The Authenticity of Hadith

 "O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Prophet and those charged with authority among you. Therefore, if there is a difference of opinion among you in any matter, refer it back to Allah and His Prophet, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day." (4:5) 
         This verse of the Quran clearly indicates that the original sources of knowledge on Islam are only two: The Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (sws). The first addressees of this verse were the Companions of the Prophet (sws). It was they who were the first to be told that they should refer to the Quran (refer it back to Allah) and the Sunnah (and His Prophet) in case they had a difference of opinion in any matter pertaining to religion. Therefore, only these two can be considered as original sources of religious knowledge by the Muslims. All other sources of religious guidance are subservient to them. 
         The problem is that today many people regard the Sunnah and the Hadith as synonymous terms, whereas the two are quite distinct from each other. The Sunnah (or Sunnat-i-Thaabitah) refers to `those established customs of the Prophet (sws) that were passed on as religion to the Muslim Ummah by the Companions of the Prophet (sws) through their practical consensus on these customs or through their perpetual adherence to them'. Therefore, there is no doubt about the authenticity of the Sunnah as an original source. Just as the Quran was perpetuated by oral transmission, the Sunnah was passed on by perpetual adherence. Hence, the authenticity of the Sunnah does not epend on the narratives told by a few individuals; the entire society in the Prophet's time adopted and transmitted the Sunnah, thereby making it an established fact of history. 
         A Hadith on the other hand, refers to a short narrative which describes a statement or an action or a tacit approval of the Prophet (sws). Most of these narratives were told by a few individuals at each link of the chain of narrators and, therefore, are very appropriately called Akhbaar-i-Ahaad. 
         As the transmission of Ahaadith went on, it became evident that the Hadith was being invaded by many forgeries. Therefore, scholars of Hadith formulated numerous methods of evaluation by which genuine Ahaadith could be sifted out of the mass of forgeries. These methods belong to either of the two disciplines essential for investigating the authenticity of Ahaadith: Fann-i-Riwaayat and Fann-i-Daraayat. Fann-i-Riwaayat, which has many branches, involves investigation of the complete chain of narrators going back to the original narrator of a particular version of the Hadith in question. This science, thus, investigates the bonafides, the moral character, truthfulness, and power of memory of the narrators. Fann-i-Daraayat, on the other hand, investigates the authenticity of a Hadith by determining whether or not its subject-matter is acceptable. 
         A Hadith is accepted only when its authenticity has been established on the basis of both Fann-i-Riwaayat and Fann-i-Daraayat. Therefore, a Hadith can be regarded as a source of religious guidance only `if the basis of that Hadith exists in the Quran or the Sunnah or the established principles of human nature and intellect. Moreover, it should not be contradictory to any of these bases, and should have been transmitted by reliable sources'. A Hadith which meets these criteria is accepted as a bonafide record of the Sunnah and of information pertaining to Islam. However, the following points must be kept in mind which stem from these criteria: 
        1. No Hadith can present anything as religion which does not have its basis in the Quran or the Sunnah or the established principles of human nature and intellect. Therefore, whatever a Hadith presents would either be an explanation of a principle found in these sources or a branch emanating from that principle. 
        2. A Hadith must not be against the Quran or the Sunnah or the established principles of human nature and intellect. In short, the Hadith in question must conform with the entire fabric of Islam. 
        3. A Hadith must have been transmitted by reliable sources. 
         The first two of these points relate to Fann-i-Daraayat and the last to Fann-i-Riwaayat. 
         Unfortunately, the scholars competent to analyse Ahaadith on the basis of these criteria are few, and the untrained eye is often confused while studying the Hadith. There are three mawjor reasons for this confusion: 
        1. Almost all the available written collections of Ahaadith, including the most revered ones, contain those Ahaadith which were analysed primarily on the basis of Riwaayat. Most Ahaadith, therefore, have to be analysed further on the basis of Fann-i-Daraayat before they can be accepted or rejected. 
        2. In most cases the context of a Hadith is not clear or is even left out. The reason is that a typical Hadith is what is called Riwaayat-bil-Maa'naa, which refers to such a Hadith the narrators of which had not transmitted its exact subject-matter but had used their own words to convey the meaning. 
         Riwaayat-bil-Maa'naa has also led to complete distortion of the actual subject-matter in many cases. Occasional alteration in the text by mistakes in copying has also added to these problems. 
        3. Placing a Hadith in its right context is not the job of a layman. It requires a sound understanding and appreciation of the classics of Arabic literature of the Prophet's time and training in various disciplines necessary for understanding and analyzing any segment of the whole corpus of the sources of religious knowledge. In short, analysis, in the true sense of the word, of this historical record---the Hadith---is the job of a scholar. Unfortunately, this confusion pertaining to Ahaadith has given rise to some adverse reactions. People who have shown such reactions can be classified into two categories: 
        1. There are those who have reacted by formulating the erroneous premise that the Hadith can in no way be a reliable source of religious knowledge. This reaction went beyond all proportion when they confused the Hadith with the Sunnah and then refused to accept even the Sunnah as an original source. 
        2. On the other hand are those who tried to defend the status of the Sunnah as an original source but in the process lost sight of what they were actually defending. They too have come to regard the Sunnah and the Hadith as one and the same thing. Therefore, they consider those Ahaadith which have already been evaluated on the basis of Fann-i-Riwaayat as an unchallengeable source of knowledge even where the possibility of further analysis on the basis of Fann-i-Daraayat clearly exists. 
        As far as the former group is concerned, the very premise it has formulated is incorrect. Many Ahaadith were fabricated; there is no doubt about that; but it does not imply that all Ahaadith are false. A Hadith can neither be considered as genuine nor as fabricated until proper analysis on the basis of both Fann-i-Riwaayat and Fann-i-Daraayat has been made. 
         Moreover, it must be remembered that the Sunnah relates to that part of religion which the Prophet (sws) taught as the instructor of divine law and as a model for mankind so that his followers should mould their lives in accordance with the wishes of the Almighty by performing the rituals and following the injunctions found in Islam. Transmission of the Sunnah was his duty and, therefore, it was not passed on to a few narrators merely but to the whole society at that time and was transmitted to the Muslim Ummah by the perpetual adherence of the Companions of the Prophet (sws). For example, the exact significance of thd Quranic term Al-Salaat is not something which the Prophet (sws) explained to a few narrators only---who might or might not have passed on the information to someone like Imam Bokhari, who might or might not have accepted it as genuine---but something which the Prophet (sws) explained to the whole Muslim community in his time orally and through demonstration. Therefore, Al-Salaat, as the Prophet (sws) defined it, became so much a part of the daily routine of those people that it is now an established historical fact. It is also natural that in the case of the Sunnah---which relates to the performance of rituals and execution of injunctions and not to articles of faith---some variations should emerge. Such variations as do not distort the broader structure of the Sunnah are acceptable. The Prophet's reply `La Ba's' (no problem) on a certain occasion when some people were not certain whether they had correctly made the Haj owing to such minor variations also corroborates this principle. Questions as `should the hands be clasped together above or below the navel in Al-Salaat' are hardly important and minor variations on their account do not impair the position of the Sunnah as an original source. Therefore, this position of the Sunnah cannot be denied on the grounds that some Ahaadith had been fabricated. Take a crude example---that of circumcision. For centuries, Muslims have been circumcising the male child. They still regard it as part of the Sunnah passed on from generation to generation. Few parents need a Hadith from Al-Bukhari or Al-Muslim before circumcising their child. Today, those who deny the Sunnah would find, on close inspection, that they too had been circumcised by their people. They would be lying if they denied that more often than not their parents did not have to bother about finding a Hadith to justify that `terrible act of cruelty' to their child. 
         The latter group has great contempt for those those scholars who use Fann-i-Daraayat for making further analyses of a Hadith which had already been confirmed as genuine on the basis of Fann-i-Riwaayat by earlier scholars. In the following paragraphs we present a translation of a portion from a book by Maulana Habib-ur-Rahman Kandhalvi. This portion of his book discusses Fann-i-Daraayat and highlights its importance. It clearly points out that Fann-i-Daraayat is essential for confirming the authenticity of Ahaadith and that the option of using this approach is still available to Hadith scholars of today as much as it was to the scholars of earlier times. 
         The translation begins thus: 
         "Although books on these two disciplines: [Fann-i-Daraayat and Fann-i-Riwaayat] have been available in the sub-continent for a long time, few scholars have made use of Fann-i-Daraayat and that too for merely solving problems in Fiqh. 
         If Fann-i-Daraayat was limited to a small number of scholars in an age when learning was in its prime, its virtual non-existence in the present age of blind acquiescence in conventions must come as no surprise. However, it is important to discuss the significance of Fann-i-Daraayat.  

