Sunnah & Hadiths that were written during time of the Prophet & by sahabah after ..

[Um Abdullah]

The following are just some examples.


A- What has been written by the command of the Prophet peace be upon him

1- The books of the Prophet peace be upon that were written to the kings and rulers of his era.

The Prophet peace be upon him sent numerous books to the kings of the Arabs and non Arabs of his era, inviting them to Islam and showing them the foundations of the creed of this new religion, and the texts of these books have been discovered in several hadith records and historical books. And the most famous of these books are…

His book to Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantine
His book to Chosroes, King of Persia
His book to Muqawqas, the king of Egypt
His book to Negus, the king of Abyssinia
His book to the King of Oman
His book to ‘Eyaahala, King of Humayr
His book to Hilal, Governor of Bahrain
His book to Al Haarith ibn Abi Shamar, King of the Ghassanids


2. The Treaties, Covenants, and Agreements

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered a number of these treaties to be written according to need, and among those are:

– The agreement with the tribe of Dhamrah upon their security and the safety of their individuals and property in return for their assistance in repelling the enemies from Madeenah, and that is in the 1st year Hijri (abbreviated as. H.)
– The treaty with the tribe of Ghatfaan during the course of the battle of Khandaq (the trench) in year 8 H.
– The treaty of Hudaibiyah between the Muslims and the Kuffaar of Quraish, the year 6 H.
– The treaty between the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, and the ruler of Doomat Al-Jandal, the year 9 H.
– A peace treaty with the people of Aylah during the course of The Battle of Tabook.
– The peace treaty with the tribe of Baariq when they visited the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
– The peace treaty with the tribe of Aslam regarding cooperation against the external enemies of both sides.
– A treaty of alliance with the tribe of Juhainah.
– A peace agreement with Bani Habeebah.
– The treaty with Thaqeef.
– The treaty with Bani Ghaffaar.
– The treaty sent to the people of Jarbaa’ and Athrah and some of them came and visited the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, the year 9 H.
– The treaty with the Christians of Najraan regarding protecting them and their obligation of paying the Jizyah (taxes).
– The paper of treaty between the Jews in Madeenah in the beginning of the Hijrah.


3. The Agreements, the Decisions of Pardoning, and Giving Lands

A number of documents have been written by the order of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, among them are:

– The pardoning of Suraqah Bin Maalik
– His agreement with Al-Azraq bin `Umar regarding his residence in Makkah and his right of marriage to Quraish.
– The contract of giving Zaid Al-Khair some lands.
– The contract of giving Tameem Ad-Daari some lands.
– The contract of giving some land to `Abbaas As-Sulami (or Silmee?)
– The contract of giving some lands that have water springs and trees and palm trees to `Aqeel bin Ka`b.
– The contract of giving a farm to Riqaad bin Rabee`ah in Yemen.
– The contract of giving the tribe of Bani Qushair some lands.
– The contract that has the righst and obligations of Wafd bin Qais.
– The contract of giving Bilaal bin Al-Haarith Al-Mazani some farms of the tribe.


The writing of speeches and varying Ahadeeth, such as:

– The writing of Khutbah (speech of) Al-Wadaa` by Abee Shaah, and it is narrated in the Saheehain (Bukhari and Muslim).
– The writing of a Hadeeth by `Utbaan bin Maalik,as in Musnad Ahmad (a collection of hadiths) and others.


B. the writers of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him (1).

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a group of writers that reached sixty writers, and they had different specialization::

1. The writers of the Holy Qur'an when it was revealed unto the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
2. The writers of what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, orders.
3. The writers of the letters to the kings and leaders.
4. The writers of treaties, pacts, trusts and other than that.
5. The writers of correspondence with the Arabs.
6. The writers of the religious matters.
7. The writers of the records of battles and war-spoils.
8. The writers who write what is between the people from agreements and actions.
9. The writers who replace the regular writers of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, once they are absent.


C. What the Sahabah (companions of the Prophet) wrote during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

A number of Sahaabah have recorded hadeeths from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with the purpose of memorization or taking benefit from it, and among those:

1. The genuine journal of `Abdullaah bin `Amr bin Al-`Aass, and it contained one-thousand Hadeeths.
2. The books of Sa`d bin `Ubaadah.
3. The book of Mu`aath bin Jabal.
4. The book of Abee Raafi`, the supporter of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
5. The journal of `Ali bin Abee Taalib.
6. The journal of Jaabir bin `Abdullaah Al-Ansaari.

