Outlines of the Development of the Science of Hadith [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

The word hadith, according to the dictionary, has several meanings such as
"new," "novel," "recent," "modern," and "speech", "report," "account," and
"narrative." However, in Islamic context, the term hadith means "Prophetic
tradition" or "narrative relating deeds and utterances of the Prophet (S)."
According to some, even the account of a dream linked with the Holy Prophet (S)
is also included in the category of hadith.

In most cases, the words sunnah and hadith are used as
interchangeable synonyms by the scholars of the science of hadith. The
author of the book Talwih says: "Sunnah is a more general
term than hadith, and includes everything related to the Prophet
(S) except the Qur'an: his speech - which is hadith - and his behaviour
and character."[1]
According to another opinion, since the majority of Sunni Muslims believe
in Qur'an's being sempiternal (qadim), everything else except the
Qur'an from the Prophet (S) came to be called hadith, a word closely
related with hadith meaning "incidental" as opposed to "eternal".[2]
Some are of the opinion that the sayings of the Sahabah (the Companions
of the Prophet) and the Tabiun (the second generation after the
Holy Prophet (S)) can also be included under the term hadith.[3]
On the other hand, for the Shiah authorities on hadith, the
term can properly include only the narratives relating the speech, biographical
details and deeds of the Prophet (S) and the Imams (A).[4]

Here, we consider it necessary first to explain certain terms related to our
discussion.

Sunnah: The term in general means "habitual practice" or "customary
procedure," and in particular applies to the sayings and doings of the
religious leaders who are masum[5]
(i.e. the Prophet and the Imams, who are considered as being free of sin
and error). Accordingly, the term is employed by the side of the Book (Qur'an).
Sunnah
is used in a sense that is wider than that of hadith,
although
in some of the Sunni texts of tradition, such as of Ibn Maja, al-Bayhaqi
and others, the term signifies hadith. The authorities of hadith
differ as to meanings covered by hadith and khabar
(report).
While some consider the terms as being synonymous, others are of the opinion
that khabar is a term which is more general than
hadith. According
to them, khabar applies to every narrative regarding the Prophet
(S), while hadith is taken to mean a narration quoting the Prophet
(S) himself.[6]
Some, as pointed out above, apply the term hadith to the sayings
of the Sahabah and Tabiun in addition. Accordingly, every
hadith
is also a khabar, though every khabar is not a hadith;
though some regard the terms as being inter-changeable synonyms.[7]

Riwayah: This term is synonymous with hadith. According
to the author of Majma al-bahrayn, "Riwayah is a khabar that
is traceable through a series of narrators to a masum."[8]

Athar: Shaykh Baha'i in his Nihayat al-dirayah considers
athar
as being identical with hadith. Others impute to it a wider
meaning. Still others confine its meaning to narrations that go back to
the Sahabah.[9]

Hadith-i Qudsi: Hadith-i qudsi is defined as the
Divine communication whose revelation is not the part of the Qur'anic miracle.
Sayyid Sharif Jurjani says: " [Hadith-i qudsi] is from God, the Most Exalted,
from the point of view of meaning, and from the Prophet (S) from the viewpoint
of actual wording. It constitutes what God has communicated to the Prophet
through revelation or in dreams. The Prophet - upon whom be peace - informed
others of its meaning in his own words. Accordingly, the Qur'an is superior to
the hadith-i qudsi, because it is the actual Word of God."

There are six points of differences between the Qur'an and the hadith-i
qudsi: Firstly, the Qur'an is a Divine miracle; this does not necessarily
apply to the hadith-i qudsi. Secondly, salat (prayer) is
not valid without recitation of parts of the Qur'an; this is not so in
the case of the hadith-i qudsi. Thirdly, one who rejects the Qur'an
is regarded as a kafir (an unbeliever); this does not hold true
in the case of the hadith-i qudsi. Fourthly, whole of the Qur'an
was communicated to the Prophet (S) through the agency of the Angel Gabriel;
this does not apply to hadith-i qudsi. Fifthly, every word of the
Qur'an is the Word of God, but the wordings of the hadith-i qudsi may
be ascribed to the Prophet (S). Sixthly, the Qur'an cannot be touched without
taharah
(the condition of bodily purity as prescribed by the Shari'ah)
and
this condition does not apply to the hadith-i qudsi.[10]

