Manifestations of naturalism in Hadith transmission from the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum to the Tabi’in

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Manifestations of naturalism in Hadith transmission from the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum to the Tabi’in

 

After the previous review of the emergence of Hadith schools and their concentration in three major cities where there were abundant ahadith and which became a destination for scholars and Muhaddithin, we find that spontaneous fluidity is a clear feature in them. The naturalism becomes evident in several issues:

 

1. The naturalism of the abundance of narration in one city and not in another

It is natural that Madinah is most famous in narrating Hadith, as it was the residence of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and then the centre of the Rightly Guided Khalifas after him until the Caliphate of ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Its scholarly status continued due to the stability of the most distinguished Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum in it and due to their keenness to spread knowledge. Five of the thousands of people who narrated abundantly from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam stayed there as teachers and Muhaddithin. Students from different countries came to them to learn from them. Similar to the situation of Madinah was the situation in the cities of Kufah and Basrah, as a number of senior Companions settled there and were active in spreading knowledge. Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu descended on the city of Kufah by order of ‘Umar ibn al Khattab radiya Llahu ‘anhu with the intention of teaching, so his interest in it intensified and he devoted himself to it throughout his stay in Kufah. Similar was the situation in Basrah, where Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu lived. He taught there and passed away at a later stage. Hence, a generation of senior Tabi’in, even their juniors, learned from him.

We do not find this with ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al ‘As radiya Llahu ‘anhuma. His frequent movements decreased narration from him and hindered him from producing students like the students of Kufah, for example, as mentioned previously.

 

2. The naturalism of the abundance of narration according to the determination and eagerness of the Tabi’in

Added to the importance of the stability of the Companion and his determination in teaching, is the eagerness of the Tabi’in who learned from him. There is a big difference between the senior Tabi’in in Kufah, who took great care of Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu—they learned from his knowledge and added their eagerness to his eagerness—and between the senior Tabi’in in Greater Syria among whom were Abu al Darda’—one of the scholars of the Companions—Muaz ibn Jabal, ‘Ubadah ibn al Samit, and Shaddad ibn Aws radiya Llahu ‘anhum. They were not like the Tabi’in of Kufah in knowledge and determination. Their knowledge did not spread and their narrations did not get the attention that befitted them, as most of them were busy with battles and acts of worship. Hence, not much knowledge appeared, since they were people of peace and goodness. They did not occupy themselves with knowledge and preferred worship to it, as stated by Hafiz Ibn Hibban.^[1] The reference for that here is the eagerness of the Tabi’in, not that of the Companion radiya Llahu ‘anhu himself. Abu al Darda’ radiya Llahu ‘anhu, for example, paid attention to teaching, as mentioned in some narrations.

It seems that the nature of the people of Kufah was of endeavour and diligence at that time. Therefore, their time was spent seeking knowledge and memorising it, unlike the people of Greater Syria, for example, who were dominated by worship and righteousness. Attention to the chain of transmission did not appear until later. Mursal narrations, prior to al Zuhri, were predominant in their narrations.

It is as though the first generation of the Tabi’in of Basrah were not on the same level as the Tabi’in of Kufah. Perhaps this is due to the nature of the Arab tribes that settled in Basrah, as I did not find much mention of the tribe of Tamim among the ranks of the Tabi’in in al Tabaqat of Ibn Sa’d. Their number did not exceed 13.^[2] Perhaps the most famous of them are two: al Ahnaf ibn Qais—who was a notable and honourable person among his people—and Abu Raja’ al ‘Utaridi—who had a scholarly influence in Basrah.^[3] I did not see any influence of anyone else from the Banu Tamim. Perhaps this is due to the nomadic life of the Banu Tamim in that era.^[4] As for Kufah, sedentary or semi-sedentary tribes settled there. Its members collaborated to carry knowledge from the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum and spread it. Hence, knowledge was widely spread there. I found clear texts regarding the superiority of the tribes of Kufah over the tribes of Basrah. A man is narrated to have asked al Hassan al Basri:

 

يا‏ أبا سعيد أهل البصرة أو أهل الكوفة قال كان عمر يبدأ بأهل الكوفة وبها بيوتات العرب كلها وليست بالبصرة

“O Abu Sa’id, are the people of Basrah better or the people of Kufah?”

