what his family have done since he left them." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5460



Narrated byAbuQatadah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The signs will come after the end of the second century." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5463



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



No locusts were seen in one of the years of Umar's caliphate, the year in which he died, and becoming very anxious on this account he sent a rider to the Yemen, another to Iraq and another to Syria to enquire whether any locusts had been seen. The rider who came from the Yemen brought him a handful and scattered it in front of him, and when Umar saw it he said, "Allah is Most Great," and told that he had heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "Allah who is great and glorious created a thousand species, six hundred in the sea and four hundred on the land. The first species to perish will be the locusts, and when they perish the species will follow one another like beads on a string." Bayhaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-Iman.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5487



Narrated byAbuBakr as-Siddiq



Amr ibn Hurayth quoted AbuBakr as-Siddiq as saying that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) told them the Dajjal would come forth from a land in the East called Khurasan, followed by people whose faces resembled shields covered with skin. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5513



Narrated byAl-Mustawrid ibn Shaddad



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "I have been commissioned when the end of time is near and I have preceded it as this has preceded that," indicating his forefinger and his middle finger. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5527



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "How can I be at ease when the one who blows the trumpet has put it to his mouth, inclined his ear and bent his forehead, waiting to see when he will be ordered to blow it?" Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) was asked what command he had to give them and told them to say, "Allah is sufficient for us and an excellent guardian is He." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5544



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) recited this verse, "On that day it will tell its news, and asked whether they knew what its news would be. On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best he said, "Its news will be that it will tell what every man and woman did when they were on it, saying they did such and such a thing on such and such a day. This will be its news." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5545



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Everyone who dies will repent." He was asked the nature of their repentance and replied, "If one did what was good he will repent of not having done more, and if one did evil he will repent of not having restrained himself." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5546



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Mankind will be assembled on the Day of Resurrection in three classes, one walking, one riding and one on their faces." He was asked how people could walk on their faces and replied, "He who caused them to walk on their feet has power to make them walk on their faces. They will guard themselves by their faces from every acclivity and from thorns." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5547



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If anyone would like to look at the Day of Resurrection as though it were before his eyes, he should recite: 'When the sun is obscured 'When the sky shall be split open", and 'When the sky shall be rent asunder'." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5548



Narrated byAbuDharr



The truthful one whose word is believed told him that mankind would be assembled in three groups: one riding with food and clothing, one being dragged on their faces by the angels who would assemble them for Hell, and one walking and running. Allah would cast a calamity on riding-beasts so that none would remain, with the result that a man who had a garden would be ready to give it for a saddled she-camel, but would be unable to get one. Nasa'i transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5556



Narrated byAbuUmamah



AbuUmamah heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "May Lord has promised me to bring into Paradise seventy thousand of my people without any reckoning or punishment, each thousand accompanied by seventy thousand and three handfuls added by my Lord." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5557



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Al-Hasan quoted AbuHurayrah who reported Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying, "On the Day of Resurrection mankind will be reviewed three times, the first two consisting of disputing and excuses, but at the third the records of men's deeds will go quickly into their hands, some receiving them in their right hands and some in their left." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, but Tirmidhi said this tradition is not sound, as al-Hasan did not hear anything from AbuHurayrah and some have transmitted it on al-Hasan's authority quoting AbuMusa as his authority.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5559



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said that on the Day of Resurrection Allah will separate a man belonging to his people in presence of all creatures and spread ninety-nine scrolls over him, each scroll extending as far as the eye could see, then say, "Do you object to anything in this? Have my scribes who keep note wronged you?" He will reply, "No, my Lord." He will ask him if he has any excuse, and when he tells his Lord that he has none, He will say, "On the contrary you have with Us a good deed, and you will not be wronged today." A document will then be brought out containing, "I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger," and He will say, "Come to be weighed." He will ask his Lord, "What this document along with these scrolls is? And He will reply, "You will not be wronged." The scrolls will then be put in one side of the scale and the document in the other, and the scrolls will become light and the document heavy, for nothing could compare in weight with Allah's name. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5561



Narrated byAisha



A man came and when he had sat down in front of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) he said, "Messenger of Allah, I have slaves who lie to me, deceive me and disobey me, and I revile and beat them. How do I stand with respect to them?" He replied, "On the Day of Resurrection account will be taken of the extent of their deceit, disobedience and lying towards you, and of the punishment you administered to them. If your punishment of them was in accordance with their offences, its being exactly right will count neither for you nor against you. If your punishment of them was less than their offence deserved it will be something extra to your credit. But if your punishment of them was greater than their offences deserved requital will be taken from you on their behalf for the excess." The man went aside and began to shout and weep, so Allah's Messenger asked him if he did not recite the words of Allah Most High: "We shall place the just scales for the Day of Resurrection and no soul will be wronged in any respect, and even if there is only the weight of a grain of mustard-seed We shall bring it, and We are sufficient to take account." The man said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), I find nothing better for myself and these men than to separate from them. I call you to witness that they are all free." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5592



Narrated byThawban



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "My reservoir is like the distance between Aden and Amman in al-Balqa'. Its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, and its cups are as numerous as the stars in the sky. He who takes one drink of it will never thirst thereafter. The first to come down to it will be the poor emigrants, those with dishevelled heads and dirty clothes, who do not marry delicate women and do not have doors opened for them."



Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5594



Narrated bySamurah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Every prophet has a reservoir and they will vie with one another about which of them will have the largest number coming down to it. I hope that I may have the largest number." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5595



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Anas asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to intercede for him on the Day of Resurrection, and when he replied that he would do so he asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) where he should look for him. He replied, "Look for me first at the path." He asked, "Supposing I do not find you at the path?" and received the reply, "Look for me at the scale." He asked, "Supposing I do not find you at the scale?" and received the reply, "Look for me at the reservoir, for I shall not go beyond these three places." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5597



Narrated byAl-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "On the Day of Resurrection the distinguishing sign of the believers on the path will be, 'My Lord, keep safe, keep safe'." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5600



Narrated byAwf ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "One came to me from my Lord and gave me a choice between half of my people entering Paradise and intercession, and I chose intercession. It will apply to those who have died and have associated nothing with Allah." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5601



Narrated byAbdullah ibn AbulJad'a



Abdullah heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "More than the number of the B. Tamim will enter Paradise through the intercession of a man of my people," Tirmidhi, Darimi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5602



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Some of my people will intercede for a large number, some for a tribe, some for a group, and some for a single man, till they enter Paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5603



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, has promised me that four hundred thousand of my people will enter Paradise without being taken to account." AbuBakr asked Allah's Messenger to tell them more, and he replied that Allah did thus, taking up two handfuls and joining his hands together. AbuBakr asked him to tell them more, and he did the same again. Umar then said, "Let the matter alone, AbuBakr," to which AbuBakr replied, "What harm would it do you if Allah were to bring us all into Paradise?" Umar said, "If Allah Who is Great and Glorious, wishes to bring all His creatures into Paradise simultaneously He can do so," and the Prophet said, Umar has spoken the truth." It is transmitted in Sharh as-Sunnah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5604



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The inhabitants of Hell will be drawn up in line, and when one of the inhabitants of Paradise passes them one of them will say, 'So and so, do you not recognise me? I am the one who gave you a drink.' And one of them will say, 'I am the one who gave you water for ablution.' He will then intercede for him and bring him into Paradise." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5605



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Two men of those who enter Hell will shout loudly, and the Lord Most High will say, 'Bring them out.' He will ask them why they shouted so loudly and they will reply, 'We did that in order that Thou mightest have mercy on us.' He will say, 'My mercy to you is that you should go and throw yourselves where you were in Hell.' One of them will do so and Allah will make it coolness and peace for him, but the other will stand and not do so. The Lord Most High will ask him, 'What has prevented you from throwing yourself in as your companion did?" and he will reply, 'My Lord, I hope that Thou wilt not send me back into it after taking me out of it.' The Lord most high will then say to him, 'You will have your hope realised,' and they will both be brought into Paradise by Allah's mercy." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5606



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Mankind will go down to Hell and then come up from it because of their deeds, the first of them like a flash of lighting, the next like the wind, the next like a horse's gallop, the next like one riding on his pack-saddle, the next like a man's running, the next like his walking." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5630



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



AbuHurayrah asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) what the creation was made of and he replied that it was made of water. He was asked what Paradise was constructed of and replied, "A brick of gold and a brick of silver with mortar of strong-scented musk; its pebbles are pearls and rubies and its soil is saffron. Those who enter it will be in affluent circumstances and will not be destitute, they will live for ever and not die, their garments will not wear out, and their youth will not pass away." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5631



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The trunk of every tree in Paradise is of gold."



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5632



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There are a hundred grades in Paradise with a distance of hundred years between every two." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5633



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There are a hundred grades in Paradise; if the universe were gathered in one of them it would hold it all." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5634



Narrated byAbuSa'id



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said regarding the words of Allah Most High, "And couches raised high," that their height was like the distance between Heaven and Earth, a distance of five hundred years. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5635



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The faces of the first company to enter Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be as bright as the moon on the night when it is full, and the second company will be like the most beautiful shining planet in the sky. Every man among them will have two wives, each wife wearing seventy mantles through which the marrow of her leg will be seen." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5636



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "In Paradise the believer will be given such and such power to conduct sexual intercourse." He was asked whether he would be capable of that and replied that he would be given the capacity of a hundred men. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5637



Narrated bySa'd ibn AbuWaqqas



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If as much of what is in Paradise as could be carried by a fingernail were to appear, the space between the cardinal points of the Heavens and the Earth would be adorned on account of it. If a man of the inhabitants of Paradise were to look down and his bracelets were to appear, his light would obliterate the light of the sun just as the sun obliterates the light of the stars." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5638



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The inhabitants of Paradise are hairless, beardless and have black eyes, their youth does not pass away and their garments do not wear out." Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5639



Narrated byMu'adh ibn Jabal



The Prophet (peace be upon him), said, "The inhabitants of Paradise will enter Paradise hairless, beardless with their eyes anointed with collyrium, aged thirty or thirty-three years." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5640



Narrated byAsma', daughter of AbuBakr



Asma' heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say when the lote-tree of the boundary was mentioned to him, "A rider can travel in the shade of a branch of it for a hundred years," or "a hundred riders can take shelter in its shade (the transmitter being in doubt); in it there are golden butterflies and its fruit looks like earthenware jars."



Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5641



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Allah's Messenger was asked what al-Kawthar was he replied, "That is a river Allah has given me (meaning in Paradise), whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, containing birds whose necks are like the necks of sacrificial camels." Umar remarked, "These have a pleasant life," and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) replied, "Those who eat them have a pleasanter life." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5642



Narrated byBuraydah ibn al-Hasib



When a man asked Allah's Messenger whether there were any horses in Paradise, he replied, "If Allah brings you into Paradise you will not wish to be conveyed in it on a horse of red ruby which will fly with you in paradise wherever you wish without doing so." A man asked Allah's messenger whether there were any camels in paradise and he did not give him the same reply as he gave the other, but said, "If Allah brings you into Paradise you will have what your soul desires and your eye takes pleasure in." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5643



Narrated byAbuAyyub



A nomadic Arab came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), I am fond of horses, are there any horses in Paradise?" He replied, "If you are granted entrance into Paradise, you will be brought a winged horse made of a ruby and will be mounted on it, then it will fly with you wherever you wish." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a tradition whose isnad is not strong, that AbuSawrah its transmitter is declared to be a weak traditionist, and that he had heard Muhammad ibn Isma'il say this. AbuSawrah's traditions were rejected, he being one who transmitted disacknowledged traditions.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5644



Narrated byBuraydah ibn al-Hasib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The inhabitants of Paradise will be in a hundred and twenty rows, eighty of them from this people and forty from the rest of the peoples." Tirmidhi, Darimi and Bayhaqi, in Kitab al-Ba'th wan-Nushur, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5645



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The breadth of the gate by which my people will enter Paradise will be a three years' journey for a fine rider, yet they will be so crushed that they will almost lose their shoulders." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying that this is a weak tradition, and that when he asked Muhammad ibn Isma'il about this tradition he did not know it, adding that Yakhlud ibn AbuBakr transmitted disacknowledged traditions.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5646



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "In Paradise there is a market in which there is no buying or selling, but only the forms of men and women; and when a man desires a form he enters it." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5647



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab met AbuHurayrah who said, "I ask Allah to bring us together in the market of Paradise." Sa'id asked if it contained a market and he replied that it did, for Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) had informed him that when the inhabitants of Paradise will enter it they will alight in it by virtue of their deeds. They will then be granted permission for the period of a Friday in this world and will visit their Lord whose throne will be shown to them, and He will appear to them in one of the gardens of Paradise. Pulpits of light, pulpits of pearls, pulpits of rubies, pulpits of chrysoprase, pulpits of gold and pulpits of silver will be placed for them, and the humblest of them, for there would be no one worthless among them, will sit on mounds of musk and camphor, not considering that those who are on the chairs are in a more excellent position than they. AbuHurayrah told that he asked, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) shall we see our Lord?" To which he replied, "Yes, are you in doubt about seeing the sun and the moon on the night when it is full?" On receiving the reply that they were not, he said, "Similarly you will have no doubts about the vision of your Lord, and no man will remain in that assembly without Allah conversing with him, till he says to one of them, 'So and so, son of so and so, do you remember the day you said such and such?' and He will remind



him of one of the dishonest things he did in the world. He will say, 'O my Lord, hast Thou not forgiven me? And He will reply, 'Yes; by the breadth of my forgiveness you have reached this station of yours.' While that is taking place a cloud will overshadow them from above and rain on them perfume whose fragrance will be such as they have never experienced anything to compare with, and our Lord will say, 'Stand up and go to the honour I have prepared for you, and take what you desire.' We shall then come to a market surrounded by angels, containing such things as eyes have never seen, ears have never heard, and hearts have never thought of. What we desire will be conveyed to us, there being no buying or selling in it, and in that market the inhabitants of Paradise will meet one another. A man of exalted station will come forward and meet one who is humbler than him, though there would be no one worthless among them, who will be charmed by the clothing he sees him wearing, but before their talk comes to an end he will imagine that he has something more beautiful than the other. That is because it is not appropriate for anyone to grieve in it. We shall then go to our dwellings and our wives will meet us and say, 'Welcome; you have come with more excellent beauty than you had when you left us.' We shall reply, 'To-day we have had a meeting with our Lord, the Overpowering One, and it is fitting that we should come away as we have done'." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5648



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The lowliest of the inhabitants of Paradise will be he who has eighty thousand servants, seventy-two wives, and for whom a round pavilion of pearls, chrysoprase and rubies as large as the distance between al-Jabiyah and San'a will be set up." By the same isnad he said, "Those who are to go to Paradise, who die whether young or old, will come into Paradise aged thirty and never grow older. The same applies to those who will go to Hell." By the same isnad he said, "They will wear crowns, the smallest pearl of which will illuminate the space between the east and the west." By the same isnad he said, "When a believer in Paradise wishes for a child, its conception, delivery and growth to full age will be accomplished in a moment as he wishes." Ishaq ibn Ibrahim said regarding this tradition that when a believer in Paradise wish for a child it would come in a moment, "But he will not wish for one." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition. Ibn Majah transmitted the fourth part, and Darimi the last statement.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5649



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, in Paradise there is a meeting-place for the largeeyed maidens who will raise voices such as created beings have never heard and say, "We are the women who live for ever and do not pass away, we are the women in affluent



circumstances who will not be destitute, we are the women who are pleased and not displeased. Blessed are those who belong to us and to whom we belong!" Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5650



Narrated byHakim ibn Mu'awiyah



Allah's Messenger said, "In Paradise there are a great river of water, a great rivers of honey, a great river of milk and a great river of wine; then the smaller river will be divided off." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Darimi transmitted it from Mu'awiyah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5657



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The lowest in station among the inhabitants of Paradise will be he who looks at his gardens, his wives, his bliss, his servants, and his couches stretching a thousand years' journey, and the one who will be most honoured by Allah will be he who looks at His face morning and evening." He then recited, "Faces on that day will be bright, looking at their Lord." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5664



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "While the inhabitants of Paradise are in their bliss a light will shine out to them, and raising their heads they will see that their Lord has looked down on them from above. He will then say, 'Peace be to you, inhabitants of Paradise,' the proof of that being the words of Allah Most High, 'Peace, a word from a Merciful Lord., He will then look at them and they will look at Him, and they will not turn aside to any of their bliss as long as they are looking at Him till He veils Himself from them and His light remains." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5673



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Hell was kindled for a thousand years till it became red, then it was kindled for a thousand years till it became white, then it was kindled for a thousand years till it became black, and it is black and dark."



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5674



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "On the Day of Resurrection the molar tooth of an infidel will be like Uhud, his thigh like al-Bayda', and his abode in Hell a three-nights' journey like ar-Rabadhah." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5675



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The thickness of an infidel's skin will be fortytwo cubits, his molar tooth will be like Uhud, and his seat in Jahannam will be like the distance between Mecca and Medina." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5676



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The infidel will drag his tongue a league and two leagues with people treading on it." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, the latter saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5677



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The ascent is a mountain in Hell, up which people will be made to climb for seventy years and down which they will be made to fall a similar distance, and so on for ever." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5678



Narrated byAbuSa'id



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said about Allah's words, "Like molten copper," that it is like the sediment of olive-oil, and that when it approaches one's face the skin of one's face will fall into it." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5679



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The hot water will be poured over their heads and the hot water will penetrate till it comes inside a man. It will scour what is inside him till it comes out at his feet; and that is the melting. He will then be restored as he was." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5680



Narrated byAbuUmamah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said about Allah's words, "He will be given to drink some liquid pus which he will gulp: It will come near his mouth and he will dislike it, then when it is brought near him it will scald his face and the skin of his head will fall away. Then when he drinks it, it will cut his entrails to pieces till it comes out at his posterior. Allah Most High says, "They will be given to drink a boiling liquid and it will cut their entrails to pieces." He also says, "And if they ask for help they will be helped with a liquid like molten copper which will scald their faces. How evil a drink it is!" Tirmidhi transmitted.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5681



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The awnings of Hell have four thick walls, each wall a distance of forty years." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5686



Narrated byAbudDarda'



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Hunger will be cast upon the inhabitants of Hell and will be equal to the punishment they are experiencing. They will cry for help and will be helped with food of dari' which neither fattens nor satisfies hunger. They will then call for food



and will be fed with food which chokes. So remembering that they helped down choking food with drink when they were in the world they will ask for drink and the scalding drink will be presented to them on iron flesh-hooks. When these approach their faces they will scorch their faces, and then they enter their bellies they will cut in pieces the contents of their bellies. They will then ask the guards of Jahannam to be called who will say, 'Did your messengers not bring you the clear signs?' and when they reply, 'Yes,' they will say, 'Then make supplication, but the supplication of the infidels is only in error.' They will then ask Malik to be called and will say, 'O Malik, would that your Lord might put an end to us!' He will reply to them, 'You are remaining' (al-A'mash saying he had been informed that the period between their appeal and Malik's reply to them would be a thousand years). They will then say, "Call your Lord, for no one is better than your Lord,' and they will say, 'O our Lord, our adversity was too much for us and we were a people who went astray. O our Lord, bring us out of it; then if we return to evil we shall indeed be wrongdoers.' He will then answer them, 'Retreat into it in shame and do not speak to me.' They will then despair of all good and will begin to sigh, grieve and bemoan themselves." Abdullah ibn AbdurRahman said that people do not trace this tradition back to the Prophet. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5688



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) pointed to something like a bowl and said, "If a piece of lead like this were sent from Heaven to Earth, which is journey of five hundred years, it would reach the earth before night; and if it were sent from the top of the chain it would travel forty years night and day before reaching its foot (or its bottom)." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5693



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Only he who is miserable will enter Hell." He was asked to whom that referred and replied, "He who has not done an act of obedience for Allah's sake, or has left an act of disobedience undone." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5731



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah created Israfil who has been keeping his feet in line from the day he was created and not raising his glance. Between him and the Lord



Who is Blessed and Exalted, there are seventy lights, not one of which he could approach without being burned." Tirmidhi transmitted it and called it sahih.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5733



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "A believer is held by Allah in more honour than some of His angels." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5735



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



While Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions were sitting clouds came over them and Allah's Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "Do you know what these are?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger knew best, he said, "These are the clouds (anan), these are the water-carriers of the Earth, which Allah drives to people who do not thank Him or call upon him." He then asked, "Do you know what is above you?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "It is the firmament, a ceiling which is guarded and waves which are kept back." He then asked, "Do you know what is between you and it?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Between you and it are five hundred years." He then asked, "Do you knew what is above that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) best he said, "Two heavens with a distance of five hundred years between them." He went on speaking like that till he counted seven heavens, the distance between each pair being like between Heaven and Earth. He then asked, "Do you know what is above that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Above that is the Throne, and the distance between it and the (seventh) heaven is the same as that between each pair of heavens." He then asked, "Do you know what is below you?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "It is the earth." He then asked, "Do you know what is under that?" On their replying that Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) knew best, he said, "Under it there is another Earth with a journey of five hundred years between them," and so on till he had counted seven earths with a journey of five hundred years between each pair. He then said, "By Him in Whose hand Muhammad's soul is, if you were to drop a rope to the lowest earth it would not pass out of Allah's knowledge." He then recited, "He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward, and He is omniscient." (Tirmidhi commented that Allah's Messenger's recitation of the verse indicates that it would go down within Allah's knowledge, power and authority, for Allah's knowledge, power and authority are everywhere, while He is on the Throne, as He described Himself in His Book.) Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5754



Narrated byKhabbab ibn al-Aratt



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) led us in prayer and prolonged it, and when the people said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), you have prayed a prayer such as you have not been accustomed to pray," he replied, "Yes, it was a prayer of hope and fear during which I asked Allah for three things, two of which He granted me but one of which He refused me. I asked Him not to destroy my people by famine and He granted me that, I asked Him not to let an enemy from another people rule over them and He granted me that, and I asked Him not to let them experience one another's violence but He refused me that." Tirmidhi and Nasa'i transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5757



Narrated byAl-Abbas ibn AbdulMuttalib



Al-Abbas came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) who seemed to have heard something and so mounted the pulpit and asked, "Who am I?" On being told that he was Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) he said, "I am Muhammad, son of Abdullah son of AbdulMuttalib. Allah created all creatures and placed me among the best of them, then put them in two sections and placed me in the better section, then made them into tribes and placed me in the best tribe, then made them into families and placed me in the best family, and I am inherently the best of them and come of the best family." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5758



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked when the office of Prophet had been established for him, he replied, "When Adam had not yet had his spirit joined to his body. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5761



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger said, "I shall be pre-eminent among the descendants of Adam on the Day of Resurrection, and this is no boast; and in my hand will be the banner of praise, and this is no boast. There will be no prophet, Adam or any other, who will not be under my banner. I shall be the first from whom the Earth will be cleft open, and this is no boast."



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5762



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



When some of the companions of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) were sitting he came out, and when he came near them he heard them discussing. One of them said Allah had taken Abraham as a friend, another said He spoke direct to Moses, another said Jesus was Allah's word and spirit, and another said Allah chose Adam. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) then came out to them and said, "I have heard what you said, and you wonder that Abraham was Allah's friend, as indeed he was; that Moses was Allah's confidant, as indeed he was; that Jesus was His spirit and word, as indeed he was; and that Adam was chosen by Allah, as indeed he was. I am the one whom Allah loves, and this is no boast. On the Day of Resurrection I shall be the bearer of the banner of praise under which will be Adam and the others, and this is no boast. I shall be the first intercessor and the first whose intercession is accepted on the Day of Resurrection, and this is no boast. I shall be the first to rattle the knocker of Paradise, and Allah will open for me and bring me into it accompanied by the poor ones among the believers, and this is no boast. I shall be the most honourable in Allah's estimation among those of earliest and latest times, and this is no boast." Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5764



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "I am the leader (qa'id) of the messengers, and this is no boast; I am the seal of the prophets, and this is no boast; and I shall be the first to make intercession and the first whose intercession is accepted, and this is no boast." Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5766



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "I shall be clothed with one of the robes of Paradise and shall then stand at the right of the Throne, a place where no other creature than I shall stand." Tirmidhi transmitted it. The version on his authority in Jami' al-Usul has "I shall be the first from whom the earth will be cleft open and I shall be clothed....."



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5767



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Ask Allah to grant me the Wasilah." Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked what the Wasilah meant and replied, "The highest grade in Paradise, which only one man will attain, and I hope I may be he." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5772



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Salam



The description of Muhammad is written in the Torah and also that Jesus, son of Mary, will be buried along with him. AbuMawdud said that a place for a grave had remained in the house. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5790



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was neither tall nor short, he had a large head and beard, the palms of his hands and his feet were calloused, he had a reddish tinge, he had large joints, the hair on his breast was long, and when he walked he bent forward as though he were descending a slope. I have never seen anyone like him before or since. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5791



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



When Ali described the Prophet (peace be upon him) he said: He was neither very tall nor excessively short, but was a man of medium size. He had neither very curly nor flowing hair but a mixture of both. He was not obese, he did not have a very round face, but it was so to some extent. He was reddish-white, he had wide black eyes and long eyelashes. He had protruding joints and shoulder-blades, he was not hairy but had some hair on his chest, and the palms of his hands and his feet were calloused. When he walked he raised his feet as though he were walking on a slope; when he turned round he turned completely. Between his shoulders was the seal of prophecy and he was the seal of the prophets. He had a finer chest than anyone else, was truer in utterance than anyone else, had the gentlest nature and the noblest tribe. Those who saw him suddenly stood in awe of him and those who shared his acquaintanceship loved him. Those who described him said they had never seen anyone like him before or since. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5794



Narrated byJabir ibn Samurah



I saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) on a cloudless night and began to look at Allah's Messenger and at the moon. He was wearing a red robe, and he appeared more beautiful than the moon to me. Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5795



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



I have seen nothing more beautiful than Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) who looked as if the sun were pursuing its course in his face. And I have seen no one who walked more quickly than Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), for it seemed as if the earth were being contracted for him. We exerting ourselves, but he was unruffled. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5796



Narrated byJabir ibn Samurah



The legs of Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) were slender, his laughter was no more than a smile, and when I looked at him I thought that there was collyrium in his eyes, but there was not. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5820



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was not unseemly or lewd in his language, nor was he loud-mouthed in the streets, nor did he return evil for evil, but he would forgive and pardon. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5821



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Anas used to tell of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he would visit the sick, attend funerals, accept a slave's invitation, and ride on a donkey. He said he had seen him on a donkey at the battle for Khaybar using a rein of palm-fibres. Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5822



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to patch his sandals, sew his garment and conduct himself at home as anyone of you does in his house. He was a human being, searching his garment for lice, milking his sheep, and doing his own chores. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5823



Narrated byZayd ibn Thabit



Some people visited Zayd ibn Thabit and asked him to tell them some stories about Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). He replied: "I was his neighbour, and when the inspiration descended on him he sent for me and I went to him and wrote it down for him. When we talked about his world he did so along with us, and when we talked about the next world he did so along with us, and when we talked about food he did so along with us. All this I tell you about Allah's Messenger. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5824



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) shook hands with a man he did not withdraw his hand till the other did so, he did not turn his face away till the other did so, and he was not seen to put forward his knees in front of one with whom he was sitting. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5829



Narrated byAbdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Jaz'



Abdullah had seen no one more given to smiling than Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5918



Narrated byAbuMusa



AbuTalib went to ash-Sham (Syria) accompanied by the Prophet (may Allah bless him) along with some shaykhs of Quraysh. When they came near where the monk was they alighted and loosened their baggage, and the monk came out to them although when they had passed that way previously he had not done so. While they were loosening their baggage the monk began to go about among them till he came and, taking Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) by the hand, said, "This is the chief of the universe; this is the messenger of the the Lord of the universe whom Allah is commissioning as a mercy to the universe." Some shaykhs of Quraysh asked him how he knew, and he replied, "When you came over the hill not a tree or a stone failed to bow in prostration, and they prostrate themselves only before a prophet. I recognize him by the seal of prophecy, like an apple, below the end of his shoulder-blade." He then went and prepared food for them, and when he brought it to them the Prophet (peace be upon him) was looking after the camels, so he told them to send for him. He came with a cloud above him shading him and when he approached the people he found they had gone before him into the shade of a tree. Then when he sat down the shade of the tree inclined over him, and the monk said, "Look how the shade of the tree has inclined over him. I adjure you by Allah to tell me which of you is his guardian." On being told that it was AbuTalib he kept adjuring him to send him back until he did so. AbuBakr sent Bilal along with him and the monk gave him provisions of a bread and olive-oil. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5919



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Once when I was with the Prophet in Mecca and we went out into one of its districts in the neighbourhood, not a mountain or tree which confronted him failed to say, "Peace be upon you, Messenger of Allah." Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5920



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



On the night when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was taken up to Heaven, al-Buraq was brought to him, bridled and saddled, but it proved refractory, so Gabriel said to it, "Is it to Muhammad you are doing this? No one more honourable in Allah's sight than he has mounted you." It then poured with sweat. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5926



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



A nomadic Arab came to Allah's Messenger and asked, "By what means can I know that you are a prophet?" He replied, "If I call this raceme from this palm-tree it will testify that I am Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). He called it and it began to come down from the palmtree and fell beside the Prophet. He then told it to go back, and when it returned, the nomadic Arab accepted Islam. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying it is sahih.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5928



Narrated bySamurah ibn Jundub



We were with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and were taking turns out of a large bowl from morning till night; ten getting up and ten sitting down. He was asked from what it was being replenished and replied, "What are you wondering at? It was being replenished only from here," pointing with his hand to the sky. Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5933



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



I brought the Prophet (peace be upon him) some dates saying, "Ask Allah for a blessing on them, Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." He took them, prayed that I might have a blessing on them and said, "Take them and put them in your provision-bag; and as often as you wish to take any, put in your hand and take them, but do not scatter them." I carried such and such a number of camel-loads from those dates in Allah's cause, eating of them and giving others something to eat. It never left my side until the day Uthman was killed, for the bag was cut away. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5963



Narrated byAbuBakr



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) died the people disagreed about his burial, and AbuBakr said he had heard something from Allah's Messenger. He had said, "Allah takes a prophet only in the place where he wishes to be buried." So he told them to bury him where his bedding lay.



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5979



Narrated bySa'd



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "He who wishes Quraysh to be humiliated will be humiliated by Allah." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5980



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger said, "O Allah, Thou hast caused the first members of Quraysh to experience punishment; now cause the last of them to experience generosity." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5981



Narrated byAbuAmir al-Ash'ari



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Asad and the members of Ash'ar are good. They do not fly when fighting and are not treacherous. They pertain to me and I to them." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5982



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Azd is Allah's Azd Earth. People wish to lower them, but Allah refuses to do anything but exalt them. A time is certainly coming to mankind when a man will express the wish that his father had belonged to Azd and that his mother had belonged to Azd." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5983



Narrated byImran ibn Husayn



The Prophet (peace be upon him) at the time of his death disliked three tribes: Thaqif, the Banu Hanifah and the Banu Umayyah. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5984



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Thaqif will have among them a great liar and one who causes destruction." Abdullah ibn Asma told that it was said the great liar was alMukhtar ibn AbuUbayd and the one who caused destruction al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. Hisham ibn Hassan said they calculated the number of those in custody killed by al-Hajjaj and it reached a hundred and twenty thousand. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5986



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



When the people said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Thaqif's arrows have scorched us, so supplicate Allah to punish them," he said, "O Allah, give guidance to Thaqif." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5987



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



AbuHurayrah said that when they were with the Prophet (peace be upon him), a man whom he thought belonged to Qays came to him and said, "Messenger of Allah, curse Himyar." He turned away from him, so he came round the other side, but he turned away from him. He then came round the other side, and the Prophet turned away from him again and then said, "May Allah show mercy to Himyar! Their mouths speak peace, their hands provide food, and they are people of security and faith." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition which he knew only among the traditions of AbdurRazzaq, and rejected traditions are transmitted on the authority of this Mina' (a sub-narrator).



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5988



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) asked him to which tribe he belonged, and that when he replied that he belonged to Daws he said, "I did not think that Daws had a single man with any good in him." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5989



Narrated bySalman



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Do not hate me and so abandon your religion." He asked how he could hate him when he was the means by which Allah had guided them, and he replied, "By hating the Arabs and so hating me." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5990



Narrated byUthman ibn Affan



Allah's Messenger said, "He who is treacherous to the Arabs will not be included in my intercession and will not receive my love." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition which he knew only among the traditions of Husayn ibn Umar who is not considered by traditionists to be strong.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5991



Narrated byTalhah ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "One of the signs of the approach of the last hour will be the destruction of the Arabs." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 5992



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The kingdom will belong to Quraysh, the legal authority to the Ansar, the office of making the call to prayer to the Abyssinians, and faithfulness to Azd," i.e. the Yemen. In a version it is in mawquf form. Tirmidhi said, the mawquf is sounder Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this (mawquf) is sounder.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6005



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mughaffal



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Fear Allah regarding my companions, and do not make them a target after I am gone. He who loves them does so from love of me, and he who hates them does so from hatred of me. He who injures them has injured me, he who injures me has injured Allah, and he who injures Allah will soon be punished by Him." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6007



Narrated byBuraydah ibn al-Hasib



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Not one of my companions will die in a land without being raised as a leader and a light for its people on the Day of Resurrection." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6017



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "No one has helped me without my making it up to him except AbuBakr, for he has given me help which Allah will make up to him on the Day of Resurrection. No one's property has benefited me to the extent of AbuBakr's, and if I were taking a friend I should take AbuBakr as a friend, but your companion is Allah's friend." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6018



Narrated byUmar ibn al-Khattab



AbuBakr is our chief, the best among us, and the one of us who is dearest to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6019



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) said to AbuBakr, "You were my companion in the cave, and you will be my companion at the reservoir.



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6020



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "It is not fitting for a people among whom AbuBakr is, to be led by anyone else" Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6022



Narrated byAisha



AbuBakr came in to visit Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) who said, "You are Allah's freedman (atiq) from Hell." So on that day he was named Atiq. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6023



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I am the first from whom the Earth will burst open, then AbuBakr and then Umar. I shall then come to those who are buried in al-Baqi' and they will be gathered along with me. After that I shall wait for the people of Mecca so as to be gathered among the inhabitants of the two sacred cities." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6033



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah has placed truth upon Umar's tongue and heart." Tirmidhi transmitted it. In AbuDawud's version on the authority of AbuDharr he said, 'Allah has placed truth on Umar's tongue and he speaks it."



