What are sunnah and hadith? What is difference between sunnah and hadith? What are tawatur and ahad hadith in Islam? Things to know about hadith and sunnah…
Without comprehending the place of the Prophet Muhammad (saw)in Islam, it is hard to understand the importance of his sayings and traditionsin Islam. The Prophet (saw), who above all was the deliverer and thebest interpreter of Allah’s Book, is the unique measure of life and the bestrole model for Muslims. In fact, Allah the Almighty states “Certainly youhave in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar …” (al-Ahzab, 33: 21) Since Allah the Almightysays that there is an excellent exemplar in the Messenger of Allahfor all believers, then how will the generations that succeed him be ableto reflect his exemplary character in their own lives? The answer to thisquestion is that above all, this could be possible by protecting the heritageof religious knowledge in the best and most accurate way. Therefore, sincethe earliest days of Muslim society, Muslim scholars who were aware ofthis fact considered it their responsibility to record the sayings and actionsof the Prophet (saw). The heritage of the Sunna and ḥadīth have beenan indispensable reference for Muslims since first generation in solvingproblems related to not only moral issues and acts of worship but also theirdaily lives.
Allah’s Messenger was appointed not only to deliver, but also to interpretthe revelation. His explanations, exegesis, and commentaries of theverses of the Holy Qur’an are called ḥadīth and his practices by applyingthe divine commands to life are called Sunna. Indeed when ‘Abd Allah b.‘Umar (ra) was asked “We find the fear prayer and the prayer of the residentmentioned in the Holy Qur’an, but why can’t we find any mention of the prayer ofthe traveler in it?” he said, “Allah (swt) sent us Muhammad (saw) when we knewnothing. We only do as we saw him doing.” (Al-Muwaṭṭa, Kasr al-Salah,)
Sunna and ḥadīth do not denote the same meanings. However, they are sometimes used interchangeably. It is not be possible to carry the heritage of Prophetic knowledge to our day unless we thoroughly understand what these two terms mean.
WHAT IS SUNNA IN ISLAM?
The word Sunna which lexically means “a way, course, rule, mode, custom, or manner of acting or conduct or life or the like” also refers to other meanings such as “to give a new shape, to introduce something new, to open a good or bad path, to go into and follow a path, to determine a situation, and to establish a rule for the society.”18 In Arabic there are various words meaning way or method such as ṭarīq, sabīl, sirāṭ, madhhab, and manhaj. However, none of these is an exact equivalent of the word Sunna, which is an umbrella term that consists of the meanings of all these words.
The word Sunna is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an as part of constructslike sunnatullah and sunnat al-awwalīn, meaning “the path established byAllah (swt), the unchangeable laws determined by Him.”19 Sunnatullah refersto the rules established by Allah (swt) not just related to the formationof this universe but also the structures and lives of the societies as a resultof His wisdom. The phrase sunnat al-awwalīn, on the other hand, refers tothe unalterable rules determined by Allah for people’s lives.20
The phrase Sunnat al-Nabi, i.e. the Sunna of the Prophet (saw), is understood differently by each one of the basic Islamic sciences and each one of them has offered a different definition fitting its own purposes and needs.
According to hadīth scholars, “whether they are about the legal mattersor not”, Sunna is “the information related to all kinds of sayings, actions,approvals, and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).” Accordingto Muslim jurists, Sunna refers to rulings that come from the Prophet Muhammad(saw), other than the obligatory and necessary rulings. Accordingto the scholars of methodology, excluding the Holy Qur’an, Sunna isthe Prophet’s sayings, actions, and tacit approvals that establish a religiousruling. According to the scholars of Islamic theology (kalām), on the otherhand, it is the opposite of the term bid’ah, i.e. innovation in religion.