He replied, “‘Umar would begin with the people of Kufah, which contains all the Arab homes, not Basrah.”^[5]

 

‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu said:

 

بالكوفة‏ وجوه الناس

The prominent people are in Kufah.^[6]

 

This becomes evident by the fact that ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu insisted on the Nakha’ tribe to settle in Iraq, praised them for their honour and status, and prevented them from settling in Greater Syria, despite their persistent request for that, saying:

 

يا معشر النخع إني أرى الشرف فيكم متربعا فعليكم بالعراق وجموع فارس

O people of Nakha’, I see honour in you multiplying. So go to Iraq and the masses of Persia.^[7]

 

Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu also admired the Nakha’ tribe as he stated:

 

إني لأعرف سمت معاذ في أود والنخع

I perceive the characteristics of Muaz in the tribes of Awd and Nakha’.^[8]

 

However, the situation changed in Basrah in the second half of the first century. Hadith narration increased and spread. Junior Tabi’in like Qatadah, al Hassan and Ibn Sirin had a great influence there.

Therefore, it is natural to find that more than two-thirds of the chains of transmission in the six books are attributed to these three cities, i.e. Madinah, Kufah, and then Basrah, whilst narration was weak in other cities, such as Egypt, Yemen, and Greater Syria. None of the senior Companions settled in Egypt, or in Yemen. Knowledge did not actively spread in Damascus, as I mentioned before.

 

3. The naturalism of the personal characteristics of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum who founded these schools

Long lifespan, along with attachment to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was the most prominent reason for their influence in the school. Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu frequented the Masjid and was keen to learn from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha—the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam wife whom he married when she was young—would ask him and memorise from him. Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu was almost considered to be part of the family of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam due to his frequent visits to him. Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu was his servant who was attached to him for ten years. Therefore, it is natural for them to narrate Hadith abundantly. Most of them passed away at a later stage, devoted themselves to teaching and narrating Hadith, and did not occupy themselves with affairs of state and government or Jihad and fighting, as was the case with other senior Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. In addition, the method that each of them adopted in propagating and narrating Hadith had an impact in the abundance of narrations from him. Abu Hurairah proceeded to narrate Hadith, constantly stayed in the Masjid to spread knowledge, and held gatherings for that, especially on Fridays, when the Companions and senior Tabi’in gathered. Therefore, it was natural for his ahadith and narrations to increase. Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, though she disliked Abu Hurairah’s method of narrating Hadith and narrating it in gatherings, also embarked on teaching and narrating Hadith. She had the strength of personality to consult the senior Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, discuss with them, and clarify the correct view that she was satisfied with. They would ask her and request fatwa from her on various issues. Thus, it is natural that narrations from her would increase and not from the other Mothers of the Believers or female Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhunna. As for Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma, despite his abstinence from narrating Hadith for fear of making a mistake and falsely attributing to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, he taught Hadith and Fiqh for a long time. Some of his family members became devoted to him, stayed with him, and transmitted that from him. Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu passed away at a late stage and there was a need for his knowledge. Hence, there were many narrations from him.

As for Abu Musa al Ash’ari radiya Llahu ‘anhu, he was occupied with the conquests in Basrah. As a result, knowledge rarely spread from him there, contrary to Kufah, where he devoted himself to knowledge. Hence, there were many transmitters of his knowledge there.

 

4. The naturalism of social and scholarly relations in that era

This becomes evident when some Tabi’in specifically narrate abundantly from a Companion radiya Llahu ‘anhu. This is often due to some natural and subjective reasons; the most prominent of which in the school of Madinah is the kinship between the Tabi’i and the Companion and his eagerness to learn from him. Sa’id ibn al Musayyab, one of the senior Tabi’in, narrates frequently from Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu and he is his son-in-law. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar’s radiya Llahu ‘anhuma son, Salim, and his freed slave, Nafi’, specialised in him and were devoted to him in all his affairs. Therefore, they were blessed with transmitting Hadith from him. As for Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, she had ‘Urwah ibn al Zubair—her sister’s son—and al Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr radiya Llahu ‘anhum, her nephew. They would enter by her without any hesitance, asking her questions and she would narrate Hadith to them. Hence, their narrations increased from her.^[9]

There are other natural reasons as well. The Tabi’i’s frequent visits to Madinah, for example, resulted in him narrating frequently from the Companions of Madinah, even if his place of residence differed, as was the case in the narrations of Muhammad ibn Sirin al Basri from Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu and al Aswad al Kufi from Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha.

As for Kufah, we find that the characteristic of eagerness for knowledge and teaching and the close relationship between the Companion radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his students is prominent. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, one of the Companions’ scholars, devoted himself to the task of teaching throughout his stay in Kufah for nearly ten years. His students were some of the great and noble Tabi’in who had a strong passion for acquiring knowledge and learning from him. In fact, they were famous for transmitting knowledge from ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu as well, but he did not devote himself to teaching like Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu because he was occupied with issues of Caliphate and state. Furthermore, the Shia fabricated a lot against him; hence, narrations from him were few.

