Understanding of Hadith in Islam Religion - Essay Example

Islamic Studies Islam, regarded as the world's second largest religion, second only to Christianity, believes in Allah, its supreme Almighty God, and Mohammed for them is His prophet. Thus, the life, teachings and the words of Mohammed occupy a significant place in the life of an Islam. Hadith, in the Islamic religion, consist of the collected traditions, teachings, and stories of the prophet Mohammed, accepted as the source of Islamic doctrine and law. Hadith, in the Islamic religion, are considered second only to the Koran, which is believed to be the Almighty Allah's own words. I t is consisted of everything that the prophet has spoken of, his decisions on important matters, his opinions and his answers to the queries and doubts raised by his followers and believers. The Hadiths literature which consists of the narrations of the life of the prophet also has played major role in the shaping of Islamic faith. The fact that the Hadith were recorded after the death of the prophet make many to doubt the authenticity and the validity of the Hadith. There are people who consider the Hadith merely as a history book having not much of religious significance. The essay attempts to unearth the understanding of Hadith in Islam religion, and it tries to bring out the differences in the understanding and the practice of Hadith soon after the death of Prophet Mohammed with a special reference to the changed political scenario after the Prophets death. The Hadith assumed greater significance after the death of Mohammed as the believers could no longer ask their questions or clear their doubts from the prophet. So wherever they did not have a specific guideline in the Quran, they sought for it in the Hadith. The hadiths very often acted as the guiding principle for the Muslim way of life along with the Koran. One should not forget the fact that the Hadith was transmitted by the companions of the prophet (his contemporaries and witnesses to his teaching) to the next generation through oral tradition in the initial stages. Therefore, many attempts have been undertaken by the scholars to assess the reliability and authenticity of Hadith. The Hadith was judged based on their content, the degree in which they did not contradict the Quran and the extend to which they resonated divine wisdom. Thus, they were categorized into authentic, good or weak. Hadith were collected and confirmed or proved to be authentic by many scholars; however one cannot negate the influence of personal bias or prejudices in the process. There was also the risk of interpreting the personal responses of the prophet as having general implications to the Islamic teachings. In the eighth century there was a considerable division in the Islamic thought due to the diversity of thought that the Hadith were not reliable and authentic. This division of thought prompted Muhammad ibh Idris al-Shafi to make a common methodology for all schools of Islamic faith by the end of 9th century. He identified four sources of Islamic law- the Quran, the sunnas or the tradition of the prophet, reasoning by analogies and unanimous agreement. The Muslim community strongly believed that Allah has sent His prophets and messengers to keep them united with Him and Mohammed for them is the last of the prophets. Mohammed proved himself to be a strong religious leader for the Muslims and after his time the Islam community really lacked strong spiritual leaders even though they did have some powerful rulers in the caliphs who succeeded Mohammed. After the death of Mohammed, there weren't any undisputable leaders for the Muslims and one comes across a series of struggle for power and control over the Muslim community and it is interesting to note how this struggle affected the Muslim belief and their way of life. It is these struggles that led to the formation of Sunnism and Shiism, and the underlying reason for most of the conflicts and struggles within Islam can be attributed to these struggles. The original version of the Hadiths suffered various setbacks at the hands of Caliph Uthman when he prepared an official version of the same including some provisions by which he exhorted people to obey him wholeheartedly without any protests or questions. Mohammed before his death did not announce his successor as he strongly believed that it was Allah who has to choose somebody to lead the Muslim community. Soon after the death of the prophet, there were a lot of political and social tensions and there were many Hadith narrators who fabricated their version of the Hadith with a view to support and advocate their own private causes. A close look at the leadership of the first five Muslim rulers who succeeded convinces one that the Hadiths were conveniently neglected and there was obviously a struggle for material power. Three of them (Umar, Uthman and Ali) were assassinated. A notable change one could notice was that from a religious community, the concept of an imperial state dominated the Muslim community after the death of Mohammed. Thus, the Muslim community was divided into three: those who defended the empire (caliphate) were led by the elected chief; Shiism was formed by the supporters of Ali, who held the view that the Prophet's family should reign the state, and another group which consisted of the early Muslims who really wanted to remain as a religious community. The first compilation of the Koran was undertaken during the reign of Abu Bakre himself after the battle of Yamama. But this comparatively shorter than the one compiled at Caliph Uthman's request later. Abu Bakre was chosen as the successor of Mohammed as he was Mohammed's "fellow-sufferer in persecution; as the one who accompanied him in his flight from Mecca; as his companion in the cave when they were miraculously saved from discovery; as his counsellor and co-operator in all his plans." (Belford1849, p. 224). However, many Arab groups renounced Islamic faith when Abu Bakr assumed throne as the first caliph of the Muslin Empire. Abu Bakr was followed by Umar in 634, but today he is known to be more as a military leader who tried to expand the Muslim empire rather than as a spiritual leader who tried to uplift the spiritual standard of his people. Umar, the second Caliph, lead the Muslim troops to conquer all of Arabia, and then north into Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Iran, as well as westward into Egypt and North Africa. He was later murdered by a Muslim slave in 644. Next it was the turn of Uthman. Uthman's basic interest, on the other hand, was to conquer the tribesman on whom he levied a number of taxes and later this resulted in his own assassination by the discontented tribesman in 656. The murder of Uthman proved to be a crucial turning point in the history of the followers of Mohammed. As Bernard Lewis suggests, "the theocratic bond which had held together the early Caliphate had been irrevocably destroyed by the murder of 'Uthmn, the civil war that followed it, and the removal of the capital from Medina." (Lewis 1950, p.64). Uthman