Origins of the Science of Hadith

The Holy Prophet of Islam (S), for a period of 23 years from the beginning
of his prophetic mission to the moment of his death, was directly involved in
the process of guidance and leadership of the people. The multifarious kinds of
questions that arose for the Muslims in relation with their needs converged upon
the Holy Prophet. The Prophet responded to their questions through explanations
and discussions whose variety increased with the progress of Islam to the extent
of enveloping all aspects of the moral, social and civic affairs of Muslims. The
new society that emerged during this period was significant and important from
every aspect. The Muslims who were the contemporaries of the Prophet had the
advantage of personal recourse to him and chance of putting to him various
questions regarding their social life. However, as long as the Prophet lived,
and the source of Divine Revelation was in the midst of the Muslims, the great
importance of recording his words was not fully realized. Nevertheless, soon
after the Prophet's death, the Muslims realized the imminent need of recording
the hadith so as to avoid the problems that would arise in the future
generations. Accordingly, from the time of the first caliph, the need for
recording of hadith was distinctly felt by the Muslim society. It should not
remain unsaid that Ali (A), the first Imam of the Shiah Muslims, had with
characteristic foresight, pioneered the task of recording the Prophet's sayings
during the Prophet's lifetime itself. Word for word, he wrote down what he had
heard from the Prophet (S). The author of Ta'sis al-shiah writes:

...Know that the Shiah were the first to embark on collecting
the records of the acts and sayings of the Prophet (S) during the era of
the caliphs. They followed in the footsteps of their Imam Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin
(A), for, he had recorded and categorized the hadith during the
times of the Holy Prophet. Al-Shaykh Abu al-Abbas al-Najashi, in the translation
of Muhammad Ibn Adhafar, said: "I was with Hakam ibn Ayyinah by the side
of Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (A). Hakam started asking questions
with Abu Jafar reluctantly answering them. There was a disagreement between
them about one thing. Then Abu Jafar said: "Son, get up and bring Ali's
book." He brought a big voluminous book and opened it. He looked closely
in it for a while until he found the problem (which was under debate).
Abu Jafar (A) said: "This is the handwriting of Ali and the dictation
of the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be God's peace and benedictions."[11]

This tradition is in agreement with what I found in Najashi's Rijal.
In
addition, two other sources confirm the contents of the abovementioned
hadith.[12]

Another narration that confirms the attention devoted by the Shiah
to recording of hadith is that of an incident from the life of Fatimah
al-Zahra'(A). One day Fatimah (A) could not find a manuscript in which
hadith
was recorded. She reportedly urged her housemaid to search for it,
saying, "Look for it. It is as precious to me as my sons Hasan and Husayn."[13]

Among the Ahl al-Sunnah, the recording of hadith started after
the Holy Prophet's death, and that too after prolonged controversies between
groups who favoured and opposed it.[14]
In this connection, A'ishah reports: "My father Abu Bakr had collected
five-hundred hadith of the Messenger of Allah and one day he burnt
them all."[15]

There are several narrations regarding the second caliph which indicate
that he stopped people from relating the Holy Prophet's traditions.[16]

The recording of hadith among the Sunnis started from the early
second century when the Umayyad caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ordered
their collection and compilation.[17]
As is widely accepted, Ibn Jurayj was the first person to record and compile
hadith
among the Sunnis.[18]

Here it is worth mentioning that apart from the Household of the Prophet
(S), their Shiah followers preceded the Sunnis in their effort to record
the hadith. Abu Rafi was the first man to begin the task along
with the members of the Prophet's Household (A).[19]
However, there were also several others who took up this task at the time
of Abu Rafi, or after him. Among them were: Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi,
Ali ibn Abi Rafi, Salman al-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, Asbagh ibn
Nubatah and others.[20]

The Shiah recorders of hadith can be divided into four groups:

In the first group, besides Ali ibn Abi-Talib (A)
and Fatimah al-Zahra' (A), were Abu Rafi, Salman al-Farisi, Maytham
al-Tammar, Asbagh ibn Nubatah, Mujashii al-Kufi, Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi,
Harth ibn Abd Allah al-Awar al-Hamdani, Rabiah ibn Sami, Salim ibn Qays,
Ali ibn Abi Rafi, Abd Allah ibn Hurr, Muhammad ibn Qays al-Bajali, Yala
ibn Murrah, Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari.
In the second group were Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn
al-Abidin (A), Jafar ibn Yazid al-Jufi, Zayd ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Thawr,
Ziyad ibn al-Mundhir.
In the third group can be said to belong Yahya ibn
Qasim, Abd al-Mu'min, Zurarah ibn Ayun, Muhammad ibn Muslim, Bassim
al-Sayrafi, Abu Ubaydah al-Hadhdha', Zakariyya ibn Abd Allah, Thawrab ibn
Qamamah, Majd ibn Mughirah, Muhammad ibn Za'idah al-Khadrami, Muawiyah ibn
Amarah, Matlab al-Zahri, Abd Allah ibn Maymun.
This group of recorders of the hadith comprised of more than four-thousand
of the people of Iraq, Hijaz, Khurasan and Sham (Syria), who related traditions
from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (A) or Imam Jafar al-Sadiq (A).[21]

The pioneers in recording of the hadith among the Sunnis were Ibn
Jurayj in Mecca; Ibn Ishaq and Malik in Medina; Rabi ibn Sabih, Said
ibn Abi Urubah, Hammad ibn Salamah in Basra; Sufyan ibn Thawri in Kufa;
al-Awzai in Syria, Haytham in Wasit; Muammar in Yemen, Jarir ibn Abd
al-Hamid in Rey, and Ibn Mubarak in Harran.[22]
However, there is a disagreement among the Sunni scholars about who first
started recording hadith. According to Ibn Hajr, Rabi ibn Sabih
(died 160/777) and Said ibn Abi Urubah (died 156/773) were pioneers in
this field; they were followed by Malik in Medina and Abd al-Malik ibn
Jurayj in Mecca, who pursued the task of recording hadith.[23]
But according to Haji Khalifah, Abd al-Malik ibn Jurayj and Malik ibn
Anas were the first ones to do so, and the first man to classify them and
divide them into chapters was Rabi ibn Sabih.[24] In any case,
regardless of who it was to first record hadith among the Ahl al-Sunnah, whether
Rabi ibn Sabih or Malik or Said ibn Abi Urubah, all of them belong to the
second century of Hijra, and lived one hundred years after the Shiah had
already started this work.

As we mentioned above, the Muslims recognized the need to record the words
of the Prophet (S) right after his demise; because they knew that it was the
only way to safeguard the future generations against various problems. The
realization of the significance of this work grew gradually. After the Prophet
(S) his close companions formed the primary source of hadith. During their
lifetimes, the solution of various problems that arose could still be found and
the narrations of the Sahabah served as the guiding torch for the generation
that followed them, the Tabiun. It was during the generation of the Tabiun
that the Sahabah were questioned about various issues and their narrations were
committed to writing. This was the beginning of the science of hadith. Hadith
served as the key to the understanding of the Qur'an, and became an addendum to
the Book for the Muslims. However, as pointed out earlier, the Shiah had felt
this need earlier during the lifetime of the Prophet himself.

From the time that Muslims began to realize the need for collection
and recording of ahadith, they took great pains in this regard.
A man like Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari would cover months on camel-back
to hear a hadith.[25]

The number of the Companions of the Prophet from whom traditions have
been related is put somewhere near 114 in some books.[26] The most important of them were: Ali ibn
Abi-Talib (A), Abd Allah ibn Masud, Salman al-Farisi, Ubayy ibn Kaab, Ammar
ibn Yasir, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Anas ibn Malik, Abu
Musa al-Ashari, A'ishah, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abu Hurayrah, Abd Allah ibn
al-Abbas, Ubadah ibn Samit, Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari, Abu Said
al-Khudri.

Among the Tabiun, there were such as Shabi, Ibn Musayyab, Ibn
Sirin, and others.[27]

The author of Tadrib al-rawi puts the number of traditions narrated from
each of the Companions in the diminishing order as follows:

Abu Hurayrah: 5,374 hadith.

Abd Allah ibn Umar: 2,630 hadith.

A'ishah: 2,208 hadith.

Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas: 1,660 hadith.

Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari: 1,540 hadith.