The Foundations of Daraayat 
         The basis of Fann-i-Daraayat can be found in the Quran. When some hypocrites tried to cast aspersions on the honour of Aa'isha (may Allah be pleased with her), one of the Prophet's wives, some of his Companions were also misled. She was accused of adultery on one occasion, and it is recorded in Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim that even Hasan Bin Thaabit and Mistaih Bin Athaathah were among the accusers. Thus, both of them were punished for calumny when the Quran declared the accusation to be baseless, though they were faithful Companions of the Prophet (sws). The Quran giving its judgement on the issue says, `As to the party among you who have published this falsehood...' (24:11). According to Tafseer-i-Jalaalain, a well-known exegesis of the Quran, `a party among the faithful' is the interpretation of the Arabic word `minkum' used in the verse. This interpretation indicates that not only the hypocrites but also some faithful Companions of the Prophet (sws) were involved in spreading the scandal. Therefore, the Quran was addressing the Companions of the Prophet (sws) when it said: 
         `Did not the faithful men and the faithful women, when they heard this, judge in their own minds for the best; and say, this is a manifest falsehood.' (24:16) 
         Now, in accordance with the principles of Fann-i-Riwaayat, the names, reliability and trustworthiness of all those who testified against Aa'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) should have been investigated and the testimonies accepted or rejected on that simply basis; however, God Almighty chose to reject all the testimonies without giving any such justification for this decision. God said that since all the testimonies were against reason, the faithful should have refused to accept them at the outset of the matter. 
         It is clear from this discussion that a statement which is fundamentally against reason, deserves nothing but an outright denial. There is no need in that case for further investigation. This manner of thinking is closely associated with Fann-i-Daraayat, the foundations of which, as that of Fann-i-Riwaayat, can be traced back to the times of the Prophet's Companions. 
         Once, some Companions of the Prophet (sws) had a difference of opinion over whether eating cooked food necessitated performing Wadhu again for Al-Salaat. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Holy Prophet (sws) had once said that eating cooked food did necessitate performing Wadhu again for Al-Salaat. On hearing that, Abdullah-bin-Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) rebuked him by saying that then even hot water [ie, heated by placing under fire] should necessitate Wadhu. Now, Abdullah-bin-Abbaas did not doubt Abu Hurairah's sincerity, but since he found the narrative contrary to common sense, he rejected it. Owing to such complications, when the compilation of the Hadith began, the leading scholars of that time, realizing the significance of Fann-i-Daraayat, postulated principles along with those of Fann-i-Daraayat to check the infiltration of forgeries. 
         Imam Ibni Ali Jauzee is reported to have said: 
         `If you find a Hadith against the dictates of common sense or contrary to a universal rule, consider it a fabrication; discussions about the trustworthiness of its narrators are needless. Similarly, such Ahaadith should be suspected as are beyond comprehension to the extent that they leave no room for any possible explanation. Also, a Hadith in which colossal recompense is promised for a minor deed and a Hadith which is absurd in meaning are suspect. For example take this one: "Do not eat a pumpkin that has not been halaled." Therefore, many Hadith scholars consider absurdity in a Hadith as a clear evidence of the narrators' prevarication. 
         All these principles relate to the text of Hadith. However, in certain cases, they are applicable to the investigation of a narrator's reliability as well, for example in the following cases: 
         When a person narrates a Hadith not reported by anyone else and he had not even met the authority he is quoting. 
         When, as Khateeb points out in his book "Al-Kifaaya", only one narrator reports a Hadith whereas the situation described in it is of such a nature that it should have attracted the attention of many others. 
         When a Hadith is reported by only one person whereas the incident reported is so extraordinary that scores of people should have reported it; for example, if it were reported by somebody that in a certain year someone had kept the Hajjis from making the Haj, a ritual of great importance, it would be an incident which, if it had occured, would have been reported by many others.' 
         From the passage quoted above, it can be concluded that such Ahaadith as the following cannot be accepted and there is no need for investigating the reliability of their narrators: 
        1. A Hadith which is fundamentally against the dictates of common sense. 
        2. A Hadith contrary to a universally accepted principle; for example, there is a general tendency among human beings to regard urine, faeces and all such excreta as filth; now, if a narrator were to report that someone tasted the Prophet's urine with his tacit approval and conclude that even such excreta of the Prophet (sws) are to be hallowed by the believers, it would only be assumed that the narrator possessed a mind full of nothing but nonsense. 
        3. A Hadith relating something which is against common human experience. 
        4. A Hadith contrary to the Quran or Hadith-i-Mutawaatir or Ijma, especially when no possible explanation for this contradiction exists; for example, a narration which approves of drinking of blood, whereas the practice is not only forbidden by the Quran but also by the Sunnah and is held in abomination by a majority of Muslim scholars. Such a Hadith is bound to be a fabrication. 
        5. A Hadith in which enormous reward is promised for a relatively minor deed. 
        6. A Hadith which warns of an extremely severe punishment for a relatively minor deed; for example, take this one; `He who cuts down a jujube tree shall be thrown upside down into Hell.' 
        7. A Hadith which is meaningless; for example, `Do not eat a pumpkin that has not halaled.' 
        8. A Hadith in which the narrator quotes an authority he had never met, and no one else confirms his narrative. 
        9. A Hadith which should have been in the knowledge of numerous authorities, but only one narrator reports it. 
        10. A Hadith relating an incident which, if it had occured, would have been reported by hundreds of people; yet only one narrator reports it; for example, the sun re-ascending itself for the sake of a Companion of the Prophet (sws)." ("Mazhabi Daastanain aur un kee Haqeeqat", Pgs 9-12)  

^1. The word Prophet has been used for Muhammad (peace be upon him) for two reasons: a) The Oxford Dictionary (A S Hornby, Advanced Learner's) now uses the term `the Prophet' specifically for Muhammad (peace be upon him), and b) In the Quran, the word Rasul has quite a different connotation from the one implied by the word Nabi. Owing to various reasons, too lengthy to be discussed here, we think that the word Prophet in English is a better synonym than Messenger for Rasul. For a detailed discussion on the difference between Rasul and Nabi, see Javaid Ahmad Ghamidi, `Nabuwwat-o-Risaalat', "Ishraaq" (Urdu), (Oct. 1988), page 27.
^2. sws has been used as an abbreviation for sallalaahu `alaihi wasallam (May God bless him and may peace be upon him).
<sup>3.</sup> `The Companions' has been used as a specific term, ie, as a synonym for Al-Sahaabah. Many people use Al-Sahaabah for all those who, after embracing Islam, had the opportunity of seeing the Prophet (sws) even if only once. In our opinion this is an erroneous interpretation of the term. It should refer merely to those Companions of the Prophet (sws) who were the foremost converts to Islam and who had in times of ease, as well as in times of difficulty, supported the Prophet (sws) in his cause and had generously spent out of their wealth in the way of Allah and had taken an active part in the Ghazwaat (those Holy battles which were fought under the Prophet's command and in which he had taken part).
         For a detailed exposition see Maulana Amin Ahsan Islaahi," Mubaadi-i-Tadabbur-i-Hadith" (Urdu), (Lahore Faraan Foundation, 1989), pages 76-86.
^4. Established Sunnah about which there is no doubt.
^5. The whole Muslim Community.
^6. This has been used as a synonym for a specific term ie, Ijma' Generally, Ijma' is used to refer to a consensus on an interpretation. In our opinion this connotation of the term is ambiguous. There has never even been a consensus on this sense of consensus. We have used the term to refer to the consensus of the Companions of the Prophet (sws) through their adherence to the Sunnah. Therefore, in this sense Ijma' refers to their `practice' of the Sunnah not to its interpretation.
<sup>7.</sup> This (perpetual adherence) has been used a synonym for tawaatur-i-amalee.
<sup>8.</sup> It must be remembered, as we have also pointed out in the article, that the Sunnah relates to the performance of rituals and execution of injunctions and not to articles of faith as such.
<sup>9.</sup> (Singular: Khabr-i-Waahid). It is often claimed that many of the Ahaadith as recorded in the well-known collections of Ahadith are Akhbar-i-Mutawaatir (Singular: Khabr-i- Muttawaatir). Khateeb Baghdadi has defined Khabr-i-Mutawaatir as `a Khabr (Version of Hadith) that had been narrated by so many people that it is not possible to believe that so many people would have agreed to lie, all at the same time, about an open matter, especially when there is no evidence to believe that they had been coerced.'
         Maulana Amin Ahsan Islaahi says about Khabr-i-Mutawaatir: `It should be clearly borne in mind that although the definition of Khabr-i-Mutawaatir exists, that which it defines, does not. Often a Hadith is given the status of Khabr-i-Mash hoor [a well-known Khabr) but on inspection one finds that its narrators were one or two till the third stage [in the chain of narrators], whereas at the fourth or fifth stage, the number of narrators had increased. Therefore, in our opinion, such Ahaadith as are generally called Akhbaar-i-Mutawaatir require further investigation after which, if they are found to be in accordance with the definition mentioned above [Khateeb Baghdadi's], they would be accepted as Mutawaatir. But it is not correct to give something the status of Mutawaatir artificially. However, it must be remembered that the Sunnah has.... the status of Mutawaatir and this status is on the basis of perpetual adherence not on the basis of oral transmission [by a few individuals].' ("Mubaadi-i-Tadabbur-i-Hadith", Lahore, Faraan Foundation, 1989; pages 20 and 21).
<sup>10.</sup> Plural of Hadith.
<sup>11.</sup> `The Hadith' has been used, where the context permits, as a term to denote the whole corpus of Ahaadith.
^12. Two of the major branches are: i) Asmaa-ur-Rijaal: Compilation, analysis, and use of the dictionaries of the narrators' biographies. ii) Jarah-o-Ta`deel: The science of impugnment and justification of the bonafides of the narrators.
<sup>13.</sup> Such a chain of narrators is called Sanad (plural: Asnaad).
<sup>14.</sup> Quite often, a Hadith has different Asnaad. Therefore, the same Hadith may have various `versions' (Riwaayaat; singular: Riwaayat).
^15. See, Javaid Ahmad Ghamidi, Ishraq, March 1990, page 6.
^16. Al-Salat refers to a form of prayers which was specified by the Prophet (sws).
^17. A well-known compiler of Ahaadith (194-256 AH). His `Sahih' is one of the most venerated collections of Ahadith.
<sup>18.</sup> It is said that Bokhari alone sifted around 7,000 Ahadith from approximately 200,000 for inclusion in his Sahih.
<sup>19.</sup> Another well-known compiler of Ahaadith. His collection is also known as Sahih (of Imam Muslim).
<sup>20.</sup> "Mazhabi Dastaanain aur un kee Haqeeqat" (Urdu) (Karachi, Anjumani-Uswa-i-Hasanah, 1987).
 This translation is of a portion from the second volume of the book (pages 9-12). The book is very useful in the sense that it has brought out the truth behind such stories and parables as have found their way into religious literature and have served to create a religion entirely different from Islam. Although one may disagree with Maulana's approach to Hadith analysis and his style of criticism and his research methodology, one has to concede that, on the whole, the book is an excellent piece of research work.
         For a comparison of Maulana Kandhalvi's approach with that of some other scholars see the following:
         i) Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi, "Mubaadi-Tadabur-i-Hadith" (Lahore, Faraan Foundation, 1989).
         ii) Javaid Ahmad Ghamidi, Ishraq, March 1990, pages 4-6.
         iii) Javaid Ahmad Ghamidi, "Rajam Ki Sazaa" (4 parts), Ishraq, May-Aug, 1990.
<sup>21.</sup> India and Pakistan.
<sup>22.</sup> Islamic law.
<sup>23.</sup> Wadhu refers to a form of ablutions specified by the Prophet (sws). Wadhu is necessary for Al-Salaat.
<sup>24.</sup> Hadith-i-Mutawaatir is another name for Khabr-i-Mutawaatir (see note 9).
<sup>25.</sup> Often, the word Ijma' is used quite vaguely (see note 6). Therefore, it must be remembered that Maulana Kandhalvi may have used the terms ijma` and the Companions (Al-Sahaabah; see note 3) in a sense entirely different from the sense in which we have used them. 

