15. ORIGINS OF THE ISNAAD
Every type of literature develops certain features particular to its nature and content and the character of the people who cultivate it, and the distinctive social, political or historical conditions in which it originates and flourishes. Hadeeth literature is no exception to this rule. The isnaad system was used to transmit pre-Islamic poetry. However, it was in the hadeeth literature that it reached its peak at which it was considered an integral part of the religion itself. ‘Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak (d. 181AH), one of the illustrious teachers of Imaam al- Bukhaaree, said: “The isnaad is from the religion. Were it not for the isnaad anyone could say anything he wished. By the end of the first century the science of isnaad was fully developed. Ibn Seereen (d.110), a Successor, said, “[In the beginning] they would not ask about the isnaad. But when the fitnah (turmoil / civil war) happened, they demanded, ‘Name your men to us.’ The the narrations of the Ahlus-Sunnah (Adherents to the Sunnah) would be accepted, while those of Ahlul-Bida’ah (Adherents to Innovations) would be rejected.”That is, prior to the turmoil the isnaad was used only occasionally, but after the turmoil they became cautious.
In order to minimize the significance of the system in Islaam, orientalist scholars have tried to identify non-Arab pre-Islamic sources. Joseph Horovitz cited several instances from Jewish literature in which the isnaad was used before its use among Arabs. He further tried to trace its usage back to the Mosaic period, and by Talmudic times its chain assumed enormous length. Whether the isnaad system really goes back to Mosaic times is open to doubt, as Horovitz did not prove that they were not later interpolations. It has also been noted that the isnaad system was used by the Indians long before Islaam. Occasional use can be found in ancient Hindu, Buddhist and Jain literature. In the great epic, theMahabharta, it states: ‘Vysda composed it, Ganesa seved as a scribe, and the work was handed down by Vaisampayana, who communicated it to the king Janamejaya. Sauti, who was present at the time, heard it and narrated it to the assembly of sages.’
However, wherever the isnaad originated, there is no doubt that having adopted the system, Muslims came to consider the isnaad an indispensable part of the hadeeths and developed it. They gave it a firm foundation by introducing the chronological method, assembling biographies of the transmitters, and establishing a science for determining the value of its contents and the authenticity of its channel of transmission. The ancient Indians, as far as is known, never made any attempt at a rigorous and consistent treatment of the isna ad, nor did they develop the chronological method. Likewise, Jewish literature had no usage of the chronological method thereby rendering their isnaads valueless. In fact, Professor Horovitz, himself, admitted that, ‘In the Talmudic literature there is no idea of chronological method, and the oldest extant work attempting such an arrangement was composed after 885 AD – more than a century later than the earliest Islamic work on isnaad-critique. From this fact,’ he goes on to say, ‘and from the fact that the important Jewish works [of this period] had been composed in the Islamic dominions, it may be inferred that this historical interest was due to the Islamic influence.’
The practice of specifying the isnaad, not only of the hadeeths but also the books in which they were collected, was of immense value in preserving the integrity of books in an age in which printing was unknown, and the creation of spurious and distorted works was a relatively easy task. The scholarly practice of certification seems to be unique in the world’s literary history, just as hadeeth literature is unique in employing a thorough and systematic method of source identification. Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Syriac manuscripts rarely, if ever, supply us with such a wealth of information about a book’s origin and use.
The isnaad system, while originating in connection with the hadeeth literature, was in due course extended by Arab authors to many other genres, including geography, history, and prose fiction.
EVOLUTION OF THE SANAD
Teaching the Sunnah :
The Era of the Prophet
Anything which the Prophet of Islaam said or did is considered to be a part of his Sunnah (i.e. way), which represents the practical application of Islaam according to divine guidance.
The Prophet (r) used to encourage his Sahaabah to learn and memorize his Sunnah in many different ways. Sometimes he would sit them down and have them repeat after him certain Du‘aas which he wanted them to memorize, the same way he would have them learn the Quran. On other occasions he would repeat himself three times so that they could memorize his more significant statements. Sometimes he would give rites were to be performed, then he would tell them to do it as he had done it. At other times, he would have some of the Sahaabah record in writing some more complicated things.