Even though there is not an exact phrase in the Holy Qur’an like “theProphet’s Sunna, uswa al-ḥasana (the best exemplar)” is a construct witha wide connotation including the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah, andobeying and following him. The usage of the attribute of uswa to describethe Prophet’s supreme morality and exemplariness was interpreted by theCompanions (ra) and the following generations as the Prophet’s Sunna.21Our Prophet (saw)’s Sunna consists of his actions or practices related toworship, morality, and matters of daily life. The object of his Sunna is toensure that the believers adopt him as an example in those actions andpractices. In this respect, the great linguist Ibn Manẓur quotes the Arabicstatement ( وسَنَنْتُ لكَُمْ سُنةًَّ فاَتبَّعُِوهَا ) “I have established for you a path/a way of
behavior, so follow it.”22 However, sometimes newly established behaviorcan be a bad thing. Nevertheless, the Prophet (saw) expresses in one of hissayings that: “He who introduced some good practice in Islam ( سْلامَِ �ِ مَنْ سَنَّ فِي ال إسُنَّةً حَسَنَةً ), which was followed after him (by people), would be assured ofreward like one who followed it, without their rewards being diminishedin any respect. And he who introduced some evil practice in Islam ( وَمَنْسْلامَِ سُنَّةً سَيِّئَةً �ِ سَنَّ فِي ال إ ), which had been followed subsequently (by others),would be required to bear the burden of one who followed this (evil practice)without their own burden being diminished in any respect.”23
Although the first thing that came to mind by the term Sunna duringthe ages of the Companions (ra) and their successors was the practices ofthe Prophet (saw), one can see that the practices of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, andthe other rightly guided caliphs (khulafa al-rāshidīn) (ra) were also definedby the term Sunna. During the period of the Successors (tābi’ūn), there wasa disagreement about whether the interpretations and approaches of theCompanions (ra) could be included in the concept of the Prophet’s ḥadīthand Sunna. Sāliḥ b. Kaysan (140/757) who tried to compile the ḥadīths andSunnas stated that he and Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (124/742) recorded first everythingthey received from the Prophet (saw), then whatever was relatedby the Companions (ra). However, he also expressed that he did not recordthat which came from the Companions (ra) because he did not consider itas Sunna, whereas Zuhrī wrote them down. Consequently, Zuhrī came outbetter off and Kaysan lost out.24
According to Muslim jurists of the early periods of Islam, the Prophet’sSunna consisted of the matters related to both acts of worship and dailytransactions. In this respect, Imam Mālik’s book titled al-Muwaṭṭa,25 whichgenerally consists of the views and applications of Medinan jurists, is animportant source. It is accepted that the term Sunna used in al-Muwaṭṭausually refers to the common practices and established traditions in Medina.26 Medina, which was the center of the first Muslim community, iscalled Dār al-Sunna (the Land of Sunna) for it was witness to the sayings,actions, and memories of our beloved Prophet (saw). The Prophet’s Sunnahas always ensured unity of faith and practices and enabled Muslims tomanifest common behavioral norms.
The Sunna is a factor ensuring that the Holy Qur’an becomes imbedded in the recollection of Muslim society. The Sunna is an expansion and explanation of the Holy Qur’an. Adapting the divine commands and advicein the Holy Qur’an to the daily lives of the believers could be realizedby means of the Sunna. The realization of a “balanced (just) nation (ummatanwasata)”27 and “the best of the nations (khayra ummatin),”28 whichis commanded by the Holy Qur’an from the believers, could only be possibleby means of the Sunna. The statement “The need of the Holy Qur’anfor the Sunna is greater than the need of the Sunna for the Holy Qur’anآن) � إلى القر � إلى السنة من السنة � آن احوج � 29 ,(القر which is attributed to famous Damascenejurist Makhūl (100/718), should be understood as what an indispensableplace the Sunna occupies in understanding and adapting theHoly Qur’an to daily life.
The Sunna has a wider connotation which consists of moral, customary, and even humanitarian and socio-political actions of the Prophet (saw) in addition to his practices and approvals related to worship and daily transactions. In this regard, the Sunna of the Prophet (saw), who is presented in the Holy Qur’an as having “an exalted standard of character”30 and as being “an excellent exemplar”31 for the believers whom they are ordered to follow,32 carries a vital significance for Muslims.
Naturally, there have always been many questions and subjects deliberated upon, such as whether or not all of his actions and sayings can be evaluated within the context of the Sunna or whether or not there are limits for it -if there are limits, then the principles and measures these limits should be established- whether or not the Sunna is a pattern of conduct which should be strictly followed; and whether there are ethical principles behind the Sunna which are its main objects. We will deal in detail with the value, significance, and place of the Sunna in Muslims’ lives and how it needs to be understood under the subtitle “the main elements and principles in understanding the Sunna.”
WHAT IS HADITH IN ISLAM?
