Excerpts & Thoughts from Hadith Literature by Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi

The following excerpts of interest from the book “Hadith Literature, Its Origin, Development & Special Features” by Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi.

Companions Weary of HAdith

“Abu Bakr, when Caliph, was concerned to learn hadiths, but was careful not to accept the words of those who reported them without an independent witness. He also asked Muslims not to relate traditions which might cause discord among them [see reference below].” – p. 23

Note: There was no formal effort to compile and preserve the Hadith like there was for the Quran during the reign of the four Caliphs. Not only that, but it looks like an active effort was made by them to reduce the spreading of Hadith.

“Bukhari mentions a hadith related from the ‘book’ of Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa, while Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, is reported to have collected five hundred hadiths, which he later destroyed because he suspected that it contained some hadiths related by unreliable people.” – p. 24

“Umar ibn al-Khattab meant the hadith of the Prophet when he asked his companions not to narrate too many hadiths.” – p.1

Narrated ‘Ubaidullah bin `Abdullah: Ibn `Abbas said, “When the ailment of the Prophet (ﷺ) became worse, he said, ‘Bring for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.’ But `Umar said, ‘The Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allah’s Book with us, and that is sufficient for us.’ But the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) differed about this, and there was a hue and cry. On that, the Prophet (ﷺ) said to them, ‘Go away (and leave me alone). It is not right that you should quarrel in front of me.” Ibn `Abbas came out saying, “It was most unfortunate (a great disaster) that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise.

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا اشْتَدَّ بِالنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَجَعُهُ قَالَ ‏”‏ ائْتُونِي بِكِتَابٍ أَكْتُبُ لَكُمْ كِتَابًا لاَ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدَهُ ‏”‏‏.‏ قَالَ عُمَرُ إِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم غَلَبَهُ الْوَجَعُ وَعِنْدَنَا كِتَابُ اللَّهِ حَسْبُنَا فَاخْتَلَفُوا وَكَثُرَ اللَّغَطُ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏”‏ قُومُوا عَنِّي، وَلاَ يَنْبَغِي عِنْدِي التَّنَازُعُ ‏”‏‏.‏ فَخَرَجَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يَقُولُ إِنَّ الرَّزِيَّةَ كُلَّ الرَّزِيَّةِ مَا حَالَ بَيْنَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَبَيْنَ كِتَابِهِ‏.‏

Sahih al-Bukhari 114
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:114

Umar, the second Caliph, carefully followed the example set by his predecessor; for instance, he obliged al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, Amir ibn Umayya, and Ubayy ibn Ka’b to produce witnesses to corroborate the traditions they narrated, despite the great esteem in which they were held. He is even said to have briefly imprisoned Ibn Mas’ud, Abu’l-Darda and Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari because they related too many traditions.” – p. 23

“Not all these Companions related the hadiths of their teacher [the prophet]. The Musnad of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman referred to previously, which is said to have been the largest collection of hadiths, was said to contain traditions related by only 1,300 companions. Ibn al-Jawzi, who provides a list of all the Companions who related traditions, gives the names of about 1,060 together with the number of hadiths related by each. Five hundred of them are said to have related one hadith a piece; a hundred and thirty-two are stated to have handed down two traditions each, thirty-two, five each, twenty-six, search each, twenty-seven, seven each, eighteen, eight each, and eleven, nine traditions each,” Sixty Companions are credited with having related 10-20 hadiths a piece; the remainder [123], listed in the table below, have all related twenty or more each.” – p. 15

“The Islamic scholars are not in agreement, however, on the exact qualifications necessary for being a sahabi. Some have held that every Muslim who saw the Prophet was a Companion. Others have thought that only through long association with him could one join this category.” – p. 14

“The exact number of Companions cannot, of course, be determined. Only once during the early years of Islam was a ‘census’ taken, when they were found to be 1,525. This census must have been done at about the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiya, when the danger to the Muslims was great, and an estimate of their actual strength seemed called for.” p.14

