Question on hadith between sunni n syia

Question:

"So I have a question about hadith. I've read that Shias do not use the same hadith as Sunnis. So what hadith do Shias use and why do Shias consider hadith like Sahih Bukhari and Muslim to be inauthentic? Is the method use to collect Shias different from that used to collect Bukhari and Muslim and if so how."

Answer:

You are absolutely right, the body of hadith used by the Shia are different from the body of Hadith used by the al al Sunnah. Actually, the sources of Shariah (Islamic Laws) are themselves different. Let me try and explain for you:In Sunni Islam The following sources of Sharia are used:

Quran - The text of the Quran as a source for Islamic laws

Sunnah -Prophetic Traditions (we'll talk more about this later)

Qiyas - Analogical Reasoning

Ijma - Consensus of the Community

In Shia Islam we do not accept Qiyas as a valid tool in Jurisprudence. Qiyas is finding analogical situations and using them to create new rules.

I'll give an example

1st Part - Alcohol is forbidden in the Quran probably because it is intoxicating

2nd Part - Vodka is also intoxicating

3rd Part (conclusion) - Vodka is forbidden.

At surface value it seems like a reasonable tool; however, there is too much room for abuse.

Our 6th Imam (leader of the community religous and spiritual - different from caliph) also rejected Qiyas. He pointed out that the reasoning Shaitan used when he didn't bow down to Adam was also a result of using Qiyas (analogical reasoning).

An important element was left out. Instead Shias replace qiyas by 'aql'.

Aql refers to reasoning or the intellect.There are three categories of 'questions of jurisprudence'.

The first is (qat), the situation in which there is certainty. In this situation the ruling on this islamic law is made clear in Quran and Hadith and does not require further use of aql or ijma.

The second is (zann), literally means valid conjecture. In this situation rational princples are used to come to individual binding norms.

The last category (shak), literally means doubt.These are matters where there is no clear guidance.

Usually Shia Scholars use 4 criteria when passing rulings with regards to these matters:

bara'a - allowing maximum possible freedom of actions,

takhyir - freedom to select the opinion of other schools or other jurists if they seem more suitable,

istishab - continuation of any state of decision or legal ruling unless the opposite can be proved, and last

lyihtiyat - practice precaution whenever in doubt.

There is also a slight difference I noticed in my study of Sunni Islam with regards to IJMA. In Shia Islam usually IJMA is reserved to the ijma of the scholars. That is if there is a consensus on a particualar topic, unless it can be proven otherwise usually they will not change it.

However, it seems in Sunni Islam, ijma is not necessarily reserved to the scholars. The 'consensus' of the community can also be used to allow or forbid something. You might be confused let me give an example:

Question: Is smoking halal or haram?

When Sunni Scholars were first given this question, their initial answer was: smoking is haram. Ever since that ruling was passed, people were smoking all over the place. As a result Sunni scholars as a result of 'ijma of the community' were forced to allow it.

As per the specific question on hadith, there are a number of reasons the body of Sunni Hadith and Shia Hadith are differnt. I'm not sure what is the most important in categorizing a hadith as 'sound', but based on what i've read it seems extreme importance is given to establishing a mutawatir (successive) hadith and it would be given higher importance than a 'khabar al wahid' (hadith coming from only one source).

A Mutawatir hadith is one which can be confirmed to come from many chains of narration.This is also the case, that a hadith which can be verified to come from many chains of narrations is preferable to one which comes from one chain of narration.

However, in Shia Islam, there is a greater emphasis placed on the use of aql.

For Example: We wouldn't accept Bibi Aisha as a valid source for a source on Battle of the Camel; in which she was passinoately involved fighting against Ali.

There are 4 categories of hadith; which are probably similar to the categories of Sunni hadith:

sahih - correct

hasan - good

muwathaq - trustworthy

da'if - weak

Because both sunni and shia schools have recognized that there is a problem with forged hadiths, we accept the body of hadiths as a development of social, political agendas/interests. Won't attribute infallibility to the companions. We say the Prophet was infallible and his successors (the 12 imams) and his daugther. We consider these personalities as prime sources of getting hadith, rather than companions who might have only met the prophet a few times.

How can we Understand the Struggle we're in?

This a controversial article.. Read with an OPEN MIND !!

extracted from: http://aminah64.multiply.com/journal/item/1223?mark_read=aminah64:journal:1223

The Blessed Prophet Muhammad once said that there will come a time when it will be so hard to live as a Muslim that it will be like holding onto a hot coal.

Many feel that this is a good description of the times we live in. Never before has the entire existence of real Islam been under such assault both from non-Muslims outside as well as people with Muslim-sounding names from within.Muslim countries are socially, politically and morally in disarray.