The term ḥadīth, which literally means new, is the antonym of the word qadīm (old).33 Ḥadīth, which also means news, is used in the Holy Qur’an to refer to the divine message, i.e. the Holy Qur’an.34 Likewise, it is also used in certain phrases such as ḥadīthu Musa (the parable of Moses), 35 “ḥadīth al-junūd (the news of the armies)” meaning “news” or “account.” When referring to the Holy Qur’an, the Prophet Muhammad (saw)
also used various phrases such as “aḥsan al-ḥadīth (the most beautiful ofspeeches,)36 “khayr al-hadīth” (the best of speeches) 37 “aṣdaq al-ḥadīth” (themost truthful of speeches).38 Raghib al-Isfahānī defines the term ḥadīth ina way that includes both the Holy Qur’an and the sayings of the ProphetMuhammad (saw): “(Ḥadīth) means all kinds of words which are receivedwhile sleeping or awake through hearing or revelation.”39 However, in laterperiods the word ḥadīth lost its literal meaning and started to be used specificallyfor the sayings of the Prophet (saw).
Although ḥadīth is a term used especially for the sayings of the Prophet(saw), there are other terms used in order to refer to his sayings in placeof the term ḥadīth. The most common among them is the term “khabar(literally, news).” During the period of the Companions (ra) and the followinggenerations, the word khabar was employed to refer to news regardingthe sayings as well as actions and approvals of the Messenger of Allah. Theterm khabar is more comprehensive than the term ḥadīth. The term khabar,which is a noun that comes from the Arabic root kh.b.r (khibra) meaning “totry something in order to become familiar with it and gain the knowledgeof its internal state,” terminologically means “a word informing of pastevents or about events which will happen in the future” or “a word whichhas the possibility to be right or wrong.”40 In his famous book al-Kifāya,Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī (463/1071), after briefly dealing with the significanceof the Sunna, opens a section titled “khabar / news and their divisions”. Inthat section, having defined khabar as news which has the possibility ofbeing right or wrong, he divides it into two types:
1. Tawātur (Mutawātir) Khabar:
It is the report that is narrated by such a large number of people that they cannot generally and rationally be expected to agree upon a lie, all of them together. The truthfulness of this type of news is regarded as certain and the information provided by it expresses necessity and certainty.
2. Ahād Khabar:
It refers to the reports that have not reached the degree of tawātur. Such news does not express certainty. If there is a strong opinion in respect to the certainty of the truthfulness of such news, it becomes necessary to act in accordance with the information provided by it.41
“Āthār” is another word that is used synonymously with the term ḥadīth. The word āthār, which literally means “the trace of something, diversified wavy marks, or streaks of a sword” is terminologically used to express the reports attributed to the Prophet (saw) as well as to the Companions (ra) and their Successors (tabi’un). Some scholars employ the term āthār just for the reports attributed to the Prophet (saw) and his Companions (ra), while others apply it only to refer to reports that come from the Companions (ra).
The reports which are directly attributed to the Prophet (saw) himself are called marfūʿ; the reports that are attributed to the Companions (ra) are called mawqūf; and those attributed to the Successors of the Companions are called maqtūʿ khabar.
Another word that is closely related to the term ḥadīth is the term riwāya, which literally means “to irrigate or to drink enough water to quench or satisfy one’s thirst.” In ḥadīth terminology, it means to report and to transmit a ḥadīth or Sunna by attributing it to its source. The one who transmits a ḥadīth is called “rāwī or transmitter or narrator of the ḥadīth.”42
In addition to the terms, khabar, āthār, and riwāya, the word ‘ilm (i.e.knowledge or science) has also become identified with the term ḥadīth. When the term ‘ilm was used, especially during the early periods of Islam,it undoubtedly meant the Science of Ḥadīth. The following remarkmade by many Muslim scholars expresses the close connection betweenthe terms ‘ilm and ḥadīth and also ḥadīth and religion: “Undoubtedly, this‘ilm (the Science of Ḥadīth) is religion. Therefore, be careful from whichsource you get your religion.”43
The word ḥadīth literally means “narration, word, and new.” This iswhy the term ḥadīth, which means oral transmission of a saying, or anevent and incident, is very different than the term Sunna. While ḥadīthrefers to oral or verbal issues, Sunna refers to the issues that are related toaction and behavior. However, it has become common usage for the termsSunna and ḥadīth to be used interchangeably in Islamic tradition to refer tothe actions, sayings and tacit approvals of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).
