Evaluating the Traditions Mentioned Below
This paper cites a variety of traditions from the works of early Islamic hadith3 scholars. In principle, and according to the guidelines of the Islamic hadith science, the analysis of the respective transmission-chains is necessary.
However, since this paper aims to outline the multiplicity of traditions regarding the topic at hand, the reader is spared a prolonged discussion around the individual chains.
An abundance of narrations shows that the overall implication of a verdict must be authentic, even if the wording of individual narrations may vary, and in cases, some narrations may turn out to be deficiently reported. Hadith science also considers abundance to be a decisive factor in rating a hadith's authenticity.
Obvious deficiencies in transmission-chains are pointed out.
Notes
- A hadith is a narration by or about the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. The sum of such narratives is called Sunnah and is, besides the Qur'an, the second primary source of Islamic law. It should be noted that in the early Islamic period, narrations by the first successive generation used to be classified as hadith as well. It was only in later periods, that only prophetic narrations were established to be called hadith distinctively, while other narrations were called athar (pl. athar). These distinctive terms were not adopted by all scholars of hadith. In this regard, the terms hadith and hadith studies (or rather, works on the study of hadith) may also convey narrations from the first generation. ↩