About the Author and Refrences

About The Author – The Differences of The Imams

In the last century, India has undoubtedly become an important centre for the study of hadith, and the scholars of India have become well known for their passion for religious knowledge. Upon them ended the era of leadership in teaching hadiths, codification of the special fields [funun} of hadith, and commentary upon its texts [mutun). Such was their mastery of this science that Muhammad Rashid Rida mentions in the introduction of his book Miftah Kunüz al-Sunna, “Were it not for the superb attention to detail in the science of hadith displayed by our brothers, the scholars of India in the present era, this science would have withered away in the eastern cities. And, indeed, mastery of this science has been waning in Egypt and Syria since the tenth century AH.” There is no doubt that Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya was among the most distinguished hadith scholars of India and a great contributor in service of the Sunna. He was given the honorary title of Shaykh al-Hadith, or “Great Scholar of Hadith,” by his teacher, Shaykh Khalil Ahmad Sahãranpuri, who recognized his deep insight, clear-sightedness, and extensive knowledge of hadith and related sciences.

Lineage and Upbringing

He was born in the village of Kãndhlã (in Uttar Pradesh, India) on Ramadan 10, 1315 AH (February 12, 1898 CE). His full name was Muhammad Zakariyyã ibn Muhammad Yahya ibn Muhammad Ismãil, and his lineage continues all the way back to Abu Bakr the great Companion of the Messenger (PBUH) . Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Nadwi said about him, “Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya was born into a household rooted in knowledge and passion for Islam. His immediate family and his predecessors were distinguished by firm resolve, perseverance, steadfastness, and adherence to religion…. His family included many notable scholars … and his grandmother memorized the entire Qur’an while nursing her son [Shaykh Zakariyyã’s father]. “

His father, Shaykh Muhammad Yahya, was among the great scholars of India, whose primary teacher in hadith was Shaykh Rashid Ahmad Gangohi. Under him he studied Sahih, al-Bukhäri, Jami al-Tirmidhi, and others of the six famous authentic books of hadith [sihãh sitta]. Shaykh Yalyã went on to teach at Madrasa Mazahir ‘Ulum in the district of Saharanpur, but did not accept any payment for his services. He instead made his living through his own book- publishing business.

As a young boy, Shaykh Zakariyya moved with his father to the village of Gangoh, in the district of Saharanpur. Since his father and Shaykh Gangohi had a close relationship, Shaykh Zakariyya quickly earned the affection of his father’s teacher. Growing up in this virtuous environment, he began learning how to read with Hakim ‘Abd al-Rahmãn of Muzaffarnagar He memorized the Qur’an with his father and also studied books in Persian and the introductory Arabic books with his uncle Shaykh Muhammad Ilyas (founder of the Tabligh movement). He stayed with his father in the company of Shaykh Gangohi until age eight, when the shaykh passed away. At the age of twelve, Shaykh Zakariyyã travelled with his father to Mazãhir ‘Ulum. There, under his father, he advanced his study of Arabic, tackling many classical texts on Arabic morphology grammar, literature, and also logic. But by the time he was seventeen, hadith became the main focus of his life. He studied five of the six authentic books of hadith with his father, and then he studied Sahih al-Bukhari and Sunan al-Tirmidhi (for a second time) with the honourable Shaykh Khalil Ahmad Sahãranpüri. Out of his immense respect for hadith, Shaykh Zakariyya was extremely particular about always studying the hadith narrations with wudu’ On Dhü ‘l-Qa’da 10, 1334 AH, when Shaykh Zakariyyã was just nineteen, his dear father passed away. This event was extremely traumatic for Shaykh Zakariyya, as he lost not only a father but also a teacher and mentor. His deep sorrow remained with him for the rest of his life.

Teachers

Shaykh Zakariyya was blessed to live and learn in an era considered by many to be one of great achievements in Islamic knowledge by scholars in the Indian subcontinent. He studied with few but select teachers who reached the highest levels of learning, research, authorship, and piety In addition to his father (Shaykh Muhammad Yahya) and uncle (Shaykh Muhammad Ilyas), he studied under the hadith scholar Khalil Ahmad Sahãranpuri, author of the Badhl al-Majhüd, a commentary on Sunan Abi Däwüd. Shaykh Zakariyyã acquired a hadith authorization from him and remained his student until Shaykh Khalil’s death in Madina Munawwara in 1346 AH.

