Hadith Fail the Authenticity Test
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There are two predominant reasons why a devout adherent of the Quran and a follower of the Prophet Muhammad will solely rely on the Quran alone as their only source of religious law and dismiss all other Hadith.
NO AUTHORITY
The primary reason is that the Hadith corpus has no authority in the religion and is condemned by name in the Quran.
[45:6] These are GODās revelations that we recite to you truthfully. In which Hadith other than GOD and His revelations do they believe?
ŲŖŁŁŁŁŁ Ų”ŁŲ§ŁŁŁŁ°ŲŖŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲŖŁŁŁŁŁŁŲ§ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŁ±ŁŁŲŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲØŁŲ£ŁŁŁŁ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŪ ŲØŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ”ŁŲ§ŁŁŁŁ°ŲŖŁŁŁŪ¦ ŁŁŲ¤ŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁ
[77:50] Which Hadith, other than this, do they uphold?
ŁŁŲØŁŲ£ŁŁŁŁ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŪ ŲØŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁŁŁŪ„ ŁŁŲ¤ŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁ
[31:6] Among the people, there are those who uphold baseless Hadith, and thus divert others from the path of GOD without knowledge, and take it in vain. These have incurred a shameful retribution.
ŁŁŁ ŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų³Ł Ł ŁŁ ŁŁŲ“ŁŲŖŁŲ±ŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«Ł ŁŁŁŁŲ¶ŁŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁ Ų³ŁŲØŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŲŗŁŁŁŲ±Ł Ų¹ŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁŁŲŖŁŁŲ®ŁŲ°ŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŲ²ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų£ŁŁŪŁŁŁŁ°ŁŲ¦ŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁ Ł Ų¹ŁŲ°ŁŲ§ŲØŁ Ł ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ
[6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.
Ų£ŁŁŁŲŗŁŁŁŲ±Ł Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲØŁŲŖŁŲŗŁŁ ŲŁŁŁŁ ŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŲ°ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŁŲ²ŁŁŁ Ų„ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł Ł±ŁŁŁŁŲŖŁŁŁ°ŲØŁ Ł ŁŁŁŲµŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŁ±ŁŁŁŲ°ŁŁŁŁ Ų”ŁŲ§ŲŖŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ°ŁŁŁ Ł Ł±ŁŁŁŁŲŖŁŁŁ°ŲØŁ ŁŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŁŁŁŁŁŪ„ Ł ŁŁŁŲ²ŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ Ų±ŁŁŲØŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŁ±ŁŁŲŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŲŖŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁ ŁŁ ŁŲŖŁŲ±ŁŁŁŁ
[6:115] The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.
ŁŁŲŖŁŁ ŁŁŲŖŁ ŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŲŖŁ Ų±ŁŲØŁŁŁŁ ŲµŁŲÆŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŲ§ Ł ŁŲØŁŲÆŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁ°ŲŖŁŁŁŪ¦ ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŲ³ŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ¹Ł Ł±ŁŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁŁ Ł
LACK OF AUTHENTICITY
The secondary reason is that Hadith are highly inauthentic, making the entire corpus incredibly unreliable. Hadith by their very nature are conjecture (zann / ŲøŁŁŁŁŁ ) and lacks any level of certainty.
[6:116] If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of GOD. They follow only conjecture (l-įŗana); they only guess.
