Translation: Narrated 'Abdullah: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: Truthfulness (sidq) leads to righteousness (birr), and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes and is written as a truthful person (siddeeq). And Falsehood/lying (kithb) leads to Al-Fajoor (wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajoor (wickedness) leads to the Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar (kathaab). [Saheeh Bukhari, Book of Manners, #116]

Birr is from ba-ra-ra and it literally means a vast and open piece a land, with so many types of herbage and fruits. Birr means vastness of good deeds. Someone who is baarun (one who does birr) does all types of good deeds, and these people, al-abraar (plural of baarun), are those who are truly righteous. Next time you read the Qur'an, look for this word "al-abraar" (الابرار)and see which context these people are mentioned.

The hadeeth says that whoever is truthful, they will be lead to do these vast good deeds and then eventually they will be written as a "siddeeq". Notice this word, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) did not say a 'saadiq', but he said 'siddeeq'. A 'siddeeq' is way better than a saadiq. They not only tell the truth, they always speak the truth, and they stand by it and live by it until it becomes their nature. All they do is tell the truth, again and again. Think of Abu Bakr as-siddeeq (رضي الله عنه‏) and how he earned this name.

On the other hand, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said that the man who lies will be lead to "fujoor" and then is written as a kathaab. Al-Fujoor is from fa-jeem-ra and it means to break open, cross, and deviate (significance of words beginning with fa). Fujoor is also intensified and it shows that causing corruption and wickedness is embedded in this person's nature. Their actions are based on it and it is part of their character. Also, the word for liar used is a "kathaab", which is not just a kaathib (a liar), but a huge liar. One who is always lying until it's just second nature for lies to come out of his mouth. All they do is lie, again and again. Think of Musaylimah al-kathaab and how he earned this name.

So the question is, where do we stand with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? How are you written with Him? As a siddeeq or a kathaab? This reminder is for myself first and foremost.

Allahumma ijalnaa min as-siddeeqeen, wa la tajalnaa min al-khaathibeen. O Allah, make us among those who are always truthful, and do not make us among those who are liars. Ameen!

The study of hadeeth is one of the most noble sciences in Islam. The precision of this science, and the scholars who perfected it, is amazing and is not found in any other science--secular or Islamic. The sciences of hadeeth may be the most disputed science in Islam, simply because people do not understand the succinct process and scrutinization for only one narration to be accepted as authentic (saheeh). The Sunnah is the second source of legislation after the Qur'an, and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) promised to protect the Sunnah:

Translation: We have, without a doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). [Suratul-Hijr, verse 9]

So those who deny the Sunnah (for reasons such as weakness and lack of authenticity) and claim to "follow the Qur'an" are further away from the Qur'an; and they do not truly follow it, because if they did follow the Qur'an, they would automatically turn to the Sunnah.

The term saheeh literally means "sound and healthy." Its Islamic/legal definition means: a narration that is totally authentic, with no doubt in its authenticity, and is a certified statement of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). For a hadeeth to be taken as saheeh, five conditions must be met:

