Works for studying authority of Sunnah and authenticity of Hadith

3.April.1995

al-salam `alaykum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh,

Subject: Works for studying the authority of the SUNNAH and

              the authenticity of the H A D I T H of Prophet Muhammad,

              (may Allah bless him and his House and give them peace)

Sections:

     1. Notes

     2. On the authority of the Sunnah

     3. On the early documentation of the Hadith

     4. On Hadith methodology, criticism, and literature

     5. On critical 'Oriantilist' works

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1. NOTES

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Often, there are questions raised concerning the authority of the 

Sunnah and the authenticity of Hadith.  Few times those questions are 

raised by sincere people, and many times by followers of hertical sects 

who keep trying to raise doubts about the Sunnah and the Hadith.

The only scholarly way to find the facts is to examine the authentic 

evidences from the Qur'an, the works of Tafsir, Hadith, Sirah, History, 

Biographical Dictionaries and other related works.  Of course, all the 

original sources are in Arabic which many Muslims--sadly--do not 

have access to.  But, there are some good works in English which

--although not many--are sufficient to establish the fundamental facts.

Those who are sincere in seeking the Truth, surely will find in them, 

Allah willing, clear conclusive evidences to establish:

     - The absolute authority of the Sunnah of the Prophet,

     - The early documentation and preservation of Hadith,

     - The accuracy of Hadith methodology

     - The great scholarship of the traditional Hadith masters

It is true that not all transmitters were credible, but the scholars 

were able to evaluate the credibility of the transmitters based on the 

collected authentic information and evidences.  Also, it is true that

not all the transmitted hadith-s were authentic, in fact many were

inauthentic, but by applying the Hadith methodology of verification,

the scholars were able to evaluate the authenticity of the hadith-s.

The clear evidences establish the authenticity of the hadith-s which

are classified as authentic--according to the Hadith methodology--

by the qualified Hadith scholars.

As for those heretical people who keep trying to raise doubts by works 

which show their ignorance and heresy (even apostasy sometimes); It

is hoped that they would repent and seek the Truth sincerely, and then 

they will come to the Sunnah, Allah willing.  But if they keep rejecting

the Truth, it is questionable whether they even deserve to have their 

faulty works recognized by being refuted!  For this similitude applies 

to them: << . . . Therefore his similitude is that of a dog: if you attack 

him he lolls out his tounge, and if you leave him alone he lolls out his 

tounge . . . >> (al-Qur'an, 7:176). 

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2. ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE SUNNAH:

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Azami, Habib al-Rahman

translated by Azami, Iqbal Ahmad

The Sunnah in Islam

Leicester, UK: UK Islamic Academy, 1989

ISBN 1-872531-01-6

Knoun, Abdullah

"Hadith: its scientific and religious value"

in the journal: Islamic Culture - IC (1969) XLIII:3:215-231.

al-Shafi'i,

translated by Khadduri, Majid

Islamic jurisprudence: Shafi'i's Risala

Cambridge, UK: The Islamic Texts Society, second edition 1987

ISBN 0-946621-15-2

[chapter V, p. 109-116]

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3. ON THE EARLY DOCUMENTATION OF HADITH

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Azami, Muhammad Mustafa

Studies in early Hadith literature with a critical edition of some early

texts

Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, third edition, 1992

ISBN 0-89259-125-0

English/Arabic texts

Hamidullah, Muhammad

translated by Rahimuddin, Muhammad

Sahifat Hammam ibn Munabbih 

Paris: Centre Culturel Islamique,1961, second English edition 1979

English/Arabic

Abbott, Nabia

Studies in Arabic literary papyri II: Quranic commentary and traditions

Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1967

English/Arabic documents

Ahmad, Imtiaz

Significance of Sunnah and Hadith and their early documentation

Ph.D. dissertation, Edinburgh University, Scotland, 1974

Motzki, Harald

"The Musannaf of 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani as a source of authentic 

ahadith of the first century A.H."

in the journal: Journal of Near Eastern Studies - JNES (1991) 50:1:1-21.

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4. ON HADITH METHODOLOGY, CRITICISM, AND LITERATURE

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Azami, Muhammad Mustafa

Studies in Hadith methodology and literature

Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1977, reprinted 1992

ISBN 0-89259-011-4

Hasan, Suhaib

An introduction to the science of Hadith

London: Al-Quran Society, 1994

ISSN 0952-7834

Muslim,

translated by Juynboll, G H A

"Muslim's introduction to his Sahih"

in the journal: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 

JSAI (1984) 5:263-302

al-Naisaburi, al-Hakim

translated by Robson, James

An Introduction to the sciences of tradition

London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1953

Dickinson, Eerik Nael

The Development of early Muslim Hadith criticism: the taqdima 

of Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi

Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1992

Masri, A

An Introduction to the study of the traditional criteria used 

in the criticism  of Hadith

Ph.D. dissertation, Cambridge University, UK, 1958-9

Abdul-Ghaffar, Suhaib H 

Criticism of Hadith among Muslims with reference to Sunan Ibn Majah

London: TaHa Publishers, second edition 1986

ISBN 0-907461-56-5

Siddiqi, Muhammad Zubayr

edited  & revised by Murad, Abdal Hakim

Hadith literature: its origin, development, revised edition

Cambridge, UK: The Islamic Texts Society, revised edition 1993

ISBN 0-946621-38-1

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5. ON CRITICAL 'ORIENTALIST' WORKS

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Azami, Muhammad Mustafa

On Schacht's origins of Muhammadan jurisprudence

New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1985.  

Cambridge, UK: The Islamic Texts Society, 1994

ISBN ?

Motzki, Harald

"The Musannaf of 'Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani as a source of authentic 

ahadith of the first century A.H."

in the journal: Journal of Near Eastern Studies - JNES (1991) 50:1:1-21.

wa'l-salam `alaykum.  Akram Safadi <a-safadi@nwu.edu>