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6036



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



The Prophet (peace be upon him), said, "O Allah, strengthen Islam with AbuJahl ibn Hisham, or Umar ibn al-Khattab." In the morning Umar went to the Prophet and accepted Islam; then prayed openly in the mosque. Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6037



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



When Umar addressed AbuBakr as the best of men after Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), AbuBakr replied that seeing he had said that, he could tell him he had heard Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) say, "The sun has not risen on a better man than Umar." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6040



Narrated byAisha



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was seated we heard confused sounds and boys' voices, so he got up and saw an Abyssinian woman dancing with the boys around her. He said, "Come and look, Aisha," So I went and placed my chin on the shoulder of Allah's messenger and began to look at her over his shoulder. He then said to me, "Have you not had enough? Have you not had enough?" I began to say, "No," in order that I might look where I was with him. But Umar came along, and when the people ran away from her Allah's Messenger said, "I am looking at the devils of jinn and men, who have fled from Umar." I then went back. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6044



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger said, "That man will have the highest grade among my people in Paradise." AbuSa'id said, "I swear by Allah that till the end of his life we thought that that man was no one other than Umar ibn al-Khattab." Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6050



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik ; Ali ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "AbuBakr and Umar will be the chiefs of the middle-aged inhabitants of Paradise, of those who belonged to the earliest and latest times, except the prophets and messengers." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it on Ali's authority.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6052



Narrated byHudhayfah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I do not know how long I shall remain among you, so copy those two who will remain after I am gone: AbuBakr and Umar." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6053



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) entered the mosque no one but AbuBakr and Umar raised his head. They would smile to him and he would smile to them. Tirmidhi transmitted it , saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6054



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



The Prophet (peace be upon him) went out one day and entered the mosque with AbuBakr and Umar , one on his right and the other on his left, holding their hands. He said, "We shall be raised thus on the Day of Resurrection." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6055



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Hantab



The Prophet (peace be upon him) saw AbuBakr and Umar and said, "These are hearing and sight." Tirmidhi transmitted it in mursal form.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6056



Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri



Allah's Messenger said, "There is no prophet who does not have two wazirs from the inhabitants of Heaven and two from the inhabitants of Earth. My two wazirs from the inhabitants of Heaven are Gabriel and Michael, and my two wazirs from the inhabitants of Earth are AbuBakr and Umar." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6058



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "One who will be one of the inhabitants of Paradise will come to you;" then AbuBakr came along. He then said, "One who will be one of the inhabitants of Paradise will come to you;" then Umar came along. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6061



Narrated byTalhah ibn Ubaydullah ; AbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Every prophet has a companion, and my companion (i.e. in Paradise) will be Uthman," Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it on AbuHurayrah's authority. Tirmidhi said this is a gharib tradition whose isnad is not strong, and is broken.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6063



Narrated byAbdurRahman ibn al-Khattab



I was with the Prophet when he was urging the people to help the army of distress. Uthman got up and said, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) I shall provide for Allah's cause a hundred camels with their cloths and saddles." Afterwards he urged that help be given to the army, and Uthman got up and said, "I shall provide for Allah's cause two hundred camels with their cloths and saddles." Again he urged and Uthman got up and said, "I shall provide for Allah's cause three hundred camels with their cloths and saddles." I saw Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) coming down from the pulpit, and he was saying, "Anything he does will not count against Uthman after this; anything he does will not count against Uthman after this." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6065



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) gave orders for the oath of allegiance of Allah's good pleasure, Uthman had gone to Mecca as the delegate of Allah's Messenger's. Then when the people had taken the oath of allegiance, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Uthman is engaged in Allah's business and in His Messenger's business." He then struck one of his hands on the other, and the head of Allah's messenger on behalf of Uthman was better than the people's hands on their own behalf. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6066



Narrated byUthman ibn Affan



Thumamah ibn Hazan al-Qushayri said, "I was present at the house, when Uthman looked out on the people and said, `I adjure you by Allah and by Islam, are you aware that when Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came to Medina and it had no water considered fresh but Bi'r Rumah, desiring that he and the Muslims might dip their buckets in it, he asked who would buy Bi'r Rumah for a better one in Paradise, and I bought it from my capital? Yet you are preventing me from drinking from it today so that I have to drink salty water.'" When they swore by Allah that they were aware, he said, "I adjure you by Allah and by Islam, are you aware that when the mosque became too small for the people and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) asked who would buy the plot of the family of so and so for a better one in Paradise and add it to the mosque, I bought it from my capital? Yet today you are preventing me from praying two rak'ahs in it." When they swore by Allah that they were aware he said, "I adjure you by Allah and by Islam, are you aware that I equipped the Army of Distress (Jaysh alUsrah) from my property?" When they swore by Allah that they were aware he said, "I adjure you by Allah and by Islam, are you aware that when Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was on Thabir at Mecca, accompanied by AbuBakr, Umar and myself, the mountain shook so that its stones were falling one after another to the ground below, he kicked it with his foot and said, 'Be still, Thabir, for there are only a prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs on you '?" When they swore by Allah that they were aware he said three times, "Allah is most great. They have testified by the Lord of the Ka'bah that I am a martyr." Tirmidhi, Nasa'i and Daraqutni transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6067



Narrated byMurrah ibn Ka'b



I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) when he mentioned the civil wars and their nearness; and when a man who was veiled by a garment passed by he said, "On that day this man will be rightly guided." I got up and went to him and found he was Uthman ibn Affan, then, making him face the Prophet (peace be upon him), I asked if this were the man, and he replied, "Yes."



Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6068



Narrated byAisha



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Perhaps Allah will clothe you with a shirt, Uthman, and if the people want you to take it off, do not take it off for them." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying the tradition contains a long story.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6069



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned a civil commotion and said of Uthman, "This one will be wrongfully killed in it." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan tradition whose isnad is gharib.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6070



Narrated byAbuSahlah



Uthman said to him on the day of the house, Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) made a covenant with me and I shall show endurance in adhering to it." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is hasan sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6076



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was alive we used to say, "AbuBakr, Umar and Uthman, Allah be pleased with them!" Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6081



Narrated byImran ibn Husayn



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Ali pertains to me and I pertain to him, and he is the guardian of every believer." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6082



Narrated byZayd ibn Arqam



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When I am anyone's patron, Ali is his patron also." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6083



Narrated byHubshi ibn Junadah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Ali pertains to me and I pertain to Ali and no one will conclude anything on my behalf but myself or Ali." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ahmad transmitted it on the authority of AbuJunadah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6084



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) arranged brotherhoods among his companions, Ali came weeping and said, "You have arranged brotherhoods among your companions, but you have arranged no brotherhood between me and anyone." He replied, "Your are my brother in this world and the next." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6085



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) had a bird and said, "O Allah, bring me Thy creature who is dearest to Thee to eat this bird along with me." Ali then came and ate along with him. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6086



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



"When I asked Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) for anything he gave it to me, and when I said nothing he was the first to speak." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6087



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I am the house of wisdom and Ali is its door." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition, adding that some transmit this tradition on Sharik's authority without mentioning regarding it that it is transmitted on as-Sunabihi's authority. He said the only reliable authority from whom he knew this tradition was Sharik.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6088



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



"On the day Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) sent Ali to at-Ta'if, he called him and spoke in private to him." The people said, "He has had a long private conversation with his cousin," and Allah's Messenger replied, "It was not I but Allah who had a private conversation with him." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6089



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to Ali, "It is not allowable, Ali, for anyone but you or me to be in a state of ceremonial impurity in this mosque." Ali ibn al-Mundhir told that he asked Dirar ibn Surad what was the meaning of this tradition, and he replied that the meaning was, "It is not allowable for anyone but you or me to walk through it in a state of ceremonial impurity." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6090



Narrated byUmm Atiyyah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) sent off an army of which Ali was a member, and that she heard Allah's Messenger say with his arms upraised, "O Allah, do not cause me to die before Thou let test me see Ali." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6091



Narrated byUmm Salamah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "A hypocrite does not love Ali and a believer does not hate him." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan tradition whose isnad is gharib.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6092



Narrated byUmm Salamah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He who reviles Ali has reviled me." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6093



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to him, "You have a resemblance to Jesus whom the Jews hated so much that they slandered his mother and whom the Christians loved so much that they placed him in a position not rightly his." Ali afterwards said, "Two people will perish on my account, one who loves me so excessively that he praises me for what I do not possess, and one who hates me so much that he will be impelled by his hatred to slander me." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6094



Narrated byAl-Bara' ibn Azib and Zayd ibn Arqam



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) alighted at the pool of Khumm, he took Ali by the hand and asked those present, "Do you not know that I am closer to the believers that they themselves?" They replied, "Certainly." He then asked, "Do you not know that I am nearer to every believer than he himself?" They replied, "Certainly." He then said, " Allah, he whose patron I am has Ali as his patron. O Allah, be friendly to those who are friendly to him and hostile to those who are hostile to him." After that Umar met him and said, "Congratulations, son of AbuTalib. Morning and evening you are the patron of every believing man and woman." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6095



Narrated byBuraydah ibn al-Hasib



AbuBakr and Umar asked for Fatimah's hand in marriage, but Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "She is young." Then Ali asked for her hand in marriage and he married her to him. Nasa'i transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6096



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered all the doors (opening on the mosque) to be shut except Ali's. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6097



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



I had a position in relation to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) which no other creature had. I would come to him at the break of day and say, "Peace be upon you, Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)." If he then cleared his throat I went off to my family, otherwise I entered. Nasa'i transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6098



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came upon me when I had a complaint and was saying, "O Allah, if my appointed time has come grant me rest, if it is to be delayed grant me abundant means of subsistence, but if this is a testing grant me endurance." Allah's Messenger asked him how he had expressed himself, and when he repeated to him what he had said, he gave him a kick and said, "O Allah, heal him," or "Cure him." The transmitter was doubtful about the exact words. He said that he did not afterwards complain of his pain. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6109



Narrated byAbdurRahman ibn Awf



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "AbuBakr will go to Paradise, Umar will go to Paradise, Uthman will go to Paradise, Ali will go to paradise. Talhah will go to Paradise, azZubayr will go to Paradise, AbdurRahman ibn Awf will go to Paradise, Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas



will go to Paradise, Sa'id ibn Zayd will go to Paradise, and AbuUbayd ibn al-Jarrah will go to Paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah transmitted it on the authority of Sa'id ibn Zayd.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6111



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "The most compassionate member of my people towards my people is AbuBakr, the most rigorous regarding Allah's affair is Umar, the most genuinely modest is Uthman, the one who knows most about obligatory duties is Zayd ibn Thabit, the one who knows best how to recite the Qur'an is Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and the one who has most knowledge about what is lawful and what is prohibited is Mu'adh ibn Jabal. Every people has a trustworthy guardian, and the trustworthy guardian of this people is AbuUbayd ibn al-Jarrah. Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan sahih tradition. It is also transmitted in mursal form, on the authority of Ma'mar who cited Qatadah as his authority, and it contains the phrase "The most learned in legal matters is Ali."



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6112



Narrated byAz-Zubayr



At the battle of Uhud the Prophet (peace be upon him) was wearing two coats of mail. He stand up to go to the rock but was unable to climb up, so Talhah let him step on his back and thus he was able to settle himself on the rock. I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say, "Talhah has made (Paradise certain for himself)." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6113



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) looked at Talhah ibn Ubaydullah and said, "If anyone wants to look at a man walking on the face of the earth when he has died, let him look at this man." One version says "If anyone finds pleasure in looking at a martyr walking on the face of the earth, let him look at Talhah ibn Ubaydullah." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6114



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Ali's ear had heard the following being uttered from the mouth of Allah's Messenger: "Talhah and az-Zubayr will be my neighbours in paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6115



Narrated bySa'd ibn AbuWaqqas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said that day, i.e. the day of Uhud, "O Allah, strengthen his shooting and answer his supplication." It is transmitted in Sharh as-Sunnah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6116



Narrated bySa'd ibn AbuWaqqas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him and grant him pace) as saying, "O Allah, answer Sa'd when he supplicates Thee." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6117



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Sa'd was the only one for whom Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) named his parents together. At the battle of Uhud he said to him, "Shoot, my father and my mother be your ransom!" He also said to him, "Shoot, strong young man." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6118



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



Sa'd came forward and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "This is my maternal uncle; now let any man show me his maternal uncle." Tirmidhi transmitted it, explaining that Sa'd belonged to the Banu Zuhrah, the tribe to which the Prophet's mother belonged, and that on that account the Prophet said, "This is my maternal uncle."



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6121



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to say to his wives, "I am concerned about what will happen to you after I am gone, when only the self-sacrificing and truly generous will continue to care for you." Aisha said his meaning was those who give sadaqah. Then Aisha said to AbuSalam ibn AbdurRahman, "May Allah give your father drink from Salsabil in Paradise!" Ibn Awf had given as sadaqah for the mothers of the faithful a garden which had been sold for forty thousand. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6122



Narrated byUmm Salamah



Umm Salamah heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say to his wives, "He who treats you generously after I am gone is the sincere and kindly one. O Allah, give AbdurRahman ibn Awf drink from Salsabil in Paradise." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6124



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked whom they should appoint commander after he had gone, he replied, "If you appoint AbuBakr as commander you will find him trustworthy, with little desire for worldly goods but eager for the next world; if you appoint Umar as commander you will find him trustworthy and strong, fearing for Allah's sake no one's blame; and if you appoint Ali as commander, but I cannot see you doing so, you will find him a guide who is rightly guided who will lead you in the straight way." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6125



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah, show mercy to AbuBakr! He gave me his daughter as wife, he conveyed me to the abode of the emigration, he accompanied me in the cave, and he freed Bilal out of his property. Allah, show mercy to Umar! He speaks the truth even if it is bitter, and the truth has left him without a friend. Allah, show mercy to Uthman! The angels display bashfulness before him. Allah, show mercy to Ali! O Allah, cause the truth to accompany him wherever he goes!"



Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6143



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



Jabir saw Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) when performing the hajj seated on his shecamel al-Qaswa' on the day of Arafah giving an address, and he heard him saying, "O people, I have left among you something of such a nature that if you adhere to it you will not go astray: Allah's Book and my close relatives who belong to my household." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6144



Narrated byZayd ibn Arqam



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I am leaving among you something of such a nature that if you lay hold of it you will not go astray after I am gone, one part of it being more important than the other: Allah's Book, a rope stretched from Heaven to Earth, and my close relatives who belong to my household. These two will not separate from one another till they come down to the reservoir, so consider how you act regarding them after my departure." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6145



Narrated byZayd ibn Arqam



Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) said of Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, "I am war to him who makes war on them and peace to him who makes peace with them." I went in with my paternal aunt to visit Aisha and asked who was dearest to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him). When she replied that it was Fatimah she was asked who was dearest among men and she replied that it was her husband. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6147



Narrated byAbdulMuttalib ibn Rabi'ah



Once when I was with Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) al-Abbas came in angrily, and when he asked him what was making him angry he said, "What is wrong between us and Quraysh? When they meet one another they do so with cheerful faces, but when they meet us they act differently." Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) became so angry that he was red in the face, and he then said, "By Him in Whose hand my soul is, faith will not enter a man's



heart till he loves you for Allah's sake and His Messenger's." He then said, "O you people, he who injures my paternal uncle has injured me, for a man's paternal uncle is the same as his father." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6148



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Al-Abbas pertains to me and I to him." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6149



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to al-Abbas, "When Monday morning arrives come to me with your children so that I may make for you a supplication by which Allah may benefit you and your children." He and they came in the morning, and when he had put his cloak over them he said, "O Allah, grant al-Abbas and his children such forgiveness without and within as will not leave a sin. O Allah, guard him in his children." Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Razin added, "And cause the Caliphate to remain among his descendants." Tirmidhi said this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6150



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Ibn Abbas had seen Gabriel twice and that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) invoked a blessing on him twice. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6151



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah`s Messenger (peace be upon him) made supplication for me twice that Allah might give me wisdom. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6152



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Ja'far used to love the poor. He would sit with them and talk to them and they would talk to him. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to address him by the kunya AbulMasakin (father of the poor). Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6153



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I saw Ja'far flying in Paradise along with the angels." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6154



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Al-Hasan and al-Husayn will be the chief ones among the youths who go to Paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6155



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Al-Hasan and al-Husayn are my offspring in the world." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6156



Narrated byUsamah ibn Zayd



I went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) one night about something I required and he came out with something (I did not know what) under his cloak. When I had finished telling him my business I asked him what he had under his cloak, and when he opened it I saw al-Hasan and al-Husayn on his hips. He then said, "These are my sons and my daughter's sons. O Allah, I love them, so I beseech Thee to love them and those who love them."



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6157



Narrated byUmm Salamah



Salma said, "I went to visit Umm Salamah and found her weeping. I asked her what was making her weep and she replied that she had seen Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) (meaning in a dream) with dust on his head and beard. She asked him what was the matter and he replied, `I have just been present at the slaying of al-Husayn.'" Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6158



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was asked which member of his family was dearest to him, he replied, "Al-Hasan and al-Husayn." He used to say to Fatimah, "Call my two sons to me," and then would sniff and cuddle them. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6160



Narrated byYa'la ibn Murrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Husayn pertains to me and I to him. May Allah love him who loves Husayn! Husayn is a grandson." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6161



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Al-Hasan resembled Allah's Messenger from the breast to the head and al-Husayn resembled the Prophet below that. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6162



Narrated byHudhayfah



I asked my mother to let me go to the Prophet (peace be upon him), pray the sunset prayer with him, and ask him to pray for forgiveness for her and me. I went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and prayed the sunset prayer along with him, and he remained in prayer till he prayed the night prayer. When he went off I followed him, and when he heard my voice he said, "Who is this? Is it Hudhayfah?" When I told him that it was, he said, "What do you require? Allah forgive you and your mother! Here is an angel who has never come down to Earth before tonight. He asked his Lord's permission to give me a greeting and give me the good news that Fatimah will be the chief lady among the inhabitants of Paradise, and that al-Hasan and alHusayn will be the chief ones among the youths who go to Paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6163



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) was carrying al-Hasan ibn Ali on his shoulder, a man said, "You are mounted on a fine steed, boy." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "And he is a fine rider." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6164



Narrated byUmar ibn al-Khattab



Umar allotted to Usamah three thousand five hundred and to Abdullah ibn Umar three thousand, so Abdullah ibn Umar said to his father, "Why have you treated Usamah as superior to me? I swear by Allah that he has never reached to any battle before me." He replied, "It is because Zayd was dearer to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) than your father and Usamah was dearer to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) than you, so I have given preference to the one who was beloved by Allah's Messenger over the one who is loved by me." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6165



Narrated byJabalah ibn Harithah



I came to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said, "Messenger of Allah, send my brother Zayd along with me." He replied, "Here he is; if he goes with you I shall not prevent him." But when Zayd said, "Messenger of Allah, I swear to Allah that I choose no one in preference to you," I considered my brother's opinion better than mine. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6166



Narrated byUsamah ibn Zayd



When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) became very weak the people and I came down to Medina. I went in to visit Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) who was tongue-tied and unable to speak; but he was placing his hands on me and raising them, and I recognized that he was invoking a blessing on me. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6167



Narrated byAisha



Once when the Prophet (peace be upon him) wanted to wipe Usamah's nose she asked to be allowed to do it, and he said, "Love him, Aisha. for I love him." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6168



Narrated byUsamah ibn Zayd



While Usamah was sitting, Ali and al-Abbas came to ask permission to enter. They told him to ask Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) for permission to enter, and he said, "Messenger of Allah Ali and al-Abbas are asking permission to enter." He asked if he knew what had brought them, and when he replied that he did not, he said, "But I know; give them permission." Then when they entered they said, "Messenger of Allah, we have come to ask you which member of your family is dearest to you." On his replying, "Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter," they said, "We have not come to ask you about your immediate family." So he said, "The member of my family who is dearest to me is he to whom Allah has shown favour and to whom I have shown favour, viz. Usamah ibn Zayd." They asked who came next, and when he replied that it was Ali ibn AbuTalib, al-Abbas said, "Messenger of Allah you have made your paternal uncle the last of them." He replied, "Ali emigrated before you." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6170



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



I was with Ibn Ziyad when al-Husayn's head was brought in and he began to tap on his nose with a wand and say, "I have never seen anyone as good-looking as this man." I said," I assure you that he was one of those who resembled Allah's Messenger most closely."



Tirmidhi transmitted it and said this is a sahih hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6171



Narrated byUmm al-Fadl daughter of al-Harith



Umm al-Fadl went in to see Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said, "Messenger of Allah, I had an objectionable dream last night." He asked what it was and she replied, "It was terrible." He asked, "But what was it?" She replied, "I seemed to see a piece of your body cut off and placed in my lap." He said, "You have seen something good. If Allah wills Fatimah will give birth to a son who will be in your lap." Fatimah then gave birth to al-Husayn who was placed in her lap as Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) had said. One day she went in to see Allah's messenger and placed him in his lap. She turned round, and noticing tears falling from the eyes of Allah's Messenger, she said, "Prophet of Allah, for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom, what is the matter with you?" He replied, "Gabriel came to me and informed me that my people will kill this son of mine." She asked if he really meant this one and he replied, "Yes, and he brought me a piece of red earth." Bayhaqi transmitted it in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6172



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



One day at midday he saw in a dream the Prophet (peace be upon him) dishevelled and dusty with a bottle containing blood in his hand and said, "You for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom, what is this?" He replied, "This is the blood of al-Husayn and his companions which I have been collecting today." He told that he was reckoning that time and found that he had been killed at that time. Ahmad transmitted it and Bayhaqi in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6173



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Love Allah for the favours with which He provides you, love me because of the love of Allah, and love my family from love of me." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6174



Narrated byAbuDharr



While holding the door of the Ka'bah, AbuDharr told that he had heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say, "My family among you are like Noah's ark. He who sails in it will be safe, but he who holds back from it will perish." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6181



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Among the women of the universe, Mary, daughter of Imran, Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid, Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, and Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh are enough for you." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6182



Narrated byAisha



Gabriel brought a picture of her on a piece of green silk to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said, "This is your wife in this world and the next." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6183



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Safiyyah heard that Hafsah had called her a Jew's daughter she wept. Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came in where she was while she was weeping and asked her what was making her weep. When she told him Hafsah had called her a Jew's daughter the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "You are a prophet's daughter, your paternal uncle was a prophet, and you are married to a prophet, so what has she to boast of over you?" He then said, "Fear Allah, Hafsah." Tirmidhi and Nasa'i transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6184



Narrated byUmm Salamah



In the year of the Conquest Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) called Fatimah and spoke privately to her and she wept; he then spoke to her and she laughed. When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) died she asked her about her weeping and her laughing and she replied, "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) informed me that he was going to die, so I wept; he



then informed me that, with the exception of Mary, daughter of Imran, I should be the chief lady among the inhabitants of Paradise, so I laughed." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6184



Narrated byUmm Salamah



In the year of the Conquest Allah's messenger (peace be upon him) called Fatimah and spoke privately to her and she wept; he then spoke to her and she laughed. When Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) died she asked her about her weeping and her laughing and she replied, "Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) informed me that he was going to die, so I wept; he then informed me that, with the exception of Mary, daughter of Imran, I should be the chief lady among the inhabitants of Paradise, so I laughed." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6186



Narrated byMusa ibn Talhah



Musa had seen no one whose speech was more chaste than Aisha's. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6221



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Mas'ud



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When I am gone copy those two of my companions, AbuBakr and Umar, follow the guidance of Ammar, and hold fast to the injunction of Ibn Umm Abd." Hudhayfah's version says "Believe what Ibn Mas'ud tells you" instead of "Hold fast to the injunction of Ibn Umm Abd." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6222



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If I were to appoint anyone as commander without (need for) consultation I should appoint Ibn Umm Abd." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6223



Narrated byKhaythamah ibn AbuSabrah



I came to Medina and asked Allah to grant me a good companion to sit with and He granted me AbuHurayrah. I sat with him and told him I had asked Allah to grant me a good companion to sit with and that he suited me. He asked where I came from and I replied that I belonged to alKufah and had come desiring and seeking good. He then said, "Do you not have among you Sa'd ibn Malik whose prayers are answered, Ibn Mas'ud who looked after the water of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) for ablution, and his sandals, Hudhayfah who was the confident of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) confidant, Ammar to whom Allah gave protection from the Devil at the tongue of His Prophet (peace be upon him), and Salman who was a believer in the two Books?" meaning the Injil and the Qur'an. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6224



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "AbuBakr is a fine man, Umar is a fine man, AbuUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah is a fine man, Usayd ibn Hudayr is a fine man, Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas is a fine man, Mu'adh ibn Jabal is a fine man, and Mu'adh ibn Amr ibn al-Jamuh is a fine man." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6225



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Paradise is desirous of three people: Ali, Ammar and Salman."



Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6226



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



When Ammar asked permission to come in to see the Prophet (peace be upon him) he said, "Let him come in. Welcome to the very good man!" Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6227



Narrated byAisha



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Ammar is not given a choice between two things without choosing the more difficult and the lesser." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6228



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



When Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's bier was carried, the hypocrites said, "How light his bier is!" that being because of his decision regarding the Banu Qurayzah. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was told of that he said, "The angels were carrying it." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6229



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr



Abdullah heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say: "The sky has not covered and the Earth has not carried anyone more truthful than AbuDharr." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6230



Narrated byAbuDharr



Allah's Messenger said, "The sky has not covered and the Earth has not carried anyone who speaks more truthfully or is more faithful in keeping his word than AbuDharr. He resembles Jesus, son of Mary," i.e. in asceticism. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6231



Narrated byMu'adh ibn Jabal



Mu'adh was on his deathbed and he said, "Seek knowledge from four people, from Uwaymir AbudDarda', from Salman, from Ibn Mas'ud, and from Abdullah ibn Salam who was a Jewish convert to Islam, for I heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) say he would be the tenth to enter Paradise." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6232



Narrated byHudhayfah



When the people expressed a desire that Allah's Messenger (my Allah bless him) should name a successor, he said, "If I were to name a successor and you were to disobey him you would be punished, but believe what Hudhayfah tells you and recite what Abdullah recites to you." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6234



Narrated byAisha



When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a lamp in az-Zubayr's house he said, "I think, Aisha, that Asma' must have given birth to a child. Do not give it a name till I do so." He named him Abdullah and with his own hand rubbed his palate with a moistened date. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6235



Narrated byAbdurRahman ibn AbuAmirah



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said of Mu'awiyah, "O Allah, make him a guide who is rightly guided and guide others by him." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6236



Narrated byUqbah ibn Amir



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The people accepted Islam, but Amr ibn al-'As had faith." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a gharib tradition whose isnad is not strong.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6237



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) met me and said, "How is it, Jabir, that I see you downcast?" I replied, "My father has died a martyr, leaving children and a debt." He asked, "Shall I not give you good news of what Allah has caused your father to meet?" And when I replied, "Certainly, Messenger of Allah," he said, "Allah has never spoken to anyone but from behind a veil, but He brought your father to life and spoke to him face to face saying, 'My servant, if you express a wish to Me I shall grant it.' He replied, 'O my Lord, my wish is that Thou shouldest grant me life and let me be killed for Thy sake a second time.' But the Lord, Who is Blessed and Exalted, said, 'I have already said that they will not return.'" Then came down, "You must not consider those who have been killed in Allah's cause to be dead...." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6238



Narrated byJabir ibn Abdullah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) asked forgiveness for him twenty-five times. Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6239



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "There are many with dishevelled hair and dusty bodies, who wear two ragged garments and to whom no attention is paid but who would be declared righteous by Allah if they adjured Him. Among them is al-Bara' ibn Malik." Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi, in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6240



Narrated byAbuSa'id



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "My confidants to whom I turn are my family, and my close friends are the Ansar, so forgive those of them who do wrong and accept the excuses of those of them who do good." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6241



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Let no one who believes in Allah and the Last Day hate the Ansar." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6242



Narrated byAbuTalhah



Anas quoted AbuTalhah as telling that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to him, "Give your people a greeting, for they, so far as I know, are abstemious and show endurance." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6244



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) recited this verse, "If you turn back He will substitute other people for you and they will not be like you. The people asked, "Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who are these people whom Allah has mentioned will be substituted for us if we turn back and will not be like us?" He struck Salman al-Farisi on the thigh and said, "This man and his people. If the religion were in the Pleiades men from among the Persians would attain it." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6245



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



When the foreigners were mentioned in the presence of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) He said, 'I have more trust in them or in some of them) than I have in you (or, in some of you).' Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6246



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Every Prophet has seven eminent men who are guardians, but I have been given fourteen." Ali was asked who they were and replied, "I, my two sons, Ja'far, Hamzah, AbuBakr, Umar, Mus'ab ibn Umayr, Bilal, Salman, Ammar, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, AbuDharr and al-Miqdad." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6247



Narrated byKhalid ibn al-Walid



Ammar ibn Yasir and I had words, and when I spoke roughly to him he went to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and complained to him of me. Khalid came when he was complaining to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and began to speak roughly to him, with the result that he made him all the more angry. The Prophet meanwhile kept silent without speaking a word, so Ammar wept and said, "Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him), do you not see him?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) then raised his head and said, "He who is hostile to Ammar is hostile to Allah and he who hates Ammar is hated by Allah." Khalid said: I then went out, and there was nothing dearer to me than Ammar's goodwill, so I treated him in a manner pleasing to him and he was well pleased. Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6248



Narrated byAbuUbaydah



AbuUbaydah heard Allah's Messenger say, "Khalid is one of the swords of Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, and he is the fine warrior of the tribe." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6249



Narrated byBuraydah ibn al-Hasib



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah, Who is Blessed and Exalted has commanded me to love four people, and He has informed me that He loves them." He was asked to name them and said, "Ali is one of them (saying that three times), also AbuDharr, alMiqdad and Salman. He has commanded me to love them, and He has informed me that He loves them." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan gharib tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6253



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



We alighted at a camping-place along with Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), and when the people began to pass he was asking, "Who is this, AbuHurayrah?" and I would tell him it was so and so. He would then say, "This is a good servant of Allah." He would ask about another, and when I told him he was so and so he said, "This is a bad servant of Allah." This went on till Khalid ibn al-Walid passed by, and when he asked who he was and I replied that he was Khalid ibn al-Walid, he said, "Khalid ibn al-Walid is a good servant of Allah; he is one of Allah's swords." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6263



Narrated byZayd ibn Thabit



Anas quoted Zayd ibn Thabit who told that the Prophet (peace be upon him) looked towards the Yemen and said, "O Allah, turn their hearts towards us, and bless us in our sa' and our mudd." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6264



Narrated byZayd ibn Thabit



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Blessed is Syria," and when his hearers asked him why that was, he replied, "Because the angels of the Compassionate One are spreading their wings over it." Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6265



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "A fire will issue from the direction of Hadramawt (or from Hadramawt) and assemble mankind." He was asked what he commanded them to do and replied, "Go to Syria." Tirmidhi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6268



Narrated byAli ibn AbuTalib



Shurayh ibn Ubayd told that when the people of Syria were mentioned in Ali's presence and someone said, "Curse them, commander of the faithful," he refused, saying he had heard Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) saying, "The substitutes, a body of forty men, will be in Syria, and as often as one dies Allah will put another in his place. By virtue of them rain will be provided, by virtue of them help will be sought against enemies, and by virtue of them affliction will be averted from the Syrians." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6269



Narrated byOne of the Companions



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Syria will be conquered, and when you are given your choice of places in which to settle go to a city called Damascus, for it will be the fortress of the Muslims to protect them in the wars during which it will be a place of assembly. In its neighbourhood there is some land called al-Ghutah." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6270



Narrated byAbuHurayrah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "The Caliphate will be in Medina and the kingdom in Syria." Bayhaqi, in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah, transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6271



Narrated byUmar ibn al-Khattab



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "I saw a pillar of light which came forth from under my head and spread till it settled in Syria." Bayhaqi transmitted it in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6277



Narrated byAnas ibn Malik



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "My people are like the rain, it not being known whether the first or the last of it is better." Transmitted by Tirmidhi.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6278



Narrated byJa'far as-Sadiq



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Rejoice and rejoice again. My people are just like the rain, it not being known whether the last or the first of it is better; or it is like a garden from which a troop can be fed for a year, then another troop can be fed for a year, and perhaps the last troop which comes may be the broadest, deepest and finest. How can a people perish of which I am the first, the Mahdi the middle and the Messiah the last? But in the course of that there will be a crooked party which does not belong to me and to which I do not belong." Razin transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6279



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Which people's faith please you most?" On receiving the reply that they were the angels he said, "But why should they not believe when they are with their Lord?" It was suggested that they were the prophets to which he replied, "Why should they not believe when inspiration descends on them?" The people suggested themselves and he said, "Why should you not believe when I am among you?" He told that Allah's Messenger then said, "The people whose faith pleases me most are people who will come after my time who will find sheets containing a Book in whose contents they will believe."



Bayhaqi transmitted it in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6280



Narrated byAbdurRahman ibn al-Ala' al-Hadrami



AbdurRahman was told the following by one who had heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say it: "Among the last of this people will be some who will have a reward like that of the first of them. They will recommend what is reputable, forbid what is disreputable, and fight those who cause dissensions." Bayhaqi transmitted in Dala'il an-Nubuwwah.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6281



Narrated byAbuUmamah



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Blessed is he who has seen me, but seven times blessed is he who has not seen me but has believed in me." Ahmad transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6282



Narrated byIbn Muhayriz



Ibn Muhayriz asked AbuJumu'ah, one of the companions, to tell him something he had heard from Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), and he replied: 'Yes, I shall tell you a good tradition. One day we had lunch with Allah's Messenger, and AbuUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah who was with us asked, "Is anyone better, Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), than we are who have accepted Islam and striven with you?" He replied, "Yes, people who will come after your time and will believe in me without having seen me." Ahmad and Darimi transmitted it.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6283



Narrated byQurrah ibn Iyas al-Muzani



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When the Syrians become corrupt there will be good in you, but a section of my people will continue to be helped, not being injured by those who desert them, till the last hour comes." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.



Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 6284



Narrated byAbdullah ibn Abbas



Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Allah has overlooked my people's mistakes and forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do against their will." Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi transmitted it.



Continued……..next page.. HADITH A RE-EVALUATION By Kassim Ahmad Translated from the Malay original Monotheist Productions International Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. 1997



© Copyright Kassim Ahmad, 1996 Translated from the Malay original, first published in Malaysia in 1986. First printing, 1996 Printed in the United States of America



TABLE OF CONTENTS



TRANSLATOR'S NOTE iv AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION v AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THIS TRANSLATION vii FOREWORD By Prof. Hassan Hanafi of the University of Cairo xi CHAPTER I Introduction: Why we raise this Problem 1 CHAPTER II Refutation of the Traditionalist's Theory 21 CHAPTER III Source, Basis and Effects of the Hadith 50 CHAPTER IV Criticism of the Hadith 76 CHAPTER V Conclusion: Return to Prophet Muhammad's Original Teaching — the Quran 106 ADDENDUM A Scientific Methodology for Understanding the Quran 126 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 152 INDEX 157



TRANSLATOR'S NOTE



I have undertaken this translation of Dr. Kassim Ahmad's important book, entitled Hadis — Satu Penilaian Semula in its original Malay, published in Malaysia in 1986, because I thought that a wider readership of this book is beneficial. There has also been much pressure from the non-Malay literate public to translate it. I have undertaken this translation voluntarily and also as a process to educate myself. By any yardstick, this is an important subject. I am therefore obliged to Dr. Kassim for having agreed to allow me this opportunity.