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Pearls of Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam

"The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to Allah can stand up to anything"
Sayings of Wisdom from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)
Fear Allah wherever you are and follow up a bad deed with a good one as it will wipe it out and behave well towards people. (Related by at-Tabari according to Abu Dharr).
Fear Allah and treat your children equally. (Related by an-Nu'an).
Beware of the invocation of the oppressed as there is no barrier between it and Allah. (Related by at-Tirmithi).
Beware of oppression, for it will turn into darkness on the Day of Resurrection. And beware of miserliness for it ruined those who preceded you as it led them to bloodshed as well as be cautious in treating lawfully the forbidden acts. (Related Imam Ahmad according to Abu Huraira)
To talk about Allah's blessing is an expression of gratitude, and not doing so is an act of disbelief. The one who is not thankful for the few blessings will not be thankful for the many. And the one who is not thankful to the people will not be thankful to Allah. Unity is a blessing and division is a punishment. (Related by al-Bayhaqi).
A hypocrite has three distinguishing signs, when he talks he lies, when he promises he breaks it and when he is entrusted with something, he betrays such trust. (Related by the two Sheiks according to Abu Huraira).
Avoid the seven great destructive sins. These are to join partners in worship with Allah, to practice sorcery, to kill without justification a living being whose life has been declared sacred by Allah, to practice usury, to misappropriate the property of an orphan, to flee from the battlefield at the time of fighting and to slander chaste and innocent believing women. (Related by the two Sheikhs).
Allah likes most perpetual deeds however minimal. (Related by the two Sheiks according to 'Aisha).
Wish for others what you wish for yourself. (Related by al-Bukhari).
Allah Most High loves a servant of His who is lenient when he sells, lenient when he buys, lenient when he pays his debt and lenient when he demands the payment of a debt due to him. (Related by al-Bayhaqi according to Abu Huraira).
Whenever you go to bed, perform your ablution the way you do it for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say 'O Allah! I have surrendered my fate to You, I have entrusted all my affairs to You and I have depended on You. There is no refuge and no asylum from You except with You. O Allah! I believe in Your Book which You have revealed and in Your Prophet whom You have sent." (Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
When one of you suffers a calamity, he should say, 'To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. O Allah, I seek reward from you for my affliction, so compensate me for it and grant me something better than that as its substitute'. (Related by Ibn Majah according to Umm Salama).
When any of you starts eating, let him mention the name of Allah Most High. If he forgot to do so at the beginning of the meal, when he remembers, he should say, 'In the name of Allah at its beginning and at its end.'
When any of you leads the people in prayer, he should shorten it, for among them are the young, the old, the weak, the sick, and the one preoccupied with his affairs. But when he prays alone, he may prolong his prayer as much as he wishes. (Related by at-Tirmithi according to Abu Huraira).
When a woman gives in charity from her husband's house, reasonably and without waste, she receives the reward of what she has spent and her husband receives his reward for having earned it and the storekeeper will have a similar reward. The reward of one does not decrease those of the others. (Related by the Two Sheiks).
When one of you enters a mosque, let him pray two rak'ats before sitting. (Related by the Group).
When one of you gets invited to a wedding banquet, he should accept the invitation. (Related by the al-Bukhari and Muslim).
When one of you sees a pleasant dream, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and tell it to others. But when he sees something else (an unpleasant dream) which he dislikes, then it is from Satan and he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and should not mention it to anyone, for then it would not harm him. (Related by al-Bukhari according to Abu Sa'id).
When one of you sees a bad dream, he should spit thrice towards his left then seek refuge with Allah from Satan three times. He should then turn over to the side other than the one he was lying on. (Related by Muslim according to Jaber)
The woman who renders her five daily prayers, fasts her month of Ramadan, guards her chastity and obeys her husband, enters Paradise. (Related by al-Bazza according to Anas)

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Status of Hadith and Sunnah

There are two extremes within the Muslims today; both would merge the Hadith and Sunnah but one would claim that they play a vital role in forming the Shariah (Islamic law) whereas the other assert that they have no importance and the Holy Qur’an in itself is complete and sufficient to shape up the Religion. In this paper, we would discuss the concepts of Hadith and Sunnah, elaborate the difference between them and try to settle the argument somewhere in between these two extremes. 





THE HADITH: 

“The term Hadith (literally: ‘a saying’ or ‘something new’) is defined as the individual-to-individual narratives ascribed to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) regarding his sayings, actions, expressed or tacit approvals and his personal description. 

Some scholars apply the word Hadith to connote the actions or sayings of the companions of the Prophet and even their successors (peace be upon them all). However, more precisely the word Athr (i.e. relic) is used to connote this sense. The Hadith literature consists of voluminous books of narratives compiled by different scholars during the second and third century AH. The authenticity of each hadith is determined by the personal principles of acceptance or rejection of the compilers themselves.”

(Introduction to the Hadith, Module 1, www.studying-islam.org) 

Hadith is not an independent source of the Shariah as it does not add to the content of the Qur’an and Sunnah but merely “explains” these two and is totally dependent on them for its survival. The fact that we cannot, cent percent, guarantee the Hadith record does not mean that we should turn our backs on this great treasure of wisdom. The reasons may be summarized as follows:

1. The scholars of the science of Hadith (for example, Imam Muslim, Imam Bukhari, Imam Malik (peace be upon them all)) have put in tremendous efforts to distinguish the true Ahadith1 from the fabricated ones. These are such outstanding and worthwhile efforts that we can be highly proud of them. 

2. The Ahadith help a great deal to understand the directives of the Qur’an. For example, the state of the Arab society described in the Hadith literature enables us to understand the real purpose of delaying the commandment for breaking the custom of slavery. 

3. They are the only source through which we may approach the biography and lifestyle of the Prophet (peace be upon him). 

4. They inform us of the uswa-e-hasana2 of the Prophet (peace be upon him). For example, the way he performed ablution in an ideal manner out of the Qur’anic order for ablution (5:6). 

5. They reveal to us the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) understanding and interpretation of the Qur’anic phrases. (See the example under point 4 in “The Sunnah” section) 

6. They enlighten the background in which the Qur’an was revealed. This background, which includes the geographical circumstances of the Quranic revelations, is extremely important to understand the true essence and meaning of the different Quranic directives. For example, when the Qur’an orders the Prophet (peace be upon him) to tell his wives, daughters and the wives of the believers to lengthen their garments (33:59), the hadith tells us that the Muslim women of Madina3 were facing an “alarming situation” for which this verse was revealed. This, in addition to the Quranic context itself in which this verse is present, gives a notion that the women living in the normal circumstances may be exempted from the applicability of this verse. 

7. They inform us of the lives of the Prophet’s companions (peace be upon them all) who, undoubtedly, are the heroes of the Islamic history for committing their lives entirely to Allah’s Religion. 

There may be many other reasons to embrace the science of Hadith but, we believe, the above are already good enough to prove the point. 

We wonder why Ahadith are being called “a fabricated source”. This really is a baseless charge. The scholars of Hadith have done a tremendous job in distinguishing the true ahadith from the fabricated ones. They have had used excellent set of laws in scrutinizing each of the hadith that was ascribed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). 

A number of books (for example: Tabaqatal-Kubra of Ibn Sa‘ad, Tarikhal-Kabir of Imam Bukhari, Tabaqat-al Huffaz of Imam Dhahabi (peace be upon them all)) were compiled merely on the life history of each narrator to elaborate his or her truthfulness, moral values, memory and understanding. The Hadith scholars would not take the hadith from the narrator who is doubted, even a little, for his or her truthfulness or moral values. Although they would take it from the one with weak memory and understanding but would never warrant it as sahi, i.e. excellent or very reliable. 

Allah T’ala has entitled the Qur’an as Furqan – something that distinguishes between wrong and right. Therefore, each hadith that was ascribed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) was checked in the light of the Holy Qur’an. No hadith was accepted which contradicted either the Qur’an or Sunnah or established facts.

