Why we must study Hadith once again

Hadith Studies: An Intellectual Challenge for the Muslim Ummah Today Hadith is the only means by which we can know the Sunnah of the Prophet صلى اله عليه وسلم and conseTuently the full meanings of the 4uran in its proper context. But since the Hadith literature, unlike the 4uran, is not a single, well-known, bounded text, but rather a baffling amount of literature collected over several generations—its authenticity and organization have been a great challenge. This challenge, however, was taken up by the great scholars of Islam, who duly produced the most amazing large-scale efforts in history— as allowed by the technology of the time—to protect and preserve everything that the Prophet ever said or did. The fact that some people tried to fabricate aḥâdîth shows that the aḥâdîth were deemed extremely influential and authoritative—nobody fakes a currency that has no value. All studies of early Islamic history, even by the most cynical and critical of non-Muslim scholars, have shown that the learning, teaching and preservation of Hadith were the focus of Muslim scholarship during the first few centuries of Islam. Because the aḥâdîth of the Prophet had such great currency at the time, so then liars and opportunists—as have always existed in all societies—fabricated aḥâdîth to accomplish worldly goals. History attests to the fact that our Pious Predecessors, who were chosen by Allah to be the recipients of His final message, did not fall short of their obligation to preserve the Sunnah: Colossal attempts were made to resist and eradicate this forging of aḥâdîth by the scholars and leaders. Thousands and thousands of scholars began to study, memorize, authenticate and preserve the Hadith literature. What Happened to the Traditional Scholarship of Hadith? It is still around: there are numerous scholars devoted to Hadith who have spent their lives memorizing, sorting and evaluating aḥâdîth. However, in my humble opinion after taking stock of Hadith studies both by Muslims as well as non-Muslims, I venture to say that there is a lot that hh has not b been d done, and d a l lot that h cannot be done without a serious revival of Hadith sciences and methodology. More rigorous historical research has unearthed even older manuscripts of Hadith than the canonical ones which we are used to as Bukhâri and Muslim—I mean specifically the collection of Ab Hurairah’s one hundred and forty reports that he dictated to his disciple, Hammâm ibn Munabbih. These aḥâdîth are found in either Bukhâri or Muslim, which is a tribute to the accuracy and veracity of these two collections. More such discoveries are possible, and Muslim historians must labor hard for them. Similarly, there is a lot that the scholars of today, both traditional and modern, do not know about the context, meaning and authenticity of many reports. )or example, a tremendous amount of work is yet to be done in understanding the context of these aḥâdîth, thereby resolving conflicts and disagreements about their meanings as well as authenticity. What Can We—the Ordinary Muslims—Do about It? )or the ordinary Muslim, it is no longer possible to turn a blind eye to this challenge, because it is no longer only a battle in the academy—in the echelons of 2rientalism far removed from Islam and Muslims. It is rather a very pertinent, a very real-life battle. More and more young Muslims, in the :est but ultimately everywhere in the world, are growing up reading, learning, discussing and internalizing these attacks on Islam and skepticism towards its authentic sources. The Tuestions raised by skeptics, out of antipathy or apathy, h are b becoming i political li i l weapons in some hands, and a means of social and financial gain in others. Legions of pseudo-Muslims and pseudo-scholars and pseudo-experts have mushroomed, and it is becoming an uphill battle, for unaware Muslims as well as non-Muslims, to figure out the true teachings of Islam. :hat can ordinary Muslims do about this oesn’t Hadith scholarship reTuire a lifetime of study No—not at all. It reTuires not one lifetime, but in fact many, many lifetimes. And that is precisely why we need ordinary Muslims, all Muslims, to worry about it. True, we need the piety and rigor of Al-Zuhri, Shuᶜbah, Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and the painstaking precision of those like Imams Bukhâri and Muslim in the science of Hadith. But all excellence and success can start with ordinary Muslims: There is no clergy in Islam. As long as resourceful and educated Muslims keep sending their best and most productive young minds to the sciences of this world for seeking money, status and comfort, and as long as they abandon the sacred sciences for the drop-outs and the have-not to take on—or, worse yet, for non-Muslims to distort or misuse—we will never regain the intellectual superiority and convincing power of our faith. So long as these trends of neglect and negligence continue, we will keep losing both intellectual ground as well as our coming generations. The history of Islam, which I have drawn upon in posing the challenge, also gives us hope. As the great Indian scholar Ab Al-Ḥasan ᶜAli Al-Nadwi said, Allah has always raised among Muslims those who have protected Islam against its enemies a h and awakened Muslims from their slumber. This time around, the task is big. I cannot emphasize enough that this work must be done by Muslims— believing, dedicated, and brilliant Muslim scholars. These must outdo all others in using the best historical and analytical tools. No science is completely objective, but especially the science of interpretation and historical c criticism is deeply connected to one’s beliefs and worldview, to how much one understands or identifies with the texts or to the people whom one is writing about. Accordingly, A things like interpretation of 4uran and Hadith, or like their historical criticism, can never be correctly accomplished at the hands of non-Muslims or non-committed Muslims. .nowledge and certainty are inspired by Allah, as are arguments and counter-arguments about interpretation and authenticity, and so the belief and piety of the scholar are critical to his or her credibility. Muslims must reclaim in the light of modern methods and sciences once again the sciences that they pioneered: criticism, authentication and interpretation of reports. It is necessary that not only the foremost historians and interpreters of Islamic texts be Muslims, but that they be true Muslims—connected with the Muslim 8mmah, and engaged with the struggle to establish Allah’s in. This is precisely what our pious predecessors meant when they said: such and such scholar was “‘ ᶜâlimun ᶜâmil” and a “mujâhid” — that is, a righteous scholar, one who upheld the truth even against oppression and tyranny, and struggled in the way of Allah with a pure soul. 2nly then did the light of Islamic knowledge shine upon him. It is a historical fact, and an example of the amazing collected wisdom of the 8mmah, that it never followed, revered as Imams or took its knowledge from non-Muslims, sellouts or hypocritical scholars. My purpose in writing this article will have been accomplished if even one father or mother decides, upon reading this, that they are going to devote their most brilliant child, boy or girl, to the study of the Hadith of the )inal Prophet