Attribution/Ascription in Hadeeth (Isnaad)

BY

Dr. Ahmad Subhy Mansour

Sunday 06 August 2006

“Hadeeth” is the Arabic word synonymous to the talks, speeches, statements and/or words said to have been spoken by the Prophet Mohamed ( Pbuh : peace be upon him), then memorized, written down and finally collected in books by so called “Scholars of Hadeeth”. They ascribed or attributed these Hadeeth to the Prophet Mohamed two centuries and more after his death. They wrote down these Hadeeth claiming that it reached them over generations of oral narrations. This is the meaning of ( Isnad ), or Attribution/Ascription in Hadeeth

 Introduction

In the era of Caliph Al-Mammon the poet known as Al-Ennaby was walking the streets of Baghdad, he entered the marketplace while eating, contrary to, proprieties or "etiquette" of the upper class people, so his friend protested, "You eat your food in the marketplace while people are looking at you?" So El-Ennaby replied sarcastically: "Are those people? They are cows”, his friend protested and growled. Al-Ennaby said to him: "I'll show you if they are people or cows" and then he ascended to higher ground and cried out to them, "You people, come and I will tell you about the Messenger of Allah, so people rushedand gathered around him. He started telling them about that man who narrated that he heard another man who narrated that he heard a third man saying that he heard the Messenger of God. (Pbuh) said; and he started to tell a hadeeth then another and so on. The hearts, minds and eyes of the people were fixated on Al-Ennaby and he was in total control of the listeners. If he moves his hand to the right, the people would move their heads to the right, and if nodded to the left they would turn to the left until he said to them ... and it was narrated by one (or more than one) that the Prophet (Pbuh), said: “Anyone who can touch the tip of his nose with his tongue, enters Paradise” and he stopped talking ... then each and every one of the listeners stuck out his tongue trying to touch the tip of his nose with it, and all of them looked funny doing so, just like cows when they lick their noses with their tongues, Al-Ennaby turned sarcastically to his friend and said: Didn’t I tell you they were cows?

What caused the absence of those people’s minds with their tongues dangling like drunks?

It is a belief, believing that what Al-Ennaby says was truly said by the Prophet (Pbuh)?

And what made ​​them believe that the Prophet (Pbuh) has said so in a Hadeeth?

It is Attribution/Ascription; which is attributing any speech to the Prophet (Pbuh) through a list of persons who heard that hadeeth narrated it from one to another until it reaches the first person who said that he heard it from the mouth of the Prophet (Pbuh) himself. In Arabic this process is called: “Al-An-Ana”.

This is what Attribution/Ascription means, and it is dangerous to Muslims’ minds.

Absence of mind

Well ... let's imagine that Al-Ennaby is in the streets of Cairo now riding a transportation bus. He sees an old man climbing into the bus and starts to call upon Muslims to donate to build a mosque and narrates that famous Hadeeth “He who builds God (GbH=Glory be to Him) a mosque even as small as a bird’s foothold, God (GbH) will build him a mansion in Paradise”. Al-Ennaby will see how quickly good people start donating in order for each of them to ensure his palace in paradise!

Can you imagine of Al-Ennaby's comments? Open up your mind and don’t give it a leave of absence, and think of the meaning of that Hadeeth falsely attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh),  it asserts that all those who build Allah (GbH) a mosque, Allah (GbH) will build them mansions in heaven, no matter what that person's character is? A believer, a non-believer or an infidel. No matter what is the source of his money? Good or bad. It means that Mr. Hitler has the right to have palaces in Paradise if he built a few mosques, and also means that each embezzler, oppressor and robber of people’s wealth can, if he built some mosques with unlawfully earned moneys, enter Paradise. .. Does this agree with the values and goals of Islam?

Also, this Hadeeth which sells palaces in Paradise for each and any  person who donates for building a mosque set for us from the beginning the smallest space acceptable for the mosque, it says “As small as a bird’s foothold”.

So, to put it all together: “Anybody who builds a mosque for Allah (GbH), even if it is as small as a bird’s foothold, Allah (GbH) will build him a palace in Paradise even if the mosque is built by money earned corruptly, no matter who or of what personality that donor is, even if the mosque is big enough for only ants and baby cockroaches”. Is it comprehensible that the Prophet (Pbuh) would say such words?

But this Hadeeth was attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh), it was narrated by “Ahmed Bin Hanbal” in his book “Al-Musnad” with a chain of narrators connected to the Prophet (Pbuh) himself and people believed in the authenticity of its attribution. So this false Hadeeth is responsible for establishing 38 thousand mosques and prayer corners in the Greater Cairo Area during the past 20 years. All of which spread the culture of extremism using a multitude of Hadeeths falsely attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh). Those false Hadeeths contradict the Quran and the true way and methodology of the Prophet (Pbuh). And instead of diverting the charity money to build housing projects for youth and families living in graveyards, the money is diverted to building ideological mosques exceeding the needs of Muslims who can pray anywhere. knowing that those who are passing through temporary difficult times away from their homelands, have an established right to charity and alms money, they shouldn’t be granted their financial rights except after food and shelter are abundantly provided for the local resident people, what does it mean when many residents in any Egyptian town can’t find  adequate housing, to the extent that young people lose their  dreams in getting married, and spinsters count is increasing all the time with alarming rates. This problem is increasing and becoming a real crisis because charity money is being used up by extremist Muslims building tens of thousands of podiums, working to establish their upcoming state! One of the most important pillars of that state is Middle Ages cultural heritage, that culture which became sacred via falsely attributing it to the Prophet (Pbuh) no matter how it contradicts logic or Islam.

Genuine Islam is the religion of the mind not only that, "rational" or the use of the mind is the reason for revealing the Quran: “Verily, We have sent it down as an Arabic Quran in order that you may understand”. (Yusuf  12: 2), ”We verily have made it an Arabic Quran that you may understand” (Al-Zukhrof 43: 3), but Attribution created a feud entrenched between Muslims and rationality, so it is enough for any crook who emerges to say “The Messenger of God said:” and people will immediately believe him and comply with what he says without any thought, no difference in this between a cultured or an illiterate person, whether it is said in a mosque or in the media or on any means of transportation ... i.e., in every time and place you are surrounded by attribution.... My dear son..