At the time of this translation, Dr. Kassim's book has been banned by the authorities in Malaysia. The efficacy of banning a book, whose very purpose depends on readers exercising critical and fair judgement, does not do justice to the intellectual growth of our people. I hope that this ban will be lifted. May God bless those who seek to obey Him and His messenger and who uphold the Scripture. Translator Kuala Lumpur, 1987.



AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION



This book consists of five talks on the same topic, "Hadith — A Re-Evaluation" at the National University of Malaysia organized by the Department of Anthropology and Sociology. The background to these talks has been given in Chapter I. This subject truly needs a larger volume and a much more comprehensive research. I have had to take a short cut due to the particular circumstances of the talks. I sincerely hope that the book achieves its purpose. I would like to express my highest appreciation and thanks to the University's Department of Anthropology and Sociology (with the kind permission and blessing of the University's authorities) which was brave enough to organize these talks, in spite of the "sensitive" nature of the topic. I would like also to thank the Hon. Minister for Education who intervened to allow the talks to go on after they were first cancelled by the University authorities. I must also thank the just and fair-minded people of Malaysia who spontaneously rose to demand that the talks be held. I owe a debt of gratitude to several friends who, at my request, have gone over the drafts of the talks and made useful comments and criticisms. I am also very grateful to many ordinary people in Malaysia and Singapore and to friends in the United States who gave me their unstinting encouragement and support as I wrestled to prepare and complete the talks.



KASSIM AHMAD Kuala Lumpur,



17 March, 1986.



AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THIS TRANSLATION



I am grateful to my friend who has done a masterly translation of my book. I have had the draft of the translation since he finished it in late 1987, one year after the publication of the Malay original. I have had it put into my computer and left it there until recently when I thought that it was time to have it published. I therefore went over it and made what additions and changes I think necessary after eight years since the book first saw the light of day. So, this is not an exact translation of the Malay original, although the format and the arguments remain the same.



Political considerations had led to the banning of the book a few months after it was published. However, after six years, I published a sequel, entitled Hadis — Jawapan Kepada Pengkritik (Hadith — Answer to the Critics) as my answer to several books that have been published to criticize me. This book, fortunately has not been banned. I have translated Chapter 7 of this book (Scientific Methodology for Understanding the Quran) and include it as Addendum in this translation, because I think it is an important and relevant matter to the topic. I am also indebted to my friend Dr. Gatut Adisoma for his careful editing of the final draft. Both he and Edip Yuksel provided useful suggestions that I incorporated in this book. Any shortcomings that remain are due to the author.



KASSIM AHMAD Bandaraya Tanjung, Pulau Pinang – Malaysia, 31 August, 1995. Postscript



My friend, Dr. Hassan Hanafi, of the Philosophy Department of Cairo University, has graciously consented to write a Foreword to this translation. In his letter to me dated 18



January, 1996, together with his hand-written Foreword, he stated that "I made it critical to initiate general debate. Praising is no good. Making a dialogue with you is better."



Since the publication of the Malay original in 1986, I have never been the one to refuse dialogue, even when the odds were against me. My dialogue with the Malaysian Theologians' Association just before the book was published was not concluded due to the Associations's refusal to continue. My dialogue with the Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM) one month after publication failed to produced any positive result because they made a negative unilateral judgement against me and my book in spite of their assurance given to me before the dialogue that no decision would be taken.



It is in the same spirit of wanting to solve this problem through dialogue that I accept Dr. Hassan's very critical Introduction to this translation. My slight surprise is Dr. Hassan's methods of criticism. He has combined arguments from both the traditional and modernist sources: that the Hadith as the second source of Muslim law has been the general consensus and cannot be questioned anymore (traditional argument), and that debating the Hadith is counter-productive as it is irrelevant to the modernization of Muslim society (modernist argument).



I think my book adequately rebuts both these arguments, so I shall not say anything further on that for now.



I do not accept Dr. Hassan's criticism for my using examples from Western cultural development as external and inapplicable. The world has developed to be internationalist since the European voyages of discovery in the 15th Century. In fact, it is truer to say with Iqbal that, with the advent of Muhammad (the first and last prophet sent to the entire world community), the world entered the modern Scientific-Technological Era. What we sometimes call modern Western civilization is, in fact, world civilization, since it contains contributions from all civilizations: Middle-Eastern, Greek, Roman, Persian, Arab, Indian and Chinese.



Dr. Hassan makes the astonishing assertion that the slogan "Back to the Quran" is common to all Salafi (reform) movements, whether they are reformers, conservatives or modernists. As far as I understand, Muhammad Abduh, the father of this movement, called for the rejection of mazhab and taqlid, and for the reopening of the door of ijtihad and critical assimilation of Western knowledge. His basic references are still the Quran and the Hadith. I have pointed out



that herein lies the failure of this movement. The Hadith, and everything else, have to be judged by the Quran.



On this point, Dr. Hassan rightly replies that even the Quran can be criticized, as nothing is exempt from criticism. Dr. Hassan must have meant that men's understanding and interpretation of the Quran can be criticized, for the Quran is God's final revelation to mankind and has from the beginning been under divine protection. However, the true aim of criticism is to expose falsehood and establish the truth. In this sense, the Quran is criticism par excellence. It is therefore above criticism.



On that note, I leave it to the reader to make his own conclusion.



K.A. Bandaraya Tanjung, Pulau Pinang, 28 January, 1996.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Kassim Ahmad was born on 9 September, 1933 in Kedah, Malaysia. He took his Bachelor of Art's degree in Malay language and literature, but also read widely in political science and Islamic philosophy. He taught Malay language and literature for a time in the London School of Oriental and African Studies and then in a secondary school in Penang where he has been staying with his family since 1966.



He has written several books on Malay literature as well as on Islamic subjects.



FOREWORD Hassan Hanafi Professor of Philosophy Cairo University



This book, Hadith — A Re-evaluation, of Kassim Ahmad is a real implementation of the Kantian principle evoked in the book, "Dare to Know" against the authority of the Church. In Islam, there is no Church. However, the common knowledge, the established notions and the popular creed play the role of an intellectual and ideological Church which denies freedom of thought and shackles free intellectual development.



The publication of such book in English does not represent any difficulty, either to the author, or to the public. Many authors in the last four centuries tackled the question of authenticity of the scriptures, Old and New Testaments, expressing much doubt about their historical authenticity. The public became accustomed to such critiques of sources applied in Biblical criticism in modern times. It was a big debate behind the Protestant rift, postulating Sola Scriptura. Notions of historical authenticity, narratives, oral tradition, revelation and inspiration became very familiar to the public in religious and literary studies.



The main thesis of the book is that Hadith has been compiled without permission, either from the prophet, or from the four Righteous Caliphs for fear of confusing it with the Quran, the first source of Islam. Because of the power struggles between different political factions, each pretender legitimized his claim by recourse to a saying of Prophet Muhammad in his favor. Pious Muslims such as Bukhari and Muslim tried to collect these sayings after verifying their authenticity. Even then, they were not free from prejudice, in favor of the established authority, the Sunnites. Shi'ite opposition had their Hadith compilations justifying their political claims. Gradually, people forgot the Quran as the first source of Islam in favor of the Hadith, the second source. Since many of Hadith narratives contradict the Quran and even contradict themselves, the necessity to criticize the Hadith emerges as a prerequisite for any sociopolitical change.



Most of these unauthentic narratives are more stringent, binding and compulsory. The Quran in such topics is more lenient. Al-Shafi`i (d. 204 H.) is responsible for this rigidity by blocking the law and narrowing the Ijtihad by making Hadith a second source of law more binding than the Quran and the Ijma' and minimizing the role of the Ijtihad, the fourth source of law. He initiated this movement of Ahl al-Hadith in opposition to Ahl al-Ra'y.



The Hadith debate is not new. It is already known in Western Orientalism since the last century and in contemporary Islamic thought.



Since Orientalists denied Islamic Revelation, not only the Hadith but also the Quran, and since they have been accustomed to Biblical criticism, they applied the same rules to prophetic narratives in Islam. Western public got used to this criticism since revelation and inspiration are the same. Christ is God, the Apostle is the writer. The ideas are inspired by the Holy Spirit while the words are chosen by the Apostle himself. Words can change according to the language, the education and the culture of the writer, while ideas remain the same. Narratives developed in history as personal witnesses. The narration is not a recording-machine, a simple transmitter of a message, but a living witness. Historical authenticity requiring a concordance in the message between the enunciator and the auditor is a mechanical notion of reporting. In the case of the Gospel, the writer understands, interprets and creates the message. The message becomes better transmitted, understood and communicated. The message is motivated by the intentions of the narrator, expressing his level of education and culture and revealing his loyalty to this or that group in the power struggle among the early disciples before Nicaea-I. Maturation or deviation, creativity or inauthenticity, development or falsification? JudeoChristian tradition chose the first answer while Islam chose the second. Since Hadith went in a similar way as the Jewish and Christian scriptures, it has been judged as an unauthentic historical deviation.



Modern Arab and Muslim thinkers and reformers such as Syed Qutb have been accused of minimizing the role of the Hadith in favor of the Quran, irrespective of their motives, either similar or different from the Orientalists. Modern thinkers did not deny revelation, but they tried to liberate Muslim societies from dogmatic and rigid adherence to the texts and calling for Ijtihad, based on the spirit of Islam and the universal intentions of the Law. The general guidelines of the Quran help more than the details of the Hadith. The Asl has a more liberating power than the Fard. Many of the harmful laws and superstitious beliefs come from the unauthentic prophetic narratives. The Hadith diverges while the Quran converges.



Ancient scholars were aware of this problem of the historical authenticity or inauthenticity of the narratives. The Quran has been preserved in writing since the moment of its utterance. It has been collected, compared and standardized during the era of Othman, the fourth caliph. The Quran did not go through a period of oral transmission such as the Hadith. Ancient scholars invented a whole discipline, the science of Hadith to put some rules to verify the authenticity of the Hadith in history.



First, the analysis of the terms of the report into five degrees of certitude, from the more certain to the less certain, guarantees the direct testimony as the high degree of witnessing: I heard; He said; He ordered; He ordered us; They did. Second, the multilateral report , the Mutawatir, is the highest degree of authenticity concerning the chain of reporters. It is the one transmitted by several reporters with four conditions, namely, first, a sufficient number which gives the certitude of authenticity and takes away all doubts; second, the independence of reporters from each other to prevent any possibility of connivance; third, the homogeneity of expression of the report in time through generations without oscillation between the well-known and the unknown; fourth, the concordance of the report with sensory evidence, with reason and with the course of events and the laws of nature to prevent mythological and superstitious infiltrations.



Third, the unilateral report, Wahid, is that one which fails one of the four previous conditions. It is hypothetical in knowledge but apodictic in action, while the multilateral report is apodictic in both knowledge and action. The authenticity of the unilateral report is guaranteed by the analysis of the consciousness of the reporter to verify its neutrality and objectivity, such as justice, unity, maturity, intelligence, good hearing and memory and speech ability, since a report is the passage from hearing to memorizing and finally to communicating. Ancient scholars even invented a side-discipline, criteria to evaluate a reporter's neutrality and objectivity, called Ilm al-Jarh Wa al-Ta'dil, a certain kind of a biographical description of the reporter, his personality, motives, inclinations, loyalties and affiliations.



Fourth, the transmission can be both written and oral, from hand to hand, and from mouth to mouth. The master can permit the disciple to report from this book handed to him (Munawala). The disciple can read from the book and the master agrees (Ijaza). This rule of written transmission excludes any possibility of alteration on falsification of the document.



Fifth, the report is not only the chain of reporters (Sanad) but also the report itself (Matn). The highest degree of certainty is the literal report, the message with the same words. If the message is transmitted in different words, with addition or omission, it becomes hypothetical.



In short, the whole science of Hadith aims to verify the historical authenticity of the narratives. The whole theory is based on a tripartite division of the Hadith: Authentic, Unauthentic and Undecided, on which judgement is suspended.



Ancient scholars, studying the Quran, also conceived the theory of abrogation and considered the development of the text and the historical contexts of the Quran and the Hadith. The later texts cancel the earlier texts as a source of law. The Quran is abrogated by the Quran, the Hadith by the Hadith, but never the Quran by the Hadith, or the Hadith by the Quran. In this case, it is called particularization, Takhsis, exception, Istithna' or restriction, Taqyid.



Ancient scholars also created side-disciplines to maintain the coherence of the judicial system such as the science of opposition and preponderance, Ilm al-Ta`arud wa al-Tarajih, in case of an apparent opposition between two Quranic verses, between Hadith narratives, between a Quranic verse and a Hadith narrative or between a Hadith unilateral narrative and reasoning by analogy or Qiyas. An opposition between a text and consensus, or Ijma', does not occur since Ijma' is based on texts and since it is not binding to future generations.



If this is the work of ancient scholars, what is the need to use Western culture as a system of reference? Is the book intended for Western readers to understand Muslim modernists, publicized in Western mass-media for fame? Western intellectual framework makes the thinker liable to be accused of Westernization and consequently of being uprooted from his own traditional culture. More knowledge of the ancient Hadith discipline and a deeper knowledge of Arabic help the modernist in expressing his case. No modernism is possible without digging deeper into the tradition. Modernism comes from within not from without. That is why the introduction of the book on the crisis of the age is off-target. Which age? Western age or Malaysian-Muslim age? The end of the twentieth century or the beginning of the fifteenth century? Peoples and cultures do not live in the same historical periods.



The constant reference to the Western culture as a frame of reference gives the impression that the main problematic of the book is a Western one. Biblical criticism is very common in the West because the Judeo-Christian scriptures passed through a period of oral transmission. The author refers constantly to Biblical criticism, to Western bibliography more than to Hadith studies and Islamic bibliography. Maybe the lack of knowledge of Arabic is an obstacle to dig in the classical sources and to use accurate Arabic technical vocabulary. The Christian calendar



is more used than the Islamic one. The Islamic calendar was only used for the compilers of the Hadith. Only once both calendars were used, i.e. for Imam al-Shafi`i (d. 820 AD/204 H.)



The author refers to the Judeo-Christian tradition: Jewish oral and written tradition in the 5th century BC; the Jewish scholar O. Goldin, deviations of Christian fathers after Christ as a model of Muslim deviants after Mohammed, Christ seen as God by the Christians. Western cultural developments appear visibly in the book: the birth of modern secularism in Europe and its failure; European awareness of the importance of freedom of thought following the Arabs and their struggle for it, a model for the Muslims nowadays to follow; European success in pioneering science and technology; the opposition between religion and science in the 19th century as a model of the opposition between Hadith and science; European liberation from the authority of the Church and the establishment of Kantian principle, "Dare to Know," Western skepticism concerning the authenticity of the scripture, etc.



The author refers to many proper names, sociologists, such as Sorokin, and his book The Crisis of Our Age; doctors, like Maurice Bucaille, the French physician, member of the French academy of science, poets such as Yeats and T.S. Eliot, with quotations from their poems, and novelists, such as Dostoyevsky, Camus and Sartre.



Technically speaking, from within the science of Hadith, taking Islamic culture as a frame of reference, the following points can be made:



1. There is no general stand, accepting Hadith or rejecting it. There is only such stand concerning certain Hadith oscillating between authenticity and inauthenticity. The authentic Hadith is accepted, while the unauthentic is rejected, according to the tripartite division of Hadith.



2. There is no general acceptance or rejection of the whole Hadith, but of special hadiths concerning certain topics contrary to the Quran or to Hadith itself. Other hadiths are well-taken such as "No testament for the inheritor," "There is zakat in the sheep in pasture."



3. The Hadith is not only of two kind: authentic and unauthentic but it has different degrees of authenticity concerning the report (Matn) and the chain (Sanad). The literal report is more authentic than the free quotation. The multilateral is more authentic than the unilateral. The



well-known, Mashhur, the discontinuous from the middle, Maktu', or from the end, Mursal, is less authentic.



4. The inference is based on the generalization of judgement from the part to the whole. The whole Hadith is discredited because of one discredited hadith. A better inference is the rejection of an unauthentic hadith because it is unauthentic, case by case, not as a whole.



5. The authentic hadith cannot be rejected. The probable hadith can be accommodated with the authentic hadith and the Quran by many devices: abrogation, particularization, exception, restriction, interpretation, etc.



6. The critique of the Hadith is one thing and its rejection is something else. Ancient and modern scholars criticized the Hadith in order to purify it from the unauthentic narratives. No one, Shi'ite or Sunnite, rejected it as a second source of law.



7. The critique of the Hadith can be made internally, according to the same rules put forward by ancient scholars — they were behind the birth of modern Biblical criticism, as Renan confessed — applying the rules of the Hadith to scrutinize the narratives of the Old and New Testaments in his volumes "Origin of Christianity" and "History of the People of Israel," The four conditions of the multilateral report, Mutawatir, are sufficient to guarantee the concordance of the report with reason and sensory evidence, called by the author logic, history and science. The author could have readjusted the old rules of criticism making them more rigorous rather than rejecting the hadith. No critics were more scrupulous than the ancient scholars. What the author offered in criticism is much less than what the ancient scholars created in laying the ground for modern criticism. Moreover, the book contains many generalities and some sweeping judgements which sometimes contradict historical facts or need more precise explanations, such as:



1. Muslims do not follow the Hadith and abandon the Quran, as the author says. No Muslim can be accused of abandoning the first source of law in favor of the second.



2. The opposition between the Quran and the Hadith does not exist, as the author says. No one says that minimizing the role of Hadith is a blasphemy, Kufr.



3. The Hadith is not a false teaching attributed to the prophet, as the author says. Only the unauthentic hadith is, not the authentic.



4. The prayers that Muslim are doing were not given, according to the author, during the Night Journey, al-Mi'raj, is a free and gratuitous judgement and have little impact on Hadith criticism, and goes against the general consensus. 5. The law of inheritance giving the female the half of the male is mentioned in the Quran before the Hadith. It is not misogynic since the female had no right to own or to inherit at all. Islamic law tried to change her status gradually. Besides, the unity of analysis is the household. Each has equal share, one and half.



6. Obeying the husband in optional fasting is not downgrading for the wife, but to solve the conflict of loyalty between performing an optional ritual, fasting, and a compulsory duty, the obedience to the husband.



7. The errors of al-Shafi`i, in case that there are, do not justify doubts in the Hadith, but the correction of his errors. Al-Shafi`i wanted to codify the legal system, not to obstruct the Quran or block Ijtihad.



In conclusion seven other points can be made:



1. Putting the Quran forward and the Hadith backward is a certain kind of higher bid that nobody would object. But why holding the Quran requires necessarily releasing the Hadith? Back to the Quran is a Salafi slogan uttered by all reformers, conservationists as well as modernists. The problem is in whose benefit. The same Quran can also be criticized on grounds of how it was written and compiled and on its interpretation. Nothing is exempt from criticism. Because of the higher bid, the Addendum "A Scientific Methodology for Understanding the Quran" is somehow outside the mainstream of analysis. It relates to another discipline, the Tafsir, not the Hadith.



2. Neglecting the Quran and substituting it for the Hadith as the reason for Muslim decline is common rhetoric. The decline cannot be due to one simple factor; there are socio-political and historical factors to be taken into consideration. The renaissance is not that simple, to be achieved by just coming back to the Quran and abandoning the Hadith. It has to be achieved by changing the socio-political conditions in the Muslim world. Back to the Quran is a doubleedged weapon used by conservatism and modernism alike for social stability as well as for social mobility. Ethical and religious imperatives express the ought and not the is. Sweeping statements about the death of Muslim creativity after Ibn Khaldun is against historical evidence from Muslim creativity in astronomy, mathematics and philosophy from the 9th till the 12th centuries.



2. The theme is exciting, although not new. In this era of Islamic resurgence, doubting the authenticity of the Hadith comes at the front page in big headlines. It is a good chance for every modernist to hang upon and become famous, especially in Africa and Asia, in non-Arabspeaking Muslim world. Making a case, a hypothetical one, without any practical implications on the socio-political level is gratuitous. It is harmful more than useful. It generates dissent in society, splitting it to pros and cons in a time calling for national unity. It incites traditional Islam to defend itself against modernist thinkers. Since traditional Islam is the majority and modernist Islam is in minority, the modernist case will always be the loser. Modernism, instead of pushing society to more progress, generates a reaction against it. The modernist will be excluded, excommunicated and may be exterminated. In traditional societies, progress cannot be implemented with the denial of Usul. The challenge of modernism is not how to pray in the space shuttle because Muslims on earth have not yet solved the problems of their basic needs. Hypothetical fiqh was one of the reasons and expressions of decline.



3. The lack of Arabic technical terms, substituted then by inadequate English terms makes for a lot of misunderstanding. For instance, decisive and allegorical dichotomy does not correspond to Haqiqa and Majaz, Zahir and Mu`awal, Muhkam and Mutashabihat, Mugmal and Mubayyan, etc. Many other problems emerge from reading the Quran in English translation; for instance, `touching women' does not mean the literal touching, but of having sexual intercourse.



4. The author uses a lot of textual arguments to prove his case in spite of the limits of such arguments, which depend on language, historical context, counter-textual arguments, etc. Textual argumentation is a Salafi position, selective and double-edged. Many other problems are debated in theology and not in Hadith, such as freedom and predestination, the miracles of the prophets, the eschatological signs and the Messiah, faith and action, etc.



5. After all this debate and the division of the community into pro-Hadith and anti-Hadith groups, the simple very traditional conclusion is accepted by all. The Hadith cannot be rejected as a second source of law provided that it will not contradict the Quran! This is a unanimous conclusion. Why, then, the whole debate between the pro-Hadith and the contra?



6. In spite of all these remarks, the author was able to revive an old problematic with new courage. He put forward the importance of the multilateral report Mutawatir, the few number of verses containing the law (14 verses), the exemption of the law from all kinds of figurative speech, the necessity of a new kind of criticism of Hadith, not only of the chain of reporters, Sanad, but of the report itself, Matn, the importance of re-classification of the Hadith topically according to priority value-scale, putting social relations before the rituals, putting forward the contribution of ancient scholars in laying the grounds for Hadith criticism, the role of political disputes in the compilation of Hadith and even in formulating the wording.



7. The author, the former head of the Malaysian people's socialist party can concentrate more on the socio-political condition of Malaysia and fight for freedom and social justice. He can be more beneficial, more efficient and more able to forge unity for all the people in Malaysia, instead of splitting the nation on pure academic debate.



Cairo – Egypt, 18 January, 1996. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: WHY WE RAISE THIS PROBLEM



... Therefore, congratulate My servants who listen to all views, then follow the best. These are the ones guided by God; these are the intelligent ones.



(Quran, 39:17-18)



All Muslims are required to uphold the hadith or sunna of the Prophet, i.e. the so-called Prophetic traditions, as a primary source of law apart from the Quran, according to the teachings of classical jurisprudence. Yet not many, indeed very few, realize that the basis of this jurisprudential theory was promulgated two hundred years after Muhammad's death by the famous jurist Imam Shafi`i (d. 204/820). What have come to be known as the `Six Authentic Books' of hadith of the majority Sunnite `orthodoxy' were compiled, precisely after the promulgation of this theory, by Bukhari (d. 256/870), Muslim (d. 261/875), Abu Daud (d. 275/888), Tirmidhi (d. 279/892), Ibn Maja (d. 273/886), and al-Nasa'i (d. 303/915) during the second half of the second and the beginning of the third centuries of Islam, between 220 and 270 years after the Prophet's death.



The `heterodox' Shi`ite minority sect has its own sets of hadith compiled during the third and fourth centuries, by al-Kulaini (d. 328 or 329), Ibn Babuwayh (d. 381), Jaafar Muhammad alTusi (d. 411) and al-Murtada (d. 436), who compiled sayings attributed to Ali.



Based on this Shafi`i theory and on what was later termed as the consensus of scholars, the hadith/sunna was propagated to and accepted by the Muslims as interpreter and complement to the Quran, implying thereby that the Quran needs an interpreter and is not complete in itself. Although the Shi`ites have not accepted the classical Sunnite jurisprudential theory in toto, they do accept the doctrine that the hadith/sunna constitutes a source of law on par with the Quran.



Background to this Study



In accordance with this Sunnite tradition, I also accepted this position when I wrote my book on modern Islamic social theory in 1981-82, although I qualified my acceptance according to Ibn Khaldun's formula, which requires all acceptable traditions to be validated by the Quran and rational criteria. However, this position, though a scientific one, is still not clear enough until in 1985 the works of an outstanding Egyptian Muslim scholar, Dr. Rashad Khalifa, particularly his The Computer Speaks: God's Message to the World, Quran, Hadith and Islam and his superb translation of the Quran have opened for me a way to solve the problem of the hadith. I therefore began to re-examine the hadith: how they came about; the social factors that brought them into existence; a review of the classical criticism; the actual place of the hadith in relation to the Quran; their negative effects on the Muslim community; their connections to the decline and fall of the Muslims; and the way out of this impasse.



I am convinced that the time has come for the Muslim community and their intelligentsia to critically re-evaluate the whole heritage of traditional Islamic thought, including theology and jurisprudence. This is because the traditional formulation was made by the society and intelligentsia of that time in accordance with their knowledge and level of understanding, and conforming to needs of that time. Now the situation has changed tremendously and there is no doubt that the traditional formulation must be reconsidered.



Since the emergence of the modern reformism movement of Jamaluddin al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Ridha at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, many studies have been made on the decline and fall of the Muslims. These include the works of thinkers like Iqbal, Malek Bennabi and Fazlur Rahman. However, the condition of the Muslim community has not changed very much and continues to be precarious. In comparison with other communities, especially those in Europe, United States, Russia and Japan, the Muslim community is the most backward, especially in socio-economic, scientific, technological and military fields.



What are the reasons for this backwardness? From the point of view of numbers, the Muslims, now more than a billion, have outnumbered the Christians, and from the point of view of natural resources, Muslim countries are among the richest in the world. Why, with such vast resources and possessing an infallible divine scripture, are the Muslims unable to compete with and surpass other nations?



This situation is exactly the opposite of the situation of their early ancestors who, within a short period of time, climbed the heights of success and created a great world empire and a great world civilization. These early successes which had astounded the world must have had their reasons based on the laws of historical change. What are those reasons? This is the greatest challenge facing Muslim intelligentsia at the close of the twentieth century and on the threshold of the twenty-first: to seek the true causes of Muslim decline and thereby to lay the ground for a new Muslim Renaissance.



As we have said, this study and review of our traditional formulation must encompass classical theology and jurisprudence. The hadith, of course, is at the core of these traditional disciplines.



Our present knowledge point to many factors that contribute to the rise and fall of nations, factors that are ideological, political, economic, social, cultural, historical, psychological, demographic, geographical, scientific, technological and military in nature. But it is also quite certain that within this pluralism of factors, not all play equally important roles. Technology can surmount geographical limitations; military strategy can overcome numbers; political leadership can offset economic weakness, and so on. Turning to the Quran as our infallible guide, we find the following statements that can give us a clue to the understanding of the problem under discussion.



Surely, God does not change the condition of any people until they themselves change.



That is because God does not change the blessings He had bestowed upon any people, unless they themselves change.



If only the previous generations had some intelligent people who enjoined them from corruption, they would have been saved. But We saved a few of them, while the rest pursued their material things and became sinners. Your Lord never destroys any community unjustly while the people are righteous.



We will surely give victory to our messengers and to those who believe, both in this life and on the day the witnesses are raised.



You shall never waver, nor shall you worry; you are guaranteed victory for as long as you are believers.



All the above Quranic statements point to a people's ideology as the most important component in the determination of their fate. This means that insofar as a people is imbued with a scientific, dynamic and progressive ideology, that far will it climb the ladder of success. Conversely, insofar as a people revert to a previously held anti-scientific, static and regressive ideology, that far will it degenerate. The strong unambiguous statements about victory being granted to believers in both worlds necessarily follow from the definition of believers as those possessing and practicing the true scientific ideology.



Basing ourselves on this premise, we can make the following hypothesis. The rapid rise of the Arab nation from its dark period of paganism prior to Muhammad to become the most powerful and civilized nation in the world then, within a short period of time, is due to the new, inspiring, powerful and dynamic Islamic ideology of monotheism brought by Muhammad. The Arabs, under his and his immediate successors' leadership, discarded their erstwhile polytheism and super-stitions. They united to fight and struggle under the guidance of the Quran and set up a just social order. Because this struggle was based on divine truth and justice as contained in the Quran, it was invincible. It also gave rise to a great social movement, bringing forth with it outstanding political, military and intellectual leaders who helped to create the first scientificspiritual culture in history.



This hypothesis, in contrast to the modernist or the traditionalist theses, appears to be the most helpful in our effort to understand the history and the decline of the Muslims. The modernist thesis, in brief, states that the Muslims declined because they have remained traditional and have not modernized themselves according to Western secular values. The traditionalist thesis, on the other hand, blame the secularization of Muslim societies and the neglect of orthodox Muslim teachings as the major cause of Muslim decline.



It is obvious that the modernist and the traditionalist theses cancelled each other. Furthermore, the modernists have to explain why the Turkish experiment with Westernized modernization failed. They also have to explain why developed Western societies such as the United States and Europe have been undergoing a multi-faceted crisis since the First World War, and why a new philosophical trend of thought critical of Western-type modernization has developed in Europe and America.



The traditionalists, on the other hand, must explain the failure of their system from the beginning when it was first formulated around the third, fourth and fifth centuries of Islam. Some Arab countries have hardly modernized and had been practicing the traditional system for centuries – why have these not progressed? If they have not progressed, it is idle to expect Muslim countries to progress if they implement the traditional system.



The answer lies in our hypothesis. The early Muslims rose to the pinnacles of success precisely because they were in possession of and practiced the powerful and dynamic Islamic ideology as preached in the Quran. They subjected other knowledge, local and foreign, to the discriminative teachings of the Quran. As long as they did this, they progressed. A time came when other teachings, local and foreign, gained the upper hand and submerged the Quran, as witnessed by the following Quranic prophecy:



The messenger will say, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran." We thus appointed for every prophet enemies from among the criminals, and God suffices as Guide and Protector.



After about three hundred years, extraneous harmful teachings not taught by Prophet Muhammad but skillfully attributed to him gradually gained a foothold in the Muslim community and turned them away from the dynamic invincible ideology that initially brought them success. This ideology, as we shall show, is precisely the hadith. This is the main cause of their downfall. It therefore follows that the purging of this harmful ideology, and with it other foreign modern ideologies, from the Muslim community, and their return to the original ideology brought by Muhammad in the Quran is the sine qua non for the regeneration of the Muslim community and for a new Muslim Renaissance.



Age of "Great Disorder"



The time has now arrived for the Muslims to examine their situation more critically and boldly. Actually, this perilous situation is not confined to the Muslims alone; it covers the entire mankind. A number of twentieth century philosophers, historians and social critics have unanimously stated that this century is the most critical century in human history. The late Chinese leader, Mao Zedong, described the century as "Great Disorder under Heaven." The American historical philosopher, P.A. Sorokin, has detailed the crisis of the twentieth century in his able book, The Crisis of Our Age, published in 1941. It is in this century that two terrible world wars occurred, and a third more horrible one might still occur, in spite of the end of the Cold War, to destroy the present civilization.



It is in this century also that an array of philosophies, ideologies, theories, systems that includes liberalism, Marxism, pragmatism, logical positivism, existentialism, Nazism, Fascism, Stalinism, Ghandhism, Maoism and religious traditionalism collapsed. When dominant existing philosophies and systems cannot solve the problems of human security and welfare, it is a sure sign that a very serious crisis is upon us.



A number of modern writers and poets, such as Dostoyevsky, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Y.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot, had expressed this atmosphere and sense of great crisis in their works. Listen to the loneliness and poignant sorrow of Eliot:



I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.



and the deep despair and earnest prayer of Yeats:



Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world; The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.



This literature of pessimism and absurdity of life beginning in the twenties and thirties and continuing after the Second World War is, of course, a reflection of the great disorder currently existing in the world. This great disorder is evidenced by the great ideological cleavage, the continuous raging of the fires of war, the massive starvation and poverty in the Third World, the steep decline in public morality, world-wide financial and economic crisis and the inability of the United Nations to function effectively.



The Muslims had long lost their intellectual and political leadership of the world. The break-up of their empire in 1258 AD gave way to independent dynasties which continued until they were colonized by European powers beginning in the sixteenth right up to the early twentieth centuries. Then, with the rise of nationalism in Asia and Africa, nearly all of them regained their independence and set up sovereign nation-states.



However, the Muslims had ceased to be creative around the fourteenth century. Their period of intense creativity lasted three centuries from the ninth through to the eleventh. Their last great philosopher was the Arab Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406). Since that time Muslim intellect stagnated and even degenerated and Europe took over to develop dominant philosophies and disciplines along materialist and hedonistic lines.



After more than a century of modern reformism efforts initiated by Jamaluddin al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh, the Muslim world, a world as disunited as any other, have not progressed much. They have not been able to fight off the ideological influence and domination of the world power-blocs. They are not united in their Muslim purpose. Their economies are dependent and backward. Their sciences and technologies are non-existent. Militarily, they are weak and dependent on the big powers.



However, there has been much talk, since the early seventies, of implementing the Shari`a or medieval Muslim law and the setting up of an Islamic state. This is the slogan of the traditionalists who have taken over the reform movement of Muhammad Abduh. The examples of mullah rule in Iran since the great popular anti-Shah revolution and the Islamization programmes in some countries do not give support to the traditionalist alternative.



The main weakness of the Muslims is their disunity. This disunity takes the form in their inability to cooperate for the good of Muslims in individual countries and the whole Muslim world. It also surfaces in the form of conflicts and wars between Muslims, as typified by the Iran-Iraq war and the civil wars in Lebanon.



What is the cause of this disunity? The Muslims claim that they worship one God and follow His one religion. They also declare their religious brotherhood. How then are they so disunited? This is the mystery that we have to unravel. This is the reason for our re-evaluation of the hadith. Our hypothesis is that the hadith — in principle, a false teaching attributed to Prophet Muhammad — is a major factor causing disunity and backwardness among Muslims. Our study is to prove this hypothesis.