Another point that is worth noticing here is that the Hadith scholars did not have to filter out the true ahadith from among the gossips scattered around everywhere, unsystematically, like the autumn leaves. There was, at least, some system courtesy of which the ahadith were present with different narrators through a teacher-student chain. A teacher would teach some ahadith to his student and that student to his student, so on and so forth, until the last narrator from whom the Hadith scholars would pick the Hadith for scrutinizing.

We need to appreciate the fact that no record of the history has been scrutinized so intensely and widely as the Hadith. We can be proud of the efforts being put for preserving this record in our literature. The state of each hadith is so precisely measured by the Hadith scholars that we know about almost every hadith if it is excellent or good or weak or fabricated. Ever since the most authentic Hadith books are compiled, they have been thoroughly examined by thousands of the preceding Hadith scholars almost all of which accepted their excellence. Although some ahadith, claimed as sahih in these books, have been criticized for their authenticity still they are a few and well known to the Hadith scholars of all times. 

The point that people accept certain ahadith and reject the others to back their sects is quite true. It is also true that people extensively use weak or fabricated ahadith for preaching and solving religious conflicts. Such matters should be criticized but it does not mean that we should separate ourselves from the science of Hadith itself. We know that people even change the meaning of the Qur’an in a way that suits their interests; does it imply that we should turn our backs on the Qur’an as well? Not at all! If someone truly wants to scholastically benefit from the Hadith, it offers a treasure of wisdom and knowledge. It even helps enhance the understanding of the Qur’anic directives as mentioned above. 

The fact that the Hadith does not add to the content of the Religion, preserved within the Qur’an and Sunnah, but only explains it makes it very safe to utilize the Hadith as, on its basis, not even a single directive of the Qur’an or practice of the Sunnah may be altered.

Let us now turn to the other extreme and briefly discuss the reasons why the Hadith cannot be considered as the basic source of the Religion or a constituent of the Shariah:

1. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not show any keenness to preserve his sayings or actions.

Even the exalted companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) like Abu-Bakar and Umar (peace be upon them) did not show any interest to preserve the Hadith.

Had Hadith been a basic source, the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (peace be upon them all) would have made extraordinary efforts to preserve it as they did in the case of the Qur’an and Sunnah. 

2. The ahadith, by and large, do not reflect the exact words and actions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) but the words or actions of him as understood or perceived by the individual Hadith narrators. The understanding and perception of the individuals may be questioned and what is questioned cannot be the basic source of the Religion because, if it were, the authenticity of the Religion in itself would be questionable. 

3. Even if a hadith is sahih, it cannot be guaranteed as cent percent true. The maximum that could be said about a sahih hadith is that there is a highest possibility that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have said or done or approved as mentioned in it. What cannot be believed to be cent percent true should not qualify to be the basic source. 

4. Unlike the Qur’an and Sunnah which were adopted and propagated by millions of Muslims in each generation since the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Hadith books were written by the individual writers. However intelligent, wise, trustworthy and careful these writers might be, there is always a chance of error in the individual’s work. Therefore, this leaves a little room for the doubt. Again, what leaves even an iota of doubt cannot be accepted as the basic source because it would make the basis of the Religion doubtful.

5. The hadith does not only include the Religious sayings or actions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) but his other everyday sayings, actions, personal habits, likes and dislikes that he never asked anyone to Religiously adopt or follow. The very point is clarified in the following Hadith: 

“I am a human being, so when I command you about a thing pertaining to religion, do accept it, and when I command you about a thing out of my personal opinion, keep it in mind that my position is no more than a human being… For it was only a personal opinion of mine4, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say anything to you on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute a lie to Allah… You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) in the affairs of the world.” 

(Sahih Muslim no. 2361, 2362, 2363) 

Beware those people who say that it is the Religious duty of every Muslim to adopt and follow every aspect of the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) life recorded only within the Hadith books and not in the Qur’an or Sunnah! The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself is negating this point in the above hadith. 

6. The word Shariah is often confused. It does not refer to the entire content of the Religion, as perceived, but only to that part which defines the “Religious Law”. Even the part of the Qur’an which explicates this law is limited; how come whole of the Hadith record may be seen as a constituent of it? 


THE SUNNAH:


Some important facts about the Sunnah are summarized as under:

1. How widely may be used as synonyms, there is a significant distinction between the terms, Hadith and Sunnah, that must be recognized to correctly understand the status of each in Islam. 

Unlike the Haidth, the term Sunnah does not refer to each saying, action, approval or the personal description of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but only his “Religious” actions that he inherited from the Religion of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) and strongly instituted among his followers as an essential part of their faith. 

The historical record of the facts like the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) spoke Arabic, wore an Arab dress, rode the camel, kept sword etc. would come under the term Hadith whereas the way he demonstrated to his followers how to offer Salah (prayer), perform Hajj (pilgrimage) and keep fasts during Ramadan would come under the term Sunnah – Salah, Hajj and Fasts being the Religious acts. 

2. The Sunan5 are the Religious Abrahamic6 traditions which were already prevailing, in some form, in the world even before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Obviously, these Sunan are older than the Qur’an itself. If a Sunnah is not mentioned in the Qur’an (for example: circumcision of the male children or the way Salah (prayer) be performed etc.), it does not mean that it would be rejected as the Qur’an not only testifies the Religion of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) but orders us to follow it. The Qur’an is revealed with the Sunan-e-Ibrahimi (the Abrahamic traditions) in its background that is why it does not explain what is Hajj or Umrah (pilgrimage) or Salah but merely orders people to carry out these Sunan. 

In other words, people were already aware of the Sunan-e-Ibrahimi. However, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) purified these Sunan from the polytheistic spirits developed within them with time and rectified them in their supreme form. 

The Sunan were present in all the Abrahamic Religions practiced and propagated by the Prophets following the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon them all). However, these Sunan should not be confused with the laws (Shariah) given to the following Prophets (peace be upon them) by means of the different Divine Books – the laws (for example, of the rate of the Zakah) kept changing in the eras of the different Prophets following the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon them all) but the Sunan (for example, of Zakah itself), always remained there. 

The question why the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) adopted the Religious Abrahimic traditions and, after corrections and additions, instituted them in the lives of his followers as an integral part of their faith, can be answered by means of the following verse:

“And then we revealed unto you (the command) to follow the Religion of Abraham, who was steadfast and was not one of the polytheists.” (16:123)

3. As there is a distinction between the Hadith and Sunnah, there is a distinction between the Qur’anic orders and Sunnah as well. 

The Sunnan are independent of the Qur’an in the sense that they are older than the Qur’an and emerge from the Prophet Abraham’s (peace be upon him) Religious traditions which were later approved, rectified, and established into the lives of the Muslims by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

The Qur’an orders believers to pay Zakah (alms), as they paid in the Prophet Abraham’s (peace be upon him) time, but does not suggest its rate. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) then, under the guidance of Allah but independent of the Qur’an, establishes the rate of Zakah which becomes an obligatory sunnah for every Muslim who is constrained to pay it. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) punished the thieves and adulterers and raised sword against the deniers of the truth but none of these are sunan as they are purely the Quranic orders that the Prophet (peace be upon him) carried out. Though the sunan like Salah, Fasting, Hajj, Zakah and Sacrificing of animals are also mentioned in the Qur’an but it is clear from the Qur’an itself that all of these sunan originated from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when he rectified and established the Abrahamic traditions.

More so, sunan are related to the practical aspects of life, therefore, it does not include the basic beliefs (for example, that of oneness of Allah) mentioned in the Qur’an. 

4. Only the Qur’an and Sunnah constitute the Shariah - the Islamic law. The Hadith does not add to it but merely comes in to explain the Islamic Shariah stated within the Qur’an or demonstrated through the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). 

For example, the Qur’an orders to cut off a thief’s hands (5:38); the Hadith would explain the word sariq (male thief) and sariqah (female thief) used in the Qur’an and warn that these words do not apply to all the thieves but only those who fulfill certain conditions. According to the linguistic principles, the words sariq and sariqah are adjectives and denote the thoroughness in the characteristics of the verb they qualify.

5. The Sunnah enjoys an equal status to the Holy Qur’an in forming the Islamic Shariah because both emanate from the same source i.e. the Holy prophet (peace be upon him) who, by the order of the Almighty, conveyed each one with equal care and eagerness. 

Beware; he did not convey the Book alone which leaves out many practical details but Sunnah as well which shapes the practical life of a Muslim. For example, the Qur’an orders believers to offer salah but leaves out the details of how to do so. The Sunnah, on the other hand, practically demonstrates of how to offer it with all its formalities. In this way, both the Qur’an and Sunnah compliment each other to form a complete lifestyle. 

6. The Sunan instituted by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) include the manner in which five daily, Eid and funeral prayers are offered, the mode of fasting in Ramadan, all rituals of Hajj, the rate and ceilings of Zakah, the nikah (solemnization of marriage), the circumcision of male children, saying prescribed words in the ears of the newborn, the tradition of burying the dead after bathing and wrapping in coffin cloth, beginning every deed with Allah’s name, greeting each other by saying Assalamo’alaikum (peace be to you) and replying with Wa’alaikumassalam (peace be to you too), saying Alhamdulillah (all gratitude be to Allah) upon sneezing, slaughtering animals in a specific manner with the proclamation of Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great), shortening of nails, cleaning of mouth, nose and teeth, abstaining from intercourse during menstruation and afterbirth, trimming the moustache, removing the undesired hair and washing after urination, defecation and intercourse. 

7. None of these established Sunan, as claimed by some, is contrary to the Holy Qur’an. (By this, we do not mean that all of them are explicitly mentioned in the Book. See point 1 for clarification.) 

