Understanding Islamic Theology

recognition.

Introduction

Understanding Islamic Theology is a comprehensive survey of the theology of Islam, both Sunni and Shi‘ite, which is concerned first to understand it, empathetically and in detail. The project has been shaped by the conviction that the Christian study of Islam should be informed by the following four approaches:

Firstly, as a necessary prelude to further researches, it is appropriate that our investigations begin with the study of Islam in its classical expression through consulting Muslim materials on formal (or orthodox) Islam. Here it is important that we suspend our judgment in the interest of a careful attempt at understanding. At this stage of enquiry evaluative critique is not a priority and, if engaged in at all, should be provisional and subject to revision. Christians need to be willing to understand Islam on its own terms, seeing things through Muslim eyes, if, in apologetic terms, they are to be able to meet Muslims sensitively where they are.

Secondly, it is important that our investigation take into account folk Islam. If our first consideration was to do justice to Islam in its classical expression through consulting materials on formal Islam, the religious practice of the orthodox, this portion of our study is concerned to understand the blending of Islam with indigenous beliefs and practices, which represents the actual faith and life of such a large percentage of those who consider themselves to be Muslims. Here we shall be relying very much on the fruit of studies undertaken by Western phenomenologists. It will quickly become apparent to the reader that whilst most Islamicists are trained only in formal Islam, knowing almost nothing about folk religion, Western anthropologists are trained in folk religion but know almost nothing about formal Islam. Since Muslims commonly combine both the formal and the folk, we need to understand both and the resultant blends in order to engage in effective mission. Missionaries, despite any biases they have brought, have often been better than other scholars at describing Muslims and their faith because they have been closely involved with them over extended periods of time.

A third group of perspectives that should be taken into consideration is that of non-Muslims who have written about formal Islam in its classical expression. Western Orientalists have added tremendously to the knowledge of Islam by editing manuscripts, compiling concordances and encyclopedias and gathering and interpreting masses of material. In addition, anthropologists, sociologists and other behavioural scientists that have proceeded by observation of actual Muslims offer important resources for understanding. Unfortunately, such studies have not been undertaken or made available until quite recently: in the spirit of the Enlightenment that gave birth to the discipline in the West, non-Muslim scholarship has tended to focus on the textual materials and not tried to enter empathetically into the religious experience of Muslims. The contribution of missionaries, again, has been important.

After seeking to understand empathetically both the ideals of Islam and reality of Muslim faith-practice, Christians finally need to study the implications of these for Christian witness – a witness that also recognizes how far reality strays from the ideal. Study of Islamic faith and culture reveals that apparent similarities in the content of the Christian and Muslim scriptures– the one God, the Law, biblical people, even Jesus as a prophet – are just that: Islam, as traditionally understood, is missing the heart of the Gospel – God’s selfrevelation in Christ, in whom the fullness of the deity resides, the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the need for the new birth. Its own teaching denies Christian Trinitarianism, the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Christians are ultimately irresponsible if they do not humbly seek to bear this witness. Although strictly this undertaking goes beyond the scope of this study, a number of books and articles on this subject are referenced to this end.

Although this methodology works best if we think of it in procedural terms, as we apply it in our attempt to get to grips with the worldview of Islam there is a natural and not inappropriate blurring of one approach with another. We cannot but be who we are, our own perspective unavoidably intrudes: the point is not to empty one’s mind, but to be aware of its biases. So whilst the careful student may soon recognize, for instance, that the Muslim view of the origin, collection and transmission of the Qur’an, the canonization of conflicting traditions of Muhammad and the closing the door to ijtihad – individual interpretation of the law – all contribute to a conflict of interest between faith and intellectual enquiry, these concerns should, initially, be set to one side. Bracketing out one’s own beliefs should, however, only ever be a prelude to critical engagement: open-ended phenomenological enquiry, which is careful to consider only what may be observed and which lays to one side questions of truth, is neither necessary nor desirable. The most important thing is that we engage in our study in the right spirit, a spirit ‘of wisdom, of understanding and of the fear of the Lord’.

Part I

Theological Method

Chapter 1

The Sources of Islam

Islam has two main components: iman (faith)¹ and din (duties)². These have been developed from the prescriptions and prohibitions of the Qur’an, the hadith containing the sunnah of Muhammad, ijma‘ (the unanimous consensus of the learned) and qiyas (the analogical reasoning of the learned).

Muslims claim that God³ revealed his final will to humanity through Muhammad, the founder of Islam, whom they see as God’s last prophet and apostle. All that Muslims think they know about God and his will comes through Muhammad as the channel of this supposed revelation. Muslims see themselves as those who submit to God and his revealed will and law as presented by Muhammad in the Qur’an and in the traditions recording Muhammad’s life, deeds and sayings (hadith).

There are thus two parts of the revelation through Muhammad:

The Qur’an – seen by Muslims as God’s literal, manifest word, eternal, inimitable, not just inspired but divine in its very essence with its every letter fixed by God.

Muhammad’s sunnah (way of life) as exemplified in the hadith collections, which are deemed to be inspired.⁴

All Muslims refer to the Qur’an and hadith as the basic divinely revealed authority, sacred sources and reference points for their specific doctrines and practice. The Qur’an is accepted as the primary revealed source of Islam and of Islamic law (shari‘ah). Muhammad however is believed to have been given the responsibility of interpreting the Qur’an, so his words, acts and way of life, his sunnah as found in the hadith, became the second revelatory source, expounding the Qur’an.

The Qur’an

No Muslim would accept any other view than the Qur’an came verbatim from heaven.⁵

For Muslims, the Qur’an is the central core of Islam, its primary, revealed source text that has to a large extent shaped the Muslim community (umma), its law, literature, art and total civilisation. It is central to Muslim piety and practice. The Qur’an sees itself as superseding all previous sacred books, creating a new covenantal ‘people of the book’.⁶

To Muslims, the Qur’an is the word of God ‘vowel for vowel, syllable for syllable’.⁷ For the vast majority of Muslims (Sunnis), it is viewed as uncreated and eternally existent on a guarded tablet (lauh mahfuz) in heaven.