There is a strong relationship between the terms Sunna and ḥadīth, because ḥadīth is the most important source of the Sunna. When one remembers that the Prophet’s morality was based on the principles of the Holy Qur’an, it can be said that the Holy Qur’an was also the natural source of the Prophet’s Sunna. The Prophet (saw)’s sayings, actions and behaviors, which are the reflections and tangible applications of his morality, have been both orally narrated and transmitted in practice to the following generations (by ḥadīth transmission). Therefore, we can find the details of the personality of the Messenger of Allah, who is the best exemplar for all believers, his requests, his advice, and his practices in the ḥadīths.
The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, who closely followed hisactions and words, instilled them in the memories of the following generationsby putting them into practice in their own lives. They became theones who personally transmitted the ḥadīth to the following generations.After the expansion of Muslim lands, the role of ḥadīth in the spread of theProphetic Sunna to vast regions cannot be denied. This had a significantplace and influence in the creation of a Muslim community with similarbeliefs, customs, and moral sensitivities. After the beginning of the secondcentury hijra, responsible scholars started to endeavor to gather ourbeloved Prophet (saw)’s ḥadīths. Those efforts were not simple acts. Firstof all, the act of transmission of the ḥadīths was based on certain rulesand principles because certain circles had presented their personal convictionsas ḥadīths and transmitted them as if they were the sayings of theProphet (saw) in order to validate their political or theological tendencies.44Muhammad b. Sirin (110/729), the famous scholar from Basra and thefreed slave of Anas b. Malik, stated that the sensitivity about searchingthe sources of the ḥadīths began after the period of fitna (trouble and disorder).45 This act of transmission by attributing the ḥadīths to their sourcesand mentioning their sources is called isnād. The word isnād, which comesfrom the Arabic root “s-n-d”, literally means “to depend on and to rely onsomething.” It terminologically means “to link the text of ḥadīth to its firstsource by using special phrases of narration and mentioning the narratorsin accordance with their order in the chain of narration”.46 The termsanad on the other hand literally means “the thing upon which somethingis depended, trusted, and relied” and terminologically refers to the chainof the names of the narrators given above the text of the ḥadīth. This chainof names is considered the warranty of the ḥadīth.47 How and throughwhich ways the narrators received and transmitted the text of a ḥadīth isalso stated in the sanad with the help of special terms. Therefore, a ḥadīthconsists of not only a text but also a chain of transmitters by which the textis connected. The chain, which has no interruption from the first transmitter, i.e. the Messenger of Allah, to the last one, is called musnad in ḥadīth terminology.48
In Islamic tradition, Muslim scholars have attached importance toisnād especially in ḥadīth transmission since the early days of Islam. Ascholar would first check the chain of transmission of a narration beforeexamining its contents. In a way, checking the sanad of a narration becameeven more important than the message it gave. This is because even if theslightest doubt emerges about the authenticity of a narration, the valueof such information being religious evidence, no matter what message itgives, becomes questionable. Another reason for paying so much attentionto the sanad was that many false sayings attributed to the Prophet (saw),were circulating among society at the time. The following words of ‘AbdAllah ibn Mubarak (181/798) summarizes this situation: “Isnād is fromreligion. If there were not isnād, everybody would be able to say whateverthey wanted.”49
Nonetheless, the existence of isnād alone has not been accepted asenough to prove that a saying can be attributed to the Prophet (saw) andcertain measures were established for the acceptability of the isnād. Thereshould not exist any break (inqiṭa’) in the chain, in other words, it shouldbe, unbroken (muttaṣil), to use the proper term. The narrators should alsobe free from certain deficiencies. In this respect, one can see that communicationand transmission of knowledge in Islamic tradition have beenbased on certain ethical principles which were established with the emergenceof the science of ḥadīth. There have been very sensitive measuresestablished in the science of ḥadīth which are based on the transmissionof the sayings and actions of the Prophet (saw) in particular, and of hisCompanions (ra) and their Successors to the following generations. Thefirst measure is that those who transmit the knowledge are required tobe thiqa (reliable) and ṣādiq (honest). It is carefully established that thosedeficiencies may keep a person from acquiring true knowledge or frommaintaining the acquired knowledge and it is clearly stated that the narratorsshould not have such deficiencies.
