PREFACE

As Allah (SWT) supported His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the Qur’an, which is the greatest of His Signs, He supported him with miracles that are contrary to what is familiar and let such miracles take place through him and let his contemporaries, both friends and foes, see them. Such miracles were enough evidence for everybody of his truthfulness in what he reported from his Lord and Allah’s support (SWT) for him. In addition, the miraculous events that took place still serve as evidence for every reasonable person at all times and places of the authenticity of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), for these have been reported to us faithfully and correctly and have been documented in a way unprecedented in the histories of nations, whether old and modern, so that they seem to the listener to them as if they were really observed by him as a clear sign of the truthfulness of Muhammad (peace be upon him) by virtue of the precision of their documentation that satisfies him mentally and emotionally.

The precision of documenting the news of the Miracles (unusual events)

The unusual events marking the Prophethood have been recorded in the Qur’an and the books of the pure Prophetic Sunnah with the most accurate methods of documentation and transmission. Let us see how they were documented in both sources:

First: The documentation of the Miracles in the Holy Qur’an:

The miracles of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would happen to be seen by tens, hundreds, or may be thousands of his followers, who believed in him, and of his enemies, who opposed him. The Qur’an was then revealed referring to these miracles and events and deriving the lessons thereof, for it used to be revealed piecemeal according to the events that took place.

After the Qur’an mentioned these miracles and events the faithful would believe them and have more faith and become firmer in their religion. They would have no doubt whatever as to the authenticity of the miracles they witnessed. The adversaries of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would keep silent before what they heard of the Qur’anic Verses that mentioned these miracles and events.

If such miracles had not taken place, the enemies of the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have been the first to slander him in this respect, and it would have been their good opportunity to prove—as they claimed—his alleged untruthfulness (far it be from him), keeping in mind that they were keen on accusing him of telling lies as they had every motive to do so and did their best to discredit his prophecy and vilify the truthfulness of his Prophethood and arouse suspicions about his news. Muslims would have then doubted their religion and turned away from it. Nothing of the sort took place. On the contrary, the faithful had more faith and got firmer in their religion and more convinced in what was recorded in the Book of their Lord. The infidels, on the other hand, kept silent on seeing the miracles that happened and that were recorded by the Qur’an and they were converted to the religion of Allah in groups. Thus we have learned for sure that these miracles and events that supported the Prophethood and Messengership and bore witness to the truthfulness of the Prophet and his Message actually took place, and that the tens, hundreds and thousands of people who used to witness the miracles were the signatories on the minutes of the miracle and were the first hand witnesses testifying to its actual occurrence.

The Minutes of the Unusual Miracles:

The Holy Qur’an’s recording of these miracles on its revelation and the fact that hundreds and thousands of both Muslims and infidels heard what had been mentioned in it represented the minutes of a meeting approved by all the then present believers and disbelievers that witnessed those miracles and events or those that heard of what had been mentioned about them in the Book of Allah. The adherence of the faithful to their faith represented their signature on the authenticity of what was recorded in the Qur’an. Similarly, the infidels’ silence and non-opposition to what was recorded in the Qur’an, besides the conversion of many of them to the Faith, stood for signing, in agreement to the correspondence of the Qur’an to what they had witnessed in reality.

An Example from the Meccan Era: the Event the Moon’s Splitting:

During the Meccan era the infidels of Quraish asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to show them a sign to prove the authenticity of his Prophethood, whereupon Allah split the moon into two halves. The Holy Qur’an mentioned that and recorded it in the Verse: “The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain.” (LIV: 1)

If such an event had not occurred, the Muslims would have had suspicions about their religion and would have deserted it. The infidels would have said that Muhammad had told a lie for the moon had not split and that they had not seen any such thing. But what had happened increased the faith of the faithful, and the infidels were perplexed before the miracle that they could not interpret except as continuous magic. Allah (SWT) says: “The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain. And if they behold a portent they turn away and say: prolonged magic. They denied (the Truth) and followed their own lusts. Yet everything will come to a decision.” (LIV: 1)[1]