For Muslims, the Qur’an is Muhammad’s one great miracle, the sign of his Prophethood. As Jesus was given miracles to authenticate his ministry, so they believe the Qur’an was given to Muhammad. However, the Qur’an is not about Muhammad. For Muhammad’s story one must turn to the sunnah as revealed in hadith, Sira and Maghazi.

There are no manuscripts of the Qur’an from the first Islamic century. Most fragments are no earlier than the second Islamic century.

The Qur’an is believed to be God’s very word, revealed to Muhammad in stages by the angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years, an exact copy of the heavenly, uncreated original. It claims to fulfil and replace the earlier revealed scriptures. The Qur’an is seen as incomparable to any human writing, a divine miracle provided by God’s mercy to guide humanity into the right path, the ultimate source of all truth and the basis of all authority. Most Muslims accept this view of the divine origin and perfection of the Qur’an and react with anger at any denigration of it. In Muslim theology it has a place similar to that of Christ, as the eternal uncreated Logos, for Christians. It is treated with great reverence, and is memorized and recited by many.

In the Qur’an, God is the speaker, Gabriel the intermediary agent, and Muhammad the recipient. It is presented as a direct, fully composed revelation, which leaves nothing to the human channel (unlike the Christian view of Biblical inspiration, where the Word of God is shaped by the personality, literary style and eloquence of the human channels, although its content and meaning are divine).

The Qur’an is written in a form of poetical rhymed prose, though not in strictly rhymed style. It contains 114 chapters (suras) which are arranged not chronologically but in approximate order of length. It contains some stories about various biblical characters, though these vary considerably from the Biblical versions. There are also many warnings of the Day of Judgement and descriptions of the tortures of hell. Muslim commentators state that it deals with three central themes: Tawhid (the unity of God), Risala (prophethood) and Akhira (the last things). It also deals with supernatural beings such as angels and jinns.⁸

Muslims believe that the original revelations (including the Bible) given by God to former prophets have been corrupted and changed and that now only the Qur’an has the right version. Whenever there are differences, the Qur’an is right and the Bible Christians have today is wrong. The theory of the corruption of the Bible is widely accepted as established fact by most Muslims.

Islam has developed an inbuilt immunity to criticism of the Qur’an. While Muslims are happy to apply the tools of higher criticism to the Bible, very few have dared apply them to the Qur’an. Some who have done this have been condemned in fatwas as apostates and persecuted. That is why most Muslims continue to use the old classical methods of exegesis and will not touch the modern academic tools for research into texts.

Interpreting the Qur’an (tafsir)

The classical science of interpretation and explanation of the Qur’an (tafsir) was consolidated in the tenth century. It accepted the Qur’an as the word of God revealed by divine inspiration through Muhammad and divinely preserved. It asserted that the Qur’an is a miracle, inimitable and unique, the criterion by which everything else is to be judged. Each word in the Qur’an is supposedly divine in and of itself, so it is worthy of all human efforts at study and contemplation. Tafsir studied the Qur’an verse by verse and sometimes word by word, driven by the need to codify, preserve and explain the text. It explored the Qur’an’s contents, style and structure.

The tafsir scholars used several traditional sources for their commentary on the Qur’an:⁹

The Qur’an itself. The highest form of tafsir is that of the Qur’an by the Qur’an, where one part of the Qur’an explains another. On this view, as the very word of God, the Qur’an is authoritative when it explains itself. The Qur’an is also supposedly free of contradiction, so that apparent inconsistencies in its message can inevitably be resolved through closer study of the text.

Muhammad’s explanations. The second best form of tafsir is that by Muhammad, regarded by Muslims as the most knowledgeable of men who was sent by God to explain and clarify the Qur‘an. And We have sent down unto thee (also) the Message; that thou mayest explain clearly to men what is sent for them and that they may give thought. (Q 16:44). Muhammad’s explanation of the Qur’an is found in the authentic hadith.

The reports of the Sahabah (companions)¹⁰ of Muhammad, who learned directly from him and also interpreted and taught the Qur’an. Where a Qur’anic explanation is absent, and there is no authentic tradition from Muhammad, a consensus of the companions may be used in interpreting a certain verse.

The reports of those who followed the companions – the successors (Tabi‘un). These were taught by the companions, so their insight is next in line.

Arabic language and grammar. Interpreting the Qur’an by looking at the Arabic language and classical poetry. Important because God sent the Qur’an down in Arabic: We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an in order that ye may learn wisdom (Q 12:2). Only the Arabic Qur’an is the very Word of God. The Arabic of the Qur’an is deemed to be unsurpassable. The Qur’an therefore must be studied only in its original Arabic form. This method deals with linguistic questions of vocabulary and syntax, meanings of words and phrases, grammatical questions, issues of literal and non-literal meanings.

Passages revealed in Mecca versus passages revealed in Medina. Some parts of the Qur’an were allegedly given during Muhammad’s time in Mecca, while others were given during his stay in Medina. In Mecca, Muhammad and the first Muslims were in a weak position, often persecuted and harassed. In that context he believed that he was bidden to preach and warn peacefully, with patience and forbearance. When the Muslim community emigrated to Medina and Muhammad gained in power, his pronouncements became more aggressive against his opponents, be they pagans, Jews, Christians or Muslim hypocrites. Each sura in the Qur’an is traditionally marked as Meccan or Medinan. But Meccan passages are sometimes mixed with Medinan ones and vice versa.

The abrogating and the abrogated (al-nasikh wal-mansukh). An important tool for solving the problem of seeming internal contradictions in the Qur’an is the traditional doctrine of abrogation (naskh) accepted by the vast majority of Muslim jurists and schools of thought.¹¹ Whenever there are seemingly contradictory rulings in the commandment passages, the later passages are deemed to have abrogated the earlier ones. This has profound implications, as many peaceable and tolerant verses were given in the earlier Meccan period of Muhammad’s life. These are invalidated by the later harsher Medinan verses.

The occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul). Determining the causes of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) of the various passages in the Qur’an – in what specific occasion in the life of Muhammad they were supposedly given. This is important for analogical reasoning as the contexts must be similar. Many hadith link Qur’anic passages with specific occasions in Muhammad’s life.

Extracting legal rulings from the text. This involves defining the commandment verses in the Qur’an and extrapolating legal rulings from them. A distinction was made between the general and specific application of commandments.

