Hadith

Ḥadīth (حديث‎ ḥadīth, pl. Aḥādīth, أحاديث, ʼaḥādīth, also "Traditions") in Islam are the record of the words, actions, and silent approval, traditionally attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Within Islam the authority of hadith as a source for religious law and moral guidance ranks second only to that of the Quran.

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Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 5 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

In brief, each School of Thought has its own collection of hadith books, and also its own methodology of categorising the grading of hadiths. This means which hadith is authentic, which is accepted, weak, fabricated, and so on.

It is for this reason that there is no specific book both Shi'ah and Sunni scholars would agree on. Yes, there are certain hadiths, in fact many of them, that both Schools would agree on. But not an individual book as a whole.

As for an objective seeker of truth, it is imperitve that one adopts a correct unbiased approach to research into factual information, and read as much as they can from all angles, and ask the Almighty to inspire them, open their inner eye, and guide them to the truth.

And Allah knows best. 

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 5 years ago

We are not in possession of the first hadith that were written. I have not come across a text specifying which statement of the Prophet (S) was first written down during the time of the Prophet (S) ; however, Imam 'Ali (A) used to write down the teachings of the Prophet (S) regularly and lengthily, and this became what was known as Kitab 'Ali (A). 

Most of the hadith that were written down in the early period of Islam were lost/destroyed; however, an early manuscript has been found (you can look into Sahifah Hammam ibn Munabbih). An early extant collection of hadith is the Shi'i collection Kitab Sulaym ibn Qays. 

As for determining which hadith are true or false, you can look into books on the hadith sciences, and as a general rule, correct hadith should agree with the Qur'an and what is generally known about history and the world. 

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Rebecca Masterton, Dr Rebecca Masterton graduated with a BA in Japanese Language and Literature; an MA in Comparative East Asian and African Literature and a PhD in Islamic literature of West Africa. She has been... Answered 5 years ago

I have not come across any ayah or any hadith that says so, although there may be hadiths that do.

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These ten Companions of the Prophet (s) are called the ‘ashra mubashshara'. Although there are some minor variations in the Islamic sources, here is one narration that identifies those 10 individuals.

The Messenger of Allah said: "Abu Bakr is in Paradise, ‘Umar is in Paradise, ‘Uthman is in Paradise, ‘Ali is in Paradise, Talhah is in Paradise, al-Zubayr is in Paradise, ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf is in Paradise, Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas is in Paradise, Sa’id b. Zayd is in Paradise, and Abu ‘Ubaydah b. al-Jarrah is in Paradise."

So here are some interesting facts about this narration:

  1. The first four people in the list became caliphs in exactly that order. Each of them became caliph in a different way. Abu Bakr in a heated exchange in the hall of Saqifa, ‘Umar as appointed by Abu Bakr on his deathbed, ‘Uthman as a result of the odd committee handpicked by ‘Umar with the express purpose of preventing ‘Ali from becoming the next caliph. And ‘Ali in a popular election after the violent riots against ‘Uthman caused his murder.
     
  2. None of the caliphs, or any of their supporters, ever quoted this narration to justify their eligibility for the caliphate.
     
  3. All of the people listed are Muhajir, none of them Ansar.
     
  4. According to a well-known hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (s), was angry with Abu Bakr and stopped speaking to him, and continued assuming that attitude till she died. She is considered by consensus of all Muslims to be the leader of all Muslim women in paradise.
     
  5. ‘Umar got informed once that people were planning on giving the oath of allegiance to ‘Ali after his death. He addressed the people and said:

    (O people!) I have been informed that a speaker amongst you says, 'By Allah, if `Umar should die, I will give the pledge of allegiance to such-and-such person.' 

    One should not deceive oneself by saying that the pledge of allegiance given to Abu Bakr was given suddenly and it was successful. No doubt, it was like that, but Allah saved (the people) from its evil, and there is none among you who has the qualities of Abu Bakr. 

    Remember that whoever gives the pledge of allegiance to anybody among you without consulting the other Muslims, neither that person, nor the person to whom the pledge of allegiance was given, are to be supported, lest they both should be killed

    And no doubt after the death of the Prophet (s) we were informed that the Ansar disagreed with us and gathered in the shed of Bani Sa’ida. ‘Ali and Zubayr and whoever was with them, opposed us, while the emigrants gathered with Abu Bakr. 