Historical documentation of the splitting of the moon:

The Indian history has recorded the name of one of their kings, Chakrawati Farmas, who is claimed to have witnessed the event of the splitting of the moon. An Indian historical manuscript reports that: “There is a very old tradition in Malabar, South-West Coast of India, that Chakrawati Farmas, one of their kings had observed the splitting of the moon, the celebrated miracle of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) at Mecca, and learning, on inquiry, that there was a prediction of the coming of a Messenger of God from Arabia, he appointed his son as regent and set out to meet him. He embraced Islam at the hand of the Prophet, and when returning home, at the direction of the Prophet, he died at the port of Zafar.[2]  This information is in an Indian manuscript kept in the “India Office Library”, which contains several other details about King Chakrawati Farmas. The Indian king that visited the Prophet (peace be upon him) is mentioned in the Books of Hadith. In al-Hakim’s Mustadrak it is reported that Abu Sa’id al-Khudri said: “Then the King of India gave Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) a gift, a bottle of pickle that had ginger in it. The Holy Prophet distributed it among his Companions. I also received a piece of it to eat.”[3]

It is known that the king became a Companion through meeting the Messenger (peace be upon him) and believing in him and dying as such.

Islamic references preserve the story of this Companion, who came from India. Imam Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani has mentioned him in al-Isabah and in Lisan al-Mizan.[4] He says that his name was (Sirbanak), the name he is known by among the Arabs.

 An Example from the Medinan Era:

Thousands of infidels gathered together to invade the Prophet’s Medina in the Ahzab (Confederates) Battle. Allah sent against them a cold wind that extinguished their fires, overturned their pots, uprooted their tents, pulled down their buildings and scared their horses and camels. He sent against them invisible forces to disturb them so that they had to go back home and end the siege to the Prophet’s Medina. Allah revealed the story of this event reminding the faithful of the favors He bestowed on them. Allah (SWT) says: “O you who believe! Remember Allah’s Favor to you, when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not [i.e. troops of angels during the battle of Ahzab]. And Allah sees all that you do.” (XXXIII: 9)

If such a miracle had not happened, the Muslims would have had doubts about the Qur’an and might have deserted their religion saying: “How can we believe what has not happened?” The infidels would have become more arrogant and showed more repugnance and said: “Muhammad is telling lies.” But no such thing took place. On the contrary, the faithful acquired more faith and became firmer in their religion, while the infidels kept silent and most of them embraced Allah’s religion in crowds. Thus the Qur’an proves to be the authentic unquestionable record of the miracles with which Allah supported His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The preservation of the Qur’an (the truthful authentic record of the miracles)

When the Qura’nic Verses were revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he would order that they be written down. The Muslims would compete in preserving them, writing them down, reciting them as a ritual practice and disseminating them among people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had scribes to write down the revelation till the revelation of the Qur’an was complete and the Muslims wrote it down in the Mushaf (the written version of the Qur’an). Then many copies were written in order to be distributed in the countries at that time and then in all countries of the world.

The Companions, through whom Allah preserved the Qur’an and who reported these two events: the splitting of the moon and the defeat of the Confederates (ahzab) with the winds, as well as the other miracles recorded in the Qur’an, whether they were Muslims at the time the events took place or embraced Islam thereafter, used to recite the Qur’an morning and evening in their prayers, meetings and study circles, and would write it down, memorize it and study it together. They would follow its ethical instructions and resort to its laws, for they accepted it and believed in it. They taught it to their children, relatives and followers. It would be unbelievable that they all unanimously reported it and preserved it if it had been untrue.    

Allah preserved the Qur’an in the hearts of those who had witnessed the miracles, and in their parchments and in the hearts of their children and in what they copied from the parchments of the fathers. Thousands, or rather tens of thousands or even millions and tens of millions, believing in it, have transmitted it throughout successive ages.

