Al-Muqaddimah
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Allah, in the name of the most affectionate, the merciful.
An introduction to the explanation of some of the terminologies of Hadīth sciences, which would suffice in explaining the book, without lengthiness and verbosity.
Section 1
Know that,
Hadīth
in the terminology of most of the scholars of hadīth applies to the speech of the Prophet
, his actions and his tacit approval. Tacit approval means that someone did or said something in his presence and he didn’t reject him or prohibit him from that; rather he remained silent and acquiesced. Similarly it applies to the speech of the companion
1
, his actions, his acquiescence, and to the speech of the tābayī
2
, his actions and his acquiescence. The hādīth which goes back to the Prophet
is called
marfū
(the raised chain) That which goes back to the companion is called
Mawqūf
(the halted chain). As it is said Ibn ‘Abbās
3
said, did, or
1
A companion is he who ever encountered the Prophet
, believing in him and died as a Muslim, even if his Islam was interrupted by apostasy according to strongest opinion. (Nukhba tul-Fik’r)
2
A tābay’ī is anyone who met one of the companions and died as a Muslim. (Nukhba tul-Fik’r)
Al-Muqaddimah
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acquiesced or on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbās or Mawqūf on Ibn ‘Abbās. That which goes back to a tābayī is called
Maqtū
(severed chain). Some of the scholars made Hadīth specific to Marfū’ and Mawqūf (only) as Maqtū’ is called
Athār
4
(non-Prophetic hadīth). Athār could apply to Marfū’ also, as the supplications which have come from the Prophet
are called ‘
A’dīyul Māthurah’
. Imām Tahāwi
5
named his book
‘Sharah M’ānī al-āthār’
which contains ahādīth of the Prophet
and athār of companions.
3
Abdullah bin Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib
, son of the uncle of the Prophet
. He was born at Mecca and grew up during the life time of the Prophet
. He was present with Hazrat Ali
during the battles of Jamal and Siffīn. There are 1660 ahādīth narrated by him present in Sahihayn and other books.
4
There two definitions of athar. 1) It is same as hadith,as marfū’, maqtū and mawqūf ahadīth are all narrated the same way. 2) It is specific to speech, actions and tacit approval of companions and tabayīn. A muhaddith is also called ‘athari’.
5
Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Salāmah Abu Jā’far Tahāwi. He was initially Shaf’ī and later became Hanafi. He is one of the most erudite scholars of Ahnāf. He authored ‘Saharh M’āni al-āthār’, ‘Ahkām ul-Qurān’, al-‘Mukhtasar fil Fiqh’ etc.
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