__________________________________________________ ______________
Footnote:
(1) Kuttaab Al-Wahi by Dr. Ahmad `Abdur-Rahmaan `Eesa, and Kuttaab An-Nabi, Salla-llaahu `alaihi wa sallam, by Al-A`dhami.

[Um Abdullah]

Writings during the time of the Sahabah


Examples of the writings of the Sahaabah


1. The book of Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him, to Anas bin Maalik, his worker in Bahrain, which begins with, “In the name of Allaah, the most merciful, the giver of mercy: This is the obligation of charity that the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered with, and what Allaah ordered His slave with”, and it is a long Hadeeth that was collected by al-Bukhari and others.

2. The book of `Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, to `Utbah bin Farqad, his worker on Bahrain, Imaam Ahmad narrated from Abi `Uthmaan an-Nuhdi, who said, “We were with `Utbah bin Farqad, so `Umar wrote to him things narrating from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him..
And it was found in the base of `Umar’s sword a journal about the charity of as-Sawaa'im (1).

3. and al-Baraa’ bin `Aazib used to narrate Hadiths to the Taabi`een and they used to write his Hadeeth from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him; for on the authority of `Abdullaah bin Khanees he said, “I saw them with al-Baraa’ writing on their hands with cane.” (2)

4. And Anas bin Maalik used to dictate the Hadeeths to his students, until if the people overwhelmed him, he brought some journals of books and he layed them, and then he said, “These are hadeeths that I have heard and written from the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, and I showed them to him.” (3)

5. And `Abdullaah bin Mas`ood had a book that has hadeeths, and it was with his son after that, for on the authority of Ma`n he said, “`Abdur-Rahmaan bin `Abdullaah bin Mas`ood brought out a book and he swore that it was the handwriting of his father.” (4)

6. And Mu`aawiyah bin Abee Sufyaan wrote to al-Mugheerah bin Shu`bah and said, “Write to me with something that you heard from the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, so al-Mugheerah wrote to him [and mentioned], ‘That he (the Prophet, salla-llaahu `alaihi wa sallam) used to forbid Qeel and Qaal (gossip), asking many questions, and wasting money.” (5)

7. And al-Hasan bin `Ali used to tell his children and his brother’s children, “Learn, Learn, for indeed you are the youngsters of today’s people, and tomorrow you will be their elders, so whoever from among you does not memorize then let him write and keep it (meaning the writing) in his house.” (7)

8. And Ibn `Abbaas had some boards that he used to write on Hadeeths from the Sahaabah, and he ended up with a collection of many books and journals, and Salmaa, the wife of Abee Raafi`, the supporter of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said : “I have seen `Abdullaah Ibn `Abbaas come to my husband, Abee Raafi`, carrying wooden boards to write [on them] the hadeeths of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.” (8)

9. And Ibn `Umar had some books; he would not come out of his house before looking at them. (9)

10. And Samrah bin Jundub had a copy that had many hadeeths, that arrived with his son, Sulaimaan, and [as well as] al-Hasan al-Basree, and both of them narrated from it. (10)

11. Sa`d bin `Ubaadah was one of those who obtained the nickname of “Kaamil” (complete man) in Madeenah before Islaam because of his knowledge in writing, and he had recorded many hadeeths in a book, and his son narrated from it. (11)

12. Mu`aath bin Jabal had a book that contained some hadeeths, it ended up in the possession of Ibn `Aa’ith, and he had another book that went to Musa bin Talhah” (12)

13. And Abee Raafi`, the supporter of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a book that had hadeeths, he gave it to Abi Bakr bin `Abdur-Rahmaan bin Hishaam. (13)

14. And Ka`b bin `Amr had a collection of Hadeeth journals. (14)

15. The books of Abu Hurairah, may Allaah be pleased with him:
Abu Hurairah passed through two phases with regards to writing Sunnah, for he was abstaining in the beginning, and later he began writing, and in his house were many books; a number of his students narrated from him, such as Hammaam bin Munabbih and Muhammad bin Sireen and Sa`eed al-Maqbaree, and others. (15)

16. And Jaabir bin `Abdullaah had a journal that `Abdur-Razzaaq benefited from in his Musannaf . (16)

17. And Raafi` bin Khadeej had a collection of written Ahadeeth. (18)

18. And Sham`oon al-Azdee had journals that had his Hadeeths in them, and it is said that he is the first one who wrote on the surface of paper. (19)

These are examples from eighteen Sahaabis who wrote Ahadeeth, and it is enough proof of the many writings of the Sahaabah, and whoever wanted to examine he would find many [examples] other than these.