Where Have We Gone Wrong?



The time is ripe for Muslims and for mankind as a whole to undertake a fundamental study of this great human crisis. At some point, somewhere, we have gone wrong. Where have we gone wrong? It will be recalled that modern secular Europe emerged in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in rebellion against the Catholic Church in particular and against religion in general to embrace secular humanism of the liberal or Marxist variety. For the last one to three hundred years it experimented with these social philosophies and systems and the experiments have proved a failure. Today the two philosophies and systems are seeking a synthesis. Can the synthesis be achieved? Can it answer mankind's present quest for a new spiritual philosophy?



As for the Muslims, the new and young Muslim society and state set up by Muhammad and his compatriots in seventh century Arabia developed and expanded so rapidly that within a century it had become an empire to comprise also Persia and Byzantium, and within two to three hundred years it had created a great world civilization. But, as quickly as it had arisen, so quickly had it declined and fallen. Today, the Muslim polity, science and civilization, great though they were in their time, are glories and things of the past. There seems to be no bridge linking their great predecessors of the early centuries and present-day Muslims.



The great question mark hanging over the Muslims and the entire mankind today is: Why? The short answer to the question, which is the thesis of this book, is that mankind, including the Muslims, have deserted the true teachings of God. The true teachings of God in the era of Muhammad is contained in His final scripture to mankind, the Quran. The People of the Scripture, i.e. believers before Muhammad, especially the Jews and the Christians, rejected Muhammad because they had idolized their own prophets and religious leaders and refused to acknowledge Muhammad's divine message. Modern secular rebellious Europe not only turned against their religious priesthood, in which action it was right, but also against religion altogether, in which action it was wrong. This is the cause of the present Western impasse.



As regards the Muslims, Muhammad brought them the Quran, described by God Himself as an invincible book, but no sooner did Muhammad die and leave them, they contrived to make Muhammad bring two books and, after bitter quarrels, they legislated, two hundred and fifty years later, that Muslims must uphold not only the Quran but also the hadith. However, in truth, since then, they followed the hadith rather than the Quran. This explains God's warning in the Quran that we have quoted earlier. So it came about that while secular Europe embraced either liberalism or Marxism, the Muslim world embraced the hadith, with the philosophies of secular humanism infecting the elites of Muslim societies, thus justifying the Quranic warning.



Avoiding Misunderstanding



Raising such a fundamental issue as this, it is difficult to avoid misunderstanding from both sides. The secular side, being more open-minded and tolerant, will simply dismiss this call to the Quran as antiquated, outmoded and irrelevant. Many secularists will simply not consider it. On the other hand, the traditionalist side, being close-minded and intolerant of dissenting views on matters regarded as their preserves, will raise a hue and cry and throw slanderous accusations into the debate.



One cannot be discouraged by the prospect. It is part of the social struggle to expose falsehood and confirm the truth. The secularists will be worthy opponents since they will be prepared to fight it out in open battles. Open debate is part of their secular tradition. The traditionalists are a different breed. Open debate is not part of their tradition. In fact, they came into being in Muslim society by killing open debate. Authoritarianism is their culture. Thus, slander, threats and falsehood will be their methods.



It will be claimed that the writer is trying to cause confusion and further divide Muslim society. This is far from the truth. The Muslims cannot be further confused and divided than they already have been for a long time. What worse confusion and division can there be than when Muslims fight and kill one another?



My aim is to try to establish the truth. My personal history bears testimony to this tendency. Like other Malays, I was born and brought up in an ordinary orthodox Malay Muslim family. However, my early interest in social philosophy took me on a long spiritual quest, over a period of thirty years, spanning liberal nationalism, Islamic liberalism and socialism, every single one of which each time sat uneasily over traditional Islam. The failure became obvious to me when the coherent integrated social philosophy that I was seeking eluded me. It was in the Islam of the Quran, scientifically understood, that I discovered the framework of such a philosophy.



Looking back, this is only logical, since the Quran contains the sure truth from God, while most of human teachings, as the Quran points out, are mere conjecture. But at that time, the Quran was, so to speak, covered up for me by the fog of hadith.



It will be claimed that calling the people back to the Quran alone will create a new sect, in addition to the sects that already exist. This is standing the argument on its head. Since the Quran is, in the first place, anti-sectarian, not only will it not create a new sect, but it will, on the contrary, eliminate all existing sects and reunite all Muslims. This is precisely what we want to do. History proves that under Muhammad the young Muslim society was completely united and there was no sect whatever. It is ironic that the Ahl'ul-Hadith who talk so much about following the example of the Prophet have completely abandoned this finest of his examples!



It will also be claimed that in rejecting the hadith as a source of law, we shall be rejecting the role of the Prophet. It will further be claimed that this is the first step to the ultimate rejection of the Quran! As for the first part of the claim, it is obvious to anyone that it was only through Muhammad that mankind received the Quran from God Almighty. That was his primary role — God's messenger — indeed his only role, as the Quran stressed several times. Was not this role great enough for Prophet Muhammad? Surely, it was.



As for the second part, it is too ridiculous to even think of it. But since the die-hard traditionists would stop at nothing to slander their opponents, one would lose nothing to spend a few lines exposing them. How can anyone, after calling the people back to the Quran, then reject the Quran? Even if he does, and this means reverting to disbelief after belief, how can that benefit him? He would lose everything, while the people, on the contrary, would benefit greatly by going back to the Quran.



The Muslims must re-possess critical consciousness and discard prejudice and group fanaticism. We must avoid throwing slanderous accusations at what we may not like at first. God Himself has taught us to verify things before we accept or reject them. No less an intelligent man than Sayyed Hossein Nasr who has said the following about those who deny the authority of the hadith:



It is against this basic aspect of the whole structure of Islam that a severe attack has been made in recent years by an influential school of Western Orientalists. No more of a vicious and insidious attack could be made against Islam than this one, which undercuts its very foundations and whose effect is more dangerous than if a physical attack were made against Islam.



How can this scholar, who has quoted a blasphemous hadith in the same book, spout this slander? Why should we Muslims, in possession of an invincible scripture from God Almighty, be afraid of the criticisms and even attacks of Orientalists? Such fear, in fact, reflects our own weakness. It shows that we are not sure of our own selves. The Quranic methodology should be a lesson for us. The Quran incessantly reproduces the false arguments of idol-worshippers and hypocrites and rebuts them with proofs and with better arguments. We should do the same to expose falsehoods and confirm the truth. The methods of suppression and slander are alien to the methods of truth.



Rejecting the authority of the hadith does not mean denying its existence. Some true reports of what the Prophet said and did outside the Quran as leader of his community and as an ordinary man must have been preserved. Such reports deserve to be treated as any other historical account whose authenticity must be judged against other historical accounts, against the higher authority of the Quran, and against rational criteria. While Quranic pronouncements are divine and are eternally binding on believers, those of Muhammad in his capacity as leader must be treated in accordance with the Quranic injunction regarding politico-social authority, i.e. that they are only conditionally binding. The conditions are that they do not contradict the Quran, they are binding only for the community of that time, and that for other communities of other times they only constitute as precedents to be followed or bypassed as and when deemed useful.



It should also be well understood that this re-evaluation of the hadith is in no way a slur upon our classical scholars. They understood and reacted to their problems as best they could. We who come after them are not bound by their solutions. As Muhammad Abduh has well said, "They are human and we are human. We learn from them but we do not [blindly] follow them." No doubt our re-examination constitutes a criticism. But this is normal scientific procedure. It has been done by all our great philosophers and scholars from the beginning, by Ibn Sina, al-Ghazzali, Ibn Rush, Ibn Taimiya, Shah Waliyullah, Muhammad Abduh and scores of others. We owe it to them and to ourselves to constantly practice this method. For how else can knowledge develop and society progress unless they continually be purged of errors. This accounts for the very important Quranic directive, repeated many times, to believers:



Let there be a community among you who preach goodness, advocate righteousness and forbid evil. These are the winners.



It must also be pointed out that this criticism and re-evaluation of the hadith that we are making is nothing new. Imam Shafi`i who first stipulated that the hadith should be accepted as a source of law had opponents that he himself described in his book. In recent times there were such



proponents in Egypt, India and Indonesia. It may be that our treatment, thanks to recent developments in Quranic and hadith studies, is more systematic than previous efforts.



In this study we have adopted what may be termed as Islamic scientific methodology. In is unfortunate that today we associate scientific methodology to the Western empirical and rational methods, when, in fact, it was Islam that introduced this methodology to the West. The words of the English historian Robert Briffault deserve to be quoted in full:



"... It was under their successors at the Oxford school that Roger Bacon learned Arabic and Arabic science. Neither Roger Bacon nor his later namesake has any title to be credited with having introduced the experimental method. Roger Bacon was no more than one of the apostles of Muslim science and method to Christian Europe; and he never wearied of declaring that knowledge of Arabic and Arabic science was for his contemporaries the only way to true knowledge. Discussions as to who was the originator of the experimental method ... are part of the colossal misrepresentation of the origins of European civilization. The experimental method of [the] Arabs was by Bacon's time widespread and eagerly cultivated throughout Europe..."



However, the scientific methodology of Europe sought to bar supra-rational and supra-sensory knowledge from science. It is now admitted that this is inadequate to conform to the truly Islamic scientific methodology of combining sensory, rational and supra-rational knowledge to produce true integrated knowledge. Using this methodology, we take the Quran as our basis and starting point and subject all the evidence of the hadith, i.e. the hadith itself, the major classical writings on them and modern European and Muslim criticisms, to Quranic and rational judgements. We may, of course, take ten years to do this and produce five volumes that few will have the time and the stamina to read. Our purpose is different. Ours is to write a readable book for the general reader with enough matter for him to think and draw conclusions.



It is hardly necessary to state that this is a view offered to the reader for his consideration. God Almighty Himself has ordered us to read in His name, for doing that we cannot fail to develop our mind and increase our knowledge. A good book will do that positively; a bad one, negatively. Reading in His name, therefore, cannot but produce good results. Yet, the Muslims today are very bad readers. Centuries of subservience to bigoted religious authorities have shackled their minds. This subservience plus their deplorable ignorance of the contents of the Quran combine to make what they are today — a weak, backward and humiliated people. The time has come for us to break out of this prison. It is for this purpose that this study is undertaken.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHAPTER II REFUTATION OF THE TRADITIONISTS' THEORY



Do not accept anything that you yourself cannot ascertain. You are given the hearing, the sight and the mind in order to examine and verify.



(Quran, 17:36)



Modern Europe has succeeded in pioneering various fields of modern knowledge and becomes a leader in these fields — especially science and technology — because it holds firmly to the Kantian motto of the European Age of Enlightenment: Dare to know. The Islamic world, in the early stages of its second renaissance, must do likewise. Since in Islam knowledge is based on revelation, the motto of the new Islamic Renaissance must read: Dare to know under the guidance of the Quran.



Any study of the hadith and sunna must, of necessity, be based on the Quran. Everything said about the hadith must be subjected to the critical scrutiny of the Quran and science. Only what passes this test is acceptable. The word hadith means `news,' `story' or `message', while the word sunna means `law,' `system,' `custom' or `behavior.' In the hadith literature, the word hadith carries the meaning of a report of an alleged saying or action of Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, although sunna originally refers to the customary behavior of the Prophet, in the hadith literature both the terms sunna and hadith carry a similar meaning.



The Four Arguments of Traditionists



The Ahl'ul-Hadith or the Traditionists did not distinctly emerge in Muslim society until the second Islamic century, more than a hundred years after the Prophet's death. There is a big gap between the Prophet and the first legal digest that contains some traditions, i.e. the Muwatta' of



Imam Malik (d. 179 AH). It is historically known that the `four guided caliphs' — close companions of the Prophet — not only did not leave us any collection of traditions, they did not make use or made very little use of traditions.



Nevertheless, against all odds, the Traditionists prevailed in insisting the hadith/sunna was binding on the Muslims from the beginning. They claim to derive this authority for the hadith from the Quran itself, as we shall presently show. They cannot do otherwise than make this claim, for without the authority of the Quran as the basis of its legitimacy, the hadith is automatically rejected. It will be seen that this claim is false. They put forward four principal arguments. Firstly, the hadith is also Divine revelation. Secondly, God's command to the believers to obey the messenger means that they must uphold the hadith. Thirdly, the Prophet is the interpreter of the Quran and the hadith is necessary in order to understand and carry out Quranic injunctions. Fourthly and lastly, the Prophet is an example for the believers to follow, and his sunna is binding on the believers.



We shall discuss these four principal arguments of the Traditionists in detail and show that they are false.



Argument One: `Sunna is Revelation'



Their claim that hadith/sunna also constitutes revelation is based on the following Quranic verses:



Our Lord, and raise among them a messenger who would recite for them Your revelations and teach them the scripture and wisdom and sanctify them. (5)



Your friend is neither astray, nor a liar. He does not speak on his own. This is a divine inspiration. (6)



The famous classical jurist, Imam Shafi`i, basically the creator of the theory of classical jurisprudence, interpreted the Arabic word hikmah in above verse and in similar verses as meaning `sunna' or `hadith.' In his major work, al-Risala, he stated:



So, God mentions His scripture, that is the Quran, and wisdom, and I have heard from those who are knowledgeable in the Quran — those whom I agree with — say that wisdom is the traditions of the Prophet. This is the same as the Word [of God Himself]; but God knows better! Because the Quran is mentioned, followed by Wisdom; then God mentions His blessing to mankind by teaching the Quran and wisdom. So, it is not possible that wisdom means other things than the traditions of the Prophet ... (Emphasis added).



Shafi`i's interpretation of the word hikmah as meaning the Prophet's tradition cannot but give rise to grave doubts. Was he justified in doing so? He did not produce any support from the Quran for such an interpretation. He merely reported the view of "experts" whom he concurred with. Who these "experts" were and what their reasons for advancing such a view Shafi`i did not say. According to the laws of logic, we can question any view put forward by anybody, but we cannot question certainty. In the quotation above, we notice that Shafi`i jumped from a statement of the status of probability to a statement of the status of certainty without giving proper proofs to enable the probable view to achieve the status of certainty. This is unacceptable in any scientific discourse.



God Himself states in the Quran that it is He Who explains the Quran. This means that the Quran explains itself. Taking this cue and examining the use of the word hikmah, occurring twenty times in the Quran, it is obvious that it refers to the teachings of the Quran, or to general wisdom that all prophet-messengers or moral teachers were endowed with. The following Quranic usage will illustrate :



This is part of the wisdom that your Lord reveals to you.



where the word `wisdom' refers to some thirteen ethical teachings enumerated in verses 22 to 38. These teachings are the worship of God alone and the prohibition of idolatry, doing honor and kindness to parents, giving charity to relatives, the poor and needy and the alien, to be moderate in spending, prohibition against child-killing for fear of poverty, prohibition against adultery, prohibition against killing any human being except in the course of justice, the safekeeping of an orphan's property until he or she becomes of age, honesty in trading, prohibition against the acceptance of unverified news or views, censure against arrogant behavior and general censure against evil.



Again the word `wisdom' in the following verse:



God has made a covenant with the prophets that He will give them the scripture and wisdom.



refers to the contents of all divine scriptures. Similarly in the following verse:



We have endowed Luqman with wisdom, for he was appreciative of God.



where the wisdom in question refers to general wisdom of spiritual teachers.



Muhammad Ali in his translation of the Quran mentions al-Hikmah as one of the names of the Quran based on the verse 17:39 that we have quoted above.



Further evidence that the words hikmah or hakeem with the meaning `wisdom' can be seen from the following:



These are the revelations and the message of wisdom that we recite to you.



Y.S. By the wise Quran! You are indeed one of the messengers.



It should also be note that the word hakeem in the Quran meaning `wise' without exception refers to God, as for example:



Our Lord, and raise among them a messenger who would recite for them Your revelations and teach them the scripture and wisdom and sanctify them. You are the Almighty, the Wise.



Glorifying God is everything in the heavens and the earth; He is the Almighty, the Wise.



Based on the above Quranic evidence we can make two conclusions. Firstly, the word `wisdom' quoted by Shafi`i in verse 2:129 refers to the ethical teachings of the Quran. Secondly, general wisdom has been endowed to all prophets. Can we, therefore, infer that Prophet Muhammad taught wisdom to his community through his leadership of the community? The answer is, of course, Yes. History proves that. But that wise leadership is also consequent upon his acting strictly in accordance with the ethical teachings of the Quran. All this wisdom is contained in the Quran, although some hadith may also have preserved that wisdom. The case for upholding the hadith apart from the Quran is, therefore, not proved by this argument.



Further examination of the use of the words `sunna' and `hadith' in the Quran gives interesting information. The word `sunna' is used in the Quran to refer to the divine system or law and to the example of the fate suffered by ancient communities. None refers to the behavior of the Prophet. The two usages are illustrated in the following verses:



This is God's system that has always prevailed. God's system never changes. Tell those who disbelieve that if they repent, their past transgression will be forgiven. But if they revert, then the examples of the past should be remembered.



The word `hadith' is used in the Quran to mean `news', `story', `message' or `thing'. Out of the 36 times it is used in various grammatical forms, none refers to what is known as the Prophetic hadith as another source of law beside the Quran. On the contrary, in ten instances of very powerful statements the word refers to the Quran and categorically rejects any hadith besides the Quran. Here we give two of them:



God sent down the best hadith, a scripture consistent, repeating.



Some people uphold vain hadith in order to divert others from the path of God without knowledge, and to create a mockery of it.



The other verses, 53:3-4, that the Traditionists quote as proof that the sunna is also divine revelation have been given. Commenting on these verses, Fazlul Karim said:



The Holy Quran exhorts the people to believe the Hadith of the Prophet as nothing short of revelation ... The only difference between the Quran and the Hadith is that whereas the former was revealed directly through Gabriel with the very letters that are embodied from Allah, the latter was revealed without letters and words...



This interpretation of the hadith as revelation is patently false and has its origin in earlier Jewish practice, as we shall show. Let us look closer at the verses in question.



By the falling star. Your friend is neither astray, nor a liar. He does not speak on his own. This is a divine inspiration. A teaching from a mighty one. The possessor of omnipotence, who assumed (all authority). From the highest horizon. He came closer by moving downwards. Until He became as close as possible. He then revealed to His servant what He revealed.



The above verses clearly describe the process of revelation to Muhammad. They refer to a specially inspired state, not to the ordinary state of Muhammad's human existence. Apart from the fact that the verses themselves make this clear, this is the interpretation given by all authorities. Thus, the later extremely subjective meaning given to these verses to conform to the Traditionists' theory, as exemplified by Fazlul Karim, must be rejected.



What should alert Muslims is the very close resemblance of this theory to the much earlier Jewish theory of written and oral revelations. The Jewish Talmud, consisting of the Mishnah and Gemara, the equivalent of Muslim Hadith and Sunna, is a body of oral teachings of Jewish rabbis and jurists based on their interpretations and expositions of the scripture over a long period. In the words of the Jewish scholar Judah Goldin,



"...[It was believed that] along with the revelation of the Written Torah was a revelation of an Oral Torah, that is, that interpretations of and deductions from the Scriptures must have accompanied the Scriptures themselves has at least this to recommend it: no written text, particularly if it is meant as a guide for conduct, can in and of itself be complete; it must have some form of oral commentary associated with it. This much however is clear : from the fifth century BC onward there was a conscious effort on the part teachers to expound the canonical books of the Torah, to make clear its meaning and its applicability. `To make clear the Torah of the Lord and put it into practice, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances' (Ezra 7:10) was not only the programme of Ezra but of the colleagues whom he attracted to himself, the Soferim ... It was the Soferim who made what was implicit in the Book of the Torah of God explicit and intelligible ..., and under their tutelage too, as times required, enactments and decrees were issued. Such teaching and legislation as the Soferim conducted through their schools and councils were carried on orally, in order to carefully distinguish between what was the Written Torah, Scripture, and the body of exegesis, interpretation by [word of] mouth, Oral Torah."



This historical testimony is self-explanatory. The theory of two revelations that the Traditionists had propagated is Jewish in origin and had its beginning in the teaching of scholar-priest Ezra, idolized by the Jews as the son of God, and his followers.



We should note that this theory, built with such elaborateness, is demolished by the Quran in just two words with its declaration that the Prophet believes in God's words:



Therefore, you shall believe in God and His messenger, the gentile prophet, who believes in God and His words, and follow him that you may be guided.



Argument Two: `Obey the Messenger' Means `Uphold the Hadith'



The second principal argument advanced by the Traditionists relates to God's commandment to the believers to obey the messenger, which they have interpreted to mean belief in the hadith/sunna. Shafi`i used this argument as his principal argument and tirelessly repeated it in his book, al-Risala. He said,



But whatever is decided by him in the sunna God has decreed that we should obey, and He considers [our] obedience to him as obedience to Him, and [our] refusal to obey him as our denial of Him, which will not be forgiven ...



The Traditionists use the famous verse 4:59 as well as two other verses as their props for this argument. Let us look at the verses carefully:



O you who believe, you shall obey God, and you shall obey the messenger and those in charge among you. If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to God and the messenger, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day. This is better for you and provides you with the best solution.



Any gained spoils that the messenger gives you, you shall accept, and whatever he forbids you, you shall desist from.



Never, by your Lord, will they be considered believers, unless they ask you to judge between them, then find no hesitation whatsoever in their hearts regarding your judgement, and unless they submit completely.



The Traditionists desire to convey two ideas by these quotations. Firstly, the messenger is an independent power to be obeyed apart from God. Secondly, obedience to the messenger means upholding the hadith/sunna. Are they right in these?



It seems obvious that obedience to the messenger in the above verse and in other similar verses means obedience to God, since the messenger is not an independent agency. As messenger, he was the agency that delivered the message, and obedience to him was equivalent to obedience to God. As stated in the Quran several times, "The sole function of the messenger is to deliver the message." It should be noted that the Quran uses the word `messenger' and not `Muhammad'. The obedience is, therefore, to the messenger, that is, to the message that he brought from God. In short, God and messenger in this context constitute one concept which should not be separated.



We have said earlier that the Quran explains itself. Such verses where obedience to God is coupled with obedience to the messenger is explained by other verses where obedience is made due only to God. The following are examples:



Say, "I exhort you to do only one thing: that you totally submit to God in pairs or as individuals, then reflect. Your friend is not crazy; he only alerts you to evade terrible retribution."



You shall be obedient to your Lord and totally submit to Him before the retribution comes to you.



The second idea that obedience to the messenger means upholding the hadith is therefore categorically rejected by the Quran.



A question may still be asked: Did Muhammad the messenger not pronounce and act outside the Quran? It is only too obvious that he did and must have done so. He did so as leader of the then Muslim community and as an ordinary human being. Under such circumstances, the Quranic directive regarding leadership and obedience in verse 4:59 applies: that the people are duty-bound to obey their rightful leader or leaders in so far as he or they do not trespass the bounds of God. We may assume that Muhammad, the leader and the man, would not have said or done anything contrary to the divine message he brought, after he knew the message. Therefore, the truly genuine hadith can only be the ones that do not contradict the Quran.



Certain decisions he made as leader of the community that history has recorded must necessarily be circumscribed by the conditions of the time. The Madinah Charter is a good example. Although the principles of religious freedom, inter-communal equality and unity, local autonomy and just government underlying the charter conform to the teachings of the Quran, the forms they took were conditioned by the circumstances then prevailing. In the same manner, his decisions on other matters concerning methods that the Quran, for obvious reasons, does not stipulate were determined by historical circumstances and do not bind the Muslims after him. History records that this was precisely the attitude of the four righteous caliphs, although they did consider those decisions as precedents. That past decisions are precedents is normal legal procedure.



Argument Three: `Hadith Interprets the Quran'



The Traditionists claim that Prophet Muhammad is the interpreter of the Quran, and that this interpretation is obtainable through the hadith. Without the hadith, they assert, we cannot understand and carry out the commands of God in the Quran. A typical statement of the Traditionists is as follow:



If the explanations of the Prophet (pbuh) regarding general matters were not preserved and guaranteed from foreign interference, it is certain that Quranic commands cannot be implemented. In this way, a great part of Quranic directives which are binding on us will lapse. In this way, we shall be unable to know the true purpose of God.



The Traditionists quote the following verses to support their contention:



We reveal to you this Reminder so that you may explain to the people what is revealed to them and to let them reflect. We did not send this scripture down to you except that you may explain to them over what they dispute, and to provide guidance and mercy for those who believe.



Commenting on these verses, one writer said that the Prophet detailed general or universal matters in the Quran, such as the times and number of prostrations of prayer and the rate of zakat or obligatory charity; the Prophet clarified matters that were not mentioned in the Quran, such as the time of imsak (early morning just before dawn when fasting begins in Ramadan); the Prophet specified general commands in the Quran, such as division of family property where, it was claimed, that the hadith forbid any share for children who killed their parents; and the Prophet defined the limits of Quranic orders, such as determining the methods of carrying out the punishment for cutting off the hand.



It is clear from the above that what is meant by the Traditionists is the role of the Prophet as leader, contained in the Quranic concept ulil-amr (those in authority) that has already been explained.



As regards explaining and interpreting the Quran, Quranic statements and historical evidence have shown that it is not given to Prophet Muhammad or to any subsequent teachers to do so fully and all at once. The Quran, being from the omniscient knowledge of God, cannot all be understood fully, except through a prolonged process of rational understanding and scientific studies. The long history of Quranic exegeses prove this. The Quran itself attests to this when it declares about the allegorical verses:



No one knows their correct interpretations, except God and those well-grounded in knowledge.



While this verse refers only to the understanding of allegorical verses, God clearly states that it is He who teaches and explains the Quran. This means, on the one hand, that the Quran



explains itself and, on the other, that God will, at the proper time, give man the necessary knowledge to understand it. The various discoveries and findings of modern science within the last four hundred years have thrown light on the meanings and corroborated the statements made in the Quran fourteen centuries ago when modern science was not yet born.



Mode of Prayer



The Traditionists invariably asks: If we do not have the hadith, how do we pray? This shows that they have not studied the Quran nor Arab history prior to Muhammad carefully. The Quran clearly states that the obligatory prayers and all other religious observances of Islam were originally taught to Abraham. All the prophets and their true followers since Abraham practiced them, but, as the Quran also informs us, later generations, including the Arabs at the advent of Muhammad, had lost these prayers. The prayers of the Arabs at the Shrine at the time were described by the Quran as "no more than deceit and alienation."



It should also be noted that the very early revelations, such as the chapter 73 entitled alMuzzammil which was the third in order of revelation, already mentioned salat and zakat, indicating that these religious observances were well-known and were being practiced. This is confirmed by early historical sources, such as Ibn Ishaq's biography of the Prophet. All these conclusively prove that our salat prayers today were not originally given to Muhammad during the Night Journey, as the Traditionists claim.



A moment's thought will also make us realize that we do not learn how to pray from the hadith. We learn to do so from our parents and teachers who inherit the practice through the generations from the first source, that is Prophet Abraham.



Although the Quran needs no longer teach us how to pray, since we have learnt and practiced it from the time of Abraham, still it gives us the main features of salat prayer, i.e. the normal ablution (5:6), the abnormal ablution (4:43), the proper dress (7:31), standing and facing the qiblah (2:144), the times (11:114, 17:78, 24:58, 2:238, 30:17-18 and 20:130), the bowing and prostrating (2:43,125,3:42, 22:77, 48:29), using moderate voice when saying prayers (17:110), not calling anyone else besides God in prayer (72:18) and modified mode of prayer at unusual times (4:101,103). It is quite obvious that many important details regarding the mode of prayer are given in the Quran.



It should be remembered that the Quran repeatedly teaches the people to be concerned with doing good sincerely and not to be concerned with form. It is obvious why this should be so. An obsession with form would defeat the purpose of an action. The incidence of Saudi Prince Sultan Salman who accompanied the American space mission, Discovery, in 1985 and who exposed the inability of the traditional Saudi ulama to answer the question of how he should pray in the space shuttle was a good modern illustration of the error of obsession with form.



Argument Four: `The Example of the Prophet'



This is the fourth and last argument of the Traditionists: that the Prophet constitutes a good example for the believers to follow, and following his examples means following the sunna. They base this argument on the following verses of the Quran:



The messenger of God is a good example for you, for any of you who truly seek God and the Hereafter and commemorate God frequently.



Referring to this verse and the following verse You are indeed endowed with a great character



one traditionalist writer remarked:



The messenger (pbuh) is a perfect man. He is the foremost example to be followed in all aspects and fields, except in those that cannot be followed.



According to the hadith scholar, M.M. Azami,



If we consider the Prophet as the model for the community, the Muslims have to follow his example in every way, especially as they have been specifically commanded to do so by Allah.



Even the late modern scholar Prof. Fazlur Rahman talks of the existence of the exemplary conduct of the Prophet. However, if we look at the context of verse 33:21 quoted above, it is clear that it does not refer to every detail of the Prophet's behavior, such as his eating, dress, sleeping and other personal habits. Actually, it refers to the Prophet's faith in God's help and victory. The verse is put in the middle of the account of the Battle of the Allies when the believers were really shaken and thought that the cause of Islam was lost. Nevertheless, it would not be wrong if we derive a general meaning for this verse that the Prophet provided a good example for Muslims to follow. The Prophet's example is none other than his staunch faith in God and strict adherence to the Quran.



That the phrase uswah hasanah, meaning `a good example' in this verse, refers to one's conviction, stand and struggle, and not to one's personal behavior, can be proved by its usage, twice, for Prophet Abraham who was a staunch monotheist. Verse 4 of Surah 60 explains the meaning of the phrase:



A good example has been set for you by Abraham and those with him. They said to their people, "We disown you and the idols you set up besides God. We reject you, and you will see from us nothing but enmity and opposition until you believe in God alone."



The above verse explains the meaning of uswah hasanah as referring to one's religious conviction, ideological position and struggle. This is an instance of how the Quran explains and interprets itself.



It is unreasonable and unthinkable that God would ask the Muslims to follow the prophet's personal mode of behavior, because a person's mode of behavior is determined by many different factors, such as customs, his education, personal upbringing and personal inclinations. The prophet's mode of eating, of dress and indeed of general behavior cannot be different from that of other Arabs, including Jews and Christians, of that time, except regarding matters which Islam prohibited. If the Prophet had been born a Malay, he would have dressed and eaten like a Malay. This is a cultural and a personal trait which has nothing to do with one's religion.



So were the methods of the Prophet's wars and his administration of the Medina city-state. The weapons he used, such as swords, spears, arrows and shields, were in accordance with the



prevailing technology. Today, with the development of modern weapons, the Muslims obviously cannot fight with the medieval weapons used by the Prophet, although they must emulate his staunch faith in God and complete adherence to God's teachings.



In political administration, the same Islamic principles operate. Some examples: sovereignty of the people under God's sovereignty, government based on just laws, complete freedom of religious worship, obedience to God and due obedience to leaders, leadership to be exercised by those who are competent and morally upright, and government through consultation. However, methods and the institutions vary according to time and circumstances. The methods and institutions used by the Prophet are not universally and eternally binding.



Actually, the ways of the Prophet were in strict conformity with the teachings of the Quran. He held firmly to the Quran and obeyed its injunctions. Therefore, following the example of the Prophet means upholding the Quran. The claim of the Traditionists that the Quran is general and requires the hadith to explain it and make it specific is based on a false understanding of the Quran. This claim has been partially dealt with here. It will be fully dealt with in Chapter V where we shall discuss the comprehensiveness of the Quran as a guide.



The Quran is Complete, Perfect and Detailed



The hadith writers' allegations are clearly misleading. To say that the Quran is incomplete or unclear can only be blasphemous. Such an opinion belittles God's power by implying that He gave us an incomplete or unclear product. It is just like the Christian Bible insisting that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and then on the seventh day He had to take a break. In the Quran, God tells us that He created the heavens and the earth and God does not need to take any breaks for such is the power of God.



Indeed your Lord is God; the one God who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then assumed all responsibility.



It is not likely that the God who created the whole wide universe and then assumed all responsibility including revealing the Quran and teaching and explaining it would reveal a Quran that was incomplete or unclear.



Also consider the following:



Any creature on earth and any bird that flies with wings, are all nations like you. We did not leave anything out of this scripture. To their Lord they will all be gathered. Those who reject our revelations are deaf, dumb and in total darkness.



So if God "did not leave anything out of this scripture," how can the Quran be incomplete?



The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Knower.



We have cited for the people every kind of example, that they make take heed.



These examples referred to in the above verse served the Prophet well such that he in turn was able to learn from these examples and become a good example himself for his followers. How then can the hadith writers insist that the Quran is incomplete when it also has every kind of example quoted for mankind's reference? The Quran therefore contains details for all our needs. The Quran states general principles in places where it would be too burdensome for us if God were to make strict rules. This is especially true when the Quran touches on socio-cultural matters as they differ from place to place and among different peoples.



But still, how do we come to a solution for a problem that we have to solve by ourselves, for example, when Prince Sultan Salman wanted to pray aboard the space shuttle Discovery? God answers:



O you who believe, you shall obey God, and you shall obey the messenger and those in charge among you. If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to God and His messenger, if you truly believe in God and the last day. This is better for you and provides you with the best solution.



They respond to their Lord and observe the salat prayers. Their affairs are decided by consensus among them, and from our provisions to them they donate.



The only way we can refer anything to God and His messenger today is by using the teachings of God Almighty that is still with us in the Quran. We must use our own intelligence to deliberate among ourselves to solve our problems, but always guided by God, i.e. through knowledge of the Quran.



There are some matters whereby God clearly spells out exactly what we are required to do. The rights of individuals, ownership of property, the rules of marriage and divorce, the laws of inheritance, penal laws, the rules of witness, dietary laws, the methods of ablution, and so on are all clearly detailed in the Quran.



At other places, whenever God pleases, He provides us both the principles and the methods. Let us explore further the issue of penal laws. The punishments of hand-cutting for theft and a hundred lashes for adultery mentioned in the Quran are forms, not principles, of punishment. Furthermore, these forms are connected to specific historical circumstances.



What, then, are the Quranic principles for punishment? There are two, or one can say three, if we include the principle that all crimes must be punished and not overlooked. The two principles are: firstly, that every crime must be punished in accordance with the severity of the crime, i.e. the principle of equivalence; and secondly, the principle of mercy, as evidenced by the following verses:



Whoever works evil must be punished.



They counter aggression with an equivalent response. However, those who pardon and conciliate receive a better reward from God.



They counter evil with good.