Reason. A qualified scholar’s personal reasoning, ijtihad (deductive logic and personal evaluation of arguments), is the final method of understanding the Qur’an; it exists in conjunction with the others.

The Hadith

Hadith¹² denotes the literature that is composed of the reports conveying the normative words and deeds of Muhammad (al-hadith al-nabawi). Because of Muhammad’s importance to Muslims as the channel of God’s revelation, his way of life or custom became the perfect example to be emulated by all Muslims in all areas of life. Reports (hadith) of what he said, did and did not do - reported by his Sahabah - came to be seen as another ‘unrecited revelation’ given by God to Muhammad in addition to the Qur’an.

The hadith are regarded as second in authority to the Qur’an as a source of divine truth and guidance and as a source for shari‘ah. Islamic law, praxis, creed and doctrine are based to a large extent on the hadith literature. While the Qur’an is believed to be God’s own revealed speech, the hadith is Muhammad’s inspired discourse explaining the Qur’an and providing guidance to Muslims.

These concepts derive directly from the Qur’an:

Surah 33 (Ahzab), ayah 21

21. Ye have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who engages much in the praise of Allah.

Surah 53 (Najm), ayah 3

Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire.

It is no less than inspiration sent down to him …

Muhammad was given the responsibility of explaining the Qur’an¹³ and on this basis, the words and acts of Muhammad were themselves believed to be revelatory as the practical outworking of his message. The sunnah of Muhammad was therefore the enacted exposition of the Qur’an, the essential hermeneutic of Islam’s spoken and then written revelation.¹⁴

In practice, hadith often take precedence over the literal Qur‘anic statements, as various hadith explain, interpret and expand the meaning of the Qur’an and are heavily used to establish legal rulings. Without hadith much of the Qur’an is a closed book. Moreover, many issues were not addressed in the Qur’an, and the sunnah of Muhammad also deals with these. This was especially pertinent before the collation of the Qur’an, when it was still fragmentary.

Hence, Muhammad’s actions, his judgments, policies, words and silences are the norm of conduct and ethics for all Muslims. This is sometimes taken to lengths that many would consider tedious or extreme, such as the practice of many mullahs of dyeing their beards with henna or shaving off their moustaches, simply because Muhammad did so. Muslims are prone to say of Muhammad that ‘his life was the Qur’an’ or vice versa. However, it should be stated that Muslim exegetes point out that the sunnah really refers only to religious rulings, as opposed to Muhammad’s personal habits, although in practice many seek to imitate him even in this.¹⁵ It is not always easy to distinguish the two, as the following texts illustrate:

Abu Hurayrah

AL-MUWATTA, Book 2, No. 2.33117

Were it not that he would be overburdening his community the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would have ordered them to use a toothstick with each wudu.¹⁶

‘A’isha, Ummul Mu’minin

ABU DAWUD, Book 1, No. 42

The Prophet (peace be upon him) urinated and ‘Umar was standing behind him with a jug of water. He said: ‘What is this, ‘Umar?’ He replied: ‘Water for you to perform ablution with.’ He said: ‘I have not been commanded to perform ablution every time I urinate. If I were to do so, it would become a sunnah.’¹⁷

The classic example of the sunnah explaining the Qur’an is found with respect to prayer. The Qur’an orders the establishment of regular prayers, but does not state how such should be performed. This is revealed in the sunnah:

Narrated Malik:

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 1, Book 11, No.604

… The Prophet then added, ‘Pray as you have seen me praying…’

Other texts elaborate on how this should be done:

‘A’isha

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 4, No. 1005

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to begin prayer with takbir¹⁸ and the recitation: ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe.’ When he bowed he neither kept his head up nor bent it down, but kept it between these extremes; when he raised his head after bowing he did not prostrate himself till he had stood erect; when he raised his head after prostration he did not prostrate himself again till he sat up. At the end of every two rak‘ahs¹⁹ he recited the tahiyyah²⁰; and he used to place his left foot flat (on the ground) and raise up the right; he prohibited the devil’s way of sitting on the heels, and he forbade people to spread out their arms like a wild beast. And he used to finish the prayer with the taslim.²¹

We can see from this how the sunnah guides as to posture in prayer, a theme continued in the next text:

Wa‘il ibn Hujr

ABU DAWUD, Book 3, No. 725

I purposely looked at the prayer of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), how he offered it. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) stood up, faced the direction of the qiblah²² and uttered the takbir (Allah is most great) and then raised his hands in front of his ears, then placed his right hand on his left (catching each other).

When he was about to bow, he raised them in the same manner. He then placed his hands on his knees. When he raised his head after bowing, he raised them in the like manner. When he prostrated himself he placed his forehead between his hands.

He then sat down and spread his left foot and placed his left hand on his left thigh, and kept his right elbow aloof from his right thigh. He closed his two fingers and made a circle (with the fingers).

I (Asim ibn Kulayb) saw him (Bishr ibn al-Mufaddal) pray in this manner. Bishr made the circle with the thumb and the middle finger and pointed with the forefinger.

In the light of this, forms in ritual prayer could be corrected by the sunnah of Muhammad as prophet:

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud

ABU DAWUD, Book 3, No. 754

Abu ‘Uthman an-Nahdi said: When Ibn Mas‘ud prayed he placed his left hand on the right. The Prophet (peace be upon him) saw him and placed his right hand on his left one.

The sunnah does not simply relate to liturgical matters, however. It also gives guidance on issues of moral responsibility, such as the age of maturity for boys:

Mu‘adh ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Khubayb al-Juhani

ABU DAWUD, Book 2, No. 497

Hisham ibn Sa‘d reported: We entered upon Mu‘adh ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Khubayb al-Juhani. He said to his wife: When (at what age) should a boy pray? She replied: Some person of us reported: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) was asked about it; he said: When a boy distinguishes right hand from the left hand, then command him to pray.

The sunnah also gives instruction on the punishment for drinking alcohol, forbidden in the Qur’an:

‘Ali ibn Abu Talib

ABU DAWUD, Book 38 No. 4466

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr gave forty lashes for drinking wine and ‘Umar made it eighty. And all this is sunnah, the model and standard practice.

