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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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... Answer updated 4 years ago

There does not appear to be much in-depth history on the circumstances of these narrations and who transmitted them. By the time that they were narrated in Bukhari and Muslim the concept of 'Imam' did exist explicitly and was known in wider circles. It certainly would not have been in the interests of Bukhari to cite a narration that mentioned the word 'Imam' and 'Bani Hashim', since that would have clearly overturned the forced legitimacy of Abu Bakr and 'Umar's caliphates. In particular 'Umar held that that the successorship belonged to 'the people' (meaning Quraysh). The Uthmaniyya, being of Quraysh, therefore held that the caliphate belonged to them. One can surmise that perhaps there may have been narrations in circulation predicting twelve Imams, but that the wording had been 'adjusted' to mask the true implication, if not to 'redirect' the meaning of the narration to suit political purposes. It really needs an expert like Suleiman Ali Mourad (who has analysed the 'transferral of authorship' between the Ahl al-Bayt (as) and various figures in the Sufi tradition, i.e. the attribution to Sufi figures of sayings of the Ahl al-Bayt) to do a proper textual, historical analysis of these narrations.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answer updated 4 years ago

The circulated narration is not authentic at all and it contradicts with the authentic narrations from the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) that his successors will be twelve only.

Those who are behind circulating this false narration are trying to prove a claim of a person in Basra Iraq who is been financed by enemies of Shia to create a rift between the Shia. He claims that he is the son of the Imam Al-Mahdi (AS) while people of his town know his father and family and confirm that he is a liar.

More details about this liar and his false claims and his financiers are available on many Shia websites.

Wassalam.

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... Answered 4 years ago

Yes, the hadith exists. However, some people use it to promote movements or groups that are active today, and that is not correct. The hadith is speaking about the time AFTER the reappearance of the 12th Imam (i.e. the Mahdi), an event that will be accompanied by major signs. We will know when it happens, and it has not happened yet!

The hadith is mentioned in Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 53, p. 148, no. 6 and 7. One says that after the Mahdi (A) appears, the other Imams will be brought back to life and live and die, and then after them, 12 "mahdis". The other just speaks of 12 "mahdis" after the "mahdi".

Since this hadith is about something predicted for the end of time, it isn't possible to say whether it is correct or not. There is consensus on certain general predictions for the end of time - such as the return of the Mahdi, the raj'ah or return to life of those of most intense faith and most intense wickedness, and some major signs. However, details like this may or may not be accurate. 
 

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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... Answered 4 years ago

The major Sunni hadith collections were compiled before the major Shi'i collections primarily because the Shi'is had the 12 Imams to rely upon to answer their questions, and the 12 Imams are considered to be absolutely accurate in their transmission of hadith from the Prophet (S). 

Additionally, Shi'is were subject to intense persecution for much of their early history, and so it was more difficult to compile such books.

As for the correctness or incorrectness of hadith, this is a subject discussed in depth in the study of hadith, and I would recommend that you read some books on the subject. Here is a suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Hadith-Abd-Al-Hadi-Al-Fadli/dp/1904063470

However, one area that the Shi'is had an advantage is that hadith were being recorded during the lifetimes of the Imams (in that the major compilations, such as al-Kafi, were not the first records of hadith), whereas Sunni recording of hadith, for the most part, only started a hundred years after the Prophet (S). (I use the term "Sunni" loosely here to refer to what eventually became Sunnism)

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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 4 years ago

This is a complicated question, since Muslims of differing sects have differing opinions about what hadith narrators are deemed acceptable, or which hadith are deemed acceptable.

For this reason, I feel it is best to let the content speak for itself, and so I invite you to read Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim carefully. Do you feel that all of the narrations reflect a deep, dignified set of teachings about God, ethics, or the Prophet (S)? Do you feel that all the narrations are in accordance with reason and an enlightened worldview?

Certainly, some of them are, but you only need to find one or two that are not to suggest that they are all not.

For instance, might I point to a narration in the section on the "oneness of God" (the final chapter), in which the Prophet Sulayman (A) has relations with 60 wives in one night. This is of course his personal business, but is it really realistic, respectful, or necessary to even mention it? And, what is this doing in a chapter on God? Yes, there is a point to the narration (that one should say "if Allah wills" for everything), but this is hardly a serious discussion about the nature of Allah. In fact, most of the narrations in this chapter are rather shallow and do not really add much to our understanding of the nature of Allah apart from some surface level things. 