The Era of the Sahaabah
After the death of the Prophet, the older Sahaabah began to teach the younger Sahaabah the sayings and practices of the Prophet which they had not been around to hear or observe. Both the younger and the older Sahaabah used to teach those who had accepted Islaam during the last days of the Prophet’s life, and thus never had an opportunity to learn anything directly from the Prophet.
When Islaam spread all over Arabia and into Syria, Iraq, Persia and Egypt during the reign of the Righteous Caliphs, the Sahaabah began to teach those who newly entered Islaam the principles of the religion. They would say to those who gathered around them, “I saw the Prophet do this,” or “I heard the Prophet say that.” This was how the chain of narration of the Sunnah began. Those new Muslims who studied under the Sahaabah were later referred to as the Taabi‘oon.
Most of the Taabi‘oon used to memorize and record the statements of the Prophet which the Sahaabah used to quote. They used to travel to different parts of the Muslim world of that time in order to learn as much of the Sunnah of the Prophet from as many of the Sahaabah as possible.
Why All This Effort
It is natural that people try to watch and remembers the sayings and deeds of anyone who is dear to them, and there is no doubt that Prophet Muhammad (r) was the most beloved person on earth to his followers. The Prophet (r) himself had enjoined this love on his community saying, “None of you has truly believed until I become more dear to him than this son, his father and all of mankind.”11
Allaah, in the Qur’aan, emphasized for the whole of the Muslim Ummah the extreme importance of the Sunnah of the Prophet (r) by ordering them to obey all of his commands:
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, leave it.” Soorah al-Hashr (59): 7
How could the Muslim Nation obey this divine command after the Prophet’s death?How could they know what Allah’s Messenger had commanded and forbidden if he was no longer with them? Therefore, great care had to be taken to preserve the Sunnah and convey it to each successive generation of Muslims. The Prophet also stressed the great importance of passing on the Sunnah without any alterations by promising them Allaah’s blessings saying, “Allah blesses any man who hears a saying of mine, memorizes it and understands it, then conveys just as he heard it ; for perhaps one who is informed has more understanding than the one who heard it.”He also stressed it by warning them of the severe punishment awaiting anyone who lies on him saying “Whoever lies on me will find his seat in the Hellfire!”
The Era of the Taabi‘oon
When the Sahaabah began to die out and Islaam spread into India, Afghanistan, Russia, China, North Africa and Spain, the Taabi‘oon took up where the Sahaabah had left off and began the great task of teaching the new converts to Islaam the principles of the religion. They would say to those who gathered around them, “I heard such and such a Sahaabee say that he saw the Prophet do this,” or, “I heard such and such a Sahaabee say that he heard the Prophet say that.” In this way the second link in the chain of narration of the Sunnah was added.
Those who studied under the Taabi‘oon were later called Atbaa‘ at-Taabi‘een (followers of the followers). Many of these new students used to travel for days or even months to meet and study under various Taabe‘oon, taking great care in the memorization and the writing down of their teacher’s narrations.
During this period, the righteous caliph, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Azeez (reign 717-719) (reign 717-719), commanded all the great scholars of that time, like Abu Bakr ibn Hazm (d. 737) and Sa‘d ibn Ibraaheeem, to collect all the statements and actions of the Prophet which were being taught because some people in Iraq had begun to make up stories about the Prophet. One of the first scholars among the Taabi‘oon to record the narrations about the Prophet was Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree. Ibn Shihaab not only recorded the statements, but also the names of the narrators and information about them so that those who were making up Hadeeths could be easily identified.
Even though the process of writing down Hadeeths had begun on a large scale, the oral transmission of Hadeeths continued because much more could be conveyed in a shorter period of time. Writing was a slow and tedious process in those days. Writing materials were scarce and the printing press had not been invented.
So the Atbaa‘ at-Taabi‘een taught those who gathered around them much in the same way in which they were taught themselves. They would say to their students, “I heard such and such a Taabi‘ee say that he heard such and such aSahaabee say that he saw the Prophet do this,” or “I heard such and such a Taabi‘ee say that he heard such and such a Sahaabee say that he heard the Prophet say that.” Only a few books of Hadeeth from the time of the Atbaa‘ at-Taabi‘een have reached us. The most famous of them is the book of Maalik ibn Anas called Al-Muwatta, and the most famous copy of Al-Muwatta is that of Maalik’s student Yahyaa ibn Yahyaa from the Berber tribe of Masmoodah.