Guidance is also given on doctrinal matters, such as the Second Coming of Christ, which is mentioned in the Qur’an and elaborated in the sunnah. These include transmissions called qudsi (‘holy’), because they involve direct speech from God and are to be distinguished from the revelation given through the angel Gabriel; the usual mode of transmission. For example:

Abu Hurayrah

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 35, No. 6473

Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) said that Allah thus stated: When My servant draws close to Me by the span of a palm, I draw close to him by the space of a cubit, and when he draws close to Me by the space of a cubit, I draw close to him by the space (covered) by two hands, and when he draws close to Me by the space (covered) by two hands, I go in hurry towards him.

It must be emphasized that the sunnah of Muhammad is not just an optional extra, nor is it an inferior or secondary source of authority in a similar relationship to the subordination of church tradition to the Bible in the Church of England. While Muhammad lived, the Qur’an was effectively subordinate to the sunnah. Muslims believe that It was only after Muhammad’s death, and specifically during the Caliphates of Abu Bakr and ‘Uthman, that the Qur’an as we now know it was compiled and authorized, having previously existed only in fragmentary form or in oral tradition. The sunnah of Muhammad is viewed by Islamic theologians as the sacred and ideal model. The narrations of Muhammad himself indicate that he considered the two to be equal:

Malik ibn Anas

AL-MUWATTA, Book 46, No. 461.3

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet.’

Abu Musa

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 9, Book 92, No.387

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘My example and the example of what I have been sent with is that of a man who came to some people and said, O people! I have seen the enemy’s army with my own eyes, and I am the naked warner; so protect yourselves! Then a group of his people obeyed him and fled at night, proceeding stealthily till they were safe, while another group of them disbelieved him and stayed at their places till morning when the army came upon them, and killed and ruined them completely. So this is the example of that person who obeys me and follows what I have brought (the Qur’an and the Sunnah), and the example of the one who disobeys me and disbelieves the truth I have brought.’

We should note the implications of the statement ‘what I have brought’. Muhammad equated the Qur’an with the sunnah; since the former was inspired – the thing he ‘brought’ from God – the same goes for the latter.

The role of the sunnah as the expositor of the Qur’an is demonstrated in the fact that the qualifications for an Imam are that the one who knows best the sunnah and the Qur’an is superior to the one who only knows the latter:

Abu Mas‘ud al-Ansari

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 4, No. 1422

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: The one who is most versed in Allah’s Book should act as Imam for the people, but if they are equally versed in reciting it, then the one who has most knowledge regarding Sunnah …

So important is the sunnah, that it is the key to Paradise, an indication of its vital and revelatory nature, since it is divine guidance that reveals God’s will and shows the path to salvation:

Anas ibn Malik

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 59

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said … My son, and that is my Sunnah and he who loves my Sunnah, in fact loves me and he who loves me, will be with me in Paradise. Transmitted by Tirmidhi.

The sunnah does not only relate to Muhammad, however. It also concerns his Sahabah, the Companions. These were Muhammad’s close followers, and many narrations come from them. The presumption is that, as people on intimate terms with Muhammad, they knew his practice best and reflected it in their judgments. We have already seen this expressed in the judgment on lashings for alcoholic consumption. Moreover, there is a tradition, admittedly not the strongest, in which Muhammad prescribes obedience to the sunnah of the Sahabah:

Irbad ibn Sariyah

ABU DAWUD, Book 40, No. 4590

Al-Irbad said: One day the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) led us in prayer … He then said: … You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs.²³ Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.

Essentially the difference between the two aspects of revelation is that with the Qur’an, Muhammad is said to have brought the direct speech of God, precise and incorruptible, whereas the sunnah is human speech and action, unprotected and subject to fallibility. In practice, however, Muslims do not markedly differentiate the two in their everyday lives.

The phrase ‘rightly-guided Caliphs’ is a technical term referring to the first four Caliphs of Islam, the use of which only makes sense if the author of the tradition lived considerably after the time.

Four aspects of Muhammad’s sunnah are reported in the hadith:

1.   Words – qawl

Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 1, No. 146

Jabir heard the Apostle (peace be upon him) saying: Verily between man and between man and between polytheism and unbelief is the negligence of prayer.

2.   Deeds – fi‘l

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 4, No. 1093

Tawus asked Ibn ‘Abbas about sitting on one’s buttocks (in prayer). He said: It is sunnah. We said to him: We find it a sort of cruelty to the foot. Ibn ‘Abbas said: It is the sunnah of your Apostle (peace be upon him).

3.   Silences – taqrir

These display approval of an action or opinion.

‘Abdullah

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol.6, Book 60, No. 335

A (Jewish) Rabbi came to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and he said, ‘O Muhammad! We learn that Allah will put all the heavens on one finger, and the earths on one finger, and the trees on one finger, and the water and the dust on one finger, and all the other created beings on one finger. Then He will say, I am the King.’

Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) smiled so that his pre-molar (wisdom) teeth became visible, and that was the confirmation of the Rabb…

We can see in another context the fact that silence is considered equivalent to approval:

Abu Hurayrah

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 7, Book 62, No. 67

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission.’

The people asked, ‘O Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him)! How can we know her permission?’ He said, ‘Her silence (indicates her permission).’

4.   Reports about his character – sifa

‘Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-’As

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 3, Book 34, No. 335

Ata ibn Yasar said: I met ‘Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-’As and asked him, Tell me about the description of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) which is mentioned in Torah (i.e. Old Testament). He replied, Yes. By Allah, he is described in Torah with some of the qualities attributed to him in the Qur’an as follows:

O Prophet! We have sent you as a witness (for Allah’s True religion) And a giver of glad tidings (to the faithful believers), And a warner (to the unbelievers) And guardian of the illiterate. You are My slave and My messenger (i.e. Apostle). I have named you ‘al-Mutawakkil’ (who depends upon Allah). You are neither discourteous, harsh Nor a noise-maker in the markets, And you do not do evil to those Who do evil to you, but you deal With them with forgiveness and kindness. Allah will not let him (the Prophet, peace be upon him) Die until he makes straight the crooked People by making them say: None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, With which will be opened blind eyes. And deaf ears and enveloped hearts.