1. Connected Isnaad: (isnaad is the plural of sanad, which is the chain of narrators). In Arabic: اتصال السند, ittisaal us-sanad. There cannot be a break in the chain. The narrators must have heard the hadeeth from each other, and if there is a break in the chain, the hadeeth is not authentic. (An example of a break in the chain would be a tabi'i narrating directly from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). The successor/tabi'i couldn't have met the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and had to have taken the narration from a companion, yet they did not mention the companion--so this would be a weak narration.)
2. The narrators must be trustworthy and righteous.In Arabic: العدالة, al-'adaalah. The sub-conditions for 'adaalah is that the narrator fears Allah, they are not known to commit major sins or consistent minor sins, and that they avoid all that people may consider shameful (faqawaar al-maroo'a). A modern day example of this would be that the Imam of the masjid would not come lead the prayer in shorts. Although shorts are technically fine to wear, some members of the prayer may consider it shameful and inappropriate for the Imam to lead the prayer in such clothing. So the narrators leave acts that can be seen as shameful by the people, even if they are not haraam or makrooh.
3. Precision and accuracy of the narrators. In Arabic: ضبط الرواة dhabt ar-rawaah. There are two sub-conditions under dhabt:
   1. Precision and accuracy of the memory. In Arabic: ضبط الصدر, dhabt as-sadr.
   2. Precision of writing. In Arabic: ضبط الكتاب, dhabt al-kitaab. In terms of writing, some scholars of hadeeth had weak memories, so they would never narrate from their memories, but rather from their scribes or notes.
4. No irregularities or inconsistencies. In Arabic: عدم الشذوذ, adamu as-shuthooth. Shuthooth is plural of shaath, and it literally means something irregular or not normal. An example of a shaath narration would be a hadeeth with a reliable narrator, but he contradicts a stronger narrator. So for a hadeeth to be authentic, it must be consistent.
5. No hidden defects. In Arabic: عدم العلة, adamu al-'illah. An 'illah, or a hidden defect is hard to detect and only the top scholars of hadeeth (like Imam Bukhari and Imam Ahmad) were able to detect them. Only through knowledge and experience will someone be able to detect an 'illah in a hadeeth. Ibn al-Salah says, "A ma'lul (defective) hadith is one which appears to be sound, but thorough research reveals a disparaging factor." An example of an 'illah would be a narrator saying he narrated from his shaykh (his teacher) but he never heard from him, and rather took it from another student.

These are the five conditions for a hadeeth to be considered authentic, as stated by the scholars of this science. The only difference between a saheeh hadeeth and a hasan (good, one level lower than saheeh) is that the narrators have good memories and not excellent memories, they are still reliable, but their level of memory and precision is less than saheeh.

SubhanAllah, if someone takes the time to learn even the basics of this science, they will realize that those who claim the sunnah as unreliable have no idea what they're talking about, and have never even studied this science! Allah has promised to preserve the sunnah, and with conditions such as these, the scholars of hadeeth have lived out this promise.

A great introductory resource if you would like to learn this science is a book by Shaykh Suhaib Hasan, known as "An Introduction to the Sciences of Hadeeth," published by Dar-us-Salam--and take the AlMaghrib course known as Chain of Command: The Sciences of Hadeeth. Also, shaykh Yasir Qadhi has a set of introductory audio lectures on this science, which can be found here.

And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows best.

References

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib Institute. Chain of Command: Hadeeth Sciences. University of Maryland, Rockville. July 2007.

The sciences of hadith, and its importance. What is "sunnah," its importance, its authority in Islam, who were the scholars of hadith, their books, and what is the terminology of hadith.

Chain of Command is an AlMaghrib course taught by Abdul-Bary Yahya. This course is divided into two parts: first, the Muhadithoon, the Scholars of Hadith; and second, what is known as "Mustalah al-Hadith," the terminology and categorization of hadith. Hadith sciences can undoubtedly be the most important science in Islam for one reason: all other sciences are based on it. Do you think our worship would be the same if we did not have the classifications of ahadith, from da'eef (weak) to saheeh (authentic)? How about fiqh? Aqeedah? Without the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and his sunnah we would be completely lost.

Rasululllah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: "There will not cease to be a group from my ummah dominant upon the truth. The ones who abandon them will not be able to harm them, until the decree of Allah comes." [Saheeh Muslim] What do the scholars say about this group and hadith? Most importantly, there will always be a group among this ummah guided. Also, Imam Ahmad said, "if they are not the people of Hadith, then I don't know who they are." Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, "It is the scholars of Hadith." This does not mean that other scholars are misguided, but if an individual does not believe in or rejects the ahadith, they will eventually go astray.

Some benefits of studying hadith:

• You are able to follow in the footsteps, words and actions of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
• You will have the ability to extract rulings from the sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
• You will learn lots of Arabic by memorizing ahadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
• Realize the miracle of "Jawaami' al-Kalam," small and concise words, that Allah gave to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
• You will send lots of salawaat on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). [The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: The people who will be nearest to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who supplicate Allah more often for me.'']

Allah (عز و جل) blessed our Ummah with a special gift. It is known as the "isnad," the chain in which a hadith is narrated. The isnad is so important, as it relates to us how this hadith reached us. Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, "The isnad to me is part of the deen (religion), and if it wasn't for the isnad, anyone would say anything he wanted."

