{"id":5022,"date":"2026-07-19T06:12:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T06:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/?p=5022"},"modified":"2026-07-21T02:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T02:39:20","slug":"the-overlooked-aspect-of-hadith-authentication-why-rejectors-miss-the-science-behind-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/?p=5022","title":{"rendered":"The Overlooked aspect of Hadith Authentication: Why Rejectors Miss the Science Behind It"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"5022\" class=\"elementor elementor-5022\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b9136c1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b9136c1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-041e509 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"041e509\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Overlooked aspect of Hadith Authentication: Why Rejectors Miss the Science Behind It<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-624ad9b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"624ad9b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8959f90 elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"8959f90\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-5cedbcd elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/?author=29\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_2\" data-name=\"Layer 2\" viewBox=\"0 0 22.97 30.15\"><g id=\"Layer_1-2\" data-name=\"Layer 1\"><path d=\"M0,30.15c0-6.34,5.14-11.49,11.49-11.49s11.49,5.14,11.49,11.49h-2.87c0-4.76-3.86-8.61-8.61-8.61S2.87,25.39,2.87,30.15H0Zm11.49-12.92c-4.76,0-8.61-3.86-8.61-8.61S6.73,0,11.49,0s8.61,3.86,8.61,8.61-3.86,8.61-8.61,8.61Zm0-2.87c3.17,0,5.74-2.57,5.74-5.74s-2.57-5.74-5.74-5.74-5.74,2.57-5.74,5.74,2.57,5.74,5.74,5.74Z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKamran Javeed Shah\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-1e3697b elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"datePublished\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/?m=20260719\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_2\" data-name=\"Layer 2\" viewBox=\"0 0 29.01 29.01\"><g id=\"Layer_1-2\" data-name=\"Layer 1\"><path d=\"M10.15,0V2.9h8.7V0h2.9V2.9h5.8c.8,0,1.45,.65,1.45,1.45V27.56c0,.8-.65,1.45-1.45,1.45H1.45c-.8,0-1.45-.65-1.45-1.45V4.35c0-.8,.65-1.45,1.45-1.45H7.25V0h2.9Zm15.96,14.5H2.9v11.6H26.11V14.5Zm-13.05,2.9v5.8H5.8v-5.8h7.25ZM7.25,5.8H2.9v5.8H26.11V5.8h-4.35v2.9h-2.9v-2.9H10.15v2.9h-2.9v-2.9Z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 19, 2026\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11d1e37 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"11d1e37\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1eb723e7 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1eb723e7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6250bdb6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6250bdb6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Summary<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64ef20f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"64ef20f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span data-path-to-node=\"0,0\">The article highlights that obeying the Prophet Muhammad\u2019s \ufdfa teachings is a divine requirement categorized as non-recited revelation (<i data-path-to-node=\"0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"134\">wahi ghair matlu<\/i>)<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"0,2\">. Because Hadith literature lacks the intrinsic divine protection of the Quran, early scholars had to combat widespread fabrication by developing a rigorous framework known as Hadith science (<i data-path-to-node=\"0,2\" data-index-in-node=\"192\">ilm-al-hadith<\/i>)<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"0,4\">. This meticulously engineered system primarily scrutinizes the chain of transmission (<i data-path-to-node=\"0,4\" data-index-in-node=\"87\">sanad<\/i>) rather than relying on subjective human reasoning to evaluate the actual content (<i data-path-to-node=\"0,4\" data-index-in-node=\"176\">matan<\/i>)<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"0,6\">. Through the discipline of <i data-path-to-node=\"0,6\" data-index-in-node=\"28\">ilm-al-jarah-wal-tadeel<\/i>, critics systematically verify each narrator&#8217;s piety (<i data-path-to-node=\"0,6\" data-index-in-node=\"106\">adl<\/i>), memory accuracy (<i data-path-to-node=\"0,6\" data-index-in-node=\"129\">zabt<\/i>), and the unbroken continuity of the chain to ensure unparalleled historical precision<\/span><span data-path-to-node=\"0,8\">.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u00a0<span style=\"background-color: #dcfce7; font-family: 'Nanum Gothic Coding', sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: black;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u24d8 This summary is generated by Ai\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6fdb5da6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6fdb5da6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a39c3d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2a39c3d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u0628\u0633\u0645 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u0647 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u062d\u0645\u0646 \u0627\u0644\u0631\u062d\u064a\u0645<\/p><p>Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran <strong><em>\u201cThere has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa an excellent example&#8230;\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-0\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-0\">[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/strong> The Almighty further says in his Glorified Book <strong><em>\u201cO you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger \ufdfa<\/em><\/strong> \u2026\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-1\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-1\">[2]<\/a><\/sup> The word Islam is an Arabic word and its meaning can be understood as \u201cpeace, purity, submission and obedience to the will of Almighty God.