‘Abdullah ibn Amr

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 5, Book 57, No. 104

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) neither talked in an insulting manner nor did he ever speak evil intentionally …

Traditional Muslim view of the development of hadith

Muslims believe that Muhammad himself initiated the hadith project to ensure the correct use and dissemination of his sunnah. Early on there were some reservations in writing down the oral tradition in case it was mistaken for the Qur’an. Muslims, however, hold that the Companions (Sahabah) did not just commit Muhammad’s words to memory, but that some were written down by Companions and Successors in manuscripts known as sahifas. This material was supposedly passed on from master scholars to their students in repeated cycles. The Umayyad Caliph ‘Umar II (d. 720) ordered the first official collection of hadith (not extant).

As time passed more and more sayings were recorded, including undoubtedly a number of forgeries. It should be remembered that as the Arab-Islamic Empire expanded it encountered more developed cultures; there would have been a natural inclination to ascribe to Muhammad the wisdom of these advanced civilizations. In order to collect, sift and systematize this massive product, later scholars (muhadithun) started travelling all across the Muslim world, making arduous journeys in order to collect as many hadith as possible.²⁴ They soon became convinced that a great number of false hadith had found their way into the tradition. Strict rules, centring on the reliability of the chain of transmission, were laid down to separate true hadith from false.²⁵ In spite of the collators’ efforts there remain many puzzling instances of apparently contradictory traditions. It seems there were not the same ‘controls’ operative in the development of Muslim tradition as there seem to have been in the Christian.²⁶ The late dating, relative to the time of Muhammad, should, in this instance, concern those looking for his sunnah.

Nevertheless, the methods of hadith collection and codification are seen by Muslims as entirely reliable, recording only the correct information and filtering out the false narratives in a divinely controlled process. So the traditional Muslim view assumes that the hadith material as it now exists is authentic and contains an authoritative and complete record of Muhammad’s words and deeds.²⁷

Each hadith consists of two parts: a text, matn, and a chain of transmitters, isnad. We can see from the following text an example of this:

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 3, Book 43, No. 621

Safwan ibn Muhriz al-Mazini narrated that while I was walking with ibn ‘Umar holding his hand, a man came in front of us and asked, ‘What have you heard from Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) about an-Najwa?’

Ibn ‘Umar said, ‘I heard Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) saying, Allah will bring a believer near Him and shelter him with His Screen and ask him, Did you commit such-and such sins? …’

We see the chain of narration from ibn Muhriz to ibn ‘Umar to Muhammad himself is the isnad; the matn refers to God’s discourse with a believer about sin.

The isnad became the testing point for the authenticity of a hadith. There were several criteria for a genuine tradition (see further below).

Muslims see the collection of hadith, with its rigorous systems of critical analysis of the chains of transmitters and the biographies of the same as one of the most impressive and original scholarly accomplishments of history.²⁸

Development of the science of hadith (‘ulum al-hadith)²⁹

Individual hadith were evaluated according to their reliability and classified as sound or unsound. As a main source for Islamic law, ritual, creed and practice, it became important to ascertain the degree of authenticity of each hadith. Hadith study as a science began at a very early time, to eliminate forged hadith invented by a variety of parties seeking power and control of official Islam. Criteria were developed at an early date to help distinguish between reliable and unreliable hadith. All false hadith were allegedly eliminated through the critical examination process of the science of hadith as developed by the official hadith collectors (Bukhari, Muslim, etc.) and their disciples.

The following disciplines were developed for examining hadith:

Examination of the Matn³⁰

The matn of the hadith was examined to verify the following:

The hadith must not contradict the Qur’an or accepted basic doctrines of Islam

Must not contradict other hadith accepted as reliable and authentic

Must not contradict reason, laws of nature or common experience

Must not praise any tribe, place or person

Must not contain exact dates of future events

Must not contradict accepted sayings of Muhammad or belittle his unique position

‘Ilm al-Rijal – Science of Biography

An important part of the science of hadith examines the reliability of the reporters in the isnad. Each narrator of hadith is examined. While the Companions were thought to be above doubt, all other transmitters were systematically scrutinised. Analysis focused on the transmitter’s date and place of birth, family connections, teachers, students, journeys, moral behaviour, religious beliefs, writings and date of death.³¹ These examinations enabled scholars to determine whether narrators had lived at the same time and sufficiently near each other to enable personal contact and oral transmission.

Judgements of the transmitter’s reliability include the questions of whether he was known as:

Imam (main famous hadith scholars)

Hafiz (memoriser, preserver of Qur’an)

Reliable, trustworthy

Made mistakes

Weak

Abandoned by hadith specialists

Liar who fabricated hadith

Collections of hadith

There are six Sunni hadith collections considered as authoritative: Sahih Bukhari (d. 870); Sahih Muslim (d. 874); Sunan Ibn Majah (d. 886); Sunan Abu Dawud (d. 889); Jami‘ Tirmidhi (d. 892); Sunan Nasa’i (d. 916).

Other important hadith writings include: the Muwatta’ of Malik ibn Anas (d. 795); the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal (d. 855); the Sunan of al-Darimi (d.868); the Sunan of al-Daraqutni (d. 995); the Sunan of al-Bayhaqi (d. 1065); the Sunan of Ibn Mansur (d. 841); and the Sunan of al-Khashshi (d. 895).

Also of note is the AL-TIRMIDHI. This is an anthology of traditions from the different collectors that began life in the collation of Abu Muhammad al-Baghawi (d. 1130), called Masabih as-sunnah, numbering 4,719 hadith: 325 from Bukhari alone, 875 from Muslim alone, 1,051 from both and 2,468 from other sources.³² He omits the isnads, merely mentioning the narrator. Each chapter was arranged in two sections, the first relating sahih ³³ texts taken from Bukhari and Muslim, the second from other sources which he labelled hasan.³⁴ His work was revised in 1351 by Wali ad-Din under the title AL-TIRMIDHI, in which he adds at the end of every tradition its source, especially with regard to Tirmidhi. He also added a third section to the chapters in which he gave additional texts from the collectors connected with the subject of each chapter.³⁵ He further includes remarks about the quality of the tradition and its source.