Attribution/Ascription is a case for debate not belief

Almost ten years ago a friend from Upper Egypt came to me, stressed out. He told me that he was surprised to find his hometown controlled by fundamentalist youth taking it back to what it used to be centuries ago. One of the examples was that on the marriage night, the Groom carries his Bride home in a large bag (Known in Arabic as Shewal), they do that because it is found in the Hadeeth and in the Way of the Prophet (Pbuh). I told him that they misread and misunderstood the Hadeeth which says that “They used to marry women in the Arabic month of Shawwal”. It was a huge joke. My friend returned to his hometown and read the Hadeeth to them properly and saved the young girls from the stuffing-in-the-bag-experience.. But his problem with me didn’t come to an end.

Believing that the Hadeeth attribution was correct, he started believing that weddings have to be in the month of Shawwal only and not in any other month. Getting fed up with him on the topic of Attribution/Ascription, I finally told him: So you believe that the Prophet (Pbuh) really said this Hadeeth? He steadily replied: Yes. So I told him: So would you swear on" divorcing your wife" that he has said it? Here he was stunned, kept his mouth shut and didn’t raise his head. So I told him: If I read to you “Say: He is one Allah” (Al-Ikhlas 112: 1) and requested that you swear on "divorcing your wife" that Allah has said it, and that it is from the Quran, would you? He said: Yes, so I told him that: This is the difference between the Quran and Heritage Hadeeths.

If somebody comes to you with a Quranic phrase you will not ask him for proof or attribution as long as you believe in the Quran which is bound by phrases and verses. Meanwhile, if a Hadeeth attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh) is read to you it is your right, even your duty, to ask about its attribution or its proof that it was truly narrated from the Prophet (Pbuh). Quran is built on the foundation of truth while Hadeeths attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh) are built on debt.

For this doubt they invented attribution, Attribution/Ascription, (Isnaad) which means that this Hadeeth was narrated by a named person saying that he heard it being narrated by a second named person who heard it narrated by a third named person and so on and so forth until it reaches that named person who said that he heard it narrated by the Prophet Mohamed (Pbuh) himself to prove that this Hadeeth is correct, if the attribution chain is not complete or includes non reputable persons than the Hadeeth is deemed weak.

In this time and age nobody cares anymore if the attribution is strong or weak authentic or fabricated, it is enough to say: “The Messenger of God said” for people to immediately believe that the he really said those words.

Going back to attribution, it confirms that a Hadeeth is like a crumbling wall to which attribution comes to support it so it wouldn’t break down and fall.

Quran is a matter of belief while Hadeeth is not; it is a debatable case from their point of view which falls in the realm of research and working hard and not in the realm of belief and absolute truth. That is why the scholars of authentication and modification differed in praising a narrator or discrediting him when proofing a Hadeeth or denying it. So the book “Authentic Hadeeth of Muslim” came different from the book “Authentic Hadeeth of Bukhari”. Then “Al-Hakim Al-Neisabouri” came with his "Al-Mustedrek", reservations on both. Before all of them “Ahmed Ben Hanbal” was different in his book “Al-Musnad”. Those who came later were even more different. And since it is a debatable case, to them, it is built on differences in several points of view; nobody said that the other is not a believer as those differences are in human hypothetical researchable matters and not in belief and religion.  But the Quran is the  source and place of faith and belief for every Muslim, that is why Allah (GbH), affirms in tow phrases in the Quran that the only speech in which we have to believe is Allah’s speech in the Gracious Quran: “In what statement after this, will they then, believe” (Al-Araaf 7: 185 & Al-Mursalat 55: 50).

Furthermore, Allah (GbH) makes believing in Him as the One God is connected to believing in His words in the Quran and nothing more. Allah (GbH) says in the Quran: “These are the phrases of Allah we recite to you with truth, then in which speech after Allah and His phrases will they believe? Woe to every sinful liar, who hears the phrases of Allah recited to him, yet persists with arrogance as if he heard them not, So announce to him a painful torment”. (Al-Jatheya 45: 6-8).

And in the last commandments of the Ten Commandments in the Glorious Quran Allah (GbH) says about the Quran: “And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path, This He has ordained for you that you may become the pious”.   (Al-Anaam 6: 153).

The Quran came from Allah as a straight path for us to solely follow and not to follow other roads and paths in order not to fall into contradiction and difference. And in this kind of a phrase, a confirmation that Quran is the only source for Islam. The Straight Path cannot be but the one and only. And since the straight line doesn’t branch off, then it is the shortest way linking tow points. The other roads are based on differences, wrongful thinking and suspicion. And it is known that narratives and attributions have different methods and ways. Hadeeth scholars confirm that they are all just conjectural, or as Allah said in the Quran: “And if you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah’s Path, they follow nothing but conjectures, and do nothing but lie”. (Al-An'aam 6: 116) And this is directed to the Prophet (Pbuh) himself that if he obeys most of the people they will set him astray from the Quran and take him where they follow conjectures and illusions.

Accordingly, the Prophet (Pbuh) follows the Quran alone, and with this in mind Allah’s orders followed for the Prophet (Pbuh) and for us in the Quran: “A Book sent down unto you, so let not your chest be narrow there from, that you warn thereby, and a reminder unto the believers; Follow what has been sent down unto you from your Lord and follow not any (denying) benefactors” (Al-Aaraf 7: 2&3) here there is two orders: to do and not to do. An order to follow the Quran and not to follow anything else as the Quran is the only Book which is immune to falsehood. Then everybody must consider this: The Prophet (Pbuh) was following only the Quran, and his Manners were the Quran, and all humans including the Prophets will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment based on the true Holy Books alone which are one in essence no matter what the languages and circumstances were, and there is nothing in any of the Holy Books called attribution but only the words of Allah, exalted be He. So it is up to you to believe in the words of Allah (GbH) , in his Holy Books alone or accept the falsehood of attribution in Hadeeth knowing that your judgment is with your Lord on the Day of Judgment.