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-2\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-2\">[3]<\/a><\/sup> Muslims therefore are on a mission in this world &#8211; to lead their lives as per the commands of Allah. Now as everyone understands, Allah being the King of the kings doesn\u2019t directly communicate with each person as to how to live their lives. Rather He chooses a person in every nation and each time period whom He gives the gift of Prophethood \u2013 who is to teach the people the will of Allah. Allah sent down his Last Messenger \u2013 Muhammad \ufdfa whose Message is to last till the Day of Judgement. As Allah Himself says in the Quran that the Prophet \ufdfa is an excellent example for the mankind, as to how to lead one\u2019s life so as to please Allah for the attainment of the Paradise. The Prophet \ufdfa is thus a role model, whose obedience has been made compulsory for each and every Muslim till the Day of<strong><em> Qiyamah<\/em><\/strong>. It is on these lines that Ibn Kathir writes regarding the first Ayah above <strong><em>\u201cThis Ayah is an important principle, to follow the Messenger of Allah in all his words, and deeds, etc. Hence Allah commanded the people to take the Prophet as an example on the day of Al-Ahzab,<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-3\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-3\">[4]<\/a><\/sup> with regard to patience, guarding, striving and waiting for Allah to provide the way out\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-4\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-4\">[5]<\/a><\/sup> <\/em><\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Types of Revelations<\/strong><\/p><p>A question may arise here as to whether there is a distinction between obedience to Allah and obedience to the Prophet \ufdfa. The answer to this question is No, obedience to Prophet is in essence the Obedience to Allah, as the Prophet \ufdfa is a representative of the Allah on Earth. In order to understand why these two things have been mentioned distinctly in the second Ayah above, we need to go into the concept of revelations. Islamic Scholars classify revelations into two types \u2013 1) <em>wahi matlu i.e<\/em>. the Quran and 2) <em>wahi ghair matlu<\/em>.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-5\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-5\">[6]<\/a><\/sup> The word <em>matlu<\/em> means<em> \u2018something that is to be recited\u2019<\/em> while as \u2018<em>ghair matlu\u2019 <\/em>is <em>\u2018which is not to be recited.\u2019 <\/em>Thus, <em>wahi matlu <\/em>means the direct word of Allah revealed upon the Prophet \ufdfa which is the Quran, and which was later compiled by the Sahaba (Radhi Allahu Anhum) in the book form. However, the text of Quran is not the only revelation that Allah sent upon the Prophet \ufdfa but whatever the Prophet \ufdfa said and meant as a command was also a revelation from Allah. This is substantiated by these <em>aayat<\/em> \u201c<em>Nor does He (The Prophet \ufdfa speak of (his own) desire. It is only a Revelation revealed<\/em>.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-6\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-6\">[7]<\/a><\/sup> Mufti Muhammad Shafi in his tafsir of these <em>aayat<\/em> writes \u201c<strong>The verses tell us that it is absolutely impossible for the Messenger \ufdfa to forge lies and impute them to Allah. Nothing he utters is of his own wish or desire. He only conveys to the people what he was commanded to convey, in its entirety, without additions or deletions. An analysis of the various Traditions in Bukhari indicates that there are many categories or types of <em>wahy<\/em> [inspiration or revelation]. Type one is that in which the wordings and the meaning are both directly from Allah. This is called Quran. Type two is the one in which only the meaning comes from Allah, and the Messenger \ufdfa expresses the meaning in his own words. This is called <em>hadith<\/em> or <em>sunnah<\/em>.<\/strong>\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-7\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-7\">[8]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><p>In Sunan Abi Dawood it has been reported that the Messenger of Allah \ufdfa said, \u201c<em>Verily I have been given the Quran and something similar to it along with it. But soon there will be a time when a man will be reclining on his couch with a full stomach, and he will say, \u2018You should adhere to this Quran: what you find that it says is permissible, take it as permissible, and what you find it says is forbidden, take it as forbidden.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-8\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-8\">[9]<\/a><\/sup> <\/em>In another version of this <em>hadith<\/em>, the following has also been reported<em> \u201cBut indeed, whatever the Messenger of Allah forbids is like what Allah forbids<\/em>.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-9\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-9\">[10]<\/a><\/sup> The \u2018something similar to it\u2019 referred to in this <em>hadith<\/em> is <em>wahi ghair matlu<\/em>. It is the part of Divine revelations that doesn\u2019t form part of the Quran. This <em>hadith<\/em> makes it clear that the submission or obedience we talked about in the introduction must be as per both these types of revelations i.e. <em>wahi matlu <\/em>and <em>wahi ghair matlu. <\/em>In the Quran, Allah has ordered the Muslims to establish <em>salah <\/em>(prayers). However, the Quran doesn\u2019t contain any details about the form of <em>salah <\/em>or the number of <em>rakats<\/em> to be performed in each prayer. Thus, we need to turn to what the Prophet \ufdfa has taught and informed us about the subject, which as per the Quran is also from Allah. But, as these details about the <em>salah<\/em> are not contained in the Quran itself, they therefore form part of <em>wahi ghair matlu. <\/em>Thus, the words and sayings of the Prophet \ufdfa are authoritative and must be followed.