Abu Said al-Khudri: 1,170 hadith.[28]

There is none among the rest of companions to be accredited with narration
of more than one thousand traditions. Evidently, the political conditions
prevalent during the Umayyad rule did not permit narration of ahadith from Ali
(A) and his followers. It is worth mentioning that not all of the first
narrators of hadith were equally reliable. This issue will be discussed later in
the chapter on dirayat al-hadith (critical examination of hadith). But before we
enter the discussion on dirayat al-hadith, its origin and development, it is
necessary to study the course of development of the science of hadith among the
Shiah and the Ahl al-Sunnah from the point of view of style of compilation of
the texts during various periods.

Hadith Among the Shiah: The Four-hundred Usul

As said above, the work of compilation of hadith among the Shiah
started during the life of the Prophet (S). The texts which were compiled
by the early Shiah scholars were called "Usul." It should however
be admitted that these texts were not without defect from the point of
view of the art of writing and compilation; for, most of the authors of
these texts were those who had heard the ahadith from one of the
Imams, in particular, from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir and Imam Jafar al-Sadiq
(A), writing them down in notebooks. These notebooks composed by the Shiah
scholars, containing the traditions heard from one of the Imams, or heard
from someone who had heard the Imam, came to be called "Usul." Out
of these texts compiled from the era of Ali (A) to the time of Imam Hasan
al-Askari, the eleventh Imam, the popular ones were four-hundred in number
by different authors. Each of them contained a number of ahadith written
without any attention being paid to the sequence or classification according
to the subject. Most of these traditions exist in the al-Mahasin al-Barqi,
al-Kafi, Man la Yahduruhu al-faqih. Some of them are found in Tahdhib.
It
appears that most of these notebooks existed in the Shahpur Karkh Library
of Baghdad and were lost when Tughrul the Turk burnt the city on conquering
it in the year 448/1056. Others which escaped this calamity, and other
disasters, were preserved until the time of Ibn Idris and Ibn Ta'wus and
were available to them. Some, more than two-hundred of them, have survived
to our own times.[29] These notebooks usually go with the prefix
"kitab" and often "nawadir". Thirteen of them exist in the library of the Tehran
University in the manuscript file number 962. Twelve of them are "kitab" and one
is "nawadir". These are:

Kitab Zayd al-Zad;

Kitab Ghasfari;

Kitab ibn Hamid al-Hannat;

Kitab Zayd al-Nirsi;

Kitab Jafar al-Hadrami;

Kitab Muhammad al-Hadrami;

Kitab Abd al-Malik ibn Hakim;

Kitab Muthanna ibn Walid al-Hannat;

Kitab Haddad al-Sindi;

Kitab Husayn ibn Uthman;

Kitab Kahili;

Kitab Salam Khurasani;

Nawadir Abi al-Hasan Ali ibn Asbat ibn Salim.[30]

The Four Books:

The later Shiah scholars of hadith compiled four great collections from the
aforementioned notebooks or Usul which became the most important texts of hadith
in the Shiah world receiving hitherto unprecedented popularity. These four
books were the following:

Al-Kafi: It was compiled by Shaykh Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Yaqub
al-Kulayni al-Razi (died 329/940) which contains 16,099 musnad (documented)
hadith
narrated from the Ahl al-Bayt (the Household of the Prophet).[31]

Man la yahduruhu al-faqih: It was compiled by Shaykh Saduq Abu Jafar
Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Babwayhi al-Qummi (died 381/991) who is known as
"Shaykh-i Ajal" or "Saduq al-Ta'ifah". This book contains 9,044 hadith.[32]

Al-Tahdhib: It was compiled by Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn al-Hasan
al-Tusi (died 460/1068) also known as "Shaykh al-Ta'ifah" (The chief of
the sect). This book contains 13,590 hadith.[33]

Al-Istibsar: This book was also compiled by Shaykh Tusi, and contains
5,511 hadith. The book is divided into four parts.[34]

It is necessary to mention here that the four hundred "Usul" were
widely quoted and narrated by the Shiah muhaddithin (scholars of
hadith)
until a comprehensive compilation called al-Mahasin was done
by Shaykh Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Barqi, who died in the second
half of the third century of Hijra. His book contained a large number of
ahadith arranged in numerous chapters. The al-Mahasin set
an example which opened a new era in the history of the science of Shiah
hadith;[35] because it
was after him that others took up the task of collection, compilation and
classification of ahadith, which were until then scattered in hundreds of Usul.
This trend led to the emergence of the four authoritative compilations of hadith
during the fourth and fifth centuries. Since then, they have been considered the
greatest sources of hadith for the Shiah and served as the primary sources for
the later day writers.