The Arabs accepted as true the Qura’nic text they had received from the Prophet (peace be upon him). It was collected during the era of the first Caliph. That copy was transferred from his house to the second and third rightly-guided Caliphs. During the era of ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) similar copies were distributed to the various countries and provinces that had entered Islam. So nations from all over the world received this version of the Qur’an from the Arab Nation and wrote it down in its ‘Uthmani script and learned it in its Arabic pronunciation, generation by generation regardless of the different languages of the Muslim nations that interpreted the Qur’an in their various native languages.  

You notice that the Qur’an recited by a Chinese, a Russian, a European, an American, a Persian, a Turk, an African or an Arab is the same as that broadcasted by The BBC, the Israeli Broadcasting Station or any other radio or TV channel in the world.

Millions of Muslims still learn the Qur’an orally and by reading it in its ‘Uthmani script through a chain of narrators traced back to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and then to the carrier of the Revelation, Gabriel (peace be upon him) and then to the Sustainer of the Worlds, Allah the Almighty.

Should you look into any copy of the Qur’an at any time or any place you would find it reporting the miracles as they were, for Allah (SWT) had promised to preserve the Qur’an intact. Allah (SWT) says:  “Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e., the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).” (XV: 9)

Muslims still preserve it in hearts and lines. Millions of them learn it by heart letter-by-letter, or even with the exact diacritic attached to each letter. If you open any copy of the Qur’an anywhere around the world, whether it were printed long ago or has been printed recently, and look into the Surah of al-Ahzab (Confederates), you will find Verse 9 tell the story of the winds and forces that Allah supported Muhammad (peace be upon him) with. Then you or any fair person will learn that the Qur’an that is in our hands today is the same as that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) and which recorded his miracles in such a way as if you saw them now first hand.

Second: The Documentation of the Miracles in the Prophetic Sunnah:

The authentic books of the Prophetic Sunnah have preserved a lot of the details of the miracles the Qur’an has preserved. They have recorded many of the miracles that the Qur’an has not mentioned. The documentation in these books is very precise and cannot be suspected. The miracles are depicted in them as if they were taking place at the moment before your eyes.

That is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the focus of his Companions’ observation, for Allah (SWT) had ordered them to follow his example, Allah (SWT) says: “Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow….” (XXXIII: 21) Allah (SWT) also ordered them to obey him and carry out what he enjoined and avoid what he prohibited. Allah (SWT) says: “…So take What the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you….” (LIX: 7) Allah also says: “…and obey the Messenger that you may receive mercy (from Allah).”  (XXIV: 56)  Copying and obedience cannot be but through tracing the sayings, deeds and affairs of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) urged them to learn from him and watch his deeds and imitate them, as is indicated by his saying: “Follow my Sunnah”[5] or “Learn your rituals from me”[6] or “Pray the way you see me pray”[7] or other similar texts that encourage the observation of his sayings and practices. Therefore, his sayings, movements, and miracles that were the signs of the truthfulness of his Message were watched by his Companions, for they represented the aspects of a religion they received and because their admittance to Paradise and salvation form Hell depended on following it.

Since the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were the direct witnesses and transmitters of those Prophetic miracles, it is necessary that we find out their status as to the qualities of accuracy, fairness and documentation.

The Companions: the Trustworthy Carriers of the Religion:

A. The testimony of the Qur’an and Sunnah regarding them:

Allah (SWT) supported the Seal of Prophets and Messengers with a generation of truthful Companions well qualified to preserve the religion. Allah (SWT) tells us that He had prepared these Companions with elevated faith in order to be entitled to accompany the Prophet and carry the Message. Allah (SWT) says: “ And know that among you there is the Messenger of Allah. If he were to obey you (i.e. follow your opinions and desires) in many matters, you would surely be in trouble, but Allah has endeared the Faith to you and has made it beautiful in your hearts, and has made disbelief, wickedness and disobedience hateful to you. Such, indeed, are the rightly guided ones.” (XLIX: 7)

Allah (SWT) bears witness that these noble Companions, both the Immigrants and the Helpers, were truly faithful, in His Saying: “And those who believed, and emigrated and strove hard in the Cause of Allah), as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid; - these are actual believers, for them is forgiveness and a generous provision.” (VIII: 74)