<\/p><p><strong>Hadith and Hadith Science<\/strong><\/p><p>After we have established that the actions and sayings of the Muhammad \ufdfa carry an authoritative value in Islam, the next thing to figure out is how to know such teachings. For Sahabas (Radhi Allahu Anhum) during the lifetime of the Prophet \ufdfa, it was quite easy, as the Prophet \ufdfa himself was their instructor. But for the generations who did not and will not see him\u00a0\ufdfa in this world, it was necessary that the saying and actions of the Prophet \ufdfa must be communicated to them through preservation. The term <em>Hadith<\/em> thus came to be used for this purpose. Literally, the Arabic word <em>hadith<\/em> means statement, talk, news, conversation or communication.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-10\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-10\">[11]<\/a><\/sup> But in the sense that it is now commonly used, it specifically means the narration of the sayings, doings or approvals (<em>Taqrir<\/em>) of Muhammad \ufdfa.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-11\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-11\">[12]<\/a><\/sup> With the reporting of the narrations, an issue of <em>Hadith <\/em>authenticity emerged during the earlier Islamic times. Unlike the Quran, which is divinely protected as has been revealed in it <strong>\u201c<em>Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur\u2019\u0101n], and indeed, We will be its guardian.<\/em>\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-12\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-12\">[13]<\/a><\/sup>,<\/strong> there is no such protection for the <em>hadith<\/em>. The Prophet \u00a0\ufdfa even himself warned about hadith fabrication<strong> \u201c<em>There will be in the last of my nation a people narrating to you what you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them<\/em>\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-13\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-13\">[14]<\/a><\/sup> <\/strong><\/p><p>The absence of Divine protection for the <em>hadith <\/em>gave rise to extreme groups in the Islamic history \u2013 the Quranists and the hadith rejectors who reject all the <em>hadith <\/em>and consider them pseudepigrapha and the other group which lacks a particular name, but which considers all the <em>hadith <\/em>as true. It is pertinent to mention that one of the main reasons for the emergence of the hadith rejectors, is this blind acceptance of each and every <em>hadith<\/em> including those which are contradictory to the Quran and fundamental laws of nature. Hadith rejectors are thus in a sense a result of discarding the rigorous verification of <em>ahadith<\/em>, which had been prescribed by the great <em>hadith<\/em> scholars of the past. The issue of <em>hadith<\/em> fabrication was predicted by the Prophet \ufdfa, as it has been reported that He \ufdfa said, \u201c<em>There will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulations<\/em>.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-14\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-14\">[15]<\/a><\/sup> In fact <em>hadith <\/em>fabrication was so rampant in the past that scholars have written entire books on fabricated narrations known as <em>Mouduat.<\/em><\/p><p>The issue of <em>hadith<\/em> fabrication was recognised early by the Muslim scholars who developed an entire field of knowledge known as <em>ilm-al-hadith <\/em>or hadith science to safeguard the pearls of the Prophet \ufdfa. The history of <em>hadith<\/em> authentication began in the time of the Sahaba (RA) itself. \u00a0There are many reports documenting the Companions\u2019 vigilance against misrepresentations of the Prophet\u2019s \ufdfa legacy. Ali (Radhi Allahu Anhu) is quoted as requiring an oath from any Companion who told him a <em>hadith<\/em> from the Prophet\u00a0\ufdfa that he himself had not heard.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-15\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-15\">[16]<\/a><\/sup> When the Companion Abu Musa al-Ash\u02bfari (Radhi Allahu Anhu) told Umar (Radhi Allahu Anhu) that the Prophet\u00a0\ufdfa had said that if you knocked on someone\u2019s door three times and they did not answer you should depart, Umar (Radhi Allahu Anhu) demanded that he find another Companion to corroborate the report.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-16\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-16\">[17]<\/a><\/sup> This discipline which started raw later developed into a full and complete discipline, with high standards required for authenticating narrations.<\/p><p>To understand this science, we need to first understand some terminology. A <em>hadith <\/em>is composed of two parts \u2013 <em>sanad (pl. isnaad) <\/em>and <em>matan (pl. mutun)<\/em>. The <em>sanad<\/em> refers to the chain of transmission of the hadith from the person narrating it to the Prophet \ufdfa and the <em>matan<\/em> refers to the actual content of the <em>hadith<\/em>. The verification of <em>isnad<\/em> is the most important step in hadith authentication, while <em>matan <\/em>is not so strictly verified, the reason for which will be highlighted later. The importance for <em>isnad <\/em>was recognised early on. In the early Islamic period,\u00a0<em>ahl al-\u1e25ad\u012bth\u00a0<\/em>scholars or those who debated them could not cite a<em>\u00a0<\/em>hadith without providing their own\u00a0<em>isn\u0101d<\/em>\u00a0for the report.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-17\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-17\">[18]<\/a><\/sup> Revolving around the concept of <em>isnad<\/em>, the scholars developed a three-tier method for <em>hadith<\/em> evaluation.