Selections from Muḥammadan Traditions/Preface
PREFACE
In the system of Islám the Traditions occupy a place second only in importance to the Qurʾán itself. They are described as a record of 'the words of the Prophet and his actions and what he permitted.' Their importance is derived from the Muslim belief that Muḥammad, in all he said and did, was divinely guided. The Traditions are technically known as waḥi gẖairuʾl-matlú, unrecited revelation, in contradistinction to the revelation of the Qurʾán which is said to have been recited word for word by Gabriel to the Prophet. Thus it will be seen that whilst the Qurʾán, according to Muslims, is a purely objective revelation, in the Traditions the inspiration is subjective only.
In Islám the Traditions are used both in the formation of canon law and also in the exegesis of the Qurʾán; whilst not a little of what we know of the life and character of Muḥammad is derived from the same source. As every word and act of the Prophet is for the Muslim a divine rule of faith and practice, the influence of the Traditions on the lives of millions, all over the world, is difficult to over-estimate.
A Tradition is technically divided by Muslim theologians into two parts. There is first, the isnád, the support or authority on which the Tradition rests. This consists of the names of the succession of reporters by whom the particular Tradition was handed down. This isnád, to be complete, must begin with the name of the original person who actually heard the words spoken by Muḥammad, and must continue in an unbroken chain up to the name of the last reporter from whom the written record was made, when, of course, oral transmission automatically ceased. In a genuine Tradition (Ḥadíṯẖuʾṣ-Ṣaḥíḥ) each narrator in the Isnád must be a pious man, of unblemished character. Traditions in which there is a break in the chain of narrators are of slight value.[1] The second part of a Tradition consists of the actual text of what Muhammad is reported to have said or done. This is called the matu or text.
The Traditions were at first handed down orally from one generation to the next, and it was not until more than a century had passed away after the death of Muḥammad that any attempt was made to collect and reduce them to writing. Since that time, however, very numerous collections of Traditions have been made, amounting, according to the Itháíuʾn-Nubala, to no less than 1465 different collections. By general consent six collections have come to be accepted as of paramount authority and value amongst Sunni Muslims. These are the collections of Al-Buḵẖárí who died in 256 A.H., Muslim who died in 260 A.H., Abú Dáud who died in 275 A.H. Ibn Májah who died in 273 A.H., At-Tirmiḏẖí who died in 299 A.H., and An-Nasáʾi who died in 303 A.H. These six great collections are known to-day as the Al-Kutubuʾs-sitta, 'the six (correct) books', and arc universally revered by Sunnis all over the world. They are not all regarded as of equal authority, however, for the first two are considered as of pre-eminent authority and are known as ṣaḥiḥ, sound or authentic, whilst the others are simply called sunun, usages, or ḥasan, good.
As hundreds of Traditions are found repeated in more than one of the above-mentioned collections, efforts have been made from time to time to eliminate repetition and at the same time secure a trustworthy and thoroughly representative collection of Traditions by compiling, from these six, one standard and authoritative collection. One of the most famous of such compilations, or reductions, is that known as the Mishkátuʾl-Maṣábíḥ from which the present selection has been drawn. This work, originally called the Maṣábíh, was compiled by Imám Abá Muḥammad al-Ḥusain ibn Masʿúd al-Firáiʾ of Baghdad, who died in 516 A.H.. It contained 4,484 Traditions, of which 2,434 were ṣaḥiḥ and the rest ḥasan. The compiler, besides making use of the 'six (correct) books' mentioned above, also used a few other well-known collections such as those of Al-Dáraqutni, Al-Baihaqi, Al-Dárimi and Razán. In the year 737 A.H. Shaiḵẖ Waliyuʾd-Dín Abú ʿAbduʾlláh Maḥmúd revised and enlarged the Maṣábíh, adding another chapter to each section. He also added much to the value of the original compilation by quoting the authorities whence the various Traditions were derived. This revised edition is now known as the Mishkátuʾl-Maṣábáḥ.
The Mishkát was translated into English, with many omissions however, by Captain Matthews in 1809. That work is long since out of print, and now unobtainable. Matthews' translation suffers by being paraphrastic to a degree, and loses in value by its omission of the names of the authorities from whose compilations the various Traditions have been taken.