This course is the best way to become closer to and love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم), and also cling to his sunnah. Imam Malik said, "The Sunnah is like the Arc of Nuh, whoever boards it will be saved, and whoever stays behind will be drowned."

• AlMaghrib
• Chain of Command
• Conditions for Saheeh Hadeeth
• The Best Teacher

• Hadith

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Chain of Command.

Say what?

"The example of a believer, who recites the Qur'an and acts on it, is like an orange (utrujjah) which tastes nice and smells nice.

And the example of the believer who does not recite the Qur'an but acts on it is like a date that tastes sweet but has no smell.

And the example of the hypocrite who recites the Quran is like a sweet basil which smells good but tastes bitter.

And the example of a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur'an is like a colocynth (bitter apple) which tastes bitter and has a bad smell."

[Allah’s Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم), reported in Saheeh al-Bukhari]

Subhan Allah!

So, in sha Allah, we should all strive to be like the believer who is like an orange: the one who is emanating beauty because of his/her attachment to the Qur'an. And may Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protect us from being like the hypocrites, ameen!

Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: All these four things don't gather in one person except that Allah enters them into Paradise. [Sahih Muslim, Book 31 / #5580]

So how would you like to earn entry into Paradise? Yes? Well then, here's your master plan to gather the above-mentioned qualities in yourself inshallah:

• Fast every week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
• Find some needy people, and ensure you provide them with food.
• Visit any sick family members, relatives, and/or friends. If no one is sick, mashallah! Just drop by the hospital now and then.

Once the above three qualities become regular, the day you hear of a janazah, it will be an easy task for you to try and achieve all of them! And inshallah, you'll have them 'combined' in you, just as the hadith mentions!

May Allah help us combine and instill these qualities within ourselves, that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) already mentioned as a way into Paradise, ameen!

Related Posts: What Concerns you? (An answer for -- What will place us in paradise?)

Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albani, one of the greatest scholars of recent times, also studied ahadith and became a muhaddith--one the likes of we have not seen in centuries. This is why many contemporaries--scholars, imams, teachers--often will quote a hadith as saheeh or da'eef and say "according to Shaykh Al-Albani". May Allah forgive his sins and accept all the amazing work he completed during his lifetime, ameen!

You can find a brief sketch of his life here, if you would like more details.

Ahadith are an important part of Islam. They complement and the Qur'an, and provide us with numerous benefits and different types of information, including:

• Laws not directly stated in the Qur'an (eg. prohibition of visiting fortune-tellers)
• Details of things mentioned in the Qur'an (eg. how to make wudoo)
• A look into the lifetime of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم)
• Tafseer (explaination) of the Quran (eg. the story of the People of the Ditch)

Some people deny ahadith, and say "we don't need no hadiths! We can just use Qur'an!" In response, refer them to this verse:

Translation: O you who believe! Obey Allâh, and obey the Messenger (Muhammad) and render not vain your deeds. [Surah Muhammad, 47:33]

Or, if it suits your da'wa a bit better, ask them: "how do you know how to pray?" It's not in the Qur'an--only a few details here and there. The same goes for wudoo! (Further details are available here.)

While ahadith can be classified in many ways, it's essential that all Muslims understand the following five:

• Saheeh (linguistically, "sound"): those ahadith that are certified authentic.
• Hassan (linguistically, "good"): those ahadith that are lower in status then saheeh. They are usually da'eef hadith that are upgraded to Hassan due to authentic backing.
• Da'eef (linguististically, "weak") those ahadith that are likely not true and are generally not used in certain topics, such as 'aqeedah. They can still be used in other fields, such as akhlaaq.
• Mawdoo': Fabricated ahadith that are definitely not true--someone invented them and attributed them falsely to the Prophet.
• Qudsi: (linguistically, "pure"): Hadith where the Prophet narrates or paraphrases something from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

That includes a brief introduction to ahadith. Please post any questions/clarifications in the comments area. Jazakumullahu khayran!

External Links: The Deviation of those who are satisfied with The Qur'an to the exclusion of Hadeeth, by Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albani

[1] Hamid, Abdool. "Mustalahul-Hadeeth": the Science of Hadeeth Methodology. Toronto: The Islaamic Institute of Toronto. 2.