Allah (SWT) tells us that He was pleased with them. He says: “The vanguard (of Islam)—the first of those who migrated and of those who gave them aid and also those who followed them in (all) good deeds,--Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens beneath which rivers flow to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success.” (IX: 100)

Allah (SWT), showing the merits of the Emigrants and the Helpers and complimenting them, says: “(And there is also a share in this booty) for the poor Emigrants, who were expelled from their homes and their property, while seeking Grace from Allah and His pleasure, and helping Allah (i.e. supporting His religion) and His Messenger. Such are indeed the sincere ones. And those[8] who, before them, had homes (in Medina) and had adopted the Faith love those who have emigrated to them, and have no jealousy in their hearts for that which they have been given (from the booty of Bani al-Nadir), and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though poverty was their own lot. And those saved from the covetousness of their own selves, will be the successful.” (LIX: 8-9)

About the people of the Ridwan Pledge[9] Allah (SWT) says: “Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave their pledge to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down calmness and tranquility upon them, and He rewarded them with a near victory.” (XLVIII: 18) i.e., He knew their truthful intention and their redemption of the pledge. The Prophet (peace be upon him) addressed his Companions then, saying: “You are the best among the people of the earth.”[10]

Allah (SWT) granted them inheritance of power in the land so that they might establish His religion and disseminate it among people, as Allah (SWT) says addressing His Prophet and his Companions: “Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion, which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange security after their fear (provided) they worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me….” (XXIV: 55)  Allah (SWT) also says: “Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land, establish regular prayers, and give regular charity (zakat), enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong….” (XXII: 41) Allah (SWT) praised them, saying: “You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and you believe in Allah….” (III; 110)

The address in the Verses involves the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) first of all, for they were the first among the Mohammedan Ummah to be addressed by these noble Verses and to be given power on earth as Allah (SWT) had promised.

Allah (SWT) made the Companions and the rest of the Ummah after them witnesses over the nations as a result of their merits and righteousness, as Allah (SWT) says: “Thus We have made you a justly balanced (intermediate) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind, and the Messenger be a witness over you.” (II: 143)

The meaning of intermediacy here implies their fairness and righteousness, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “On the Day of Resurrection Noah will be summoned and asked: ‘Did you convey (the Divine Message) to people?’ He will reply: ‘Yes, O Lord!’ Then his people will be asked: ‘Did he convey (the Divine Message) to you?’ They will say: ‘Nobody came to warn us!’ Allah will say (to Noah): ‘Who are your witnesses?’ He will say: ‘Muhammad and his Ummah.” Then you will be summoned to bear witness.” Then Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) recited: “Thus We have made you a justly balanced (intermediate) nation,” saying: just “that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger be a witness over you.” (II: 143)[11] The Companions are the first among the Ummah to be included in this Verse. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The best among people are (the generation of) my century, and then those who follow them, and then those who follow the latter.”[12] He also said: “Do not abuse may Companions, for if any of you should spend (in the Cause of Allah) gold equal to (the Mount of) Uhud he would not compete with as much as the mudd (two handfuls) or even a half mudd of any one of them.”[13]

‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says about the Companions: “They were the best among the Ummah. They were the gentlest in heart, most knowledgeable, and least in affectation. They were a group of people that Allah had chosen for the companionship of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the transmission of His religion. Therefore, you should copy their morals and manners for they are the Companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him), who were on the straight guidance.”[14]

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Allah (SWT) looked into the hearts of people and found Muhammad’s heart the best, so He chose him for Himself and sent him with this Message. Then He looked into the hearts of people after the heart of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and found the hearts of his Companions the best, so He appointed them ministers for His Prophet to fight protecting His religion. What Muslims regard as good is good in the Sight of Allah and what they regard as bad is bad in the Sight of Allah.”[15]