<\/p><p><strong>Step 1 \u2013 Isnad: <\/strong><\/p><p>As we have already highlighted the importance of <em>isnad<\/em>, it should not be surprising to know that a hadith without a <em>sanad<\/em> was rejected by the scholars. Imam Shafi made a famous declaration regarding the importance of <em>isnad<\/em> \u201c<em>The person who seeks knowledge without an\u00a0isnad, not asking \u201cWhere is this from?,\u201d indeed, he is like a person gathering wood at night. He carries on his back a bundle of wood when there may be a viper in it that could bite\u00a0him.\u201d<\/em><sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-18\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-18\">[19]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><h2><strong>Step 2 \u2013 Rating Transmitters: <\/strong><\/h2><p>On their own, however,\u00a0the knowledge of <em>sanad<\/em> could not deter a determined forger. A <em>hadith<\/em> could be made up, or inauthentic material could simply be equipped with a <em>sanad<\/em> and then circulated. Moreover, merely requiring someone to provide a source for a hadith they cited did not tell you if that source was reliable. The second tier of criticism thus involved identifying the individuals who constituted\u00a0<em>isnad<\/em>, evaluating their reliability, and then determining if there were<em>\u00a0<\/em>any risks that someone unreliable might also have played some part in transmitting the report.<\/p><p>A <em>hadith<\/em> transmitter was evaluated according to two criteria. First, his or her character, correct belief, and level of piety were scrutinized in order to determine if he or she was <strong><em>\u2018upright\u2019 (\u02bfadil).<\/em><\/strong> Second, and much more importantly, the transmitter\u2019s corpus of reports and narration practices were evaluated to decide if he or she was <strong><em>\u2018accurate\u2019 (zabit)<\/em><\/strong>.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-19\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-19\">[20]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><p>Hadith transmitter criticism known as <strong><em>\u201cilm-al-jarah-wal-tadeel\u201d<\/em><\/strong> is a sub-discipline within the discipline of <em>hadith<\/em> sciences. The discipline of narrator criticism began within the first three golden generations with great critics like Abd al-Ra\u1e25man ibn Mahdi (d. 198\/814) and Yahya ibn Saeed al-Qattaan (d. 198\/813) and is continuing even today.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-20\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-20\">[21]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><p>The first step in this criticism was finding information about all the narrators in the <em>sanad<\/em>. A hadith whose <em>sanad<\/em> contains even one unknown narrator is not accepted as true unless corroborated.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-21\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-21\">[22]<\/a><\/sup> This first step, if applied to modern history, would wipe a large chunk of the world history we know today, as most of it has been narrated by unknown persons. The next step is to determine whether each narrator is <em>adil<\/em> or not. There are two conditions that must be met for this \u2013 1) the narrator should be a Muslim and 2) He should be truthful. Determining whether he is a Muslim or not was quite easy, as the scholars were not concerned with any sectarian affiliation, and only checked whether the person claimed he was a Muslim or not.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-22\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-22\">[23]<\/a><\/sup> As to whether the person was truthful or not, and many ways were used for it. One is his general opinion in the public and second and more important all the narrations of the narrator would be collected, and his narrations would be checked against others narrating the same thing. If there were no or minor inconsistencies, he would be considered truthful but if they were major ones, he would be considered as unreliable. Imam Muslim describes the telltale signs of a weak hadith transmitter as someone who,<strong> \u201c<em>when his narrations are compared with those of people known for preservation [of hadith] and uprightness of character, his narrations do not concur with their narrations, or do so only rarely. If the majority of his hadiths are like that then he is rejected and not used in hadith.<\/em>\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-23\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-23\">[24]<\/a><\/sup> <\/strong>Apart from these two main conditions, later further conditions were added to judge the character of the narrator &#8211; of age, of sound mind, free of sinful behavior and defects in honor,<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-24\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-24\">[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><p>The next step was to determine the<strong> <em>zabt or <\/em>accuracy of the narrator.<\/strong> There are two essentials in this \u2013 if the narrator is narrating from his memory, it should be sound and if he is narrating from his writing, he should know his letters correctly.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-25\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-25\">[26]<\/a><\/sup> This was also usually done by comparison of the narrations and statements of the truthful contemporaries of the narrator. The checking of <em>zabt <\/em>was necessary as it is quite possible that a formerly truthful and <em>adil <\/em>narrator transmits a wrong narration later on in his life due to improper memory because of old age or bouts of insanity. A very good example of the effect of <em>zabt<\/em> is on the book of hadith <em>Al Mustadrak ala Sahihaen<\/em> by Imam Hakim Nisharpuri in which he collected more hadiths on the same <em>isnad<\/em> as collected in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim which as have been verified by the scholars to only contain authentic <em>ahadith<\/em>. As these books only contain verified<em> isnad,<\/em> it may seem quite obvious that other hadith collected with the same <em>isnad <\/em>would also be authentic. However, this is far from truth. Later scholars like Ad-Dhahbi have only authenticated half the <em>ahadith<\/em> from the book.