According to the first principle, every crime must be punished, but following from the second principle, the punishment meted out must match the crime. This is the principle of justice designed to deter criminals. But the last principle gives the power to our courts to lighten



punishments of crimes up to the point of pardon to encourage reformation on the part individual criminals. What a beautiful penal system this is!



Similarly, God provides us the guiding principles and the detailed methods of dividing property for inheritance purposes. The man shall get a share of what the parents and relatives leave, and the women shall get a share of what the parents and the relatives leave, be it small or large, a decreed share.



This verse therefore sets the principle that men and women can inherit property.



God decrees what you shall bequeath for your children; the male shall get the share of two females.



It will be seen that the above verses establish the general principle of inheritability by both males and females, while at the same time fixes the portions. The question arises: are the fixed portions of two for men and one for women historically determined or absolute? Is it fair that working women who also share the burden of family expenses be given less portion? At a time when women looked after the home and men were sole breadwinners, such portioning was fair. But when economic conditions change and women bear equal burden, is it allowed for us to make adjustments, implying that we consider the second verse as historically determined? (Hint: the above verses also talk about will; see also 2:180, 240). This is something, as in many other matters, that Muslim society, through council and through their rightful leaders, must decide.



The Quran also makes provisions for Muslims to handle problems in difficult or extraordinary circumstances. For example, foods that are forbidden to eat under normal circumstances, like pork, become permissible out of necessity and not by choice.



Thus, the Quran contains guidance and solutions to handle all of our affairs. The Quran is complete, perfect and detailed. If God "leaves anything out" of the Quran at all, it is only because God has put in place, elsewhere throughout the Quran, sufficient guidance with which human beings can guide their lives.



God never sends any people astray without first pointing out the consequences for them. God is fully aware of all things.



In spite of repeated Divine proclamations that the Quran is complete and perfect, the hadith writers insist that when the Quran is silent on some issues, the Prophet steps in (allegedly) and provides the hadith to fill in the gaps. Since, according to them, all the Prophet's words are inspired by God, therefore, it is actually God Himself who indirectly fills the gaps that He Himself created in the first place! A very neat and tidy explanation to justify their going around in circles. However, God replies in the following verse:



O you who believe, do not ask about things if revealed to you, you will be hurt. If you consider them in the light of the Quran, you will realize that God left them out as an alleviation. God is Forgiver, Clement.



Muhammad Ali interprets this verse thus:



As Islam discouraged religious practices, such as monastic life, it also prohibited questions relating to details on many points which would require this or that practice to be made obligatory, and much was left to the individual will or circumstances of the time and place. The exercise of judgement occupies a very important place in Islam and this gives ample scope to different nations and communities to frame laws for themselves and to meet new and changed situations. The hadith shows that the Prophet also discourages questions on details in which a Muslim could choose a way for himself.



God does not mention some things altogether or in detail for two reasons. Firstly, like the regular prayer, because He has taught mankind these things before Muhammad. Secondly, because such things concern the forms their principles take at different times and different places. These forms are therefore decided by the society's council or by customs or by personal preference. The principles of decision-making through council, or through customary usage, or through using reason are clearly enunciated in the Quran.



It is clear that the Quran, being the last of God's scriptures to mankind, is the only infallible source of our guidance. Other sources, including previous scriptures as well the hadith/sunna, are subject to Quranic criticism. What passes this criticism is acceptable; what fails is automatically rejected. This is plain, as the following verses state:



Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He revealed to you this Book fully detailed? Even those who received previous scripture recognize that it came down from your Lord, truthfully. Therefore, you shall not harbor any doubt.



... Those who do not rule according to God's scripture are the unjust.



You should judge among them according to God's scripture and do not follow their ideas, and beware lest they divert you from some of God's revelations to you. If they turn away, then you should know that God wants to punish them for their sins. Indeed, many people are wicked. Is it the laws of the days of ignorance that they want to apply? Whose laws are better than God's, for those who are firm believers?



Those who fabricate false doctrines are the ones who do not believe in God's revelations. They are the liars.



Shall we treat the Muslims like criminals? What is wrong with you? How do you judge? Do you have another book that you apply? One that gives you anything you want?



So, do the hadith writers have another book that they apply? One that gives them everything? Is this why God revealed the earth-shaking verse that we have quoted several times?



The messenger will say, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran."



We cannot, therefore, use any other book other than the Quran to make our laws and punish the guilty, attributing these laws to God. But what do the hadith writers say? They say that anyone who does not accept the hadith books immediately become unbelievers. They insist that the hadith, although it is not the Quran, must be accepted. To them the hadith is "the other book that they apply, one that gives them anything they want," as the Quran puts it precisely and beautifully.



What does God say to these allegations?



Who is more wicked than one who lies about God, or rejects His revelations? Indeed, the wicked never succeed. On the day when We gather them all together, We will say to the idol worshippers, "Where are the idols you had fabricated?" Their only response will be, "By God, our Lord, we were not idolaters!" Note how they lied to themselves! Whatever they have invented have misled them.



When God alone is advocated, the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter shrink with aversion. But when others are mentioned besides Him, they rejoice.



They follow idols who decree for them religious laws never authorized by God. If it were not for the predetermined decision, they would have been judged immediately. The wicked have deserved painful retribution.



This is because when invited to worship God alone, you disbelieved, but when others were made partners beside Him, you believed. Alas the judgement has been decreed by God, the Most Exalted, the Great.



God cites the example of a man with partners who contradict one another and a man who relies on one consistent source: are they the same? Praise be to God, the majority do not know.



To place the hadith on an equivalent footing with revelation is to create another source of guidance – an idol. This is the major problem with the hadith. When we invite them to believe in God alone through the Quran, they hesitate, but when we throw in the false hadith and other false teachings, then they are happy!



In conclusion, the theory or doctrine that the hadith is an equal source of guidance with the Quran, propounded by Shafi`i, is the most important aspect of the hadith question. Even though we totally reject this doctrine, we do not reject the hadith as a secondary source, provided that it does not contradict the Quran. On this view also, we say that the hadith is an important source of early Muslim social history. We shall have more to say about this in the last chapter.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHAPTER III SOURCE, REASON AND EFFECTS OF HADITH



God created the heavens and the earth based on Truth.



(Quran, 29:44)



Everything has its reason for being and, in turn, has its consequences. Nothing that happens is without its cause and, in turn, without its effect. This is a divine natural law, stated in the verse we quote above, and acknowledged by all mankind. This law applies equally to the hadith phenomenon. We shall show that the so-called Prophetic traditions did not originate from the Prophet. They grew from the politico-religious conflicts that arose in the Muslim society then, during the first and second centuries. It constituted a new teaching altogether, seriously deviating from the Quran that Prophet Muhammad brought to them. It was done against his will, but skillfully attributed to him.



According to the Traditionists, Prophet Muhammad left two legacies to his followers: a divine scripture and his sunna. We shall show later that this hadith is a fabrication. As a matter of fact, history has fully shown that at the time of the Prophet's death, only the completed written Quran, duly arranged into chapters by the Prophet, existed as his only legacy. It was not yet compiled into book form, but complete writings of it on parchments and other writing materials were kept in the Prophet's house and other houses of the Prophet's scribes. The Prophet also taught many Companions to memorize the Quran following the chapter arrangements he himself had made.



During the second caliph Abu Bakr's administration, Abu Bakr himself ordered the Prophet's secretary, Zaid ibn Thabit, to compile the Quran into book form, taking care that all its contents were corroborated by two or more witnesses. When the third caliph, Uthman, prepared his official version of the Quran for dissemination throughout the length and breadth of Islam, he based it on this version. Thus, the Quran fully satisfies the requirements of a well-corroborated text.



The Quran itself proclaimed the completion of Islam and of Muhammad's mission eighty-one or eighty-two days before Muhammad's death with the following famous verse:



Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor to you and I have chosen Islam as a religion for you.



The Beginnings of Hadith



Although some traditions may have existed during the time of the Prophet, thus giving rise to his prohibition, their number doubled and tripled only several decades after his death. At the time of their compilations, stretching over a period of two to four centuries after his death, they existed in hundreds of thousands. The compilations were made against Muhammad's expressed order, but the Traditionists argued that this prohibition was conditional to his desire to avoid mixing traditions with the Quran. When this condition no longer existed, the prohibition was lifted. However, a historical report exists stating that thirty years after the Prophet's death, the prohibition was still on, showing that it had never been lifted.



As we have seen, what came to be regarded by the Sunnites as the `Six Authentic Books' compiled by Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Ibn Maja, Tirmidhi and al-Nasa`i, and the four Shi'ite compilations by al-Kulaini, Ibn Babuwayh, al-Murtada and Ja`afar Muhammad al-Tusi did not exist at the time of the Prophet's death, as the Quran did, but were made between 210 and 410 years later. Why were the compilations not made earlier? Does not this fact alone show that the hadith was a new development, not sanctioned by the Prophet?



Several modern hadith scholars claim that they possess new evidence to prove that the hadith were written down at the time of the Prophet. They were memorized and handed down from generation to generation until the second and third Islamic centuries when the official



compilations were made. The still unanswered question, even if we were to accept the claim, is this: "Why was the official compilation not made earlier, especially during the time of the righteous caliphs when the first reporters, i.e., the eye witnesses, were still alive and could be examined?" When we remember that there was an alleged statement by the Prophet, made at his final Pilgrimage Oration and heard by tens of thousands, exhorting his followers to hold on to the Quran and his sunna, it is most unreasonable not to expect the great early caliphs to order the writing down and compiling of the Prophet's sayings. That none of them did so could only mean that the Prophet never made the statement, and that it was a later invention attributed to him.



The answer given by the Traditionists that the hadith was not written down during the time of the Prophet to avoid confusing them with the Quran is not satisfactory. Not only did it contradict their own claim that the hadith were already being recorded during the lifetime of the Prophet; several documents of the Prophet, such as the Medina Charter, his treaties and letters, had been written on his orders. The hadith too could similarly be written down by indicating that they were hadith, and not the Quran. However, this constraint no longer apply when the Quran was completed, written down and compiled into a book, and the fear of mixing the Quran with the hadith was no longer a valid concern. Yet the hadith was not immediately compiled. The only conceivable reason why they were not compiled was precisely the Prophet's standing order prohibiting it. It is apparent that later generations ignored this order.



We also have later historical sources which say that the Caliph Abu Bakr burnt his notes of hadith (said to be 500 in all) for fear that they might be false, and that Caliph Omar ibn Khattab cancelled his plan to compile the hadith because he did not want to divert the attention of the Muslims from the Quran to the hadith. It is quite possible that these statements said to have been made by the first two caliphs are false, having been fabricated by upholders of the hadith in order to prove that hadith had already been written down at this early stage, but were not compiled by Abu Bakr and Omar not because of the Prophet's prohibition (which they must know), but because of other reasons.



Due to the fact that early historical writings about Muhammad and the early Muslim society were not done until a hundred or a hundred and fifty years after the Prophet's death, such as the works of Ibn Ishaq (d. 150) and Ibn Sa`d (d. 168), it is impossible to obtain documentary evidence (apart from the Quran, of course) on the precise position of the hadith/sunna between the time of the Prophet's death and the time of these works. However, Ibn Sa`d, an early major historian, showed that the first three caliphs did not use the hadith at all. In any case, it is interesting to note, as we have seen in Chapter II, that the phrases `the prophet's hadith' or the `the prophet's sunna' are never used in the Quran. This shows that these concepts did not exist in Arab society at the time of the Prophet. On the other hand, the phrases `tribal sunna' or `the



sunna of the people' to mean `customs' were in vogue. It is this concept of sunna that was later transformed to mean the Prophet's practice.



Basing ourselves on the Quran, we learn that a community did not break up into sects after the coming of divine revelation to them except due to jealousy and to vested interests. When jealousy and considerations of vested interests overcame them, divisions occurred and sects emerged:



He has decreed for you the same religion decreed for Noah, and what is revealed herein, and what was decreed for Abraham, Moses and Jesus. `You shall uphold the one religion, and do not be divided.' It is simply too difficult for the idol worshipers to accept what you advocate. God is the one who brings towards Him whomever He wills; He guides towards Himself those who submit. They became divided after knowledge had come to them due to sheer jealousy. If it were not for a predetermined decision, they would have been judged immediately. Even those who inherited the scripture continued to harbor doubts. You shall preach and uphold this scripture as commanded and do not follow their wishes.



You shall hold fast to the rope of God, all together, and do not be divided. Be appreciative of God's favors upon you; you used to be enemies and He reconciled your hearts. By His grace, you become brethren. God thus explains His revelations for you that you may be guided. Let there be a community among you who preach goodness, advocate righteousness and forbid evil. These are the winners. Do not be like those who became divided and disputed among themselves, despite the profound revelations that had come to them.



The above verses explain two things. Firstly, the divine revelations brought by Muhammad and other messengers, although true and beneficial, were hard to accept by the idol worshipers. They accepted them for a while and then lapsed into their former condition. Secondly, they reverted to their former condition because of jealousy towards one another and because of their love of material things. In short, human propensity for materialism and jealousy for one another made it difficult for them to follow the teachings of the prophet-messengers, including prophet Muhammad. These are the factors that cause division into sects and factions after the teachings had come to them. We shall see that many hadith began to emerge and multiply at the same time as the emergence of divisions in the early Muslim community in three civil wars, beginning under Ali's rule right up to the end Mu`awiya rule. The relations between these two phenomena were direct: power struggles giving rise to divisions led to the fabrication of hadith to support each contending group, and the fabrications of hadith further deepened divisions. It is clear that the division



originated in the power struggle to fill the post of caliph to succeed the Prophet, but hadith were fabricated to use the name of the Prophet to bolster politico-religious sectarianism.



Political Conflicts



A study of original sources, such as Ibn Sa`d (d. 230/845), Malik Ibn Anas (d. 179/795), Tayalisi (d. 203/818), Humaydi (d.219/834) and Ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855) will show that all `four guided caliphs' made use of very little sunna in their administrations. The very term "the Prophet's sunna" was never used by the Prophet himself and did not emerge until the sixth and seventh decades after the Prophet in the administration of Omar Abdul Aziz (d. 720), and was first used by him. But later sources, such as Ibn Qayyim (d.691/1292), had connected the names of the great caliphs Abu Bakr and Omar ibn Khattab with the practice of following the sunna. It is clear that the `authentication' of the sunna was carried out by the Traditionists to ward off opposition to the hadith by using the names of these two great authorities.



The development of the hadith, it seems, began in the form of stories about the Prophet, told by professional story-tellers, as praises for Ali and Abu Bakr and as guidance in matters permitted and prohibited. These were later given the form of hadith.



Compositions in the form of eulogies for Ali and Abu Bakr which came into being after the Prophet's death reflected the first political conflict between supporters of Ali (the Shi`ites) and those of Abu Bakr (the Bakriyya). Ibn Abi'l-Hadid (d. 655/1257), commentator of the compilation of famous sayings attributed to Ali Abi Talib, Nahj al-Balaghah, admitted that it was the Shi'ite party who began to create hadith eulogies. He said,



... Know that the origins of fabrications in fada'il traditions were due to the Shi'ite, for they forged in the first instance traditions concerning their leader. Enmity towards their adversaries drove them to this fabrication ... When the Bakriyya saw what the Shi'ite had done, they fabricated for their own master traditions to counter the former ... When the Shi'ite saw what the Bakriyya had done, they increased their efforts ...



The same writer further wrote regarding hadith forgeries sponsored by caliph Mu`awiya to oppose Ali. According to him:



Then Mu`awiya wrote to his governors saying: "Hadith about Uthman has increased and spread in every city, town and region. When this letter from me reaches you, summon the people to relate the merits of the Companions and the first caliphs. And do not let any Muslim relate anything about Ali without bringing something contradicting this about the Companions. This I like better and it pleases me more, it invalidates Abu Turab's claims and those of his Shi'ite in a more definitive way and it is for them more difficult to bear than the virtues and the merits of Uthman." Mu`awiya's letters were read out to the people. And many forged reports concerning the merits of the Companions, in which there was no [grain of] truth, were related. The people went out of their way in relating reports in this vein until they spoke thereof in glowing terms from the pulpits. The teachers in the schools were instructed to teach their young pupils a vast quantity of these until they related them just as they studied the Quran and they taught these to their daughters, wives and servants. God knows how long they persisted in this.



It is abundantly clear from the above evidence that one of the sources of hadith forgery at the early stage was the political rivalry between the supporters of Ali and those of Abu Bakr, which continued unabated until Uthman's administration and then to the enmity and conflict between the Shi`ites and the Umayyad. This and other sources were pointed out by a modern Arab historian, Dr. Ahmad Amin, in his book The Dawn of Islam. According to him, five factors were responsible for the fabrication of hadith. These are political conflicts between various factions, differences of opinions regarding matters of theology and jurisprudence, materialistic ambitions among certain religious scholars, the desire to promote good and forbid evil by fabricating hadith to encourage and to discourage (tarhib wa-targhib), as well as to provide a medium for transmitting good teachings from non-Islamic sources.



Although most of these hadith forgeries can no longer be found in the classical compilations, anyone who studies the hadith carefully and objectively can still observe the characteristics mentioned above. Hadith eulogies for the Companions in the Mishkat-ul-Masabih compilation still portrayed political conflicts between the Shi'ite faction and the followers of Abu Bakr and shows that the hadith was fabricated by the factions to support their respective sides. Note the following hadith: Anas reported that the Prophet ascended Uhud with Abu Bakr, Omar and Uthman. It trembled with them and so he struck it with his foot and said: "Be firm, O Uhud, and verily on you there are a prophet, a truthful man and two martyrs." (Bukhari)



Zerre-b-Hubaish reported that Ali said:



"By One who splits seeds and creates breath, the illiterate prophet gave me a covenant: `Nobody except a believer will love me, and nobody except a hypocrite will hate me.' " (Muslim)



The above traditions have been picked out at random from many others as examples to show the characteristic partiality of hadith. The obvious omission of Ali in the first hadith points to its fabrication by his detractors: there was no other reason why Ali was not in that company. The second one takes the opposite side, having the Prophet affirm Ali's faith and condemn those who maligned him.



We shall be taking a lot of time if we are to give examples of each type of hadith fabrication. It is not necessary. We shall be satisfied with quotations from a few hadith scholars, namely Ahmad Amin, Fazlur Rahman, Goldziher and M.M. Azami.



(a) Ibn 'Adli stated, "At the time when a forger of hadith by the name of Abdul Karim ibn Abu al-'Auja was taken to the place of hanging, he said, `I have forged four thousand hadith for you whereby I prohibited and permitted.'"



(b) In the same book the author further noted, "Muslim reported from Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Said al-Qattan, and from his father, who said, `I have never seen good people telling more lies in any matter than when they do with the hadith.' Muslim explained these words: `The lies were not intentional.' Some people who forged false hadith were motivated by good intentions, i.e. they sincerely believed that all that they had heard were true. In their hearts there was no desire to lie, and they repeated what they had heard. Then other people picked up from them because they were deceived by their outward show of truth."



(c) That opposing political parties tried to influence public opinion through the medium of the hadith and used the names of great authorities of Tradition is a fact no one conversant with the early history of Islam may deny.



(d) ... Every stream and counter-stream of thought in Islam has found its expression in the form of a hadith, and there is no difference in this respect between the various contrasting opinions in whatever field. What we learn about political parties holds true too for differences regarding



religious law, dogmatic points of difference etc. Every ra'y (opinion) or hawa (personal desire), every sunna and bid`a (innovation) has sought and found expression in the hadith.



(e) ... Most likely the first fabrication of traditions began in the political circles, citing and discrediting the parties concerned. In the well-known work of al-Shaukani concerning spurious and similar tradition we find 42 spurious traditions about the Prophet, 38 spurious traditions about the first three caliphs, 96 spurious traditions about Ali and his wife Fatima [and] 14 spurious traditions about Mu`awiya. Therefore, it looks as if the spurious traditions began to originate for political purposes at and about the period of the war between Ali and Mu`awiya, and continued later on as a counter-attack on the Umayyad dynasty ...



From the time of Mu`awiya's rule (661-680) until the end of the second century Hijrah when the hadith were officially compiled, the fabrication of hadith was done on a wide scale. Not only did the hadith become the medium of stories and instrument for various political factions and theological sects to support their sectarian positions, but, as Maurice Bucaille said,



In view of the fact that only a limited number of hadiths may be considered to express the Prophet's thoughts with certainty, the others must contain the thoughts of the men of his time.



In order to stop the continued fabrication of the hadith and contain further divisions of Muslim society at that time, there arose a movement to fix the sources of law in Islam and to standardize the hadith. This is the main social determinant which gave rise to the major jurisprudential figure in Islam in the person of Shafi`i. He laid down the bases of Islamic classical jurisprudence with his theory that the sources of Islamic law were the Quran, the Hadith, Ijma' or consensus of religious scholars, and Qiyas or analogy.



The Compilation of Hadith



It was about this time that the hadith throughout the length and breadth of Islam were collected, sifted and written down. What were later called the `Six Authentic Hadith Books' of the Sunnites finally came into being. These are the compilations of Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maja, Abu Daud, al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa'i. The Shi'ites had their own four collections of hadith,



compiled each by al-Kulaini, Ibn Babuwayh and two by Ja'afar Muhammad al-Tusi. These compilations were made within a period between 220 and 400 years after the death of the Prophet.



With the victory and general acceptance of Shafi`i's jurisprudential theory where the hadith was given a position of almost equal importance with the Quran (the formula is "second primary source"), the use of creative thought or ijtihad for all practical purposes was abolished. This came to be known later as `the closing of the door of ijtihad' and the beginning of the regime of taqlid or blind imitation of the great masters, a period beginning from about the fourteenth century till the end of the nineteenth or beginning of the twentieth centuries AD.



It can be seen from the above account that the conflict between the trend favoring creative thought an the trend favoring sunna (in both senses of the people's tradition and the prophet's practice) in early Muslim community was won by the sunna party. If Shafi`i's aim was to combine and harmonize these two trends and thereby to contain the process of disunity in Muslim society, it was obvious that he failed. Disunity continued to prevail in theology and law. By institutionalizing the hadith to achieve what he termed as consensus, he with one stroke killed creative thought in Muslim society. Fazlur Rahman rightly observed:



It is clear that al-Shafi`i notion of Ijma' was radically different from that of the early schools. His idea of Ijma' was that of a formal and a total one: he demanded an agreement which left no room for disagreement ... But the notion if Ijma' exhibited by the early schools was very different. For them, Ijma' was not an imposed or manufactured static fact but an ongoing democratic process; it was not a formal state but an informal natural growth which at each step tolerates and, indeed, demands fresh and new thought and therefore must live not only with but also upon a certain amount of disagreement. We must exercise Ijtihad, they contended, and progressively the area of agreement would widen; the remaining questions must be turned over to fresh Ijtihad or Qiyas so that a new Ijma' could be arrived at. But it is precisely the living organic relationship between Ijtihad and Ijma' that was severed in the successful formulation of al-Shafi`i. The place of the living Sunna-Ijtihad-Ijma' he gives to Prophetic Sunna which, for him, does not serve as a general directive but as something absolutely literal and specific and whose only vehicle is the transmission of the Hadith ...



Thus, by reversing the natural order, Ijtihad-Ijma' into Ijma'-Ijtihad, their organic relationship was severed. Ijma', instead of being a process and something forward-looking — coming at the end of a free Ijtihad — came to be something static and backward-looking. It is that which, instead of having to be accomplished, is already accomplished in the past. Al-Shafi`i's genius



provided a mechanism that gave stability to our medieval socio-religious fabric but at the cost, in the long run, of creativity and originality.



The process of substituting ijtihad with the hadith was a complex process, which took two centuries to complete. The social and historical factors causing it are still not clear to us. There is no doubt that anti-Islamic forces from the nations conquered by the Muslim Arabs, especially the Persians and the Jews, had infiltrated the various groups and played their subversive role to divert the early Muslims from the true teachings of the Prophet, i.e. the Quran, to other teachings in order to destroy them from within.



However, looking at the matter from our modern perspective, we cannot help but being amazed as to why the conservative and indeed reactionary forces were able to defeat the dynamic and progressive forces, despite the constant prodding of the Quran for human creative role and the freedom of a community to administer its affairs. The Effects of the Hadith



One of the most important aspects, neglected so far in any study of the hadith, is their collective impact and effects on Muslim society. We have seen that the fabrication of hadith took place because of the politico-religious divisions which later resulted in the emergence of sects and legal schools. We have also seen that the hadith became the instrument to channel views, prejudices, customs and superstitions current in society then. Most of these views and ideas were nothing but superstitions and customs rejected by Islam.



It is logical for us to assume that Prophet Muhammad would not have said or done anything contrary to the teachings of the Quran. We make this assumption because he was very conversant with the teachings of the Quran that he himself had brought from God. As a messenger of God, he would not have acted contrary to those teachings. This assumption is most reasonable and consistent with his high moral character. Therefore, the greatest weakness of most hadith, deemed to be `authentic' by classical criticism, is that they contradict the Quran. They are therefore false and could not have originated from him, but were falsely attributed to him. They actually originated from the various factions and groups who, due to reasons which we have stated, put into the hadith all manner of superstitions and customs current in society then.



The Quran tells us that God in His mercy has always sent His guidance to mankind through His messengers. He guides mankind with His revelations to the path of salvation, in this world and in the Hereafter. These prophet-messengers began with Adam in the remote Primitive Age, through Abraham at the beginning of the Ancient Age to the last prophet Muhammad at the dawn of the Scientific Age. Deviations from these divine revelations and away from the path of salvation, which is Islam (this is the meaning of the profound verse that the true religion with God is Islam), spells doom and destruction for the deviating society. The Quran tells us of the destruction of several ancient societies and civilizations as a consequence of their deviations. In the modern age (`modern' here is taken to mean the birth of the scientific method beginning with the rise of Muhammad), we have seen the destruction of the early Muslim empire and civilization and the destruction of several Eastern medieval states and European empires. Because this historical law operates objectively for all nations and civilizations, the decline and fall of Muslim society must inevitably be connected with the historical deviation from divine teachings that they had committed. We shall examine briefly the role of hadith in this historical deviation.



(a) Sectarianism



One of the first major consequences of the hadith is the division of early Muslim community into two major sects, the Sunnites and the Shi'ites. The Sunni sect splits into four major legal schools, and the Shi'ite has several of its own, each with its own political and theological beliefs. Without doubt, this division had its ground in the still strong Arab feeling of tribalism of the period of ignorance. Although Muhammad succeeded in breaking Arab tribalism and uniting them, this tribal spirit did not die with Muhammad. When he passed away, the resurrected tribalism led to the power struggle for the position of caliph. Because of the very strong Quranic prohibition against making factions in religion and the fact that they were unable to use the Quran to support factional interests, the competing parties had to recourse to the hadith — a convenient and clever way out. The Shi'ite faction that wanted Ali to be the caliph after the prophet's death fabricated hadith to support their contention. They claimed that the prophet had stated before his death:



Whoever recognized me as their master, Ali too is their master.



This forged hadith was then countered with another forged hadith by the opposing Bakriyya group. This then was how forged hadith came into being — to support political factions.



Now, let us assume for a moment that the hadith did not exist (in line with the Prophet's wishes that nothing should be written down from him except the Quran). This did not automatically mean that the split between the supporters of Abu Bakr and the supporters of Ali would not have existed. As the split was politically motivated, it would have happened anyway. But now, without the hadith, the Bakriyya and the Shi'ites would have had only the Quran for their guidance. In that case, how would they have solved their problems?



God answers this question for us:



They respond to their Lord, and observe the salat prayers. Their affairs are decided by consultation among them, and from our provisions to them they donate.



Without the hadith they would have had to read the Quran. Thus, they would have had to read the verse just quoted above. And they would have had to come to a consensus among them, because they were all Muslims, submitters to God, "those who respond to their Lord and observe the salat prayers." But such things never happened because they had more than enough hadith which they could pull out of their hats and use it to stab each other. Even if the Sunnites and the Shi'ites could not be reconciled, even if they had resorted to killing each other (which they did), they still would not have had more evil thoughts to provoke them had there not existed any hadith. They would have been forced to refer to the Quran. Therefore, sooner or later, they are bound to have solved their differences.



But unfortunately, history has merely repeated itself. The devils had laid their plan well. The Muslims listened to anything and everything except the Quran. The result is that they fell into the pits, and they are still there today!



(b) Anti-Intellectualism



Beside factionalism between the Sunnites and the Shi'ites, the Sunnites themselves are divided into different madhabs or schools of thought. They broke up into many schools of thought because of the differences of opinion between their founders. At the beginning of the establishment of these schools, over 16 of them came to exist, but today only the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi`i and Hanbali schools predominate. There exist major differences between the four dominant schools as well, due largely to the differences between Imam Abu Hanifa



and Imam Malik, the respective founders of the Hanafi and Maliki schools, which subsequently influenced the Hanbali and Shafi`i schools.



Imam Abu Hanifa (d.767) pioneered the use of creative thinking or ijtihad to settle his affairs. He lived in Damascus, far away from the Hijaz and thus out of regular contact with any descendants of the Prophet or his companions. Hence, he had little opportunity to listen to any hadith or sayings of the Prophet. (These four theologian-jurists imams all existed before the writing of the official hadith). He settled disputes by referring to the Quran and by exercising his reason.



Imam Malik (d. 795) on the other hand lived in Medina. Throughout his life, he never traveled outside Medina except once to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik had the luxury of meeting with many descendants of the Prophet and his Companions. Therefore, he could refer to many hadith to solve his problems. Thus, while Abu Hanifa advocated creative thinking or ijtihad, Imam Malik advocated ijma' or referring to the hadith.



To compound this problem, the rulers at that time depended very much on these scholars to advise them. More often than not, the opinions of a particular scholar who was eminent under a particular ruler became the established rule in that territory.



Instead of being testimony to the dynamism of the Quran which allowed such diverse opinions to exist and thus serve as a catalyst for Muslims to continuously exercise their intellect, these differences of opinion gave birth to the rise of the likes of Imam Shafi`i (d. 820) who found it difficult to handle the freedom of thought and opinion that is allowed by the Quran. Imam Shafi`i came to view differences of opinion as a problem. To solve this problem he came up with his neat little idea to freeze everything as it were. In other words, Shafi`i came to the view that all opinions existing at that time would be acceptable, but nothing more than that – no new thinking could be allowed. The status quo would be set in stone with no possibility of new participants. Thus the idea of ijma' first and ijtihad later was crystallized and given an official authority.



Conformity became the norm. This was followed by the passivity and blind obedience that had to be fostered to maintain this conformity. The conformity and the passivity soon fused together to breed the pessimism and the fatalism which is a natural result of dead intellect. This came to be the character of the majority of Muslims until today.



On the other hand, the Europeans, who were overawed by the success of the Arabs in the earlier part of Muslim history, realized the importance of inquiry and free thought. The Europeans have progressed ever since because they never closed their doors to free thinking. The example that the Europeans copied was an excellent example of a Muslim people unimpeded by any false teachings. The early Muslims strove hard and achieved the success here on earth, precisely as God wanted them to achieve. By doing so, they earned the credits to give them an honored place in the Hereafter.



As for the hadith writers, God tells them:



Shall we treat the Muslims like the guilty? What is wrong with you? How do you judge? Do you have another book that you apply? One that gives you anything you want?



The Muslims developed the hadith that gave them everything they wanted. In fact, the hadith would envelop the whole of Muslim behavior right from prescribing the "correct" methods of sleeping to eating, dressing, etc. The Muslims under the ulama, therefore, effectively killed themselves off. For some ulama looking for easy followers, the hadith became a most effective tool to achieve that end. For other ulama with no proper objectives in sight, the hadith became an end in itself.



(c) Pessimism and Political Opportunism



Among the many myths that have also found their way into the hadith is the belief in the Mahdi. The Mahdi is expected to arise towards the Last Days and is expected to save all the Muslims from their cruel oppressors. The Quran tells us to continuously strive to do good deeds and to make strong efforts to improve ourselves. The Muslims are commanded to encourage the good and to oppose evil. All this means continuous hard work in the path of God to achieve good objectives.



God does not change the condition of any people, unless they change themselves.



Therefore, encouraging the Muslims to hang their hopes on something called the Mahdi is actually a subtle attempt to make defeatists and pessimists out of them. The suffocating belief in fate: to make the Muslims submissive to other than God and to wait for someone else to come along to save them. The truth is that no one will help us unless we help ourselves first.



This pessimism, however, is further ensconced in another equally debilitating hadith about the attestation of faith or the kalimah shahada. This fabricated hadith says that just by reciting the kalimah shahada at the time of death, one can be forgiven by God and make it to Paradise. Such hadith was a necessary precursor to the pessimism and the passive lethargy that was imposed upon Muslims. For how else could the people be made to resign themselves to such docility? The promise of a savior, the promise of Heaven, the "keys" to Heaven etc. were necessary tools to maintain the people's subservience to the hadith and to the people who propagated such hadiths.



These are just two of the very many fabricated hadith that can be quoted. Not only that; these fabricated hadith, unlike other fabricated hadith, sought to freeze the dynamic thinking encouraged by the Quran. These hadith sought to make vegetables of the people and hence make them totally subservient to the hadith proponents. The result is that the Muslims lost everything that they had striven so hard to achieve.



We also list here a few hadith that are attributed to the Prophet by way of Hudhayfa, a Companion of the Prophet. They are set in a context of the civil conflict engulfing the supporters of Abu Bakr and Ali. These hadith seek to impose a certain will on the people so that the people may serve as useful tools for the vested interests behind these hadith. We begin with a hadith which most cruelly attributes the qualities of a soothsayer to the Prophet.