B. The testimony of the Ummah to the uprightness and fairness of the Companions:  

Imam Muhammad Ibn Idris al-Shafi’i (may Allah bestow His Mercy on him) said: “Allah Almighty praised the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) in the Qur’an, the Torah and the Gospel.[16] Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) had attributed to them such merits as attributed to none after them. Therefore, Allah bestowed His Mercy upon them and pleased them with the merits He granted them by raising them to the status of sincere lovers of the truth, martyrs and righteous people. They conveyed to us the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) in its public, private, compulsory, and instructive aspects. They learned of his Sunnah what we have known and not known. They are superior to us in every field of knowledge, in Ijtihad, piety, understanding and every matter.”[17]

Ibn Abi Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “As to the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), they were those who witnessed the Wahiy and Revelation and learned the commentary and interpretation. It was they who Allah Almighty chose for the Companionship of His Prophet (peace be upon him), his support, the establishment of his religion and the revealing of his right. Therefore, he was pleased to take them as his Companions and to make them examples for us to copy. They memorized from him what he conveyed to them from Allah Almighty, and his practices, laws, rulings, judgments, recommendations, orders and prohibitions. They understood all that with accuracy. They understood the religion and learned Allah’s orders, prohibitions and objectives through observing Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and seeing him explain and interpret the Qur’an and receiving from him and deducing from him.  Thus Allah Almighty honored them with His Grace by placing them in the position of an example, rendering them free from suspicion, telling lies, errors, doubts and slander, and called them the just individuals of the Ummah. Allah (SWT) says in His Holy Book: “Thus We have made you a justly balanced (intermediate) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind….” (II: 143) The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained the Saying of Allah (SWT) “wasatan” as “just”.[18] So they were the just individuals of the Ummah and the leaders to guidance and authorities of the religion and the transmitters of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Allah Almighty recommended that we adhere to their teachings, adopt their approaches, follow their way and take them as an example. Allah (SWT) says: “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers' way—We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell—what an evil destination.” (IV: 115)

We find that the Prophet (peace be upon him) urged Muslims to transmit what he taught in various reports. We find him addressing his Companions therein. For instance, he invokes Allah for their sake, saying: “May Allah prosper a person who hears my speech, and then memorizes it and then understands it and transmits it (to others), for perhaps one may convey his knowledge to somebody that is more talented”[19] In his speech he said: “Let those present inform those who are absent”[20] and “Convey (to others) on my authority even as much as one Verse….”[21]

Then the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) dispersed in various countries and provinces and were engaged in military expeditions, governance, judiciary and giving judgments. Every one of them disseminated in the region or country where he lived what he had understood and memorized from Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). They judged according to the teachings of Allah (He be exalted). They gave their opinions (fatwa) regarding what they were asked about, referring to the answer of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) to similar cases. They devoted themselves, with good intention and the desire to please Allah (may His name be sanctified), to teaching people the religious duties, rulings, sunnah, what is permissible and what is prohibited, till Allah Almighty made them pass away. (May Allah be pleased with them and bestow His Forgiveness and Mercy upon them).[22]

C. The testimony of nations:

Humanity in its nations and tribes with whom the Companions and Tabi’in had contact—in all directions of the earth, north, south, east and west—testified to the truthfulness of what the Qur’an had told us about those Companions, whom they knew well in both peace and war.

Although the Companions came to them as conquerors and fighters, they soon began to like them and get inclined to them. These nations bequeathed their families, children and progeny after them love for those Companions. Thus the relationship of conquest initiated in the hearts of nations and tribes love, respect, reverence and compliment for and imitation of those conquering Companions and Tabi’in. This is in contrast with the unhealthy relationship that is filled with grudge, hatred and spite that humanity has witnessed and is witnessing between the conquered nations and the invading armies.

This is attributed to the fact that those conquerors were not seeking worldly pleasures but they came to transfer those nations, with Allah’s permission, from darkness to light and from the injustice of religions to the justice of Islam, bearing in mind the Saying of Allah (SWT): “That home of the Hereafter (i.e. Paradise), We shall assign to those who rebel not against the truth with pride and oppression in the land nor do mischief by committing crimes. And the good end is for the pious.” (XXVIII: 83) and His Saying: “You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and you believe in Allah….” (III; 110)

It was this truthful generation of Companions and those who came after them (Tabi’in) that narrated to us the Signs and Miracles that they had witnessed and that were behind the increase in their faith and firm belief in the truthfulness of the Messenger (peace be upon him).