-------------------------------------
1. Look to al-Kifaayah, 353
2. Jaami` Bayaan al-`Ilm, 1/81
3. Taareekh Baghdaad, 8/258
4. Jaami` Bayaan al-`Ilm, 1/42
5. Al-Bukhari Ma` al-Fat-h, 4/104, Hadeeth number (abbr. Ha.), 1477
7. Al-Kifaayah, 229, Taqyeed al-`Ilm, 1/91
8. Tabaqaat Ibn Sa`d, 2/123, and look to Saheeh Muslim, 1/7, and al-Kifaayah, 384
9. Al-Aadaab Ash-Shar`iyyah, 2/125
10. Tabaqaat Ibn Sa`d, 7/115, and, Tathkirah al-Huffaadh, 2/268, 4/236
11. Al-Umm, 7/112, and, Mashaaheer `Ulamaa’ al-Amsaar, 130
12. Musnad Ahmad, 5/228, and, Seerah Ibn Hishaam, 886, 956
13. Al-Kifaayah, 39
14. Look to: Dalaa’il at-Tawtheeq al-Mubkir, 425
15. Look to: Saheefat Hammaam, 27, and, Dalaa’il at-Tawtheeq, 436
16. Look to: Saheefat Hammaam, 27, and, Sunan At-Tirmithee, 6/52
18. Dalaa’il at-Tawtheeq, 452
19. Al-Isaabah, 2/156



Translated from "Hujjiyat as Sunnah" by Dr Houcine Chouat, with slight editing.

[Ibn Sina]

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Are There Any Early Hadiths? M S M Saifullah & Imtiaz Damiel

© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.

First Composed: 8th August 2000

Last Updated: 18th November 2000


Assalamu-`alaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:
1. Introduction
It is frequently claimed by the Christian missionaries that there are no hadith collections from the first century of hijra. According to them the first hadith collections were written around 250 years after hijra.
We will show the evidence of existence of hadith collections from first century of hijra.
2. Examples Of First Century Hadith Collections

The Sahifa Of Hammam bin Munabbih: This is perhaps one of the earliest known hadith collections. Hammam bin Munabbih was a student of Abu Hurrairah and well-known among the scholars of the hadith to be trustworthy. According to the book Arabic Literature To The End of Ummayyad Periodt:An example is the Sahifah of Hammam bin Munabbih, (d. 110/719), a Yemenite follower and a disciple of companion Abu Hurrayrah, (d. 58/677), from whom Hammam wrote this Sahifah, which comprises 138 hadith and is believed to have been written around the mid-first AH/seventh century.[1]

The author went on to say:It is significant that Hammam introduces his text with the words: "Abu Hurrayrah told us in the course of what he related from the Prophet", thus giving the source of his information in the manner which became known as "sanad" or "isnad", i.e., the teacher of chain of teachers through whom an author reaches the Prophet, a practice invariably and systematically followed in Hadith compilations.[2]
We can see that of the 138 narrations in the Sahifa, 98 of them are faithfully witnessed in the later collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim, both through narrations of Abu Hurrairah and witnessing narrations from other Companions.
We also see that all but two of the narrations are found in one section of the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, again witnessing the preservation of hadith and that earlier works were faithfully rendered in later documents.[3]

Using the first century Sahifa of Hammam bin Munabbih as a "control group" Marston Speight compared it (i.e., the Sahifa) with about the 1500 variant readings of the same ahadith found in the collections of Ibn Hanbal (Musnad), al-Bukhari (Sahih) and Muslim (Sahih); the last three collections date from 3rd/9th century. Speight says:... the texts in Hammam and those recorded in Ibn Hanbal, Bukhari and Muslim with the same isnad show almost complete identity, except for a few omissions and interpolations which do not affect the sense of the reports. On the other hand, the same ahadith as told by other transmitters in the three collections studied show a rich variety of wording, again without changing the meaning of the reports.[4]

Further he comments about the reports of Hammam found in the later compilations of Ibn Hanbal, al-Bukhari and Muslim by saying that:... I have found practically no sign of careless or deceptive practices in the variant texts common to the Sahifa of Hammam bin Munabbih.[5]
In other words, it shows the meticuluous nature of hadith transmission as well as high moral and upright characters of the transmitters as well as collectors of the hadith; a fact that Islamic traditions had always asserted and now the western scholarship endorses it.