Shi‘ah Muslims adhere to their own collections and regard many of the Sunni hadith as forged. The most important Shi‘ah collections are the two collations of Mohammad Ibne Yaqoob Abu Ja‘far Kulaini (d. 939), Usul al Kafi and Forroh al Kafi. Others include Man la yahduruhu al-Faqih, by Muhammad ibn Babuya (d. 991) and Tahdhib al-Akhkam and Al-Istibsar, by Sheikh Muhammad at-Tusi, Shaykh al-Ta’ifa (d. 1067).³⁶

Many Shi‘ah texts specifically attack Sunni distinctives, and especially reiterate the Shi‘ah claim that the Sunnis have distorted the text of the Qur’an, particularly with regard to the purported vicegerency of ‘Ali. An example of this is found in Usool al Kafi,³⁷ as narrated by Imam Musa Kazim with respect to the true rendering of Surah 73:11:

Surah 73 (Muzammil), ayah 11

11. And leave Me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things of life who (yet) deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while.

The Shi‘ah hadith renders this as follows:

And leave me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things in life who yet deny your will concerning your Wila’t (vicegerency of ‘Ali) and bear with them for a little while.

An important Shi‘ah narrator was Imam Ja‘far Sadiq. His work also made similar accusations against Sunni renderings of the Qur’an:

Surah 15 (Hijr), ayah 41

41. (Allah) said: ‘This (Way of My sincere servants) is indeed a Way that leads straight to Me …’

According to Imam Ja‘far’s hadith, this should read as follows:³⁸

This verse was revealed as follows: ‘This Way of ‘Ali, is indeed a Way that leads straight to Me.’

In Forroh al Kafi, it states the following about the Sahabah :³⁹

After the demise of the Holy Prophet all of his companions turned into nonbelievers except Maqdad, Abu Dhar and Salman.

It follows from this that the Shi‘ah could not accept the authenticity of any traditions narrated by the Sahabah or showing them in a good light. Indeed, a Shi‘ah tradition says the following about the Sahabah and about Ayesha,⁴⁰ whom Shi‘ah detest as the enemy of ‘Ali:

One should detest the four idols namely, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, Mu‘awiya and the four women namely ‘A’isha, Hafsah, Hindah and Um al Hakim.⁴¹

Neither do the Shi‘ah accept any tradition which contradicts Shi‘ah theology, such as temporary marriage, even if the purported narrator had been ‘Ali.⁴²

Sunni hadith collections

1.   Sahih Al-Bukhari

The most important collector of hadith was undoubtedly Imam al-Bukhari of Bukhara in central Asia (AD 810–70). His collection is called Jami’ al Sahih, divided into ninetyseven books with 3,450 chapters. He examined 600,000 purported examples of hadith, memorized 200,000, but rendered all save 7,295 as spurious. Many of those remaining are parallel traditions, e.g. the following traditions by different narrators refer to the dread consequences of lying against the prophet:

‘Ali ibn AbuTalib

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 1, Book 3, No. 106

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, ‘Do not tell a lie against me for whoever tells a lie against me (intentionally) then he will surely enter the Hell-fire.’

Az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vo1. 1, Book 3, No. 107

‘Abdullah ibn az-Zubayr said to his father, ‘I do not hear from you any narration (hadith) of Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) as I hear (his narrations) from so and so.’ Az- Zubayr replied, ‘I was always with him (the Prophet) and I heard him saying, Whoever tells a lie against me (intentionally) then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire.’

All of Bukhari’s collection is recognized as sound.⁴³

2.   Sahih Muslim

Abul Husain Muslim (817–75) examined 300,000 traditions, out of which he collated his collection, which is virtually the same as that of Bukhari, except in the isnads. It is in regard to the latter that his usefulness lies. As with Bukhari, his collection is wholly sound.⁴⁴ Similarly we find parallel texts in his collection:

Talhah ibn Ubaydullah

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 30, No.5830

I and Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) happened to pass by people near the date-palm trees. He (the Prophet) said: What are these people doing? They said: They are grafting, i.e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: I do not find it to be of any use.

The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was later on informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion, but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute a lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.

Rafi’ ibn Khadij

SAHIH MUSLIM, Book 30, No. 5831

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) came to Medina and the people had been grafting the trees. He said: What are you doing? They said: We are grafting them, whereupon he said: It may perhaps be good for you if you do not do that, so they abandoned this practice (and the date-palms) began to yield less fruit. They made a mention of it (to the Prophet), whereupon he said: 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 I am a human being. Ikrimah reported that he said something like this.

3.   Abu Dawud

Abu Dawud (d. 888) was a contemporary of Bukhari, but his work is considered less rigorously strict and thus less reliable than that of Bukhari and Muslim. He studied 500,000 texts and regarded 4,800 as genuine. Much of his work concerned mundane issues:

A Man from the Companions

ABU DAWUD, Book 1, No. 28

Humayd al-Himyari said: I met a man (Companion of the Prophet) who remained in the company of the Prophet (peace be upon him) just as Abu Hurayrah remained in his company. He then added: The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade that anyone amongst us should comb (his hair) every day or urinate in the place where he takes a bath.

Much of his work also betrays a developed and anachronistic Muslim theology, as opposed to primitive Islam, as the text we previously examined about ‘rightly-guided Caliphs’ demonstrates:

ABU DAWUD, Book 40, No. 4590

… You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly guided caliphs …

4.   Al-Tirmidhi

Abu ‘Isa Muhammad, known as Al-Tirmidhi (d. 892), was a student of Bukhari and a renowned scholar. His collection contains fewer traditions and is more constrained on the subjects it considers.⁴⁵ He was explicitly critical regarding isnad questions and related the texts to the different schools of Islam:

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 158

Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) said: There is a Satan for ablution, called al-Walahan, so be on your guard against the evil promptings of (wasting) water.

Transmitted by Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi said: This is a gharib hadith,⁴⁶ and its isnad is not authentic according to the scholars of hadith; for we know none who traced it up to the Prophet except Kharijah, and he is not authentic according to our scholars.

Sakhbarah al-Azdi

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 77

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: He who acquires knowledge expiates his past sins.

Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it. Tirmidhi said: This hadith has a weak chain of transmission and the transmitter is declared to be weak.