Some slight variations exist in different editions of the Mishkát in the headings to books and sections. The present translation of selections was made from a Lahore edition of 1321 A.H.
No attempt is here made to discuss the question of the authenticity and integrity of the Traditions. The reader will find the whole subject critically discussed in the translator's The Traditions in Islam, and to that work he is referred.
It is hoped that this book of Selections will enable the English reader to form an adequate idea of the general character and scope of Muslim Tradition, and will help missionaries in particular to a more sympathetic approach to the followers of the Arabian Prophet.
For typographical reasons diacritical letters such as ḏẖ ṯẖ have not been used.
I have not dealt with the question of the authenticity and genuineness of the Traditions.[2] In modern days, intelligent Muslims place less reliance on many of them. It is known that in the first century of Islam Traditions were forged for political and religious reasons. The late Sir Sayyed Aḥmad accepted very few as genuine ones. The Hon'ble Sir ʿAbduʾr-Raḥím says: 'Nothing has been a more fruitful source of conflicting opinions in matters of law among the Sunni jurists than the question whether a particular tradition is to be regarded as genuine or not, though it may be one for whose authority one or more of these writers (Buḵẖári and Muslim) may have vouchsafed'[3]
The study of the Traditions (ʿIlmuʾ-l-Ḥadíth) is an important part of the curriculum of Muslim Theological Schools. Traditions are of varying value. A Tradition of the highest class is called Ḥadíthuʾl-Mutawátir. In this case the isnád must be perfect, that is, the chain of narrators must be continuous, and each narrator must have been a man of unblemished conduct. These Traditions are few in number. Next to them come Traditions known as Ḥadíthuʾṣ-Ṣaḥíḥ or genuine Traditions. Those in the collections made by Bukhári and Muslím are generally placed in this class. Traditions known as Ḥadíthuʾl-Ḥasan, are accepted as good, though inferior to the other two classes. Weak Traditions, Ḥadíthuʾḍ-Ḍaʾíf, are those, amongst the narrators of which were men of doubtful reputation, or who committed the crime of introducing innovations (bidʿat) in belief or in worship. A Ḥadíthuʾl-Muʿallaq is a Tradition in which there is a break in the chain of narrators, that is, the isnád is not perfect. If the Tradition does not come from a Companion of the Prophet, but from a Tábiʾ, a man of the next generation, it is called a Mursal. In some cases there are other defects: these have to be taken note of by the Muslim student, but we may pass them by. A Tradition must not be contrary to a statement in the Qurʾán and it can be abrogated by a verse of the Qurʾán. The place of the Traditions in Islam theology and law is a very important one. They form the basis of the Sunna, 'To an orthodox Muslim, the Book and the Sunnai, God's word direct and God's word through the mind of the Prophet, recorded in the Traditions, are the foundation and sum of Islám.' The great collectors of the Traditions were ignorant of the sound canons of historical research: they lacked the spirit of the 'higher criticism': they paid little attention to internal evidence. The subject of a Tradition might be foolish, or improbable: that did not matter, if the isnád was sound. Like so much else in Islám, the procedure was purely mechanical and this accounts for the changed attitude of many modern intelligent Muslims to the whole question of the authenticity, genuineness and authority of many Traditions.
In conclusion the translator desires to thank Mr. A. T. Upson, the talented Superintendent of the Nile Mission Press, for much valuable help received in the interpretation of obscure passages and the Rev. L. Bevan Jones, B.A., B.D., for valuable assistance in reading the proofs.
- ↑ For a list of these see, The Faith of Islam, Chapter iv, pp. 120–2.
- ↑ For a statement on this subject see Appendix A in Sell's Faith of Islám (Fourth Ed.)
- ↑ Muhammadan Jurisprudence, p. 31; see also Maulavi Cheragẖ ʿAlí, Critical Exposition of Jihád, pp. 65, 67, 73 and his Reforms Under Muslim Rule, p. 19; for Mírzá Ghulám Aḥmad's view see Walter, The Aḥmadiyya Movement, p. 39. Margliouth's The Early Development of Muḥammadanism, Chapter iii, is a valuable contribution to the subject.