The Hadith of the Pen and Paper and the Allegations of the Shī‘ah

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

11 Feb 2015

21 Min read

T

Translator’s Preface The belief of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā’ah in respect to the noble companions of the Messenger of Allāh (peace and blessings be upon him) has been clearly outlined by Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (d. 463 AH) as follows: They are the best of generations, and the best of nations taken out for the benefit of mankind. Their uprightness is established by the praise of Allāh and His Messenger. No one can be more upright than those whom Allāh selected for the companionship and assistance of His Messenger. This is the greatest form of approval and the most complete form of accreditation.[1] The Sahābah have undoubtedly secured a lofty rank in the court of Allāh, which is described in the following verse: And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhājirūn and the Ansār and...

Read on

A Chronological List of Prominent Hadith Scholars – English

By Muntasir Zaman

In Hadith

23 Nov 2014

10 Min read

A

A Chronological List of Prominent Hadīth Scholars The importance of knowing the dates of birth/death of the scholars cannot be stressed enough, for it holds a high status in Islāmic knowledge in general and in the science of Hadīth in particular. Thus, Imām ‘Alī ibn al-Madīnī mentions, “Comprehension of the meaning of Hadīth is half of knowledge and knowing the transmitters is the other half.” To illustrate this point, let us look at the following incident: A group of Jews presented a letter from the Messenger of Allāh that supposedly absolves the inhabitants of Khaybar from paying jizyah. This letter contained the testimony of the Companions and had the signature of ‘Alī (Allāh be pleased with him). When it was brought to the head of state, he gave it to al-Khatīb al-Baghdādī to examine...

Read on

A Chronological List of Prominent Hadīth Scholars – Arabic

By Muntasir Zaman

In Hadith

23 Nov 2014

22 Min read

A

جَدوَل لأسماء أعلام المحدثين ومواليدهم ووفياتهم مع ذكر بعض مؤلفاتهم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم :الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام علي سيد المرسلين أما بعد فإن لمعرفة مواليد ووفيات الأعلام مكانة عظيمة في العلوم الشرعية لا سيّما في علوم الحديث الشريف. ومن ثَمّ قال الإمام علي بن المديني: “التفقّه في معاني الحديث نصف العلم، ومعرفة الرجال نصف العلم” (المحدث الفاصل ص 320) وقال الامام سفيان الثوري: “لمّا استعمل الروّاة الكذب، استعملنا لهم التاريخ” (الكفاية ص 119) وقال حسان بن زيد: “لم يستعن على الكذابين بمثل التاريخ، يقال للشيخ: سنة كم ولدت؟ فإذا أقر بمولده عرف صدقه من كذبه” (تاريخ بغداد 7/357) أذكر مثالا واقعيا لما نحن بصدده لعل فيه كفاية لتأكيد ما قلت. قال الإمام الذهبي أظهر بعض اليهود كتابا ادَّعَى أَنَّهُ كِتاب رسول اللهِ -صلى اللّه عليه وسلم -بِإِسقاط...

Read on

Have We Surpassed the Classical Scholars of Islām?

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

23 Oct 2014

11 Min read

H

Translator’s Preface The following is an excerpt from our abridged translation of Athar al-Hadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’immah al-Fuqahā’. In this excerpt, the author addresses a misconception, which has plagued many academic circles in recent times, i.e. the idea that we have surpassed the classical scholars of Islām, due to the abundant availability of hadīth literature and means of acquiring knowledge. The superficiality of such a notion is  quite apparent to those who have impartially studied the works of our early scholars. ‘Allāmah al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH), one of the greatest historians and scholars of hadith, explains the stark contrast between the early and latter-day scholars and the inability of the latter to ever reach the ranks of the former. While discussing a particular...

Read on

The Status of Imam Abu Hanifah in the Science of Hadith

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

4 Oct 2014

13 Min read

T

Translator’s Preface The following is a brief, yet comprehensive, explanation of the rank of Imām Abū Hanīfah in the science of Hadīth. As was mentioned earlier, this is an excerpt from the previous section of our abridged translation of Athar al-Hadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’immah al-Fuqahā’. In this excerpt, the author commences by differentiating between the amount of hadiths a scholar knew and the amount he imparted; the latter does not reflect the exact amount of the former. Just as the knowledge of Abū Bakr (Allāh be pleased with him) cannot be gauged at by the amount of hadīths he narrated, likewise, Imām Abū Hanīfah cannot be labelled as one who knew very few hadiths simply because he narrated a limited amount hadiths. One can understand the amount of hadiths Imām Abū Hanīfah...