In the second volume of Yahyaa’s copy of Al-Muwatta, in the chapter on the Dabb (lizard), we find the following: “Maalik told me from Ibn Shihaab from Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl (ibn Hurayf) from ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Abbaas from Khaalid ibn al-Waleed that he accompanied the Prophet to his wife Maymoonah’s house and a roasted Dabb was brought for him (to eat)… so Allaah’s Messenger stretched out his hand to eat some of it. Some of the women who were with Maymoonah said, ‘Inform Allaah’s Messenger of what he is about to eat.’ When he was told that it was Dabb, he removed his hand from it and (Khaalid ibn al- Waleed) asked, ‘Is it Haraam, O Messenger of Allaah?’ He replied , ‘No, but it wasn‘t in my people’s land and I find it loathsome.’ Khaalid then said, ‘I then tore off (a piece of) it and ate it whole the Prophet watched me.’”
The Sanad (chain of transmission) of this Hadeeth is as follows :
Khaalid ibn al-Waleed, Ibn ‘Abbaas and Abu Umaamah were all Sahaabah, but Ibn ‘Abbaas was a young Sahaabee and Abu Umaamah only saw the Prophet just before his death. So Khaalid related this incident to Ibn ‘Abbaas when he asked him about eating Dabb and Ibn ‘Abbaas related it to Abu Umaamah who then told Ibn Shihaab who told Maalik, who in turn wrote it down and told Yahyaa
Following that hadeeth is another narration on the same topic : “Maalik informed me from ‘Abdullaah ibn Deenar from Ibn ‘Umar that a man called out to the Prophet of Allah, ‘O Prophet of Allah, what do you say about Dabb?’ The Prophet of Allah replied, ‘I don’t eat it and I don’t forbid it.”
In this case the Sanad is shorter because the Sahaabee Ibn ‘Umar related it directly to his student Ibn Deenar.
Every type of literature develops certain features particular to its nature and content and the character of the people who cultivate it, and the distinctive social, political or historical conditions in which it originates and flourishes. Hadeeth literature is no exception to this rule. The isnaad system was used to transmit pre-Islamic poetry. However, it was in the hadeeth literature that it reached its peak at which it was considered an integral part of the religion itself. ‘Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak (d. 181AH), one of the illustrious teachers of Imaam al- Bukhaaree, said: “The isnaad is from the religion. Were it not for the isnaad anyone could say anything he wished. By the end of the first century the science of isnaad was fully developed. Ibn Seereen (d.110), a Successor, said, “[In the beginning] they would not ask about the isnaad. But when the fitnah (turmoil / civil war) happened, they demanded, ‘Name your men to us.’ The the narrations of the Ahlus-Sunnah (Adherents to the Sunnah) would be accepted, while those of Ahlul-Bida’ah (Adherents to Innovations) would be rejected.”That is, prior to the turmoil the isnaad was used only occasionally, but after the turmoil they became cautious.
In order to minimize the significance of the system in Islaam, orientalist scholars have tried to identify non-Arab pre-Islamic sources. Joseph Horovitz cited several instances from Jewish literature in which the isnaad was used before its use among Arabs. He further tried to trace its usage back to the Mosaic period, and by Talmudic times its chain assumed enormous length. Whether the isnaad system really goes back to Mosaic times is open to doubt, as Horovitz did not prove that they were not later interpolations. It has also been noted that the isnaad system was used by the Indians long before Islaam. Occasional use can be found in ancient Hindu, Buddhist and Jain literature. In the great epic, theMahabharta, it states: ‘Vysda composed it, Ganesa seved as a scribe, and the work was handed down by Vaisampayana, who communicated it to the king Janamejaya. Sauti, who was present at the time, heard it and narrated it to the assembly of sages.’
