Write an account of the collection of Hadiths during: • the Prophet's lifetime, and • the time of the Companions immediately after the Prophet's death.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [10] (a) Write an account of the collection of Hadiths during: • the Prophet's lifetime, and • the time of the Companions immediately after the Prophet's death. During the Prophet's time there was no official recording or transcripts of Hadiths of what he said. Instead the generation of Muslims who lived with the Prophet (pbuh) sought to preserve his words and deeds either in their memory or through some means of writing. Amongst the documents that became part of Hadith collections were the official records of the Prophet's discourses and statements etc. e.g. The Peace deal for Suraqa bin Naufal; As-Sahifa 'Ali etc. After the Prophet's death the Companions assumed both religious and political leadership in the community. For example, Ibn Abbas in Makkah, Ibn Masud in Kufa, and Salman Farsi in Isfahan had the responsibility of teaching the new generations of Muslims and new converts about the religion and Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). Thus, the study of Hadiths began as a practical attempt to gather, organise and sift through the authoritative statements and behaviour attributed to the Prophet (pbuh). It was often the junior Companions who became the most prolific collectors and transmitters of Hadiths. Abu Hurayra narrated 5300 Hadiths, Abdallah ibn Umar was 23 years old when the Prophet (pbuh) died but is the second largest source of Hadiths, narrating 2600 Hadiths, Ibn Abbas narrated 1700 Hadiths. Though narrators like Ibn Abbas and Abu Hurayra knew the Prophet (pbuh) for a short period of time they gathered their vast volumes of Hadith by seeking them out from the senior Companions. The Prophet's wives were also a great source of Hadiths. Ayesha was gifted with a great memory and not only narrated 2,200 Hadiths but was a critic of badly remembered ones. Companions like Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and 'Ali did not record large number of Hadiths but rather preserved the teachings in their actions and methods of reasoning rather than by citing them directly.
2. [4] (b) In your opinion what were the main reasons for Hadith collections? Give reasons for your answer. A whole range of reasons can be given in response to this question. For example, it could be said that the Prophet (pbuh) was the final authority on all secular and spiritual matters and with his death a template was needed to clarify, adjudicate or resolve questions and disputes as he would have done. Another reason could be that the Prophet's Companions, who had first-hand knowledge of his Sunnah, were themselves dying and hence a need was felt to preserve the Hadiths for future generations. All valid answers backed by reasoning to be credited.