ŁŁŲ„ŁŁ ŲŖŁŲ·ŁŲ¹Ł Ų£ŁŁŁŲ«ŁŲ±Ł Ł ŁŁ ŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŲ£ŁŲ±ŁŲ¶Ł ŁŁŲ¶ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁ Ų³ŁŲØŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų„ŁŁ ŁŁŲŖŁŁŲØŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁ Ų„ŁŁŁŁŲ§ Ł±ŁŲøŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ„ŁŁŁ ŁŁŁ Ł Ų„ŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŲ®ŁŲ±ŁŲµŁŁŁŁ
[6:148] The idol worshipers say, āHad GOD willed, we would not practice idolatry, nor would our parents, nor would we prohibit anything.ā Thus did those before them disbelieve, until they incurred our retribution. Say, āDo you have any proven knowledge that you can show us? You follow nothing but conjecture (zann); you only guess.ā
Ų³ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŲ°ŁŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲ“ŁŲ±ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ū ŁŁŁŁ Ų“ŁŲ¢Ų”Ł Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŲ¢ Ų£ŁŲ“ŁŲ±ŁŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁŲ¢ Ų”ŁŲ§ŲØŁŲ¢Ų¤ŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŲŁŲ±ŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŲ§ Ł ŁŁ Ų“ŁŁŁŲ”Ł ŁŁŲ°ŁŁ°ŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ°ŁŁŲØŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŲ°ŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁ ŁŁŲØŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł ŲŁŲŖŁŁŁŁ° Ų°ŁŲ§ŁŁŁŲ§Ū ŲØŁŲ£ŁŲ³ŁŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŲÆŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŲŖŁŲ®ŁŲ±ŁŲ¬ŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŲ¢ Ų„ŁŁ ŲŖŁŲŖŁŁŲØŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁ Ų„ŁŁŁŁŲ§ Ł±ŁŲøŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ„ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŁŲŖŁŁ Ł Ų„ŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŲŖŁŲ®ŁŲ±ŁŲµŁŁŁŁ
[10:36] Most of them follow nothing but conjecture (zann), and conjecture is no substitute for the truth. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.
ŁŁŁ ŁŲ§ ŁŁŲŖŁŁŲØŁŲ¹Ł Ų£ŁŁŁŲ«ŁŲ±ŁŁŁŁ Ł Ų„ŁŁŁŁŲ§ ŲøŁŁŁŁŲ§ Ų„ŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŲøŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ§ ŁŁŲŗŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŲŁŁŁŁ Ų“ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲ§ Ų„ŁŁŁŁ Ł±ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŪ¢ ŲØŁŁ ŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ
For example, there are numerous contradicting reports regarding the most basic facts about the prophet and the religion.
What was the first revelation?
What was the last revelation?
How old was the prophet when he died?
How many years was the prophet in Mecca and Medina?
How many wives did the prophet have?
How many battles did the prophet participate in?
Traditionalists often accuse individuals who reject the authenticity of Hadith besides the Quran of cherry-picking Hadith and rejecting the authenticity of the entire corpus based on some fringe Hadith. To refute such a claim, letās gauge the reliability of Hadith based on what should be considered the most reputable Hadith found in their entire Hadith corpus.
For this analysis, we will use three of the most cut-and-dry examples:
The most mass-transmitted Hadith
The most oft-repeated statement supposedly made by the prophet
The most widely witnessed Hadith ever stated in the prophetās whole life
We will demonstrate that the Hadith corpus is still highly unreliable even among these three most notable cases.
EXAMPLE # 1: THE MOST WIDELY TRANSMITTED HADITH
Besides the Quran, one Hadith is considered the most widely transmitted Hadith in all the Hadith corpus. This Hadith has more narrators than any other Hadith and consists of only a single sentence. Yet, there is a dispute regarding the exact wording of this Hadith. In addition to minor differences in the various narrations, there also exists a major point of contention that has implications on the entire Hadith corpus based on which narration is accepted.
The Hadith has the basic structure that claims the prophet said, āWhoever lies about me should take their seat in the Hellfire.ā This Hadith is supposedly transmitted by some seventy different companions and is considered the most widely propagated Hadith in the entire Hadith corpus.
As ibn al-Salah (d. 643/1245), the most famous scholar of hadith criticism in the later period, explained, at most one hadith [āWhoever lies about me, let him prepare for himself a seat in the Hellfire.ā] would meet the requirements for mutawatir.
Hadith Muhammadās Legacy in Medieval and Modern World p. 109 Ibn al-Salah, Muqaddima p. 454
While this Hadith contains many subtle variations in syntax that are inconsequential to the overall meaning, there are two flavors of this Hadith that, depending on which one a person chooses to follow, will have significant implications for the overall validity of the entire Sunni corpus.
This is because some of the narrations claim the lie must be deliberate ( Ł ŁŲŖŁŲ¹ŁŁ ŁŁŲÆŁŲ§ ), while others have no indication that this is limited to deliberate lies.