D. The accuracy of the Companions’ documentation:

The eyes of those noble Companions were like the lenses of cameras; their ears resembled precise recording instruments that pick up everything, for they knew that their admittance to paradise depended on copying the practices and situations of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and their obedience to his sayings. Therefore, their eyes would carefully watch his movements and activities and their ears were sensitive to his sayings. They were vehemently keen to listen to the truth, light and guidance and learn all that and accept it. They conveyed to us, among other things, the Signs of his Message, the practices of his worship, his traditions, guidance and Sunnah, his personal life and his behavior with his Companions, family and enemies, the details of his habits regarding his wakefulness, sleep, food, drink and all his affairs, his behavior at the most critical moments that he faced at the peak of his victories and at times of affliction, the details of the attempts of the infidels and hypocrites to cheat him and bargain with him. Thus his noble biography was light that was visible to all those around him.

These Companions then transmitted to us what they saw and heard of the miracles, sayings and deeds of their Prophet (peace be upon him). They were motivated by their desire to obtain a reward for disseminating knowledge and the religion, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “May Allah prosper a person who hears something from us and communicates it to others as he hears it.”[23] Their obedience to their Messenger (peace be upon him) would urge them to hasten to disseminate knowledge, for he said: “Convey (to others) on my authority even as much as one Verse.”[24] The Qur’an made them cautious of concealing knowledge, for Allah (SWT) says: “Verily, those who conceal the clear proofs, evidence and the guidance, which We have sent down, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book—on them shall be Allah’s curse and the curse of those entitled to curse.  Except those who repent and do righteous deeds, and openly declare (the truth):  These, I will accept their repentance. And I am the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.” (II: 159-160)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If somebody is asked for knowledge and he conceals it, he will be bridled with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection.”[25]

They transmitted what they transmitted very precisely and faithfully, for they knew that telling lies was strictly prohibited in Islam in general and that it was more strictly prohibited when it concerned the Messenger (peace be upon him). That is no surprise when we hear them reporting the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) “Whoever invents a lie and attributes it to me intentionally shall have his seat in the Fire.”[26] Some of them were even reluctant to narrate the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) lest they should make a mistake and transmit what they had not heard.[27] All this proves the utmost precision of documenting the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

The Precise Documentation of al-Tabi’in:

Then there came the following generation of al-Tabi’in to convey the signs, miracles, sayings and practices of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), motivated by their hope to obtain the remarkable reward through seeking knowledge as encouraged by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his saying: “If Allah wishes good for somebody He instructs him in the understanding of religion,”[28] and “Allah will make the way to Paradise easy for him who follows a way in quest of knowledge, and the angels verily lower their wings over the seeker of knowledge as a sign of pleasure.”[29]

The Tabi’un were like good fruitful land in that they were ready to assimilate the texts and news of the Prophetic Sunnah. They were motivated by the same stimuli as motivated the Companions to receive religious knowledge and were urged to be exact and careful by the same stimuli as motivated the noble Companions to do so. They used to compensate for not being able to see the Messenger (peace be upon him) and hear him by always asking the Companions who taught them and precisely memorizing what they heard, playing the role of the most delicate recorders, for they were afraid of any addition to or omission from religion. They also made use of writing to preserve what they heard concerning the sayings, practices and miracles of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So did the following successive generations till the writing of the science of the Prophetic hadith reached perfection. Along with it the miracles and signs of the Message were written down in books that were circulated among thousands and thousands of Muslims and transmitted from one generation to another both verbally and in writing, so carefully and faithfully that it would be impossible to doubt their authenticity or their attribution to their authors. The scholars of hadith stipulated that an authentic hadith should meet certain very precise criteria, as will be shown later on, such as the condition that all the narrators of the hadith should be upright and free from anything that blemish their faith, faithful and meticulous in the knowledge they transmit verbally or in writing in a way that makes them trustworthy.

