‫‪The Compilation of the Sunnah: It’s‬‬

‫‪Establishment & Development from the 1st to‬‬

‫)‪9th Century (A.H.‬‬
‫ﺗدوﯾن اﻟﺳﻧﺔ اﻟﻧﺑوي‪ :‬ﻧﺷﺄﺗﮫ وﺗطوره ﻣن اﻟﻘرن اﻷول إﻟﻰ ﻧﮭﺎﯾﺔ اﻟﻘرن اﻟﺗﺎﺳﻊ‬
‫اﻟﮭﺟري‬
‫ﺗﺄﻟﯾف‪ :‬ﻣﺣﻣد ﻣطر اﻟزھراﻧﻲ‬
Lesson Plan
❖ Tadween in the 3rd Century
➢ Development and Difference between the 2nd & 3rd Century
■ Defining Musnad Hadith and Musnad Book
■ The most important Masaneed
➢ A Brief Biography of Imam Ahmad: His Childhood, Personality, Studies,
Teachers, Students, Travels, the Inquisition & its Effect on the Musnad
■ Organization of his Musnad
■ The Status of his Musnad
■ How many narrations in his Musnad? How many Sahabah?
■ His conditions and strength of narrations in his Musnad
■ ‘Isharat (Hints) of Imam Ahmad in his Musnad
■ Ziyadaat (Additions) of his son ‘Abd Allah & al-Qatee’ee
■ The works of the Scholars done upon the Musnad
Differences between the 2nd & 3rd Century
1. A separation between authorship which included the Marfoo’, Mowquf, Maqtu’
and the Marfoo’ only. Now there was organized authorship focusing on the words
of the Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬
2. A clear reliance upon the grading of Hadith. Looking at it’s authenticity - whether
it’s strong or weak.
3. Various types of books began to spread such as:
a. Musnad works
b. Sahih works
c. Sunan works
d. Mukhtalif ul-Hadith & Mushkil ul-Hadith, etc.
4. Aqeedah Books
a. That which presented the Manhaj of the Salaf in the light of the Kitab and Sunnah (ex.
as-Sunnah by Ahmad, as-Sunnah by al-Marwazi, etc.)
b. That which was written as a refutation against the misguided sects (ex. ar-Radd ‘ala
al-Jahmiyah by Ahmad, ar-Radd ‘ala Bishr al-Mirisi by ad-Darimi, Khalq af’aal al-’Ibaad by
al-Bukhari, etc.)
Defining Musnad
Linguistically: That which is raised above the earth (or high off the ground)

Technically: The Muhadithoon use it in two manners:

1. The Musnad Hadith:

Khatib al-Baghdadi: “Their intent behind describing a hadith as Musnad is that which is fully
connected between the one is starts with and then one it ends with. Though it is mostly used
to refer that which is fully connected and ends at the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬specifically. (al-Kifaya)

2. The Musnad Kitab:

That which presents the ahadith organized according to which Sahabi it comes from.

This may happen in the following ways: Alphabetically, according to their Tribes, or according
to their Islam
The Most Important Masaneed
1. Musnad Abu Dawud at-Tayalisee (d. 204 AH)
2. Musnad Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah (d. 235 AH)
3. Musnad Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Handhali (d. 238 AH)
4. Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal (d. 241 AH) - The largest one that we have
5. Musnad Ahmad bin Ibrahim al-Dawraqi (d. 246 AH)
6. Musnad Baqi’ ibn Makhlad (d. 276 AH) - Lost
7. Musnad Ahmad bin Haazim al-Kufi (d. 282 AH)
8. Musnad Ahmad ibn ‘Amr al-Bazzar (d. 292 AH)
9. Musnad Ibn Ya’la al-Mosuli (d. 307 AH)
10. Musnad Abi Sa’id al-Haytham ash-Shaashi (d. 335 AH)
A Brief Biography on Imam Ahmad
He is Abū Abd’Allāh al-Marwazī, then Baghdādī Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ibn Hilāl ibn
Asad al-Shāybānī. Author of al-Musnad, az-Zuhd, and others.

