The hadith scholars only arranged for the investigation of the isnad (the chain of narrators) and neglected the matn (the text of the hadith), which required more scrutiny, whereas the essence is the matn itself and the rulings and issues are also established from it. Consequently, this caused disruption in the meaning and understanding of the hadiths!
First Point
Certainly, the hadith scholars conducted very deep scrutiny of the isnad and described the conditions of each narrator as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but this does not at all mean that they neglected the matn because the very meaning of the knowledge of hadith or the terminology of hadith is that it is a knowledge through which the conditions of both the isnad and the matn are known.
Second Point
The practice of the hadith scholars is clear evidence that they kept a close eye on the matn along with the isnad and thoroughly examined it according to the principles and rules of Shariah:
Imam Sha’bah bin al-Hajjaj, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked: How do you know that a certain narrator is lying? He said: If he narrates from the Prophet ﷺ something like "Do not eat pumpkin until you slaughter it," then I know that he is lying.
Reference: Al-Muhaddith al-Fasil (p. 316)
.The famous muhaddith, Allama Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "Every hadith that you see contradicts sound intellect or the principles of religion, know that it is fabricated, so do not pay attention to it."
Reference: Al-Mawdu’at (1/106)
Here, the principle refers to the Book, Sunnah, and consensus of the Ummah.
Third Point
As for the difference between the verification of the chain of narration and the text, there is nothing surprising in this because there is a difference between the words "Hadith" and their chains of narration. For example, sometimes a single Hadith has many chains of narration but the text remains the same. For this reason, we pay more attention to the verification of the chain of narration, and the verification of the text appears less in comparison.
Fourth Point
It is also worth considering why the verification of the chain of narration was felt necessary! What else could be the answer to this except that the text was examined for its authenticity, and because the chain of narration is the means to reach the text, therefore it was given great importance to scrutinize it, because the correct path leads to the desired destination.
Fifth Point
Verification of the isnad was necessary anyway because if the isnad was not verified, this important matter would remain hidden and we would not be able to investigate it, unlike the matn, because it is apparent and does not have the obscurity found in the isnad.
In the methodology of the Muhaddithin, checking the matn is also included in the examination of the hadith because to test the memory of the narrators, the words of their narrations were compared with each other.
Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
إذا أردت أن يصح لك الحديث، فاضرب بعضه ببعض
Reference: ( الجامع للخطيب 2/452)
Translation: If you want to know the authenticity of a hadith, then compare some narrations with others.
Final point
The definition of an authentic hadith also includes that it should not be anomalous or defective, both of which relate to the text. Furthermore, the topics of hadith sciences related to the text include "Mudraj" (interpolated), "Maqloob" (reversed), and "Muztarib" (confused), among others. Similarly, hadith scholars discuss topics such as "Tashih wa Tahreef" (correction and distortion) and "Mukhtalif al-Hadith" (contradictory hadith) in the sciences of hadith, most of which pertain to the text of the hadith.
Thus, it is proven that hadith scholars not only scrutinized the chain of narration but also thoroughly examined the text.
Final Point
Hadith scholars have established specific principles by which the words of a hadith can also be examined. Accordingly, a hadith that contains weak wording, exaggeration, opposition to the principles of Shariah, or something unbefitting of the Prophet ﷺ is not accepted by hadith scholars.
Hafiz Ibn Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, says: (I was asked: Is it possible to know the grade and ruling of a hadith without looking at its chain of narration? I said: This is a very important question, and only one who has delved deeply into the knowledge of hadith can know it, a person in whose blood the knowledge of hadith is ingrained, and who has full capability to examine and scrutinize hadith, who has a deep understanding of the Sunnah and traditions of the Prophet ﷺ and knows his biography well, what the Prophet ﷺ commands, what he forbids, what actions he loves, and what he dislikes, and so on and so forth. In other words, the condition of such muhaddithin (hadith scholars) is as if they are companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ).
Reference: Al-Minar Al-Munif (p.43)
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