8. The Sunan are as pure and authentic as the Qur’an itself because both, the Qur’an and Sunnah, have reached us through the same mode of transmission, i.e. the consensus of each generation of the Ummah7. The following paragraphs excellently elaborate the very point:

“We have received these Sunan through the consensus of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon them all) and since the age of the Companions, every subsequent generation has faithfully preserved them and handed over to the next in large numbers. The Sunan relate to those areas of our practical lives about which we are sure that no interruption in these practices is possible in history. For example, in the communities, people keep on dying and children are being born. The dead are thus washed and buried and all male children are circumcised. It is impossible that these proceedings could have remained suspended for any considerable time or one of the generations could have missed them. History shows that all these practices were followed by vast majority of each generation of Muslims. Even an attempt to affect the slightest of change or innovation in these Sunan was strongly resisted and harshly criticized by the Ummah. 

The initiation of these practices by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and their subsequent communication from generation to generation by hundreds of thousands of people means that Sunan have reached down to us through Tawatur just like the Holy Qur’an. However the mode of tawatur is different. Unlike the oral or documentary Tawatur of the Holy Qur’an, the Sunnah has reached us through Tawatur-i-Amli or Tawatur in practice of the Ummah.”

(Understanding the Sunnah, Module 1, www.studying-islam.org)

9. No practice, whether Religious or not, can be accepted as Sunnah except for those that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself explicitly introduced as his Sunnah.


To sum up, there is a clear distinction between the Hadith and Sunnah which must be understood. Hadith is an important “explanatory source” for the Religious understanding, as it explains the Qur’an and Sunnah, but still not the “basic source” of the Religion. The basic sources, which form the Shariah, are only two: Qur’an (the Book) and Sunnah (the practices instituted by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)). A hadith may be questioned to be more or less authentic but the authenticity of the Sunnah cannot be questioned because it has come down to us through the same mode of transmission by which the Holy Qur’an has come to us, i.e. the consensus of each generation of the Ummah since the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

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Imam Malik and the Distinctive Features of his al-Mu'atta

 Abu Abdullah, Malik bin Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi Aanir ibn Amr ibn Haris, was born in Medina in the year 94 H (75 AD). His ancestral home was in Yemen, but his grandfather settled in Medina after embracing Islam. He received his education in Medina, which was the most important seat of Islamic learning, and where the immediate descendants of the Companions of the Holy Prophet lived. Imam Malik was highly attracted to the study of law, and devoted his entire interest to the study of Fiqh. It is said that he sought out over three hundred Sahabah (those who saw the Companions of the Holy Prophet). From them he acquired the knowledge of the Holy Prophet's sayings, Hadith, (plural Ahadith) - and the Holy Prophet's Deeds, - Sunnah. Imam Malik studied Fiqh under the guidance of nearly one hundred learned teachers who were residing in the city of the Prophet at the time. Among Imam Malik's writings is the great work entitled Kitab-al-Muwatta, which is the earliest surviving book of Islamic law and Hadith. It quotes Sayings as well as the practices according to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet as observed by Muslims in Medina.

Although Imam Malik wrote many treatises dealing with religion and ethics, Kitab-al-Muwatta is acknowledged as the most important among his writings. It is said that Imam Malik had originally recorded ten thousand Ahadith in this book, but in a revised edition the Imam reduced the number to only one hundred and seventy-two. Imam Malik was famous for his piety and integrity and courageously stood up, and was prepared to suffer, for his convictions. Imam Malik continued to serve the noble cause of education for 62 years. He died on 11th Rabi’ul Awwal 179. A.H, (795 AD) at the age of 86.

The high reputation of Imam Malik as a scholar and teacher attracted people from the four corners of the Islamic Empire. Perhaps no other teacher ever produced such talented scholars who ascended the pinnacle of glory in different walks of life. Among the persons who benefited from his learning were Caliphs like Mansur, Medhi, Harun and Mamun; jurist like Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi, Sufian Suri and Qazi Muhammad Yusuf; scholars like Ibn Shahab Zahri and Yahya bin Saeed Ansari; mystics like Ibrahim bin Adham, Zunnun Misri and Muhammad bin Fazil bin Abbas. According to reliable historical sources, the number of his students who acquired great name in life was more than 1,300. His classes were characterised by their serenity, discipline and by a high sense of respect exhibited by the students for their learned teacher. He never tolerated any indiscipline when he lectured on the Traditions of the Prophet (sws). Once, the Abbaside Caliph, Mansur who was discussing certain traditions with the Imam spoke a bit loudly. The Imam rebuked him by saying, ‘Don’t talk stridently when the Traditions of the Prophet (sws) are under discussion.’ He refused to discourse on the Traditions in the camp of the Caliph. (Hundred Great Muslims).

The Imam behind him more than a dozen works including his famous Muwatta. His treatises deal with religious and ethical matters and Islamic jurisprudence. The reliability of the reports and reporters was his chief consideration and he took pains to ensure that no incorrect report should find place in his book. This book has been translated into several languages.

He occupies a unique place in the galaxy of talented scholars like Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim who are well-known for collecting the Traditions of the Holy Prophet (sws) of Islam. He is said to have always avoided the company of a person who was not highly learned. According of Imam Hanbal, he was the only person to have such a distinction that he never reported a Tradition from a person unless he had fully satisfied himself. He was held in such high esteem by the later scholars that once someone enquired from Imam Hanbal about a certain reporter. He replied that the reporter must be reliable because Imam Malik had reported from him. Imam Malik experienced great hardship in quest for knowledge. Like Imam Bukhari, who had once to live on herbs and roots for three days, he too, had to sell the beams of his house in order to pay his education dues. He used to say that one cannot attain the heights of intellectual glory, unless faced with poverty. Poverty is the real test of man; it awakens in him the hidden energies and enables him to surmount all difficulties.

His contemporaries and later Traditionalists and religious scholars have formed a very high opinion about his intellectual attainments. According to Abdur Rahman ibn Mahdi, there is no Traditionalist great than Imam Malik in the world. Imams Ahmad bin Hanbal and Shafi speak very highly of him as a traditionalist. The learned Imam was also a great jurist; for more than 60 years he gave Fatwas in Medina.

Imam Malik was known for his integrity and piety. He always lived up to his convictions. Neither fear nor favor could ever deflect him from the right path. He was among the members of the glorious society of early Islam who could not be purchased and whose undaunted courage always proved as a guiding star for the freedom fighters.
 
Jamil Ahmad in his book Hundred Great Muslims writes: When he was aged twenty-five, the Caliphate passed into the hands of the Abbasids caliph Mansur who was his colleague. Mansur highly respected him for his deep learning. The Imam however, favored the Fatimid Nafs Zakriya for the exalted office of the Caliph. When he learned that the people had taken the oath of fealty of Mansur, he said that since Mansur had forced people to do so, the oath was not binding them. He quoted a Tradition of the Prophet (sws) to the effect that a divorce by force is not legal. When Jafar, a cousin of Mansur, was posted as Governor of Medina, he induced the inhabitants of the Holy city to renew their oath of allegiance to Mansur. The Governor forbade him not to publicize his Fatwa in respect of forced divorce. Highly principled and fearless as he was, the defied the Governor’s orders and courageously persisted in his course. This infuriated the Governor, who ordered that the Imam be awarded 70 stripes, as punishment. According, seventy stripes were inflicted on the naked back of the Imam which began to bleed. Mounted on a camel in his bloodstained clothes, he was paraded through the streets of Medina. This brutality of the Governor failed to cow down or unnerve the noble Imam. Caliph Mansur, when apprised of he matter, punished the Governor and apologized to the Imam. 

Once, Caliph Mansur sent him three thousand Dinars as his traveling expenses of Baghdad, but he returned the money and refused to leave Medina, the resting place of the Prophet (sws).

In 174 A.H Caliph Harun-ar-Rashid, arrived in Medina with his two son Amin and Mamun. He summoned Imam Malik to His place for delivering a lecture on Mutate. The Imam refused to comply with his orders. He wrote to him:’ Rashid! Traditions in a learning cultivated and patronized by your ancestors, if you don’t pay it due respect, no one else would,’ This argument convinced the Caliph, who, along with his two sow, then chose to attend the class taken by the Imam. 

The Imam was reputed throughout the world of Islam for his self-control and great patience. Once a band of Kharijis armed with swords forced their way into a mosque of Kufa, where he was praying, All persons scampered away from the mosque in panic but he stayed there undismayed. It was customary with all those who waited on Caliph Mansur in his palace to kiss his hands but Imam Malik never did so. On the other hand, he paid highest regards to the learned people and once, when Imam Abu Hanifa came to see him, he offered him his own seat. 

Ibu Muslim Al Khuzai wrote that: When Imam Malik would intend to read, write or give class on Hadith, he would first make abulation (Wudu), would put on his best clothes, would then wear perfume, and would come his beard. When asked for the reason for doing so, he replied: This is for reverence to the Hadith of the Prophet of God. Whenever he would mention the name of the Prophet, the color of his face would change. When asked, he said that if you could see what I see you would not ask me this question. 
Ibn Khallikan wrote that: Inspite of his old age and weakness, he would never ride in Medina He used to say, I would never ride in a city where the Prophet is buried.

Muslims inhabiting Western Arabia, exclusively subscribe to the Maliki sect. Imam Malik's followers and disciples developed a Fiqh school based on his books which came to be known as the Maliki Madhhab. Malikis are mostly found in North and West Africa, - Tunis, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt.


Muslims community enjoys the privilege of documenting with great care and with great zeal, the sayings, doings and the life of Prophet Mohammad known as Ahadith or the traditions, from the very first century Hijri. 

