Publisher’s Foreword

Dedication

Dr. Taha Husayn's Foreword

The Author’s Response

Definition of the Book

Narrating Hadith Through Denotation:

A General Word:

Introduction of the Second Edition 13

For Truth and History

Introduction To the Third Edition

Al-sunnah

Position of Sunnah in Religion:

Companions and Hadith Relating:

To Lie Against Messenger of Allah:

Fabricating Lies Against the Prophet After His Death:

The Companions Criticizing Each Other:

Narrating Hadith By Meaning and Disagreement Among Scholars:

Forms of Tashahhud:

Word of Monotheism:

Examples On Narrating Hadith By Meaning Hadith of Islam and Faith:

Hadith of Ali’s Sahifah:

Disadvantage of Narrating Hadith Through Meaning

Detriment of Narration Through Meaning Linguistically and Rhetorically

Narration in Islam

Composition of Hadith and Its Causes

Detriment of Tales and Talebearer:

The Abbasid State:

The Righteous Fabricators

Ka’b Al-ahbar: 245

Wahb Ibn Munabbih:

Abd Allah Ibn Sallam:

Ka’b and Umar:

Ka’b’s Cunning and Stratagem:

Some Companions Relating From Jewish Rabbis:

Political Stratagem

Ka'b and Mu'awiyah:

Masihiyyat in Hadith

Abu Hurayrah

Shaykh Al-mudirah:

His Imposture (tadlis)

First Narrator Accused in Islam:

His Reporting From Ka'b Al-ahbar:

Abu Hurayrah Follows the Umayyads:

Fabrication of Traditions Against Ali

Narrations of Great Companions

Ambiguous Traditions

The Twelve Caliphs:

Al-dajjal (impostor) 447

Tadwin Al-qur'an:

Revelation Scribes:

A Meditative Pause:

Tadwin Al-hadith: 468

Writing of Hadith Was Forcibly Done:

Stages of Changeability of Tadwin:

Effect of Delay in Tadwin:

The Shiah and Writing of Hadith

Parts of Khabar:

Best Care Was Given To Sanad:

Famous Hadith Books

Malik and His Muwatta’:

Al-bukhari and His Book

Muslim and His Book

Are Sahihayn Containing Most Correct Traditions?

Abu Dawud

Al-tirmidhi

Al-nasa’i

Musnad Ahmad

Ahmad Reporting From an Apostate Companion:

Jarh and Ta’dil

Reliability of the Companions

Adopting Reliability of All the Sahabah

Hypocrites Among Sahabah and Surat Al-tawbah:

Sorcery Hadith Is of Ahad:

Asking For Hadith Without Fiqh (and What the Traditionists Nicknamed With)

Conclusion

The Greatest Calamity Inflicted Islam:

Aspects of Preponderance Contain Contradiction:

Rules and Principles

Original Rules of Rituals and Transactions:

Bibliography

Light On the Muhammadan Sunnah Or Defence of the Hadith

His Imposture (tadlis)
======================

 
 
 

Ulama’ of hadith state that Abu Hurayrah used to defraud; and imposture,
as is known, is to relate from whoever meeting him that which he didn't
hear from him, or from that who lived contemporaneously with him without
meeting him, deluding people that he heard it from him. Imposture is of
several kinds, with all being absolutely abominable, 372  and a number of ulama’ were averse to
tadlis, with Shu'bah 373 being the
severest in disapproving this practice, till saying: To practise
adultery is more desirable to me than practising imposture! He also
said: Imposture is the brother of falsity."

"Among the memorizers are some who vilified whoever known of practising
tadlis among the narrators, refuting totally his narration, though he
using the word of chain, even he was known of defrauding only once, as
was stated by al-Sahfi'i. "Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj reported from Busr ibn
Sa'id, as saying: Observe your duty to Allah and be cautious toward
relating hadith.

By God, we used to sit with Abu Hurayrah, and he was relating traditions
of the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be God's peace and benediction) and
those of Ka'b al Ahbar. On his departure, I would hear some of the
attendants making the hadith of the Messenger of Allah to be from Ka'b,
and hadith of Ka'b to be of the Messenger! In another narration: They
would make Ka'b's utterance as if said by the Messenger of Allah, and
what is said by the Messenger of Allah as if uttered by Ka'b! So guard
against Allah and beware in relating hadith.

Yazid ibn Harun is reported to have said: I heard Shu'bah saying: Abu
Hurayrah used to defraud – i.e. used to narrate whatever he heard from
Ka'b and from the Messenger of Allah, without any discernment between
the two. This hadith was reported by Ibn Asakir. It seems that Shu'bah
is referring through this to the hadith "Whoever enters upon the morning
with the state of ritual impurity (during Ramadan), his fasting is
invalid. And when this hadith was disapproved of him he said: I was told
by some narrator, and did not hear it from the Messenger of Allah."
374

In Ta’wil mukhtalif al-hadith 375  Ibn
Qutaybah said: "Abu Hurayrah used to say: The Messenger of Allah (may
God's peace and benediction be upon him and his Progeny) said so and so,
but in fact he heard it from some trustworthy (thiqah) and related it."

 
 
 

372. Al-Shaykh Ahmad Shakir, Sharh Alfiyyat al-Suyuti, p. 35.

373. He is Shu'bah ibn al-Hajjaj, the leader of men of hadith. He died
in Basrah in 160 H. He was so explicit in his utterances. An example for
his candidness is his saying: "By God I am more well-versed in poetry
than in hadith. If I intended (to please) God I would never come out to
you, and if you sought (pleasure of) God you would never come toward me.
But we love flattery and detest censure."

374. Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-nihayah, vol. VIII, p. 109; And refer
also to my book on Abu Hurayrah, which has elaboration on this saying.

375. See p. 50.