Authenticity of Hadiths

For this purpose, a branch of specialized study was established called Usool e Hadith This itself had many branches First of all they divided the hadith into two sections, the text and the chain and its introduction.

Example (Extract from Al-Muwatta)

Yahya narrated from Malik who narrated from Nafae who narrated from Abdullah bin Umar that the Holy Prophet said: He who misses the Asr prayer is as if he has lost his family and property. Green = Isnad Orange = Matn To be considered authentic, the Muhaddithun assessed both parts of the Hadith in a highly meticulous way. To be declared absolutely reliable, a Hadith must fulfill three conditions: The chain (isnad) must be continuous, i.e. every narrator must be known to have met each other, and each and every narrator must be sound in character and memory. The text (matn) must be free of any defect in language, and must not clash with established Islamic belief. The Companions (sahabah), the Followers (Tabaeen) and their Successors (At Tab'a Taba'en) must accept them as reliable.

Isnad
Al-Adalah: The narrator must be a sane Muslim adult who has never committed a major sin and is known to avoid even the minor ones. His trustworthiness (Amanah) must be above par. Ad Dabt: The narrator must have an excellent memory and transmit the Hadith as it is to the next in line. His truthfulness (Sidq) be above par and must never have been accused of lying, even in a joke. He should not have been accused of committing a crime. He should have not have spoken against other reliable persons.

 He should be careful and intelligent, and must have shown responsibility in the narration or writing of the Hadith. The name, nickname, title, parentage and occupation of the narrator should be known so his/her entire biography can be investigated. The original narrator should have stated that he heard the Hadith directly from the Holy Messenger. If a narrator referred his Hadith to a narrator, the two should have lived in the same period and must have met each other. KeY WoRdS: S, T, M, T, C, R, C, B, O, P

Matn
Matn was checked thoroughly. It should not contradict or clash with a Qur'anic verse or already authenticated Saheeh Hadith. For e.g. The Hadith will not be accepted if it says to offer 6 daily prayers It should also not contradict with human reason and logic (common sense). Matn also shouldnt praise or condemn any person or tribe from the future or history by calling its name Matn should not contain details in a precise way about any future event It should be in the classic Arabic language, the tongue spoken by the Holy Prophet There shouldn't be any vulgar or odd language that the holy Prophet cannot be expected to use It should not have any modern words that didn't exist at the time of the Holy Prophet It must not be against historical facts Should not differ with established laws of nature and science, unless it mentions any certain miracle of Allah KeY WoRdS: Q, C, T, P, A, V, M, H, E HEM PACT VQ

Authors going about their work

The six tradition books compiled on the basis of the above criterion are the most authentic and reliable books of all the books on the traditions. They are called Sihah Sittah. The books among Sihah sitta are Sahih

Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Daud, Jame Tirmidhi, Sunan Nasai and Sunan Ibn-e-Majah.