“Forty thousand of them were present, when he performed the Farewell Pilgrimage at Mecca. The number of all those who ever saw him has been estimated by Abu Zar’a al-Razi at above 100,000.” – p.15

Number of Companions (Lower Bound Estimate)	# of Hadith Narrated	%
40,000	0	97.42%
500	1	1.22%
132	2	0.32%
80	3	0.19%
52	4	0.13%
32	5	0.08%
26	6	0.06%
27	7	0.07%
18	8	0.04%
11	9	0.03%
60	10-20	0.15%
123	20+	0.30%

Number of Companions (Upper Bound Estimate)	# of Hadith Narrated	%
100,000	0	98.95%
500	1	0.49%
132	2	0.13%
80	3	0.08%
52	4	0.05%
32	5	0.03%
26	6	0.03%
27	7	0.03%
18	8	0.02%
11	9	0.01%
60	10-20	0.06%
123	20+	0.12%

*Note: The vast majority of Companions did not narrate Hadith. Only 123 Companions narrated 20 or more Hadith

Ranking	Name	# Narrated
123	Abu Shurayh al-Kabi	20
122	Abd Allah ibn Jarrad	20
121	Musawwir ibn Makhrama	20
120	Amr ibn Umayya al-Damrl	20
119	Amr ibn Umayya (another)	20
118	Safwan ibn ‘Assal	20
117	Sa’d ibn ‘Ubada	21
116	al-Rabi	21
115	al-Sa’ib	22
114	Qurra	22
113	‘Umayr ibn Rabi’a	22
112	Umm Qays	24
111	Laqit ibn ‘Amir	24
110	al-Sharid	24
109	Rifa’a ibn Rafi’	24
108	Abd Allah ibn Unays	24
107	Aws ibn Aws	24
106	al-Fadl ibn ‘Abbas	24
105	Abu Waqid al-Laythi	24
104	Abu Talha al-Ansari	25
103	Abd Allah ibn Salam	25
102	Sahil ibn Abi Hathma (Haythama?)	25
101	Abu al-Mulayh al-Hudhali	25
100	Abd Allah ibn Ja’far	25
99	Ya’la ibn Murra	26
98	Abu Humayd al-Sa’idi	26
97	Abu Malik al-Ash’ari	27
96	Abd Allah ibn Buhayna	27
95	Abu Usayd al-Sa’idi	28
94	Utba ibn ‘Abd	28
93	Ya’la ibn Umayya	28
92	Uthman ibn Abi’l-‘As	29
91	Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith	30
90	Suhayb	30
89	Iyad ibn Himir (Hammad?)	30
88	Mu’adn ibn Anas	30
87	Irbad ibn Sariya	31
86	Khubab ibn al-Aratt	32
85	Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr	33
84	Fatima bint Qays	34
83	Ma’qil ibn Yasar	34
82	al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abad al-Muttalib	35
81	Amir ibn ‘Abasa	38
80	Khuzayma ibn Thabit	38
79	Talha ibn ‘Abd Allah	38
78	al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam	38
77	Amir ibn al-‘As	39
76	Umm ‘Atiyya	40
75	Abu Tha’laba al-Khushani	40
74	Hakim ibn Hizam	40
73	Sahl ibn Hunayf	40
72	Mu’awiya ibn Hayda	42
71	al-Miqdad	42
70	Abd Allah ibn Mughfil	43
69	Jundab ibn ‘Abd Allah	43
68	Bilal al-Habashi	44
67	Abu Juhayfa	45
66	Umm Hani	46
65	Abu Barza	46
64	Ka’b ibn Ujra	47
63	al-Miqdam	47
62	Abd Allah ibn Zayd	48
61	Sa’d ibn Zayd ibn ‘Amr	48
60	Abd Allah ibn Bishr	50
59	Shaddad ibn Aws	50
58	Asma’ bint Abi Bakr	58
57	Asma’ bint ‘Umays	60
56	Hafsa Umm al-Mu’minin	60
55	Jubayr ibn Mut’im	60
54	Salman al-Farisi	60
53	Amr ibn Awf	62
52	Ammar ibn Yasir	62
51	Abd al-Rahamn ibn ‘Awf	65
50	Umm Habiba Umm al-Mu’minin	65
49	Adi ibn Hatim	66
48	Abu Rafi	68
47	Zayd ibn Arqam	70
46	Wa’il ibn Hujr	71
45	Maymuna Umm al-Mu’minin	76
44	Salama ibn al-Akwa’	77
43	Rafi’ ibn Khudayj	78
42	Zayd ibn Khalid	81
41	Zayd ibn Thabit	92
40	Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa	95
39	Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah	100
38	Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari	102
37	Samura ibn Jundab	123
36	Thawban	128
35	Usama ibn Zayd	128
34	Abu Bakra Nufay’	132
33	al-Mughira ibn Shu’ba	136
32	al-Nu’man ibn Bashir	144
31	Abu Bakr al-Siddiq	142
30	Jabir ibn Samura	146
29	Uthman ibn ‘Affan	146
28	Abu Ayyub al-Ansari	155
27	Mu’adh ibn Jabal	157
26	Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan	163
25	Ubayy ibn Ka’b	164
24	Burayda ibn al-Hasib	167
23	Abu Qatada	170
22	Abu al-Darda	179
21	Imran ibn al-Husayn	180
20	Ubada ibn al-Samit	181
19	Sahl ibn Sa’d	188
18	Ma’d ibn Yaman	225
17	Aub Umamam al-Bahili	250
16	Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas	271
15	Abu Dharr al-Gihfari	281
14	al-Bara ibn Azib	305
13	Abu Musa al-Ash’ari	360
12	Umm Salama, Umm al-Mu’minin	378
11	Ali ib Talib	536
10	Umar ibn al-Khattab	537
9	Abd Allah Ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As	700
8	Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud	848
7	Abu Sa’id al-Khudri	1170
6	Jabr ibn ‘Abd Allah	1540
5	Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas	1660
4	A’sha Umm al-Muminin	2210
3	Anas ibn Malik	2286
2	Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar	2630
1	Abu Hurayra	5374