Un-godly and/or secular forces have vanquished Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism and turned them into nothing more than religions of slogans and "personal choice". These same worldy-oriented, or secular people, have turned their sights on the last obstacle to total world depravity and demonization of the mind and soul.

This last obstacle is Islam. We are the last people on Earth who seriously speak about goodness, morality, honesty and faithful adherence to Divine precepts. The mantra of the Christians and Jews is "separation" of church and state. Separation from God is what they mean and philosophically they would not be able to deny it.

Only people who take their religion as less than serious would ever think to exclude its teachings and precepts from their political, social and private lives.The trends of the emerging world mono-culture all point to one, oppression-filled future. Everyone will be "wired" into the advertising/corporate slave system in which they will be told what to buy, what to wear, what to think and what to believe.

Literacy will actually plummet as reading skills diminish under a barrage of video images and short attention-span sound bites. This "dumbing down" of the human intellect is already being noted by educationists and scholars all over the world.

The rich are getting richer while the poor grovel and fight over the ever shrinking pool of crumbs.

While the world may never succumb to the scenarios outlined in the science fiction books "1984" and "Brave New World", nonetheless, after the enlightened civilizations of China, Rome or the Abbasids lost the will to think anymore, uneducated barbarians took over leading to many "dark ages". Who is foolish enough to believe that "history has ended"?

Upheaval is inevitable, as Allah says He gives nations their turns of prosperity and decline.So again, why are the secular after us so much? Only Muslims tell people to pray regularly. Only Muslims speak about accountability to God anymore.

Christians say all is forgiven so do as you please.

Jews say there is no afterlife and that Jews are the only people who matter.

Buddhists are too busy contemplating the wind in the forest and making trinkets for .99 cent stores to notice.

Hindus- well, they just riot all the time and feed bananas to their stone gods.

Anyone else is marginal. Look at the flaky new-agers and crystal peddlers!

The world is full of Muslims. But it is not full of believers. There's a good chance that the majority of people you will meet with Muslim sounding names are actually enemies of Islam. They are the hypocrites and wrong-doers spoken of so many times in the Qur'an. Real, genuine believers will be few and far between. Most Muslim societies have been corrupted for a long time and produce generation after generation of selfish, "me-oriented" people who claw for wealth and treat their fellow human beings like trash.

It's just as bad in the non-Muslim world, but it hurts more when we see people who should know better being small-minded.

Only by learning, living and teaching the pristine Islamic program can a person raise themselves up to a higher level of being.

Islam has more love than Christianity, more communal togetherness than Judaism, more contemplation and clear-reasoning than Buddhism and more meaning than secular humanism. This is the program that has it all for anyone who would make it a part of their life and soul.

Only when a person is surrendered to Allah do they have true peace of mind and contentment. This is what we want to teach people. It is unlikely there will be a truly Islamic political reality for quite some time now.

The self-promoting "Sheikhs" and revolutionaries that run around chanting "Death to (fill in the blank)" are hardly mature political leaders anyone would want.

Hey, the Blessed Prophet had to wait over a decade to mold a dedicated group of believers in the heart of enemy territory before a real Islamic polity could be established.

Are we more impatient?

Why haven't we followed his Sunnah and developed brotherhood among ourselves in our isolated places? The reactionaries among our ranks would simply cut everyone's hand off the minute they claw their way to power.

This is not what Islam teaches nor was the Blessed Prophet a wild extremist crying about punishment all the time.

When you read his sayings and study biographies of his life, you find that he was a very thoughtful and reasonable man who listened and acted with wisdom. His Household learned from this example and any hot-heads among them were taught to control themselves.

Despite the actions of the hypocrites, Islam moved forward because it spoke to people's hearts.

Islam wasn't made successful by "those hypocrite's" walking the streets and telling lie's, people knew better. The people policed themselves based on their love of Iman.

This love came from a teaching method that embodied, love, respect, understanding and wisdom.

If we want a true spiritual Islam to prevail over the madness of the non-Muslims and the idiocy of non-practicing "Muslims" or wild, "punish everybody" revolutionaries then we had best form ourselves and our children into decent, wise and thoughtful Muslims who know the how and why of what we do.

For over five hundred years now, the emphasis in Islamic education in the Muslim world has been on mindless memorization and repetition.

Almost all the great works of literature, science, mathematics, astronomy, tafseer and philosophy were accomplished between the years 800 and 1400.

Very little original work has been done since then except to repeat the works of earlier scholars without verve or imagination. Go to any Islamic studies class anywhere in the world and you will see stagnation and resistance. There are a few good examples, but there are far too many less than ideal situations. To change this will take a shift in understanding.