The Musannaf of `Abd al-Razzaq al-San`ani:[6] An article by Harald Motzki appeared in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies that mentioned about the the Musannaf of `Abd al-Razzaq al-San`ani as a source of authentic ahadith of the first century AH. Since the article is quite huge (21 pages), we will deal with only the conclusions of the author.While studying the Musannaf of `Abd al-Razzaq, I came to the conclusion that the theory championed by Goldziher, Schacht, and in their footsteps, many others - myself included - which in general, reject hadith literature as a historically reliable sources for the first century AH, deprives the historical study of early Islam of an important and a useful type of source.[7]
Some important hadith collections from second century of hijra are the following:[8]
The Muwatta' of Malik bin Anas: Malik bin Anas (d. 179/795) was the founder of Maliki school of jurisprudence. The Muwatta' of Malik was compiled in mid-second century AH. It is not a corpus of hadith in a true sense but a collection of practices of people of Madinah.
Musannaf of Ibn Jurayj (d. 150 AH)
Musannaf of Ma`mar bin Rashid (d. 153 AH)
A detailed report on hadith can be seen at `Abdur Rahim Green's Debate Material (http://www.muslim-answers.org/expo-03.htm#2).
And Allah knows best!




References
[1] A. F. L. Beeston, T. M. Johnstone, R. B. Serjeant and G. R. Smith (Ed.), Arabic Literature To The End of Ummayyad Period, 1983, Cambridge University Press, p. 272.
[2] ibid.
[3] More information can be obtained from the book Sahifa Hammam bin Munabbih: The Earliest Extant Work On The Hadith, 1979, M. Hamidullah, Centre Cultural Islamique.
[4] R. M. Speight, "A Look At Variant Readings In The Hadith", Der Islam, 2000, Band 77, Heft 1, p. 170.
[5] ibid., p. 175.
[6] `Abd al-Razzaq b. Hammam al-San`ani (ed. Habib al-Rahman al-A`zami), Al-Musannaf, 1970-72, 11 Volumes, Beirut.
[7] H. Motzki, "The Musannaf Of `Abd al-Razzaq Al-San`ani As A Source of Authentic Ahadith of The First Century A.H.", Journal Of Near Eastern Studies, 1991, Volume 50, p. 21.
[8] Beeston et al., Arabic Literature To The End of Ummayyad Period, op.cit, pp. 272-273.

[ignorant]

Examples of the writings of the Sahaabah


1. The book of Abu Bakr, may Allaah be pleased with him, to Anas bin Maalik , his worker in Bahrain, which begins with, “In the name of Allaah, the most merciful, the giver of mercy: This is the obligation of charity that the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered with, and what Allaah ordered His slave with”, and it is a long Hadeeth that was collected by al-Bukhari and others.

2. The book of `Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him, to `Utbah bin Farqad, his worker on Bahrain, Imaam Ahmad narrated from Abi `Uthmaan an-Nuhdi, who said, “We were with `Utbah bin Farqad, so `Umar wrote to him things narrating from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him..
And it was found in the base of `Umar’s sword a journal about the charity of as-Sawaa'im (1).

6. And Mu`aawiyah bin Abee Sufyaan wrote to al-Mugheerah bin Shu`bah and said, “Write to me with something that you heard from the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, so al-Mugheerah wrote to him [and mentioned], ‘That he (the Prophet, salla-llaahu `alaihi wa sallam) used to forbid Qeel and Qaal (gossip), asking many questions, and wasting money.” (5)

9. And Ibn `Umar had some books; he would not come out of his house before looking at them. (9)

13. And Abee Raafi`, the supporter of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had a book that had hadeeths, he gave it to Abi Bakr bin `Abdur-Rahmaan bin Hishaam. (13)

15. The books of Abu Hurairah

16. And Jaabir bin `Abdullaah had a journal that `Abdur-Razzaaq benefited from in his Musannaf . (16)


These are examples from eighteen Sahaabis who wrote Ahadeeth, and it is enough proof of the many writings of the Sahaabah, and whoever wanted to examine he would find many [examples] other than these.

salam

excellent post masha'Allah!

the extract above mentions "Examples of the writings of the Sahaabah". i am having difficulty tracing where these writings are kept. can anyone help me find them, or does anyone have any clues as to where they might be kept please?

i would be more grateful than i can express.

thank you very much anyone that can help.

salam

[ImaanSeeker]

A Historical Background of the Refutation of the Hadith and the Authenticity of its Compilation
by Mufti Abdul-Jaleel Qaasimi

Prepared and compiled for the Jamiat (KZN) by: Mufti Abdul-Jaleel Qaasimi - Sheikhul Hadith, Madrasah Ta'leemuddin (Isipingo Beach); Member, Jamiatul Ulama (KZN)
Translated by: Moulana Haroon Abbasommar - Senior lecturer, Madrasah Ta'leemuddin (Isipingo Beach); Imaam, Isipingo Beach Masjid; ex-President and member, Jamiatul Ulama (KZN)