Attribution/Ascription contradicts the scientific methodology

Attribution is an argumentative issue bouncing between doubt and proof and it is not a matter of faith. In addition to this, the attribution contradicts scientific methodology and rational common sense.

For instance: Al-Bukhari lived in the third century, Hijri Calendar, and died in the year 256 HC. This means that there were two and half centuries separating him from the Prophet (Pbuh). If we consider a generation to be 40 years, then there are 6 generations between him and Al-Bukhari. (Please note that there are 4 generations only between us and the era of Mohamed Aly of Egypt). From a scientific point of view; how is it possible for six generations to handle some word attributed to the Prophet through verbal narrations until somebody comes to record it 250 years after the Prophet? For example, let us take from Al-Bukhari Hadeeths and discuss its attribution, content and subject.

We will choose from Al-Bukhari Hadeeths the easiest on a reader’s mind which gives Al-Bukhari a holy status because of attributing his Hadeeths to the Prophet (Pbuh).

Under the title: “Chapter of having sex with the menstruating woman” Al-Bukhari included Hadeeths confirming that the Prophet (Pbuh) used to have sex with his wives during their menstruation period. From it we choose this Hadeeth: “Ismail Ibn-Khalil spoke to us saying that Ibn-Mussher narrated that Abu-Isshac who is Al-Shaybani from his father from Abdul-Rahman Ibn-Al-Aswad from his father from Aisha that she said: If one of us was menstruating and the Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) wanted to have sex with her, he would order her to wash her blood and then wear a thin cloth then he would have sex with her, when asked, and he could control himself? She said: Who of you have self control like the Prophet (Pbuh) had self control”. (Authentic Al-Bukhari, with Al-Ssindi comments, Zahran Library, Volume 1, Chapter one, page 64). This Hadeeth has two parts; attribution and content:

Attribution is the chain of narrators through which the Hadeeth was attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh), and they are six: Ismail Ibn-Khalil who narrated this Hadeeth to Al-Bukhari himself and he lived at the time of his teacher Al-Bukhari. He mentioned that who narrated this Hadeeth to him was Aly Ibn-Mussher whom Al-Bukhari never saw and who lived in the second century HC, and then the chain is extended to Abu-Isshac aka Al-Shaybani, then to his father, then to Abdel-Rahman Al-Aswad then to his father, then to Aisha the Mother of Believers, whom they claimed that she said the Hadeeth with its content and terminology.

Those narrators were linked to each other across a long time and Al-Bukhari saw none of them except the one who claimed that he narrated this Hadeeth to him. The previous narrators lived at consecutive times with no proof that they have actually narrated this Hadeeth. It is using our minds and the scientific approach we find that it is impossible to prove their honesty when narrating this statement verbally through two and half centuries of time filled with temptations and commotions. Through six generations with different circumstances. Even if we imagined that they all lived together at the same time and same generation the probability of lying, forgetting and confusion is very possible in the verbal transfer of this statement through six persons in forty years, even in forty days and maybe in forty hours. And this is a fact in everyday life when we handle a story which took place overnight then it starts to change and modify as long as it was narrated by more than one. Each narrator will add to it or subtract from it until the final result is totally different from the original.  So, how about hundreds of thousands of Hadeeths attributed to the Prophet centuries after his death?

The historical facts of the science called “Science of Hadeeth” confirm that the invention of “Attribution” was in the second century HC when there were so many verbal narratives with a lot of lies imbedded in them. So they made it a condition to link those narratives to formal narrators who died in between the middle of the second century HC and the era of the Prophet. Those dead narrators who were mentioned didn’t have knowledge of the Hadeeths attributed to them. Accordingly, in the age of documentation, the scholars contested in the era of Caliph Al-Maamoon in writing down the names of narrators as they come. This is what we concluded through our specialized research. Then the writers started to differ and fight among themselves in modifying or slandering the narrator according to sectarian differences or personal mood. Here, Al-Zahaby says in his famous book about authentication and modification "(Scale of Moderation": “The scholars of this topic were never unanimous in modifying a “weak” rating or weakening a “Trustworthy” rating”. The science of “Hadeeth Authentication & Modification” was based on the doctrinal, theological and intellectual differences among Muslims in the Abbasid era and what followed.

Going back to Al-Bukhari in “Chapter of having sex with the menstruating woman” we conclude that the content of this Hadeeth was repeated in many other Hadeeths claiming that the Prophet used to have sex with his menstruating wives, and they are all but lies attributed to the Prophet simply because it contradicts the Quran. God says in the Quran: “They ask you concerning menstruation, say: it is harmful, therefore keep away from women during menses and go not unto them till they have purified and if they have purified themselves then approach them as Allah ordained for you to do, Truly, Allah loves those who repent and loves those who purify themselves”. (Al-Baqarah 2: 222). The meaning is that they asked the Prophet about menstruation, and the Prophet waited for the reply to come from heaven so the phrase came to confirm that women must be avoided sexually during their menses and not having sex with them till after the period ends and they have a full body purificationary wash. After that they are allowed to resume their sexual intercourse.

Here we find a clear contradiction between the Glorious Phrase and the Hadeeth of Al-Bukhari which came among other Hadeeths under an erotic title “Having sex with the menstruating woman”. The Quran not only forbids the sexual intercourse with the wives during menstruation but also forbids approaching them sexually in any way. But Al-Bukhari confirms in his Hadeeths that the Prophet did not sexually abandon his wives during their menses. And there are no middle grounds between the Quran and Al-Bukhari in this case because if you believe the Quran then you have to disbelieve Al-Bukhari and if you believe Al-Bukhari Hadeeth then subsequently you disbelieve the Quran. From here Allah stresses in many locations in the Quran that Belief is only in the words of the Quran. Anything else is not worthy of Belief as it is subjected to doubt, the facts in it are not absolute like the facts of Belief. Accordingly, believing in Attribution falsely makes Hadeeths worthy of Belief.