His mother left Marwa while pregnant with him, and gave birth to him in Baghdād in Rabī’ al-Awal
the year of 164 AH and he was raised as an orphan.

‘Abd al-Rahman bin Mahdi: “It’s as if this young man (meaning Ahmad) was already an Imam while
he was in his mothers womb.” (Manaqib Ahmad bin Hanbal)

Shaafi’i: “Ahmad is an Imam in respect to eight areas. An Imam in Hadith, an Imam in Fiqh, an Imam
in Lugha, an Imam in Qur’an, an Imam in Faqr, an Imam in Zuhd, an Imam in Wara’, and an Imam in
Sunnah.” (Siyar ‘Alam an-Nubala)

‘Ali ibn al-Madini: “Verily Allah gave victory to this religion through two men. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq the
day of Rida and Ahmad bin Hanbal on the day of the Mihna.” (Tabaqat al-Hanabilah)

He passed away (Rahimahullah) in the year 241 AH

 His Personality: Sincerity & Worship
Abu Bakr al-Marwudi: “I spent four months with Abu ‘Abdillah in the army. He never left off Qiyam during the night, nor recitation
during the day. And do to his secrecy of that I never knew how many times he completed the Qur’an.” (Sifatu Safwa)

Ahmad mentioned to one of his students: “Take care to not be mentioned [known]. For verily I have been tested with Shuhra.”
(Siyar ‘alam an-Nubala)

A man once asked Ahmad: “Did you learn this knowledge for Allah?” He replied: “As for Allah [sincerely], then this is very difficult.
However it was something made beloved to us so we embarked upon it.” (Bidaya wan-Nihaya)

al-Marwudi: Ahmad said to me, “I never wrote a single hadith from the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬except I acted upon it. To the extent that I
found out the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬got cupped and paid Abu Tayybah a dinar - so I got cupped and gave the cupper a dinar.” (Siyar ‘alam
an-Nubala)

Abul Hasan al-Manaadi: “Ahmad took permission from his wife to acquire [a servant girl] for the purpose of Ittiba’ [emulate the
Prophet]. So he purchased a servant girl for cheap and gave her the name Rayhaana...” (Manaqib Ahmad)

Harun al-Hamaal: “Ahmad bin Hanbal came one night to my home and knocked on the door. I asked, “Who is it?” He replied, “It is
me, Ahmad.” So I answered. We shook hands and I asked, “Do you have a need I can help with O Aba Abdillah? He said, “Yes. My
heart felt the need to tell you… I saw you today teaching the people and you were in the shade while they were with their pens
and papers standing in the sun. Don’t do that again. If you sit [in the shade] the people should to. If they in the sun, then you too.”
(Manaqib Ahmad)
 His Travels, Teachers, Students &
Studies
His Teachers include: Abu Yusuf, ‘Abd ar-Razzaq as-San’aani,
‘Affan ibn Muslim, ash-Shaafi’i, Yahya ibn Saed al-Qattan, Sufyan
ibn ‘Uyaynah, Waki’ ibn al-Jarrah, ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Mahdi,
Waleed ibn Muslim, and others..

His Students include: al-Mawardi, Ibn Haani, Harb al-Kirmani,

Ibrahim ibn Harbi, al-Kawsaj, Baqi ibn al-Makhlad, Abu Dawud
as-Sijistaani, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Salih & ‘Abd Allah, Hanbal, and
others…

Ahmad: “I spent nine years in the chapter of Menstruation

[studying], until I understood it.” (Tabaqat al-Hanabilah)

Salih: “A man saw my father with an inkpot and asked, O’ Abu

Abdillah! You are the Imam of the Muslimeen. Until when will you
continue this?” He replied: “With the Mihbara (inkpot) till the
Maqbara (grave).” (Adaab ash-Shariy’ah)

‘Abd Allah: Abu Zur’ah told me one day, “Your father has
memorized one-million narrations”. I asked, “How do you know”?
He replied, “I revised with him through all the chapters.” (Siyar
‘Alam an-Nubala)
The Inquisition: Background History
What did the Inquisition mean? The belief stating “The Qur’an is Makhlooq (created)” eventually
leads to the distortion of the Shari’ah, Islam, and rejection of the Proof-Value of the Qur’an as a
source of legislation.

