1. Lecture 2 Hadith in contextual interpretation
The Qur’an
Lecture 2
Hadith in contextual interpretation

2. Structure of the Lecture
The use of parallel texts in interpretation
Compilation of hadith
The fabrication of hadith
Determining the authenticity of hadiths and chains of transmission
Interpreting hadith
Historical development of the concept of Sunna
Using hadith in contextualist interpretation
Case Study and assignment for students:
Exemplary Leadership and Governance in Accordance to Sunnah

3. The important of Hadith in the Quranic Interpretation
[“The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom”] (Qur’an 5:33)
What does this text mean?
Is there any Hadith helps to explain this text?
What are the possible ways by which such a text can be used or misused today?
Can such a text be understood differently at different times and places?
Is a simple literal reading sufficient? Why?

4. Hadith as parallel texts
A fundamental principle of the contextualist approach is to examine not only the verses that are the object of interpretation, but to consider all the Qur’anic texts and hadith that are possibly related to those verses
Parallel texts are those texts related to the key messages of a particular text that exist elsewhere in the Qur’an or hadith
When taken together with other similar texts, interpretation may produce a significantly different message

5. Hadith as parallel texts
Compilation of hadith
It took two centuries for hadith to be collated into the canonical collections that exist today
The Prophet’s Companions did not put the hadith together in a systematic fashion
Numerous hadith suggest that the Prophet actually prohibited his Companions from writing down hadith
Example of the 2nd caliph Umar b. al-Khattab threatening punishment for the writing down of hadith
Later scholars understood this prohibition to be only temporary

6. Hadith as parallel texts
Compilation of hadith
During Shafi'i's generation (approx. 8th century CE), scholars began traveling widely to collect hadith (767 — 820 CE / 150 — 204 AH).
Muslims devoted to collecting the Prophet's words travelled the roads of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and Arabia in search of hadith
Bukhari (d. 265/870) collected approximately 600,000 of the hadith in circulation
memorised, critiqued and analysed them, then selected approx. 3-4,000 for his collection
his collection is considered by Sunni Muslims to be amongst the most reliable

7. Hadith as parallel texts
Fabrication of hadith
Despite the precautions taken, hadith were fabricated on a very large scale
Why?
Influence of various political forces: the assassination of the third caliph Uthman; emergence of competing political groupings like the supporters of Ali (d. 40/661) against Mu’awiya (d. 60/680); and followers of the Prophet’s wife A’isha against Ali and vice versa
These tensions/conflicts divided the Muslim community - factions justifying their claims often based on fabricated sayings attributed to the Prophet (i.e. praising their faction at the expense of their opponents)
Hadiths also fabricated to support/refute certain theological arguments

8. Hadith as parallel texts
How then did scholars determine which hadith were authentic?
The isnad or chain of transmission was used to verify hadith
Muslims then only had to follow a hadith if the isnad demonstrated that it had been transmitted reliably from the Prophet
Method:
If a trustworthy person transmits [a Hadith] from another trustworthy person until the chain ends with the Messenger of God, then it is established as being from the Messenger of God
To be trustworthy the narrator had to be well known as honest; transmit the hadith exactly as they heard it; be clear about the source they heard it from and the hadith had to be corroborated by others
The chain of reliable transmitters had to extend unbroken to the Prophet himself

9. Hadith as parallel texts
How then did scholars determine which hadith were authentic?
A ‘sound’ hadith (unbroken chain of transmission) – sahih
A well known hadith – mashhur
A ‘weak’ hadith (flawed chain of transmission) – da’if
A ‘fabricated’ hadith – mawdu’

10. Hadith as parallel texts
Interpreting hadith
Even if the chain of transmission authenticated a hadith, its interpretation could still be ambiguous or unclear
Example: 'Whoever carries arms against us is not from among us'
Literal interpretation vs recognising hyperbolic flair or rhetoric or other symbolic language
Made it difficult for scholars to draw legal rulings from some hadith

11. Concept of Sunnah
The term Sunnah existed before the coming of the Prophet: “a normative action or behavioural system set by an individual worthy of a tribe’s emulation”
This idea was applied to Prophet Muhammad by those who recognised his religious authority
Early concept of Sunnah:
the “generally agreed [upon] core of experience which constituted the community’s knowledge of what it meant to live as a Muslim“ based on the Prophet’s practice

12. Concept of Sunna-2
Second and early third century of Islam – this notion changed
Disagreement emerged about what the notion of Sunnah should mean:
some Muslims argued that the Sunnah should be determined through the standard practices that Muslims had followed, generation after generation, from the time of the Prophet, based on the practice of the earliest Muslim community
other Muslims argued that if a saying was attributed to the Prophet, its narrators could be traced and be found reliable, and its chain of transmission appeared authentic, then it should form part of the Sunna

13. Sunnah and Hadith Movement
The Hadith Movement or ahl al-hadith began to emerge in the second century of Islam
Emphasising the idea that the primary way to understand the Sunnah of the Prophet was through hadith
If a hadith was considered reliable according to the chain of transmission, it should be accepted as part of the Sunna, even if it contradicted the generally accepted practice of the community
Even hadith that were obscure, unfamiliar, and sometimes even contrary to reason and Qur’anic teachings became equated with Sunna
Sunnah became equivalent to hadith, despite the difficulties associated with the issue of authenticity

14. Using hadith in contextualist interpretation
Using systematic methodological criteria:
Hadith should be interpreted in light of the Qur’an or have a contextualising function
The concepts of Sunna and hadith need to be distinguished
Hadith material should be interpreted in the light of what we know about the actual Sunna of the Prophet
Hadith should not be interpreted individually but in the light of other hadith available on an issue. Both the text of the hadith and its context should be kept in mind
Hadith must be critiqued according to collective reason and human nature
Hadith counter to “conclusive and definite evidence” of the Qur’an and actual Sunnah may have to left aside in favour of other hadith/Sunnah and the Qur’an

15. Case Study - Exemplary Leadership and Governance Based on Sunnah
Discussion