The Age of Exposition:

After the compilation of the four great texts of hadith, the
next stage was that of exposition. During this period, the attention of
most of the scholars was devoted to writing of commentaries and exposition
of these texts. A large number of commentaries were written on each of
these texts. In spite of the fact that most of these commentaries have,
in the course of time, been forgotten and lie buried in libraries, more
than 120 of these commentaries and exegeses have come down to our times.[36]

However, this phase of exposition should be regarded as a period of langour
in the history of development of the science of hadith; because, instead of a
gradual growth, it marked a stage when most of the discussions went round and
round in a definite circle without any progress or breakthrough. This situation
lasted until the time of Safavid rule. With the formal recognition of the Shiah
faith as the state religion from the early times of the Safavis, the study of
hadith commenced growth once again.

The Age of Great Scholars and Great Books:

Great scholars of hadith appeared in the Shiah world during the period of
Safavid rule. These men restored the leading role of the Shiah in this field,
with the result that after ages of neglect and stagnation, the study of hadith
entered its golden age. At the close of the eleventh century and the beginning
of the twelveth, for once again, the study of hadith received the attention of
great scholars. The most prominent among them were Muhammad ibn Murtada Mulla
Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani (died 1091/1680), Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Hurr al-Amili
(died 1104/1692-93) and Mulla Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi (died
1111/1699-1700). Each of them has left behind a precious scholarly work. These
works are the following:

Kitab al-jami al-Wafi: It is the work of Mulla Muhsin Fayd al-Kashani.
This book comprises of the four aforementioned classical texts of hadith.
In
this book, which is a very precious work from every aspect, the repetitive
ahadith have been deleted and expositions have been written on the
difficult ones.[37]

Wasa'il al-Shiah: Its
author is Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Hurr al-Amili. This book, like the
above one, combines the four classical texts of hadith and draws upon other
sources also.

Bihar al-Anwar: It is what can be called an encyclopedia of Shiah
hadith.
It is the work of Allamah Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi and is the greatest
work of hadith compiled either among the Sunnis or the Shiah. In
this work, in addition to the Shiah sources, there are plenty of ahadith
drawn from the Sunni sources. In spite of the great amount of labour
and pain borne by al-Allamah al-Majlisi, it should be admitted that the
book is an unfinished masterpiece; since, he could not succeed in eliminating
many weak traditions from his great work. Had al-Majlisi lived for another
decade, he might have been successful in producing a true "ocean of light"
full of precious pearls and corals and mines of pure gold. The task of
extracting its precious pearls and gold from this unfathomable ocean and
clearing its treasures of their adhering mud and fungus remains for us
to accomplish.

The Age of Further Research:

After the age of al-Majlisi, another age followed in which the study
of hadith made valuable progress. The scholars of this period did
not abandon the pursuits of such men as Fayd al-Kashani, al-Hurr al-Amili,
and al-Allamah al-Majlisi; rather they adhered to this path with greater
care and attention to the new sophisticated criteria of authorship. Among
those who have left worthy books in the field of the science of hadith
can
be named Allamah Muhammad Husayn ibn Allamah al-Taqi, and Muhammad Nuri
al-Mazandarani al-Tabarsi, the latter of whom wrote the Kitab mustadrak
al-wasa'il wa mustanbat al-masa'il, which was finished in 1319/1901,
adding several chapters to the Kitab al-wasa'il al-shiah. This
book is the greatest compilation of the ahadith of the Shiah faith.
Allamah Nuri died in the year 1320/1902 in the city of Najaf.[38] In this brilliant period there lived such
great men as the late Ayatullah Haj Aqa Husayn Burujardi, whose work changed the
status of several thousand hadith. It is hoped that the Shiite and Sunni
scholars of our times, working together, may be able to make greater
achievements in this field.

Hadith Among the Ahl Al-Sunnah - The First Recorders:

According to Kashf al-Zunun, when the Companions of the Prophet
(S) began to die one after another, the need to record the hadith became
evident. It is also maintained that the first person to compose a book
in Islam was Ibn Jurayj.[39] The next to be compiled was the al-Muwatta'
of Imam Malik (died 179/795), and Rabi ibn Sabih of Basra was the first man to
compile a book with different chapters.