 

5. The naturalism of specific features of each city

This refers to features that distinguish each city from the other. Among these features are:

 

Feature 1: The authenticity and strength of ahadith in some cities but not in others

The Madinah School was distinguished by the authenticity of its narrations. Untruthfulness among the people of Madinah was scarce and most of their narrations were reliable. Close to them were the people of Basrah, unlike the people of Kufah—for there was a lot of lying among them. Perhaps this is due to the large number of Shia in Kufah.^[10] The fitnah of al Mukhtar al Thaqafi began there. Nonetheless, a large number of senior, proficient, Hafiz students of Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu and others remained in Kufah.

Al Khatib al Baghdadi states:

 

أصح طرق السنن ما يرويه أهل الحرمين مكة والمدينة فإن التدليس فيهم قليل والاشتهار بالكذب ووضع الحديث عندهم عزيز ولأهل اليمن روايات جيدة وطرق صحيحة ومرجعها إلى الحجاز أيضا إلا أنها قليلة وأما أهل البصرة فلهم من السنن الثابتة بالأسانيد الواضحة ما ليس لغيرهم مع إكثارهم وانتشار رواياتهم والكوفيون كالبصريين في الكثرة غير أن رواياتهم كثيرة الدغل قليلة السلامة من العلل وحديث الشاميين أكثره مراسيل ومقاطيع وما اتصل منه مما أسنده الثقات فإنه صالح والغالب عليه ما يتعلق بالمواعظ وأحاديث الرغائب وللمصريين روايات مستقيمة إلا أنها ليست بالكثيرة

The most authentic chains of transmission of the Sunnah are what the people of the two Harams, Makkah and Madinah, narrated; for tadlis^[11] was very scarce among them and the reputation for lying and fabrication of Hadith was very rare. The people of Yemen have sound narrations and authentic chains and their origins are from Hijaz as well; however, they are few.

As for the people of Basrah, they possessed the Sunnah established through clear chains of transmission that no one else had, in spite of their abundance and the spread of their narrations. The people of Kufah are like the people of Basrah in their abundance, except that their narrations are full of corruption and are hardly free from defects.

Most of the ahadith of the people of Greater Syria are mursal and interrupted narrations. Whatever is uninterrupted through chains of reliable narrators is valid. Most of it pertains to advices and ahadith of exhortations.

The Egyptians possess authentic narrations, but they are not many.^[12]

 

The idea of ​​forgery in the third century after Hijrah cannot be possible when we look at these specific features of each city, as the forger usually does not pay attention to all these minute details.

This is with the certainty that lying was rare in all the regions in general during the days of the Tabi’in. We rarely find a Tabi’i accused of lying except in Kufah or by the Shia. Ibn Taymiyyah said in Majmu’ al Fatawa:

 

والكذب كان قليلا في السلف أما الصحابة فلم يعرف فيهم ولله الحمد من تعمد الكذب على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كما لم يعرف فيهم من كان من أهل البدع المعروفة كبدع الخوارج والرافضة والقدرية والمرجئة فلم يعرف فيهم أحد من هؤلاء الفرق وأما التابعون فلم يعرف تعمد الكذب في التابعين من أهل مكة والمدينة والشام والبصرة بخلاف الشيعة فإن الكذب معروف فيهم وقد عرف الكذب بعد هؤلاء في طوائف وأما الغلط فلا يسلم منه أكثر الناس بل في الصحابة من قد يغلط أحيانا وفيمن بعدهم ولهذا كان فيما صنف في الصحيح أحاديث يعلم أنها غلط وإن كان جمهور متون الصحيحين مما يعلم أنه حق

Lying was very rare among the predecessors. As for the Companions, no one among them was known to intentionally lie upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam—all praise is for Allah—just as no one was known among them to be among the infamous innovators such as the Khawarij, the Rafidah, the Qadariyyah, and the Murji’ah. No one was known to be from among these sects. As for the Tabi’in of Makkah, Madinah, Greater Syria, and Basrah, no one was known to lie intentionally, unlike the Shia, who were known to lie. After these people, lying was known in some groups.

As for error, most people are not immune to it. In fact, among the Companions and those after them were those who sometimes made mistakes. Hence, among the narrations compiled in al Sahih, there are those that are known to contain mistakes, even though the majority of the texts of the two Sahihs are accepted to be correct.^[13]

 

Feature 2: The abundance of tadlis in some cities compared to others

Kufah was famous for tadlis. There were some mudallis narrators in Basrah, contrary to Madinah where tadlis was extremely rare. Similar was the condition with the people of Greater Syria. Al Hakim states:

 

وأكثر المحدثين تدليسا أهل الكوفة ونفر يسير من أهل البصرة

The Muhaddithin that practice tadlis most are the people of Kufah and a small group of the people of Basrah.^[14]

 

Feature 3: The impact of schools on other cities

These schools had a clear impact on other scholarly schools. Kufah had a clear impact on the Khurasanis, because the people of Kufah were the ones who conquered that country and taught Qur’an and Hadith to its people. Therefore, their approaches and ways of thinking were transferred to it. You rarely find a Khurasani chain of transmission that does not have a Kufi origin.^[15]

As for the people of Madinah, they had a great influence on the Africans and Andalusians, especially during the time of Imam Malik. They narrated his Muwatta’ there repeatedly and transferred most of his knowledge to those lands.