The messenger of God took a stand to address us in which he did not omit to mention anything that will occur in that place of his up to the occurrence of the Last Hour. Whoso got it to memory remembered it and whoso did not remember it forgot it. These companions of mine learnt it, and there will occur something therefrom which I forgot. When it is shown to me, I remember it, just as a man remembers the face of a man when he remains absent from him, but when afterwards he sees him, he recognizes him. (Bukhari and Muslim)



The people used to ask the Messenger of God of virtues, and I used to ask him of evils, fearing lest they might overtake me. I asked, "O Messenger of God! Certainly we were in ignorance and corruption. Then God brought this good for us. Will there be corruption after this good?" "Yes," he replied. I asked, "Will there be good after this corruption?" "Yes," he replied. I asked, "Will there be good after that corruption?" "Yes," he replied. "There will be darkness



therein." I asked, "What is darkness?" He said, "A people who will introduce ways other than my ways and will give guidance other than my guidance. So you will recognize some of them and reject some." I asked, "Will there be corruption after that good?" "Yes," he replied. "There will be those who will invite towards the doors of Hell. Whoso will respond to them will be thrown therein." I asked, "O Messenger of God, give us their description." He said, "They will be our people, and they will speak with our tongues." I asked, "What do you enjoin me if I reached that time?" He replied, "You shall stick to the united body of Muslims and their leader." I asked, "If they have no united body and no leader?" He said, "Then keep aloof entirely from those parties though you should have to cleave to the root of a tree till death overtakes you ..." (Bukhari and Muslim)



The messenger of God said, "There will soon appear calamities in which one's sitting will be better than one's standing, and one's standing will be better than one's walking, and one's walking will be better than one's running..." (Bukhari and Muslim)



The messenger of God said, "... Keep to your house and hold your tongue, and take what you recognize and give up what you do not know, and mind your own business and give up the affairs of the public." (Tirmidhi)



The hadith concerning the Mahdi and the attestation faith and the hadith concerning the Last Days quoted above all advocate a passive, pessimistic and submissive community. It is totally contrary to the Islamic spirit of striving for the good in the name of God and in the way of God. Why did the ulama advocate such defeatist hadith? Fazlur Rahman says that these hadith reflect the ulama's thinking and their objectives with regard to the factionalism and the civil war that was going on between the Muslim factions. To them the hadith appeared as very handy tool to neutralize the dissenting and damaging effects of the Khawarij and the Mu`tazilites camps. By this simple means of creating hadith and attributing it the Prophet, the orthodox Ahl'ul-Sunna wa'l-Jamaah hoped to save the community from its internecine warfare.



Although these false hadiths were advocated to serve as a bridge to link up all the warring factions in peace and harmony, it became evident soon enough that these false hadith standing on their false foundations would collapse. How could the advocating of pessimism and passivity guarantee peace and harmony, unity and justice? Obviously the orthodox scholars were very short sighted. And on top of everything, all these false teachings were clearly against the teachings of the Quran. It would become all too clear how easily the corrupted and cruel rulers, the foreign invaders and the colonialists would overwhelm a docile and almost indolent Muslim populace. The Muslims had been perfectly molded into its submissive and servile form through the indoctrination of all these false hadith. This was the cause of their fall.



As we have stated, the passive political philosophy advocated by these hadith were completely against the spirit of the Quran which advocated exactly the opposite philosophy upon all Muslims. God enjoins believers in the Quran to get fully involved in community affairs, to consistently advocate good and to oppose evil.



Therefore, did the Quran not pose a serious problem for the hadith writers then? Any careful reading of the Quran and any serious discussion would definitely point out the errors of the hadith. So, how did the ulama handle this potential threat to their hadith? Very simple. They sought to cut off all intellectual discussion and inquiry in Islam. They came up with the nottoo-original but effective idea that only the ulama, the priestly class, would be allowed to handle all matters pertaining to the religion.



They would teach people that they were the inheritors of the Prophet's mission. Despite the fact that Islam never allowed any priesthood, the ulama would go on to successfully set up not only a priestly class but a whole hierarchy of priests. Much like the Brahmins of Hinduism, they would seek to impose this hierarchy upon the Muslim masses and deny the masses any access to a true understanding of the religion without first being screened by them. Unfortunately, these ulama have been most successful to this day. Once again, to sustain their position and to nick any buds of dissent that might decide to bloom, the ulama resorted to their good old panacea for all their ills — the hadith! Consider these:



The ulama are the heirs to the Prophet. (Abu Daud and Tirmidhi)



Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet said, "Whoever seeks to interpret the Quran using his own intellect, he should also prepare to burn in the hell fire." (Tirmidhi)



The following must remain a jewel among all the false hadith:



Jundub reported that the Prophet said, "Whosoever interprets the Quran, and his interpretation is correct, that person has committed a sin." (Tirmidhi and Abu Daud)



It should not come as a surprise to us that after a thousand years of adhering to the false teachings of such hadith, the Muslims' condition has progressively worsened as we have shown



in Chapter I. If the present Islamic movement for reform and regeneration aims to achieve its objectives, it absolutely must face up to the reality of the corrupting influence of the hadith and other false teachings arising from it, and return to the divine Quran. There is no evading the issue. There is no shortcut to the truth except through the destruction of falsehood.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHAPTER IV CRITICISM OF THE HADITH



These are God's revelations that we recite for you with the truth. In which hadith besides the revelations of God, do they believe?



(Quran, 45:6)



It is a recorded historical fact, as we have seen in the last chapter, that at the time of the Prophet's death in the 11th year of the Hijra (632 AD), the whole of the Quran, which had been revealed to the Prophet, had been carefully written down and arranged in an order as directed by the Prophet himself. This historical testimony supports the Divine assertion of the Quran's arrangement under Divine direction.



On the other hand, there exists no hadith collection that Muhammad himself authenticated. In fact, he was reported to prohibit the writing down of any hadith. Even among the religious scholars there is much controversy over what is termed the mutawattir hadith, or multiplesource reports. Some say that there are seven of these, some say only one while others say none at all. If the hadith scholars cannot agree on the number of the very few multiple-source reports, how could they impose the 6,000-odd so-called authentic hadiths of Bukhari on the Sunnite Muslim community? We also know that the Shi'ite Muslim community have their own hadith collections.



As we have seen in Chapter III, the so-called authentic hadith collections came into being after much editing by the likes of Bukhari and Muslim only about 250 years after the Prophet's death. The `authentic' or `genuine' (sahih) label attached to the collected and edited works of



these six collectors is a subjective classification based on certain criteria, which may not be agreed to by other scholars. This is the source of the hitherto endless debate on the authenticity of the hadith.



What is not realized by the general Muslim community now is that all these hadith reporters and scholars in their own day had their critics who are now conveniently forgotten. In some cases, a particular scholar's opinion or writing came to dominate the Muslim mind because those writings received support from the caliph or whatever authority existing at that time. A good example is the action of Caliph Harun Al-Rashid who wanted to ban the writings of all Muslim scholars except the book Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik ibn Anas. The caliph insisted on making Al-Muwatta as the standard text by which to formulate the Shari`a or Islamic law. Fortunately, it was through the insistence of Imam Malik himself that such a course of action was denied, hence allowing debate and fruitful discussion to continue in the caliph's realm. Imam Malik felt compelled to speak up because he understood that, after all, his writings could be mistaken. The human intellect is eminently fallible.



Compared to all these weaknesses which beset the hadith, the Quran is completely vouchsafed for its authenticity by no less an authority than God Himself.



The majority follows only conjecture, and conjecture is no substitute for the truth. God is fully aware of everything they do. But the Quran can never be invented by other than God. It confirms all previous scriptures, and consummates them. There is absolutely no doubt that it comes from the Lord of the Universe.



Criticism of the Hadith Has Always Existed



Criticism of the hadith, even the rejection of the hadith theory advocated by Imam Shafi`i, is not something new. Criticism of it existed from the earliest times. At the time of Imam Shafi`i, the Mu`tazilite rationalist school, one of the earliest Muslim theological schools, advanced two very sound arguments to refute the hadith theory. They stated that the hadith was merely guesswork and conjecture, and that the Quran was complete and perfect, and did not require the hadith or any other book to supplement or complement it.



However, as we mentioned earlier, the hadith/sunna school mustered significant social and political support for its teachings. The Mu`tazilite school was therefore subjugated and the sunna school became dominant. It is not within the province of this book to delve much deeper into this interesting controversy; it suffices to say that much remains to be understood from the causes and effects of this controversy alone.



Closer to our time, namely towards the end of the nineteenth century, the reform movement spearheaded by Jamaluddin Al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh sought to curb the emphasis on taqlid, or blind conformity to the opinions of early Imams. However, little effort was made to address the problems of the hadith itself. These two renowned scholars only went so far as to further tighten the criteria for accepting the hadith. At the same time, they still accept the hadith as a principal source of law on par with the Quran.



Other schools of thought did arise in Egypt, India and Indonesia, seeking to question and even repudiate the hadith. Although detailed information about them is rather scarce, in Egypt Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi (d. 1920) and Mahmud Abu Rayya, whose book on the hadith was published in Cairo in 1958, questioned the reliability of the hadith. In India, the ahlul-Quran group led by Ghulam Ahmad Parvez arose during the 1930's to take Muslims back to the Quran. It is most probable that similar movements have sprung up in other Muslim societies throughout Islamic history. Therefore, it is important for us to keep in mind that criticism of the hadith has always been extant since the day the hadith was written down.



The Underlying Weakness of the Hadith: Conjecture and Guesswork



Lately it has become a novelty for some writers to allude to historical evidence to prove the existence of written hadith records from the time of the Prophet. These writers claim that various sahifah or personal diaries of various Companions have been found. Unfortunately for these writers, such writings do not exist at all. Perhaps the impetus for this sahifah theory was sparked by the reference to the records of Hammam ibn Munabih (d. 101 or 102 Hijrah), a pupil of Abu Huraira. Hammam ibn Munabih is reported to have recorded 140 alleged sayings of the Prophet from Abu Hurairah. But we do not have conclusive evidence for the existence of these personal diaries. The scholars have differing opinions on this subject. Therefore, to vouch



for the existence of a complete set of sahifah writings can only be an intellectual flight of fancy.



It is also pertinent to note that the collecting, collating and editing of the hadith into the six dominant books that we have today has never been conclusively witnessed or vouched for. To make matters even more complicated for the hadith writers, there is a recorded hadith of the Prophet which claims that the Prophet himself had expressly forbidden the writing down of any hadith! According to Muslim and ibn Hanbal:



Abi Said al Khudri reported that the Prophet said, "Do not write down anything from me except the Quran. Whoever writes down anything other than the Quran must erase it."



The hadith writers come up with the retort that the Prophet said what he said in order to prevent his followers from confusing the Quran, which was still being revealed at that time, with the hadith. Hence, his prohibition. It was later repealed, they argued, when the danger of mixing the Quran with the hadith no longer existed.



But this appears to be a rather lame excuse to justify the writing of the hadith. Even after the Prophet's death and even very much after the Quran had been carefully bound into its present form, the true followers of the Prophet still refused to write down anything of the so-called hadith. This is clear from another report of Ibn Hanbal:



"Zayd ibn Thabit (the Prophet's personal aide and scribe) was visiting the house of Mu`awiya and was narrating to the Caliph a story about the Prophet. The Caliph, who became much impressed with the story, immediately asked his scribe to record the story. Zayd then cautioned the Caliph, `The holy prophet has forbidden us from writing down anything from his hadith.' "



There is also the story regarding the first caliph Abu Bakr who could not lay his head down to sleep upon finding out that there were some written records of the Prophet's sayings in the house of his daughter Aisha, who was the Prophet's wife. Not until he had personally burnt the written records was he able to sleep peacefully again. The second caliph Omar ibn Khattab also refused to allow anyone to compile the hadith for fear that the people may take to them and discard the Quran.



This is just another proof to deny the authority of the hadith. Not only that, but since the hadith writers can show us other hadiths that does allow for the writing down of the hadith, it only



goes further to show that the hadith even contradict one another. To attribute all these conflicting and preposterous hadiths to the Prophet and also to equate these hadiths with the Quran is only being presumptuous and belittling the mission of the Prophet.



It would have been impossible for the Prophet to equate any of his own sayings with the Quran. It would also be quite illogical for him to want his people to follow a set of writings which he never authorized and whose authenticity would later give rise to so much confusion and hardship for the Muslims. We must also remember that the Quran itself, although revealed fully to the Prophet, was never fully compiled into one book during the Prophet's own lifetime. It would only be bound into one complete book under the caliphs Abu Bakr and Omar. So if this was the case for the Quran, can the case for the hadith be stronger? Definitely not. The hadiths were never written down in the presence of the Prophet and neither was the Prophet present to supervise the `transmission' of any of his sayings. That is why the hadiths differ so much. That is why we have the split in Islam into the Sunnite and the Shi'ite sects, and among the Sunnites into the Shafi`i, the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Hanbali major and numerous other minor schools. They all quote their own hadith to color their particular shade of ideology.



Another illuminating example that must be quoted is the hadith that records the Prophet's last sermon during his final pilgrimage. This hadith has two chains of reporters: one as reported by Jabir ibn Abdullah (which itself has two versions) and another as reported by Malik ibn Anas.



First let us quote the two different versions attributed to Jabir ibn Abdullah:



(a) Jabir ibn Abdullah reported during his farewell sermon the Prophet said, " ... and I have left with you one thing; if you hold on to it firmly, you will never stray, i.e. God's Scripture. You will be asked about me. So what will you say?" They said, "We will vouchsafe that you have truthfully and completely delivered the message and brought the remainder." (Muslim) (Emphasis added)



(b) Jabir ibn Abdullah reported that the Prophet said in his farewell sermon during his final pilgrimage, "And I have left among you one thing; if you hold on to it firmly, you will never stray – God's Scripture and whatever you have gained from questioning me (hadith) (Muslim) (Emphasis added)



Surely Jabir ibn Abdullah could have narrated only one of the above versions. Version (b) with its extra wording is an obvious addition to the original.



The second (or actually the third) record of this same event is attributed to Anas ibn Malik (a companion) who concedes that it is only a weak hadith. It says:



I have left you two things, so long as you hold tightly to them both, you will never stray – Allah's Holy Quran and the Sunnah of His Messenger (Muwatta) (Emphasis added)



It is interesting to note that this hadith is classified as a `weak' hadith by the hadith writers themselves. To further highlight this incongruity, Ibn Ishaq, another early chronicler, reports,



Al-Zuhri informed me from Anas ibn Malik: "While Abu Bakr was receiving allegiance from the followers the day after the Prophet had died, Omar stood up and spoke to the people, `O People! God has left you His Scripture, with which He guided His Messenger.' "



It is quite evident that the Prophet instructed us to hold on to the Quran only. This is consonant with the later testimony and conduct of the Caliphs Abu Bakr and Omar regarding the hadith. The allegation that the Prophet also made reference to the hadith in his Farewell Sermon can only be a falsification of the truth. This falsification might likely have crept in after the death of Omar, at the earliest, because we are aware that Caliph Omar ibn Khattab was a strict man and a stickler for correct behavior. However, it is the Quran itself that gives us the final say regarding the hadith. In Chapter II we have referred to the usage of the words `hadith' and `sunna' in the Quran. We have seen that not even in one of these references in the Quran is there any indication for the existence of the prophetic hadith or tradition. The word `hadith' in all its forms is used thirty-six times in the Quran, eleven of which refer to the Quran, while none refers to what has later been termed the hadith or sunna. When we ponder on those verses containing the word `hadith' in the Quran, we shall notice a subtle criticism of the so-called hadith:



These are God's revelations that we recite for you with the truth. In which hadith besides the revelations of God, do they believe?



God sent down the best hadith, a scripture that is consistent, repeating.



It is a revelation from the Lord of the Universe. Are you then evading this hadith?



The first verse quoted above clearly forbids us from accepting anything other than the Quran as a source of guidance and criterion for measuring things religious. The second makes reference to the Quran as being the best hadith. The third chides us for resorting to sources that wish to replace the Quran.



To further clarify any doubts that we might have about the supremacy of the Quran compared to the distorted and fabricated recordings of the hadith, God uses an ingenious technique to impress upon us that the Quran and only the Quran is our source of guidance. This must be part of God's promise to permanently protect His teachings, i.e. the Quran. We refer in particular to verse 31:6 of the Quran:



Some people uphold vain hadith in order to divert others from the path of God without knowledge, and to create a mockery out of it. These have deserved humiliating retribution.



In verse 39:23 God refers to the Quran as ahsan'al- hadith or `the best hadith'. In 31:6 He refers to the fabricators of false teachings as upholding `vain hadith' (lahw'al-hadith) to divert the people from the path of God. These people, needless to say, are to be condemned. Therefore, God uses the word `hadith' in two contradictory contexts to impress upon us the basic difference between His teachings and the teachings of those who deny Him.



It is clear now that most of the hadith attributed to the Prophet are, in fact, nothing but vain talk (lahw'al-hadith) which only serve to "divert others from the path of God without knowledge."



Weaknesses in the Methodology of Chain-Reporters or `Isnad'



The hadith writers are fond of saying that the collection and collating of the hadith was undertaken with much care and accuracy, especially by Bukhari and Muslim – two of the hadith writers held in the highest regard by their own followers. Bukhari and Muslim are supposed to have used strict and meticulous techniques to criticize and evaluate the sources of their hadith prior to writing them down.



The hadith writers founded a whole new branch of learning called Ilm al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil (the science of accepting and rejecting narrations) whereby the narrators are examined for their honesty and integrity. Although we must appreciate and praise them for the labor they had put into the task, we cannot turn a blind eye to the basic weakness of their methodology.



We note that the majority of the hadith only appeared during the time of the tabi`in, i.e. successors to the Companions, and the time of the tabi` tabi`in (successors to the successors of the Companions). Who were the tabi`in and the tabi` tabi`in? The tabi`in were the generations that succeeded the Companions of the Prophet. This is two and a half to four generations or 70 to 120 years thereabouts after the Prophet. The tabi` tabi`in were those people who succeeded the aforementioned group, that is, four and a half to six generations or around 130 to 190 years after the Prophet. That means the majority of the hadith arose around a hundred to two hundred years after the Prophet.



However accurate the methodology of the isnad, the scholars first started talking about it and started writing it down only about 150 - 200 years after the deaths of the very last tabi`i tabi`in. This means that when the research to establish the isnad got started, none of the Companions, the succeeding generation or the generation coming after them were available to provide any kind of guidance, confirmation or rebuttal. Therefore, the authenticity of the statements cannot be vouched for at all.



It is not our intention to say that Bukhari, Muslim and others were fabricators. However, even students of elementary psychology or communication will testify that a simple message of, say, 15 words will get distorted after passing through only about five messengers. (Our readers are welcome to try out this experiment). Keep in mind that the hadith contains thousands of detailed and complex narrations — everything from ablution to jurisprudence. These narrations passed through hundreds of narrators who were spread out over thousands of miles of desert, and spanned over two to three hundred years of history. All this at a time when news traveled at the speed of a camel gait, recorded on pieces of leather or bone or scrolls in a land that had neither paper nor the abundance of scribes to write anything down!



Even today in this modern day and age of the twentieth century, there have been major historical events, which although well documented, still elicit much controversy. We cite, for example, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — an event that is surrounded by much mystery. We also have the controversy surrounding the exact causes of the First World War. In our own country, there is much debate as to the true story behind Mahsuri and Hang Tuah. In every family there are always conflicting stories or versions of stories to explain certain events that happen within families.



Therefore, it is not likely that the various hadith writers could have been accurate, however much they wanted to, in checking the authenticity of the hadith which they wrote down. A camel journey from Mecca to Damascus might take a month or two. In fact, any journey by camel between the major populated areas of the Arabian deserts took much time. It makes it highly unlikely that the hadith writers checked out all the thousands of details personally. Otherwise, they must have spent a large part of their lives sitting on the backs of very fastmoving camels. History has recorded who these hadith writers were, where they lived and how much travelling they undertook. As for the camels, a camel's gait remains much the same then as it is now.



It stands to reason that the hadith writers depended on much story-telling to fill in the blanks. Many `authentic' narrators whom the hadith writers allude to in their chains of isnad were wholly fabricated names. To overcome this type of logical criticism, the hadith writers came up with an ingenious device to actually pull the wool over our eyes. They came up with the concept of ta`dil of the Companions. This concept states that the Companions of the Prophet are wholly protected from committing any error whenever they recall or narrate the sayings of the Prophet!



Although this concept is preposterous and defies all logic, we must note that Muslims were not the first to make such blatant claims. In fact, the hadith writers have taken a page from the Christian books. Although Jesus did not write anything down, the disciples and followers wrote down the various books of the Bible. To lend credence to their work, these Bible writers were also deemed to have been "inspired" and without fault whenever they undertook to record `the Word of God'. In fact, there are even parts of the Bible that appeared to one of the Bible writers in a dream while he was asleep!



Let us examine two examples of isnad for hadith compiled by the famous Bukhari.



Prophet Muhammad Prophet Muhammad 1. Omar ibn Khattab 1. Aisha 2. Al Qanmah ibn Waqqas al-Laithi 2. Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr 3. Ibni Ibrahim at Taimi 3. Ibni Shihab 4. Yahya ibn Said al Ansari 4. Uqail 5. Sufyan 5. Al-Baith 6. Abdullah ibn Az Zubair 6. Yahya ibn Bukhair Bukhari Bukhari As we have mentioned earlier, these isnad were recorded at least 150 years after the last tabi` tabi`in had died. Therefore, what real proofs are there to show that Omar ibn Khattab or Aisha were the real sources of this particular isnad ? The proofs simply do not exist. The only things made available to us are strongly-held opinions and neat concepts like the ta`dil of the Companions.



But what does God Almighty have to say about all these? We quote:



Additionally we have appointed for every prophet enemies from among the human devils and the jinn devils, who invent and narrate to each other fancy words in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their inventions. This is God's will so that the minds of those who do not really believe in the Hereafter may listen thereto, and accept it, and to have them commit what they are supposed to commit. Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He revealed to you this book fully detailed? Even those who received previous scripture recognize that it came down from your Lord, truthfully. Therefore, you shall not harbor any doubt. The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His Words. He is the Hearer, the Knower. If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of God. They only follow conjecture, and they only guess.



The majority follows only conjecture, and conjecture is no substitute for the truth. God is fully aware of everything they do. But the Quran can never be invented by anything other than God. It confirms all previous scripture, and consummates them. There is absolutely no doubt that it comes from the Lord of the Universe.



In the verses above, God warns us that many `religious' books written by men are merely guesswork and conjecture. Can anyone deny that the hadith books are also religious books written by mere mortals?



But the hadith writers are still insistent. According to some, at least Bukhari's hadith is infallible. Why? Because Bukhari is reported to have sifted through more than 600,000 hadiths and had picked only 7,275 to be included in his `authentic' collection. This fact is put forward to impress upon the reader that Bukhari was meticulous and thorough in his life's work. Bukhari merely took 1.25% of all the hadiths he came across as authentic. But a simple calculation will show that these figures are preposterous and impossible to be achieved by Bukhari or any other human being.



If, on the average, a hadith consists of three simple sentences (in truth many hadiths run into paragraphs), then Bukhari would have had to collect, read, investigate, evaluate and record over 1.8 million sentences over a period of 40 years. This is the equivalent of researching (which include the long camel journeys to and fro across the desert) and attesting to the authenticity of over 300 books, each equivalent to the thickness and complexity of a Quran, over a period of 40 years! Compare this to the 6346 verses only of the one Quran which God in His all encompassing mercy gave to the Prophet over a period of 23 years!



According to another source, Ibn Hanbal reported that there were over 7 million `authentic' hadiths. If this were true, then working for 23 years at a pace of 18 hours a day, seven days a week, the Prophet would have had to produce one hadith every 77 seconds! There would definitely have been no time left at all for the Prophet to have done anything like living his life and carrying out his mission as a Prophet!



It is evident that to rely on the isnad alone to vouch for the hadith is wholly unacceptable. It would be more correct to evaluate a hadith based on its content and logic of the content. Any hadith whose isnad is satisfactory (to the hadith writers) but whose content does not satisfy logic must be rejected as unacceptable. If we use this simple method, we will most probably discover that the majority of the hadith in the six collections cannot be accepted anymore.



The weakness of the hadith can be analyzed from three aspects. Firstly, its contradiction with the Quran. Such hadith is automatically rejected. Secondly, its contradiction with history,



scientific facts or common sense. Such hadith must also be rejected. Thirdly, its selfcontradiction. With such hadith, it is possible that one of them may be true and acceptable.



The Coherence Theory of the Hadith



Again in anticipation of criticism, the hadith writers came up with other neat tricks to safeguard their position. Imam Shafi`i postulated the theory of the coherence of the hadith. By this fantastic theory, Shafi`i held that the hadith could never contradict the Quran, or another hadith. If any contradictions were found to exist, these were merely outward appearances but not real contradictions. These rather simple tricks of word-play were set up to cover the obvious discrepancies and contradictions that exist in the hadith. But whether this theory can really save the hadith is another matter. We will see that this theory only condemns the hadith further.



To prove his point that the hadith can never contradict the Quran or itself, Shafi`i provides the following convoluted explanation. He takes the Prophet not only as a Divine messenger but as a Divine spokesman whose every word and action is divinely inspired. The Prophet must be obeyed absolutely in every single way because it is only the Prophet who has the necessary knowledge to explain those matters that are discussed in rather general terms in the Quran. In this way, there can be no conflict between the sunna and the Quran. Contradictions may sometimes be seen between one sunna and another due to certain peculiar circumstances which gave rise to such sunna, or due to incomplete reporting of the sunna, but in reality the contradictions do not exist. Note the following dialogue between Shafi`i and a questioner where this confusing and contradicting theory is explained:



He (i.e. the questioner) asked: Would it be possible for the sunna to contradict the Book [of God]?



[Shafi`i] replied: Impossible! For God, glorified be His praise, imposed on men the obligation [of obedience to the law] through two avenues – the origin of both is in His Book – His Book and the sunna: [The latter is binding by virtue of] the duty of obedience laid down in the Book that it should be followed. So it was not permissible for the Apostle to allow the sunna to be abrogated [by the Book], without the Apostle himself] providing another sunna to abrogate it. The abrogating sunna is known because it is the later one, while most of the abrogating



[communications] of the Book can be known only by [indications provided in] the sunna of the Apostle.



Shafi`i does not provide any hard evidence or good examples to prove this coherence theory. What he attempts to explain is what the hadith scholars allege to be the function of the sunna to explain and detail the general rules mentioned in the Quran. We have already discussed this in detail in Chapter II. However, let us discuss Shafi`i's handling of a clear-cut case, the punishment for adultery, where the hadith clearly contradicts the Quran.



On the subject of adultery, the Quran clearly lays down the punishment as follows:



The adulteress and the adulterer, you shall whip each one of them one hundred lashes, and do not be swayed by pity from carrying out God's law, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their punishment.



On the other hand, the hadith holds the following:



Omar reported that God had sent His messenger Muhammad and revealed the Scripture to him. Among the verses revealed by Almighty God is the commandment to stone (the adulterers) until death. The Prophet stoned (the adulterers) until death and likewise we also stoned (the adulterers) until death. Stoning until death in the Scripture is truly prescribed for husbands and wives who commit adultery, if they are found guilty, or become pregnant, or confess their sins.



Shafi`i explains this contradiction as follows:



The sunna of the Apostle specified that the penalty of scourging with a hundred stripes for [fornication on the part of the] free unmarried couple was confirmed, but that it was abrogated concerning the married; and that the penalty of stoning for [adultery on the part of the] free married couple was confirmed. This is an extremely interesting interpretation. Not only does the sunna punishment clearly contradict the punishment in the Quran, but it is also given the power to confirm or overrule the Quran! But surprisingly, in other places, Shafi`i does not allow the sunna to contradict the Quran or vice versa. He only allows the Quran to abrogate the Quran and the sunna to abrogate the sunna. It is obvious that the coherence theory of the hadith is confusing and unacceptable.



The greatest weakness of the hadith is its contradiction with the Word of God, i.e. the Quran. We quote here just a few of the samples:



1. The Rise of Imam Mahdi towards the Last Days



The hadith about the coming of the Mahdi to save mankind from the tribulations of the Dajjal or Anti-Christ towards the end of the world is not consistent with the teachings of the Quran. God commands us to strive in God's cause and to command good and to forbid evil every second of our lives. These hadith instead advocate a passive response and surrender to `fate' and await the Mahdi's arrival to save us.



The belief in the Mahdi arose from the Jewish belief in the coming of a savior. Actually this savior, as foretold in their scripture, was Prophet Muhammad whom they rejected when he arose among the Arabs. It is also consonant with the Christian belief about the Second Coming of Christ. The Shi`ites, when they lost political power to the Umayyads, similarly created their own myth about the return of the 12th Imam. He was believed to have disappeared, and will return towards the Last Days as the Mahdi who would rule the world with justice.



2. The Miracles of Prophet Muhammad



There are quite a few hadiths that quote many miracles performed by the Prophet. The Quran tells us clearly that the Prophet did not perform any miracles. The only miracle given to the Prophet was the Quran itself, as witness the verse:



"They said, `How come no miracles were sent to him from his Lord?' Say, `Miracles come only from God, and I am no more than a warner'. Is it not enough of a miracle that we sent down to you this scripture, which is being recited to them? Indeed, it is a mercy and a message for those who believe."



3. The Prophet's Intercession



Many other hadiths give the power of intercession to the Prophet. But there are many verses of the Quran that clearly testify that no one can intercede on anyone's behalf. Verse 2:254 states:



"O you who believe, you shall give to charity from our provisions to you, before a day comes wherein there will be no trade, no favoritism and no intercession. It is the disbelievers who choose wickedness."



No intercession is allowed. Even if it is allowed, it can only be with God's permission, i.e. in accordance with God's will only. In this case, intercession cannot be limited just to Prophet Muhammad; it can be from anyone whom God allows. To insist that only Prophet Muhammad can intercede is to discriminate among God's prophets, as well as to restrict God's omnipotence in making decisions.



4. Punishment for Apostasy



The hadith prescribes the death penalty for apostasy. "If anyone leaves his religion, then kill him." (Bukhari and Abu Daud) The Quran, on the other hand, makes no provision for the killing of apostates. Verse 5:54 states:



"O you who believe, if any of you reverts from his religion, then God will bring people whom He loves as they love Him, and humble themselves towards the believers, while being stern towards the disbelievers; and strive in the cause of God; and never worry about any blamer who might blame them. Such is God's grace that He bestows upon whomever He wills. God is bounteous, omniscient."



Verse 2:256 affirms complete freedom of religious belief:



"There shall be no compulsion in religion ..."



On the contrary, the Quran informs us that the leaders of misbelief practiced murder or stoning to death of those who believed in God, as witness this verse: ".... If they find out about you, they would stone you, or force you back into their religion..." This refers to the story of the monotheistic youths, the seven sleepers of Ephesus, who took refuge in a cave from the persecution of Christians who had deviated from the monotheistic teachings of Christ around



the time of the promulgation of the Nicene Creed in 325 AD. In this respect, it is most interesting to note that the Old Testament punishment for apostasy is also death.



5. Reward of Paradise by Just Uttering the Attestation of Faith Before Death



A number of hadith promise Paradise to anyone who utters the kalimah shahada or attestation of faith before death. This hadith seeks to annul all of God's teachings that only sound faith and good works will get one to Heaven. Just by mentioning a few words is not going to cause one to gain an entry into Heaven, just as forgetting or not mentioning these words does not mean that Heaven is forbidden. Death can sometimes approach us suddenly without any warning. The example of the drowning Pharaoh uttering the shahada and rejected by God from His Paradise in the Quran shows that faith must be nurtured by good works before it can take root in any individual. This hadith is self-abrogating.



6. Encouraging Passivity



We have already quoted several hadiths that advocate passivity and withdrawal from active participation in society. This is clearly in contradiction not only with the Quran but with the whole purpose of Islam. Surely if the Prophet had chosen to be passive, none of us would be Muslims today!



7. Punishment for Adultery



We have already discussed this.



8. The Command to Pray



We have already dealt with this subject in detail.



9. The Prophet's Prophecies



Many hadiths tell us about the Prophet's own prophecies regarding the future. This contradicts the Quran's assertion that the Prophet does not know the future. Verse 7:188 states:



"Say (O Muhammad), `I possess no power to either benefit or harm myself. Only what God wills takes place. Had I known the future, I would have increased my wealth, and no harm would have afflicted me. I am no more than a warner and preacher for those who believe.' "



Verses 72:25-27 inform us thus:



"Say, `I have no idea how soon or how far is that which is promised to you. Only God is the knower of the future; He lets no one else acquire such knowledge. Only the messengers that He chooses may be given certain information concerning the past or the future.'"



10. Fatalism



The sixth pillar of faith, drawn from the hadith, teaches fatalism among Muslims. This must be one of the chief causes of Muslim decline in the last thousand years. This hadith is annulled by the Quran in two verses, which states:



"Anyone who disbelieves in God, His angels, His scriptures, His messengers and the Last Day has indeed strayed far away."



"Wherever you may be, death will catch up with you, even if you are in formidable castles. When something good happens to them, they say, `This is from God,' and when something bad happens to them, they say, `This is because of you.' Say, `All things come from God.' What is wrong with these people that they can hardly understand any preaching? Whatever good that happens to you is from God. Whatever bad that happens to you is a consequence of your own work..."



Self-Contradiction of Hadith



As we have said, the hadith reflects the views and opinions of various factions and groups, many with vested interests, existing in society then. It is to be expected, therefore, that many of them contradict one another. We list a few here:



1. Hadith on the Recording of Hadith



There exist `authentic' hadiths which forbid as well as allow the writing down of hadith besides the Quran. One that forbids the writing down of hadith reads as follows: "Abi Said al Khudri reported that the Prophet said, `Do not write down anything from me except the Quran. Whoever writes anything other than the Quran must erase it.' " (Bukhari and Ibn Hanbal). An opposite hadith is the following: "Abdullah ibn Amr reported that the Prophet said, `Deliver from me even one sentence ... Whoever betrays me intentionally let him prepare to burn in Hell.'" (Bukhari)



M. Hamidullah claims that the prohibition was made due to certain circumstances, but that it was later revoked. This is a very weak argument, as we have indicated earlier.



2. The Farewell Sermon



We have already discussed this.



3. Punishment for Adultery



We have shown earlier how the hadith on this matter contradicts the Quran. The earlier hadith that we quoted wrongfully sets down the death penalty (by stoning) for adultery. Compare that with the following hadith:



"Jabir ibn Abdullah reported that the Messenger of God said, `You have rights over your wives, such that they should not bed with anyone else. If they transgress in this matter, you may beat them without causing any injury.' " (Bukhari and Muslim).



It should be noted that this hadith makes adultery a light matter. It should also be noted that stoning to death for adultery was a punishment stipulated in the Old Testament.



4. Striving in the Cause of God



While some hadith advocate passivity, there are others that call for striving in the way of God.



5. The Status of the Prophets



There are some hadith which correctly obey the Quran and forbid discriminating between the Prophets. Yet there are hadith which seek to glorify the Prophet Muhammad over other prophets.



6. On the Quran



Some hadith explicitly require us to refer to the hadith besides the Quran. But once again, there are other hadiths which warn us of going astray if we were to seek guidance from other than the Quran.



There are many more hadiths that contradict one another. We have quoted just a few for our readers. Surely if we delve deeper into this area of hadith research, we can discover even more contradictions. Perhaps this book will serve to stimulate further thought in this area.