For reference, here are several without the word deliberate:
WITHOUT THE WORD DELIBERATE
Narrated: ā¦Rabāiy ibn HirÄsh, that he heard AlÄ«, may Allah be pleased with him, giving a Khutbah and he said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: āDo not lie upon me; indeed whoever lies upon me will enter the Fireā.
ŁŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ ŲØŁŁŁŲ±Ł ŲØŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ Ų“ŁŁŁŲØŁŲ©ŁŲ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ ŲŗŁŁŁŲÆŁŲ±ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų“ŁŲ¹ŁŲØŁŲ©ŁŲ Ų ŁŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ł ŁŲŁŁ ŁŁŲÆŁ ŲØŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁ ŁŲ«ŁŁŁŁŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŲØŁŁŁŲ ŲØŁŲ“ŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł ŁŁŲ§ŁŲ§Ł ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ł ŁŲŁŁ ŁŁŲÆŁ ŲØŁŁŁ Ų¬ŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŲ±ŁŲ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų“ŁŲ¹ŁŲØŁŲ©ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁŲµŁŁŲ±ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų±ŁŲØŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŁŁ ŲŁŲ±ŁŲ§Ų“ŁŲ Ų£ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų³ŁŁ ŁŲ¹Ł Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų ā Ų±Ų¶Ł Ų§ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁ ā ŁŁŲ®ŁŲ·ŁŲØŁ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų±ŁŲ³ŁŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲµŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁ ŁŲ³ŁŁ ā āā ŁŲ§Ł ŲŖŁŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁŁŲ§ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ„ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŲ¬Ł Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł āāā ā.ā
Sahih Muslim 1 https://sunnah.com/muslim:1
Narrated `Ali: The Prophet (ļ·ŗ) said, āDo not tell a lie against me for whoever tells a lie against me then he will surely enter the Hell-fire.ā
ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŲ¬ŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų£ŁŲ®ŁŲØŁŲ±ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų“ŁŲ¹ŁŲØŁŲ©ŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų£ŁŲ®ŁŲØŁŲ±ŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁŲµŁŁŲ±ŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų³ŁŁ ŁŲ¹ŁŲŖŁ Ų±ŁŲØŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŁŁ ŲŁŲ±ŁŲ§Ų“ŁŲ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų³ŁŁ ŁŲ¹ŁŲŖŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲØŁŁŁŁ ŲµŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁ ŁŲ³ŁŁ ā āā ŁŲ§Ł ŲŖŁŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁŁŲ§ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲ ŁŁŲ„ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŲ¬Ł Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł āāāā.ā
Sahih al-Bukhari 106 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:106
Narrated `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair: I said to my father, āI do not hear from you any narration (Hadith) of Allahās Apostle as I hear (his narration) from so and so?ā Az-Zubair replied. l was always with him (the Prophet), and I heard him saying, āWhoever tells a lie against me then let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.
ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŲÆŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų“ŁŲ¹ŁŲØŁŲ©ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų¬ŁŲ§Ł ŁŲ¹Ł ŲØŁŁŁ Ų“ŁŲÆŁŁŲ§ŲÆŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŲ§Ł ŁŲ±Ł ŲØŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŲØŁŲÆŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲØŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŲ²ŁŁŲØŁŁŁŲ±ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁŁŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŲŖŁ ŁŁŁŲ²ŁŁŲØŁŁŁŲ±Ł Ų„ŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŲ§Ł Ų£ŁŲ³ŁŁ ŁŲ¹ŁŁŁ ŲŖŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«Ł Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų±ŁŲ³ŁŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲµŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁ ŁŲ³ŁŁ ŁŁŁ ŁŲ§ ŁŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«Ł ŁŁŁŲ§ŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŲ§ŁŁŁā.ā ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų£ŁŁ ŁŲ§ Ų„ŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁ Ł Ų£ŁŁŁŲ§Ų±ŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ų³ŁŁ ŁŲ¹ŁŲŖŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ ā āā Ł ŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲŖŁŲØŁŁŁŁŲ£Ł Ł ŁŁŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł āāāā.ā