 

Feature 4: The influence of cities on the schools of jurisprudence

These Hadith schools had strong ties and strong relations with the schools of Fiqh. Perhaps the most evident of them was the influence of Ibn Mas’ud’s school, represented by his senior students, on Ibrahim al Nakha’i, who influenced Hammad ibn Abi Sulaiman, who influenced Abu Hanifah al No’man. This means that the extension of the Hanafi Mazhab reaches Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu.

This also becomes evident in the impact of the Madinah School on the Fiqh of Imam Malik, as Malik was very proud of the practices of the people of Madinah and their Fiqh. In fact, he would warn against learning from the people of Iraq. He is reported to have said to the people of Iraq:

 

لم يأخذ أولونا عن أوليكم قد كان علقمة والأسود ومسروق يمرون فلا يأخذ عنهم أحد منا فكذلك آخرونا لا يأخذون عن آخريكم

Our former scholars did not learn from your former scholars. ‘Alqamah, al Aswad, and Masruq would pass by, but none of us would learn from them. Likewise, our latter scholars will not learn from your latter scholars.^[16]

 

Some say that the school of Iraq is a school of opinion and the school of Hijaz is a school of transmission. This notion in general terms is incorrect. Broader details are available in our teacher Dr. ‘Abdul Majid Mahmud’s book al Ittijahat al Fiqhiyyah ‘ind Ashab al Hadith fi al Qarn al Thalith al Hijri. Delving into its detail is not part of the discussion of this book, since the differences between the two schools is in understanding the texts, not in the path of proving them. This book merely discusses the paths of proving narrations.

 

NEXT⇒ The critical authority that accompanied the movement of narration

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^[1]  Ibn Hibban: Mashahir ‘Ulama’ al Amsar, pg. 201.

^[2]  Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 7/91–246.

^[3]  Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 7/93 onwards and 7/138 onwards.

^[4]  Massignon: Khutat al Kufah, pg. 24. There are several texts that show the ruggedness and nomadic life of the Banu Tamim. Also refer to Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith: 3515, 3516, 3610; Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 7/94, 6/277.

^[5]  Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 6/11.

^[6]  Ibn Sa’d: al Tabaqat, 5/6. Thereafter, see the other statements of ‘Umar, ‘Ali, and Salman radiya Llahu ‘anhum.

^[7]  Ibn Abi Shaybah: al Musannaf, Hadith: 34448; Ibn Abi Khaythamah: al Tarikh al Kabir, 3/61.

^[8]  Ibn Ma’in: al Tarikh Riwayat al Duri, 4/65; Ibn Abi Khaythamah: al Tarikh al Kabir, 3/61; Ahmed Snubar: Madrasat al Basrah al Hadithiyyah fi al Nisf al Awwal min al Qarn al Awwal al Hijri: Dirasah fi Asbab al Ta’akhkhur al ‘Ilmi ‘an Madrasat al Kufah, published in Tasawwur Magazine, volume 6, edition 1, pg. 462-464.

^[9]  We find this similarly in Abu Bakr ibn Hazm’s narration from his paternal aunt ‘Amrah bint ‘Abdur Rahman, who was one of those who frequently narrated from Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha due to her attachment to her.

^[10]  Ibn ‘Adi states in al Kamil, 3/266:

الغالب في الكوفيين التشيع

Shi’ism was dominant among the people of Kufah.

Al Fasawi narrates in al Ma’rifah wa al Tarikh, 2/806, that Ma’mar ibn Rashid said:

قلما تكاشف كوفيا إلا وجدت فيه كأنه يريد التشيع

Very seldom, a Kufi is exposed except that one will find it (Shi’ism) in him.

^[11]  Those narrations where a narrator omits the one he heard it from.

^[12]  Al Khatib al Baghdadi: al Jami’ li Akhlaq al Rawi wa Adab al Sami’, 2/286–288.

^[13]  Ibn Taymiyyah: Majmu’ al Fatawa, 1/249-250.

^[14]  Al Hakim: Ma’rifat ‘Ulum al Hadith, pg. 111.

^[15]  ‘Abdul Karim al Warikat: al Wahm fi Riwayat Mukhtalif al Amsar, pg. 404.

^[16]  Ahmed: al ‘Ilal, 1/294 (475); al Fasawi: al Ma’rifah wa al Tarikh, 1/444.