Islam is a living, breathing spiritual way of living, as well as a system of law. Without the spirit, the law is an empty shell.

You must learn everything about Fiqh before your heart may be satisfied until you are sure to understand that Islam begins with the heart first.

Our mission is to breath new life into the spirit of Islamic learning; to lift it back into its proper perspective so that men, women, boys and girls everywhere will be happy when they consider Islam.

To change a person's attitude towards something is to gain their allegiance.

Remember that.

A child won't love to make Salah simply because you order them to.

When you convert their heart and mind then you will never need to tell them to obey their Lord. They'll do it on their own.

The Islam of the Blessed Prophet was an intensely spiritual experience.

This is what we must bring to our students.

All else is a waste of time because the battle we are in is for the soul of humanity. We need to improve our readiness or perish.

Aminah.alqaem.org

http://www.aminah.shiahosting.com/

It's the June Holidays!

It's the June school holidays.. Wifey won't be working on most days of this month! Raqin will be at home, doing is usual plays and stuff.. sometimes i pity him not having anyone else to play with apart from my wifey n me, uncles and aunts, grandmas n grandpas, since his the only son now.. i'm hope he'll have a bro or sis sooner than later.. He's been so very interested towards other children whenever he sees them.. He always calls for them to attend to him or talk or play with him..
Since wifey's not working most of the days of this month, at least he won't be travelling every morning to his granny's before the sun's up.. As for me, i won't be too rushing to reach work before 7am which is the curfew for my vampire ride.. and i travel 40km less too!
So far, for this month, we brought raqin to the Singapore Zoo. Hoo boy, he was soo excited to see life animals in the flesh.. especially the penguins! so engrossed was he that when he left the penguins, he kept looking back at them! haha.. the look on his face! like he wanted to touch and communicate with them!
i'm planning to have an outing for my family this month.. maybe a drive a little further up than JB.. just the 3 of us.. i'm hoping that we can book a place to stay for maybe 3d2n.. a proper long awaited holiday for the 3 of us.. but i doubt we can get since it's the holidays, lots of people will be doing just that, but booking at a much earlier day.. So i guess this is last minute.. so maybe just a one day field/shopping/outing holiday trip up north.. can start early before 7am and come back after 7pm(so i won't need day coupon)..

Know what? i'm a winner of Lush99.5FM recently! Had to sms lush if i wanna get local artist, Shirlyn Tan's new album, NewFound Jealousy.. Didin't expect to win, since never in my life have i won any of this kind of contest(if u can call this a contest)..

When i receive a call from Lush DJ Timothy Oh, i got a shock till i couldn't react properly.. but i did answered promptly, plus i was in the middle of my work.. after the call then i realised that i ACTUALLY won the prize! i have 2 weeks to collect my prize, i'm bz currently.. but at least i got my annual leave approved, "killing 2 birds with 1 stone", i'll collect the prize and then do my holidays..

cheers!

Happy Birthday bro!

hahaa.. my elder bro's 30yrs old!

Oh no! that means i'll be 29 this year!! argh! it's like i can't believe it!! seems like yesterday i was in my school years! lot's of stuff have been going on..

i'm having this concern when is he going to settle down.. hope he's aware that the older he gets, the more difficult it might be for him to take care of his child when he's got a family..

my son, Raqin has grown a tooth! it's at the bottom.. so excited! but now his thumb keeps sticking into his mouth.. guess it's irritating him..

i intend to get intake hose for my ride today.. I reckon it won't be expensive.. next in line should be lowering springs i guess.. unless some other opportunity parts come to me..

i've been pondering on having holiday trips for my family.. but i'm afraid of Raqin being a little difficult making the trip un-enjoying.. maybe when he get a little older, i think more of when he starts to walk or something like that.. i feel he needs to know more and explore more about the world.. so far the furthest was KL.. we'll see how things turn out in the future..

Japan Training

Just got back from Japan Training, sent by my company.. it was a first time experience for me to go for this kind of trip (for training purpose).. a really excellent experience!! never have i ever expect to go to japan.. now that i've gone there, all i can say is it's a beautiful country.. well, at least from where i went, Takao and Shinjuku..

If i have enough money, i wouldn't mind going there for holiday with my family.. it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be since the majority of the japs don't speak english.. alot of the signs comes with english beside or under the jap language.. and u can really go lots of places by train.. like to hear them speak.. conclusion, for me, foreign language, jap and french are beautiful language and not forgetting persian or arabic..

on the whole, i truly enjoyed my trip there, but alas, if only i was with my family, i think it would be more fun!

