Light On the Muhammadan Sunnah Or Defence of the Hadith
Asking For Hadith Without Fiqh (and What the Traditionists Nicknamed With)
There remained one point worth mentioning, which is asking for the hadith in the recent eras, since it being relevant to the topic of my book.
Abu Umar ibn Abd al-Barr said: In regard of seeking the hadith, as done
by a large number of present time 719
people without comprehending it or deliberating its meanings, is
something reprehensible among a group of men of knowledge
Al-Dhahabi (d.748) in his book Bayan zaghal al-ilm wa al-talab an ilm al-hadith, writes:
Most of the muhaddithun, have no knowledge (of hadith), and are not resolved to comprehend the hadith, or following it. And it is not to blame Sufyan al-Thawri for saying: Had the hadith been good, it would have gone away as the good goes away! (The full text of statement of Sufyan is thus: Had this hadith been good (khayr) it would have decreased as the good decreases, but it is evil, so it increases as the evil increases). By God he said the truth! As what good is there in a hadith whose sahih and weak words being intermixed, and not verified, nor its transmitters be investigated, nor being fit for recognizing teachings of the Din. He continued by saying: By God, it is better to forget about these things, as we have become a subject of teasing and mockery for men of intellect, who started to look at us differently, saying: These are the people of hadith!!
After reviewing the course of riwayah and notable narrators in the earlier ages, he said: This intense situation retreated in the 4th Century as compared to the 3rd century, and it is continuing to come down up to the present time. Now the best of today traditionists — though numbering so few — are equal to those who were of low position in the past, despite their large number. Also there can be someone renowned with fiqh and opinion in the past who excels many among the latters in hadith, besides, some of ancient time mutakallimun being more knowledgeable in ilm al-athar than the chiefs (mashayikh) of present time... etc. 721
These were the statements of leaders of hadith in regard of the condition of muhaddithun during the 5th and 8th Hijrah centuries... so how would be the case with those claiming nowadays to be among the muhaddithun, with their level of knowledge being only reading some of hadith books, and learning by heart a few of the traditions contained in them? This alone can never be enough to make of anyone a knowledgeable man, of whose knowledge people can benefit, or trust his sayings or verdicts.
In regard of a man said to be striving much till reaching a degree that could not be attained by any other one, learning by heart all of Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Imam Muhammad Abduh said: “One copy increased in the country…“By God al-Imam said the truth: what he meant that the worth of this man, who was admired by all people due to his memorizing of al-Bukhari, was not more than the value of a copy of al-Bukhari’s book, that can’t move or comprehend !!
Al-Dhahabi, from whom we quoted these words, being in fact the great traditionist and historian of Islam, in regard of whom al-Safadi in his book Nukat al-himyan has said: I have met him and learned from him so many of his compilations, never seeing in him the inaction of traditionists, or non-originality of transmitters.
That was not to be said by al-Safadi but only due to the inertia widely known to afflict the men of hadith. Al-Imam described them also with
putrefication and narrow-mindedness, in his book Risalat al-Islam wa al-Nasraniyyah. 723
If all that was said by al-Safadi about his shaykh for the sake of exempting him from the defect of stiffness (jumud) known to be common among men of hadith, his shaykh al-Dhahabi himself has uttered the following words in their regard in his valuable book Siyar a’lam al-nubala’, in the biography of al-Faqih al-Muhaddith Shaykh al-Islam Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash:
I reported from the book Fawa’id of Abu `Amr Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Nisaburi, from Abu Turab Muhammad ibn al-Faraj who said: I heard Khalid ibn Abd Allah al-Kufi saying: On the way of Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash there was a dog, that on seeing any inkpot owner (i.e. one of scribes of hadith) it would attack him. One day men of hadith have fed it something which caused its death. Abu Bakr then went out, and on seeing it dead said: We all belong to God, that who used to bid to good and forbid from evil has gone away. Nu’aym ibn Hammad says: Abu Bakr ibn Ayyash used to spit at men of hadith.
In Ta’wil mukhtalif al-hadith (p.96) Ibn Qutaybah writes:
We cannot exempt most of men of hadith from censure and blame in our books, due to neglect acquiring knowledge of what they wrote, and comprehend what they compiled, with rushing into seeking to obtain the hadith from ten or twenty ways! And in every correct way and the two ways sufficient evidences are there for that intending to recognize God through his knowledge till going away of their lives, getting nothing of all that but a number of asfar, 724 that fatigued the knowledge-seeker and never benefitted the successor! Whoever be of this class we will view him as a loser of his right, demanding other than which can benefit him.
Such people were called Hashwiyyah and Nabitah
Al-Wazir al-Yamani, in al-Rawd al-basim, says: They were called Hashwiyyah because they used to yahshun (insert) baseless traditions into those ones reported from the Messenger of Allah. That is they used to foist these fabricated traditions into the original ones while they had never been among them.