If, after reading Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, you feel that they are all transmitted from a man of God, or on behalf of him by his close supporters, that's fine and is your perspective. After all, there have been plenty of Muslims historically that embraced these books. I am not of that view, but that's part of why I'm not Sunni. Allah in the Qur'an encourages us to think.

(However, here is someone's work on the topic which you could consider: https://www.al-islam.org/critical-assessment-sahih-bukhari-and-sahih-muslim-sayyid-ali-al-husayni-al-milani)

As for al-Kafi, there is no need to consider it all as true. However, one could say that it contains truth and that much of it is true. Anyway, if you take one subject - say, the oneness of God - and compare the sections of Sahih al-Bukhari and al-Kafi, you will find a significant difference in terms of the depth of the discussion. But, I leave it to you to do the comparison. 

 

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A practical way to get such counts is to use specialist hadith software or websites. It will need a good command over Arabic as such advanced and comprehensive search tools are not available in English.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 4 years ago

Yes, there is a Hadeeth is Makarimul Akhlaaq (Page 119) from the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) that : Praying with turban is much more better than praying with out turban. 

Wassalam.

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I wish to add some more names and details to complement the respected Sayyid al-Musawi's clear response to this question.

Overall, a good book one can refer to for names of the nawasib - enemies of the Ahl al-bayt (a) - who appear in Sunni hadith is Hashim Ma`ruf al-Hasani's Dirasat fi’l hadith wa’l muhaddithin published in Beirut.

Here are some more examples of such ignoble people appearing in Sunni hadith sources.

1. `Umar b. Sa`d

`Umar b. Sa`d needs no introduction for those aware of the details of the tragedy of Karbala. This son of Sa`d b. Abi Waqqas, the companion of the Prophet (s), led the troops on the ground against Imam al-Husayn (a).

Al-Tabari quotes Ibn Sa`d, after the Imam (a) had been mercilessly killed: 

Then `Umar b. Sa’d called out among his followers, "Who will volunteer [to go] to al-Husayn and make his horse trample on al-Husayn’s body?" Ten volunteered. Among them was Ishaq b. Haywah al-Hadrami, who was the one who stole al-Husayn’s shirt and later got leprosy, and Ahbash b. Marthad b. ‘Alqamah b. Salamah al-Hadrami. They trampled on the body of al-Husayn with their horses until they had crushed his back and his chest. I learned that some time later an arrow from an unknown direction hit Ahbash b. Marthad as he was standing in a battle. It split his heart, and he died. (Al-Tabari, al-Ta’rikh, translated into English as ‘History of al-Tabari – The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu’awiyah’, Howard, pp. 163) 

Some example of the Prophet’s (s) hadith quoted by Sunni scholars on the authority of `Umar b. Sa`d! 

  • Al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, kitab sifat al-janna `an rasulillah, volume 4, page 678 
  • Al-Nasa’i, al-Sunan al-mujtaba, kitab tahrim al-dam, volume 7, page 121 
  • Al-Nasa’i, al-Sunan al-kubra’, volume 6, page 263 
  • Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra, volume 3, page 375 
  • Ahmad b. Hanbal, al-Tabarani, and others. 

2. `Abd al-Rahman b. `Abza

`Abd al-Rahman b. `Abza (or `Abzi) al-Khuza`i was a companion of the Prophet (s). He was present with the troops of Ibn Ziyad who fought and killed Imam al-Husayn (a). (See al-Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, page 298).

See some of the narrations by him in: 

  • Al-Bukhari, Sahih, kitab al-tayammum, volume 1, page 129 
  • Muslim, Sahih, kitab al-hayd, volume 1, page 280 
  • Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maja, and many others 

3. al-Harith b. Yazid al-Kufi

Al-Harith b. Yazid al-`Akali al-Taymi al-Kufi seems to the al-Harith b. Yazid b. Ruwaym on whose services Ibn Ziyad called upon by sending him from his own base in Kufa to join `Umar b. Sa`d’s army (See al-Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, page 254). No other ‘al-Harith b. Yazid’s in rijal lexicons seem to hail from Kufa.

See his narrations in: 

  • Al-Bukhari, Sahih, kitab al-`itq, volume 2, page 898 
  • Muslim, Sahih, kitab fada’il al-sahaba, volume 4, page 1957 
  • Al-Nasa’i, Ibn Maja, and others. 

4. Shabath b. Rib`i

Abu `Abd al-Quddus Shabath b. Rib`i al-Tamimi al-Yarbu`i was a man with a checkered background. A companion of the Prophet (s), he used to be once on the side of Imam ‘Ali (a), then joined the Khawarij and later was part of Ibn Ziyad’s troops in Karbala fighting Imam al-Husayn (a)!