Al-Sihah al-Sittah or the 'Six Authentic Texts'

The work of compilation of hadith continued until the time of
Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim, who were followed by al-Tirmidhi, Abu
Da'ud al-Sijistani, al-Nasa'i and others.[40]
Imam Malik, who lived in Mecca in his al-Muwatta' compiled the ahadith
with
a sequence based on the principles of jurisprudence.[41]
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, in his Musnad classified the ahadith in
various chapters each devoted to a separate Companion of the Prophet (S)
from whom the narration was quoted.[42]
After them Imam al-Bukhari classified the traditions according to region:
he devoted separate sections to ahadith narrated by people of Hijaz,
Iraq and Syria. Imam Muslim deleted the repetitive ahadith and put
them in various chapters corresponding with various aspects of fiqh
and
other chapters dealing with biographical details. After them, Abu Da'ud,
al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa'i extended the scope of the work devoting greater
attention to classification of the material.[43]

Works Based on Al-Sihah Al-Sittah

The period of the first compilers of hadith was followed by those who
compiled their own collections from al-Sihah al-Sittah, summarizing and
rearranging the ahadith such as Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Hamid ibn Abu Bakr,
Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Raqani and Abu Masud Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Dimashqi who
combined the books of al-Bukhari and Muslim.

After them, Abu al-Hasan Zarin ibn Muawiyah combined the books of al-Muwatta'
and
al-Jami of al-Tirmidhi and the Sunan of Abu Da'ud and al-Nasa'i
and the works of Muslim and Bukhari. After him Ibn Athir combined the six
classical texts (al-sihah al-sittah) and the book of Zarin, producing
a work more organized than that of Zarin. After that al-Suyuti combined
al-sihah al-sittah and the ten masanid (plural of musnad)
and called his book Jam al-Jawami', which however retains several
weak ahadith.[44]

Conclusion

To sum up, it may be said that the primary purpose of the first compilers of
hadith was to record the narrations without any attention to the principles and
techniques of compilation and bookwriting. It may even be said that in the
beginning the purpose was not even that of composing a book; rather the aim was
to record and preserve the ahadith in individual notebooks.

During the second stage, though there was a conscious purpose of composing
books, the works had many defects; for the ahadith lacked order and
classification forcing the reader to go through the whole book while searching
for a certain hadith.

The third phase was that of classification of the ahadith in which every
author divided them into chapters in his own way: one would classify them on the
basis of fiqhi issues and another preferred classification according to the land
of origin of the narrators.

During the fourth phase, the compilers deleted the repetitive ahadith making
the job of the reader a bit easier.

In the fifth phase, the experts of hadith began to examine the
traditions from various angles, such as studying them from the point of
view of various jurists and for discovery of new points - a matter which
we shall discuss in greater detail in a proper chapter. During this stage
the whole bulk of hadith came under critical study and endeavour
was made to collect them in a single work.[45]

Notes:

[1]. Ilm
al-hadith, Al-Sunnah qabl al-tadwin,
p. 16. See also Dehkhuda, Loghatnameh,
vol. V, p.398; Tadrib al-rawi, pp.4-5.

[2]. Tadrib
al-rawi.

[3]. Ibid, p.6;
see also Kashf al-zunun
and Dehkhuda, Loghatnameh, vol. V,
p. 398.

[4]. Ilm
al-hadith, p.9.

[5]. Nihayat
al-dirayah, p.7; Al-Sunnah qabl al-tadwin, p. 16; Dehkhuda,
Loghatnameh vol. V.p. 399.

[6]. Tadrib
al-rawi, p.6.

[7]. Ibid; see
also Dehkhuda, Loghatnameh,
vol. V, 399; see also Tadrib al-rawi,
p.6.

[8]. Ilm
al-hadith, p. 4.

[9]. Nihayat
ai-dirayah.

[10]. Dehkhudi,
Loghatnameh, vol V, 398; see also The Encyclopedia of Islam,
p.28.

[11]. Ta'sis
al-Shiah, p. 279. See also Husayn ibn Muhammad Taqi Nuri al-Tabarsi,
Fasl al-khitab, pp.5-7; 1298.

[12]. Ayan
al-shiah, vol. I, p.274; Da'irat al-ma'arif al-Imamiyyah, p.70;
Ilm al-hadith;
Dhahabi, Tadhkirat al-huffaz, p.10.