Sahih al-Bukhari 107 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:107
Here are others with the word deliberate:
Narrated Anas: The fact which stops me from narrating a great number of Hadiths to you is that the Prophet (ļ·ŗ) said: āWhoever deliberatly lies against me, then let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire.ā
ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ Ł ŁŲ¹ŁŁ ŁŲ±ŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų¹ŁŲØŁŲÆŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų±ŁŲ«ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŲØŁŲÆŁ Ų§ŁŁŲ¹ŁŲ²ŁŁŲ²ŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų£ŁŁŁŲ³Ł Ų„ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŁŲ¹ŁŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŁ Ł ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŲ§ ŁŁŲ«ŁŁŲ±ŁŲ§ Ų£ŁŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲØŁŁŁŁ ŲµŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁ ŁŲ³ŁŁ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ ā āā Ł ŁŁŁ ŲŖŁŲ¹ŁŁ ŁŁŲÆŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲŖŁŲØŁŁŁŁŲ£Ł Ł ŁŁŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł āāāā.ā
Sahih al-Bukhari 108 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:108
Muhammad bin Ubayd il-GhubarÄ« narrated to us, AbÅ« AwÄnah narrated to us, on authority of AbÄ« HasÄ«n, on authority of AbÄ« SÄlih, on authority of AbÅ« Hurayrah, he said, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: āWhoever lies upon me intentionally, then let him take his seat in the Fireā.
ŁŁŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ł ŁŲŁŁ ŁŁŲÆŁ ŲØŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŲØŁŁŁŲÆŁ Ų§ŁŁŲŗŁŲØŁŲ±ŁŁŁŁŲ ŲŁŲÆŁŁŲ«ŁŁŁŲ§ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŲ§ŁŁŲ©ŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ ŲŁŲµŁŁŁŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ ŲµŁŲ§ŁŁŲŁŲ Ų¹ŁŁŁ Ų£ŁŲØŁŁ ŁŁŲ±ŁŁŁŲ±ŁŲ©ŁŲ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ ŁŁŲ§ŁŁ Ų±ŁŲ³ŁŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŁŁ ŲµŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁ ŁŲ³ŁŁ ā āā Ł ŁŁŁ ŁŁŲ°ŁŲØŁ Ų¹ŁŁŁŁŁŁ Ł ŁŲŖŁŲ¹ŁŁ ŁŁŲÆŁŲ§ ŁŁŁŁŁŁŲŖŁŲØŁŁŁŁŲ£Ł Ł ŁŁŁŲ¹ŁŲÆŁŁŁ Ł ŁŁŁ Ų§ŁŁŁŁŲ§Ų±Ł āāā ā.ā
Sahih Muslim 3 https://sunnah.com/muslim:3
This is not a subtle difference because if someone is to take the more conservative approach, then even if someone unintentionally lies about the prophet, attributing something to him that he did not say, they would be securing their seat in the Hellfire. Therefore, anyone who mistakenly attributes any inaccurate statement to the prophet would be condemning themselves to Hell. The reason this would be so highly problematic for all Hadith is that no scholar claims that the Hadith are verbatim statements from the prophet. This is perfectly encompassed in the following statement attributed to the most famous successor Hasan al-Basri:
The Companion Wathila b. Asqaā had admitted that sometimes the early Muslims even confused the exact wording of the Quran, which was universally well-known and well-preserved. So how, he asked, could one expect any less in the case of a report that the Prophet had said just once? Al-Hasan al-Basri is reported to have said, If we only narrated to you what we could repeat word for word, we would only narrate two hadiths.
Hadith Muhammad s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World p. 24
This shows that the most widely transmitted Hadith in the entire corpus is not only not a verbatim speech of the prophet, but even the exact meaning is uncertain. Therefore, if the most highly transmitted statement in the entire corpus, which consists of only a single sentence, is unreliable, how less reliable are all other Hadith?
For a complete analysis of this Hadith and its variations, you can check out the following article.
EXAMPLE #2: THE MOST OFT-REPEATED HADITH
The Tashahhud ( ŲŖŁŲ“ŁŁŁŁŲÆ ) is the testimony of faith which is to be recited during Salat while in the sitting position. It is derived from the shahadah ( Ł±ŁŲ“ŁŁŁŁŲ§ŲÆŁŲ©Ł ), which occurs in various forms throughout the Quran approximately thirty-plus times.
