Refuting the Lie: Were Hadith Books a Persian Conspiracy?

Excerpt from "Aḥkām o Masāʾil Kitāb o Sunnat kī Roshnī Mein" by Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbānī

❖ Question:​

Some people claim that the books of ḥadīth are the result of Persian conspiracies—that non-Arabs (ʿAjamis) fabricated them and attributed them to Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. How accurate is this claim? Kindly clarify from the correct Islamic perspective.

❖ Answer:​

Anyone familiar with Islamic history knows that Western influences, in their effort to dominate Islam and Muslims, divided the Ummah into various sects and ideologies. Consequently, Muslims were fragmented and embroiled in mutual conflict.


At the same time, doubts and suspicions were deliberately cast upon the intellectual legacy of Islam, namely the Qurʾān and Sunnah. In the guise of scholarship and intellectual critique, certain types of literature were produced to instill skepticism in the minds and hearts of the common people. Among the most targeted aspects was the ḥadīth—its history, compilation, preservation, and authority were all questioned and portrayed as weak foundations.


Following the lead of Western orientalists, Eastern modernists mimicked this approach and began labeling the treasured corpus of ḥadīth as a religious conspiracy, Persian folklore, or merely the tales of preachers and storytellers. However, anyone with sound understanding of historical methodology can see that these claims hold no more value than scattered dust.

❖ The False Notion: “Hadith Was Written Centuries Later”​

One of the common statements made by these deniers is that ḥadīth literature was authored hundreds of years after the Prophet ﷺ and then falsely attributed to him in a sanctified manner. They further claim that Persians and non-Arabs played a leading role in this conspiracy.


This objection is utterly baseless.

✦ Historical Facts:​

❖ Aḥādīth were written down during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ.
❖ The writing continued in every era thereafter.
❖ Numerous Sahabah (Companions) used to write ḥadīth, as demonstrated below:

❖ Early Documentation of Hadith by Companions​

① Abū Umāmah Ṣudayy bin ʿUjlān al-Bāhilī (d. 86 AH)​

When asked about writing knowledge, he replied:
"There is no harm in it."

Reference: Sunan al-Dārimī 1/435, no. 510; Jāmiʿ Bayān al-ʿIlm 1/149, no. 285; Taqyīd al-ʿIlm p. 98; Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd 7/312

Qāsim bin ʿAbd al-Raḥmān used to write down ḥadīth from him.

Reference: Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1/50–51, no. 152

② Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه​

When sending Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه to Bahrain, he provided a written document detailing rules of zakāh.

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb Farḍ al-Zakāh, Bāb Zakāh al-Qadam, no. 1454

The false narration that Abū Bakr burned 500 ḥadīth is not authentic, as clarified by:

• Imām al-Dhahabī: "This narration is not authentic."
  
  Reference: Tadhkirat al-Ḥuffāẓ 1/11]
  [*]Imām Ibn Kathīr: "Its isnād is extremely weak; the narrator is unknown."
  

  Reference: Al-Anwār al-Kāshifah, p. 38]
  [*]ʿAllāmah al-Muʿallimī: "There are other questionable narrators in its chain."
  

  Reference: Al-Anwār al-Kāshifah, p. 138]
  

Reference:

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In contrast, authentic narrations confirm Abū Bakr's use of written hadith, as previously noted.

③ Abū Bakrah رضي الله عنه​

Wrote a hadith and sent it via his son to a judge in Bist, warning:


"Do not judge between two people while angry, for I heard the Prophet ﷺ say that."

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1717; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7158

④ ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ رضي الله عنهما​

Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه stated:


"No one among the Prophet’s Companions narrated more aḥādīth than me except ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr, because he used to write and I did not."

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-ʿIlm, Bāb Kitābat al-ʿIlm, no. 113

ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr himself said:


"I used to write everything I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The Quraysh stopped me, saying: 'You are writing everything, even though the Prophet is a human who speaks in anger and pleasure.'"
He asked the Prophet ﷺ, who replied:
"Write! By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, nothing comes from me except truth."

Reference: Musnad Aḥmad 2/162, no. 6510; Abū Dāwūd 3646; Ḥākim 1/105

⑤ Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه​

A leading authority in hadith, known for his strong memory—he used to dictate ḥadīth to students, such as the Ṣaḥīfah of Hammām ibn Munabbih, which has been published and translated.