Anyway, the science of “Authentication and Modification” mainly focuses on inspecting attribution or the chain of narrators without any attention to inspecting the content or the subject of the Hadeeth itself. It inspects attribution based on personal and sectarian merit. They never agreed on that narrator to be Trustworthy or Weak because whoever is praised by Sunnis will be attacked by Shiite and so on between the rest of sects and teams.

Accordingly they divided the Hadeeths based on their degree of trustworthiness and correctness to two large divisions:

1. The first division is the “succession” Hadeeth and it is 100% correct. Here they differed among themselves. Some of them said that originally there is no repeated Hadeeth that is absolutely true. Some said that there is only one true repeated Hadeeth which is: “Let him have his seat in hellfire whoever deliberately lies on my behalf”. Others said that it is a Repeated Hadeeth but without the word “Deliberately”. Others see that there are only three Repeated Hadeeths while others increased the number to five or seven.
2. Second division of Hadeeths is Single (Stand alone) Hadeeths. They said that the rest of Hadeeths in the books of attributions/Attribution/Ascriptions are Single Hadeeths, which means that it is narrated by one person from another. They are doubtful and not truthful because Truth is only in Quran Phrases. They also said that Single Hadeeths can be followed if they are probably true or if they conform to a Quranic Phrase. With this in mind in our era, were fundamental heritage is established, you will not find a daring fundamental scholar cast the doubt on Al-Bukhari based on the fact that his Hadeeths are conjectured and as truthful as any other human heritage narratives.

Going back to the attribution of Single Hadeeths (Which in our opinion are all Hadeeths) we find that they divided them into grades as far as correctness is concerned such as “Good”, “Strange” and “Weak”.

There is no Doubt that this is a funny division, because as far as attributing the Hadeeth to the Prophet (Pbuh) this means that he said this Hadeeth with 70% attribution or that Hadeeth with 50% or 10% attribution. This doesn’t conform to the scientific method, because it is either the Prophet said this Hadeeth, which means with 100% attribution, or the Prophet never said that Hadeeth and in this case attribution has to be Zero%, there are no middle grounds between the first and the latter.

To conclude we can say that: It is impossible, if we apply scientific methodology, to attribution that talk to the Prophet after six generations of verbal narrating and after the invention of Narrators Chains, tens of years after their death and with no supported knowledge by them.

Meanwhile Quranic approach totally conforms to scientific methodology.

Attribution/Ascription contradicts Quranic approach

Attributing a certain statement to the Prophet (Pbuh) means the transformation of this statement, talk or news to and actual religious fact in which a Muslim is obligated to believe in and implement it in accordance with its provisions.

This should only appeal to the Quran alone. Quran is a preserved book by the will of Allah Almighty and it has a beginning and it has an end. It is divided to 114 Chapters or “Surah” each of them has a defined and numbered phrases or verses (Aayat). About the Quran, Allah Almighty tell the polytheists: “And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down to our slave (Mohamed), then produce a (Chapter/Surah) of the like thereof and call your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful” (Al-Baqarah  2: 22). Irrespective of the phrase’s subject which is challenging the polytheists to bring Verses like those of Quran, the phrase confirms that what was revealed to the Prophet were only Verses and those Verses are only included in the Glorious Quran which means that what was sent down unto him is the Quran and the Quran alone. There is no other revelation called revelation of the Way (Sunnah) by those who believe that Hadeeths and the Ways of the Prophet were a Divine Revelation. In Islam there is no Hadeeth (Talk) but the Hadeeth of Allah Almighty in Quran. Those heritage Hadeeths and scrolls have neither a beginning nor an end and they contradict themselves throughout the book and maybe even on the same page.

Attributing a certain statement to the Prophet (Pbuh) and making it a religious fact is an accusation to the Prophet that he didn’t properly convey the message. He didn’t personally report those Hadeeths attributed to him and he didn’t write them down and organize them as he did with the Quran. Because if those Hadeeths were really a part of the religion and the Messenger did not report it to the people and didn’t write it down, it means that the Messenger did not convey the entire Message and left a huge part of it in the hands of mortal people to convey to each other and debate about it until it was finally written down centuries after the death of the Messenger and they are still debating it till today.

However, we believe that the Prophet/Messenger (Pbuh) had reported the entire message which is the Quran and he didn’t hold anything back. God praised the Prophet by saying in the Quran: “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”. (Al-Anaam  5: 3). So Islam was perfected and completed by the completion of Quran and therefore the Prophet died immediately after that. Not only that, but Hadeeths themselves, to those who still hold them to be authentic, say that the Prophet himself forbade people to write down anything but the Quran, and that his successors Abu-Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, forbade the narration and writing of any Hadeeth attributed to the Prophet. Therefore people refrained from attributing anything to the Prophet until the Abbasid era arrived with periods of sedition, dogmatic and sectarian confusion, and then Hadeeths attributed to the Prophet were written down through using the newly invented Attribution/Attribution/Ascription method. Those Hadeeths carry all signs of contradiction with the Quran and the era of the Prophet (Pbuh) but Attribution made them sacred and protected them from criticism and discussion, they survived till now to spread among us extremism, reactionary thought and all that defaces the Great Islam.

Accordingly, exiting this impasse necessitates the cancellation of so called “Attribution/Ascription”, which is severing any connection between those Hadeeths and the Prophet (Pbuh), this would be an act of mercy to Islam and returning to logic and to the scientific and intellectual methodology. We can look at the contents and subjects of Hadeeths in the light of the fact that they were part of a Heritage reflecting the eras in which they were written. Then, we need to research them historically and socially through the cultures of those eras with their rights and wrongs. For example, if we apply this to Authentic of Al-Bukhari, then we have given justice to Islam and its Prophet, otherwise we would be counted among the enemies of the Prophet whom he will disavow in the Day of Resurrection as Quran says in Al-An’aam Chapter   6, phrases 112-116 and in Al-Furqan Chapter   25, phrases 30 & 31. (To be looked up by the reader for added comprehension)

We say based on  what we have of knowledge and research of what is in Al-Bukhari of Hadeeths stabbing the Prophet and Islam in the back and staying immune to criticism because of the protection of Attribution/Attribution/Ascription and what it gave Al-Bukhari of holiness and veneration.

