Hadís-i-Mauzuʾ, an invented tradition, is one the untruth of which is beyond dispute.
It is an universal canon that no tradition can be received which is contrary to the Qurán, and it is related that when ʾAyeshah heard Omar say that Muhammad had taught that the dead could hear, she rejected the tradition as spurious, because it was contrary to the teaching of the Quran.
Whatever may be the difference of opinion as to the authority of the various traditions, it must be remembered that they form the groundwork of the different schools of thought of the Muhammadan religion. It is, therefore, impossible for European critics to form a just estimate of the Muhammadan creed without being acquainted with those traditions which are generally received as authentic and genuine.
European writers are unfortunately under the impression that the "Muhammadan revival" is a going back to "first principles," as expressed in the Qurán, whereas, it is, as we have already remarked, a revival of the study of the traditions concerning their Prophet, which study has undoubtedly been promoted by the establishment of printing presses in Egypt,