Besides, hadith scholars (may Allah bestow His Mercy upon them) worked hard to collect the Prophetic traditions, classify them, write on them and learn them by heart. They would travel long distances and endure the hardships of travel and disadvantages of being away from home to collect the Prophetic traditions, seeking the superior chains of narrators (isnads)[30] and meeting prominent scholars. In all that they would sacrifice their wealth, time and efforts willingly. One of them may travel for many days looking for a single hadith.[31] They would hold scientific seminars to listen to Prophetic traditions, dictate them and examine those who memorized them. They would establish schools for studying them and teaching them to children, besides their efforts to write them down, arranging them and classifying them, and looking for any defects that might appear in their isnad or texts, checking their wording, collecting their various versions, studying the status of the narrators and their biographies to ascertain the authenticity of the hadiths they narrated. Consequently, there appeared in the Ummah tens of thousands of persons who learned the hadiths and their isnads by heart. They did all this willingly and happily hoping for the great reward from Allah (SWT), for it was a matter of their religion on which their happiness in this life and the Hereafter depended. They responded to the Command of their Lord (SWT): “…So take What the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you….” (LIX: 7)

The Methodology of Criticizing Narrations:

When after the generation of the Companions there appeared some whose narration was not trustworthy, Allah (SWT) made available the scholars of hadith and al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil (disparaging and authenticating), who established the science of informants, history, disparaging and authenticating, which dealt with thousands of narrators, showing the status of each narrator with respect to his being known or unknown, the quality of his memory, precision, carefulness, teachers, students, age, date of birth, date of death, whether his memory continued intact in spite of aging, or of being exposed to an accident, among other criteria of disparaging and authenticating. Not only this, but the narrations of the trustworthy upright narrators were collected and compared to find out whether any of them made a mistake in an utterance or a sentence. When things became stabilized, the scholars of Hadith and Sunnah set up certain criteria for the accepted authentic hadiths attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). The hadith must:

1.     be transmitted by upright precise narrators,[32]

2.     have a continuous isnad in that each narrator has heard the hadith from his sheikh directly without a gap,  

3.     be free from abnormality’[33] and

4.     be free from a blameworthy defect.[34]

Thus hadith scholars (may Allah bestow His Mercy upon them) excluded from their definition of the authentic hadith any disparaged narrator for any of the following ten reasons of disparaging:

1.     telling lies

2.     accusation of telling lies

3.     non-commitment to certain religious principles

4.     innovation

5.     illusion

6.     ignorance of the identity of the narrator[35] or ignorance of his status[36]

7.     major errors

8.     bad memory

9.     obliviousness

10. contradicting trustworthy narrators.[37]

All this confirms the soundness of the methodology of the hadith scholars (may Allah bestow His Mercy upon them) and their meticulous scientific approach. They reject any forged information that is fabricated on the pretext that it is meant to support the religion of Islam or to promote certain virtuous practices. They even regard it straying from the right path and innovation in religion on the part of its doer.[38]

Thus we observe the privilege and distinction of the methodology of criticizing and authenticating the Prophet’s hadith, which stipulates very fine criteria for accepting a narration, so that hadith scholars may ascertain that every one in the chain of the narration is upright and faithful in his narration, precise and careful in transmitting it, as if his eye were a camera, his ear a recorder, and his memory and book a high quality tape on which the words are recorded.

By this faithful precise method the Prophetic Sunnah and the information of the Miracles have been transmitted to us. We find the miracle transmitted through several routes on the authority of those who had witnessed it first hand. Thus the various versions complete and verify each other and agree with what the Qur’an has mentioned or alluded to.

Such motivations, stimuli and rules of precision and investigation to transmit the sayings and practices of any figure in history were not available but to Muhammad (peace be upon him) because he is the seal of Prophets and Messengers, whom Allah has chosen as a solid proof for people, and whose signs and miracles He guaranteed to preserve in true and trustworthy records to be plea against all those that would come after him till the Day of Resurrection.

Let us now survey some of these transcendental signs, which Allah (SWT) has mentioned in His Holy Book and which the trustworthy narrators of the Sunnah have transmitted to us. We will present them chronologically whenever possible.    

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