Attribution contradicts the concept of Testimony

A murder suspect stood in court and the first witness was called out, the judge asked him: Did the accused confess his crime to you? The witness said: I didn’t hear it myself but my brother told me he confessed. The judge dismissed him and called his brother to ask him, the brother said: I didn’t hear his confession myself but my father told me about it. The judge dismissed him as well and called his father to the witness stand, the father said: I didn’t hear his confession myself but my father told me right before he died yesterday. It was only natural that the judge released the accused and kicked out all the witnesses because they were no witnesses. To be a witness who is fit to testify you have to see or hear the event directly.

Of course this is a symbolic story which confirms that Attribution/Attribution/Ascription based on verbal tales throughout different eras have no foundation and cannot be considered by any judicial system. Al-Bukhari didn’t live in the era of the Prophet (Pbuh) and none of the narrators preceding him did. The Companions of the Prophet we lived in his Era were so busy with the conquests, seditions and disputes to report anything from the Prophet. And even if they reported any Hadeeths, how can we be sure of what they reported? We don’t have a single living witness from their timeline who survived two centuries then he wrote down what he heard with his own ears and saw with his own eyes!! Even if there was such a witness, it is our right to doubt what he said because of old age and weak memory “And among you there is he who is brought back to the miserable old age, so that he knows nothing after having known quite a few things” (Al-Hajj   22: 5).

Attribution/Ascription through generations of dead people contradicts legal testimony; accordingly it is injustice for Islam to base its regulations, which is the foundation of laws, on false testimonies doubted in its truth. Therefore real sacred regulations must only come from the Wise Book (Quran) which is immune to perjury and falsehood with the emphasis that the Way (Sunnah) of the Prophet is in applying Quran according to its era.

Herein we go back to the Quran in the issues of Attribution/Ascription and Testimony and give two quick examples:

1. Testimony from the Quran’s point of view is seeing and hearing with human senses while living the events, it is a fundamental part of regulation in the Quran In bearing witness to debts, Quran mandates that it is written down even in the easiest of transactions “You should not become weary to write it whether it be small or big for its fixed term” (Al-Baqarah  2, 282), so can the witness regulation in Quran and its rules be applied to using attributed statements to the prophet as a foundation for laws and rules across generations of dead narrators who lived between the Prophet’s era and the era of writing the Hadeeths while they neither saw nor heard anything?
2. The Glorious Quran told the story of Prophet Joseph when he accused his brother of stealing. Prophet Joseph orchestrated accusing his full brother of stealing so that he may keep him to his side. On their second trip to Egypt, prophet Joseph's brothers pressed their father  prophet Jacob to allow them to take their little brother with them, so when  prophet Joseph, the ruler of Egypt, held him under the accusation of theft, his brothers lost hope in retrieving him so the eldest brother said: “Return to your father and say, ‘O our father! Verily, your son has stolen and we testify not except according to what we know, and we could not know the unseen!” (Joseph   12: 81) This means that their eldest brother said to them to testify with what they saw when they found the stolen items in their brother’s container, and that they couldn’t know the unseen. This was the testimony of people who lived throughout the event and they testified to what they saw, and in spite of living and attending the event as it happened, they acknowledged that there might have been other unforeseen things of which they have no knowledge. Testimony as per Quranic understanding is to testify with what you yourself had seen and heard while stating that you know nothing but what you witnessed yourself, what was kept from you is known only to Allah who knows and sees everything.

If we apply this concept of testimony to the process of Attribution/Attribution/Ascription the contradiction becomes evident to us between the true testimonies which must be based on audible and visible truth by the present witness, and the apparent perjury of Attribution/Ascription, in which there is neither real testimony nor witnesses what so ever, how can the dead testify? Or how can the living reports an event which he didn’t see nor live?  

Topics of Attributed Hadeeths

After talking about the concept and procedure of attribution, we now point to the subjects of attributed Hadeeth, or in another word, what attribution brought to us: Topics contradicting Quran and Islam.

All Hadeeths can be categorized in 3 main categories: 1) The Unknown. 2) Legislations. 3) Ethics or encouragement and discouragement.

1. In the Unknown: They attributed to the Prophet Hadeeths reporting news of the past eras, before his existence, also, Hadeeths about the unknown future on earth, and Hadeeths about the unknown events of the Hereafter such as the signs of resurrection, its events, the gathering, intercession, ways of Heaven and Hell. Which are all but lies because Quran emphasizes many times that the Prophet knows not the Unknown and if he did he would have collected all sorts of good and would have never been subject to harm, and that he knows not what would happen to him or to others in the future, and that he knows none of the signs of Judgment Day nor its date or time, and that he is not entitled to speak about all the previous hidden issues. This can be found in the following Quran phrases:

- Al-Anaam 6, 50 “Say: I do not say to you that I have the treasures of Allah, and I do not know the unseen, and I do not say to you that I am an angel. I only follow that which is revealed to me. Say: Is the blind equivalent to the seeing? Will you not then think?”

- Al-Aaraaf 7, 187 “They ask you about the hour, when will be its arrival? Say: Its knowledge is only with my Lord; none will reveal it at its time except He. It lies heavily upon the heavens and the earth; it will not come upon you except suddenly. They ask you as if you were hiding it. Say: Its knowledge is only with Allah, but most of the people do not know” 188 “Say: I do not possess for myself benefit or harm except what Allah has willed; and if I had known the unseen, I could have acquired much of the good and no evil would have touched me. I am only a warner and the giver of good tidings to a people who believe”. 

- Al-Ahqaf 46: 9 “Say: I am not an invention among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not except an obvious warner”. 