Abu Huraira

MISHKAT AL-MASABIH, Vol. 1,

Book 3 Purification, Chapter 3, No. 3, (p. 77)

reported God’s messenger as saying that Gabriel came to him and said When you perform ablution, Muhammad, sprinkle yourself

Tirmidhi transmitted it and said: This is a gharib tradition and I heard Muhammad (i.e. Bukhari) as saying: The traditions of Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali al -Hashimi, the transmitter, are rejected.⁴⁷

5.   Al-Nasa’i

Al-Nasa’i (d. 915) dealt mainly with issues of Law and is less rigorous in excluding doubtful traditions. In this respect he displayed himself as a student of his teacher, Abu Dawud.

Abu Hurayrah; ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar; Zubayr ibn al-Awwam

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 1175

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, ‘Dye grey hairs and do not copy the Jews’. Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Nasa’i transmitted it on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar and Az-Zubayr.

6.   Ibn Madja

Of the six ‘sound’ collections, that of Ibn Madja (d. 886) is the least regarded. He was similar in approach to Abu Dawud and Al-Nasa’i, as we can see from the following text:

Abu Hashim ibn Utbah

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 1348

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

Classification of hadith⁴⁸

Hadith can be classified in various ways:

According to the original speaker

Qudsi - divine; supposedly a revelation from God relayed by words of Muhammad

Marfu‘ - elevated; a narration from Muhammad, e.g. I heard the Prophet saying…

Mawquf - stopped: a narration from a Companion only, e.g., we were commanded to …

Maqtu’ - severed: a narration from a Successor

According to the links of isnad - interrupted or uninterrupted

Mutassil - continuous: a hadith with an uninterrupted isnad which goes back to a Companion or a Successor.

Mursal - hurried: if the link between the successor and Muhammad is missing, e.g. a Successor says The Prophet said….

Munqati‘ - broken: a hadith whose link anywhere before the successor (i.e., closer to the recorder) is missing.

Mu’adal - perplexing: a hadith whose recorder omits two or more consecutive transmitters in the isnad.

Mu’allaq - hanging: is a hadith whose reporter omits the whole isnad and quotes Muhammad directly.

According to the number of reporters involved in the isnad

a. Mutawatir - Consecutive: is a hadith which is reported by a large number of transmitters at every level of the isnad, who cannot all have agreed to lie. These are the most reliable of all hadith. Some say there are only five, and that their authority is equal to that of the Qur’an.

b. Ahad - isolated: a hadith narrated by a number of transmitters at every level of isnad whose number does not reach that of the mutawatir. These are considered weaker than the mutawatir hadith.

This is further divided into:

1. Mashhur - famous: hadith reported by more than two (or three) transmitters at each level.

2. Aziz - rare, strong: at any stage in the isnad, only two transmitters are found

3. Gharib - strange: at some stage of the isnad, only one transmitter is found.

According to the nature of the text and isnad

a. Munkar - denounced: a hadith reported by a weak narrator, whose narration contradicts another authentic hadith.

b. Mudraj - interpolated: an addition by a reporter to the text of the hadith.

According to the reliability and memory of the reporters

The principal criteria for the verification of individual hadith were as follows:

1. perfection or otherwise of the chain of transmission;

2. freedom of the text from defect;

3. acceptance of the text by the Sahabah (in the case of Sunnis), the Tabi‘un (their followers) and the Tab‘ Tabi‘un (their successors). Obviously with the Shi‘ah the integrity of traditions depends upon their acceptance by the imams.⁴⁹

Using these criteria, four categories of hadith can be identified:

1. Sahih – sound or genuine, with a reliable chain of transmission with no weaknesses. Al-Shafi’i stated the following requirements for a hadith to be acceptable: Each reporter should be trustworthy in his religion; he should be known to be truthful in his narrating, to understand what he narrates, to know how a different expression can alter the meaning, and to report the wording of the hadith verbatim, not only its meaning.

Abu Darda

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 581

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, ‘One who gives sadaqah⁵⁰ or who frees a slave at the time of his death is like one who gives gifts when he has more than enough.’ Ahmad, Nasa’i, Darimi and Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Tirmidhi said it is sahih tradition.

Salman ibn Amir ad-Dabbi

SAHIH AL-BUKHARI, Vol. 7, Book 66, No. 380

I heard Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) saying, ‘Aqiqah⁵¹ is to be offered for a (newly born) boy, so slaughter (an animal) for him, and relieve him of his suffering.’

2. Hasan - good: a hadith whose source is known and its reporters are unambiguous, though not the best.

A man from Banu Sulaym

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 117

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) counted them in my hand or in his hand saying: Tasbih (SubhanAllah) is half the Mizan (scale), praise be to Allah fills it (completely). AllahuAkbar (Allah is the Greatest) fills the space between Heaven and Earth, fasting is the half of the endurance and cleanliness is half of the faith.

Tirmidhi transmitted it and said, this is a Hasan tradition.

3. Da’if - weak: a hadith which fails to reach the status of hasan. There are two grounds for this classification:

a. A discontinuity in the isnad. There are several kinds:

Mu’allaq: Where a text omits one or two transmitters in the beginning of the isnad.

Maqtu’: Reported by a Tabi‘ (a follower of one of the Companions).

Munqati’: Broken traditions.

Mursal: Incomplete texts omitting Sahabah from the chain of Tabi‘ to the prophet.

Musahhaf: Texts with a mistake in words or letters of isnad or matn.

Shadh: Texts with reliable chains, but with meanings contrary to majority-attested traditions.

b. One of the reporters is known to have a disparaged character, due to his telling lies, excessive mistakes, opposition to the narration of more reliable sources, involvement in innovation, or ambiguity surrounding his person.

‘Ali ibn Abu Talib

AL-TIRMIDHI, No. 130

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: The screen between the eyes of Jinn⁵² and the private parts of the sons of Adam as one of them enters the privy is that he should say: In the name of Allah.

This hadith has been transmitted by Tirmidhi and he said: It is a gharib hadith and its isnad is not sound.

4. Maudu’ - fabricated or forged: a hadith whose text contradicts established norms of Muhammad’s sayings, or its reporters include a liar. Fabricated hadith are also recognized by external evidence related to a discrepancy in the dates or times of a particular incident.

There are also other divisions, used especially by Tirmidhi. Gharib can refer either to the isnad or the matn. It refers to a certain weakness in some respect.