This is a brief list—numerous other Companions and Successors are also known for their documentation of hadith. See: Dr. Muḥammad Muṣṭafā Aʿẓamī’s book "Dirāsāt fī al-Ḥadīth al-Nabawī wa Tārīkh Tadwīnih".

❖ The Hadith Compilation Continued Through the Generations​

From the Companions to the Tabiʿīn to the great Muḥaddithīn, hadith were preserved and compiled. The Prophet ﷺ ultimately permitted and encouraged writing.


The claim that ḥadīth were authored "centuries later" is a malicious propaganda of hadith rejecters.

❖ Were the Hadith Compilers Non-Arab?​

This too is a deceptive claim.


While a few compilers were non-Arab, the vast majority were Arabs. Here are examples of leading Arab Muḥaddithīn:

Early Arab Scholars of Hadith:​

① Imām Mālik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH) — from the pure Arab tribe Dhī Aṣbaḥ

• Author of Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ

② Imām al-Shāfiʿī (d. 204 AH) — of Qurayshi lineage

• Authored Al-Umm and Al-Musnad

③ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241 AH) — from Banū Shaybān

• Musnad Aḥmad is a massive and revered compilation

④ Abū Bakr al-Ḥumaydī (d. 219 AH) — Qurayshi

• Authored Musnad al-Ḥumaydī

⑤ Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh (d. 238 AH) — from Banū Tamīm


⑥ Imām al-Dārimī (d. 255 AH) — also from Banū Tamīm

• His Musnad is well known

⑦ Imām Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 261 AH) — from Banū Qushayr


⑧ Imām Abū Dāwūd al-Azdī (d. 275 AH) — of Arab lineage

• Author of Sunan Abī Dāwūd

⑨ Imām al-Tirmidhī (d. 279 AH) — from Banū Sulaym

• Author of Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī

⑩ Imām al-Ṭabarānī, al-Dāraqutnī, Ibn Ḥibbān, Abū Yaʿlā, al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī

• All from established Arab tribes

This shows that most hadith compilers were Arabs, contrary to the false narrative.

❖ What About the Few Non-Arabs?​

Notable non-Arab scholars include:

• Imām al-Bukhārī (d. 256 AH)
• Imām Ibn Mājah (d. 273 AH)
• Abū Bakr Ibn Abī Shaybah (d. 235 AH)

But even they were deeply trained by Arab scholars, and their compilations included the same hadith recognized by earlier Arab authorities.

❖ Criteria for Hadith Acceptance Is Not Ethnicity​

Acceptance of hadith relies on:

• Verification of narrators (taʿdīl and jarḥ)
• Chain reliability, not ethnicity or region

If a narrator is trustworthy, their narration is accepted, regardless of origin.

❖ Self-Refuting Argument of the Rejecters​

Hadith rejecters fail to explain why, if Persians fabricated hadith:

• They narrated aḥādīth that condemn Iraq and Kūfah, the centers of Persia
• They narrated virtues of Arabia, not Persia
• They recorded ḥadīth that praised Ḥijāz, Yemen, and Shām, while warning about fitnah (trials) emerging from the East

❖ Prophetic Warnings About Fitnah from the East (Iraq)​

Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:


"The Prophet ﷺ pointed toward Iraq and said: ‘Fitnah is here... the horn of Shayṭān will rise from here.’"

Reference: Musnad Aḥmad 2/143, no. 6302

Another narration:


"O Allah! Bless our Madinah, our Shām, and our Yemen."
When asked about Iraq, the Prophet ﷺ remained silent, and repeated the first duʿāʾ.
Then said: "From there shall rise the horn of Shayṭān and fitan."

Reference: Al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 4110; Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 3/208; Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7094, 7064

❖ Conclusion​

This claim that ḥadīth literature was a Persian conspiracy is a filthy myth—a baseless tale fed by ignorance and hostility toward the Sunnah. Many of those promoting such views are neither scholars nor seekers of truth but blind followers of Western and Jewish ideologies.


We encourage readers to consult:

• "Ḥujjiyyat Ḥadīth" by Maulānā Muḥammad Ismāʿīl Salafī
• "Inkār Ḥadīth: Ḥaqq yā Bāṭil?" by Maulānā Ṣafī al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī

May Allah shower mercy on these authors and guide us to truth. Āmīn.