- Al-Jinn 72: 25 “Say: I do not know if what you are promised is near or if my Lord will make for it a long period” :

- 72: 26 “The Knower of the unseen, and He does not reveal His (knowledge of the) unseen to anyone”.

- 72: 27 “Except whom He has approved of any messenger; for indeed, He sends before him and behind him observers”.  

- Al-Naziaat 79: 5 “And those (angels) who regulate affair”.

- 79: 42 “They ask you about the hour: When will be its arrival “. These are just examples.

To the same subject of knowing the Unknown they attributed to the Prophet of Hadeeths talking about his Intersession in the Day of Resurrection, these Hadeeths contradict the Quran which limits Intersession to God alone suggested by angels when they submit the good deeds of the righteous people on the Day of Judgment, but the Prophet himself cannot benefit or harm anyone, as stated in the Quran in the following phrases:

• Al-Baqarah 2: 48 “And fear a day when no soul will avail another in anything, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be made to win.”

- 2: 133 “Or were you witnesses when death came to Jacob, when he said to his sons: What will you worship after me? They said: We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Ibrahim and Ismail and Isaac, one God, and to Him we are submitters”.

- 2: 254 “O you who have believed! Spend from what We have provided for you before a day comes in which there will be no exchange and no friendship and no intercession. And the unbelievers are the unjust”.

- 2: 255 “(He is) Allah, there is no god except Him, the Ever-Living, the Ever-Subsisting. Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what will be after them, and they cannot encompass a thing of His knowledge except what He wills. His chair extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the High, the Great”.

- Taha 20: 109 “On that day, intercession will not benefit except the one to whom the Compassionate has given permission and has accepted from him a saying”

20: 110 “He knows what is before them and what will be after them; and they do not encompass it in knowledge”.

- Al-Anbyaa 21: 26 “And they said: The Compassionate has taken a child. Glory be to Him. Rather, they are honored servants”.

- 21: 27 “They do not precede Him in any saying, and by His command they work”.

- 21: 28 “He knows what is before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except for one whom He approves. And they are, from fear of Him, apprehensive”.

- Loqman 31: 33 “O people! Fear your Lord and fear a day when a father will not avail his child, nor will a child avail his father a thing. Indeed, the promise of Allah is true, so let not the life of this world delude you and be not deluded about Allah by (any) deceit”.

- 31: 34 “Indeed, Allah has knowledge of the hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul knows what it will earn tomorrow; and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed Allah is all Knowing, all Acquainted”.

- Al-Zomor 39: 19 “Is one against whom the word of torture is justified (like others)? Can you save one who is in the fire?”

- Al-Zokhrof 43: 86 “And those upon whom they call other than Him do not possess intercession, except one who testifies to the truth while they know”.

- Qaaf 50: 21 “And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness”.

- Al-Najm 53: 26 “And how many angels are there in the heavens whose intercessions will not avail anything except after Allah has given permission to whom He wills and approves”.

 With all these, Hadeeths made the lie of human intersession a known fact of religion while it is a dangerous factor in deteriorating the ethics of Muslims. 

1. In Legislations: The attributed to the Prophet that he was setting rules and laws, this contradicts a fundamental Quranic truth which that the Prophet when asked about anything he would wait for the Revelation to come down to him with the answer (They ask you about so and so, tell them so). When we look at the subjects he was asked about and waited for the answer to come from heaven, we find that he could have answered on his own from his personal general knowledge like when he was asked about the crescents: “They ask you about the crescents, Say: They are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage” (Al-Baqarah 2: 189). Also when he was asked about the orphan’s subjects,  Quran encourages the kind treatment of orphans in many locations but still they would ask the Prophet about the same subject again and again and every time he wouldn’t answer on his own but wait for the Revelation which came down to emphasize the previous commands to treat the orphans well and care for them, like what God says in Al-Baqrah  2: 23 “And theyask you concerning orphans, Say: The best thing is to work honestly in their property, and if you mix your affairs with theirs, then they are your brothers”.

And in the subject of “Zihar”, which is a form of divorce, a woman insisted that the Prophet rules in her case and she insisted but the Prophet refused to speak and waited for the Revelation which came down with the answer from Allah Almighty: “Indeed God has heard the statement of her that disputes with you concerning her husband and complains to God and God hears the argument between you both, verily, Go is All-Hearer, All-Seer” (Al-Mojadalah 58: 1). So the woman was in a hurry and kept on disputing with the Prophet to make him rule in her case but he kept on refusing then when she despaired she complained to God, the Exalted, so they judgment came down. And so on: They ask him for rules and he refuses and waits for the rule to come as a Revelation from heaven. So when God says in the Quran: “And they ask for your legal instruction concerning women, say: God instructs you about them” (Al-Nisaa 4: 127). Here God didn’t say to the Prophet: “Instruct them” because God only instructs and legislate so he said “Say: God instructs you”. A similar phrase can be found in the same Verse, phrase 176.

In brief, the mission of the Prophet was limited to: conveying the rules and instructions from God, with him neither ruling nor instructing. And when he was asked for an opinion or a rule he would wait the answer coming from the Revelation even in subjects of which he knows. His Way was to apply the Revelations descended upon him with his human faculties and with his era’s resources. This is what was at the time of the Prophet which confirms that Islam has only one source which is Quran. But we have the right to strive in the implementing the legislation of Quran according the circumstances of our time. Our conclusions may be right or wrong and we are responsible for it. This way Islam becomes higher than time and place well kept in its legislation till the Judgment Day is upon us immune to our mistakes and sins.

In the meantime, using Attribution many false rules contradiction Quran were attributed to the Prophet such as Stoning, punishing the revert, calculation and giving the right to the Ruler to own the land with what on it. In addition to inventing Attribution for these contradicting laws, the Abbasid era came with and new concept to cancel the Quranic legislations with the claim of Scripting (The cancellation of a Quranic rule by another Quranic verse or by a Hadeeth) in spite of the fact that Scripting in Quran and in Arabic means asserting and writing and not omission and cancellations, (Please refer to our book “Quran is Enough”).