The first to initiate this fitna was the Abbasid khalifah al-Ma’moon (d. 218) in the year 212 AH. This
then continued with his brother al-Mu’tasim (d. 227). At which point, the situation of Ahmad became
more severe.

- In 220 AH, Ahmad was let go and the Inquisition came to an end. He continued to teach, give
fatwa, and attend the Jum’ah for another seven years.
- The inquisition was then re-started by al-Waathiq. He prohibited Ahmad from teaching, from
people going to him to learn, etc. This continued until the death of al-Waathiq in 232 AH
- After which al-Mutawakkil took over and lifted the inquisition. The Sunnah spread and the
fitna ended.
Imam Ahmad's Manhaj in his Musnad
The beginning of authoring the Musnad: Ahmad began authoring his book towards the beginning of the year
200 AH, after he left ‘Abd ar-Razzaq in the year 199 AH where he stayed for many months - as mentioned by
adh-Dhahabi

‘Abd Allah said “My father used to dictate to us the Musnad..” Ahmad

Ahmad said: “I [carefully] chose these narrations from a total of

seven hundred thousand narrations…”
Hanbal Salih (d. ‘Abd Allah
(d.273 AH) 266 AH) (d. 290 AH)
How many Masaneed are in the Musnad?

- Imam Ahmad did not get to fully edit his book Abu al-Qasim Ibn
al-Qatee’ee
before he passed away so there will be some minor bin Hasin al-Mudhib (d.
(d.525 AH) 440 AH)
(d. 368 AH)
differences
- Some of the Sahaba are at times attributed to their
Father, and at times, to where they are from Over 13 years
- Also due to the available manuscripts
Ibn Asakir: 1,056 Abu Musa & al-Jazari: 800 Albani: 915
 The Organization of the Musnad & Number of
Narrations in it
How many Hadith are in the Musnad?
❖ The 10 Promised Jannah
➢ Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Saed, Sa’d, Ibn Awf, Talhah, ❖ It’s often mentioned that there are
Ibn Jarrah, Zubayr 40,000 hadith in the Musnad -> but this
❖ Those closest to the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬by lineage is incorrect
➢ Ahl al-Bayt, Bani Hashim, Bani Abbas
❖ The Mukthireen The ar-Risalah and Bayt al-Afkar prints have
➢ Abu Hurayrah, ‘Ibn Masud, Abu Sa’id, Jabir, Ibn ‘Umar, only 27,647 narrations
Anas
❖ The Lands of the Sahaba The Maknas al-Islami has 28,218 narrations
➢ Those from Mecca
➢ Those from Sham So where is the remaining ~ 12, 000?
➢ Those from Kufa
➢ Those from Basra ❖ This has to do with how the scholars of
➢ The Ansar old would count the hadith (i.e. by the
➢ A’ishah and the Women average)
➢ All others & Tribes
The Conditions (Shuroot) of the Musnad
al-Hafidh Abu Musa al-Madini: “Ahmad did not present in the Musnad anyone except those whom he
deemed firm in their truthfulness and religiosity, in opposition to those who have been criticized in their
trustworthiness.” (Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa)

Ibn Taymiyah: “The conditions of the Musnad are much stronger than that of Abu Dawud in his Sunan. Abu
Dawud has narrated in his Sunan from those who Ahmad turned away from in his Musnad. So Imam Ahmad
never narrated in his Musnad from those who were known to have lied - such as Muhammad bin Sa’id
al-Masloob and others. However, he did narrate from those who were slightly weakened due to their
memories. He would write their narrations down in order to back it up [with support] and for consideration.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa)

Is there in the Musnad any Mawdoo’ (Fabricated) narrations?

Ibn Taymiyah: “...a group of Huffadh such as Abi al-’Alaa al-Hamadani and others said there is none. And
other scholars such as Abi Faraj ibn al-Jawzi said yes …” [Ibn Taymiyah then says] “And there is no
contradiction between these two opinions upon close examination ... “ (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa)
Levels of Authenticity in Musnad
Sahih Daef Mawdoo’ (Fabrications)?

