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| >>Sunnah |
Canons
for Evaluation of Hadith
A Hadith consists of two parts; its text called Matn and its
chain of narrators called Isnad. Comprehensive and strict
criteria were separately developed for the evaluation of Matn
and Isnad. Matn is regarded the internal and Isnad is regarded
as the external text of Hadith. A Hadith was accepted as authentic
and recorded into a text only when it met both these criteria
independently.
Criteria for Evaluation
of Isnad
1. The name, nickname, title, parentage and
occupation of the narrator should be known.
2. The original narrator should have stated
that he heard the Hadith directly from the Holy Messenger.
3. If a narrator referred his Hadith to a
narrator, the two should have lived in the same period and
have had the possibility of meeting each other.
4. He should have been known as a pious and
virtuous person.
5. He should not have been accused to having
told a lie, given a false evidence or committed a crime.
6. He should have not spoken against other
reliable persons.
Criteria for Evaluation
of Matn
1. The text should have been stated in a
plain and simple language.
2. A text in a non-Arabic style or couched
in indecent language was rejected.
3. A text prescribing heavy punishment for
minor sins or high reward for small virtues was rejected.
4. A text contrary to the basic teachings
of the Quran was rejected.
5. A text contrary to basic reason, logic
and known principle of human society was rejected.
6. A text inconsistent with historical facts
was rejected.
Along with these generally accepted criteria, each scholar
then evolved and practiced his own set of specific criteria
to further ensure the authenticity of Hadith. |
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