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-26\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-26\">[27]<\/a><\/sup> This is because Al Hakim died after mere compilation of all the <em>ahadith<\/em> with those<em> isnad<\/em> and without having any time to revise the book. The result was that he didn\u2019t have time to check for the <em>zabt <\/em>of the narrators. It is quite possible that many narrators who while narrating the hadith present in Bukhari and Muslim would have been <em>zabit<\/em> but later didn\u2019t remain accurate while narrating the rejected hadith presented in the <em>Mustadrak. <\/em><strong>If a narrator was both <em>aadil and zabit<\/em>, he is known as a <em>thiqqa<\/em> (authentic) narrator.<\/strong> A hadith is only considered as <em>Sahih <\/em>if all of its narrators are <em>thiqqa i.e., <\/em>fulfil the conditions of <em>adl<\/em> and <em>zabt<\/em>.<\/p><p>Scholars wrote entire books on narrators known as <em>Kitab al Rijal<\/em> (The books on narrators), in which they compiled biographies of the narrators and also contained critical analysis of the narrators. In case of conflicting analysis by different authors, the scholars would usually err on the side of caution and operate on the principle that \u2018criticism supersedes approval provided that the reason for the criticism is provided.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-27\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-27\">[28]<\/a><\/sup> This shows the degree of caution and care taken by the scholars in authentication.<\/p><h2><strong>Step 3 \u2013 Al Ittisal (Contiguity of transmission): <\/strong><\/h2><p>The next step in authentication is verifying that the chain of transmission from the person narrating the hadith to the Prophet \u00a0\ufdfa is connected. There is an entire science for the various terms used in narrations like <em>akhbarna, samina, <\/em>etc. but we will not go there for the sake of brevity.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-28\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-28\">[29]<\/a><\/sup> The main point here is that it was to be proved that every person narrating the hadith in the chain could have reasonably met with the person from whom he is narrating the hadith. Two important points are highlighted here-<\/p><p><strong><em>Mursal narration<\/em><\/strong><em>: <\/em>A hadith with a broken narration is known as <em>mursal<\/em>. For example, if a <em>Tabaie<\/em> directly narrates from the Prophet \ufdfa the narration is broken as he never met the Prophet \ufdfa. A <em>mursal<\/em> narration is considered unauthentic.<\/p><p><strong><em>Tadlis<\/em><\/strong>: <em>Tadlis<\/em><strong><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>occurred when a transmitter cited an\u00a0<em>isnad<\/em>\u00a0in an ambiguous manner, such as saying \u201cso-and-so said,\u201d implying that he had heard the hadith directly from the person when in fact he was omitting his immediate source for the hadith.\u00a0The difference between a <em>mursal <\/em>narration and <em>tadlis<\/em> is that in the former, the chain is such that meeting of two narrators would not have been possible but in the latter, the meeting would have been possible. Thus, a <em>Tabaie<\/em> narrating directly from the Prophet \ufdfa is a <em>mursal<\/em> narration as he could not have met the Prophet \ufdfa. But a <em>Tabaie<\/em> narrating from a contemporary Sahabi directly while he heard the narration from another <em>Tabaie<\/em> and not the Sahabi himself but hid the name of the <em>Tabaie<\/em> is an example of <em>tadlis<\/em>. A question may arise here, wouldn\u2019t the narrators engaged in <em>tadlis<\/em> be considered unauthentic as they lie about the source of the hadith. The <em>hadith<\/em> scholars have answered this question in the negative because the person reporting does not claim that they have heard the hadith from that source, and only say that it has been narrated by so and so. The usage of words while reporting is a key component here. The word <em>Akhbarna <\/em>means \u201cI was informed by\u201d showing that the person directly heard the narration from the person next in the chain, and if somebody did <em>tadlis<\/em> while using <em>Akhbarna<\/em>, he would be considered an untrustworthy narrator because of lying. Rather the word used in such narrations is \u2018<em>An\u2019<\/em> which means \u2018from\u2019 or more clearly \u201cIt has been narrated from.\u201d A narrator who is habitual in doing <em>tadlis<\/em> is known as a <em>mudalis <\/em>narrator. The narrations from such a narrator are usually considered authentic except when he narrates with \u2018<em>An<\/em>,\u2019 in which case, it is not considered authentic. Imam Shafi writes <strong>\u201c<em>Thus we said: We do not accept any hadeeth from any mudalis, until he says: \u2018Haddathani\u2019 or \u2018Sami\u2019tu\u2019 (meaning until when he narrates a hadeeth in which he affirms of hearing that hadeeth directly from his Shaikh)<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-29\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-29\">[30]<\/a><\/sup> There are exceptions to this rule as have been given by Imam Shafi in this quote \u2013 1) Another narration is obtained in which the entire <em>isnad <\/em>including the person omitted is mentioned; 2) Another narration is found in which the <em>mudalis<\/em> narrator doesn\u2019t narrate with \u2018<em>An\u2019<\/em> (Certifying that he heard the hadith directly from the person above him in the chain). The issue of <em>tadlis<\/em> and its result show the caution taken by the hadith scholars in verifying the authenticity of the hadith.