Johnathan Brown in his book “Hadith Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World on p. 90 wrote, “There was great disagreement over the actual number of Companions: al-Shaf’i estimated that their number at sixty thousand, Abu Zur’a al-Razi at over a hundred thousand.”

“Umar ibn al-Khattab, who was living at a distance from Medina and was unable to attend the Prophet every day, made an agreement with one of the Ansar that they would be present with him on alternate days, and report to each other everything they saw and heard from him.” – p.2

“Al-Sha’bi lived with Abd Allah ibn Umar for a whole year, but never heard him relate a single hadith. Al-Sa’ib ibn Yazid reports that he once was together with Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, and heard nothing in the way of hadiths except Talha’s account of the battle of Uhud. Suhayb, too, was always ready to relate historical traditions (maghazi), but otherwise rarely dared to report the words of the Prophet.” – p. 24

*Note: Despite Umar either meeting directly with the prophet every day or getting a report from the prophet for the days he did not meet him, he only has 537 narrations attributed to him, compared to 5374 from Abu Hurayra who was only with the prophet for ~2 years.

“‘Utba had the Prophetic Hadith in mind when he commented that Ibn ‘Abbas related only two or three hadiths in a month. – p.1

“Ibn Hajar (quoting Yahya ibn al-Qattan) refers to the assertion that Ibn ‘Abbas related only four or ten traditions from the Prophet, and adds that this estimate is incorrect, because the Sahihs of Bukhari and Muslim alone contain more than ten traditions related by him directly from the Prophet.” – p. 21

*Note: The fact that the narrations attributed to Ibn Abbas ballooned in later generations signals at false narrations

*Note: This is problematic if, according to this, Ibn Abbas and Abd Allah ibn Umar were not narrating Hadith, yet they have 1660 and 2630 Hadiths attributed to them respectively. This also shows that Umar was not keen on companions narrating hadith.

