Identification of Authentic and Fabricated Hadiths

Abstract

Allah Almighty has conveyed His religion to people through two sources: one is the Holy Qur’an and the other is the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. Allah Almighty Himself has taken responsibility for the preservation of both foundations of religion. This is explained in the Holy Qur’an where Allah says:

“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder (the Qur’an), and surely We are its Protectors.”

Just as the Holy Qur’an has been preserved exactly in its original form, likewise the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ has also remained preserved in its true form. No one has been able to alter the reality of the Qur’an and Hadith until today, nor will anyone be able to alter it until the Day of Judgment. However, it cannot be denied that in different periods, esoteric groups, heretics, and enemies of Islam fabricated narrations with the evil intention of distorting and tampering with religion—narrations that had no existence during the time of the Prophet ﷺ. Yet Allah Almighty had already undertaken the responsibility of safeguarding this religion. Therefore, in every era, trustworthy scholars and Hadith experts emerged who, with great dedication and effort, separated weak and fabricated narrations from the collections of Hadith and presented the authentic traditions of the Prophet ﷺ in a pure and clear form for the world. Any statement, action, or tacit approval attributed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is called Hadith, and this is also the definition of Sunnah. “Tacit approval” refers to an act performed in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ which he did not forbid.  A Hadith is called Sahih (authentic) when its chain of narration is uninterrupted (each narrator heard directly from the preceding narrator up to the Prophet ﷺ), all narrators are trustworthy and truthful, possess integrity and strong memory, and the Hadith is free from contradiction and hidden defects.  A Hadith lacking these qualities is called a ضعيف (weak) Hadith. Likewise, a fabricated narration falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ is called a Mawdu‘ (fabricated) Hadith.