Written by: Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri (May Allah Protect Him)
Sanad (Chain of Narration) is Religion. It is through the sanad that we gain certainty about the divine origin of a hadith. This chain protects the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from any form of alteration, distortion, or addition. This preservation of hadith is a unique honor and a miraculous achievement of the scholars (muhaddithin) of this Ummah, the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him). It serves as a clear and undeniable proof of the truth of the Quran and Hadith, a proof that is absent from the ancient and modern scriptures of other religions. The sanad is the only path that connects us directly to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This great blessing has been bestowed by Allah upon the Ahl al-Hadith, who are the true bearers and preservers of it. The ignorance, laziness, and moral degradation of certain misguided individuals have not been able to diminish this noble tradition. Even today, with all its virtues, the sanad remains preserved as a lasting blessing for the Muslims.
Denying or turning away from the importance of the sanad is a form of ingratitude towards Allah's blessings. The great scholars of Islam have clearly highlighted its significance. For this reason, the Muslim Ummah has never accepted a narration that lacks a sanad or comes from a weak or abandoned narrator, as per the principles laid out by the muhaddithin. The muhaddithin were masters in this field, and Allah had unveiled the truth to them.
◈ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"Everything that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) decreed is part of what Allah revealed. It is a reminder from Allah, which He sent down upon His Messenger, and Allah has taken the responsibility of preserving it. If it were possible for the narrators to include lies, mistakes, or forgetfulness in the hadith without evidence to establish their error, then Allah's promise and guarantee of preserving it would be void, and that is a great falsehood! We do not claim that narrators are infallible, but we say that when a narrator lies, errs, or forgets, there must be evidence to prove it. There must always be people in the Ummah who recognize the narrator's errors and falsehoods so that the texts and proofs are preserved, and nothing contrary to them is included. This is part of Allah's preservation of His religion."
[Mukhtasar al-Sawa’iq al-Mursalah, p. 555]
◈ Imam Ibrahim bin Musa al-Shatibi (d. 790H) says:
"If the Muslims, who defend Islam, were to accept every hadith narrated by everyone without scrutinizing the narrators, there would be no point in setting up the criteria of praise and criticism (of narrators), even though there is a consensus on this. Furthermore, the demand for a sanad would also be meaningless. For this reason, the muhaddithin made the sanad part of the religion. They did not simply mean that one says, 'So and so narrated from so and so,' but rather they intended that through the sanad, the knowledge of the narrators is established, so that hadith is not taken from the unknown, the criticized, the accused, or those whose narrations are unreliable. The essence of the matter is that there should be no doubt that the hadith is authentically attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), so that it can be relied upon in the Shariah and used to deduce rulings. On the other hand, weak narrations do not give rise to such certainty that they were said by the Prophet (peace be upon him), so rulings cannot be based on them. And as for those hadiths known to be fabricated, relying on them is due to the following of whims."
[Al-I’tisam, 1/124-125]
Demanding a sanad has been the practice of Muslims since the early generations, as demonstrated by:
◈ The famous Tabi'i, Imam Hisham bin Urwah (d. 146H), said:
"When someone narrates a hadith to you, ask them, 'Who is the narrator of this?'"[Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil, 2/34 – Chain is Sahih]
Even today, if this question is posed to the proponents of falsehood and the people of innovations, they will be exposed. The people of truth must always equip themselves with the knowledge of the sanad.
The Importance of Sanad
Some individuals take the liberty of accepting what pleases them and make it part of their religion without any solid Islamic proof. If it suits them, they accept the narrations of liars and abandoned narrators as evidence, but if it does not suit them, they reject even the authentic hadiths of Sahih Bukhari and Muslim.
Sanad (Chain of Narration) is Religion. It is through the sanad that we gain certainty about the divine origin of a hadith. This chain protects the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from any form of alteration, distortion, or addition. This preservation of hadith is a unique honor and a miraculous achievement of the scholars (muhaddithin) of this Ummah, the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him). It serves as a clear and undeniable proof of the truth of the Quran and Hadith, a proof that is absent from the ancient and modern scriptures of other religions. The sanad is the only path that connects us directly to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This great blessing has been bestowed by Allah upon the Ahl al-Hadith, who are the true bearers and preservers of it. The ignorance, laziness, and moral degradation of certain misguided individuals have not been able to diminish this noble tradition. Even today, with all its virtues, the sanad remains preserved as a lasting blessing for the Muslims.
Denying or turning away from the importance of the sanad is a form of ingratitude towards Allah's blessings. The great scholars of Islam have clearly highlighted its significance. For this reason, the Muslim Ummah has never accepted a narration that lacks a sanad or comes from a weak or abandoned narrator, as per the principles laid out by the muhaddithin. The muhaddithin were masters in this field, and Allah had unveiled the truth to them.
◈ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
"Everything that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) decreed is part of what Allah revealed. It is a reminder from Allah, which He sent down upon His Messenger, and Allah has taken the responsibility of preserving it. If it were possible for the narrators to include lies, mistakes, or forgetfulness in the hadith without evidence to establish their error, then Allah's promise and guarantee of preserving it would be void, and that is a great falsehood! We do not claim that narrators are infallible, but we say that when a narrator lies, errs, or forgets, there must be evidence to prove it. There must always be people in the Ummah who recognize the narrator's errors and falsehoods so that the texts and proofs are preserved, and nothing contrary to them is included. This is part of Allah's preservation of His religion."
[Mukhtasar al-Sawa’iq al-Mursalah, p. 555]
◈ Imam Ibrahim bin Musa al-Shatibi (d. 790H) says:
"If the Muslims, who defend Islam, were to accept every hadith narrated by everyone without scrutinizing the narrators, there would be no point in setting up the criteria of praise and criticism (of narrators), even though there is a consensus on this. Furthermore, the demand for a sanad would also be meaningless. For this reason, the muhaddithin made the sanad part of the religion. They did not simply mean that one says, 'So and so narrated from so and so,' but rather they intended that through the sanad, the knowledge of the narrators is established, so that hadith is not taken from the unknown, the criticized, the accused, or those whose narrations are unreliable. The essence of the matter is that there should be no doubt that the hadith is authentically attributed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), so that it can be relied upon in the Shariah and used to deduce rulings. On the other hand, weak narrations do not give rise to such certainty that they were said by the Prophet (peace be upon him), so rulings cannot be based on them. And as for those hadiths known to be fabricated, relying on them is due to the following of whims."
[Al-I’tisam, 1/124-125]
Demanding a sanad has been the practice of Muslims since the early generations, as demonstrated by:
◈ The famous Tabi'i, Imam Hisham bin Urwah (d. 146H), said:
"When someone narrates a hadith to you, ask them, 'Who is the narrator of this?'"[Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil, 2/34 – Chain is Sahih]
Even today, if this question is posed to the proponents of falsehood and the people of innovations, they will be exposed. The people of truth must always equip themselves with the knowledge of the sanad.
The Importance of Sanad
Some individuals take the liberty of accepting what pleases them and make it part of their religion without any solid Islamic proof. If it suits them, they accept the narrations of liars and abandoned narrators as evidence, but if it does not suit them, they reject even the authentic hadiths of Sahih Bukhari and Muslim.
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