Thus, in order to establish whether a narration can be attributed to the Prophet (saw), in other words its thubut, a type of grading system was applied. According to this system, narrations, which were reported by ‘ādil and ḍābiṭ narrators from the beginning to the end of the chain and which are not shāz or mua’llal narrations, are called ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth. ‘Ādil is the attributeof a religiously and morally reliable narrator, whereas ḍābiṭ is the attributeof a narrator with a good and strong memory. In other words, it is the attributeof a narrator who is able to keep the narration that he learned in hismemory until narrating it to another person. Being muttaṣil means that thenarration has a chain of narrators which goes back to its beginning withoutany interruption in it (ittiṣāl) or not having any break (inqiṭā’) in it. Notbeing a shāz narration means that the reliable narrator of the ḥadīth doesnot contradict the narrations of more reliable narrators. Not being mua’llalmeans that the sanad and text of a ḥadīth do not have any deficiencies.
The type of ḥadīth that is one level below the ṣaḥīḥ is called ḥasan ḥadīth. The narration that carries all the conditions of a ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth, except being ḍābiṭ, is called hasan.
The type of ḥadīth that is on the third level is called da’īf (weak) orsaqīm (infirm) ḥadīth. Weak narrations are the ones that lack one or morerequirements of the ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan ḥadīths, but are not claimed to be fabricatedsayings. In the history of ḥadīth, the place of weak narrations hasalways been an issue of debate. In Islamic tradition, it has been generallyaccepted that weak narrations cannot be used as a basis in matters relatedto declaring something lawful or unlawful, whereas it is permissible to usethem in other matters such as the ones related to the merits of deeds.
Here we need to point out the following two issues: Firstly, establishingwhether a ḥadīth was ṣaḥīḥ, or ḥasan, or ḍa’īf is a matter of independentreasoning (ijtihād). In other words, when scholars of ḥadīth issued theirviews about the thubūt of a ḥadīth, they evaluated the matter through theirindependent reasoning. This independent reasoning was related either towhether or not the chain of narrators was unbroken (muttaṣil) or to theevaluation of the narrators in the chain from the perspective of their “reliability.”Since the measures used for the evaluation of the narrators inrespect to their ‘adl and ḍabṭ presented minor variations from one ḥadīthscholar to another, their results were quite different. This is why a ḥadīthwhich was regarded as weak by one ḥadīth scholar might be evaluated asṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan by another.
Secondly, the evaluations regarding the attribution of a ḥadīth to the Prophet (saw) were mostly evaluations about the chain of narrators. There is always a possibility for a ḥadīth classified as weak to be ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan and vice versa. Just like there is a possibility that a reliable narrator might make a mistake, it is similarly within the range of possibility for a weak narrator to be correct.
If one of the narrators in the chain was accused of bad traits such aslying, then the saying narrated by him is ruled to be fabricated (mawḍū’).The term mawḍū’ ḥadīth is used to refer to fabricated sayings attributed tothe Prophet (saw). Although there have been some scholars who consideredsuch narrations as “the worst type of weak ḥadīth”, much credit hasnot been given to such views. It would be more appropriate to use a cautiousphrase “fabricated report” or “fabricated narrative” instead of callingthem “fabricated ḥadīth.” However, because they looked like the rest ofthe ḥadīths, the ḥadīth scholars did not consider it problematic to call suchfabricated reports “ḥadīth.” The activities of fabricating ḥadīths have beenone of the most sensitive issues in the history of the sciences of ḥadīth. Thissubject will be examined in more detail in the following section titled “TheHistory of Ḥadīth.”
In his famous book, which classifies various sciences according to their subject matter, Taşköprüzade (1030/1621), one of the important scholars of the Ottoman period, stated that the subject matter of the science of ḥadīth is the sayings of the Prophet (saw) and establishing whether or not these sayings originated from him.50
In short, the Science of Ḥadīth is dealt within two main divisions.The first is ‘Ilm Riwāyat al-Ḥadīth, and the second is ‘Ilm Dirāyat al-Ḥadīth.The former deals with the transmission of the sayings, actions, approvalsand characteristics attributed to the Prophet (saw), his Companions (ra),and their Successors. While the latter – which is also called Usūl al-Ḥadīth(Methodology of Ḥadīth) or Muṣṭalaḥ al-Ḥadīth (Terminology of Ḥadīth)– is in a way the methodology of the Science of Ḥadīth. Moreover, it hasbeen defined differently in different periods. For example, in the first fourcenturies of Islam, which was the period of the birth and development ofthe Science of Ḥadīth, it was considered the science examining the sanadin respect to its inqiṭā’ and ittiṣāl and the narrators from the point of their‘adāla and ḍabṭ, while in later periods it started to be defined as the scienceexamining a report from the point of its acceptability or unacceptability.