Before his death, Shaykh Khalil Ahmad expressed his desire to write Badhl al-Majhud, and he sought Shaykh Zakariyya’s assistance as his right-hand man. This experience revealed Shaykh Zakariyyã’s gift of penmanship and,
furthermore, expanded his insight in the science of hadith. He worked hard on the project, attained the pleasure and trust of his shaykh, and was even mentioned by name in the commentary. This indeed opened the door to Shaykh Zakariyya’s authoring many literary works and treatises over the course of his life.

The Era Of The Mujtahid Imams and Some Principles Of Hadith and Jurisprudence

By Shaykh al-Hadith Muhammad Zakariyya Kandhlawi (1391 AH)

Contents

→ Part Three: The Era Of Mujtahid Imams & Some Principles Of Hadith And Jurisprudence

• The Main Reason For The Diffeences Between The Imams
  
• Some Principles Of Hadith
  
• Types Of Hadiths
  
• The Basis Of Rejection And Preference
  
• Assessment Of A Narrator
  
• The Indispnsability Of The Principles Op Hadiths
  
• Some Principles Of Fiqh: Principles Of The Jurists For The Validity Of Hadiths
  
• The Most Basic Reason For Differences
  
• The Four Schools Of Fiqh: The Opinions Of The Imams Are All From The Hadths
  
• Examples Of The Multi -faceted Methods Of Inference
  
• The Parable Of The Imams Of Hadith
  
• Inference In Our Times
• The Approach Of The Hanafi School Of Thought
  
• Epilogue

The Main Reason For The Diffeences Between The Imams

As explained in the previous section, there were some changes made on the part of the narrators in reporting their hadiths. These changes were either intentional or unintentional, and occurred (within the narration itself) either in transmitting, or in a person’s understanding of the narration. To account for this, a need was felt by the Imams of hadith and jurisprudence to assess all the narrations and choose some of the narrations over the others. The Imams awarded preference to the correct and reliable narrations based on their own research. At the same time, they rendered the unreliable narrations unworthy of implementation. It is an accepted fact that the opinions of the mujtahids are extracted from the teachings of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH). Often, their views were extracted from the explicit texts of the Shari’a. At times, certain injunctions were deduced on the basis of a particular cause found in the speech of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH).

In short, specific rules and principles are required for practicing on the hadiths which enable one to award preference to some hadiths over others. The Imams of hadith and jurisprudence have differed over the matter of which principles apply in awarding this preference. It is a very lengthy discussion which we would prefer not to discuss in detail (here). In fact, the principles of hadith and jurisprudence are taught even before the major hadith books in our madrasas.

Some Principles of Hadith

Types Of Hadiths

Some of these principles will be mentioned briefly. The Imams of hadith, due to the aforementioned reasons, have divided the hadiths into three different categories: mutawatir [continuously recurrent], mashhür [well-known], and khabaral-wahid [a single person’s report] or ahãd [solitary hadith]. A mutawatir hadith is one for which the narrators are so numerous in any given era that it is virtually impossible for such a large number of people to agree on a fabrication or an error. Examples of this include the existence of Bombay and Calcutta, the number of rak’ats in salat, or the number of fasts (to be observed in Ramadan). The second type of hadith is called mashhür. This category is similar to mutawatir in some respects, but since there is very little or no difference of opinion regarding these two types of hadiths, we will not discuss them in much detail here. The only difference of opinion lies in the number of narrators required for a mutawatir narration and whether a mashhür narration should be classified in the category of mutawatir or khabar al-wahid, or whether it should be a separate category.

At this juncture, we only wish to discuss the third type of hadith, i.e. khabar al-wahid. This category refers to those hadiths which do not reach the standards of mutawatir. Most narrations fall under this category. First of all, this type of narration is divided into two types: accepted [maqbul] and rejected [mardud]. The great hadith master Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani says, “Besides mutawatir hadiths—which are undoubtedly acceptable—all other types of hadiths can be divided into two categories: maqbul and mardud. Maqbul is that type of hadith upon which practicing is obligatory. Mardud is that hadith the reliability of which supersedes its unreliability. Therefore, a hadith which is comprised of contradictory angles, in other words some angles pointing to its authenticity and reliability and others indicating its unreliability, will fall under the category of rejected [mardud]. However, if the angles warranting its acceptability are predominant then the hadith will fall under the category of reliable [maqbul].”