Hadith

Origins and Developments

Harald Motzki

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138247796
• eBook ISBN: 9781351931816
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

Hadith is understood here in its broader meaning as the bulk of the texts which contain information on the prophet Muhammad and his Companions, having the form of transmissions from them. The reliability of this material as a source for early Islam is still a highly debated issue. This selection of articles presents the different points of view in this debate and the varying methodological approaches with which scholars trained in modern secular sciences have tried to find a solution to the problem.

ORIGINS AND TRANSMISSION OF THE ḤADĪTH

1
The Role of Traditionalism in Islam

J. Fueck

The uniformity of Islamic culture represents one of the most fascinating problems associated with the development of Islam from its modest beginnings in Mecca into a world religion today numbering 250 million believers.¹ How did it come about that in the vast world of Islam a distinctive culture came into being, in spite of all the geographical and temporal variations that resulted from the continuing influences of the earlier cultures and religions, and from the on-going life of indigenous habits, practices, and attitudes? How did this homogeneous Islamic culture succeed in establishing itself in areas whose individual provinces first felt the impact of Islamicization at different times and in a variety of different forms: sometimes as a conquest by Muslim armies, sometimes as the result of peaceful contact, sometimes through the consciously directed propaganda of missionary orders, sometimes through the unplanned influences that Muslim merchants exerted in areas possessing lower cultures? These questions are not answered by pointing to a commonness of belief, for the uniformity of this culture was not confined to similarity of creed; it expressed itself much more in a common mental attitude, and in a common style of life which pervaded all levels of personal and official existence, thus reaching beyond the boundaries of the "religious" as understood in the West. Moreover, even the Quran cannot in the first instance be credited with this achievement, for the history of its exegesis shows how strongly the interpretation of the Word of God was conditioned by the prevailing Zeitgeist and the influence of the environment. It was rather the example (Vorbild) of the Prophet, the sunna which, with its constant impact on the life of believers over the centuries, was the primary factor responsible for the unity of Islamic culture. It stamped itself upon the face of Islam and gave to it those features which we see today throughout the Muslim world.

The exemplary character (Vorbildlichkeit) of the Prophet is rooted in the very essence of Islam. Muhammad did not claim to bring a new revelation. He was convinced that his message was the same as that of all of his predecessors. The essential kinship of his teaching with that of the older revealed religions was in fact so great that its continued existence as a separate religion must astonish those who focus attention only on the doctrinal content of the new religion. The unprecedented success of Islam can be explained only if one takes into account the uniqueness of Muhammad's personality, whose power derived not from doctrine but from the new life to which he summoned men. We need only consider the men who were his closest associates to realize that he was endowed with an unusual ability to lead. The distinctive character of the original community of Medina resided not so much in the new Word of God in which they believed as in the person of their Prophet. According to the Quran, they had in him "a good example" (surah 33:21). He was "the first of those who believe" (surah 6:163). Beyond his words there was no appeal. It was he who decided matters of law, eṣtablished taxes, and answered questions relating to ceremony and liturgy, etc. Thus from the beginning there stood, beside the Word of God, the living example of the Prophet. Indeed, so great was the spell cast by his personality that it has continued to the very present to exercise power over men.

During the stormy period of the conquest which set in after the Prophet's death, his influence appeared gradually to weaken until finally during the civil war which saw the former Companions of the Prophet in opposing camps, it seemed to go under entirely. However, after the battle of the Ḥarra in 63 A.H.² when Medina was forced to withdraw from the political arena, and after the confusion of a half century, the ideal of the Prophet's example again emerged victorious. In Medina sons of the earliest believers now began to devote themselves, along with their clients, to the task of collecting reports having to do with the life and work of the Prophet in order to establish a standard for the regulation of their affairs. Historical investigation, Quranic exegesis, and the administration of law merely formed different aspects of an activity whose real focus was quite naturally the historical prophet who was not subjected to a metaphysical reinterpretation. The gatherings of these earliest authorities on tradition in the mosque of Medina where they gave their eager fellow believers from all parts of the empire information regarding the early history of Islam, explained difficult passages in the Quran, and discussed questions regarding ceremonies, were the beginnings of the earliest doctrinal activity in Islam, From Medina the spirit of prophetic tradition was taken to the farthest corners of the Islamic empire through pilgrims who each year streamed in great numbers to Mecca and Medina; and it thus became customary to draw upon the Companions of the Prophet or their Successors for information about Muhammad.

'Urwa b. as-Zubair (ca. 23-94 A.H.), the head of the school of Medina, came to be known as the most distinguished representative of this early type of authority on tradition. He came from a family which belonged to the earliest Islamic aristocracy: his father Zubair b. al'Awwām (fell in 30 A.H. during the battle of the Camel) was a cousin of the Prophet and one of his earliest followers; his mother Asmā' was the daughter of the caliph Abū Bakr. He enjoyed special favor with his aunt 'Ā'isha; and 'Abd Allāh b. Zubair, the anti-caliph, was his brother. 'Urwa himself remained aloof from politics and devoted himself to the study of tradition, where his relationships, especially with 'Ā'isha, became very useful. His letters to the caliph Abd al-Malik (reigned 65-86 A.H.) regarding events in early Islamic times (preserved for us in Ṭabarī's chronicle) mark the beginning of Islamic historical writing. However, he gave his account of the Prophet's life to his hearers entirely in an oral form. His foster son, Abū'l-Aswad Muḥammad b. Abd ar-Raḥmān b. Nawfal Yatīm 'Urwa (d. 131 A.H.), was the first to compile a book on the campaigns of the Prophet on the basis of these reports.³ 'Urwa was acquainted with the isnād, that is, the chain of oral authorities, which connected each tradition with its source. His use of this most characteristic formal feature of the literature of Islamic tradition was, however, still very simple, undeveloped, and uneven. Nonetheless, as an expert in law, 'Urwa had a great reputation. He was regarded as one of the "seven fuqahā' " of the Prophet's city.

From Medina...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• General Editor's Preface
• Introduction
• Origins and Transmission of the Ḥadīth
• Origin and Reliability of the Isnād
• Methods of Analysing and Dating Ḥadīths
• General Index