Hadith Contradicting Science, History and Logic



Finally, we must test the hadith for their congruence with scientific facts, historical facts and simple common sense. God tells us in the Quran that His signs are manifest in the physical universe that surrounds us. Verses 10:5-6 inform us:



"God is the One Who made the sun luminescent, and the moon a light, and He designed its phases to provide you with a timing device. God did not create all this in vain. He explains the revelations for people who know. The alternation of the night and day, and of the things that God created in the heavens and the earth, provide signs for the righteous."



Therefore, the physical world is full of God's signs. The natural laws of physics, biology, chemistry and everything else are merely a manifestation of the system put into Nature by God Almighty. Whenever our scientists `invent' something new, it is not an invention, instead it is merely uncovering or coming to grips with a system that has already been put there. Therefore, scientific observation and scientific knowledge can only confirm what God has placed in Nature, the Unwritten Book of God. This is what the Quran, the Written Book of God, already tells us. Established scientific facts are, therefore, in complete consonance with the Quran. Any fact that cannot be scientifically established cannot be consonant with the Quran.



The same is true for recorded history. Anything that really happened in history can never contradict the Quran. Therefore, if any `historical fact' contradicts any Quranic teachings, that `fact' cannot be true. It must have been fabricated. The same applies also for simple logic and common sense. Logic and common sense can never contradict the Quran.



In these respects, the hadith again fails miserably. An eminent French physician and member of the French Academy of Sciences, Dr. Maurice Bucaille, a Muslim who has made a deep study of the contents of the Quran and the hadith, has stated:



"The difference is in fact quite staggering between the accuracy of the data contained in the Quran, when compared with modern scientific knowledge, and the highly questionable



character of certain statements in the hadith on subjects whose tenor is essentially scientific... In view of the fact that only a limited number of hadith may be considered to express the Prophet's thought with certainty, the others must contain the thoughts of men of his times, in particular with regard to the subjects referred to here. When these dubious or inauthentic hadith are compared to the text of the Quran, we can measure the extent to which they differ. This comparison highlights ... the striking difference between the writings of this period, which are riddled with scientifically inaccurate statements, and the Quran, the Book of Written Revelation, that is free from errors of this kind."



We can provide numerous examples of the hadith contradicting scientific facts, historical facts and simple logic. Some of them are as follows:



1. The Movement of the Sun



A hadith records the following,



"Abu Zarr reported that the Messenger of God said that when the sun wishes to set, it travels until it prostrates itself below the Divine Throne. It requests for permission and is granted. It prostrates but its supplication is not accepted and it will request for permission but is not granted. It will then be commanded to return to whence it came. So it will rise at the place where it sets ..." (Bukhari and Muslim)



Apart from the fact of its contradiction with what we know from science, the reader should note what the Quran says on this matter. Verses 36:38-40 inform us:



"The sun runs in a specific orbit. Such is the design of the Almighty, the Omniscient. And we designed the moon to appear in stages until it reverts to a thin curve. The sun never catches up with the moon, nor does the night prematurely overtake the day. Each floats in its own orbit."



Not only is the hadith above ignorant of the Quran, but it also places the earth in the center with the sun orbiting around it, when the truth is much to the contrary.



2. The Command to Pray



We have seen that the Divine command to pray, as with other religious rituals, was first given to Prophet Abraham and his followers, and this ritual prayer was handed down from generation to generation until Prophet Muhammad. This is testified both by the Quran and by history. 3. Discrimination Against Women



A hadith quotes Abu Sayeed al Khudri as reporting that a woman came to the Prophet and complained that her husband had forced her to break her fast in order to have sexual intercourse with him. To this the Prophet is alleged to have replied, "A woman cannot fast without her husband's permission." (Abu Daud and Ibn Majah)



This hadith tries very hard to cast a terrible slur on the Prophet's good name. Such an attribute is clearly against the chivalrous and good-natured character of the Prophet. Moreover, it is also contrary to the Quranic teachings concerning the method of fasting and how to interact with our wives and other human beings around us.



4. Discouraging Sport



A hadith quotes Oqabah ibn A'mer as reporting that the Prophet allegedly said, "All types of sport is forbidden for men except archery, horse riding and playing with their wives." (Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja and Abu Daud).



5. Anti-Reason



While God insists that we use our minds to think, some hadith falsely allege that humans can never think. "Jundub reported that the Messenger of God said, `Whoever interprets the Quran using his own intellect, even if the interpretation is correct, he is committing a grievous sin.' " (Tirmidhi and Abu Daud)



Conclusion



As the Quran says so very precisely and accurately, many of the hadith contained in the six `authentic' books of hadith are nothing but "vain talk in order to divert others from the path of God without knowledge, and to create a mockery of it."



The hadith/sunna, therefore, can never be referred to as an infallible source of guidance, as the Quran is. This is not to say that we have to burn all the hadith books. They are useful social and historical records, reflecting people and events of their times. However, we cannot agree with the anxiety of the late Pakistani scholar, Professor Fazlur Rahman, who said that if we were to neglect the hadith, then the historical basis for the existence of the Quranic teachings would be destroyed. This argument has often been repeated and stressed by the hadith party on behalf of the hadith, but it really has no basis. The historical proofs for the Quran and for Prophet Muhammad who brought it to mankind is the Quran itself, the existence of the Muslim community throughout history and the existence of many historical records. The Quran, without the hadith, is not in the least affected. So is Prophet Muhammad. On the contrary, the Prophet will emerge in a much better light without the fabrications of many so-called hadith/sunna that had been attributed to him.



As historical records, the hadith is useful. However, as historical records go, they cannot be fully accepted as true until they are criticized and evaluated by scientific, historical and divine, i.e. Quranic, criticism.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHAPTER V CONCLUSION: RETURN TO PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S ORIGINAL TEACHING — THE QURAN



You shall obey God and obey the Messenger and beware. If you turn away, then you should know that the sole function of our messenger is to deliver the message. (Quran, 5:92)



Say, "O people, I am God's messenger to all of you. To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. There is no God except He. He grants life and death." Therefore, you shall believe in God and His messenger, the gentile prophet, who believes in God and His Words and follow him, that you may be guided. (Quran, 7:158)



When Prophet Muhammad died, he left with us only the Quran - and nothing but the Quran - as a guidance for Muslims and indeed for all mankind. This has been shown by solid historical evidence. Moreover, the Quran pronounced this fact as well when God stated several times that the function of the messenger was only to deliver the message. Verse 92 of Sura 5 that we quote above is one of them. We also quote Verse 158 of Sura 7 which states that Prophet Muhammad himself believes in the divine words, i.e. the Quran.



Nevertheless, the previous chapters have shown how Muslim society between 200-250 years after the death of the Prophet, through their religious scholars (particularly Shafi`i) built a new doctrine to the effect that the Prophet has left them the Quran and the hadith and that they must hold on to both.



Notwithstanding the conflicting versions of hadith that say otherwise, historical facts also prove beyond any shadow of doubt that there were no hadith collections existing at the time of the Prophet's death. History also proves that the early caliphs prevented the dissemination or recording of hadith. Al-Muwatta' of Malik ibn Anas (d. 975) may be said to be the first hadith collection, although, properly speaking, it was a law-book rather than a hadith collection. We know that the official collections were made only after Shafi`i pronounced the hadith to be also divine and a source of law on par with the Quran.



Whether to go back and refer to the Quran alone to solve our many pressing problems today, or to persist in our thousand-year old error of clinging to the unauthorized hadith and heresies resulting out of it — this is the greatest dilemma facing the Muslims today. Are we brave enough to admit our mistake, retrace our steps and make amends? Or, shall we continue arrogantly to cling to and defend traditions that we have inherited from our forefathers? To let ourselves drift aimlessly in confusion, backwardness, degradation and disunity that have plagued us all these thousand years? To be divided not only among ourselves, but, more importantly, divided within our own individual selves about what is right and what is wrong, what is "religious" and what is "secular," who is an "alim" and who is not and the thousand other conflicting teachings fed to us by the hadith? What a tremendous achievement indeed for the hadith!



So what are we to do now? Is there any way out? Is there no "Second Comings" for us, for mankind? But there is. Everything that we need, the primordial element, lies in the Quran, latent and merely waiting for us to reach out to it again. The clearest spring with its purest fount of knowledge still runs straight and true in the Quran, just as it has from the day it was first revealed by God Almighty in His All-Encompassing Mercy for all mankind.



As we contemplate the fate of the Muslims and agonize over traditions that many of us have come to love and fear to reject, let us be reminded by these verses:



"When they are told, `Follow God's commandments only,' they say, `We follow what we found our parents doing.' What if their parents lacked understanding and guidance? The example of such disbelievers is that of a parrot; they repeat what they heard without understanding. Deaf, dumb and blind, they fail to understand."



So, we shall not be deaf, dumb and blind anymore. We shall not be like parrots and repeat what others tell us without first questioning and understanding things. The answer to our dilemma, therefore, lies in our going to the Quran for guidance.



"Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than God, they would have found many contradictions therein."



Such is the challenge written in the Quran. We are challenged to find even one contradiction within it. Does any other book, revealed or not, have any such statement? Does the hadith allow us to question itself, or does one become a heretic to do so? Is the hadith beyond reproach – perhaps it occupies a plane higher than the above verse?



The True Position of the Hadith/Sunna



As we have explained, our rejection of the hadith/sunna as an infallible source of guidance on par with the Quran in no way means our rejection of Prophet Muhammad. On the contrary, this rejection is precisely to clear the name of the Prophet from false teachings attributed to him against his will, in the same manner as the false teachings that Jesus is the Son of God has been



attributed to Jesus by later Christians. Let us summarize our reasons for our rejection of the hadith/sunna as an infallible source of guidance as follows:



(1) The Quran is complete, perfect and detailed. It is the fundamental law and the basic guidance for mankind covering every aspect of life. Other books are merely expositions either for or against the grand ideas contained in the Quran.



(2) The sole mission of Prophet Muhammad was to deliver the divine message, the Quran. He was, of course, also an exemplary leader and teacher, but these roles were secondary.



(3) The hadith compiled by hadith scholars consist of reports of alleged sayings and actions of the Prophet and cannot be absolutely guaranteed as to their authenticity. Those hadith that conform to the Quran are acceptable, while those that conflict with it are automatically rejected.



(4) Religious duties of regular prayer, fasting, charities and the optional pilgrimage were not delivered by way of hadith, but were religious practices handed down through generations from the time of Prophet Abraham.



(5) Besides being prophet and messenger of God, Muhammad was also a leader of the Medina city-state and later the Arab nation-state. In that role, he implemented the divine imperatives in the context of 7th century Arabia. It is impossible that he would have done anything contrary to God's commands.



We have with us records of the Medina Charter, the various letters sent by the Prophet to other leaders and also the Prophet's treaties. If anything, these should be the real hadith. But strangely, none of these treaties, constitutions etc. are made binding on us or given much credence, even by the hadith writers themselves. However, it is only the Quran that is binding upon us all, for all time. The status of the Medina Charter, for example, is the status of a legal precedent. It is not binding on us because in it the Prophet applied Quranic principles of administration to seventh century Arab tribal society. Our modern nation-state can study it and learn whatever lessons we can from it.



But the hadith can still be read, just as we read other books: religious, philosophical, historical or any other kind. Whatever good teachings that can be found in them — and there are many — we can and should follow them. But those that are against historical facts, scientific facts, reason, or the Quran, are obviously unacceptable. This should be plain.



A Recurring Weakness of Mankind



History is a good teacher to mankind as it bears true testimony. So let us look at history. God sent Prophet Jesus to the children of Israel to bring them the Gospel and teach them to worship the One God. However, some three hundred years after his death, the religious leaders instituted a new doctrine not taught by him that he was the Son of God! Before that, God send Prophet Moses to the same children of Israel with His scripture, the Torah. But a few centuries after his death, their religious leaders set up another book, the Talmud, which they followed while ignoring the Torah.



Ironically, after knowing all these, the Muslims repeated the same mistakes. God sent Prophet Muhammad – the last prophet – to mankind with His final scripture, the grand Quran, to correct once and for all the deviations that had been made by the Jews and the Christians. But about 250 years after his death, our religious scholars set us the hadith to replace the Quran! Thus, history repeated itself!



Why did this happen? It does seem that this is mankind's perennial disease: the desire to associate God with gods. People set up idols thinking that these idols will bring them closer to God. But this is only an excuse. Actually, they set up these idols beside God because they want an illegal share in God's kingdom without having to work for it, and without having to answer for their crimes. Through these idols, they legalize their whims and fancies without paying the least regard to God's laws. This is what God has explained in the following verses:



Additionally we have appointed for every prophet enemies from among the human devils and jinn devils, who invent and narrate to each other fancy words in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their inventions. This is God's will in order that the minds of those who do not really believe in the Hereafter may listen thereto, and accept it, and to have them commit what they are supposed to commit.



The Quran: The Final Solution to All Deviations



Before Muhammad, it was not possible to preserve God's revelations to the various communities of mankind due to certain historical and intellectual circumstances of human society. With Muhammad, however, the true scientific age of mankind began. Thus, God commissioned Muhammad to deliver His final scripture, the Quran, not just to a specific national community but to all mankind. This scripture is not only complete, perfect and detailed, but also protected by God against human corruption. The aim of this scripture is to finally free mankind from all manner of shackles, burdens and wrong teachings as well as to lead mankind along the Path of Peace to the Light of God.



At the beginning, i.e. during a period of about three hundred years, the Muslim community adhered to the teachings of the Quran. They scaled the heights of civilization and progress so rapidly, surpassing the two superpowers of Byzantium and Persia then, that it astounded the world. They created the greatest material, intellectual and spiritual civilization at that time. The names of statesmen and administrators like caliphs Abu Bakr, Omar ibn Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib and others, military geniuses like Khalid ibn Walid and Abul `As, brilliant scientist like Al-Biruni, Al-Khwarizmi and Al-Razi, world-class philosophers like AlKindi, Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, and famous historians like Al-Tabari, Al-Baladhuri and AlMasudi are names that make the first Muslim civilization justly famous. These are names enshrined in the history of world culture. It is this supreme achievement of the first Muslim civilization that made the famous British science historian, G. Sarton, remark:



"The main task of mankind was accomplished by Muslims. The greatest philosopher, AlFarabi, was a Muslim, the greatest mathematicians, Abu Kamil and Ibrahim ibn Sinan, were Muslims, the greatest geographer and encyclopaedist, Al-Mas`udi, was a Muslim; the greatest historian, al-Tabari, was a Muslim."



Muslims Deviation



The process of change in Muslim beliefs from the Quran to the hadith, or the Quran and hadith, with the hadith actually overshadowing the Quran, did not occur within a short period or smoothly. It took a period of about four to five centuries, beginning from the second and lasting in the sixth century of Islam. This was the period of the political infighting and the alignment of the various power-blocs among the inheritors of the Prophet's legacy.



Prior to the political and ideological conflicts, caused by nothing more than greed and pride, the Muslims had always settled their issues by referring to the Quranic teachings. Therefore, they had remained united and strong. Guided by the Quran, they did not discriminate between the weak and the powerful, the few and the many, and between factions and tribes. The Quran points out the truth and the right course of action for them to follow.



But the hadith allowed leeway for some groups to still insist on an independent course of action and attribute it to the Prophet and to God. Therefore, it was in their vested interests to tout the hadith as a source of theology and law. Beside helping the various factions to maintain a specific station, the hadith also introduces splits and diverse opinions that are always a necessary cost to giving up a unified belief and world-view. Soon after this came the factional fighting, the moral decay and the demise of the Muslim pre-eminence. That is why the Omniscient God, knowing that this would happen, in His incredible mercy to the Muslims and to mankind, put this warning in His Quran:



The messenger will say, "My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran." We thus appointed for every prophet enemies from among the criminals. God suffices as guide and protector.



We should note that God never said, and neither did the Prophet, that some day the people would desert the hadith. This is because the hadith is not the Word of God and neither is it the word of the Prophet. The hadith are merely conjectures and opinions of Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Nasa`i and others who took it upon themselves to record stories about the Prophet and then accord these stories the labels of `authentic,' `weak,' etc. Since the Prophet had explicitly forbidden the writing down of the hadith (as witnessed by the hadith itself), therefore the hadith contradicts the teachings of the Prophet by its very existence. It is logical, therefore, that if our intention today is to honor and follow Prophet Muhammad, we must return to his original and true teachings, i.e. the Quran, and cleanse his name of all the heresies that have been falsely attached to him. We cannot avoid this responsibility, although some of us do not like it. The Prophet himself told us that his mission was to deliver the Quran, and he himself followed the Quran and nothing but the Quran.



The negative development that has occurred in Muslim society, as we have stated above, is due to the general human weakness of wanting to idolize human beings. In his history human beings have idolized prophets, saints, religious scholars and priests, leaders, material wealth, their own egos and, of course, lifeless idols. This mistake has been committed by all religious communities, not excepting the Muslims. The best way to avoid and overcome this weakness is to apply Islamic scientific criticism to all beliefs, theories, philosophies and man-made systems and towards all public figures, as we have explained in Chapter I. Only in this way can we separate truth from falsehood and make the truth uppermost and falsehood low.



Due to the regime of taqlid or blind imitation, imposed in the name of religion from about the 12th century until the end of the 19th century, the Muslims swallowed the teachings of the socalled `Four Great Imams', even the wholesale medieval theology and jurisprudence, in toto. There were many factors that gave rise to this blind imitation regime of that period and we cannot discuss them here. Nevertheless, it is important for us to realize that after nearly a hundred years since the reopening of the door if ijtihad or critical thinking by Muhammad Abduh's reform movement, this taqlid regime is still with us.



The confusion surrounding this talk is a clear evidence of the Muslims' servile and unquestioning adherence to traditional religious authorities. If the Muslims, particularly their leaders and intelligentsia, had held fast to God's command not to accept anything without verification, to listen to all views and follow the best, and to apply Islamic scientific criticism towards all important theological works as the intelligentsia of Europe had done, it is certain this taqlid regime would not have lasted for seven centuries. In my opinion, the re-evaluation of the whole Islamic heritage is one of the biggest tasks that has to be undertaken by the Muslim intelligentsia in the next thirty years.



The Quran Promises Salvation to Mankind Again



The Quran informs us that the monotheistic religion, named by God as `Islam' (meaning `peace' or `surrender'), is taught by all prophets of God. It begins from Adam, through Idris, Noah and Abraham (who was given the religious practices of prayer, fasting, charity and pilgrimage), and handed down to Moses, Jesus and ending with Prophet Muhammad, when the divine teachings to mankind were completed, perfected and forever protected in His final scripture, the Grand Quran. Although the religion is the same, the laws introduced by Muhammad are different from those brought by Jesus and Moses. This is due to the different social conditions. While at the times of Moses and Jesus, human society was tribal and still at a



lower social evolution, with Muhammad it was entering a period of the international society and scientific-technological era.



For that reason, the most important feature of the new laws is the liberation of mankind from all forms of superstitions and wrong beliefs. This liberating feature of the law is stated thus in the Quran:



...God said, "My retribution afflicts whomever I will, and My mercy encompasses all things. However, I shall designate it for those who work righteousness, give to charity and believe in Our revelations. Also for those who follow the messenger, the Gentile prophet, whom they find written in their Torah and Gospel. He exhorts them to work righteousness and refrain from evil, and he permits for them the good things and prohibits the bad, and he unloads the burden of their covenant and remove the chains that bind them. Thus, those who believe in him, honor him and follow the light that was sent down to him, they are the winners."



By this message, God freed the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from the restrictions and covenants of the past. With this type of freedom thrust upon them, together with the illuminating magnificence of the Quran to guide them, the Prophet and his followers went on, within a very short space of 300 years, to build a civilization that is yet unparalleled in terms of the rapidity of its advancement and in terms of the justice of its laws.



At a time when Europe was in the Dark Age, the Muslims founded an intellectual and material civilization that would serve as the model and source of knowledge for the rise of modern Europe later. But it would be a Europe that would inherit the mantle from the Muslims. The knowledge founded by the Muslims was the spark that would ignite Europe. Europe would develop further on this borrowed knowledge and build up a leadership in the intellectual arena that perhaps has not been surpassed till this day. The Muslims, on the other hand, settled into a complacency that would smother them until today and perhaps for some time to come. The Muslims have ignored the source of their greatness and instead have shackled themselves with superstitious and silly ideas. The teachings of the Quran have been almost completely put aside. Today, with the hadith in their hands, the Muslims are still groping in the dark. They can only exaggerate and fall back upon the memory of a great past that now escapes them.



The Twin-Deviation of the Modern World



However, Europe has also faltered. After waking up with a vengeance from the suffocating strangulation of the Church, Kant's stirring exhortation to "Dare to know" helped to sever the Church from all `worldly' affairs. There began the distinction between the secular and the spiritual. Western civilization has therefore crippled itself. The complete severing of ties with God opened a Pandora's box of ideologies and humanism that has brought the West to the present relativistic ideologies and philosophies with nothing permanent or true to hold on to.



We can thus denigrate the West. But what about the Muslims? Between the turbans and the modern suits and even the post-modern Islamists, the common denominator is the empty rhetoric which, without any material and intellectual backing to it, these Muslims are perhaps in a worse-off situation than the West. At least, the West has some tangible benefits which it can call its own. Let us remind ourselves again of the old warning: "The messenger will say, `My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran.' "



Not only the Muslims, but the Christians, the Jews and everyone else have yet to live up to the lofty moral and intellectual position that God has assigned to them. The Prophet and the Quran were sent as a blessing and a guidance for all mankind. While the West has adorned itself with the material successes of its humanism, the Muslims have choked themselves with the alleged spirituality of the hadith and their `Muslim fundamentalism.' All of this is surely wrong. We all need to return to the Quran — now. Muslims especially need to read the Quran — just to read it in any language of their choice if a translation exists in that language. Nowadays, the Quran is available in most world languages. What is important is to make each of us communicate directly with the written words of God Himself. No matter how many books of hadith we read, it cannot compare with even one word of the Quran. Even if truly authentic, the hadith are only the words of a mortal human being. On the other hand, even one Word of the Quran is still the Word of God.



Humanity Ultimately Headed Towards The Quran



"This is the path of God, Who possesses everything in the heavens and the earth. To God all matters ultimately return."



So goes Verse 53 of Sura 42 of the Quran. Therefore, in the end, all of our affairs must return to God. By returning to God we do not only mean the Last Day and the Day of Judgement. Even long before that, all our earthly affairs also have to be according to God's Will.



This is simply because it is God Who created us, Who designed the earth and the universe and on the basis of Whose laws we act out our lives in this world. Therefore, all our behavior, in order for it to reach a proper level of efficiency and to be of maximum benefit to us, must be according to how the Master-Designer wants us to behave. The detailed instructions on how to conduct ourselves are explicitly written down in the Quran.



In fact, a closer affinity towards God is manifesting itself in many branches of science and technology. Take the design of automobiles, for example. Design engineers are discovering that a particular, streamlined shape is best for the cars to have the least coefficient of resistance. This is why more and more cars nowadays are all beginning to look alike, with their similar curves and rounded edges. Wind resistance is due to air molecules, which in turn is a function of gravity that holds the air molecules down. It is God who programmed the force of gravity into the earth.



Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High. He created and perfected. He designed and guided. He produces the pasture. Then He turns it into light hay. We shall recite for you, so do not forget. Everything is in accordance with God's Will. He knows what is declared and what is hidden.



The same also applies in the realms of philosophy, religion, the social sciences and the arts. There can only be one optimum form which will maximize the efficiency of all social behavior in human societies. Up till now, human beings have been struggling and are still struggling and groping in the dark to find a solution and achieve a stable form of conducting their lives. Till now, everything has failed us. As we mentioned earlier, secular humanism, encompassing everything from liberalism to Marxism, is collapsing. All the holding on to rather man-made religions (including the current practices of Christianity, Judaism and Islam) have all failed us. So what is going to replace this large gap in human society?



This twentieth century human anguish has been poignantly expressed by the Irish poet, William Butler Yeats:



Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lacks all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. Surely the Second Coming is at hand! But the second coming is none other than the return of a Book, the Quran, the spirit of God in written form, the Scripture that was for a brief period with the Muslims and then was rejected for more than a thousand years. The necessary precursors for the establishment of the philosophy and the system of God are already being laid down. Despite the agnosticism and the atheism of logical positivism or dialectical materialism, there has always been a strong undercurrent of theism running through all of modern thinking. Man is always yearning for his real God.



In the last four to five decades this theistic stream of thought is gaining momentum. A professor of philosophy has written:



The philosophy of nature is thus part of the area of overlap between science and philosophy as species of knowledge. Modern science has progressed beyond the empirical attitude and tends to become philosophical. Meanwhile modern philosophy has more and more become allied to the sciences and our foremost philosophers are eminent scientific figures. This is no new situation in the history of thought .... But the movement begun at the Renaissance, in reaction against the theological tyranny of the Middle Ages, to split off the sciences as disciplines independent of philosophy, has now come full circle, as science in the course of its own independent investigations, has come to adopt a philosophical position which is at the same time integral to the body of scientific theory ... Similarly, the 19th-century conflict between science and religion has passed away ... the existence of God is the absolute and most indispensable presupposition of science, and so far from there being an alienation of science from religion in the modern era, there is and can only be the closest rapprochement between them if both scientific and religious concepts are rightly interpreted ...



The same thing is also happening in Islam. Despite the heresy of certain concepts like taqlid or blind imitation that have been dominant since the 12th century, there has always been a strong anti-taqlid movement that has manifested itself through the likes of Ibn Rush (d. 1198), Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) and Shah Waliyullah (d. 1762). The anti-taqlid movement obtained its strongest impetus from the reform movement of Muhammad Abduh towards the end of the



nineteenth century. It is most likely that within a short period of a few decades, the anti-taqlid movement in Islam and the theistic spirit that is growing in Europe will unite and return to the Quran in its entirety. This is a real possibility. "Return to the Quran" — this is the most fitting slogan for the people of Muhammad, because it is the Quran which is the message that he brought to mankind, and because it is the most appropriate response to his famous complaint in the Quran. But, once again, a return to the Quran does not mean that we destroy all the books of hadith and all the books of the religious scholars, nor do we mean that we no longer need the religious scholars. It only means that we must refer to the Quran alone as infallible guidance for our conduct. As regards other books, be they books of hadith, books of religious scholars, books of the Marxist school or of the liberal school, we shall use our discriminating faculty either to accept or reject, partially or totally, their interpretations, explanations and recommendations in accordance with the teachings of the Quran and the needs of modern life. Our religious scholars who, all this while, have been trained according to the medieval method of rote learning only in religious knowledge, must master the important secular sciences, according to the modern critical and historical method, to enable them to have an integrated knowledge of the world. The same thing applies to the secular intelligentsia: they too must muster the religious sciences. Only such people can be called ulama, or learned.



As we conclude this book, we can say that Muslims have three major tasks that they must undertake. Firstly, they must evaluate critically everything that has been inherited from their Islamic tradition, in strict accordance with the bidding of the Quran. Secondly, Muslims have to learn to accept things that are from outside their fold but which by themselves are inherently good and therefore originate from God. Modern Western civilization and the other Eastern civilizations have discovered many good things through much effort and pain. We too can learn from these civilizations, if there is any good to be learnt.



If Muslims can learn to do these two things, then they can go on to the third and final task. To build the second Islamic civilization that will doubtless be far superior to the first because it will be the combined efforts of all united humanity. All these three tasks are inter-related. Our Muslim thinkers must also seek to reach out to those intellectuals and thinkers in other faiths and cultures, for they also seek to do good in the world. They must cooperate with the followers of other religions, those "who believe in God and the Last Day and do good," in order to carry out the major tasks of humanity at the closing decade of the twentieth century and in the coming twenty first.



There will be no Second Coming of Christ and neither will there be any superhuman savior to save the world. Our salvation lies in our own hands and through applying the teachings of the Quran creatively and scientifically.



This is a task which we must embark upon. There is no need at all to feel intimidated or overawed. We must take courage, inspiration and encouragement from Words of God Himself:



I have made it a duty upon Myself to give victory to the believers.



He is the One who sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, to make it prevail over all religions. God suffices as witness.



Say, `The truth has come, and falsehood vanished. Surely, falsehood is destined to vanish.'



God has decreed, `I and My messengers, will always win.' God is Powerful, Almighty.



The Prophet and his followers were people who firmly believed in these divine promises, held on tight to the Quran, His revelations, and scaled the heights of success, as no human community had done before. Following him and the early Muslim generations, we shall also achieve success, far greater than any human society had ever achieved.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



ADDENDUM A SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY FOR UNDERSTANDING THE QURAN



"What did your Lord say?" They will answer, "The truth." (Quran, 34:23)



The Beneficent. He teaches the Quran. (Quran, 55:1-2)



Some people argue that, even if we hold on to the Quran, we shall still be faced with the problem of different interpretations, and this in turn will bring about disunity. It is for purposes of answering this question that we include this chapter. The two verses that we quote above not only tell us that the Quran contains the truth; they also tell us that in the final analysis it is God Who teaches us the Quran.



This topic itself can be the subject of a big volume, but our intention is not an exhaustive study from all angles. We are not discussing history and comparative study of Quranic exegeses, history of the Quran, Quranic language, its relations with previous scriptures and so on. We shall only discuss the question of a scientific methodology for understanding the Quran.



What we have to avoid is not differences of opinion, but differences in aims. We can resolve differences in opinion through discussions. But differences in aims cannot be settled in that way, since both sides begin from different bases. Take for example the difference between a colonial power and a colonized people: this contradiction can only be resolved through pressure of the colonized people's movement against the colonial power. A Clear Book



There is no doubt that there are differences in Quranic interpretation. This is proved by the existence of many translations. However, God tells us that the Quran is `clear' and `easy.' `Clear' here means `straight', `not crooked', `not deviating'. It also means `easy', because the Quran has been sent down as guidance for all, and not for any elite class of people. Still, since the Quran covers all matters, including Resurrection, Heaven, Hell, the creation of the universe, the creation of mankind and the purpose of creation – subjects which are still beyond human comprehension – it is not easy in a trivial sense.



It is due to the Quran's clarity that no one can falsify it or make it crooked. Nor can anyone else, except God, invent it. It is in this sense that the teachings of the Quran cannot contradict science and reason, for science and reason are nothing but manifestations of the laws created by God in nature, human society and the human psyche. Therefore, God has proclaimed that



there is no discrepancy between the verses of the Quran. It is on this basis – the integrity and unity of Quranic verses – that if we hold on to the Quran we shall succeed. Two Types of Verses: Decisive and Allegorical



The Quran itself has given us a basic rule of interpretation, contained in the following verse:



He is the One Who revealed to you this scripture. Of its verses, some are decisive, constituting the essence of the scripture; others are allegorical. Those who harbor doubts in their hearts dwell on the allegorical verses, to create confusion and misrepresentation. No one knows its interpretation except God and those well-grounded in knowledge...



The verse tells us that the Quran has two types of verse: those whose meanings are clear and decisive, forming the bases of Quranic teachings, called muhkamat, and those with allegorical meanings, called mutashabihat, whose interpretation should not be attempted by the people but should rather be left to the experts in the field.



Let us test this division by taking one example of each type of verses. Below we quote fourteen muhkamat verses containing a list of fourteen commandments:



1. You shall not set up beside God any other god, lest you end up despised and disgraced.



2. Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship except Him, and your parents shall be honored. For as long as they live, one of them or both of them, you shall not speak harshly to them, nor mistreat them; you shall speak to them amicably. And lower for them the wings of humility and kindness, and say, "My Lord, have mercy on them, for they brought me up from infancy." Your Lord is fully aware of your innermost thoughts; if you are righteous, whenever you turn to Him, you will find Him forgiving.



3. And you shall regard the relative, the needy, the poor and the alien equitably.



4. But do not be extravagant, for the extravagant are brethren to the devils, and the devil is unappreciative of his Lord.



5. If you have to break up with any of them, in the cause of your seeking your Lord's mercy, you shall continue to speak to them amicably.



6. Do not keep your hand tied to your neck, nor open it completely, in excessive charity, lest you end up blamed and remorseful. Your Lord increases the provision for whomsoever He wills, and withholds it. He is fully Aware of His creatures, Cognizant.



7. You shall not kill your children for fear of poverty; We provide for them along with you. Indeed, killing them is a gross offense.



8. You shall not commit adultery, for it is a vice and a wicked path.



9. You shall not kill anyone, for life is made sacred by God, except in the course of justice. Anyone who is killed unjustly, We give his kin authority to avenge; thus, he shall not avenge excessively; he will then be helped.



10. You shall not touch the orphan's money, except for his own good, until he grows up.



11. You shall fulfil your covenants; you are responsible for your covenants. 12. You shall give full measure when you trade, and weigh with an equitable balance. This is better and more righteous.



13. Do not accept anything that you yourself cannot ascertain. You are given the hearing, the eyes and the mind in order to examine and verify.



14. Do not walk on earth proudly, for you can never rend the earth, nor become as tall as the mountains. All the evil things are disliked by your Lord.



We have deliberately given an example of a long series of muhkamat verses, because they contain fourteen command-ments that we need to carry out. If they are difficult to understand, if their meanings are not clear, how are we to carry them out? This example serves to demonstrate to us the meaning of muhkamat or decisive verses. Their meanings are clear; there is no ambiguity whatsoever.



On the other hand, the mutashabihat or allegorical verses refer to a phenomenon that mankind does not yet know, like Resurrection, Heaven, Hell, or even the creation of man and the universe. Observe the following verses:



If you fail to do this, and most certainly you will fail, then beware of hellfire whose fuel is people and rocks; it awaits the disbelievers. And give good news to those who believe and work righteousness that they have deserved gardens with flowing streams. When given a fruit therein, they would say, "This is what was given to us before." They will be given the same kind. They will have pure spouses therein, and abide therein forever. Thus, God does not shy away from any kind of allegory, from down to a mosquito and higher. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord, while the disbelievers would say, "What did God mean by such an allegory?" He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby, but He never misleads any except the wicked.



The above verses draw a picture of Heaven and Hell. They are allegorical, because man does not, and never can, know the conditions in Heaven or Hell until those conditions themselves exist on the Day of Judgement.



There are, of course, instances when the allegorical verses refer to something that, at the time of the Prophet, was not yet known, but would later be known through scientific and technological discoveries. The Miracle of Code 19 is an example. Note the following verses:



I will commit him to retribution. What a retribution! Thorough and comprehensive. Obvious to all the people. Over it is nineteen. We appointed angels to be guardians of Hell, and We assigned their number to disturb the disbelievers, to convince the Christians and the Jews, to strengthen the faith of the faithful, to remove all traces of doubt from the hearts of Christians and Jews as well as the believers, and to expose those who harbor doubts in their hearts, and



the disbelievers, for they will say, "What did God mean by this allegory?" God thus sends astray whomever He wills, and guides whomever He wills. None knows the soldiers of your Lord except He.



