Why are the most authentic collections of Hadith, known as the Six Sahihs, authored by non-Arabs? Some are from Iran, some from Uzbekistan, and some from Turkmenistan, while Islam is in the Arabic language. Is this merely a coincidence, or have non-Arabs introduced something new into the religion under the name of Hadith to take revenge on the Arabs for their defeat?
First Point
The claim that all the authors of the Six Books were non-Arabs is not correct. In fact, some of them are Arabs, such as Imam Muslim, who belonged to the famous Arab tribe 'Banu Qushayr,' which is an Adnani Arab tribe. Accordingly, his nisbah (attribution) is Qushayri. Similarly, Imam Abu Dawood belonged to 'Banu Azd,' which is a Qahtani tribe, and Qahtan are Arabs. Likewise, Imam Tirmidhi belonged to 'Banu Sulaym,' which is an Adnani tribe. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that all the authors of the Six Books were non-Arabs.
Reference: References: جمهرة أنساب العرب لابن حزم (289, 261, 330) عروبة العلماء المنسوبين إلى البلدان الأعجمية لناجي معروف (1/271) (1/289) (1/295).
Second Point
Even if it is accepted that all were non-Arabs, it does not affect the authenticity of the Hadith because the Prophetic Hadith (ﷺ) is religion, and for anyone, belonging to a particular race or nation is not a condition for serving religion. Islam is a universal and global religion, and its excellence lies in the fact that it has played a significant role in erasing the differences of color and race, the best example of which is the Farewell Pilgrimage sermon of the Prophet ﷺ.
Third Point
If the collection of Hadith by a non-Arab makes the Hadith doubtful, then how can the other sciences of religion, foremost among them the Arabic language itself, be considered reliable? Because the credit for their service also goes to non-Arabs! Among the great Imams of Arabic language and literature from non-Arabs are:
◄ Sibawayh (Persian)
◄ Ibn al-Jinni (Roman slave)
◄ Abu Ali al-Farsi
◄ The author of the famous Arabic dictionary ’’مقاییس اللغۃ‘‘, Ahmad ibn Faris (Persian)
◄ Abu Mansur al-Thaalibi (Nishapur)
◄ The author of the famous Arabic dictionary ’’القاموس المحیط‘‘, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub Firoozabadi.
Fourth Point
The regions these hadith scholars belonged to were not as non-Arab (Ajam) as they are today; rather, as a result of Muslim conquests, many Arab tribes settled there and the Arabic language was established because Arabic was both the language of religion and the official language. Studying the books written on the history of these regions also shows that the Arabic language flourished there. Many of the countries that are today counted among Arab countries were not always Arab but were under the influence of non-Arab empires. As a result of Muslim conquests, they came to be called Arab. Today, Arab countries are those where the Arabic language is spoken. Most of these areas consist of North Africa and Western Asia, which include the 22 countries of the Arab League.
Fifth Point
Behind this doubt lies the misconception that the six canonical books of Hadith are the first books, whereas the reality is the opposite. The collection and compilation of Hadith had already begun in Arabia. The famous Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz issued this order:
انْظُرُوا حَدِيثَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَاكْتُبُوهُ، فَإِنِّي قَدْ خِفْتُ دُرُوسَ الْعِلْمِ وَذَهَابَ أَهْلِهِ.
Reference: Sunan al-Darimi: 495
Look at the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ and write them down because I fear the loss of knowledge and the departure of scholars.
Before these six books of Hadith, many books had already been written, among which many authors were Arabs. For example, Muwatta Imam Malik and Musnad Ahmad, etc. Imam Malik bin Anas (died 179 AH) and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (died 241 AH) were both Arabs. Similarly, the "Sahifa of Hammam bin Munabbih," compiled by Hammam bin Munabbih, a student of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), appeared after the Kutub al-Sittah. When the hadiths in this Sahifa were compared with those in the Kutub al-Sittah, there was no difference between them. Besides this, numerous Sahifas compiled by the Companions and the Tabi‘in existed before the Kutub al-Sittah. In short, the authors of the Kutub al-Sittah did not record any new hadiths; rather, they collected the scattered and dispersed hadiths from previous Sahifas and books and compiled them into comprehensive books.
Among other Arab authors who wrote books of Hadith, some famous names are as follows:
◈ Imam Muhammad bin Hasan al-Shaybani (died 189)
◈ Imam Abdullah bin al-Zubair al-Humaydi (died 219)
◈ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad al-Bazzar (died 292)
◈ Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili (died 307)
◈ Imam Tahawi (died 321)
◈ Imam Tabrani (died 360)
◈ Imam Dar Qutni (died 385)
Sixth Point
The authors of the Kutub al-Sittah did not write these books while sitting in their own regions; rather, from studying their life circumstances, it is clear that to collect these hadiths, they traveled to Arab cities and regions and gathered hadiths from the Arab muhaddithin present there. In this way, this blessed chain of hadith reaches the Arabs. The non-Arabs heard it from the Arabs and compiled it in one place. Imam Bukhari says about himself:
لَقِيتُ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَلْفِ رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ أَهْلِ الْحِجَازِ وَمَكَّةَ وَالْمَدِينَةِ وَالْكُوفَةِ وَالْبَصْرَةِ وَوَاسِطَ وَبَغْدَادَ وَالشَّامِ وَمِصْرَ … وَلَا أُحْصِي كَمْ دَخَلْتُ الْكُوفَةَ وَبَغْدَادَ مَعَ مُحَدِّثِي أَهْلِ خُرَاسَانَ.
Reference: Sharh Usool I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah by al-Lalkai: 1/193
I have met a thousand scholars whose origins were from Hijaz, Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Basra, Wasit, Baghdad, Sham, and Egypt... Similarly, how many times I went to Kufa and Baghdad with the muhaddithin of Khorasan is countless!
All the city names mentioned in this statement are Arab.