However, wherever the isnaad originated, there is no doubt that having adopted the system, Muslims came to consider the isnaad an indispensable part of the hadeeths and developed it. They gave it a firm foundation by introducing the chronological method, assembling biographies of the transmitters, and establishing a science for determining the value of its contents and the authenticity of its channel of transmission. The ancient Indians, as far as is known, never made any attempt at a rigorous and consistent treatment of the isna ad, nor did they develop the chronological method. Likewise, Jewish literature had no usage of the chronological method thereby rendering their isnaads valueless. In fact, Professor Horovitz, himself, admitted that, ‘In the Talmudic literature there is no idea of chronological method, and the oldest extant work attempting such an arrangement was composed after 885 AD – more than a century later than the earliest Islamic work on isnaad-critique. From this fact,’ he goes on to say, ‘and from the fact that the important Jewish works [of this period] had been composed in the Islamic dominions, it may be inferred that this historical interest was due to the Islamic influence.’
The practice of specifying the isnaad, not only of the hadeeths but also the books in which they were collected, was of immense value in preserving the integrity of books in an age in which printing was unknown, and the creation of spurious and distorted works was a relatively easy task. The scholarly practice of certification seems to be unique in the world’s literary history, just as hadeeth literature is unique in employing a thorough and systematic method of source identification. Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Syriac manuscripts rarely, if ever, supply us with such a wealth of information about a book’s origin and use.
The isnaad system, while originating in connection with the hadeeth literature, was in due course extended by Arab authors to many other genres, including geography, history, and prose fiction.
EVOLUTION OF THE SANAD
Teaching the Sunnah :
The Era of the Prophet
Anything which the Prophet of Islaam said or did is considered to be a part of his Sunnah (i.e. way), which represents the practical application of Islaam according to divine guidance.
The Prophet (r) used to encourage his Sahaabah to learn and memorize his Sunnah in many different ways. Sometimes he would sit them down and have them repeat after him certain Du‘aas which he wanted them to memorize, the same way he would have them learn the Quran. On other occasions he would repeat himself three times so that they could memorize his more significant statements. Sometimes he would give rites were to be performed, then he would tell them to do it as he had done it. At other times, he would have some of the Sahaabah record in writing some more complicated things.
The Era of the Sahaabah
After the death of the Prophet, the older Sahaabah began to teach the younger Sahaabah the sayings and practices of the Prophet which they had not been around to hear or observe. Both the younger and the older Sahaabah used to teach those who had accepted Islaam during the last days of the Prophet’s life, and thus never had an opportunity to learn anything directly from the Prophet.
When Islaam spread all over Arabia and into Syria, Iraq, Persia and Egypt during the reign of the Righteous Caliphs, the Sahaabah began to teach those who newly entered Islaam the principles of the religion. They would say to those who gathered around them, “I saw the Prophet do this,” or “I heard the Prophet say that.” This was how the chain of narration of the Sunnah began. Those new Muslims who studied under the Sahaabah were later referred to as the Taabi‘oon.
Most of the Taabi‘oon used to memorize and record the statements of the Prophet which the Sahaabah used to quote. They used to travel to different parts of the Muslim world of that time in order to learn as much of the Sunnah of the Prophet from as many of the Sahaabah as possible.
Why All This Effort
It is natural that people try to watch and remembers the sayings and deeds of anyone who is dear to them, and there is no doubt that Prophet Muhammad (r) was the most beloved person on earth to his followers. The Prophet (r) himself had enjoined this love on his community saying, “None of you has truly believed until I become more dear to him than this son, his father and all of mankind.”11
Allaah, in the Qur’aan, emphasized for the whole of the Muslim Ummah the extreme importance of the Sunnah of the Prophet (r) by ordering them to obey all of his commands:
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, leave it.” Soorah al-Hashr (59): 7
How could the Muslim Nation obey this divine command after the Prophet’s death?How could they know what Allah’s Messenger had commanded and forbidden if he was no longer with them? Therefore, great care had to be taken to preserve the Sunnah and convey it to each successive generation of Muslims. The Prophet also stressed the great importance of passing on the Sunnah without any alterations by promising them Allaah’s blessings saying, “Allah blesses any man who hears a saying of mine, memorizes it and understands it, then conveys just as he heard it ; for perhaps one who is informed has more understanding than the one who heard it.”He also stressed it by warning them of the severe punishment awaiting anyone who lies on him saying “Whoever lies on me will find his seat in the Hellfire!”
