The advent of Islam and the story of its founder and disciples are known only from Muslim scriptures and thus remain problematic, with critical history being tentative at best. With the lack testimony from independent or external observers, one must turn to Islamic tradition and historical memories. In Islam, this means turning to Hadith.
Hadith ( حديث ) is a body of stories and legends about Muḥammad's way of life and his sayings. Muslims consider Hadith to be an authoritative exposition on the meaning of the Qur˒ān as it's authority is viewed as second only to the Qur˒ān. Islamic law and Sharia is derived from the acts, statements, opinions and the way in which Muḥammad lived his life, and thus Hadith forms a basis for the Islamic legal system. Original Hadith literature was handed down orally in Islamic society until the later half of the 9th century; roughly two and half centuries after the deaths of Muḥammad and his companions. At that point collections of Hadith were codified and edited. In many cases where the narrators disagreed on a specific Hadith, they were discarded, including many of the early Hadiths where Muslims still used Jewish law to regulate themselves. Later collections re-evaluated those preceding them and verses from the Qur˒ān were inserted where they felt contradictions had occurred. Hadith is to the Qur˒ān what the Mishna, Talmud, and Midrash is to the Torah.
Hadith ( حديث ) is a body of stories and legends about Muḥammad's way of life and his sayings. Muslims consider Hadith to be an authoritative exposition on the meaning of the Qur˒ān as it's authority is viewed as second only to the Qur˒ān. Islamic law and Sharia is derived from the acts, statements, opinions and the way in which Muḥammad lived his life, and thus Hadith forms a basis for the Islamic legal system. Original Hadith literature was handed down orally in Islamic society until the later half of the 9th century; roughly two and half centuries after the deaths of Muḥammad and his companions. At that point collections of Hadith were codified and edited. In many cases where the narrators disagreed on a specific Hadith, they were discarded, including many of the early Hadiths where Muslims still used Jewish law to regulate themselves. Later collections re-evaluated those preceding them and verses from the Qur˒ān were inserted where they felt contradictions had occurred. Hadith is to the Qur˒ān what the Mishna, Talmud, and Midrash is to the Torah.
Hadiths are usually classified in one of two ways: 1) Musnad - according to the names of the traditionalists, and; 2) Musannaf - according to subject matter, edited by content. In order to gauge the authenticity of Hadiths, the process of isnad (or 'backing') was used to trace their origins through the various transmitters to its beginning. In time, many more Hadiths were developed and judged by a consensus of Islamic scholars to be either sahih, hasan, or da˓if (genuine, fair, and weak, respectively). By the 9th century, six collections were considered reliable by Sunni Muslims. They are classified according to the earliest known transmitter:
• Sahih al-Bukhari - d. 870 CE, includes 7,275 Hadiths
• Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj - d. 875 CE, includes 9,200 Hadiths
• Sunan Abu-Dawud - d. 888 CE
• al-Tirmidhi - d. 892 CE
• al-Nasa˓i - d. 915 CE
• Ibn-Maja - d. 886 CE
The first two collections are considered to be authentic and are thus referred to as sahih. The remaining four vary in their degree of authenticity and are considered either hasan or da˓if. Some Islamic scholars add a seventh collection by Ahmed ibn-Hanbal (early 9th century) whose musnad contains close to 29,000 Hadiths. It should be noted that Shi˓ Muslims stress a different collection of Hadiths canonized in the 10th and 11th centuries.
• Sahih al-Bukhari - d. 870 CE, includes 7,275 Hadiths
• Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj - d. 875 CE, includes 9,200 Hadiths
• Sunan Abu-Dawud - d. 888 CE
• al-Tirmidhi - d. 892 CE
• al-Nasa˓i - d. 915 CE
• Ibn-Maja - d. 886 CE
The first two collections are considered to be authentic and are thus referred to as sahih. The remaining four vary in their degree of authenticity and are considered either hasan or da˓if. Some Islamic scholars add a seventh collection by Ahmed ibn-Hanbal (early 9th century) whose musnad contains close to 29,000 Hadiths. It should be noted that Shi˓ Muslims stress a different collection of Hadiths canonized in the 10th and 11th centuries.