[3:18] GOD bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully and equitably, He is the absolute god; there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise.
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[Sura 47 āMuhammadā:19] You shall know that: āThere is no other god beside GOD,ā and ask forgiveness of your sins and the sins of all believing men and women. GOD is fully aware of your decisions and your ultimate destiny.
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Letās consider that the prophet made this statement multiple times daily and was heard repeatedly by hundreds if not thousands of companions throughout his prophethood. We can comfortably say that this is single-handedly one of the most oft-repeated statements of the prophet during his whole life. Therefore, we would expect that there should be an absolute consensus among all the companions regarding the exact wording for this most prolific statement from the prophet, yet when we search the Hadith corpus, we see this is not the case.
What else is interesting is that many of these narrations state that āThe Messenger of Allah (ļ·ŗ) used to teach us tashahhud just as he used to teach us a Surah of the Qurāan.ā If this were true, one would expect to see every narration regarding how to state the tashahhud to be identical, as this is what we find in the Quran. However, this is not the case, as there are numerous variations of this statement. Below are some of the multiple narrations of the supposed tashahhud of the prophet:
Again, if this most oft-repeated statement made by the prophet, which was supposedly taught to his companions no different than the verses of the Quran, is unreliable, how less reliable are all other Hadith?
For a more in-depth look into these various narrations, check out the following article.
EXAMPLE #3: THE SINGLE MOST WIDELY HEARD HADITH DURING THE PROPHETāS LIFE
Despite there not existing a single sermon from the prophet that is transcribed from start to finish in the entire Hadith corpus, the most widely heard sermon that he gave in his whole life would be the one he supposedly gave during what is known as the Farewell Pilgrimage, įø¤ijjatu Al-WadÄŹæ ( ŲŁŲ¬ŁŁŲ© Ł±ŁŁŁŁŲÆŁŲ§Ų¹ ), in the Islamic year 10 AH, following the Conquest of Mecca.
It is believed that there were between 4 to 10,000 people in the audience for this sermon. This would make this the most widely heard statement from the prophet in his entire life. Yet not only did not a single person fully document what was said, but the Hadith is even unsure regarding the exact location of the sermon, with some narrations claiming Mina while others Arafat.
Instead, what we find regarding the sermon in the Hadith corpus, on top of the confusion regarding the exact location, are various narrations that conflict with one another regarding what was stated in this sermon. The critical difference between these narrations lies with what the prophet supposedly claimed to have left for the believers to keep them from being misguided. Depending on the narration, there are one of four options.
āI left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the book of God.ā
Al-Jahiz in the KitÄb al-BayÄn wa-al-TabyÄ«n
Musnad of Imam Ahmad (hadith no.19774)
āI left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the book of God and my Family, the people of the house.ā
āI left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the book of God and my Sunnah.ā
Ibn Ishaq, as quoted in Ibn Hishamās Sirah an-Nabawiyah (with no isnad)
āI enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey (your leaders) even if it be an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) slave, for those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs.ā
As seen above, these are not minor differences but have significant implications based on which statement the prophet said, if any. The fact that there is no consensus regarding what the prophet stated regarding the single most widely heard sermon of his entire life again reinforces that Hadith are highly unreliable. If the Hadith is not reliable to inform us what the prophet said when potentially thousands supposedly witnessed such a sermon, how less reliable are all the other Hadith when it was heard by one or even a handful of companions?
For an analysis of these four variations, check out the following article.
CONCLUSION
This shows that individuals who claim that the Hadith are unreliable are not doing this because they are cherry-picking questionable Hadith. Even among the most prominent examples where one should expect that if there is any authenticity to the Hadith, it should be visible in these examples, the Hadith literature repeatedly fails. It fails to determine the exact wording and meaning of the single sentence that is considered the most mass-transmitted statement in the entire corpus. It fails to provide the exact wording for the tashahhud which should be the most oft-repeated statement made by the prophet throughout his whole life. And it fails to give a consistent account regarding what the prophet supposedly stated during the most widely heard sermon of his life. So if the Hadith fails again and again on what should be its most ironclad narrations, how less reliable should one consider Hadith for all other matters?