1. In Ethics: They attributed to the Prophet Hadeeths of encouragement and discouragements which damaged the ethics of Muslims. They made great rewards for merely saying a word or reading a verse or performing a short prayer, and once the Muslim says that or do this then he guaranteed the Paradise no matter how many sins and guilt he collected. This means that he can lead a harmful life to people and properties then guarantees the Paradise just but stating that “There is no God but Allah” and this contradicts the Ethical approach of Quran which makes Paradise the final destination of those who believed and did the good deeds, those who filled their lives with practical belief and rewarding good deeds to others, not just a word or donating malicious money amidst a life overwhelmed with sins.

With the Hadeeths of the Unknown, legislations & Ethics, Attribution established a new religion different from Quran and contradicting it. This new falsified religion became sacred when it was attributed to the Prophet. It is shameful that when 150 Quranic Phrases denied the Prophet’s Intersession and conflicted with Hadeeth of Intersession in “Authentic of Al-Bukhari”, people take the side of Al-Bukhari against Quran…. Is it not so?

Sacred and non sacred Heritage

The previous presentation is based mainly on the Sunni Heritage in which the narrators attributed Hadeeths to the Prophet (Pbuh) and made the Sunni Heritage a Sacred Religion.

But on the other hand we find that Shiites also had their own sacred heritage which they attributed to the Prophet (Pbuh) and to Ali, his offspring and their holy imams. That heritage also became a holy religion contradicting Islam, and also the sacred Sunni heritage of the Sunnis because of political, religious and dynamic differences between Sunnis and Shiites.

After that, Sufism came along as an offspring of Shiites, leaving behind its political ambitions, defaming and attacking major companions of the Prophet (Pbuh). Sufism ignored attribution/Attribution/Ascription all together and didn’t care much for inventing the narrators’ chain. Sufism in its belief is based on union with Allah (GbH) and that the Sufi Sheikh has the Divine Self in him, and when the lights of Divine shines inside him, as they say, he pronounces the inner Divine Knowledge, then there is no need for narrators because, as they say, the Sheikh sits with Allah (GbH) in the Divine Companionship.

That is why in the second Abbasid era the Sufi would say “My heart told me from my Lord” and the famous book “Resurrecting the Sciences of Religion” by “Al-Ghazali” was filled with stories and statements of this kind, Al-Ghazali also used to say: “It was revealed to some of the righteous people” in addition to some Hadeeth related to the Prophet(Pbuh) without attribution and “Al-Iraqi” recorded them saying that “They have no origin” meaning that Al-Ghazali was the only one to extract them, in other words, they were invented all together by Al-Ghazali. After that the Sufis added to those lies the invention of “Visions”, the lies of “Premonitions” which means that the Sufi would hear a non-audible sound telling him so and so. In Al-Mamlouki era Visions wrapped the Sufi Heritage socially affecting the political, social and religious aspects of the Mamlouki life. It was common that someone would claim that he saw the Prophet (Pbuh) not only in his dreams but also when he was awake; Al-Sayouti was the most famous one with this claim, Al-Sha'rani mentioned that in his biography the “Smaller Ranks” book.

Briefly we say that: Attribution/Ascription transformed Sunni and Shiite heritages to false and fake religions, it also encouraged the Sufis to lie about Allah (GbH) and His Messenger (Pbuh) without attribution. Attribution/Attribution/Ascription with its claimed holiness cannot withstand criticism because it bears loads of mysticism and logical mistakes which are in desperate need for this holiness to protect it from the arrows of criticism and opposition.

However, the intellectual rational heritage (Which is worthy of respect even if we disagree with it) didn’t require neither attribution nor holiness. That is why the Heritage of Mu'tazilis and thinkers was attributed to the pillars of those intellectual factions. Al-Jahiz, for instance, didn’t try to attribute his own opinions the Prophet (Pbuh) but rather to himself and to whoever said it from his colleagues and friends. And if you read Al-Jahiz books like “ The Scrooges” and “Eloquence and exposition" and the rest of his works you will find the smell of the (Jahizm) culture, his era and his environment and you’d respect him even more because he was true to himself, Al-Jahiz died in the year 255 HC., the same Al-Bukhari era 256 HC., and attributed the Abbasid culture to the Prophet (Pbuh) through the fateful Attribution and so he caused the grossest damage to the Prophet(Pbuh) and to Islam.

Unfortunately, the triumph was not for the Al-Jahiz's and Al-Mu'tazilis' intellectual approach, but due to political circumstances, for those who were called, in the first Abbasid era by, (The Mind Stuffers), those who stuffed their minds with false interpolations and false attributes to the Prophet (Pbuh) in order to spread their opinions.

 The Abbasid Caliphs; Al-Maamoun, Al-Mo’tassim and Al-Wathiq took the side of Al-Mu’tazilis. Then the strife of whether the Quran was Created or not happened, during which Ibn-Hanbal was prosecuted, the Caliph Al-Mutawakel took the reins with a grudge against Al-Mu’tazilis and their leader Ibn-Alazayat, so he killed him and took the side of the (Mind-Stuffers) “People of Hadeeth and Sunnah” and he because prejudiced to them. He sent their messengers and supporters everywhere to gain victory to the Sunnah as Ibn-Aljozy said in his book “Al Muntezim-The systematic - The Methodologist”. The Abbasid state started to weaken and needed more and more to subdue commoners and general populace, using religion. So the role of Sunni and Sufi Sheikhs increased. In order for those Sheikhs to subdue the commoners it was imperative to invoke religious authority as a banner to which they refer without discussion. Attribution/Attribution/Ascription filled that task. And gradually people became accustomed to submit once the Sheikh told them: “It was narrated that the Prophet (Pbuh) said so”. The invention of Hadeeths became the tool of achieving political, sectarian and social goals as long as Attribution/Attribution/Ascription has the sanctification of the common folk. As time passed by, the Sheikhs would say with full confidence: “Peace be upon him said so” as if he had heard it from the Prophet (Pbuh) himself without attribution and without saying that it is a story told by people who might be wrong and might be right, just like what you hear even now from Sheikhs, riding means of public transportation in Cairo, about the mosque as small as a bird’s foot hold.

