Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … Imam Yahya ibn Ma'in did not consider it acceptable to write down hadiths from the memorization of a great and vastly knowledgeable hadith scholar like Imam Abd al-Razzaq. This was solely due to the suspicion that perhaps he might have made a mistake or confusion regarding a hadith, or erred due to hunger or oversight. The basis of these matters was precaution. From this, it is understood that in that era, the practice of writing down the blessed hadiths was common. From this chapter and many other hadiths, it is established that there was a command to write down the Prophetic hadiths, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself also had several hadiths written down. Furthermore, some of the noble Companions prepared collections of the pure hadiths, for example: the Sahifah of Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, the Sahifah of Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah, the Sahifah of Sayyidah A'ishah, the Sahifah of Asma' bint Umays, the Sahifah of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar, the Sahifahs of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abbas, the Sahifah of Zayd ibn Arqam, the Sahifah of Zayd ibn Thabit, the Sahifah of Salman al-Farisi, the Sahifah of Samurah ibn Jundub, the Sahifah of Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi. However, in the ahadith of the previous chapter, there is a prohibition against writing hadith. The ways of reconciling and combining these are as follows: (1) The prohibition was against writing hadiths together with the Noble Qur'an, so that there would not be any mixing between the Qur'an and non-Qur'an; it was permitted to write both separately. (2) In the beginning, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam forbade the writing of hadiths, but later, when the risk of confusion was removed, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave general permission to write hadiths. This scenario is also supported by the fact that in the last part of the blessed life of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, there are examples of hadiths being written down. For example, on the occasion of the conquest of Makkah, the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam delivered a sermon. When Abu Shah al-Yamani requested that this sermon be written for him, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, trusting in the memorization of his Companions, said: ((Uktubū li-Abī Shāhin)) … "My Companions! Write this sermon for Abu Shah." Later, the practice of writing became so widespread that it was as if the Prophetic hadiths and their writing were considered inseparable and essential to one another.