See: 

  • al-Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, page 254; 
  • al-`Asqalani, al-‘Isaba, volume 3, page 376 
  • al-`Asqalani, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, volume 4, page 266. 

From al-Tabari, from the scene of the battle of Karbala: 

He (i.e.`Umar b. Sa`d) put `Azrah b. Qays al-Ahmasi in command of the cavalry and Shabath b. Rib`i al-Yarbu`i in command of the footsoldiers. (Al-Tabari, al-Ta’rikh, translated into English as ‘History of al-Tabari – The Caliphate of Yazid b. Mu’awiyah’, Howard, pp. 121) 

Some narrations from Shabath in: 

  • Abu Dawud, Sunan, kitab al-‘adab, volume 4, page 315. 
  • Al-Nasa’i, al-Sunan al-kubra’, volume 6, page 204. 

5. Qadi Shurayh

Abu Umayyah Shurayh b. al-Harith b. Qays al-Kindi was a judge in Kufa. He connived with the Umayyad authorities in Kufa in suppressing the Shi’a and supporters of Imam al-Husayn (a) from rallying to the call of Muslim b. `Aqil and Hani’ b. `Urwa shortly before the onset of the battle of Karbala. He had a share in the responsibility for the murder of Hani’ by Ibn Ziyad (See al-Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-Tiwal, page 238).

Shurayh narrates traditions in: 

  • Al-Nasa’i, Sunan, kitab al-`umra, volume 6, page 277 
  • Ahmad b. Hanbal’s al-Musnad, and other books. 

There are many other narrators who cursed and hated Imam ‘Ali (a), as confirmed by Sunni books of rijal, and are yet present in major Sunni books narrating Prophetic hadith.

Here is a list that has been gathered from several sources, particularly al-Hasani’s work mentioned above. The list is in no particular order and there are quite likely to be more such narrators that could not be identified and included.

  1. Hurayz (or Hariz) b. ‘Uthman
  2. Busr b. Artat 
  3. `Urwah b. al-Zubayr
  4. Abu Bardah b. Abu Musa al-Ash`ari
  5. Ishaq b. Suwayd b. Hubayrah
  6. Husayn b. Numayr al-Wasiti
  7. Dawud b. al-Husayn al-Madani
  8. Muhammad b. Ziyad al-Alhani, Abu Sufyan al-Himsi
  9. al-Mughirah b. Muqsim, Abu Hisham
  10. `Abdullah b. Salim al-Ash`ari al-Himsi
  11. Qays b. Abi Hazim al-Bajali
  12. Thawr b. Zayd al-Daylami
  13. al-Walid b. Kathir bar Yahya al-Madani
  14. Walid b. `Uqba
  15. `Abdullah b. Abi Sarh
  16. Ash’ath b. Qays
  17. Marwan b. al-Hakam
  18. Abu Bakra Nafee` al-Thaqafi
  19. Ahmad b. Abdah Musa Janabi
  20. Ishaq b. Suwayd b. Hubayrah al-`Adwi al-Taymi
  21. Isma`il b. Samee` al-Hanafi
  22. Thawr b. Yazid Kala’i al-Himsi, Abu Khalid
  23. Jarir b. `Abdullah al-Bajali
  24. Habib b. Maslama
  25. Khalid b. Salamah al-Kufi
  26. Khalid b. Abdullah al-Qasri
  27. Rashid b. Sa`d Maqrahi
  28. Rafi` b. Khadeej
  29. Ziyad b. `Alaqah
  30. Sa`id b. al-`As al-Umawi
  31. Sa`id b. al-Musayyab
  32. Samurah b. Jundab
  33. Shaqeeq b. Salamah al-Asadi
  34. `Abd al-Rahman b. Habib (Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Aslami)
  35. `Abdullah b. al-Zubayr
  36. `Abdullah b. Zayd Abu Qalaba
  37. `Abdullah b. Salim
  38. `Abd al-`Aziz b. Marwan
  39. `Abd al-Malik b. Marwan al-‘Umawi
  40. `Uthman b. `Asim
  41. `Umar b. Thabit al-Ansari al-Khazraji
  42. `Imran b. Husayn
  43. `Amr b. `Abdullah, Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’I
  44. Masruq b. Ajdah
  45. Nafi` b. ‘Amr, Abu Sa`ud al-Ansari
  46. Hisham b. Isma`il
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 4 years ago

The books of Bukhari and Muslim narrated from many persons who were open enemies of Imam Ali (AS) like Imran Ibn Hattaan عمران بن حطان who was a Kharijite who praised Ibn Muljim the murderer of Imam Ali (AS). Huraiz Ibn Uthman Al-Himsi is also one of the narrators in Bukhari. He was also a well known enemy who was cursing Imam Ali (AS) from the pulpit. Tahtheb Al-Tahtheeb By Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani 1:159.