The Ahaadith of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) have been unanimously accepted by the entire Ummah as the source of Islamic Law, after the Noble Qurãn. In fact, upon pondering, it can be concluded that the entire Ahaadith contain the real essence of Islamic Law (Islamic Shariah) as the Ahaadith comprise of the mubarak words, actions and approvals of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) who has interpreted the Noble Quran and defined its object and purpose. However, it is regrettable that a certain group of people influenced by the corrupt western culture and civilization, have began refuting the Ahaadith.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Western nations dominated over Muslims, many Muslims of poor understanding and little knowledge became overwhelmed by the Western Ideologies and concepts. They opined that progress was impossible without upholding and adopting the western lifestyle. They began propagating this concept among the masses. In order to propagate this concept they distorted all the Islamic teachings that opposed this western culture and ideology. This group was called the modernists. Among the leaders of such groups were people like Sir Sayed and Ahmed Khan of India, Taha Hussain of Egypt and Ziyad Khog of Turkey. It should be borne in mind that the objects and aims of this group could not be achieved without rejecting the Ahaadith because, the Ahaadith contain detailed guidelines to every aspect of life which are totally opposed to western norms and trends.

Consequently, a group among this cult began to negate the Ahaadith and called themselves the Quranic Group. Sir Sayed and his companion Moulvi Chirag Ali were the founders of this movement in India. They did not negate the Ahaadith completely, instead they rejected all those that were contrary to their aims and objects and their limited understanding and reasoning even though all these Ahaadith were authentically narrated. They discreetly propagated that the Ahaadith are not legal Shariah proof in this age and era. This led to the legalising of interest and usury; the rejection of the Prophets, the denial of the Angels, the negation of Purdah and other essentials of Islam, and moreover, legalizing of prohibited things.

Thereafter, Abdullah Chakardalwi formed a group called Quranic Group and his object was the total rejection of Ahaadith. This concept was further promoted by Aslam Inerajpuri. Finally, Gulam Ahmed Parwez established this erroneous belief among the masses through his influential writings. This fitnah spread widely in his period (era). Basically this fitnah revolves around 3 different beliefs viz.

1. The Holy Prophet's (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) mission was to deliver the Quran only. Obedience is restricted to the Quran only. Adherence to the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) is not binding upon us, nor was it binding upon the Sahaba (RA). Divine Revelation was only in the form of the Quran. Hence there is no need for the Ahaadith.


2. The Sayings of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) were binding and obligatory upon the Sahaba (RA) only, not upon us.


3. The teachings of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) are binding upon the entire Ummah. However, due to the Ahaadith being unauthentic, we are not obliged to accept them.

All these concepts are totally false and rejected. Numerous verses of the Noble Quran, prove that divine revelation besides the Noble Quran, was revealed to the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Missions of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) as mentioned in the Noble Qurãn are to teach and explain the Noble Qurãn and its wisdom. If the Ahaadith are rejected, can this object of teaching and explaining the Quran be realised? Another clear indication towards the authenticity of the Ahaadith is the fact that the Noble Qurãn commands us to show obedience to the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) together with obedience to Allah. In one verse, obedience to the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has been regarded as the basis of Imaan. Logically, it is not possible to follow the Quranic injunctions without the Ahaadith as the details of many Quranic injunctions such as Salaat, Zakaat, Haj, etc. are explained in the Ahaadith. The entire Ummah has accepted the authenticity of the Ahaadith in order to make the divine injunctions practical. Can it be claimed that the entire Ummah is misguided?

The fallacy of the second (concept) belief i.e. obedience of the Holy Prophet is binding upon the Sahaba (RA) only, is evident and exposed that needs no further elaboration. This concept implies that the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was restricted only to the period of his companions whereas numerous verses very clearly indicate the opposite. - "O people I am a prophet to all of you". "We did not send you except to all the people as a giver of glad tidings and as a warner". "We did not send you, except as a mercy to all the worlds". "Blessed is the one who revealed the Furqaan that he may be a warner to the worlds".

Another question that arises with this concept is: Are the Sahaba who witnessed the revelation of the Noble Qurãn more in need of its explanation or are the ones that came after them more in need?

The third concept is also totally unacceptable because the Quran has reached us through the same method as the Ahaadith have reached us. If the Ahaadith are unauthentic, can one declare the Noble Quran unauthentic as well. The divine promise of safe-guarding Noble Qurãn embodies the safeguarding of the Ahaadith also, because the Ahaadith explain the Quran without which one cannot practise upon the Quran.


