Ulum al Sunnah Flashcards
Understand concepts and definitions on the topic of Ulum al Sunnah
Sunnah
سُنَّة
Lexical definition: A path or way of life, good or bad
Technical definition:
- Fiqh: Sunnah means a level of ruilng - A recommended action
- Usul al-Fiqh: Sunnah is whatever comes from the Prophet (ﷺ), other than the Qur’an, including his words, actions, approvals, messages, gestures, etc.
- ‘Aqidah: Sunnah means Islam in general, its main beliefs and well-established practices as opposed to heretical, innovated beliefs and practices.
- Mustalah al-Hadith: Sunnah is everything that has been narrated or reported about the Prophet (ﷺ).
Hadith
حديث
Lexical definition:
- An item of news, conversation, a tale, a story, a report
- Something new
Technical Definition:
Whatever is transmitted from the Prophet(ﷺ) of his actions, sayings, tacit approvals or physical characteristics and mannerisms
Hadith vs Sunnah
Hadith is the narration.
-Classified by authenticity
Sunnah is what he did and is part of the religion
-No classifications
Two categories of Ulum al-Sunnah
- Riwaayat-ul-hadith
- How the hadith gets to you
- Narration
- Particular Hadith
- Magnifying glass on one hadith - Diraayat-ul-hadith
- Understanding
- General rules + principles
- Classifications
Sunnah preservation - Era of the Prophet (ﷺ)
- Proactive efforts of the Prophet(ﷺ).
- Muslims enquired the Prophet(ﷺ) about Islams laws and rulings.
- Companions desire to seek knowledge, memorise it and convey it.
- Wives of the prophet(ﷺ) communicated knowledge of his private behaviour and interaction with his wives.
- Emissaries and governors.
- Treaty of Hudaibiya increased number of converts to Islam hugely.
- Farewell Hajj of the Prophet (ﷺ) accompanied by an excess of 100,000 Muslims.
Sunnah preservation - Era of the Sahabah
- Allah orders the wives of the porphet to makemention constantly of Sunnah (Hikmah)
- Many people narrated plentifully, includeing senior companions, the members ofthehouse of the Prophet, Servants of the Prophet
Approximate number of channels of narrations leading back to these companions (Al Mukthirun):
- Abu Hurairah (5374)
- Said ibn Malik (~1100)
- Jahir (<2000)
- Anas(<2000)
- A’isha (~2200)
- Ibn ‘Abbas (1660)
- Ibn ‘Umar(~2400)
Sahabah
Someone who met the messenger of Allah believing in him and died upon Islam.
Hadith literature- 1. Sahifa
Period: Prophet’s (ﷺ) lifetime
Feature: Personal reference material
Example: Sahifa of Hammam bin Munabbih
Hadith Literature- 2. Musannaf
Period: Early & Mid Eight Century
Feature: Organised by Topic
Example: Imam Malik’s Muwatta’
Hadith Literature- 3. Musnad
Period: Late Eighth & Early ninth Centuries
Feature: Organised by Narrator (Organised by Isnad)
Example: Musnad of Imam AHmed
Hadith Literature- 4. Sunan/Sahih
Period: Early Ninth to Early Tenth Century
Feature: Organised topically with full Isnads
Example: Sunan of al Darimi
Classification of Ahadith according to:
Authority
- Marfu’ (Prophet)
- Mawquf (Companion)
- Maqtu’ (Successor)
Classification of Ahadith according to:
Links in the Isnad
- Musnad - Continuous chain. It was possible for each narrator to have heard from the other right up to the Prophet.
- Mursal - A missing link at the beginning of the chain, i.e between the tabi’i and the Prophet. e.g a chain in which the Tabi’i says “The Prophet ﷺ said…”
- Munqati’ - One or more links are missing somewhere in the middle of the chain, but not in succession
- Mu’dal - Two or more links are missing in succession in the middle of the chain
- Mu’allaq - Links omitted at the beginning of the chain by the collector. E.g as we do today we say “On the Authority of Abu Huraiyra…”
Links in the Isnad: Musnad
- Musnad - Continuous chain. It was possible for each narrator to have heard from the other right up to the Prophet.
Links in the Isnad: Mursal
- Mursal - A missing link at the beginning of the chain, i.e between the tabi’i and the Prophet. e.g a chain in which the Tabi’i says “The Prophet ﷺ said…”
Links in the Isnad: Munqati’
- Munqati’ - One or more links are missing somewhere in the middle of the chain, but not in succession
Links in the Isnad: Mu’dal
- Mu’dal - Two or more links are missing in succession in the middle of the chain
Links in the Isnad: Mu’allaq
- Mu’allaq - Links omitted at the beginning of the chain by the collector. E.g as we do today we say “On the Authority of Abu Huraiyra…”
Classification of Ahadith according to:
Number of Reporters in each Stage of the Isnad
- Mutawatir - Severeal reporters at each stage of the isnad. This number depends on the trustworthiness and precision of the narrators and revolvesaround the principple that all of these trustworthy, precise narrators could not possibly have conspired together to spread or create a lie about the Prophet ﷺ. These are automatically deemed Sahih.
- Ahaad - reports in which the number of reporters at each stage is less than the Mutawatir amount. They are then later categorised by authenticity.
Mutawaatir Hadith
Mutawatir - Severeal reporters at each stage of the isnad. This number depends on the trustworthiness and precision of the narrators and revolvesaround the principple that all of these trustworthy, precise narrators could not possibly have conspired together to spread or create a lie about the Prophet ﷺ. These are automatically deemed Sahih.
Classification of Ahadith according to:
Manner in which the Hadith is reported
- Haddathana - He narrated to us/he told us
- Akhbarna - he informed us
- Anba’ana - he informed us
- Sami’tu - I heard
- Tadlis - Used when narrating from someone he does not hear from and omits the person he really hears from
Musalsal - Al narrators saying a particular working or doing a particular action when transmitting the hadith
Classification of Ahadith according to:
Nature of the text and isnad
- Shadh
- Munkar
- Mudraj
Shadh Hadith
Hadith which is reported by a trustworthy person, but the text or isnad goes against a more authentic narration
Anomaly (something out of the ordinary)
e.g prophet uncovering his thigh vs reports of him uncovering his shin
Munkar Hadith
Any report that clearly contradicts the Qur’an or Sunnah, or contains inconsistencies