Muslims consider Hadith to be essential supplements to and clarifications of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

In the matter of what is called Fiqh, or Islamic jurisprudence, the Quran contains many rules for the behavior expected of Muslims. However, there are many matters of concern, both religious and practical, on which there are no specific Quranic rules. Muslims believe that they can look at the way of life, or Sunnah, of Mohammad and his companions to discover what to imitate and what to avoid.

In the matter of what is called Tafsir, or exposition of the meaning of the Quran, Muslim scholars believe that it is useful to know how Mohammad and his companions explained the revelations, or upon what occasions Mohammad received them. Sometimes this will clarify a passage that otherwise seems obscure.

Hadith is the source for Islamic history and biography.

For the vast majority of devout Muslims, authentic Hadith is also a source of religious inspiration.

The first three centuries witnessed an extreme level of efforts on the part of the companions (Sahaba), and those who came after them in making sure that the science Ahadith is well documented. These people not only sacrifice their time and money but, they dedicated and their entire life for this sake. They traveled to the distant corners of the world in order to collect and then to spread this important branch of Islamic knowledge. In many instances, a person would travel to a far and distant country to learn one single Hadith. 

The distinction of Medina as a leader in the field on Hadith:

In every city that the early Muslims went they carried the knowledge of Hadith with them. Some cities became more famous than other cities in this respect due to the number of the companions and the scholars that chose to live in a city. Medina got its full share of knowledge of Hadith right from the very beginning. The reason for this was that the companions were residing in large numbers in this city from the very beginning. Not only that the knowledge of Hadith prospered in this city, but it spread all over the world from this city and its people. Medina became the main place where the scholars of Hadith (Muhadditheen ) and Jurists (Fuqaha) could be found in great numbers. A testimony of this is the saying of Imam Malik, when he said: I gave my book (Muatta) to over seventy high ranking Jurists ( Fuqaha) of Medina for review. When Imam Malik was growing up in Medina, it was the when there a great need for the compilation and collection of Ahadith in books.

The process of collecting and compiling Hadith started in Medina much before it started in any other city. Imam Mohammad bin Shahab Az Zuhri Al Madani ( d. 124 H. ) who also was one of the teacher of Imam Malik, was one of the first compiler of Hadith. Among other early compiler of Hadith in Medina were Musa bin Uqba Al Madani ( d. 141 H), Mohammad bin Ishaq Al Mutallibi Al Madani ( d. 151 H ) and Ibn Abi Zi’b Mohammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Madani (d. 158 H).

During the life time of the above mentioned scholars of Hadith, this knowledge has not only reached Makkah, Kufa, Basra and Khurasan but there were scholars who were busy in compilation of Hadith in their respective cities. But the distinction of being the first to compile Hadith belongs to the scholars of Medina. The book of Imam Malik, known as Muatta is among those early collection of Hadith. There is no doubt that Al Muatta is the first book of Hadith which was written according to the chapters of Fiqh as mentioned by Al Kuttani in his book Al Risalah.

Why did Imam Malik compiled Muatta:

The reason for the compilation of Al Muatta, as stated by the scholars in various books, is that the caliph of the Abbasy dynasty, Abu Jaffar Al Mansur-Abdullah bin Muhammad- (born: 95 H.-d 158 H) during one of his many visits for Hajj invited Imam Malik. Their meeting was dominated by a long scholarly conversation about Fiqh and Hadith. During this conversation Abu Mansur asked many questions pertaining to Hadith. He was amazed to hear the in-depth answers from Imam Malik. He was extremely impressed by the amount of knowledge and the deep understanding of various branches of Islam that Imam Malik possessed. 

Abu Jaffar, then said to Imam Malik: You should write a book about Islamic Law and I promise that I will make your book the law of the land and I will impose your book on my people. But Imam Malik disliked the idea.. He told Abu Jaffar in clear terms. Nevertheless, Abu Jaffar insisted that he still should write a book and stated that: Today there is no one more knowledgeable than you. Imam Malik started writing Al Muatta but before he could finish, Abu Jaffar died.

Ibn Khallidun writes in his Muqammah: Abu Jaffar had a very esteem place in knowledge among the scholars before and after the Khiafat. He was the person who insisted upon Imam Malik to write Al Muatta. He once said, O Abu Abdullah, today there is no one more knowledgeable on the face on this earth than you and me. The demands of Khiafat leave me with no time to do any scholarly work. You should write a book that could benefit people. In your book you should avoid the and concessions (Rukhas) of ibn Abbas, sternness (Shadaid) of ibn Umar and the peculiarities (Shawwaz) of ibn Maud. Make your book easy for people to follow. Malik said: that day Abu Jaffar taught me the right way of writing.

Malik compiled his book on the same pattern. The word Muatta means: easy and soft or "the well-trodden path".

Before Imam Malik wrote Al Muatta, Imam ibn Abi Ziab who was a contemporary scholar of high ranking and who belonged to Medina also wrote a book and named it Al Muatta which was much thicker than the Muatta of Imam Malik. It was asked from Imam Malik as to what is the use of writing his book when one is already present? He replied: Only that book will remain which is written for the pleasure of Allah.( Al Risala)

About Muatta:

Imam Jalauddin Al Suyuti writes in Tanweer ul Hawali: that Qazi Abu Bake ibn Arabi in Sharh Al Tirmizi had written that: Al Muatta is the first book in the series of authentic books of Hadith, and Shahih ul Bukhari is the second book of this series. The books of Muslim and Tirmizi are derived from these two sources.

Ibn Al Hayyab writes: Malik narrated over one hundred thousand Ahadith. He picked only ten thousand of them for his book Al Muatta He then critically examined them in the light of Quran and Sunnah and the traditions of Sahabah and finally short listed them to only five hundred Ahadith for his book.

Abul Hassan bin Fahar narrated from Ateeq bin Yaqoob who said that Imam Malik mentioned approximately ten thousand Hadith in his book Muatta. But he kept reviewing and deleting them till he left the amount of Hadith that you find now in Al Muatta.
Ibn Abdul Barr narrates from Awaozaie that we read Al Muatta to Imam Malik in forty days. Malik said: it took me forty years to compile this book and you learned it in forty days. You should devote more time in learning this book because the less time you devote to this book the less you would learn from this book.

Imam Malik said: I presented by book for review to more than seventy Jurists (Fuqaha) of Medina. I found that every one was in total agreement with what I had compiled; there fore I named this book Al Muatta.

Ibn Fahr says: No one used this name for his book before Malik. During that time those who compiled books on Hadith named their books either Al Jame, or Al Musannaf or Al Muallaf.

Ibn Fahar narrates that Imam Shafie said: There is no other book on the face of the earth after the book of Allah that is more authentic than the book of Malik. Another narration from Imam Shafie says that no book other than the book of Malik comes closer in authenticity to the Quran. Another narration says: After the book of Allah there is no book more beneficial than Al Muatta. And Al Hafiz Mughlataie said: The first person to compile Al Sahih is Malik.

Since it is an accepted fact that now that Shahih Bukhari is the most authentic book of Hadith,the comment made by Imam Shafie could cause some confusion in the minds of some. 

The answer to this is given by Imam Sakhawi and Imam Suyuti when they wrote that the comment of Shafie was made before the books of Al Bukhari and Muslim came into existence. Ibn Hajar wrote that we must understand that when Al Shafie made those comments he was comparing Al Muatta with the books that were present during his time, like Jamie Sufyan, Musannaf Hammad bin Salmah and other such books. Thus this estimation is understandable and there should not be any confusion in this regard.

The reasons for the superiority of Al Muatta

1. One reason for the high status of Al Muatta is that this book is compiled by a person who was one of the greatest Imam, a Faqih and a Mujtahid of the earliest time and of the highest esteem. His contemporary scholars and those who came after him accepted him as the Imam of the highest quality in Hadith and Fiqh. And it is an accepted fact that the books of Hadith that are compiled by those Imams who are not only Muhaddithin but are also Fuqaha of high standard are higher in standard than those books that are compiled by those Imams who are only Muhaddithin but do not enjoy a higher understanding in Fiqh. As Ali ibn Al Madini said: To me that Hadith is of more value me which is narrated by Fuqaha from those that is narrated by others. 

In his book Minhaj us Sunnah Imam ibn Taymiyya quoted Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal that: Understanding the meanings and the Fiqh of Hadith is greater in values than simply memorizing it. 

Ali ibn Al Madini said: The noblest of knowledge is acquiring Fiqh of Hadith.

2. Since this book came into existence, the scholars over the centuries have held this book in great veneration and praise. As Imam Shafie remarked that: After the book of Allah, there is no other book on the face of this earth more authentic than Al Muatta.

3. As this book was written in the middle of the second century Hijri, it is considered to be among the earliest books written in Islam. And when we look at this book from the perspective of the style of Fiqh that was adopted in this book, there remains no doubt that this is the very first book which invented the style of Fiqh chapters in the book of Hadith. Those who came after him emulated and imitated this style. For example: Ibn Mubarak, Al Bukhari, Muslim, Saieed bin Mansur, Abu Dawood, Tirmizi, An Nasaie, and Ibn Maja and others followed on the foot steps of Imam Malik in this regard.

4. What lend more credibility to this book is the fact that a large number of the students of Imam Malik, who narrated this book, went one to become great Mujtahids and Imams of Hadith and Fiqh. For example Imam Mohammad ibn Hassan as Shaibani, the student of Imam Abu Hanifa and the teacher of Imam Shafie, spend three years with Imam Malik. He did the Samaat (listened every word) of Al Muatta from him and narrated and wrote what he heard. 

