Some
western orientalists are doubting the authenticity of the traditions of the
Prophet .For example Goldziher considers them to be the invention of Muslims in
the early time of Islam. The answer to all these allegations is as follows.
1-The Prophet's Traditions are the second source of the Faith of Islam after
the Quran . The Prophet was commanded by God to relate to all the people
everything that had been inspired to him by God and in addition the explanation
of the Quran 's verses.
The Prophet's interpretation of the
Quran, his conduct, his actions, and his advice are all essential
elements of his Traditions. The prophet himself referred to the necessity of
adhering to his traditions in his famous farewell speech in which he said:
"I
have left two matters for you and if you adhere to them both you will never be
misled. They are God' s Book the Quran, and my Traditions".
2-There is no denying that there are many false fabricated traditions and
sayings that have been related to the Prophet but the learned scholars of Islam
were always aware of this possibility and accordingly scrutinized every single
tradition related to the Prophet. The Quran has stated the most important
method for judging any matter namely:
"O
you who believe! If a wicked person come to you with any news, ascertain the
truth...''.
The
personality, character and conduct of the person who relates the tradition are
important factors to be taken into consideration when judging the authenticity
of his version of Tradition .This rule has assisted the Muslims who applied it
to the people who narrated the Prophet 's Traditions. This method of criticism
has led to the development of the science of historical research.
3- As a result of the importance of the Prophet 's Traditions, Muslim scholars
have done their utmost to confirm the authentic Traditions and to reject
the false and fabricated versions. They also established new branches of
learning related to the Traditions of the Prophet. These new branches of
learning include the science of ascription, of challenging and contesting a
point of argument and the science of adaptation all of which were introduced
for the express purpose of investigating the character, conduct ,way of life
and the credibility of those who related Tradition of the Prophet. The Prophet
Muhammad had warned the people of attributing any false sayings ,or actions to
him saying:
"He
who attributes falsehoods to me intentionally shall dwell in the fire of
Hell".
4- One of the many scholars, who devoted his life to the study of
authenticating the Prophet' s Traditions is Imam Al Bukhari (810- 870H.). He
collected more than half a million traditions attributed to the Prophet which
he scrutinized, examined and studied painstakingly and methodically. After
applying the strict academic elimination of doubted traditions, he finally
approved only nine thousand Traditions. If we omit the Traditions, which convey
the same meaning, we are left with only three thousand traditions. Other Muslim
scholars followed Al Bukhari's method of authenticating the traditions
that they studied.
5- Following the painstaking efforts made by the Muslim scholars to
authenticate the Traditions, six books on the Prophet's traditions were
approved and acknowledged .They are entitled : Bukhari's Authentic Traditions,
Muslim's Authentic Traditions, The Prophet's Traditions by Al Nisa'y by Abu
Dawood, by Al Tirmizy and Ibn Maja. There are also many books, which mention
and reject tens of thousands of un-authenticated and fabricated traditions.Thus
it is evident that Muslim scholars have studied and authenticated the Prophet's
Traditions with unparalleled devotion and accuracy and that to cast any doubt
upon this matter is totally unjustified.