There are many of such narrators you can find them in the books of Ilm Al-Rijaal. 

The scholars of Ilm Al-Rijaal go through the books of history and Hadeeth and Rijaal and determine such narrators to avoid their narrations.

Bukhari who lived during the time of many Imams from Alul Bayt (AS) did not narrate any Hadeeth from Imam Jafar Al-Sadiq (AS) knowing hat he was the most prominent teacher of leading scholars of that time. On the other hand Bukhari narrated around one thousand Hadeeths from Ibn Shihab Al-Zohri who was a servant of Bani Umayyah.

Bukhari did not narrate from Fatimah , The daughter of the Prophet (SAWA) but just one Hadeeth, while he narrated from Abu Huraira more than six hundred Hadeeths.

Wassalam

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 4 years ago

This narration is not authentic at all, not only among our Shia Ulama but even among many Sunni Ulama like Maalik Bin Anas and other leading Sunni Ulama , who denied the existence any such Hadeeth. 

Wassalam

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 4 years ago

'Ilm Al-Rijaal is the knowledge about the authenticity of narrators which leads us to evaluate their narrations to decide whether we can believe them or not.

In Quran Allah (SAWA) says: ( قل آلله أذن لكم أم على الله تفترون )Did Allah permit you or you falsely claim on Him?(Sura Younus;59)

Which is very clear that we can not claim any thing in religion of Allah with out authentic evidence. Narrations can be authentic and can be not. That is why we must study the narrators very carefully before taking their narrations as the matters of religion are a big responsibility on us. 

We also read in Quran that before believing any narrator we must be sure about his authenticity. (Al-Hujoraat ; 6)

We also have plenty of Hadeeths from the Prophet (SAWA) and Infallible Imams in this important matter. In fact, we can not take any narration in any important matter in life before we trust the authenticity of the narrator, so what about matters of religion?

That is why, 'Ilm al-Rijaal is necessary to evaluate narrations through evaluating the narrators.

Wassalam

Wassalam

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I understand where you are coming from with this question. Investigating and researching the topics around the Shi'a Sunni division can be mind boggling when there are claims and counter claims from both sides and the quality of evidence put forward by each side also gets challenged by the other.

Here is a suggestion to help you get started that is designed with your preference in mind of avoiding sectarian bias in your research.

Step 1

Start with the Nahj al-Balagha which is a collection of sermons and sayings by Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib.  Although it was compiled by a Shi'a scholar named Sharif al-Radi but it attracted attention from many Sunni scholars who wrote commentaries on it. 

For instance see the list of commentators on this page, many of them are Sunni names - https://www.al-islam.org/articles/commentaries-nahjul-balaghah-syed-waheed-akhtar

The reason for the wider Sunni interest was that the sermons included by Sharif al-Radi could be traced to other sources acceptable to both the Shi'a and Sunni communities.  And, perhaps more importantly, a large part of the value of the book was in the eloquence of words and thoughts expressed by 'Ali who was a master at it, being the close disciple and confidante of the Prophet Muhammad (s). In fact, for many, the eloquence of the words also testifies to its authentic origins.

You can find the Nahj al-Balagha here - https://www.al-islam.org/nahjul-balagha-part-1-sermons

When you go through this book, and I do suggest you go cover to cover, you will gain an insight into what 'Ali was saying to the people of Kufa during his time as the fourth caliph. You will get a sense of his views on the disputes, the civil wars, the various famous Companions and mothers of the believers who often get mentioned in Shi'a Sunni debates.

Step 2

Once you are through that, it is time to understand the entire history of the debate on the succession to the Prophet Muhammad (s). Contrary to what many people realise, a good understanding of the period of the civil wars during Imam 'Ali's rule is essential to understanding and evaluating the reports on the earlier period of Islamic history.

In order to avoid any intentional or unintentional sectarian bias by a Shi'a or Sunni author, I suggest you instead go through a book called Succession to Muhammad - A Study of the early Caliphate by a famous non-Muslim academic called Wilferd Madelung.

This book does a good job of looking at the often contradicting reports on early Islamic history and analyses the likelihood of bias of individual narrators and, therefore, reports. Although somewhat heavy reading, it will help you get a pretty good idea of what really happened back then in early Islam.

Good luck with your research.