5. Al Muatta contains many Asaneed (chain of Narrations) that are considered by the Muhadditheen as the most authentic Asaneed in the field of Hadith. There is, however, differences of opinions among the Muhadditheen as to which Sanad is the most authentic one. For example Imam Ahmad ibn Hambal and Ishaq ibn Rahway consider that the best Sanad is when Imam Shahab Az Zuhri narrates from Salem who narrates from Abdullah bin Omar, as mentioned by Ibn Salah. While Ali ibn Madini and Amr bin Ali Al Fallas believe that the best Sanad is when Ibn Seren narrates from Ubaida bin Amr As Salmani who narrates from Ali bin Talib. Another opinion is that the best Sanad is when Ibrahim An Nakhai narrates from Alqamah who narrates from Abdullah bin Masood. This is the opinion held by Yahya ibn Maeen and Imam Nasaiee. Abu Bakar ibn Abi Saybah believs that the best Sanad is that when Imam Az Zuhri narrates from Zain ul Abidin Ali bin Al Husain who narrates from his father Hussain ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, as reported by Ibn us Salah. 

Imam Bukhari, however, believes that the best Sanad is that when Imam Malik narrates from Nafe who narrates from Ibn Omar. Imam Iraqi holds the same opinion. This opinion seems to be the right one. Based on this Abu Mansoor Abdul Qahir Al Tamimi Al Baghdadi said: The best Sanad is when Imam Shafie narrates from Imam Malik who narrates from Nafe who narrates from Ibn Omar because among all those people who narrated from Imam Malik, no one was more sublime in rank than Shafie. Based on this, many scholars hold the opinion that the best Sanad is that when Imam Ahmad bin Hambal narrates from Imam Shafie who narrates from Imam Malik who narrates from Nafe who narrates from ibn Omar. The reason for this is that among all those who had narrated from Shafie, no one was more sublime in rank than Ahmad ibn Hambal. This chain is called Silsila tuz Zahab ( the Golden chain).

6. Another feature of Al Muatta has been the great number of people who had narrated this book from Imam Malik. As Imam Suyuti writes in Tanveer ul Havali: The amount of people who had narrated this book from Imam Malik are so many that no other Imam’s book was transmitted by so many students. Hafiz Abu Bakr Al Khateeb wrote a book on this subject in which he counted approximately one thousand people who had narrated Al Muatta from Malik. Qazi Ayaz also wrote a book on this subject in which he mentioned the name of around thirteen hundred people who narrated this book from Malik.

Different Muatta’s

Today you can find several Muatta that are attributed with the names of different students of Imam Malik. Shah Abdul Aziz Muhaddith of Delhi (1229 d.) in his book Bustanul Muhaddithin had mentioned different Muatta’s that are found. The description of these is as follows:

1. The most famous one is the one that is attributed towards Yahya ibn Yayha Al Sumudy Al Undulusy. His grand father migrated to Spain and brought his entire family along. Yahya learned Al Muatta from Ziyad ibn Abrul Rahman who is also famous with the name Shabtoon. Ziyad is the first person to bring the Madhab of Imam Malik to Spain. He traveled to Medina twice to learn from Malik. After completing his studies in Medina he came back to Spain where he spends the rest of his life in spreading the knowledge of Hadith. He was a man of great piety and piousness. The ruler of Qurtuba asked him to accept the position of Qazi of Qurtuba, but he refused. He died the same year in which Imam Shafie died, which is 204 Hijri.

After learning from Ziyad, Yahya went to Medina where he learned the entire book of Al Muatta directly from Imam Malik except for three chapters from the book of Itikaf. Imam Malik passed away the same year in which Yahya met him, which is 179 H. Yahya participated in the funeral of Imam Malik. After the death of imam Malik, Yahya learned from many of his students, among them was Abdullah ibn Wahb. 

Yahya traveled to Medina twice. In his first journey, he learned from Imam Malik, Abdullah ibn Wahb, Sufyan ibn Oyayna, Nafe ibn Nuaem Al Qari and others. In this second trip to Medina, he learned from Ibn Al Qasim the author of Al Mudawwana and from some very prominent students of Malik. He came back to Spain to spread what he had learned in Medina. He used to give Fatwa in accordance with the Madhab of Imam Malik. It was due to him and Esa ibn Dinar that the Madhab of Malik spread in AL Maghrib. Yahya died in the year 234 H.

2. Another version of Muatta is attributed towards Ibn Wahb, a student of Malik. He was born on 125 H. He learned from as many as 400 teachers. Among his teachers were Malik, Lais ibn Saad, Mohammad ibn Abdul Rahman, Sufyan ibn Oyayna, Sufyan ibn Thoury, Ibn Guraij and others. He was a great Mujtahid. He learned the way of Ijtihad from Malik and Lais. He was very prolific in narrating Hadith, Imam Zahabi and others have mentioned that in his books he narrated over one hundred thousand Hadith and over twenty thousand traditions of Sahaba. In spite of this large number, you will not find a single unauthentic Hadith in his collection. Among his famous books are: Jamae Ibn Wahb, Kitab ul Mnasik, Kitab Al Maghazi and others. He died in the year 197 H.

3. Another version of Muatta in famous with the name of Ibn Al Qasim. His complete name was Abu Abdullah Abdur Rahman ibn Al Qasim ibn Khalid Al Misri. He was born in year 132 H. He learned from different teachers of Medina. It was Ibn Al Qasim who wrote Al Mudawwana, the famous book on which the Madhab of Imam Malik relies upon. He died in Eygpt in the year 191 H.

4. Another version of Muatta is famous after Moan ibn Esa. His complete name was : Abu Yahya Moan ibn Esa ibn Dinar Al Madani Al Ashjaie. He was among the greatest students of Malik and an authority on the Madhab of Malik. Among the students of Malik, he perhaps spend the most time in the company of Malik. He got a nick name of Asa Malik, the walking stick of Malik. When Imam Malik grew old and weak, he would walk to the Mosque reclining on Moan ibn Esa. He died in the year 198 H in Medina.

5. Another version of Muatta is that which is transmitted by Al Qa’nabi. His complete name was: Abu Abdul Rahman ibn Muslama ibn Qanab Al Harthi Al Qanabi. He was born in Medina in 130 H, lived in Basra and died in Makkah in 221 H. He was held in great esteem by the scholars of that time.

6. Another version of Muatta that is found today is transmitted by Abdullah ibn Yousuf Al Damishqi At Tinnissi. Imam Bukhari had very frequently narrated Hadith from him in his books. 

7. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Yahya ibn Yahya ibn Bukair Abu Zakariyya, commonly known as Ibn Bukair Al Misri. He learned from Malik, Lais and others. Imam Bukhari and Muslim had narrated Hadith from him in their books. He died in the year 231. 

8. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Saieed ibn Ufair. His full name was Saieed ibn Kathir ibn Afeer ibn Muslim Al Ansari. He learned from Malik, Lais and others. All the Imams including Imam Bukhari had narrated Hadith from him. He was born in the year 146 and passed away the year 226 H.

9. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Abu Muab Az Zuhri. His full name was Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr Al Qasim ibn Al Haris ibn Zararah ibn Musab ibn Abdur Rahman ibn Auf Az Zuhri. He was one of the great teachers of Medina and was also a judge in Medina. He was born in the year 150 H. He spend considerable number of years learning from Malik till he achieved great depth in knowledge and understanding. All the Imams of Hadith have narrated from him other than Imam Nasie. It is said that his Muatta was the last Muatta that Imam Malik read. There are around one hundred more Hadith in his Muatta and the Muatta of Abu Huzafa, than other Muatta’s. He died in the year 242 H.

10. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Musab ibn Abdullah Az Zubairi.

11. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Mohammad ibn Mubarak As Soori.

12. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Sulaiman ibn Bard.

13. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Abu Huzafa As Sahmi Ahmad ibn Ismail. He died in Baghdad in the year 259 H. He was not consider very highly among the Muhaddithin

14. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Suwaid ibn Saieed Abu Mohammd Al Harawi. Imam Muslim and Ibn Majah as well as other prominent Imams of Hadith had narrated from him. 

15. Another version of Al Mwatta is transmitted by Mohammad ibn Al Hassan As Shaibani, the famous student of Imam Abu Hanifa. He was born and raised in Kufa, Iraq. He learned Fiqh from Imam Abu Hanifa. He learned Hadith from Imam Malik, Suyan Al Thawri Al Awzaie and others. He settled in Baghdad where he spends his life in teaching. Among his students were Imam Shafie Hisham Ar Razi Ali At Toosi and many more. He died in the year 189 H. Imam Mohammad once said: I spend three years three years at the door of Malik and I learned over seven hundred Hadith from him. 

Another important aspect to note is that Malik in his book Al Muatta had narrated Hadith from only those Sahabah and Tabeen who were from the city of Medina. We find only six narrators in this book who were from outside of Medina. And they were: Abu Zubair from Makkah, Hamid at Taweel and Ayyub As Sakhtiyani from Basra, Ata ibn Abdullah from Khurasan Abdul Kareem from Al Jazeerah and Ibraheem ibn Abi Abla from Syria.

Commentaries and footnotes on Al Muatta

Over the centuries this book has been the focus of attention of scholars all around the world. Along with teaching this book to students, some of the scholars served this book by writing useful commentaries and footnotes. This way it was made easy for the readers to understand and comprehend the meaning this book.

Following are some of the prominent names who had worked on this book:

1. Abu Mohammad Abdullah ibn Mohammad ibn As Sayyad Al Batalyusi Al Malki. He was born in 444 H, AND died in year 521 H. His commentary on Al Mwatta is called” Sharh Al Muatta,” also known as “ Al Muqtabas Sharh Mwatta”. Imam Suyuti wrote in “Bagiyytul Woaat” that: Al Batalyusi was a great scholar of Arabic language, and of all branches of Islamic knowledge.