Then in our era, the era of Salafi awakening, a new direction appeared among the current Salafi groups, which is inventing Hadeeths to serve their point of view like the Hadeeth: “Whoever honors a policeman, Allah (GbH) will insult him”. When some enlightened people objected to this newly invented Hadeeth saying: How can you accept lying about the Prophet (Pbuh)? The extremist Sheikh replied saying that he is not lying about the Prophet, he is lying for the Prophet, the same old excuse given by those who lied about the Prophet Mohamed (Pbuh) in the past.  This means that inventing Hadeeths is still going on in our days.

Between Hadeeth and Sunnah

The final question remains: Are those Hadeeths the Sunnah of the Prophet (Peach be upon him)?

Here we need to establish some Quranic and Traditional facts:

1. The meaning of the word Sunnah in Quran is the way or the method, as far as Allah’s treatment of and dealing with the infidels. It also means “The Divine Legislation”. With these two meanings in mind, Sunnah in Quran comes attributed to (Glorified be Him), meaning The Sunnah of Allah (GbH). Allah Almighty(GbH) says in a special legislation to the Prophet (Pbuh): [“There is no blame on the prophet  in that which Allah has made legal for him, That has been Allah’s Way with those who have passed away before, And the Command of Allah is a decree determined” (Al-Ahzab   33, 38)] This Gracious Phrase reveals that: “What has made legal for him” means “Has been Allah’s Way (Sunnah)” means “The Command of Allah” which is “Allah's Law”. The conclusion is that Sunnah means Legislation.
2. This is consistent with the linguistic meaning of the word Sunnah, you say in Arabic ((Sanna Qanoon)) which means enacted a Law, and if a law is enacted it becomes an enforceable legislation.
3. This is also consistent with the idiosyncratic meaning of the term ((Practical Sunnah)) where it means the acts of worship like Prayer, Charity, Hajj and fasting.
4. In all, Almighty Allah(GbH) is the author of the legislation, which came down in the Holy Quran and the Prophet (Pbuh)is a role model for us in the application of the legislation, so the Almighty says “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have a good ((Uswah)) example” (Al-Ahzab 33: 21) He did not say Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good Sunnah, because the Sunnah is the Sunnah of Allah(GbH) while the Prophet, (Pbuh) is the good example in the application of the Sunnah of Allah(GbH) and the law of Allah(GbH).
5. But nowadays some heritage/tradition scholars say that the Practical Sunnah is the processes of worship to which we referred, and that the anecdotal/oral Sunnah of the prophet(Pbuh) is those Hadeeths that attributed to him centuries after his death in what is known as “Books of the Authentics” and others. And here we disagree with them, because the anecdotal/oral Sunnah of the Prophet, (Pbuh) is what was mentioned in the Quran after the word "Say," which is characterized in the Quran.
6. The word “Say” was repeated 332 times in the Quran. The topics that echoed the word "Say" includes all that is needed by the believer in matters of religion, and some are confirming what came in the Quran also without the word "Say." And the Prophet (Pbuh)was ordered to say the words as prescribed in the Quran as it is without any addition or deletion, as he has no right to say anything on behalf of Allah in matters of religion without authorization [“And if he had forged a false saying concerning us – We surely would have seized him by his right hand – And then certainly would have cut off his Aorta – And none of you could withhold us from him” (Al-Haaqah 69: 44-47)]. In a nutshell; that anecdotal/oral Sunnah of the Prophet (Pbuh) is what comes after the word “Say” in Quran because Sunnah means Allah’s Legislations we are supposed to follow.
7. They say that those Hadeeths are the source of knowledge of how to pray and worship. This is a manifested error because those Hadeeths are hearsay, and the Sunnah is the method of worshipping.  It has been known how to perform acts of worship not only before the age of Al-Bukhari and others, but also known before the Revelation of the Quran, as they were the basic features of the religion of Abraham, which Allah (GbH) ordered Muslims to solely follow. Not only that, but those Hadeeths recounted centuries after the Prophet (Pbuh), did not detail how to pray, furthermore, they distorted prayer and raised skepticism about it.
8. It is natural that when the Prophet (Pbuh) was establishing a new state and forming a nation, while facing the machinations of his enemies, to have his own words and instructions, as well as having his own applications in the implementation of the laws of the Quran, outside the range of worshipping, such as the preparation of the army and the military force. And all that falls within the history and biography, and not within the religion, which is above time and place.
9. It is noticeable that when the biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was retroactively scripted in the Abbasid era, it ignored what benefit people of it, because that which is good for people was detrimental for ruling dictatorial caliphs. The Islamic State of the Prophet (Pbuh) was established on the foundation of direct democracy along with people’s council where people rule themselves, and where people were the source of authority and those who have it.  The people of Medina lived this way during the life of the Prophet (Pbuh), and he left them to rule themselves by themselves without having appointed them a governor. The true biography of the Prophet (Pbuh) confirms this through more than five hundred sermons of the Prophet (Pbuh) in Medina, and through council gathering, which the Glorious Quran talked about in the final phrases of chapters Al-Nour, Al-Mujadalah and Al-Nisaa. This direct democracy in the era of the Prophet (Pbuh) was in complete contradiction to the Abbasid tyranny where the Caliph owns the ground and what was above it with no one to monitor or control. Therefore the Abbasid era of recording and writing neglected more than five hundred sermons of the Prophet (Pbuh) and hundreds of council meetings. They replaced them with authored legislation and a biography consistent with the culture of the Abbasid era, and then attribution transformed this Abbasid culture into religion. As time went by, the Abbasid culture became sacred with no one daring to criticize its sources from “Books of the Authentics”.

The proof of its sacred status filling the hearts and minds of Muslims is: The dread felt by the reader of this article.