THE STAGES OF THE COMPILATION OF AHAADITH

The Ahaadith were not compiled and codified in the time of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) like it is today. There existed no real need for this as the Sahaba memorised virtually every word spoken by the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Allah Ta'ala had granted them such perfect and excellent memories that once they heard anything they used to remember it throughout their lives. The remembering of lengthy poems and the ancestral details of horses and camels bears testimony to this fact. Once Hazrat Ibn Umar (RA) repeated Ahaadith to a bedouin, in order for him to memorize it well. The bedouin remarked, "Enough, once is sufficient I shall not forget it till death. I have performed 60 pilgrimages on 60 camels and I know perfectly well which Hajj I performed on which camel."

This was the condition of the bedouins in ordinary matters and mundane talk. How much more did they preserve the speech of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Not only his speech but every action, notion, indication, approval, disapproval and deed of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was preserved by them. They valued these more than their lives and wealth. They used to alternate with their business partners in sitting in the gathering of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Each partner used to narrate to his companion what he had heard the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) say. Extreme measures were taken to safeguard the words of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Many of them were not literate (did not know how to write). However, the Sahaba who knew how to write used to record and write down the Ahaadith as well. The Ahaadith were recorded in the presence of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam).


THE PROHIBITION OF RECORDING HADITH AND ITS ANSWER

The Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has mentioned in one Hadith, "Do not record (write) from me anything except the Quran. Whosoever has written anything should obliterate it." (Muslim vol.2 Pg.44)

This prohibition is of a temporary nature when the Quran was initially being revealed (and there was a possibility of the hadith and Quran being mixed up) so that the hadith and the Quran do not get mixed up. When this initial period has passed and this possibility was ruled out, this prohibition ceased and an order was given to write and record the Ahaadith as Allama Ibne-Hajar has detailed in his commentary on Bukhari Shareef. Allama Nawawi in the commentary of Muslim Shareef has stated that the prohibition was when the mixing was feared. Thereafter when it was safe, permission was granted for writing.


THE THREE METHODS OF PRESERVING AND SAFEGUARDING THE HADITH

We hereby detail all the methods utilised to preserve Ahaadith from the prophetic era upto this day. There is consensus that recording and writing was not the only method of safeguarding Ahaadith. There existed other reliable methods as well:

1. MEMORISING THE AHAADITH
The most reliable method adopted by the Sahaaba (RA) to safeguard the Ahaadith was through memory.


2. PRESERVATION THROUGH ACTION AND PRACTICE
This was another reliable means of protecting and safeguarding the Ahaadith. The Sahaaba (RA) used to transform the words of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) into action immediately and every Sahaabi used to practice upon the Hadith. This resulted in every word of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) becoming a practical action and deed, which was thoroughly remembered and preserved. Therefore, many traditions contact the phrases: "This is how I saw the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) carry out and perform this."

This practical method was very effective in preserving the Ahaadith. It is continuing upto this day.


3. WRITING AND RECORDING THE HADITH
This method was also customary in the prophetic era. This procedure had passed through four stages (phases):
1. Recording of Ahaadith without any arrangement or sequence
2. Arranging the Ahaadith relating to certain subject (topic) or subjects into one small book
3. Accumulating of various Ahaadith into one book.
4. Compiling Ahaadith and codifying.

The first two types of compiling were extensively practised during the time of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and the Sahaba (RA). The following details will suffice for the Rejectors of Hadith.

1. Imam Tirmidhi has included a special chapter in the Chapter of Knowledge titled, The Chapter of the Permissibility of Recording Hadith - Hazrat Abu Hurrairah (RA) reports that the Holy Prophet indicated to a certain Ansari Sahabi whose memory was weak, to write. One Ansari Sahabi (RA) used to sit by Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and listen to the Hadith; it used to please him, but he was unable to memorise it. He complained to the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) who replied, "Seek assistance with your right hand and he indicated towards writing with his hand (Jamia Tirmizi vol. 2 pg. 107).


