Missing jumu`ah without excuse

By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi Question: There is hadith in Abu Dawud that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whoever misses jumu`ah without a good reason should give in sadaqah one dinar (a gold coin); if he can’t find one, then half. Is it obligatory for us to give this amount if we miss jumu`ah? Answer: First of all, let me make it clear that the question has to do with missing jumu`ah without a valid excuse. Insofar as this is a hadith that we might or should act upon, it does not apply in the present circumstances of…

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The Soundest Book

By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi and translated by Dr Abu Zayd They asked: What is the greatest book? I replied: After the Book of God, the greatest book undoubtedly is the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Bukhārī, entitled al-Jāmiʿ al-Musnad al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar min Umūr Rasūlillāh wa Sunanihī wa Ayyāmihī. Nothing like it has ever been authored in Islam or any other tradition. It is a sound book of the highest quality, accuracy and precision. Among all works, it offers the greatest insights into understanding the Qurʾān, chains of transmission, ḥadīth sciences, fiqh, history and language. I have explained some of its unique…

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Orientalists and Hadith

By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwī Modern Western critical inquiry into texts carrying religious authority have been carried out on the assumption that those texts are of natural (this-worldly) origin and therefore any claims of supernatural origin are simply mechanisms by which the religious authority of those texts are established and sustained. This is supported by the historical fact that the Christian scriptures came to be recognised only when the establishment of geographically dispersed [and to some extent competing] Christian communities became apparent. Only after one of the dominant communities had forged an alignment with the political authority of the Roman…

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Sahih Muslim

By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi The two most sound books of hadith are Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, both of which have always been studied and taught in the highest seats of learning in the Muslim world, and extensively commented on by hadith and fiqh specialists. It is true that, in respect of the soundness of the hadith selected Sahih al-Bukhari is generally preferred over Sahih Muslim. However, there are certain technical points and professional qualities for which Sahih Muslim is preferred over Sahih al-Bukhari. Muslim follows the general method of hadith experts in organizing and ordering his material. This…

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The Nexus between Qurʾān and Sunnah

By this link: Clarify for us the true connection between the Qurʾān and the Sunnah. I asked: What do you mean? They replied: Islamic groups and sects have differed greatly over their stance towards the Sunnah and over the nature of the link between the Qurʾān and Sunnah. What is your position on that?  I replied: I will first present all the positions, from past to present, concerning the Sunnah of the leader and master of the prophets and messengers, the beloved of the Lord of the worlds, peace be upon him. I will then comment on them in a…

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Inculcate good etiquettes, O students of Hadith!

By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwiand translated by Syed Huzaifah Ali Nadwi To access the original arabic, follow this link There are many types of students of Ḥadith, the best of them are those who study the books of Ḥadith from both aspects of the usūl and the furūʾ with a complete grasp of the asānīd, mutūn, rijāl and the ʿilal of the aḥādīth, comprehending their meanings and contents, and are able to apply them to their lives. Indeed these are the true heirs of the prophets, the instructors of goodness and the callers to the right path. By acquiring the…

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The Soundness of Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī

By this link It must be known first that ṣaḥīḥ is a specific scholarly term that is used for a ḥadīth report which is transmitted by upright and precise individuals through a chain of transmitters (isnād) without discontinuity or deception, and free of all contradictions, overt or hidden, that would affect its attribution to its source. Within this scheme, the Ṣaḥīḥ compilation of Imām Bukhārī, as well as the Ṣaḥīḥ of Imām Muslim, represent the highest standard of authenticity. There simply is no single book of historical reports that is equivalent to them in their level of soundness, precision, and…

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Sunnah and Ḥadīth

By this link: What is the meaning of sunnah? The technical meaning of the term is a way or practice that was established and pursued by the Prophet, peace be upon him, and then by the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the rest of the Companions, and the leading figures in the generations that followed them. And what is the meaning of ḥadīth? Technically, it is a report comprised of the words of the Prophet, peace be upon him, or of his actions, tacit approvals, characteristics or other personal matters. And what is the real connection between them? Is it a successive,…

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Departure of Scholars from the Way of the Ḥadīth Imāms

By this link: We attend your lectures and you point out all sorts of scholarly mistakes in the treatment of the Prophetic sunnah and the failure to fully grasp the approach of the Imāms of ḥadīth. So please inform us of the roots and origins of this fault and error. I replied: There are two matters: that which most scholars fell into and that which only some of them did They asked: What affected most of them? I replied: Two matters. They asked: What are they? I replied: Need to Treat Ḥadīth as Historical Reports First, there is failure to…

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Between Hadith and Fiqh

By this link: We were impressed by your article “Between Hadith and Philosophy“, benefitting from it, and thereafter, being able to distinguish between the nature of hadith and the nature of philosophy and their respective standards and measurements which are specific to each one of the sciences, thereby avoiding the conflation and confused mixing of the two. So, please expound for us the difference between hadith and fiqh in a way that eliminates any complications and obscurity. I said: Read the article again and you will find therein a comprehensive explanation regarding that which you have asked me. They said:…

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