Today, the field of the Science of Ḥadīth has become so broad that it cannot be reduced to mere technical terminology. “Ḥadīth is no longer just the sanad nor the text. It is neither Sunna nor a religious proof fromwhich religious rulings are derived. It has become “a field of cultural history”which covers all of the above as well as our contemporary times.”51 Inaddition to serving as an important source for the Islamic sciences, suchas Islamic Law (fiqh), Islamic theology (kalām), Sufism (ṭaṣawwuf), andQur’anic exegesis (tafsīr), it has also played an important role in the moraldevelopment of Muslim society throughout Islamic history. The presentationof the Prophet Muhammad (saw) as the best exemplar for all Muslimshas become influential in attributing the utmost importance to his sayingsand life (ḥadīth and Sunna) throughout Islamic history. This has led toan increase of the interest in ḥadīth, and consequently to the creation of atremendous ḥadīth literature over time. Reflecting the divine messages conveyedin the Holy Qur’an in life and maintaining their vitality throughoutthe centuries have become possible by means of this ḥadīth literature. Inother words, ḥadīth and Sunna have ensured the perpetuity and currency ofIslam. They enabled all Islamic societies to develop a common atmosphereof faith and thought despite their different geographies and to create a unityin their practices as much as possible in spite of their differences.
Footnote:
18 Ibn Manẓur, Lisān al-‘Arab, s.v. “S.N.N.”
19 al-Ahzab, 33: 38; Fatir, 35: 43; al-Mu’min, 40: 85; al- Fath, 48: 23.
20 Musa Jarullah Bigiyaf, Kitāb al-Sunnah, p. 5.
21 Guraya, Muhammed Yusuf, Sünnetin Neliği Sorununa Metodik bir Yaklaşım, p. 33.
22 Ibn Manẓur, Lisān al-‘Arab, s.v. “S.N.N.”
23 Muslim, Zakat, 69; Muslim, Ilm, 15.
24 Abdurrazzaq, al-Musannaf, XI, 258.
25 Attention should be drawn to the conceptual relationship between the word muwaṭṭa’ which means “a path that was muchtrodden or followed” and the meaning of the word Sunnah.
26 Guraya, Ibid., 80.
27 al-Baqara, 2: 143.
28 Āl Imrān, 3: 110.
29 Marwazī, Muhammad b. Nasr, al-Sunnah, p. 33, no: 104; Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, al-Kifāya fi “ilm al-Riwāyah, p. 30.
30 al-Qalam, 68: 4.
31 al-Ahzab, 33: 21.
32 al-‘Araf, 7: 158; Āl Imrān, 3: 31-32; al-Nisā’, 4: 80; al- Mā’idah, 5: 92.
33 Ibn Manẓur, Lisān al-‘Arab, s.v. “H.D.TH.”
34 al-Kahf, 18: 6.
35 Ta-Ha, 20: 9.
36 Ibn Ḥanbal, Musnad, III, 320.
37 Muslim, Juma, 43
38 Nasāi, ‘Idayn, 22.
39 Raghīb al-Isfahānī, Mufradāt, p. 110
40 Yavuz, Yusuf Şevki, s.v. “Haber”, DIA, XIV, p. 346.
41 Khatib, al-Kifaya, p. 32, 42.
42 Efendioğlu, Mehmet, s.v. “Rivayet”, DIA, XXXV, p. 135.
43 Muslim, Muqaddima, 7; Darimī, Muqaddima, 38; Khatīb, al-Kifāyah, 150.
44 Khatib, al-Kifaya, p. 151.
45 Muslim, Muqaddima, 7; Khatīb, al-Kifāya, p. 151.
46 Küçük, Raşit, s.v. “İsnad”, DİA, XXIII, p. 154. 47 Koçyiğit, Talat, Hadis Istılahları, p. 397
48 Hākim al-Naisaburī, Ma‘rifat Ulūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 17.
49 Muslim, Muqaddima, 7.
50 Taşköprüzade, Miftah al- Saadah wa Misbah al-Siyadah, I-III, II, 52.
51 Özafşar, M. Emin, Hadis ve Kültür Yazıları, p. 45.
Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, Islam Through Hadiths