served as the third caliph from 644 to 656, was very much preoccupied with the expansion of the Muslim empire. He conquered Cyprus in 649 and made advancements towards the Persian region. Many people were dissatisfied and discontented with his policies: they were dissatisfied with his financial planning, his formulation of a single Koran and his habit of appointing his relatives and family members to administrative positions. The murder of Uthman diminished the importance of Medina as the centre of political power. As Martin Sicker points out, "the murder of Uthman brought an end to the centrality of Medina in the Arab political constellation." (Sicker 2000, p.18).Later, in 656 Umar was assassinated by a group of Egyptians and there were a lot of political confusions and violence after his death. It resulted in a civil war and one could come across the strange sight of Muslims taking up arms against Muslims. Ali's supporters wanted him to be the next caliph who was objected by Mu'awiya, Uthman's cousin and the Governor of Syria. The result was the "Battle of the Camel" and due to the public demand they were forced to leave the matter to the decision of the council. To the shock of Ali, the council held that both of them should step down and consequently the civil war was resumed. He was succeeded by Ali but by this time the struggle for power was at its peak and a group of Muslims, the Kharijites rose in revolt against him. They began to move away from orthodox Islam. They appointed one of their members as their caliphate as they did not want to recognize the authority of both Ali and Mu'awiya. In 660, Mu'awiya was able to establish the Umayyad Dynasty after Ali was killed by some Kharijites. One could clearly find a change to the first real Islamic state under the Umayyad Dynasty as a clear shift from a religious community to that of a secular state was visible. During the Umayyad dynasty, there was yet again an extension of the area under Muslim rule and one could notice a number of religious developments within the Muslim community. There was a visible fraction within the Muslin community during this period. The first noticeable change was the emergence of the Sunni group: "it was under the Umayyads that there began to emerge that class of religious scholars which eventually became the leading authority within Sunni Islam and which is chiefly responsible for shaping the historical and religious tradition which has come down to us. In effect, it was this class which led the development of Islam as we know it, and it is important to remember that it emerged largely in opposition to the Umayyad government." (Hawting 1987, p. 2). After, the Umayyad dynasty was overthrown; the Sunnis established themselves more powerful and influential-both religiously and politically. The Umayyad period also witnessed the emergence of two other forms of Islam, namely Shiism and Kharijism. Both these distinct religious movements originated in opposition to the Umayyads' religious policies. Thus we come across a clear division in the Islam religion and "Tradition dates the fragmentation of a previously united Islam into the three main forms which we know today (Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kharijites) to the time of the first civil war (656-61), which ended with the accession of Mu'awiya to the caliphate." (Hawting, p. 3). All these three groups held that Islam should be open to all sects of people, reinforcing the need for Islam to establish itself as a universal religion. Another important factor to be kept in mind is that "Islam emerged in a Near East which was saturated with the ideas, institutions, and values of other religious traditions." (Berky, p. 62). and therefore one comes across the influences of Judaism and Christianity in the newly developed forms of Islamic religion. Thus, it is evident from the above discussion that the Hadiths of Prophet Mohammed suffered various setbacks due to the political struggle that took place after the prophet's death for power and control. Thus, one notices the fact that none of the rulers who followed Mohammed were able to provide religious leadership to the Muslim community; instead they were moved by power and control and the Hadiths of the great prophet remained unnoticed and unpractised. The Hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed do have its significance in the Islamic faith today. The Muslims strongly believed that Mohammed "started to hear a voice, interpreted as coming from the angel Gabriel, which commanded him to recite the revelations which were thus made to him." (Leaman 2002, p.1). The life, practice and the opinions of the prophet is still the best role model before any Muslim to lead a holy life based on the Koran. The teachings and guiding values of life as shown by the prophet assumes greater significance in the modern world which is tormented with racism, terrorism, religious intolerance, materialism, unrest and hatred. Strongly rooted spiritual life is the only possible solution to the present day crisis and lack of peace, happiness and feelings of oneness and unity among the human race as a whole. Even though the Hadiths and the preaching of the prophet was relegated to the background soon after his death due to his followers' struggle for power and control, the Islam religion has overcome all the stumbling blocks and emerged as one of the most growing religions in the world. As Tor Andrae observed, Islam "develops its own life and attracts other spiritual life to itself, according to a law whose significance and purpose is completely revealed only after an extended development. There is originality enough in Mohammed's achievement in catching up into a vital and adaptable personal synthesis the spiritual potentialities of his age." (Andrae 1960, p.11). Whether one doubts about the authenticity of the hadiths or not, whatever the prophet has said does have significance as long as it provides spiritual guidelines and solace to the believers all over the world. The years of myriad experiences in the past must have convinced the Muslims that religious tolerance and spirituality should go hand in hand and that the prophet's hadiths are to be lived out and practiced in the lives of every believer. Bibliography Andrae, Tor., 1960. Mohammed: The Man and His Faith. Translated by Theophil Menzel. Harper Torch book: New York. P.11. Belford, Clarke., 1849. Mahomet and His Successors. Washington Irving: Chicago. P. 224. Berkey, Jonathan P., 2003. The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge University Press: New York. Hawting, G. R., 1987. The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate A.D. 661-750. Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale, IL. P.2. Leaman, Oliver., 2002. An Introduction to Classical Islamic Philosophy. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge& England. P.1. Lewis, Bernard., 1950. The Arabs in History. Hutchinson's University Library: London. P.64 Sicker, Martin., 2000. The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna. Praeger: Westport, CT. P.18. Read More