<\/p><h2><strong>Corroboration<\/strong><\/h2><p>This is another method of checking authenticity though not necessary. If the same <em>matn<\/em> has been narrated by multiple companions and thereby forming distinct chains to the Prophet \ufdfa, they are called as <strong>\u2018<em>shahid\u2019 <\/em>(witness)<\/strong> of each other. Multiple <em>shawahid<\/em> indicates the highest degree of authenticity in hadith. Similar narrations where there are multiple chains stemming from the same Sahabi are known as <strong><em>mutabah <\/em>(parallelism)<\/strong>. Such traditions also indicate a high degree of authenticity though not as high as in the first case.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-30\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-30\">[31]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><h2><strong>Content or <em>Matan <\/em>criticism<\/strong><\/h2><p>Hadith scholars usually did not resort to criticism of the contents of the hadith. The reason is that it would have opened floodgates with people rejecting every narration which they find illogical owing to the inability to comprehend the same. As we have already said in the beginning, the Prophet \ufdfa received revelations from Allah and as such could have said thing about the unseen which the average human mind fails to comprehend. Nonetheless, we know that early critics like Imam Bukh\u0101r\u012b and Imam Muslim were willing and able to reject a hadith because they found its contents inherently flawed. In his entry on the transmitter \u02bfAwn ibn\u00a0\u00a0\u02bfUm\u0101rah al-Qays\u012b in his \u2018Great Book of Weak Transmitters,\u2019 Imam Bukh\u0101r\u012b noted that one of the unacceptable Ahadith he narrated was \u201cThe signs of the Day of Judgment are after the year 200\/815.\u201d<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>He rejects the hadith because \u201cthese two hundred years have passed, and none of these signs have appeared.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-31\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-31\">[32]<\/a><\/sup> In another work on transmitters, he criticizes Muhammad ibn Fad\u0101\u02be because he narrated the hadith \u201cThe Prophet forbade breaking apart Muslim coins in circulation.\u201d<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>He<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>notes that Muslims did not mint<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>coins until early Umayyad times; \u201cthey did not exist at the time of the Prophet \u00a0\ufdfa.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-32\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-32\">[33]<\/a><\/sup> Similarly, Imam\u00a0Muslim rejects a hadith saying that there are five chapters of the Quran that are the equivalent of one-fourth of the holy book\u2014a total of five-fourths. He calls this logical contradiction \u201creprehensible, and it is not conceivable that its meaning is correct.\u201d<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-33\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-33\">[34]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><p><a id=\"post-5022-_heading=h.55l2din6vvq8\"><\/a> Hadith critics in the Sunni <em>ahl al-\u1e25ad\u012bth<\/em> tradition avoided relying on <em>matn<\/em> (textual) criticism because doing so would align them with the rationalist Mu\u02bftazila, who judged hadiths by reason and the Quran rather than by transmission. The <em>ahl al-hadth<\/em> believed that authentic knowledge of the Prophet \ufdfa\u2019s teachings could only be preserved through the <em>isn\u0101d<\/em> (chain of transmission), not human reasoning. Admitting that a hadith could have a sound <em>isn\u0101d<\/em> but a flawed meaning would undermine this principle. Therefore, when they found a problematic meaning, they assumed the fault lay in the <em>isn\u0101d<\/em>, not the <em>matn<\/em>.<sup><a id=\"post-5022-footnote-ref-34\" href=\"#post-5022-footnote-34\">[35]<\/a><\/sup><\/p><p><strong>Conclusion <\/strong><\/p><p>The science of hadith authentication stands as one of the most rigorous intellectual enterprises in human history. Each narration attributed to the Prophet \u00a0\ufdfa undergoes a multilayered process of scrutiny before being accepted as authentic (<em>sahih<\/em>). From the verification of the <em>isn\u0101d<\/em> (chain of transmission) to the examination of each narrator\u2019s integrity (<em>\u02bfad\u0101lah<\/em>) and precision (<em>zab\u1e6d<\/em>), every link in the chain is carefully assessed through the discipline of <em>\u02bfilm al-jar\u1e25 wa al-ta\u02bfd\u012bl<\/em> (criticism and validation of narrators). The process further demands continuity (<em>itti\u1e63\u0101l<\/em>) in the chain, ensuring that every narrator could have met and heard from the one above. This meticulous system, built upon centuries of scholarship, intellectual honesty, and divine reverence, reflects a level of scrutiny unparalleled in other historical traditions. Given the thoroughness of this process, it is highly improbable that any fabricated or unreliable report could survive the layers of verification imposed by scholars such as Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, and others. Hence, the authentic hadith corpus stands not on blind faith but on a carefully constructed foundation of critical methodology and historical precision.<\/p><ol><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-0\"><p>Al Quran &#8211; 33:21 (Sahih International). <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-0\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-1\"><p>Al Quran \u2013 4:59. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-1\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-2\"><p>https:\/\/muslimunitycenter.org\/what-is-islam\/. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-2\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-3\"><p>The Battle of the Trench (Yawm al-Ahzab) was a time when a coalition of enemy tribes surrounded Medina, placing the Muslims under severe fear, hunger, and hardship. During this crisis, Muhammad \ufdfa remained patient, steadfast, and actively worked to defend the community while trusting completely in Allah. In Surah Al-Ahzab (33:21), Allah commanded the believers to take the Prophet \ufdfa as their example because he demonstrated perfect patience, perseverance, courage, and reliance on Allah. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-3\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-4\"><p>Tafsir Ibn Kathir \u2013 33:21. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-4\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-5\"><p>https:\/\/islamqa.info\/en\/answers\/77243\/the-saheeh-sunnah-is-wahy-(revelation)-from-allah. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-5\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-6\"><p>Al Quran \u2013 53:3-4. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-6\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-7\"><p>Maarif-ul-Quran \u2013 53:3-4. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-7\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-8\"><p>Sunan Abi Dawood \u2013 4604 (Authenticated by Shiekh Albani). <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-8\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-9\"><p>Jami at Tirmidhi \u2013 2664 (Authenticated by Shiekh Albani). <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-9\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-10\"><p>https:\/\/ddeku.edu.in\/Files\/2cfa4584-5afe-43ce-aa4b ad936cc9d3be\/Custom\/Meaning%20and%20Place%20of%20Hadith%20in%20Islam.pdf. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-10\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-11\"><p><em>Ibid.<\/em> <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-11\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-12\"><p>Al Quran \u2013 15:9. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-12\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-13\"><p>Sahih Muslim \u2013 6 (int.). <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-13\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-14\"><p>Sahih Muslim \u2013 15 (int.). <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-14\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-15\"><p>Abd All\u0101h b. al-Zubayr al-Humayd\u012b,\u00a0<em>al-Musnad<\/em>, ed. Hab\u012bb al-Rahm\u0101n al-A\u02bfzam\u012b (Karachi: al-Majlis al-\u2018Ilm\u012b, 1963), 1:2.\u00a0 <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-15\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-16\"><p>Abd al-Razz\u0101q al-San\u02bf\u0101n\u012b,\u00a0<em>Mu\u1e63annaf<\/em>, ed. Hab\u012bb al-Rahm\u0101n al-A\u02bfzam\u012b (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Isl\u0101m\u012b, 1983), 10, 381.\u00a0 <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-16\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-17\"><p>https:\/\/yaqeeninstitute.org\/read\/paper\/authenticating-hadith-and-the-history-of-hadith-criticism#ftnt_ref6. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-17\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-18\"><p>\u00a0Jonathan Brown, \u201cHow We Know Early Had\u012bth Critics Did\u00a0<em>Matn<\/em>\u00a0Criticism and Why It\u2019s So Hard to Find,\u201d\u00a0<em>Islamic Law and Society<\/em>\u00a015 (2008): 170\u201371.\u00a0 <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-18\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-19\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/SkZXBufsWIY?si=FBMjkTI0PSAB6IvJ\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/SkZXBufsWIY?si=FBMjkTI0PSAB6IvJ<\/a>. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-19\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-20\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-20\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-21\"><p>More on corroboration later. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-21\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-22\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18; Sectarian affiliations were sometimes important in determining the truthfulness of the narrators. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-22\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-23\"><p><em>\u1e62a\u1e25\u012b\u1e25 Muslim<\/em>,<em>\u00a0muqaddimah<\/em>\u00a0[introduction].\u00a0 <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-23\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-24\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-24\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-25\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 20. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-25\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-26\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-26\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-27\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18. There are however various exceptions to this rule. For detailed information, read the article provided in the footnote. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-27\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-28\"><p>For more information, refer to note 18. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-28\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-29\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/thewayofsalafiyyah.com\/2015\/05\/18\/principles-of-hadeeth-and-the-ruling-on-the-narration-of-mudallis-with-an\/\">https:\/\/thewayofsalafiyyah.com\/2015\/05\/18\/principles-of-hadeeth-and-the-ruling-on-the-narration-of-mudallis-with-an\/<\/a>. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-29\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-30\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-30\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-31\"><p>Al-Dhahab\u012b,\u00a0<em>M\u012bz\u0101n al-i\u02bftid\u0101l<\/em>, 3:306.\u00a0 <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-31\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-32\"><p>Al-Bukh\u0101r\u012b,\u00a0<em>al-T\u0101r\u012bkh al-awsa\u1e6d<\/em>, ed. Muhammad al-Luhayd\u0101n (Riyadh: D\u0101r al-Sumay\u02bf\u012b, 1998), 2:109\u2013110. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-32\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-33\"><p>Muslim,\u00a0<em>Kit\u0101b al-tamy\u012bz<\/em>, ed. Muhammad al-A\u02bfzam\u012b (Riyadh: Matba\u02bfat J\u0101mi\u02bfat Riy\u0101\u1e0d, [1975]),\u00a0147. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-33\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><li id=\"post-5022-footnote-34\"><p><em>Supra<\/em> note 18. <a href=\"#post-5022-footnote-ref-34\">\u2191<\/a><\/p><\/li><\/ol><ol><li id=\"post-5008-footnote-3\">\u00a0<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-65b16921 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"65b16921\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7a304e11\" data-id=\"7a304e11\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78ba5e67 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"78ba5e67\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5771ae0b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5771ae0b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-67f8fc17\" data-id=\"67f8fc17\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48816513 elementor-align-right elementor-mobile-align-center print-post-button elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"48816513\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_2\" data-name=\"Layer 2\" viewBox=\"0 0 24.1 24.1\"><g 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class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ef575aa elementor-align-left elementor-mobile-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"2ef575aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"copy-link-btn\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-size-sm\" role=\"button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_2\" data-name=\"Layer 2\" viewBox=\"0 0 24.1 24.1\"><g id=\"Layer_1-2\" data-name=\"Layer 1\"><path d=\"M13.35,7.28l1.73,1.73c3.35,3.35,3.35,8.79,0,12.14l-.43,.43c-3.35,3.35-8.79,3.35-12.14,0-3.35-3.35-3.35-8.79,0-12.14l1.73,1.73c-2.39,2.39-2.39,6.28,0,8.67,2.39,2.39,6.28,2.39,8.67,0l.43-.43c2.39-2.39,2.39-6.28,0-8.67l-1.73-1.73,1.73-1.73Zm8.24,7.37l-1.73-1.73c2.39-2.39,2.39-6.28,0-8.67-2.39-2.39-6.28-2.39-8.67,0l-.43,.43c-2.39,2.39-2.39,6.28,0,8.67l1.73,1.73-1.73,1.73-1.73-1.73c-3.35-3.35-3.35-8.79,0-12.14l.43-.43c3.35-3.35,8.79-3.35,12.14,0,3.35,3.35,3.35,8.79,0,12.14Z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Copy the Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-53935cf6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"53935cf6\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6f77cb80\" data-id=\"6f77cb80\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2501a85a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"2501a85a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>\n\/* Styling for the copy message on all devices *\/\n.copy-message {\n  position: fixed;\n  top: 50%;\n  left: 50%;\n  transform: translate(-50%, -50%);\n  background-color: #b89272;\n  color: white;\n  padding: 15px 30px;\n  border-radius: 5px;\n  z-index: 9999;\n  font-family: sans-serif;\n  font-size: 18px; \/* Standard font size for desktop *\/\n  opacity: 0;\n  transition: opacity 0.3s ease-in-out;\n}\n\n\/* Adjustments for smaller screens (e.g., mobile phones) *\/\n@media screen and (max-width: 768px) {\n  .copy-message {\n    font-size: 14px; \/* Smaller font size for mobile *\/\n    padding: 10px 20px;\n  }\n}\n<\/style>\n\n<script>\ndocument.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\n  const copyButtons = document.querySelectorAll('.copy-post-url-button a');\n\n  copyButtons.forEach(button => {\n    button.addEventListener('click', function(e) {\n      e.stopImmediatePropagation();\n      e.preventDefault();\n\n      const postUrl = this.href;\n\n      navigator.clipboard.writeText(postUrl)\n        .then(() => {\n          const messageDiv = document.createElement('div');\n          messageDiv.textContent = 'Link has been copied!';\n          messageDiv.classList.add('copy-message');\n          \n          document.body.appendChild(messageDiv);\n          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data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-570d88c2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"570d88c2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Share this article<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bc36642 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"bc36642\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/font-awesome\/6.0.0\/css\/all.min.css\">\n\n<style>\n    \/* Wrapper with minimized padding to sit right under your existing heading *\/\n    #mc-social-share-container {\n        display: flex;\n        justify-content: center;\n        padding: 10px 0;\n        position: relative;\n        z-index: 9999; \/* Forces icons to the front *\/\n    }\n\n    .mc-share-list {\n        display: flex;\n        gap: 12px;\n        justify-content: center;\n        flex-wrap: wrap;\n        list-style: none;\n        padding: 0;\n        margin: 0;\n    }\n\n    \/* Individual Button Styling using your color #EA4336 *\/\n    .mc-share-item {\n        display: flex;\n        align-items: center;\n        justify-content: center;\n        width: 42px;\n        height: 42px;\n        background-color: #EA4336 !important; \/* Your specific brand red *\/\n        color: #ffffff !important;\n        text-decoration: none !important;\n        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Because Hadith literature lacks the intrinsic divine protection of the Quran, early scholars had to combat widespread fabrication by developing a rigorous framework known as Hadith science (ilm-al-hadith). This meticulously engineered system primarily [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":5031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics-and-morality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5022"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5032,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5022\/revisions\/5032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moralitycentral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}