Hadith Literature : '
Its Origin, Development & Special Features'
New,
*[A5+] Large Paperback - 188 pages,
by Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi,
Edited & Revised by Abdal Hakim Murad,
Published by the Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge.
Description :
The
hadith, the sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, form a sacred literature which for the Muslims ranks second in importance only to the Qur’an itself.
As a source of law, ethics and doctrine, the vast corpus of
hadith continue to exercise decisive influence. Islamic scholarship has hence devoted immense efforts to gathering and classifying the
hadith, and ensuring their authenticity. This book is the only introduction in English which presents all the aspects of the subject. It explains the origin of the literature, the evolution of the
isnad system, the troubled relationship between scholars and the state, the problem of falsification, and the gradual development of a systematic approach to the material.
This edition is a fully revised and updated version of the original, which was first published in 1961 to considerable scholarly acclaim.
Extract from the
Introduction :
The history of the origin, development and criticism of
hadith literature is a subject as important as it is fascinating. It is important because it serves as an astonishingly voluminous source of data for the history of pre-Islamic Arabia and of early Islam, and for the development of Arabic literature, as well as of Islamic thought in general and Islamic law in particular. It also played a decisive role in establishing a common cultural framework for the whole Islamic world, and continues to wield substantial influence on the minds of the Muslim community; an influence which, it seems clear, will continue for the foreseeable future.
It is fascinating because it sheds so much light on the psychology of the
hadith scholars—the Traditionalists—the devoutly scrupulous as well as the confirmed forgers, and on many of the key political and cultural movements which germinated and developed in the various regions of the Muslim world throughout its complex history. It portrays a brilliant medieval academic world which gave birth to many European scholarly institutions, including the doctorate and the baccalaureate. It also contains many of the basic ideas now current about democracy, justice among mankind and nations, the condemnation of aggression, and the ideal of global peace. All this, moreover, is linked resolutely to the sacred, to a consciousness of man’s exalted meaning and destiny, which seems to mark the Muslims out today more than ever before.
The author, Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi, was Professor of Islamic Culture in the University of Calcutta.
Table of Contents :
---Abbreviations,
---Editor's Preface,
---Author's Preface,
---Introduction.
---[1]. The Event of the
Hadith,
------The Meaning of
Hadith,
------
Hadith and
Sunna,
------The Importance of the
Hadith,
------Assembling the
Hadith,
------The
Muwatta'------The Legal and Historical Traditions,
------Classification of
Hadith Texts.
---[2]. The Companions,
------'Companion' Defined,
------The Number of the Companions,
------The Companion Narrators,
------The Scrupulousness of the Companions,
------The Controversy over
Kitaba,
---[3]. After the Companions,
------The Successors,
------The Traditionists' Attitude to
Hadith,
------The Crisis of Authenticity,
------Critical Traditionists,
------The Science of
Rijal Develops,
------Travelling (
Rihla) in Search of
Hadith,
---[4]. Categories of
Hadith Collections,
------Beginnings,
------The
Musnads,
------The
Musnad of al-Tayalisi,
------The
Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
------Other
Musnad Works,
------The
Musannaf Works,
------The
Musannaf of 'Abd al-Razzaq,
------The
Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shayba,
------The
Sahih of Al-Bukhari,
------The
Sahih of Al-Muslim,
------The
Sunan Works,
------The
Sunan of Abu Daud,
------The
Jami of Al-Tirmidhi,
------The
Sunan of al-Nasa'i,
------The
Sunan of al-Darimi,
------The
Sunan of Ibn Maja,
------The
Sunan of al-Daraqutni,
------The
Sunan of al-Bayhaqi,
------The
Sunan of Sa'id ibn Mansur,
------The
Sunan of Abu Muslim al-Kashshi,
------The
Mu'jam Works,
------Ranking of
Hadith Collections.
---[5]. Some Special Features of the Literature,
------The
Isnad System,
------Academic Procedures,
------Scholars and the State.
---[6]. The Biographical Dictionaries,
------
Asma al-Rijal,
---------Chronology,
---------Biography,
---------Criticism of Narrators,
------General Works,
------The
Tabaqat of Ibn Sa'd,
------The
Kitab al-Tarikh of Al-Bukhari,
------
Al-Jarh wa'l-Ta'dil of al-Razi,
------Dictionaries of Particular Classes,
------Biographical Dictionaries of the Narrators,
------The History of Baghdad by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi,
------The History of Damascus,
------Other Local Collections.
---[7]. The Disciplines of Formal Criticism,
------'
Ilm Riwayat al-Hadith,
------'
Ilm al-Jarh wa'l-Ta'dil,
------Legal Significance of Traditions,
------
Matn Analysis and Criticism,
---Appendix 1. Women in
Hadith Scholarship,
---Appendix 2. The
Hadith and Orientalism,
---Appendix 3. The Leiden Edition of Ibn Sa‘d,
---Notes,
---Works Cited,
---Index.
Also see
Hadith and Sunnah,
Also see
Forty Hadith,
Also see
Hadith Collections,
Also see
Hadith (Darsi).
*Dimensions : 23.4 x 15.6cm.