These verses in the beginning seem to indicate that the number 19 refers to the angels guarding Hell, but later state that the number is allegorical, and finally deny that it refers to the guardian angels of Hell. There are verses which, at the time of their coming down, relate to future events, and they are plain, straightforward verses, belonging to the muhkamat category, although they are not command verses. One of them is with regard to the splitting of the atom, an event mentioned in the Quran more than 1,300 years before it actually happened. At the time when the Quran was being sent down, the world knew the atom to be the smallest particle. Only towards the end of 19th the century did European physicists discover that the atom can be broken into smaller constituents.



The discovery of the remains of Merneptah, the son of Ramses II, the Egyptian Pharaoh who was drowned in the Red Sea, is another example of a scientific discovery, not known at the time of the Prophet, but was foretold in the Quran.



The muhkamat verses differ from the mutashabihat ones in their function. The function of the first type is to clarify divine commandments, to state a principle or a rule, or simply to give information. We have seen the above-quoted 17:22-38 verses which contains fourteen commandments. Likewise, the short pitchy Sura Al-Ikhlas (Sura 112), also contain muhkamat verses that inform us of five very important attributes of God.



On the other hand, the mutashabihat verses bring to us information regarding the invisible worlds through the language of allegories. We have given some examples above. Other examples of mutashabihat verses are those referring to Man's creation, the creation of the Universe and to the coming of Gog and Magog or Anti-Christ towards the Last Day. These are not command verses which require our obedience to them. Therefore, the ordinary people need not concern themselves with their interpretations. We are required to believe in them, but we are to leave them to be interpreted by God and those who are experts in the field.



We use metaphor or allegorical language in order to explain something which our listeners do not know or have no experience of. For example, a father trying to impress upon his two-year



baby not to touch or play with fire. Or a teacher trying to explain the joys of married life to his students of five or six years old. Such listeners have not yet the knowledge of these things, and so we use allegorical language to make them understand. Yet, they will later come to know of these things. In the same way, God uses metaphorical language to let us know Him, the Day of Resurrection, Heaven, Hell and other invisible things. When the time comes, we too shall know the worlds that are now incomprehensible to us.



This basic rule of interpretation taught by the Quran in order to understand its verses properly will enable us to avoid the pitfalls of misinterpreting the mutashabihat verses. There are other rules, comprising what we may call a scientific methodology for understanding the Quran, that we need to follow to get a better understanding of the divine book. An example of misinterpretation can be shown in the case of the famous verse concerning the sources of law, verse 59 of Sura 4, although this is not a mutashabihat verse. We shall come to this later.



A Scientific Methodology of Interpretation



What do we mean by this scientific methodology? Whatever man wishes to do, from eating, bathing, sleeping and playing to the understanding of his God, there is a method. This method must of necessity be scientific, because only a scientific method can guarantee success. On the other hand, an unscientific method can only result in failure.



If we wish to study Plato's philosophy, not only do we have to read Republic and Symposium, we have to read all his dialogues. We also have to study the history of Athens around the time of Plato, learn about other philosophers who were his contemporaries and go through his genealogy and character. Only then can we gain a full and proper understanding of Plato's philosophy. The same applies to the Quran.



However, when we come to the Quran, we are in a more fortunate position. Understanding the Quran is, in fact, easier than understanding Plato. This is because God's revelations are consistent and not self-contradictory. Furthermore, the Quran gives us a complete set of rules for its own interpretation. We shall list out the following nine principles of scientific Quranic interpretation:



1. Two types of verses that must be distinguished, which establish the principle of distinction between straightforward and metaphorical language. (Quran, 3:7) 2. The principle of unity of the Quran's contents, meaning that its verses are not contradictory, but in perfect harmony. (4:82) 3. The congruence of Quranic teachings with truth and logic, establishing the principle of truth, and its congruence with science and right reason. (41:41-42; 42:24; 23:70-71; 8:7-8; 17:81; 10:100)



4. The principle of self-explanation, i.e. that Quranic verses explain one another. (55:1-2; 75:18-19)



5. The principle of good intention, i.e. that the Quran cannot be comprehended by anyone who approaches it with bad intention. (41:44; 56:77-79; 17-45-46)



6. The principle of topical context, i.e. that the meaning of any verse or verses must be understood in the context of the topic under discussion. (17:58; 53:3-4; 59:7)



7. The principle of historical context, i.e. that verses relating to a particular historical condition must be interpreted in the light of that condition. (4:25, 92; 4:3)



8. The principle of easy practicability, i.e. that the teachings of the Quran are meant to facilitate and not to render things difficult for mankind. (22:78; 20:2; 5:6, 101-102; 4:28)



9. The principle of distinction between principle and methodology and putting principle above methodology. (22:67; 2:67-71)



Proof of the Truth of This Scientific Methodology



These are nine principles of scientific interpretation given either directly or indirectly in the Quran. When we use these principles to evaluate existing translations, we shall discover several weaknesses. Let us examine a few cases. (a) Regarding Sources of Law



The famous verse stipulating the two sources of law reads as follows:



O you who believe, you shall obey God and you shall obey the messenger and those in charge among you. If you dispute in any matter, you shall refer it to God and the messenger, if you believe in God and the Last Day.



At first glance, it would seem that the verse stipulates three sources of law: God, the messenger, and any secular authority. But, upon closer reading, and in reference with other verses regarding obedience – where obedience to the messenger means obedience to God – and regarding the function of the messenger solely to deliver the message, it becomes absolutely clear that the verse refers to two sources of law. The primary source is, of course, God, Who is the Absolute Sovereign. His Law is the fundamental law for mankind. Obeying God and the messenger means obeying God, because the messenger, being God's instrument, cannot be separated from Him in this case. Therefore, obeying God and the messenger means upholding His Book, the Quran, as the fundamental law.



The secondary source of law is the recognized or duly constituted human authority in any social unit, from the family right up to the nation. This source, however, is not independent; it derives its authority from the Lawgiver God and acts only in consonance with His Law. Thus, the secondary source can only draw up supplementary laws to implement the fundamental law. It can in no way promulgate laws contradicting the fundamental law. If it does, then such laws become null and void. Now almost all translations of the Quran interpret obedience to God to mean upholding the Quran, and obedience to the messenger to mean upholding the so-called hadith/sunna of Prophet Muhammad. Although such an interpretation flies in the face of incontrovertible Quranic evidence, it is claimed that it is based on an `authentic' hadith.



(b) Regarding Man's Ability To Know



The verse informing us of the two types of Quranic verses that we discussed above have been translated in two ways. More translators think that no one knows the interpretation of the mutashabihat except God, while others think that a class of people, the experts, can have such knowledge by God's leave.



Basing oneself on the Quranic premise that the whole Quran was meant by God as a guidance for mankind, it is not logical to say that any of its verses are beyond human comprehension. Moreover, verses 30-34 of Sura 2 tell us that God has endowed man with the ability to know all of His creations, above the knowledge even of His angels. It is, therefore, conclusively proved that the second minority group of translators are correct in this case.



(c) Regarding the Death of Jesus Christ



This is one of the good examples of the classical jurisprudential doctrine that the hadith interprets the Quran. The Quran is quite clear about the death of Jesus Christ, although it denies that he was killed on the Cross, as his enemies alleged. It states the fact on five occasions, either directly or indirectly. Let us see the verse where the misinterpretation is made.



Thus, God said, "O Jesus, I am terminating your life on earth, raising you to me and ridding you of the disbelievers. I shall raise those who follow you above those who disbelieve from now until the Day of Resurrection. To Me is your ultimate return. Then I shall judge among you regarding everything you disputed."



Note the two key phrases used in this: `to terminate your life' (mutawaffika) and `to raise you' (rafi`uka). There is no ambiguity whatsoever. First, God took Jesus' life; then He raised his soul as He does to all human souls when the body dies.



The above translation is Rashad Khalifa's. Let us look at the popular Marmaduke Pickthall's:



(And remember) when Allah said: "O Jesus! Lo! I am gathering thee and causing thee to ascend to me, and am cleansing thee of those who disbelieve ..."



The phrase `I am gathering thee' is ambiguous and is a mistranslation. Why? The answer lies in the hadith that speaks not of Jesus's death but of his ascension and his Second Coming in the Latter Days and the desire of many translators to bend the words of God to conform to the hadith! Thus, the doctrine that the hadith interprets the Quran is here falsified.



So far, we have talked only of the translation of the relevant verse as against its text. When we apply the principle of internal consistency of Quranic text, it becomes over-whelmingly clear that this verse cannot mean other than what it says, that is that Jesus died, though not on the Cross, as claimed by his persecutors who wanted to kill him.



(d) Regarding the Idolization of Muhammad



Muslims throughout the world will deny vehemently that they have idolized Muhammad, just as the Christians had Jesus and other religious communities had their leaders. But it is highly enlightening to look closely at the Quranic verse that has been used to promote this idolization. It goes as follows:



God and His angels honor the prophet. O you who believe, you shall honor him and regard him as he should be regarded.



On the basis of this verse, Muslims would call for the blessings of God on him every time his name is mentioned. Strangely, the mention of God's name does not evoke the same response from them! However, a careful reading the Quran would immediately tell us not to do so. Firstly, a few verses before the above-quoted verse (verse 43), we are told that God and His angels honor the believers to lead them out of darkness into light (the same Arabic root word salla is used). This means that God puts the believers and the prophet on the same level, deserving of God's and His angels' honor. How is that this verse has not been brought out together with the other verse so that the Muslims would have a proper understanding of Prophet Muhammad's status?



Secondly, Muslims should know that God prohibits them from discriminating His prophets and messengers. They are all on the same level and we are not to elevate any of them above the others.



(e) Regarding Touching the Quran Without Ablution



The belief the Quran cannot be touched prior to taking ablution is based on a misunderstanding of the following verse:



This is an honorable Quran. In a perfectly preserved book. None can grasp it except the righteous.



A literal translation of the verse in question would give us: "None can touch it except the clean." When these verses are compared to others regarding the understanding of the Quran, it becomes clear that the word `touch' means `grasp' or `understand' and the word `clean' means `pure,' `righteous' or `believer', so that the verse can be paraphrased thus: "None can achieve an understanding of the contents of the Quran, except those who believe in it and strive sincerely to understand it."



Such a translation is much more logical, for if it were a matter of touching, the disbelievers have been touching and reading it too, for centuries! What they did not do is understand its message.



(f) Regarding Loss of Ablution Through Touching Women



The Shafi`i school of thought holds that touching women of the marriageable categories results in loss of ablution. This erroneous belief is based on a misinterpretation of the Arabic word lamastum whose literal meaning is `you touch' in verse 43 of Sura 4. In fact, it is an idiom meaning `you have sexual intercourse'. This is proved by a reference to Sura 3, verse 47 which speaks of Mary, the mother of Jesus, `not being touched' by man, using the same root word massa. Here, again, we arrive at a correct understanding by using the principles of logic, internal consistency and easy practicability mentioned above. Methodology of Classical Jurisprudence



Studying the Quran without a scientific methodology definitely gives rise to many problems. Orthodox translation uses the methodology of classical jurisprudence which is based on the



teachings of Imam Shafi`i (d. 820 Hijra). According to him, the four sources of Islamic law are : Quran, Hadith/Sunna, Ijma' or consensus of scholars and Qiyas or analogy. This methodology places the hadith as interpreter of the Quran, in contradiction to the Quranic principle of selfexplanation (Principle 4). On the top of that, according the ijma' principle of classical jurisprudence, it is ijma' that determines the authenticity of hadith as well as the correctness or wrongness of Quranic interpretation.



It is due to this unscientific methodology of classical jurisprudence that the interpretation of many Quranic verses has been rendered subjective, arbitrary and contradictory. We have seen how the famous verse 4:59 on legal authority has been misinterpreted by this methodology to mean that Prophet Muhammad brought two books, namely Quran and hadith. We have also shown other misinterpretations. We can add to these examples.



The principle of topical context (Principle No. 6) is such an elementary principle in any understanding of any text that one wonders how any educated person can make an error on this point. Yet the error has been made regarding at least two crucial verses on the issue of the role of the Prophet. Let us look at the verses:



The spoils of war that God bestowed upon His messenger from the banished inhabitants of the town shall go to God and the messenger in the form of charity to the relatives, the needy and the alien. In this way, it will not be monopolized by the rich among you. Whatever the messenger gives you, you shall accept, and whatever he forbids you, you shall forgo.



By the falling star! Your friend is neither astray, nor a liar. He does not speak on his own. This is a divine inspiration. A teaching from a Mighty One. The Possessor of omnipotence. So he attained to perfection.



As can be seen, the first passage speaks of the division of the spoils of war. God ordered the Muslims to accept whatever the Prophet gave them and to desist from taking whatever He forbade them. However, the Ahlul-Hadith have interpreted it to refer to hadith! What a far cry!



The Ahlul-Hadith interpret the statement "He does not speak on his own" in the second passage to mean that all the Prophet's words and actions are equally inspired, divine revelation not being confined to the Quran alone. This inter-pretation is obviously a mistake, because the passage clearly speaks of the process of Quranic revelation to the Prophet. Moreover, Muhammad, being a human being like the rest of his followers, were subject to the same



human weaknesses. It was only when he was receiving and reciting the revelation that "He does not speak on his own."



The Abrogation Theory



The principle of Quranic unity (Principle No. 2), stating that no Quranic verse contradicts another, is a very important principle in our scientific methodology. This principle is found in the following verse:



Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than God, they would have found many contradictions in it.



Since the Quran is a perfect divine revelation, it is logical that we do not find any contradictions in its teachings. Although we know from history that a period of twenty-three years lay between the first and the last revelations, the entire teachings of the Quran remain integral and harmonious. If the Quran were a human composition, we shall no doubt find many a contradiction in its parts, since human beings change.



However, human thinking is subject to the laws of evolution; it is to be expected that many students of the Quran, including famous translators, see `contradictions' in its teachings. Due to their failure to solve these `contradictions' in a logical way, some of them came to erect this socalled theory of abrogation, meaning that some verses of the Quran have been abrogated by some other verses. They base this theory on the following verse:



Any message which We annul or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or similar one. Do you not know that God has the power to will anything?



The Arabic word ayat is used here to mean `message' or `revelation'. This is clear from the context. Some translators have mistranslated it as `verse', thus giving rise to this abrogation theory. The topic under discussion, however, is about the unbelievers from among the Jews and the Christians as well as the idol worshippers who did not like the idea of a new message being given to the Arabs. This meaning of the verse is supported by verse 16:101 which reads:



When We substitute one revelation in place of another, and God is fully aware of what He reveals, they say, "You made it up!" Indeed, most of them do not know.



When we take into consideration the verses which reject totally the abrogation of any of its parts, this theory collapses.



Take an example of a verse alleged to have been abrogated, according to this theory. Verse 6 of Sura 109 on the freedom of religious practice, revealed in Mecca, is said to have been abrogated by verse 5 of Sura 9, revealed later in Medina, ordering Muslims to kill unbelievers. However, this view is falsified on our principle of historical context (Principle No. 7). The historical context of the verse in question was a war situation between the Muslims and the idolatrous tribes of Arabia. Hence the order to kill those enemies who broke their treaties with the Muslims. Thus, there is no contradiction between this order and the fundamental policy of the freedom of religion proclaimed by Islam.



Historical Context



The principle of historical context is another important principle of Quranic interpretation, which, if neglected, would render the Quran to be an obsolete teaching. This can be shown in matters relating to slaves, status of women, law of inheritance and penal law.



A careful study of the Quran would reveal that its contents consist of two types of statements: the universal and the particular. The universal statements refer to absolute truths, while the particular statements refer to relative truths that are limited to certain concrete situations. Take the example of the concept of God itself: one the one hand, the Quran mentions `Lord of the Universe', and `the God of mankind' (the universal concept); on the other, it mentions `my Lord', `your Lord', or `the God of Moses, or `the God of your fathers Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac' (the particular concept).



The same applies to other matters. Mankind is one and equal as creatures of God, but from a historical point of view, there existed slave communities oppressed by free powerful communities; there existed communities where the women were oppressed by the men with



laws that were not equitable to women, and there existed harsh penal laws. All these inequalities can be explained by a recourse to historical circumstances and a historical process which developed from a primitive human society to conditions of civilization, eliminating slavery, giving equal status to women and practicing humane penal laws.



The Quran acknowledges the existence of slaves in the Arabia of the time the Prophet arose, but advocates their freedom. The Quran acknowledges the low status of women at the time when the Prophet arose, but it establishes the equality of men and women and advocates steps towards achieving that. The Quran acknowledges the harsh laws that were in existence in the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Prophet Muhammad, just as they existed in other countries, but opens the way for lighter and more humane punishments.



In the matter of inheritance laws, the two portions given to men is a rule stipulated in the light of historical conditions. These historical conditions refer the times and places when and where men assume the role of bread-winners, thus deserving of two portions: one for the family and one for himself. But when this condition changes and women become equal and assume an equal role for the family, the rule also changes, as provided for by this general rule: The men get a share of what parents and relatives leave. The women too shall get a share of what parents and relatives leave. Whether it is small or large, a definite share.



A Practical Way of Life



God has made the religion of Islam easy for mankind to practice (Principle No. 8), because God, being Merciful to His creatures, does not want to overburden men. This is another principle that we must remember when interpreting the Quran. We can give many examples. Here we cite three.



First: the prohibition against liquor or intoxicants. This prohibition is given in three stages. During the first stage, God says that liquor contains more harm than good, but stops short from prohibiting it. During the second stage, God prohibits us from praying while in a state of drunkenness, yet not prohibiting liquor totally. The final stage comes when God prohibits liquor totally.



It would be wrong for us to say that verses 5:90-91 which bring the total ban against liquor have abrogated verses 2:219 and 4:43. Such an interpretation shows that we fail to take into consideration this principle of easy practicability. This principle teaches us this wise strategy when we convert idolaters who normally are heavy drinkers to Islam. This does not mean, of course, that those who can give up liquor at once, cannot do so. But, generally, most people do not possess such strong will power to accomplish that. Most people need time; hence this flexibility is given by God to them.



The second example is the method of regular prayer. In extraordinary circumstance, we are allowed to perform prayers in any manner suiting the circumstances we are in: as we walk or as we travel in any type of vehicle, or while sitting or lying down, if we are prevented from standing. Only under normal circumstances are we required to perform these prayers in the usual way.



The last example is the allowance for the suspension of ordinary laws under circumstances of extreme danger. Ordinarily, pork is prohibited, but in circumstances when pork is the only food available to keep oneself from starving, its eating becomes permissible. Even outwardly committing disbelief under compulsion is allowed.



Principle Is More Important Than Form



What is meant by the difference between principle and form (Principle No. 9) has been explained above in the case of penal laws. The form of punishment may vary according to time and place, but the principle of punishment occurs universally. That applies to other matters as well.



There is a story in the Quran about the Jews being asked by God to make a sacrifice. They were reluctant to do it and asked Moses all types of questions about the size, age and color of the cow to be sacrificed in order to evade it. This story teaches us that form is less important than the principle. Are we prepared to make sacrifices in the way of God? If we are, only that matters; how we do it should depend on our capability and our situation.



The same applies to prayer. The purpose of prayer is to worship God, to praise and to supplicate Him for man's own self-development. Although the salat prayer has its definite form, in the end this form is not important, as this verse tells us:



For every community We have established its own devotional practices. Therefore, do not let yourself be dragged into argument about these, but continue to invite to your Lord. Most assuredly, you are on the right path.



What we have explained above regarding the principles of historical context and the supremacy of principle over form also conforms to the principle of truth and logic (Principle No. 3), a very important principle in this scientific methodology. This is because the Quran is the Word of God and contains the Truth, as the verse we quoted at the beginning of this chapter shows. It is a book of guidance for mankind designed to take them out from the realm of darkness into the realm of light, from falsehood into truth, from injustice into justice and from slavery into freedom.



Can such a grand book not encourage to free the slaves, not give equal status to women, not advocate just and humane laws, not advocate fundamental human rights, not advocate science and technology and scientific, rational and logical thinking for man's advancement? Impossible! Only those who are narrow-minded, who cannot comprehend that God is the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful who would think otherwise. Our scientific methodology must subsume these principles.



Although existing translations of the Quran, especially those in the Malay language, suffer from certain weaknesses, it is far better that our people read and study the Quran in these translations rather adhering to the old customs of `reading' the book in Arabic without understanding. By reading the translation, they will have direct access to the source of their religion. This is a thousand times better than just depending on middle men to teach their religion for them.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



BIBLIOGRAPHY AND LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS



The following bibliography contains only works which have been quoted in this book and does not aim at being complete. As to quotations from the Quran, I have used mainly Dr. Rashad Khalifa's translation (1981 edition), but I have also used T. B. Irving, A. Yusuf Ali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall and Muhammad Asad as well. Abbreviations are in brackets.



Adams, Charles C., "The Authority of the Prophetic Hadith in the Eyes of Some Modern Muslims," in Donald P. Little (Ed.), Essays on Islamic Civilization, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1976. (The Authority)



Ahmad Amin, Fajar Islam (trans. Mohd. Marzuki Hj. Shafie), Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur, 1980. (Fajar Islam)



Ahmad Ibrahim, Islamic Law in Malaya, Malaysian Sociological Research Institute, Singapore, 1965. (Islamic Law 2)



Ahmad Von Denffer, `Ulum al-Quran, The Islamic Foundation, London, 1983. (Ulum alQuran)



Briffault, R., The Making of Humanity, Islamic Book Foundation, London 1928. (Humanity)



Coulson, N.J., A History of Islamic Law, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1964. (Islamic Law 3)



Fazlur Rahman, Islam, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1966. (Islam)



__________, Islamic Methodology in History, Central Institute of Islamic Research, Karachi, 1965. (Islamic Methodology)



Goldziher, Ignas, Muslim Studies, vol. II, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1971. (Muslim Studies)



Haji Said Haji Ibrahim, Penolakan Terhadap Penilaian Semula Hadith, Media Hasda, Kuala Lumpur, 1987. (Penolakan)



Harris, Errol E., Nature, Mind and Modern Science, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1954. (Modern Science)



Hibbert, Christopher, The Roots of Evil, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1966. (Roots of Evil)



Hitti, Philip K., History of the Arabs, 10th edition, Macmillan Press Ltd., London, 1974. (Arabs)



Hj. Ismail bin Hj. Yusoff et.al., Salah Faham Terhadap Hadith: Satu Penjelasan, Majlis Ugama Kelantan, Kota Baharu, 1986. (Salah Faham)



Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad (trans. A. Guillaume), Oxford University Press, London, 1955. (Life)



Juynboll, G.H.A., The Authenticity of the Traditional Literature, E.J.Brill, Leiden, 1969. (Authenticity)



__________, Muslim Tradition, Cambridge University Press, London, 1983. (Muslim Tradition)



Kassim Ahmad, Hadis — Satu Penilaian Semula, Media Intelek, Petaling Jaya, 1986. (Hadis)



__________, Teori Sosial Moden Islam, Penerbit Fajar Bakti, Petaling Jaya, 1984. (Teori Sosial)



LaRouche, Lyndon H., The Science of Christian Economy, EIR, Washington, D.C., 1991. (Christian Economy)



Mahmud Saedon A. Othman, Al-Sunnah: Kedudukan dan Peranannya di dalam Syariah Islam, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur, 1990. (Al-Sunnah)



Majid Khadduri (trans.), Islamic Jurisprudence: Shafi`i 's Risala, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1961. (Shafi`i 's Risala)



Malik ibn Anas, Al-Muwatta (trans. Aisha Abdarrahman dan Ya'qub Johnson), Diwan Press, Norwich, England, 1982. (Al-Muwatta)



Mishkat-ul-Masabih (trans. Fazlul Karim), vol. I-IV, Lahore Book House, Calcutta, 1938. (Mishkat)



Mohamed S. El-Awa, Punishment in Islamic Law, American Trust Publications, Indianapolis, 1982. (Punishment)



Mohammad Mustafa Azami, Studies in Early Hadith Literature, Beirut, 1968. (Early Hadith)



__________, Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature, American Trust Publications, Indianapolis, 1977. (Hadith Methodology)



Mohammad Thalib, Sekitar Kritik Terhadap Hadis dan Sunnah Sebagai Dasar Ilmu Hukum, Alharamain Pte., Singapore, 1980. (Sekitar Kritik)



Mohd. Nor bin Ngah, "Islamic World-view of Man, Society and Nature among the Malays in Malaysia" in Mohd. Taib Osman (Ed.), Malaysian World-view, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Kuala Lumpur, 1985. (World-view of Malays) Muhammad Hamidullah, Sahifah Hammam Ibn Munabih, Islamic Cultural Centre, Paris, 1979 (10th Edition). (Sahifah Hammam)



Muhammad Husain Haekal, Sejarah Hidup Muhammad, Tintamas, Jakarta, 1982. (Haekal)



Muhammad Iqbal, The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, S.M. Ashraf, Lahore, 1958. (Reconstruction)



Nazwar Syamsu, Al-Quran Tentang Manusia dan Masyarakat, Ghalia Indonesia, Jakarta, 1983. (Masyarakat)



Rashad Khalifa, The Computer Speaks: God's Message to the World, Renaissance Productions International, Tucson, 1981. (Computer Speaks)



__________, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, Islamic Productions, Tucson 1982. (Visual Presentation)



__________, Quran: The Final Scripture, Islamic Productions, Tucson 1981. (Quran)



__________, Quran: The Final Testament, Islamic Productions, Tucson, 1989. (Final Testament)



__________, Quran, Hadith and Islam, Islamic Productions, Tucson, Arizona, 1982. (Hadith)



Sahih Al-Bukhari (trans. Muhammad Asad), Dar Al-Andalas, Gibraltar, 1938. (Bukhari)



Said Ramadan, Islamic Law: Its Scope and Equity, Macmillan, London, 1961. (Islamic Law)



Sarton, George, Introduction to the History of Science, Vol. I, George McLeod Ltd., 1970. (Science)



Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Ideals and Realities of Islam, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1966. (Ideals)



Schacht, Joseph, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, Oxford University Press, 1979. (Origins)



Sorokin, P. A., Modern Historical and Social Philosophies, Dover Publications, New York, 1963. (Historical Philosophies)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



INDEX A



Abduh, Muhammad: 3, 11, 17, 78, 115, 123. Abraham: 20, 21, 22, 38, 70, 88. Abu Bakr: 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 42, 48. Abu Kamil: 68. Abu Huraira: 48. Abdul Karim ibn Abu al-Awja: 34. abrogation theory: 87. Abu Daud: 1, 30, 36, 69. Abu Hanifa: 40. Adam: 38, 70. adultery: 14, 56, 59, 60. agnosticism: 73. Ahmad Amin: 34. Ahlul-Hadith: 9, 12, 86. Ahlul-Quran: 47. Aisha; 53. al-Farabi: 68. al-Ghazali: 10.



al-Kulaini: 1, 30, 36. allegorical verses: 20, 78. al-Mas`udi: 68. al-Murtada: 1, 30, 36. al-Nasa`i: 1, 30, 36, 69. al-Tabari: 68. al-Risala: 13, 17. Ali Abi Talib: 1, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 42. another book: 27, 41. anti-reason: 63. anti-taqlid movement: 74. apostasy: 58. Arab: 20, 40. Arabic science: 11. ascension: 83. atom, splitting of: 79. atheism: 73. authoritarianism: 8. Azami, M. M.: 21, 34.



B



Bacon, Roger: 11, Bakrite: 33, 39. Battle of the Allies: 22 Bennabi, Malik: 2, Bible: 23, 53. Briffault, Robert: 11. Bucaille, Maurice: 61. Bukhari: 1, 30, 36, 42, 46, 52, 69.



C



Camus, Albert: 5. Catholic Church: 7. Christian: 2, 7, 71. Christianity: 72. Code 19: 79. Cold War: 5. computer: 2. creation of Man: 80. creation of the Universe: 80. culture: 4.



D



decision-making, principles of: 26. details: 26. dialectical materialism: 73. Discovery: 21, 24. Dostoyevsky: 5.



E



Egypt: 10, 47. Eliot, T.S.: 5. Europe: 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 40-41, 71, 74. existentialism: 5. Ezra: 16-17.



F



Farewell Sermon: 49-50, 60. fatalism: 40, 59. Fazlul Karim: 16. Fazlur Rahman: 22, 34, 36, 43, 63. First World War: 52. food: 26. form: 24, 89-90.



G



Gemara: 16. Ghulam Ahmad Parvez: 47. God: 3, 7, 8, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 42. Great Disorder: 5. Goldin, Judah: 16. Goldziher: 34. Gospel: 66. H



hadith: - Abu Bakr's collection burnt by himself: 48-49. - beginnings of: 29-31.



- cause of Muslim downfall: 41-44. - coherence theory of: 55-56. - contradicting science, history and logic: 61-63. - expressions of contrary views: 35, 60. - expressions of political conflicts: 32-35. - effects of: 37-44. - fabrication of: 34. - given equal importance with Quran: 36. - Omar refused to compile: 49. - officially compiled 200 years later: 1, 30. - on Quran: 61. - prohibited by Muhammad: 30, 48. - protracted process of change to: 68. - scarcely used by the four righteous caliphs: 32. - started as stories: 32-33, 35. - theory of: 12-22, 47. - use of word in Quran: 50-51. - weakness of isnad methodology: 51-53. Hammam ibn Munabbih: 48. Hang Tuah: 52. heresy: 74. humanism: 7, 8. Humaydi: 32.



hypocrites: 9.



I



Ibrahim Ibn Sinan: 68. Ibn Babuwayh: 1, 30, 36. Ibn Hanbal: 32, 48, 55. Ibn Ishaq: 20, 31. Ibn Khaldun: 1, 6, 74. Ibn Majah: 1, 30, 36. Ibn Qayyim: 32. Ibn Rushd: 10, 74. Ibn Sa`d: 31, 32. Ibn Sina: 10. Ibn Taimiya: 10. ideology: 3, 4, 5. idol: 28, 67. idol worshippers: 9, 28. idolatry: 14, 67. Idris: 70. Ijma': 36, 37, 40, 85. ijtihad: 36, 37, 40, 69.



India: 10. Indonesia: 10. inheritance: 25, 88. intercession: 58. intoxicant: 88. (See also liquor.) Iqbal: 2. Iran: 6. Iran-Iraq War: 6. Islam: 9, 12, 22, 72, 74. Islamic liberalism: 8.



J



Jamaluddin Al-Afghani: 2, 6, 47. Jesus: 66, 70, 83. Jew: 7, 71, 89. Judaism: 72.



K



Kennedy, John F.: 52.



Khalifa, Rashad: 2. Khawarij: 43. L



law, two sources of: 82. liberalism: 5, 8, 72. liquor: 88-89. (See also intoxicant.) logical positivism: 5, 73. Luqman: 14.



M



Mahdi, belief in: 41, 57. Mahmud Abu Rayya: 47. Mahsuri: 52. Malik, Imam: 12, 32, 40, 46. Mao Zedong: 5. Marxism: 7, 8, 72. Medina Charter: 19, 66. Medina city-state: 22. Merneptah: 80. messenger: 3, 18.



Middle Ages: 73. miracle: 57, 79. Mishnah: 16. monotheism: 3. Moses: 67, 70, 89. Mu`awiyah: 33, 34, 35. Muhammad: - claimed to have brought two books: 49-50, 85. - idolization of: 84. - last prophet: 70. - letters of: 66. - messenger to all mankind: 64, 67. - only task to deliver Quran: 64, 66. - treaties of: 66. - upholds Quran: 64. Muhammad Ali: 14, 26. Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi: 47. muhkamat verses: 77, 78, 80. mutashabihat verses: 77, 78, 80, 83. Muslims: - dilemma faced by: 64-65. - tasks of: 74. Muslim (compiler of hadith): 1, 36, 39, 42, 48, 69.



Mu`tazilite: 43, 47. mutawattir hadith: 46. Muwatta': 12, 46, 64.



N



Nahj al-Balaghah: 33. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein: 9. nationalism: 6, 8. Nazism: 5. Nicene Creed: 58. Noah: 70.



O



Old Testament: 60. Omar Ibn Khattab: 31, 32, 34, 53. Orientalists: 9.



P



paganism: 3. passivity: 59. penal laws: 88, 89. Persia: 7. pessimism: 6, 40-41, 43. Plato: 81. polytheism: 3. pork: 26, 89. pragmatism: 5. precedent: 10, 66. prayer: 19, 20, 21, 14, 26, 62, 66, 89. (See also salat.) priesthood: 44. punishment, principles of: 25.



Q



Quran: - arrangement of: 29, 46. - authenticated by God: 47. - coherence with science and reason: 77. - complete, perfect and detailed: 23-28, 66.



- divine protection of: 67. - disbelievers barred from understanding: 84. - God, teacher of: 76. - hadith on: 61. - liberates mankind: 70. - Muhammad's original teaching: 64 ff. - purpose of: 67. - rules of interpretation: 81-82. - self-consistent: 77. - two types of statement in: 87-88.



R



Ramadan: 19. Rashid Ridha: 2. reform: 2, 6. rennaissance: 2, 5, 12, 73.



S



sahifah: 48.



salat: 20, 24, 89. (See also prayer.) sacrifice: 89. Sarton, G.: 68. Sartre, Jean-Paul: 5. scientific methodology: 10, 76, 80, 90. schools of law: 39-40, 49. Second Coming: 5, 57, 65, 73, 75, 83. Second World War: 6. sectarianism: 32. secularization: 4, 8. Seven Sleepers of Ephesus: 58. Shafi`i: 1, 10, 13, 17, 36, 37, 40, 47, 55, 56, 64, 85. Shah Waliyullah: 10, 74. Sharia: 6. Shi'ite: 1, 33, 34, 38, 39, 46, 49. slavery: 88. Son of God: 67. Sorokin: P.A., 5. Sultan Salman: 21, 24. Sunna: 1, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 27, 29, 31, 32, 36, 85. Sunnite: 1, 38, 39, 43, 46, 49.



T



ta`dil of Companions: 53. Talmud: 16, 67. taqlid: 36, 47, 69, 70, 74. Tayalisi: 32. Third World: 6. Tirmidhi: 1, 36, 69. Torah: 16, 17, 67. tradition, 12, 13, 29, 65. Traditionist: 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20.



U



Uhud: 34. ulil-amr: 20. ulama: 44, 74. Umayyad dynasty: 35. United Nations: 6.



United States: 2 uswah hasanah: 22. Uthman: 29, 33, 34.



W



women: 62, 88.



Y



Yeats, Y.B.: 5, 73.



Z



Zaid ibn Thabit: 29, 48. zakat: 19.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------