Salam alaykum:
Alburhaan2 wrote in message <[email protected]>…
>It is claimed that some collections were made during the first century after >hijra. But none of them survived. The first Khalifa, Abu Bakr, burned al l >written hadith. He obeyed the prophet, who forbade the writing of hadit h.
It is established that numerous hadith collections were compiled in the first Hijri century. Here are two first-century compilations that survive d:
1. `Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-`As: al-Sahifa al-Sadiqa. It contained about 1,000 hadiths of which 500 have reached us, copied down by `Abd Allah directly from the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him — and transmitted to us by his grandson `Amr ibn Shu`ayb. It recently received a scholarly edition by a doctoral student in the Gulf. May Allah reward him well.
2. Hammam ibn Munabbih (d. 101 or 131): al-Sahifa al-Sahiha which has reached us complete in two manuscripts containing 138 hadiths narrated by Hammam from Abu Hurayra (d. 60) from the Prophet, Allah bless and greet h im. This, together with the previous compilation, is the greatest proof that compilation began before the second Hijri century.
See, for the above, Dr. Muhammad al-Khatib, al-Sunna Qabl al-Tadwin (Dar al-Fikr 1993) p. 348-356.
Abu Bakr did not “burn all written hadith.” There is a report that he bur ned the collection of a few dozen hadiths that he had, out of scrupulous fear that they may contain mistakes. However, he certainly continued to report hadiths orally. Al-Nawawi in Tahdhib al-Asma ‘ wa al-Lughat (2:181-182) states that we have 142 Prophetic hadiths narrated from Abu Bakr. Al-Suyuti listed them in Tarikh al-Khulafa’.
The Prophet — Allah bless and greet him — generally forbade the writing of hadith so that people not confuse it with the Qur’an. He allowed or order ed some Companions to write hadith when there was no risk of confusion.
>again and Omar whipped hadith narraters, especially Abu Hurayra.
There is no truth to the report that `Umar had Abu Hurayra whipped. The authentic narrations state that `Umar threatened Abu Hurayra with whippin g when the latter returned from Bahrayn, where `Umar had dispatched him as governor, unless Abu Hurayra produce exact accounts of his wealth, which he did. Abu Hurayra rode a donkey and carried wood on his back from the marketplace even after he became governor.
`Umar certainly relied on Abu Hurayra, `Ali, `A’isha and others for hadit h narrations regarding important rulings. Ibn `Umar described Abu Hurayra a s “the most knowledgeable of us all in the Prophet’s hadith.” May Allah be well-pleased with all of them and protect us from stating other than the truth.
When Abu Hurayra died, the sons of `Uthman ibn `Affan carried his bier while Ibn `Umar walked in front of them, invoking Allah’s mercy on him. His high rank is indicated by the hadith of the Prophet — Allah bless and greet him: “None hears a word, or two, or three, or four, or five words pertaining to what Allah has commanded, and then learns them and teaches them to others , except he certainly enters Paradise.”
We should beware of the fabricated charges against Abu Hurayra devised by Shi`i and/or Mu`tazili sources. Like Imam al-Bukhari, Abu Hurayra is a pivot of the Sunna and it is normal that those who wish to attack the Sunna begin with them. May Allah have mercy on them and bless them abundantly for transmitting to us our Religion.