That which is at That which can

the level of the be considered Actual Serious
Sahihayn or still Hasan or has a Fabricated unintentional
Sahih light weakness Narrations or mistakes
(which can be Narrators
graded up with
supporting
evidence)
Those he narrated from in his Musnad but
also criticized
● The Default when it comes to narrators you have criticized from is that you will not narrate from them
● The number of these Shuyookh are 12 - the total number he narrates from in his Musnad is 435
Shuyookh

Reasons that allow us to excuse this:

1. He carefully selected narrations from them that which they were accurate in
2. He narrated that which they have been supported in by other peers
3. He did not frequently do this, rather chose 1-2 narrations for each of these narrator
4. The narrations are in the Fadaa’il (Virtues) and not in the narrations related to Halal & Haraam
Did the Mihna have an effect on his methodology
in general & the Musnad specifically?
YES!

1. He stopped holding public classes and remained teaching his three close students until his death
2. He stopped narrating from those who answered the call of the Mihna
a. There were those if he narrated from before the Mihna he kept their narrations but did not take from them after
(except ‘Ali Ibn Madini exclusively)
b. There were those whose narrations he got rid of regardless if it was before or after the Mihna - no excuses.
Rather, he cut them off and did not speak to them again! (Such as Ali ibn Ja’d, Abu Nasr at-Tamaar, Yahya ibn
Ma’in)
3. He forbid his sons from narrating from those who were people of Bid’ah in general & those who
answered the call of the Mihna specifically

Ibn Hajar: “‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad used to not write down except from those his father permitted him
to. He used to not write down except from Ahlul Sunnah exclusively, to the point that his father forbid
him from writing from those who answered in the Mihna. For this reason he missed narrating from ‘Ali
ibn Ja’d, and others…” (Ta’jeel al-Manfa’aa)
 The Ziyadat
Both ‘Abd Allāh b. Ahmad & Abū Bakr al-Qatī’ī
have ziyadāt (additions) in musnad Ahmad.
So how do we come to know what is originally
from Musnad Ahmad, and what is not from it but
made its way into it?

1. Whatever ‘Abd Allāh narrates (not “finds”)

from his father and his father from his own
teacher – then it IS from the Musnad.
a. So when ‘Abd Allāh narrates from other
than his father – then it is a ziyādah which
was inserted, and not from the ahādīth
that Imām Ahmad chose to be in his work.

2. As for al-Qatī’ī: Whatever he narrates from

‘Abd Allāh, and ‘Abd Allāh from his father –
then it IS from the Musnad.
a. So when al-Qatī’ī narrates from other than
‘Abd Allāh – then it is also a ziyādah.
 The works done upon the Musnad
Ibn Hajar in his “Itraaf al-Musnid al-Mu’tali bi Atraaf al-Musnad al-Hanbali” in which he organized the Musnad by
mentioning only a part of the hadith and then citing where it is located

Shamsudeen al-Huseini in his “al-Ikmal bi man fi Musnad Ahmad min al-Rijaal Min man Laysa fi Tahdeeb
al-Kamaal” in which he put together a biography for all the narrators in the Musnad which aren’t mentioned in
al-Mizzi’s Tahdeeb al-Kamaal.

Ahmad bin ‘Abd ar-Rahman as-Saa’aati in his “al-Fath ar-Rabbani bi Tarteeb Musnad Imam Ahmad ash-Shaybani”
in which he reorganized the Musnad according to Fiqh chapters in order to make it easier to benefit from.

Abu Musa al-Madini’s “Khasaais al-Musnad” in which he describes the uniqueness of the Musnad and what Imam
Ahmad’s methodology was in authoring it.

Ibn Hajar’s “al-Qowl al-Musadad fi ad-Dab an Musnad Imam Ahmad” in which he defends the Musnad from
unjustified criticisms.

Albani’s “ad-Dab al-Ahmad an Musnad Imam Ahmad” in which he also defends the Musnad from unlevelled
criticisms.