2. Ibn Rashiq Al Qiranwi Al Malki. His book is called “ Sharh Mwatta”. He was born in the year 390. He was a prolific writer.

3. Abu Marwan Abdul Malik ibn Habib ibn Sulaiman Al Qurtubi. He was born in Al Qurtuba, Spain. His work on Al Mwatta is called “ Tafsir Al Mwatta”. Among his other famous books are: Eraabul Quran, Gharib ul Hadith, Tabqatul Fuqaha and others. The year of his death is: 239 H.

4. Al Hafiz Abdul Barr. His full name was: Abu Omar Yousuf ibn Abdullah ibn Mohammad ibn Abdul Barr ibn Al Asim An Namri Al Undulsi Al Qurtubi, Al Maliki. He is also known as Hafiz ul Maghrib and Sheikh ul Islam. He was born in the year 368 H and lived for 95 years. He died in the year 463 H in Shatbiyya, a small town in Spain. He wrote extensively on Al Mwatta. His first book on Al Mwatta is called: At Tamheed lima fil mwatta minal Maani wal Asaneed. In this book he had mentioned the names of all the teachers of Imam Malik in an alphabetical order in seventy thick chapters. This is an excellent scholarly work. 

Ibn Hazam wrote about this book: I do not know of any other book on the subject of Kalam over Fiqh ul Hadith besides this book. This is the only book of its kind. Abdul Barr wrote another book on Al Mwatta called Al Istidrak li mazahibil Amsar fima tazammanahuL Mwatta min Ma’ani rra;ye was Asaar”. This book which is a summary of Tamheed with some valuable additions has been receiving high praise from the scholars for centuries. Abdul Hai Lucknawi writes in his foreword over Al Mwatta that: I had read Al Istizkar. It is a fantastic book. It is neither too long nor too short. It has every thing in it that would help the reader understand Al Mwatta. Among his other books are: Al Istiaab fi Asma is Sahabah, Al Kafi in 15 volumes over the Madhab of Imam Malik, Al Taqassi fi Ikhtisar il Mwatta, Al Intifa li Mazahibil Ulema Malik wa Abi Hanifa wa Shafie. And many other useful books. Imam Az Zahabi in Siyaru Alamin Nubala, wrote that Ibn Abdul Barr was among those people who reached the rank of Mujtahedeen.

5. Abul Walid Al Baji. His full name was: Sulaiman ibn Khalf ibn Saad ibn Ayyoub Al Undulusi Al Qurtubi Al Baji Az Zahabi Al Malki. He was born in year 403 H. He died in year 474 H. He spend 13 years in seeking knowledge from various teachers in Damascus, Asfahan, Iraq and other places. He wrote as many as four books on Al Mwatta. A commentary over Al Mwatta in 20 volumes called: Al Istifaa. It is considered of be one of the best work on Al Mwatta. Another book by him on Al Mwatta is called: Ikhtilaful Mwattat. Another one is: Al Muntaqa, and the fourth one is called Al Imaa in 5 volumes. Among his other books are As Siraj in Fiqh, Al Ishara in Fiqh, and others. If you need further details about him and his works, please consult Imam Zahabi’s book, Siyaru A’lamin Nubala’.

6.Qazi Abu Bakr ibn Al Arabi Al Malki Al Khitabi. His full name was: Abu Bakr Mohamamd ibn Abdullah ibn Ahmad Al Undulusi, famously known as Ibn ul Arabi. He was born in year 468 H and died in year 543 H. He wrote a detailed commentary on Al Mwatta known as : Al Qabas Sharh Mwatta Malik ibn Anas. Among his other famous work is a detailed commentary on Jame ut Tirmizi known as: Arizatul Ahwazi fi Sharh Jame it Tirmizi. 

Note: There are two scholars who are famous with the same name last name: Ibn Arabi. One is Qazi Abu Bakr. He is the one whom we talked about briefly. The other one is Muhiuddin Ibn Arabi, the writer of Al Futuhat ul Makkiyyah, and Fususul Hikam and other famous books. They are distinguished in such a way that the first one is called Qazi Ibn ul Arabi while the second one is called Sheikh ul Akbar Ibn Arabi.

7. Jalauddin Al Suyuti As Shafi. His full name is: Abdur Rahman Jalal ud Din As Suyuti. Suyuti is the name of a town in Egypt. He was born the year 849 H. he is commonly known as Imam Suyuti. He wrote three masterpieces on Al Mwatta. One is called Isaaful Mubatta bi Rijalil Mwatta, second one is called: Kashful Mughatta an Wajhil Mwatta. This is a very big commentary. The third one is called: Tanweerul Hawalik in which he summarized his earlier works on Al Mwatta. 

Imam Suyuti is perhaps the most prolific Muslim writer ever. He wrote over 600 books. Many of his books are in several volumes. Among his great works are his commentaries on each of the six authentic books of Hadith, Tafsirs of Quran called Al Itqan fi Uloom il Quran and Ad Durrul Mansoor and Hashia tafsir Al Baizawi. By the time he had written around three hundred books, he wrote at one place: So far I had written three hundred books, and this list does not included those books that I had taken back for some reasons after writing them. And he went on to count the number of his books along with the subjects: In the field of Tafseer: 25 books. In the field of Hadith 89 books, in the field of Fiqh 64 books, in the field of Arabic language and grammar 32 books, in the field of Usool and Tasawwuf 23 books and in the field of Arabic Literature and History 47 books. 

8. Az Zarqani Al Malki. His full name was Mohammad ibn Abdul Baqi ibn Yousuf Az Zarqani Al Malki. His commentary over Al Mu’atta is a fine scholarly work. He finished writing this commentary in year 1012 H. He also wrote an excellent commentary over “ Al Mawahibul LaDuniyya”. His year of death is 1022H as mentioned in Kashfuz Zunoon.

9. Salamullah Al Hanafi. He was the son of Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddith Ad dehalwi. He wrote a commentary over Al Mu’atta and named his work as: Al Muhalla Bi As raril Mwatta. He also wrote a commentary over Shamail ut Tirmizi.

10. Waliullah Al Muhaddith Al Dehlwai. His full name was Qutubuddin Ahmad ibn Abdul Rahim. His family tree goes back to Omar Al Farooq. He was born in 1114H in Delhi. He died in 1176 H. He was without any doubt one of the greatest scholar that India had ever produced. His books are a testimony to this fact. Although he wrote over 30 books and all of them are masterpieces and are very popular in the Muslim. He wrote two commentaries on Al Mu’atta. One in the Persian language known as “ Al Musaffa” and the second one is in Arabic language is called “ Al Musawwa”.

11. Ibrahim BeerZada AlHanafi. Ibrahim ibn Hussain ibn Ahmad ibn Mohammad ibn Ahmad ibn Beeri. He was the Mufti of Makkah. He was born in year 1020 H. and died in year 1099 H. He was among the great scholars of Fiqh of Hanafi of his time. His commentary over Al Mu’atta is called Al Fatur Rahmani. This commentary has never been printed and can be found in the manuscript section at Al Mahmoodia Library in Medina Munawwara.

12. Mulla Ali Al Qari. Ali ibn Mohammad Sultan Al Harwi, famously known as Mulla Ali Qari. He was one of the most respected and reputed scholar of Hanafi school of Fiqh of his time. He was born in Heart but moved to Makkah where he learned from several prominent scholars of that time. When he starting giving classes on Hadith and Fiqh, in no time he became so famous that there were students who would come from far and distant place to learn from him. He wrote over 50 books including the commentary on Al Mwatta in two volumes. He died in year 1014 H in Makkah. It is said that when the news of his demise reach Egypt, the scholars of Egypt prayed Salatul ghaib for him which was attended by over four thousand people.

13. Abdul Hai Al Lucknawi. His full name was Abdul Hai ibn Abdul Haleem Al Ansari Al Lucknawi Al Hindi. He was born in 1264 H in India and died in 1304 H. Although he lived for only 39 years and 4 months but he left behind as many as 116 books. His field of specialty was Fiqh and Hadith ul Fiqh. He wrote a commentary on Mwatta called At Taleequl Mumajjad. This commentary had received high reviews from scholars. It has been recently published from Damascus. I would like to let you know that he was my great grand father.

14. Mohammad Zakariyya Al Muhajir Al Madani. His full name was Zakariyya ibn Yahya ibn Ismail. He was born in 1315 H and died in 14 in Medina. He is commonly known as Shaikh ul Hadith. He was the nephew of Maulana Ilyas of Delhi who started the movement called Tablighi Jamat. He wrote some very useful books during his life time. His commentary over Al Mwatta is in several volumes. It is an excellent scholarly work which has received high reviews from the scholars.

Scholars over the centuries have been serving this book in their own capacities. There could be many more commentaries on this book. I had mentioned only some of the very famous ones.

Conclusion:: To sum up,I would like to mention that in the history of Islam, Imam Malik had played an extremely pivotal role in transmitting the knowledge of Hadith and Fiqh to the generations that followed. He was not only a great jurist of Medina and founder of the Maliki school of Islamic Law, his book Al Mu’atta is considered by many to be, after the Quran, the most important book of Islam. In Al-Muatta we find a complete record of the legal and social parameters of the original Muslim community in Medina. AL Mu’atta is first formulation of Islamic Law based on the behavior of the people of Madinah during the time of the great Companions. Al-Muatta is the blueprint for a just and radiant society: the earliest, clearest, cleanest record of early Islam.

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