Historian Patricia Crone states the following regarding Ibn Abbass, who was another major source attributed to a great number of Hadith.

Bukhari [d.870] is said to have examined a total of 600,000 traditions attributed to the Prophet; he preserved some 7000 (including repetitions), or in other words dismissed some 593,000 as inauthentic. If Ibn Hanbal [d.855] examined a similar number of traditions, he must have rejected about 570,000, his collection containing some 30,000 (again including repetitions). Of Ibn Hanbal’s traditions 1,710 (including repetitions) are transmitted by the companion Ibn Abbas [d.687]. Yet less than fifty years earlier one scholar had estimated that Ibn Abbas had only heard nine traditions from the Prophet, while another thought that the correct figure might be ten. If Ibn Abbas had heard ten traditions from the Prophet in the years around 800, but over a thousand by about 850 CE, how many had he heard in 700 or 632? Even if we accept that ten of Ibn Abbas’ traditions are authentic, how do we identify them in the pool of 1,710?

– Patricia Crone – Crone, P., Roman, Provincial, and Islamic Law, p. 33

Companions Quarel about Narrations

“Despite this, however, there are many traditions which forbid the writing down of any scriptural material other than the Qur’an.” – p. 25

“Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, Zayd ibn Thabit (the Propeht’s own scribe), and Abu Hurayra, related traditions to this effect; and many other Companions and Successors are reported to have disliked and discouraged the writing of hadith. In particular, there are the names of Ali, Ibn Mas’ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, Abd Allah ibn Umar, Abu Musa, al-Ash’ari, Ibn Sirin, al-Dahhak, Abida al-Madaniyya, Ibrahim al-Nakha’i, Ibn al-Mu’tamir, al-Awza’i, Alqama ibn Qays, Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah, and others. Some such authorities (like ‘Ali and Ibn ‘Abbas), are, as we have already seen, also reported to have written hadiths down, and possessed sahifas and other books. Others (for instance al-Dahhak, Ibrahim, and ‘Alqama) are said to have objected to the writing of hadiths in book form, but not to making such notes as might serve to help memory. Others still (such as Ibn Mas’ud and Ibn Sirin) are said to have opposed the writing of hadith in any form.” – p. 25

Hadith Compilations

“According to Zurqani, as Goldziher has pointed out, it [the Muwatta of Imam Malik] contains 1,720 hadiths of which 600 have isnads, 222 are mursal, 613 are mawquf, while 285 stop either at a Companion or a Successor (i.e. are either mawquf or maqtu). According to al-Ghafiqi, the total number of hadiths in the twelve versions of the Muwatta’ is 666, out of which 97 differ in the different versions of the book, while the rest are common to all the various recensions.” – p. 8

“The Musnad of Ibn Hanbal contains more than 30,000 hadiths narrated by about 700 Companions.” – p.11

Note: While the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal carried many forged traditions, as mentioned above, it also states that he believed that his collection contained all the authentic Hadith in existence.

“The Muwatta of Imam Malik contains traditions of only 98 Companions. The Musnad of al-Tayalisi contains the hadiths of some 281 Companions, while the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal includes hadiths narrated by about 700 Companions. The Two Sahihs of Bukhari and Muslim contain the material of 208 and 213 Companions respectively, of whom 147 are common between the two great works.” – p. 18

Problems with Bukhari

Note: We have no book from Bukhari explaining the biographical work he did to verify the trustworthiness of his isnads in his Sahih compilation. Not only that it looks like such books did not exist until the third century.

Fabricated Isnads and Matn

Note: If Hadith with sound isnads cannot be trusted, then the entire isnad system cannot be trusted.

Mass Fabrication of Hadith By Enemies

Mass Fabrication of Hadith by Pious

Mutawatir Definitions