    I said to Abu Bakr, 'Let's go to these Ansari brothers of ours.' So we set out seeking them, and when we approached them, two pious men of theirs met us and informed us of the final decision of the Ansar, and said, 'O group of Muhajirin (emigrants) ! Where are you going?' 

    We replied, 'We are going to these Ansari brothers of ours.' They said to us, 'You shouldn't go near them. Carry out whatever we have already decided.' I said, 'By Allah, we will go to them.' And so we proceeded until we reached them at the shed of Bani Sa’ida… Full narration from Sahih al-Bukhari linked here
     

  6. ‘Uthman was not open to good advice from ‘Ali suggesting he fix financial malpractices in his government filled with his Umayyad relatives.

    Narrated by Ibn Al-Hanafiya: If Ali had spoken anything bad about 'Uthman then he would have mentioned the day when some persons came to him and complained about the Zakat officials of 'Uthman. 

    'Ali then said to me, "Go to 'Uthman and say to him, 'This document contains the regulations of spending the Sadaqa of Allah's Apostle so order your Zakat officials to act accordingly." 

    I took the document to 'Uthman. 'Uthman said, "Take it away, for we are not in need of it."

    Source: Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 53, Number 343
     

  7. Abu ‘Ubaydah b. al-Jarrah was the one who went with Abu Bakr and ‘Umar to Saqifa, hours after the Prophet (s) died, to ensure the Ansar did not take over the caliphate. He was presented as a candidate for caliphate in that meeting by Abu Bakr.
     
  8. Talha came out in open warfare against ‘Ali in the Battle of Jamal. In that conflict he sent word to Talha b. ‘Ubaydullah to come and meet him. Talha came to him and ‘Ali said:

    “I adjure you by Allah, did you hear the Messenger of Allah say: "Of whomsoever I am master, `Ali is his master. O Allah, befriend the one who befriends him and be at enmity with one who is at enmity with him?"

    He said: "Yes." ‘Ali said: "Then why do you fight against me?"

    He said: "I do not remember." He (the narrator) said: Then Talha departed.

    Source: al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak `ala al-Sahihayn, Haydarabad: Da'irat al-ma`arif al-nizamiyyah (4 vols), 1334-42 AH vol. 3, p. 371
     

  9. Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas did not participate in any battles alongside ‘Ali during his rule. He preferred to stay neutral.
     
  10. That leaves Sa'id b. Zayd. Other than the fact that he also did not participate in Jamal or Siffin alongside 'Ali, this brother-in-law of 'Umar b. al-Khattab also has one more remarkable attribute.

    He is the only one to narrate this hadith that includes himself in the list!

CONCLUSION

The narration of the 10 who were promised paradise is simply fake news! It is yet another example of fabricated narrations created during and after the civil wars to bolster a Sunni narrative that aimed to cover over the cracks left from that period of great fitna and division in the Muslim community.

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The term al-khilafa al-rashida (the rightly guided caliphate) was coined around or soon after the time of the civil wars that took place between Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib and his opponents.

It was designed to contrast the period of the first 3 caliphs, who were promoted as rightly guided, against the rule of 'Ali who was being denigrated by this comparison.

This will probably come as a surprise to our Sunni friends who clearly believe that ‘Ali is very much a part of the rashidun caliphs.

Yes it’s true today, but it wasn’t the case when this term was coined and the fictitious hadith was invented, amongst so many others, in order to give power to this anti-’Ali propaganda.

Here’s that work of fiction referred to in the question:

“Adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided successors after me. Hold on to it and cling on to it stubbornly.”

This narration is recorded by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

A study of the various chains of narration shows multiple weak and unreliable characters. But notice these ones in particular and see if you can find a pattern.

  • Khalid b. Ma’dan b. Abi Karib al-Kitabi - Belonged to Hims, a Syrian town under the rule of Mu’awiya that was notorious for its people's enmity towards ‘Ali, and he was the chief of police of Yazid b. Mu’awiyah!
  • Thawr b. Yazid - Belonged to Hims as mentioned by al-Dhahabi (Mizan al-I’tidal, vol. 1, p. 374). As mentioned by Ibn Hajar ‘al-’Asqalani (Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 2, p. 34) he hated ‘Ali who had killed his father in a battle. ‘Abd Allah b. Mubarak refrained from narrating from him and considered him a heretic (fasid al­-madhhab).
  • Hajar b. Hajar al-Kila'i - Belonged to Hims and was considered of unknown standing as mentioned by Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalani in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, vol. 3, p. 118.