Read on

Difference of the Jurists Due to Varying Degrees of Knowledge of the Sunnah

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

24 Sep 2014

13 Min read

D

Translator’s Preface The following is an excerpt from our abridged translation of the masterpiece, Athar al-Hadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’immah al-Fuqahā’, by the Syrian Hadīth scholar, the teacher of our teachers, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāmah. There were numerous requests for an abridged translation of the work for the benefit of non-Arabic readers, as the original work is relatively lengthy. We will post sections of it in installments and finally publish the complete abridgement in a separate post. We have previously posted the following sections of the book: Introduction/When is a Hadīth suitable for practice? The correct meaning of the statement, “When a Hadīth is authentic it is my opinion.” Is the authenticity of a Hadīth sufficient to practice upon it? Difference of the jurists in...

Read on

Difference of Approach in Dealing with Apparently Conflicting Aspects of the Sunnah

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

1 Sep 2014

12 Min read

D

Translator’s Preface The following is an excerpt from our abridged translation of the masterpiece, Athar al-Hadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’immah al-Fuqahā’, by the Syrian Hadīth scholar, the teacher of our teachers, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāmah. There were numerous requests for an abridged translation of the work for the benefit of non-Arabic readers, as the original work is relatively lengthy. We will post sections of it in installments and finally publish the complete abridgement in a separate post. We have previously posted the following sections of the book: Introduction/When is a Hadīth suitable for practice? The correct meaning of the statement, “When a Hadīth is authentic it is my opinion.” Is the authenticity of a Hadīth sufficient to practice upon it? Difference of the jurists in...

Read on

Difference of the Jurists in Their Understanding of a Hadith

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

8 Aug 2014

15 Min read

D

Translator’s Preface The following is an excerpt from our abridged translation of the masterpiece, Athar al-Hadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’immah al-Fuqahā’, by the Syrian Hadīth scholar, the teacher of our teachers, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāmah. There were numerous requests for an abridged translation of the work for the benefit of non-Arabic readers, as the original work is relatively lengthy. We will post sections of it in installments and finally publish the complete abridgement in a separate post. We have previously posted the following sections of the book: Introduction/When is a Hadīth suitable for practice? The correct meaning of the statement, “When a Hadīth is authentic it is my opinion.” Is the authenticity of a Hadīth sufficient to practice upon it? The excerpt before you is an...

Read on

Book Review: “An Introduction to the Disciplines of the Noble Hadīth” by Mufti Abdul Mālik al-Kumillā’ī

By Muntasir Zaman

In Articles, Book Reviews

23 Jul 2014

7 Min read

B

Book Review: “An Introduction to the Disciplines of the Noble Hadīth”  Author: Mufti Abdul Mālik al-Kumillā’ī By Muntasir Zamān Being the second source of Islāmic law, the blessed hadīths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hold a lofty position in the hearts of Muslims. The science of hadīth is extremely vast and requires strenuous effort to familiarize oneself with even its basic concepts. Students of dīn are generally interested in gaining some acquaintance with the various genres of hadīth literature, and to learn how to search for a hadīth in the relevant works. In earlier times, this was a talent naturally acquired in the course of a scholar’s general studies and was not in need of any separate study or specialist course. However, due to the infrequent usage...

Read on

When Is a Hadith Suitable for Practice?

By Muntasir Zaman

In Translations

11 Jul 2014

18 Min read

W

Translator’s Preface The following is an excerpt from our abridged translation of the masterpiece, Athar al-Hadīth al-Sharīf fī Ikhtilāf al-A’immah al-Fuqahā’, by the Syrian Hadīth scholar, the teacher of our teachers, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwāmah. There were numerous requests for an abridged translation of the work for the benefit of non-Arabic readers, as the original work is relatively lengthy. We will post sections of it in installments and finally publish the complete abridgement in a separate post. We have previously posted two sections from the middle of the book. We will now post excerpts from the beginning of the book in sequence. The excerpt before you is the preface and first section of the book. There is no need to expound on the outline, objectives, and theme of the book as the...

Read on