The Era of the Taabi‘oon
When the Sahaabah began to die out and Islaam spread into India, Afghanistan, Russia, China, North Africa and Spain, the Taabi‘oon took up where the Sahaabah had left off and began the great task of teaching the new converts to Islaam the principles of the religion. They would say to those who gathered around them, “I heard such and such a Sahaabee say that he saw the Prophet do this,” or, “I heard such and such a Sahaabee say that he heard the Prophet say that.” In this way the second link in the chain of narration of the Sunnah was added.
Those who studied under the Taabi‘oon were later called Atbaa‘ at-Taabi‘een (followers of the followers). Many of these new students used to travel for days or even months to meet and study under various Taabe‘oon, taking great care in the memorization and the writing down of their teacher’s narrations.
During this period, the righteous caliph, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Azeez (reign 717-719) (reign 717-719), commanded all the great scholars of that time, like Abu Bakr ibn Hazm (d. 737) and Sa‘d ibn Ibraaheeem, to collect all the statements and actions of the Prophet which were being taught because some people in Iraq had begun to make up stories about the Prophet. One of the first scholars among the Taabi‘oon to record the narrations about the Prophet was Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Shihaab az-Zuhree. Ibn Shihaab not only recorded the statements, but also the names of the narrators and information about them so that those who were making up Hadeeths could be easily identified.
Even though the process of writing down Hadeeths had begun on a large scale, the oral transmission of Hadeeths continued because much more could be conveyed in a shorter period of time. Writing was a slow and tedious process in those days. Writing materials were scarce and the printing press had not been invented.
So the Atbaa‘ at-Taabi‘een taught those who gathered around them much in the same way in which they were taught themselves. They would say to their students, “I heard such and such a Taabi‘ee say that he heard such and such aSahaabee say that he saw the Prophet do this,” or “I heard such and such a Taabi‘ee say that he heard such and such a Sahaabee say that he heard the Prophet say that.” Only a few books of Hadeeth from the time of the Atbaa‘ at-Taabi‘een have reached us. The most famous of them is the book of Maalik ibn Anas called Al-Muwatta, and the most famous copy of Al-Muwatta is that of Maalik’s student Yahyaa ibn Yahyaa from the Berber tribe of Masmoodah.
In the second volume of Yahyaa’s copy of Al-Muwatta, in the chapter on the Dabb (lizard), we find the following: “Maalik told me from Ibn Shihaab from Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl (ibn Hurayf) from ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Abbaas from Khaalid ibn al-Waleed that he accompanied the Prophet to his wife Maymoonah’s house and a roasted Dabb was brought for him (to eat)… so Allaah’s Messenger stretched out his hand to eat some of it. Some of the women who were with Maymoonah said, ‘Inform Allaah’s Messenger of what he is about to eat.’ When he was told that it was Dabb, he removed his hand from it and (Khaalid ibn al- Waleed) asked, ‘Is it Haraam, O Messenger of Allaah?’ He replied , ‘No, but it wasn‘t in my people’s land and I find it loathsome.’ Khaalid then said, ‘I then tore off (a piece of) it and ate it whole the Prophet watched me.’”
The Sanad (chain of transmission) of this Hadeeth is as follows :
Khaalid ibn al-Waleed, Ibn ‘Abbaas and Abu Umaamah were all Sahaabah, but Ibn ‘Abbaas was a young Sahaabee and Abu Umaamah only saw the Prophet just before his death. So Khaalid related this incident to Ibn ‘Abbaas when he asked him about eating Dabb and Ibn ‘Abbaas related it to Abu Umaamah who then told Ibn Shihaab who told Maalik, who in turn wrote it down and told Yahyaa
Following that hadeeth is another narration on the same topic : “Maalik informed me from ‘Abdullaah ibn Deenar from Ibn ‘Umar that a man called out to the Prophet of Allah, ‘O Prophet of Allah, what do you say about Dabb?’ The Prophet of Allah replied, ‘I don’t eat it and I don’t forbid it.”
In this case the Sanad is shorter because the Sahaabee Ibn ‘Umar related it directly to his student Ibn Deenar.
By Bilal Philips
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John Doe
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John Doe
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John Doe
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