2. In a tradition recorded in Mustadrak-e-Haakim, Hazrat Amr bin Aas (R.A.) reports, "I used to record everything the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) used to say with an incitation of (accumility) and gathering same. The Quraish stopped me saying: 'Do you write everything the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) says? He is a human being, he speaks in anger and happiness.' I abstained from writing. I mentioned this to the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and he indicated towards his tongue and said, 'Write! By Him in whose hand is my life. Nothing except the truth comes out of it.'" (Mustadrak Vol.1 Page 104)


3. In one Hadith recorded in Mustadrak-e-Haakim, an explicit and clear order of writing is given. The words are "Tie down knowledge", the Sahaabi enquired, "What is tying down knowledge?" The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) replied, "It's writing." (Mustadrak vol. 1 pg. 106)


4. The incident of Abu Shah Yemani is famous. Once the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) mentioned an incident and upon the request of Abu Shah the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) instructed the Sahaaba to write for Abu Shah - this Hadith is recorded in Jame Tirmidhi vol. 2 pg. 107 and Bukhari vol. 1 pg. 23

There are numerous traditions indicating the instruction of writing Ahaadith. Therefore, many Sahaaba recorded ahaadith in the Prophetic era. References are many of such collections and compilations:

1. THE SAHIFA (COLLECTION) OF ABDULLAH IBN AMR (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) is the greatest narrator of Hadith. Despite this he says, "No person has learnt more Hadith than me. However, Abdullah bin Amr (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) used to write the Hadith and I should not write." This is clear evidence that Hadith used to be written in that era. Hadhrat Abdullah bin Amr (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) possessed a collection that exceeded one thousand Ahaadith. Ibnr-Rushd has mentioned in his Kitaab Asadul Ghaaba (vol. 3 pg. 233) that, this collection was named As-saadiqah.


2. THE SAHIFA (COLLECTION OF HADHRAT ALI (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Imaam Bukhari (RA) has mentioned in this Sahifa in the chapter of "Ilm" (vol. 1 pg. 21) and he has mentioned it in four places. The narrator Abu Juhaifa reports that, "I enquired from Hazrat Ali (R.A.), do you possess a book?" He replied: "No, except the Book of Allah or the understanding granted to a Muslim or what is in this Sahifa." I asked him, "What is in this Sahifa?" He replied, "Orders relating to 'Diyat' (penalty or murder) - the freeing of prisoners and no Muslim will be killed in lieu of a kaafir."

This Sahifa contained orders regarding, murder, compensations, capital punishments, details of Zakaat and matters relating to non-Muslim citizens in an Islamic State.


3. KITABUS - SAQAH
This collection was personally dictated by the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). It contained details regarding Zakaat, Ushar etc. According to some reports it seems as though this was written for the Zakaat collectors. However, the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) left this world before it was sent to them. This kitaab remained with Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar (R.A.). Eventually Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz memorized it and thereafter Ibn Shihaab Zohri memorised it.


4. SAHIFA IBN ABBAS (R.A.)
Ibn Saad (R.A.) mentions in his kitaab "Tabaqaat" that the slave of Ibn Abbas (R.A.) said, "He found a large collection of the kitaabs of Ibn Abbas equal to a camel-load."


5. SAHIFA JAABIR IBN ABDULLAH (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Imaam Muslim has reported that Hadhrat Jaabir (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) had compiled a book on Hajj. Imaam Bukhari mentioned this is his Taarikh-e-Kabeer vol. 7 pg. 186) - Hadhrat Qataaqda bin De'aama as-Sodusi had memorised this Sahifa.


6. SAHIFA SAMURA IBN JUNDOB (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Hafiz ibn Hajar (RA) reports that Hadhrat Samoora (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) has narrated a big (volume) chapter from his father. Imaam Muhammad ibn Sireen (RA) reports that the Kitaab which Hadhrat Samoora (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) has written for his children contains great knowledge.


7. SAHIFA SAAD IBN UBADA
Ibn Saad reports in Tabaqaat that Hadhrat Saad (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) had a collection of Ahaadith.


8. SAHIFA ABU HURAYRA (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Imaam Hakim mentions in Mustadrak that once Hadhrat Hassan ibn Umar narrated a Hadith to Hadhrat Abu Hurayra (Radhiallaahu Ánhu). Hadhrat Abu Hurayra denied the Hadith. Hadhrat Hassan told him, "I have narrated this Hadith from you". He replied, "If I have narrated it, it will definitely be written down."

He had written down all his Hadith in the end.


9. SAHIFA IBN MAS'OOD
Hafiz ibn Abdul-Barr (RA) mentions in his Kitaab, Jaame Bayaan nul-Ilm that ibn Mas'ood (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) took out one Kitaab and swore an oath that it was compiled by him.


10. SAHIFA AMR IBN HAZAM (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
When the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) appointed Hadhrat ibn Hazam (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) as a governor of Najran, he gave him a Sahifa which was written by Hadhrat Ubayy bin Ka'ab. It contained orders regarding cleanliness, purification, Salaat, Hajj, Umra, Jihaad, etc.