In his book Diya’ al-ulum, Muhammad ibn Nashwan writes: The reason for calling the Hashwiyyah with this name lies in their approval of so many akhbar without negation. 729
Al-Shi’bi says: The earlier righteous men were averse to relating the hadith abundantly, and if I was able to be moderate and fair in accepting and rejecting, I would not relate any hadith but that which got unanimity of men of hadith.
Al-A’mash said: By God to give in charity a piece of bread is much better for me than relating sixty traditions.
Shu’bah inquired Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani about some hadith, when he replied: I suspect it. He (Shu’bah) said: Your suspicion is to me more lovable than certainty of seven ones.
It is reported too that Shu’bah ibn al-Hajjaj said: O people, the more you progress in hadith, the more you retrograde in the Qur’an.
He also said: I never fear anything to cause me to enter the Fire but only the hadith.
Further he said: I wish I was a bathhouse igniter, and never being engaged in hadith.
Ubayd Allah ibn `Amr said: I was in the meeting in al-A’mash’s house, when some man came and asked him about an issue, for which he couldn’t give him any answer. But he looked at Abu Hanifah saying: O Nu’man, declare your opinion in its regard. And he said: The opinion about it is so and so.
He (Ubayd Allah) said: From where (is that)? He (Abu Hanifah) said: From the point you related it to us. Al-A’mash said: We are the pharmacists,
and you are the physicians. That is: men of hadith are like the pharmacists while the fuqaha’ being like the physicians.
Shu’bah says: I used to (in the past) be delighted whenever sighting anyone of men of hadith! While nowadays nothing is more detestable in my eyes than to see one of them. He also used to say: Verily, this hadith curbs you from remembering Allah, and from prayers (salat). So would you give up (relating the hadith)?
Al-Shi’bi was of the opinion that to be engaged in poetry is safer than relating the hadith. Once upon a day he said to his companions: If I sought (to serve) Allah, I wouldn’t go out for you, and if you sought Allah (His pleasure), you wouldn’t come to me... but we all like flattery and dislike censure.
‘Amr ibn al-Harith says: I have never seen a knowledge more honourable, nor people more foolish than people of hadith!!
Sufyan looked at the men of hadith saying: You are going too far. Had we and you altogether been present in the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, he would have severely beaten us. 730
Mughirah al-Dabbi said: By God I am much more frightened from the debauchees than them (men of hadith).
Sufyan al-Thawri said: We have been indulged in the hadith for sixty years, and I wish I had come out from it self-sufficient, neither against me nor for me. 731
Muhammad ibn Salam says: Yahya ibn Sa’id al-Qattan related to me saying: Reciters of poetry are more mindful than narrators of hadith, since the latters narrate a lot of fabricated traditions. While reciters of poetry recite the falsified (masnu’), criticize it and say that this being falsified. 732
Al-Mazini (the eminent grammarian) was asked about characteristics of men of knowledge, when he said: Men of the Qur’an are charged with confusion and weakness, while men of hadith are charged with hashw (insertion) and raqa’ah (impertinence). And the poets are known with hawaj
(i.e. recklessness and rashness), and the grammarians are known with sluggishness, and in narration of akhbar are quite elegant.
If we intend to cite all the sayings uttered in regard of inanimation of men of hadith, it would be so protracted, so we suffice with what we have already stated.
I conclude this chapter with a regrettable issue, as it indicates how Islam was inflicted with the malady of discord, and partition into several groups. Among the Muslims communities and sects, I can refer to the Mu’tazilah group which was called also al-Adliyyah and its rival group which was called Ashab al-Sunnah, between which there was heated conflict that led them to defame and attack each other.
Ibn Abd al-Barr died in 463 H.
Jami' bayan al-ilm, vol. II, p. 127.
See pp. 6, 9, 11.
See p. 242. In Lisan al-Arab: Kawdan is the cross-bred (hajin), and it is said to be the mule.
See 4th edition, p. 107.
Asfar means books, and plural of sifr.
See Asas al-balaghah of al-Zamakhshari, and this is the notion held by al-Nabitah and al-Nawabit, who are the Hashwiyyah.
Al-Ghutha' is whatever comes on the surface of flood, including scum and filth, and the alike. This name was used for them metaphorically.
Ghuthr is plural of aghthar, meaning in origin the despicable and mean among people.
It means nicknames.
See vol. I, p. 120.
Umar used to hit whoever narrating the hadith. Those whom he beat were Abu Hurayrah and Ka'b al-Ahbar. Refer to my book Shaykh al-mudirah.
All these news and others can be found in the 2nd volume of the book Jami' bayan al-ilm wa fadlih, of the Moroccan Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr.
Abu Ali al-Qali, al-Amali, p. 105.
Mu'jam al-udaba', vol. VII, p. 123.