So this fake hadith was put in circulation to undermine the legitimacy of ‘Ali. Later, after the fall of the Umayyads and the rise of the ‘Abbasid’s, Sunni theology and creed started to take shape. And the chapter of the hatred of ‘Ali was officially closed.

‘Ali was now considered the fourth of these rashidun caliphs.

Abbas Di Palma, Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in... Answer updated 5 years ago

This hadith has been reported in the Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ibn Hanbal and Mustadrak al-Hakim. There are eight chains of transmission of this hadith, all going back to the sahabi 'Irbad Ibn Sariah, none of them is authentic even according to Sunni standard. The hadith therefore cannot be technically relied upon. As far as its content, following the sunna of the Prophet and his successors after him has been established via other widely-reported and more established narrations.

With prayers for your success.

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Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answered 5 years ago

Thank you for your question. A marja is responsible for deriving rulings based on sound methods from the scriptural sources when possible, or ascertaining the appropriate action that a Muslim should adopt in any given situation based on the principles of jurisprudence.

The correctness of a person's action is their own responsibility and for that reason, people in the time of the greater occultation are faced with two choices when they are unable to ascertain the rulings for themselves. They may take precaution in all matters they are not certain about (assuming they know when it is appropriate to take precaution) or they can refer to the rulings of a person who is qualified to ascertain those rulings to the best of his ability and act in accordance with them.

The main evidence for resorting to someone who is qualified, when a person themselves has no means by which to derive the rulings for themselves, is that this is the action of rational people. In the same light, the justification for corresponding with the rulings of the most qualified or most knowledgeable jurist (when the knowledge of who the most knowledgeable marja is, is possible) is that by following the most knowledgeable jurist, you can be more certain that your actions will be acceptable on the Day of Judgment.

May you always be successful.

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Zeinab Donati, Zeinab Donati has been studying books about various Islamic subjects for more than 19 years. She is deeply interested in history and politics as well as social issues in particular those pertaining... Answered 5 years ago

Assalamu aleykum,

There is no hadith that allows to have sexual intercourse before marriage, it is a very wrong assumption. It is undoubtedly forbidden.

Please kindly refer to the book "Marriage and Morals in Islam" by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi:

https://www.al-islam.org/marriage-and-morals-islam-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi/chapter-three-islamic-sexual-morality-2-its#b-handling-sexual-urge-marriage

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Abbas Jaffer, Sheikh Abbas Jaffer is an optometrist by profession and has a Master’s degree in Islamic Sciences. He is a part time lecturer at the Islamic College in London and is currently writing his doctoral... Answered 5 years ago

ّThe practice is based on several reports, amongst them:

Ibn Salam asked the Prophet (S) a number of questions, one of which was, "O Muhammad (S), teach me how to begin and end the recitation of the Qur'an"

The Prophet replied, "Begin with بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم and conclude with صدق الله العلی العظیم"

Majlisi, Bihar, v57, p.243

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In Sahih Muslim, the hadith al-thaqalayn is narrated as follows:

"Yazid b. Hayyan reported, I went along with Husain b. Sabra and 'Umar b. Muslim to Zaid b. Arqam and, as we sat by his side, Husain said to him:

Zaid. you have been able to acquire a great virtue that you saw Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) listened to his talk, fought by his side in (different) battles, offered prayer behind me. Zaid, you have in fact earned a great virtue. Zaid, narrate to us what you heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ).

He said: I have grown old and have almost spent my age and I have forgotten some of the things which I remembered in connection with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), so accept whatever I narrate to you, and which I do not narrate do not compel me to do that.

He then said: One day Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) stood up to deliver sermon at a watering place known as Khumm situated between Mecca and Medina. He praised Allah, extolled Him and delivered the sermon and. exhorted (us) and said: Now to our purpose. O people, I am a human being. I am about to receive a messenger (the angel of death) from my Lord and I, in response to Allah's call, (would bid good-bye to you), but I am leaving among you two weighty things: the one being the Book of Allah in which there is right guidance and light, so hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it. He exhorted (us) (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and then said: The second are the members of my household I remind you (of your duties) to the members of my family."

Online source - https://sunnah.com/muslim/44/55

Saleem Bhimji, Shaykh Saleem Bhimji was born and raised in Canada. After completing his post-secondary education at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he moved to Medina, New York, to study at... Answered 5 years ago

See this link: https://www.al-islam.org/hadith-al-thaqalayn-a-study-of-its-tawatur/some...

for more details on the hadith of Thaqalayn and its study from the hadith books of the Sunni school.