11. SAHIFA IBN MUBAARAK
Hadhrat Sa'eed ibn Hilaal says, "When we frequented Hadhrat Anas bin Maalik he took out a volume and said, 'I heard these from the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). I have written it and preserved it.'" (Mustadrak Hakim vol. 3 pg. 54)

There are many other small Sahifas which the holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) sent to the kings; and, other compilations which have been omitted for the sake of brevity.


THE ERA OF HADHRAT UMAR BIN ABDUL AZIZ

Though the writing of the Ahaadith had commenced it was not done in an arranged manner, i.e. it was compiled and codified. Due to the pre-occupations of the Khulafaa-e-Raashideen with the compilation of the Noble Qurãn and other important matters, it was not possible for them to accomplish this task.

However, when the politicians at the time of Hazrat Ali (R.A.) began to fabricate false Ahaadith Hazrat Ali became concerned about safeguarding the authentic Ahaadith. He used to stand on the mimbar and announce the authentic Ahaadith to the people. This continued till the period of Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz (R.A.) who became the khalifa after the demise of Sulayman bin Abdul Malik. His khilafat lasted only for 2 years. After accepting khilafat, he wrote to the judge of Madinah, Abubakr bin Hazm saying, "Whatever you find from the Ahaadith of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), write it down. I fear the loss of knowledge and the passing away of the Ulema." (Bukhari vol.1 page 20)

Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentions that this letter was addressed to all the Judges of every province. A large collection of Ahaadith were compiled in this manner in the first century.

1. Hafiz Ibn Abdul Bar has written that Qazi Abu Bakr has compiled many books on Ahaadith called Books of Abu Bakr.


2. The Risala (Booker) of Saalim ibn Abdullah on Sadaqaat.


3. The Registers of Zohri - he says that whenever we were given any command we compiled a brief register. He had played a great role in the compilation of Hadith.


THE COMPILATIONS OF THE SECOND CENTURY

Various collections of Hadith are found in this era like Jame Ma'moon bin Raashid, Jame Sufyaan Sowri, As-Sunem of Ibn Juray - Sunan Abul Waleed - Mu'atta Imam Maalik.


From the above discussion we reach the following conclusion that:

1. The recording and writing of hadith had began from the time of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam);


2. Compiling had began in the time of the Sahaba (R.A.) especially in the time of Hazrat Ali (R.A.);


3. Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz strived in this matter and a large collection was accumulated during his period;


4. Many books were compiled in the first century;


5. The objections and arguments of the Rejectors of hadith are fully answered;


6. The fitnah of Rejection in hadith is old and detrimental to religion, in fact rejecting the Quran;


7. The Ahaadith are a complementary and explanation of the Quran;


8. The safeguarding of the Quran entails the safeguarding of the Hadith.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best

[Um Abdullah]

salam

excellent post masha'Allah!

the extract above mentions "Examples of the writings of the Sahaabah". i am having difficulty tracing where these writings are kept. can anyone help me find them, or does anyone have any clues as to where they might be kept please?

i would be more grateful than i can express.

thank you very much anyone that can help.

salam



Musannar Abdur Razzaq is available today, they found its manuscript, and it has been published, of course in Arabic, I don't believe it has been translated.

as for the rest, this excerpt I got from an article by Khalid Baig should answer your question insha Allah:

((Of course most of these books do not exist today. They were simply absorbed into the encyclopedic collections that emerged in the third century. One manuscript from the first century was discovered in this century and published by Dr. Hamidullah. It is Sahifa Hammam ibn Munabbah, who was a disciple of Abu Hurairah, Radi-Allahu unhu. It contains 138 ahadith. Muhaddithin knew that the ahadith of this Sahifa had been absorbed into Musnad Ahmed and Muslim collections, which have been published continuously since their third century debut. After the discovery of the original manuscript it was naturally compared with the ahadith in Muslim and Musnad Ahmed that were thought to have come from that Sahifa. And what did they find? There was not an iota of difference between the two. Similarly Mussanaf of Abd al-Razzaq is extant and has been published. As has been Mu'ammar ibn Rashid's al-Jami. These recently discovered original manuscripts bear out the Sihah Sitta. The recent appearance of these original manuscripts should bring the most skeptical into the fold of believers.))

he means by "Sihah Sitta" are the six famous hadith books which include:

- Sahih Bukhari
- Sahih Muslim
- Sunan Tirmidhi
- Sunan Abi Dawud
- Sunan Nisa'i
- Sunan Ibn Majah