Just got myself a PC.. compac.. i'm still exploring it and it's using Windows Vista, which i'm still not familiar.. now it's left for me to subscribe to the internet.. think i'll download/buy some educational programs/games(for raqin) apart from my usual games.. i feel it's going to be very useful, especially for my wife, who really needs the computer for her job..

but till i get my internet, i'm still using the com at work for updates..

Did the Prophet (s) Appoint a Successor?

The Shi'ah believe that the proclamation mentioned by the Qur'anic verse was fulfilled by the Prophet (s) when he appointed Imam 'Ali bin Abi Talib (a) as his successor on the day of Ghadir Khumm.

What happened on the day of Ghadir Khumm?

Ghadir Khumm is a location some miles from Makkah on the road to Madinah. When the Prophet (s) was passing by this place on 18 Dhu'l Hijja (10 March 632) on his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage, the verse "O Messenger, Proclaim what has been sent down..." was revealed. He therefore stopped to make an announcement to the pilgrims who accompanied him from Makkah and who were to disperse from that junction to their respective destinations. By the orders of the Prophet (s) a special pulpit made of branches of trees was erected for him. After the noon prayer the Prophet (s) sat on the pulpit and made his last public address to the largest gathering before his death three months later.

The highlight of his sermon was when, taking Imam 'Ali (a) by the hand, the Prophet (s) asked his followers whether he was superior in authority (awla) to the believers themselves. The crowd cried out in one voice: "It is so, O Apostle of Allah".

He then declared: "He of whom I am the master (mawla), of him 'Ali is also the master (mawla). O God, be the friend of him who is his friend, and be the enemy of him who is his enemy."

Immediately after the Prophet (s) finished his speech, the following verse of the Qur'an was revealed:
Today I have perfected your religion and completed my favor upon you, and I was satisfied that Islam be your religion. (Qur'an 5:3)

After his speech, the Prophet (s) asked everybody to give the oath of allegiance to 'Ali (a) and congratulate him. Among those who did so was 'Umar bin al-Khattab, who said: "Well done Ibn Abi Talib! Today you became the master of all believing men and women."

An Arab, having heard of the event of Ghadir Khumm, came up to the Prophet (s) and said: "You commanded us to testify that there is no deity but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah. We obeyed you. You ordered us to perform the prayers five times a day and we obeyed. You ordered us to observe fasts during the month of Ramadhan and we obeyed. Then you commanded us to offer pilgrimage to Makkah and we obeyed. But you are not satisfied with all this and you raised your cousin by your hand and imposed him upon us as our master by saying 'Ali is the mawla of whom I am mawla.' Is this imposition from Allah or from you?" The Prophet (s) said : "By Allah who is the only deity! This is from Allah, the Mighty and the Glorious." On hearing this reply the man turned back and proceeded towards his she-camel saying: "O Allah! If what Muhammad said is correct then fling on us a stone from the sky and subject us to severe pain and torture." He had not reached his she-camel when Allah flung at him a stone which struck him on his head, penetrated his body and left him dead.

It was on this occasion that Allah, the exalted, caused to descend the following verses:
A questioner questioned about the punishment to fall. For the disbelievers there is nothing to avert it, from Allah the Lord of the Ascent. (Qur'an 70:1-3)

But doesn't the word mawla mean friend?

Although a huge number of Sunni scholars from all ages and from all points of view have confirmed the event and the historic words of the Prophet (s), they have found it difficult to reconcile it with what actually happened after the demise of the Prophet (s). It is outside the scope of this short document to detail those incidents. The important point is that many Sunni scholars claimed that the Prophet (s) merely wished to declare 'Ali (a) as a friend and helper to the Muslims!

There are many aspects to this event that show that it was much more significant. The revelation of the various verses of the Qur'an, the large gathering, the final stages of the Prophet's life, the confirmation by the people that the Prophet (s) was superior in authority, the subsequent congratulations by 'Umar as well as many other factors which are difficult to cover in this short document, all point to the occasion as one of designation of successor by the Prophet (s). It is evident that the word mawla was used in the sense of absolute authority after the Prophet (s) including, but not restricted to, temporal power.

The Final Word

If there still remains doubt about the historic importance of this statement and the efforts of some people to cover it up, let this be the final word:

When Imam 'Ali (a), during the time of his caliphate and decades after the event of Ghadir, said to Anas bin Malik, the Companion of the Prophet (s): "Why don't you stand up and testify what you heard from the Messenger of Allah on the day of Ghadir?" He answered, "O Amir al-Muminin! I have grown old and do not remember." Thereupon 'Ali (a) said: "May Allah mark you with a white spot (of leprosy) unconcealable with your turban, if you are intentionally withholding the truth." And before Anas got up from his place he bore a large white spot on his face."

- Ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari, Kitab al-Ma'arif, (Cairo, 1353 AH), p. 251
- Ahmad bin Hanbal, al-Musnad, vol. 1, p. 119
- Abu Nu`aym al-'Isfahani ,Hilyat al-Awliya', (Beirut, 1988), vol. 5, p. 27
- Nur al-Din al-Halabi al-Shafi'i, al-Sirah al-Halabiyya, vol. 3, p. 336
- Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-'Ummal, (Halab, 1969-84), vol. 13, p. 131

To find out detailed information on the event of Ghadir Khumm, visit:
http://al-islam.org/ghadir/


O Messenger, Proclaim what has been sent down to you from your Lord; and if you don't do it, you have not delivered His Message (at all); and Allah will protect you from the people
(Qur'an: Chapter 5, Verse 67)



Do the Sunni scholars consider this event authentic?

The number of Sunni authorities who narrate this event, both in detail and in summary, is mind boggling! This historic event was narrated by 110 Companions of the Prophet (s), 84 Successors from the following generation and then by many hundreds of scholars of the Islamic world, from the first to the fourteenth century AH (seventh to twentieth century CE).

These statistics only include transmitters appearing in narrations recorded by Sunni scholars!

A very small selection of these sources is given below. Many of these scholars not only quote the Prophet's declaration but also call it authentic:
q al­Hakim al­Naysaburi, al­Mustadrak `ala al-Sahihayn (Beirut), volume 3, pp. 109-110, p. 133, p.148, p.533. He expressly states that the tradition is sahih in accordance with the criteria of al­Bukhari and Muslim; al­Dhahabi has confirmed his judgment.
q al­Tirmidhi, Sunan (Cairo), vol. 5, p. 633
q Ibn Majah, Sunan, (Cairo, 1952), vol. 1, p. 45
q Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Fath al-Bari bi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, (Beirut, 1988), vol. 7, p. 61
q Al-'Ayni, 'Umdat al-Qari Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 8, p. 584
q Ibn al­'Athir, Jami` al­'usul, i, 277, no. 65;
q Al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur, vol. 2, p. 259 and p. 298
q Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Tafsir al-Kabir, (Beirut, 1981), vol. 11, p. 53
q Ibn Kathir, Tafsir Qur'an al-'Azim, (Beirut), vol. 2, p. 14
q Al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul, p. 164
q Ibn al-'Athir, Usd al-Ghaba fi Ma'rifat al-Sahaba, (Cairo), vol.3, p. 92
q Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, (Hyderabad, 1325), vol. 7, p. 339
q Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, (Cairo, 1932), vol. 7, p. 340, vol. 5, p. 213
q Al-Tahawi, Mushkil al-Athar, (Hyderabad, 1915), vol. 2, pp. 308-9
q Nur al-Din al-Halabi al-Shafi'i, al-Sirah al-Halabiyya, vol. 3, p. 337
q Al-Zurqani, Sharh al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya, vol. 7, p. 13

Chinese New Year Holiday

It wasn't a time of going to other places for a holiday.. we spent our time in singapore.. with our dear little son, Raqin.. On Sunday, we brought him to my in-laws who missed him so much that they wished to take care of him for that day.. then my wife and i spent some time together.. wished i have enuf money to spend on my dear wife. It was her 24th birthday! I only thanked Allah for letting me share my life with her..

We got to watch a movie.. GhostRider.. I give it a 5star rating.. it's really good! but actors-wise, eventhough Nick Cage looks good in the role of the GhostRider, he seems to be a little old for the character Johnny Blaze, and his sweetheart seems a little too beautiful and too bodylicious for the charactor Roxy..

But the most exciting part of the holiday was when i brought Raqin to Chua Chu Kang Swimming Complex.. and boy he was SOOO EXCITED!! Could see it in his eyes.. so engrossed, so focused in the baby pool.. one part of the baby pool was ankle depth and he practically crawled nearly that whole part of the pool.. but it's a pity that the pool was really cold.. i think it's a little too cold for him.. i let him play in the pool for around half an hour and that was it.. after bathing and changing to warm clothes, he kept looking at the pool.. Could tell it in his eyes that he very much wanted to have more time in the pool!

As for me, i got myself a couple of laps in the adult pool.. seems like i need more swimming.. i felt a little breathless after just one lap! After that day, i've decided.. more trips to the swimming pool for all of us.. once we have enough money, we'll be buying my wife a swimming costume specially for hijab.. then i know there'll be more fun to come!