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In Islam, the Arabic word sunnah has come to denote the way
Prophet Muhammad (saws) lived his life. The Sunnah is the second
source of Islamic jurisprudence, the first being the Qur'an.
Both sources are indispensable; one cannot practice Islam
without consulting both of them. The Arabic word hadith (pl.
ahadith) is very similar to Sunnah, but not identical. A hadith
is a narration from the life of the Prophet (saws) and what he
approved - as opposed to his life itself, which is the Sunnah as
already mentioned.
In M. M. Azami's Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature,
the following precise definition of a hadith is given, According
to Muhaddithiin [scholars of hadith -ed.] it stands for 'what
was transmitted on the authority of the Prophet, his deeds,
sayings, tacit approval, or description of his sifaat (features)
meaning his physical appearance. However, physical
appearance of the Prophet is not included in the definition used
by the jurists.'
Thus hadith literature means the literature which consists of
the narrations of the life of the Prophet and the things
approved by him. However, the term was used sometimes in much
broader sense to cover the narrations about the Companions [of
the Prophet -ed.] and Successors [to the Companions -ed.] as
well.
The explosion of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries confronted
Islamic scholars with a daunting task: to preserve the knowledge
of the Sunnah of the Prophet (saws). Hence the science of hadith
evaluation was born. We recommend that you read the
"Introduction to the Science of Hadith" below to understand the
tremendous efforts that were required to sift the true reports
from the false reports. The success of the early scholars is
also captured below by some collections of hadith.
Source > > http://www.islamzine.com
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