ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Light On the Muhammadan Sunnah Or Defence of the Hadith Best Care Was Given To Sanad: Al-Dhahabi, in his book Siyar a’lam al-nubala’, when giving the biography of Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan, reported that Yahya said: "Never look at the hadith but look at the isnad, when it be correct the hadith is correct; otherwise never be beguiled by the hadith if the isnad be incorrect." He also said: The predecessors were averse to going deeply into matters and call disputants as heretics.

A Necessary Meditation It is proper here to make a short halt to meditate over what I stated before, of the sayings of Ibn al-Salah and al-Iraqi and al-Hakim, beside other leaders of hadith who considered it (hadith) to be sahih. However, when going through whatever we manifested before in regard of hadith in general, and that which we are going to state, we will verily come to realize many things that permit or rather urge us to make such a meditating pause.

The first thing we get out of this being that: the Prophet (S) did not commit his traditions to writing during his lifetime as he did in the case of the Qur'an, so as to come out as authentic as the Qur'an. Not only this, but he also forbade from writing them, the order that was obeyed by his and their followers who abstained from writing the hadith and were sufficed with transmitting it through oral tradition (riwayah).

But this was not done according to the original words uttered by the Prophet, but they used to narrate the hadith on the basis of meaning. Such practice remained to be followed till they started to write it (hadith) down, the act that was fulfilled about the middle of the 2nd Hijrah Century.

Religion and (Arabic) language were inflicted a severe detriment due this delay in writing down of hadith, beside the falsities foisted by the fabricators, and liars from among enemies of religion, with the pleasure-seekers and even the righteous among Muslims.

When ulama’ of jarh and ta’dil began making investigations into conditions of the narrators, so as to recognize the reliable one and the unreliable, they couldn't — despite the toilful efforts they exerted in this search — attain to the goal they were after, achieving not their intention. That was due to the fact that their search was made in accordance with their capacity and human ability, exceeding not the apparent conditions of the narrators.