It may refer to the only tradition known by a certain line of transmission, although the same tradition may be known by other line, this type being gharib regarding the isnad. It may refer to a tradition whose matn has only one transmitter, this type being gharib regarding both isnad and matn. It may refer to a tradition which comes only from a man who is considered reliable, or in which some addition to what is found in other lines of the same tradition is made by a man of this quality, such a tradition being called gharib sahih.⁵³

Gharib may also refer to the use of rare words in a text (although it is not so employed in the AL-TIRMIDHI, al-Baghawi’s collection, later revised by Wali al-Din). The terms gharib hasan and hasan gharib are descriptions of texts which are recognized as hasan in terms of transmission and which do not contradict other transmissions, but have themselves only one line of transmission and are thus simultaneously considered gharib. Hasan gharib sahih and hasan sahih gharib are also found in the AL-TIRMIDHI, and seem to refer to a hasan sahih tradition which has some feature that is gharib.⁵⁴Hasan sahih describes a hadith whose isnad is hasan, but which is supported by another whose isnad is sahih.

Muslim scholars also recognise several forms of hadith collections:

a. Sahifa – collections written by Companions or their Successors. The most important was the one written down by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As (d. 684), called al-Sahifa al-Sadiqa, which contained some one thousand hadith.

b. Juz’ – a collection of hadith handed down on the authority of a single individual or compiled on a single subject.

c. Risala – a collection of hadith dealing with one out of eight specific topics: 1. Belief; 2. Laws and rulings; 3. Piety and asceticism; 4. Manners (adab); 5. Qur’anic tafsir; 6. History and biography (tarikh and siyar); 7. Seditions and crises (fitan) pertaining to the end of the world; 8. Virtues and defects of various people and places.

d. Musannaf – a more comprehensive collection of hadith in which reports relating to the eight topics are arranged in books or chapters dealing with a particular subject matter. To this class belong the Muwatta’ of Malik and the Sahih of Muslim.

e. Musnad – applied to collections whose material is arranged alphabetically under the names of the first transmitter cited in the isnad, irrespective of the subject matter. Examples are the Musnads of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855); Abu Daud al-Taylasi (d. 819), and Abd Allah ibn Shayba (d. 849).

f. Mu‘jam – works on various subjects arranged in alphabetical order under the names of the Companions or under the names of the traditionists from whom the compilers received them.

g. Jami‘ – a collection containing traditions relating to the eight topics. These include the Sahih of al-Bukhari as well as al-Tirmidhi.

h. Sunan – collections containing only legal hadith and not material relating to historical, spiritual and other matters. These include the collections of Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i.

i. Mustadrak – collections by later compilers which complement previous collections while keeping to the stringent rules of the famous collectors. Thus the Mustadrak of al-Nisaburi has many hadith not found in al-Bukhari and Muslim but he followed their stringent rules in collecting and compiling them.

j. Mustakhraj – a collection in which a later compiler collects fresh and additional isnads to add to those cited by an original compiler. This includes the Mustakhraj of Abu Nu’aym al-Isfahani on the Sahihs of Bukhari and Muslim.

k. Arba‘iniyyat – Collections of forty hadith related to one or more subjects. The best known is the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi.

Ijtihad, Ra’y, Qiyas and Ijma‘

The Qur’an and the hadith / sunnah are the two essential elements of Islamic guidance – ‘ilm (authoritative knowledge)⁵⁵ – but not even the sunnah deals with every issue and new ones emerge all the time. Hence a qadi (Islamic judge) had to interpret the sources (ijtihad) on the basis of his personal opinion (ra’y) to deal with an issue. The following text demonstrates this process:

Mu‘adh ibn Jabal

ABU DAWUD, Book 24, No. 3585

Some companions of Mu‘adh ibn Jabal said: When the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) intended to send Mu‘adh ibn Jabal to the Yemen, he asked: How will you judge when the occasion of deciding a case arises?

He replied: I shall judge in accordance with Allah’s Book. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah’s Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him).

He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and in Allah’s Book?

He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort.⁵⁶

The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Apostle of Allah to find something which pleases the Apostle of Allah.

Another concept was introduced by Abu Hanifa (d. AD 767), called qiyas. Qiyas, or the analogical reasoning of the learned, tackles difficult and doubtful questions of doctrine and practice by comparing them with matters already settled in the Qur’an. Qiyas was the principal method of mujtahids (Islamic scholars) engaging in ijtihad (striving to understand and apply the Qur’an and sunnah to situations not addressed in the sources) to apply their ra’y. For instance, wine, as an intoxicating substance, is forbidden in the Qur’an. On the basis of analogy, anything that intoxicates, such as drug-abuse, is therefore prohibited and punishable (haram). The Wahhabis extended this ban to tobacco, a view that has gained increasing support in recent years as the addictive and life-threatening aspects of smoking have become better known. An example from Islamic jurisprudence illustrates this procedure:

ZAKATABLE PROPERTY: PLANTS AND FRUITS: OF KHARAJIYYAH LAND

… Just as zakat⁵⁷ is payable on ushriyyah⁵⁸, so it is paid on kharajiyyah⁵⁹ when the inhabitants of the latter accept Islam or when a Muslim buys it … Ibn al-Mundhir witnesses: ‘This is the view of most of the scholars, including ‘Umar ibn AbdulAziz, Rabi’ah, Zuhri, Yahya al-Ansari, Malik, Awza’i, Thawri, al-Hasan ibn Salih, Ibn Abu Layla, Layth, Ibn al-Mubarak, Ahmad, Ishaq, Abu Ubayd and Dawud.’ Their opinion is derived from the Qur’an, the sunnah, and the exercise of their intellect – that is, by means of analogical reasoning or qiyas.

The Qur’anic verse referred to is: ‘O you who believe! Spend of the good things which you have earned and of that which We produce from the earth for you.’

Sharing the produce of one’s land with the poor is obligatory, whether the land is kharajiyyah or ushriyyah.

The sunnah referred to is: ‘From what the heavens water, a tithe (is due).’ This hadith encompasses in its general meaning both the kharaj and the ushriyyah land.

As to the analogical reasoning (qiyas), both zakat and kharaj are a kind of obligation (haqq), each based on a diferent reason, and one does not nullify the other … Since the tithe is payable by the force of the text, it cannot be negated by kharaj, which