[13]. There
is no doubt that the "Four-hundred
Usul", which will be mentioned
later in our discussion, were based on the traditions conveyed by the Ahl
al-Bayt.

[14]. Tadrib
al-rawi, p.285.

[15]. Dhahabi,
Tadhkirat al-Huffaz,
p.5.

[16]. Ibid.
p.7. See also Fajr al-Islam,
p.265, Parto-e Islam, 245.

[17]. Da'irat
al-ma'arif al-Imamiyyah,
p.69. Tadrib al-rawi. Kashf al-zunun, p.
637.

[18]. Kashf
al-zunun, p.637. Ta'ssi al-shiah, pp.278-279. Dehkhuda, Loghatnameh,
p.298. Taqrib al-tahdhib , p. 333. Wafayat al-ayan, p.338.
Fjr al-Islam, p. 265.

[19]. Ta'sis
al-shiah, p.280. Najashi, kitab al-Rijal, pp.23, Da'irat
al maarif al-Imamiyyah,
pp.69-70. Dehkhuda, Loghatnameh, vol.1,
p.298. Al-Dhariah,
vol.1, p. 14.

[20]. Ayan
al-shiah, vol. I, p.274. Da'irat al-maarif al-Imamiyyah, p.69.
Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat,
vol. IV, pp.73-74.

[21]. Da'irat
al-maarif al-Imamiyyah,
p. 70. Ta'sis al-shiah, pp.280-287.
See also Tadrib al-rawi
and Kashf al-zunun, p. 637-638.

[22]. Fajr
al-Islam, pp.265-267.
Ta'sis al-shiah, p.278. See also Tadrib
al-rawi, Kashf al-zunun,
pp.637-638.

[23]. Ibid,
pp.266-268.

[24]. Kashf
al-zunun, p.637.

[25]. Ilm
al-hadith, p.13. Maktab-e Tashayyu', Ordibehesht 1339, pp.58-61.

[26]. Ibid.
See also Fajr al-Islam,
p.265 and Parto-e Islam, p.264.

[27]. Tadrib
al-rawi, "Introduction",
Ilm al-hadith.

[28]. Ibid.
See also Fajr al-Islam,
p.262 and Ilm al-hadith.

[29]. Al-Dhariah,
vol.11, pp 125-135 The Catalogue of the Library of the University of
Tehran, p.1088 See also
Nihayat al dirayah p 12.

[30]. The
catalogue of the Library of University of Tehran, pp. 1089-1095 See also
Al-Dhariah which mentions 117 Usul.

[31]. Da'irat
al-maarif al-Imamiyyah,
p. 70; Ta'sis al-shiah, p. 288. Ilm
al-hadith.

[32]. Ibid.
See Ilm al-hadith, p. 56.

[33]. Ta'sis
al-shiah, p.288. Tusi, al-Fihrist, Ilm al-hadith, p.
57.

[34]. Da'irat
al-maarif al-Imamiyyah,
p. 70. Ta'sis al-shiah, p.
289; Ilm al-hadith, p.57.

[35]. Ilm
al-hadith, p.52. See also Da'irat al-maarif al-Imamiyyah.

[36]. Al-Dhariah,
vol.11, pp.17-19. See also the Catalogue of the University of Tehran
pp.82-100-154-1277. Also refer to Ta'sis al-shiah. p.290.

[37]. The
catalogue of the Library of the University of Tehran, p.1628.

[38]. Ta'sis
al-shiah, p.289.

[39]. This
is a Sunni viewpoint not accepted by the Shiah as being historically correct.
Nevertheless, Ibn Jurayj and/or Rabi ibn Sabih are considered pioneers
among the Ahl al-Sunnah by themselves. According to the Shiah, Abu Rafi,
after the Household of the Prophet, was the first man to record and compile
ahadith. See Ta'sis al-shiah,
p.280, Najashi, Rijal,
pp. 2-3; Da'irat al-maarif al-Imamiyyah,
pp. 69-70; Al-Dhariah,
vol. I, p.14; Dehkhuda, Loghatnameh,
vol.1. p.298.

[40]. Kashf
al-zunun, p.637.

[41]. Ibn
Khaldun, Tariq, p.798.

[42]. Kashf
al-zunun, p.637.

[43]. Ibn
Khaldun, Tariq, p. 798.

[44]. Kashf
al-zunun, p.639.

[45]. Ibid,
p. 637-639.